64.64 Montreal, Cape Fear Strike First Deal of the Offseason

[Bob Breum]

Montreal’s outfield roster looks like this: LH, LH, LH, LH, LH, LH. Pedro Hernández throws with his right arm, but otherwise the entire outfield room consists of southpaws. The only right-handed prospect that is close to the big leagues is out for the 2065 season after surgery to repair a ruptured medial collateral ligament. When Cape Fear dangled right-handed slugger Joshua Ackland, the Blazer’s front office went into action.

After some back and forth, the Blazers reluctantly parted with shortstop Máximo Gousto, the best middle infield defender in the organization. Gousto’s last appearance at the BBA level was in 2063, when he hit .232/.258/.325 (65 OPS+) in 283 plate appearances. He is an elite defender at second, third, and shortstop. Scouts describe him as a Sparkplug and speak highly of his work ethic and baseball IQ. He is not yet eligible for arbitration.

Ackland, 25, is the perfect platoon candidate. Over the course of four BBA seasons, he has hit .282/.360/.549 (140 OPS+) against southpaws but only .260/.316/.472 (107 OPS+) against right-handed pitching. Facing left-handed pitchers, he exhibits light tower power with all-around decent hitting skills. He has good outfield range with a plus throwing arm, accumulating a zone rating in left field of +11.9 over 400 games, solidly above average.

Ackland made $1,426,000 in arbitration last season and is estimated to earn $2,800,000 in arbitration for 2065. He has two option years remaining.