Max Birstall
Birstall was 21 years old when he was selected in the first round of the 2047 draft by the Blazers out of college. He rocketed through the minor leagues that season, throwing eleven innings for AA Mississauga and nine innings for AAA New Jersey before joining the big league club, where he threw 24⅔ innings in 22 appearances to a 3.65 ERA.
During his eleven years with Montreal, Birstall appeared in 711 games and recorded 231 saves. Last year, in the Blazers pennant-winning campaign, he led the league with 43 saves.
Team officials, off the record, said that the new management wasn’t comfortable with Birstall’s 1.2 HR/9, especially given their pitcher friendly home field. In addition, his agent wanted almost $5 million per season for an extension, which was too much for a team near the salary cap. The good news for Birstall is that he was able to sign for $27.3 million for four years, considerably more than he had been expecting with an extension.
