Niles family drama continues as Williams goes to Arbitration.(43.06)

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Niles family drama continues as Williams goes to Arbitration.(43.06)

While the Omaha front office has been somewhat steady compared to past eras, there is no denying the nonsense and chaos that has been the Niles family throughout the past decade. First the drafted and signed Hawk GM Justin Niles’ half brother Jake Williams in the first round of the BBA draft in 2034 with the hopes that Williams and just two seasons ago, Justin Niles’ own son, Logan Niles spurned the clubs offer after drafting Logan in the first round, instead deciding to head to college.

That drama has apparently continued as Jake Williams was unable to come up with an agreement for a deal with the Hawks instead opting to head to arbitration where he was awarded the $710,000 contract that was submitted by the Cyclones. Williams submitted an offer north of $1,000,000.

Williams debuted in 2038 to a dud putting up just a .177/.215/.350 triple-slash line and a negative 0.5 WAR in 243 at-bats. Much of the same has followed in the years since with Williams accumulating a -1.9 WAR before last season. Last year he hit .290/.290/.484 in a very limited 31 at-bats and apparently thought that despite his negative WAR still last season, he believed he deserved a big raise from his brother.

Williams, just 26 years old, is apparently going to be a part of the roster this season although he is on his last option year, and could essentially be sent down for part of the year if the team wished. He would currently be eligible again for arbitration in 2044, but before he worries about that he may want to worry about getting his on-base percentage over his weight.

For what it is worth, Niles, who turned the club away is currently 19 years old playing for the Chevrolet Chevy’s in college. Just finishing his first season, he hit .262/.347/.487 with 12 home runs and excellent defense putting up a 2.3 WAR.