Sticking Points 2037.1: Rockville Declines on Arthur Norris
Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2018 4:19 pm
Championship teams often have to make difficult decisions. Not trusting the current arbitration estimates, Rockville has parted ways with outfielder Arthur Norris, who had 15 homers in 66 games with the Pikemen after coming over in trade.
"This was a very difficult decision," said GM Aaron Weiner. "Arthur was just so great for us and so helpful in winning the championship that we tried to explore every option to keep him, but in the end we decided to go in another direction."
Rockville was going to be pushed very close to the cap even with the current arbitration estimates, which would likely go up after the current team won a title. The Pikemen had other choices to try to keep the team compliant with league rules, but they chose to hold on to players such as Leonardo Gonzalez and Santiago Morales rather than keep the 30-year old Norris.
"Obviously I'm disappointed, but I figure I'll land somewhere," said Norris. "I'll always have this experience with the Pikemen and I'll always be grateful for the opportunity to win a BBA title, and I understand that this is a business and that they have rules they have to follow."
Teammates were disappointed at the decision.
"Obviously we loved having Norris on the team and really wanted him to stay, but there wasn't anything the team could do, I suppose," said outfielder Lorenzo Palacios. "That's the price of having a championship pitching staff."
Rockville will be paying at least $50 million to their starting rotation next year, which creates a crunch everywhere else. Just about their whole lineup is 24 or younger, so they're saving money there. Norris later signed for five years and $85 million with Nashville, so it seems that everyone was happy.
"This was a very difficult decision," said GM Aaron Weiner. "Arthur was just so great for us and so helpful in winning the championship that we tried to explore every option to keep him, but in the end we decided to go in another direction."
Rockville was going to be pushed very close to the cap even with the current arbitration estimates, which would likely go up after the current team won a title. The Pikemen had other choices to try to keep the team compliant with league rules, but they chose to hold on to players such as Leonardo Gonzalez and Santiago Morales rather than keep the 30-year old Norris.
"Obviously I'm disappointed, but I figure I'll land somewhere," said Norris. "I'll always have this experience with the Pikemen and I'll always be grateful for the opportunity to win a BBA title, and I understand that this is a business and that they have rules they have to follow."
Teammates were disappointed at the decision.
"Obviously we loved having Norris on the team and really wanted him to stay, but there wasn't anything the team could do, I suppose," said outfielder Lorenzo Palacios. "That's the price of having a championship pitching staff."
Rockville will be paying at least $50 million to their starting rotation next year, which creates a crunch everywhere else. Just about their whole lineup is 24 or younger, so they're saving money there. Norris later signed for five years and $85 million with Nashville, so it seems that everyone was happy.