Sticking Points 2043.2: Will Palacios Opt Out?

[aaronweiner]

Lorenzo Palacios has been leading the Rockville Pikemen this year in nearly every offensive category, and appears to be determined to show that 2042 was a blip on his otherwise stellar career. So far this season, Palacios is hitting .321 with a .948 OPS, a little off his career pace nothing like the .857 OPS that he posted last year in 2042. However, Rockville's designated hitter is never shy about telling you exactly what he thinks, but he's been mum on one subject: whether he's going to opt out of his deal at the end of the year.

"Listen, I know I'm always good for a quote, but this isn't one I'm gonna give you," said Palacios, laughing when we asked him about his contract. "This is a private matter between my family, myself, and the Rockville Pikemen, and I'm not going to stir up any controversy by saying anything."

By not saying anything, of course, Palacios is also saying volumes. The big bounce-back year in his opt out year is also speaking very loudly, though the slugger will tell you himself that he hasn't had to come back too far.

"Not sure if you checked the numbers, but last year wasn't my fault either," said Palacios. "I hit .278 last year, but I wasn't striking out a whole lot more and I was walking more than in some of my other seasons. The ball just ended up in a lot of gloves is all that happened."

Palacios' contract situation isn't casting a spectral presence over the team. Whatever he is now, he's no longer the super-duper star he was just a few years back, just an excellent professional baseball player. The team thinks they may have a replacement for him in-house in Matthew Reilly, their 2039 first rounder. And a lot of observers thought that he would opt out anyway, going for one last payday at the age of 30 while he still has his top-level skills. It would help out the team if he did; currently the Pikemen are capped out for 2044 and there has been talk of a buyout with Palacios regardless of what he decides.

Still, it's worth noting that with a mountain of turnover in the nine-year unbroken playoff run from the Pikemen, Palacios has been the only player other than Arthur Dempster who has been here for each of those nine seasons. Dempster signed a long-term deal with the Pikemen this year, but losing Palacios is another sign that the end of the Pikemen's dynasty might be at an end.

"Sure, it would be bittersweet to leave the team, but that's business," said Palacios. "Either way I'm set up for life, I have all the things I could ever want, I'm really happy, and I got a chance to play on one of the greatest teams in BBA history. Any way it happens, it's a good life."