Omaha quietly releases Norio Hayashi.(2051.16)

[niles08]

In surprising news, only because of the timing and “lack of news regarding the news”, Omaha quietly released Norio Hayashi yesterday, effectively declining his $20.9M team option for 2052, instead electing to pay his $4.2M buyout.

At age 33, Hayashi has spent his entire career in Omaha, which is the trend for many guys on Omaha’s roster from that time period. He has been the “work horse” for Omaha, throwing over 200 innings 7 times in the past 8 seasons, after spending the first 3 seasons in the bullpen for the club. This year, he struggled with a 5.37 ERA, with saber metrics showing the number to be nearly spot on (5.35 FIP). He posted the first negative WAR season of his career, finishing with a -0.1 WAR, over 114 innings pitched split between the rotation and the bullpen.

He finishes 8th on the all-time leaderboard with his 110 wins, 7th in losses with 92(18 of which were in 2047), second in home runs allowed to only Stephen Clulow and 8th in strikeouts with 1,456 for the Cyclones.

“Norio has provided us with great laughs over the years and been a great mentor for some of our younger players getting their feet wet.” Said GM Justin Niles. “As hard as it can be, sometimes it makes sense to go separate directions. Norio is a great player, a great teammate, and a great individual who will have no issues finding his place next season.

[tylertoo]

Sayonara Norio.

[CTBrewCrew]

can you please "quietly" release Ferrel also?

[lordtoffee]

Sadly the salary cap can make these tough decisions a part of the game. We've all been there.