The Kernels are in a tough but intriguing position. The club is young and the budget and salary cap room mean that some irrational bids for FA’s won’t be the death of the club, but years of regular season futility mean that the pressure is on not to blow this window. With the fan base hungry for a contender, GM Webb decided to go all in after some select FAs agreeing to their demands, just so the roster holes can be plugged for the next few seasons.
While a team that only mustered an even 60 wins last season has plenty of holes to fill, the focus for the Kernels this offseason is to improve SP, the bullpen and get more production out of the catcher position.
C Marcus Forryan was not offered a contract extension and left to test the free agent waters. Over the last six seasons, Forryan never put together an OPS above replacement level and was no star behind the plate to counteract this.
In front of Forryan last season on the depth chart, was 23-year old C Michael Dunn. Dunn’s promotion to the MLB and the starting lineup was done out of necessity, not out of want. He produced at the plate better than Forryan had, but was still a only a shade above mediocre.
Deeper in the farm system, GM Webb had a couple of prospects to consider as well with Patrick Faberand Alex Thomas. But both players didn’t exactly light up the Rupert Horn Memorial League to warrant a call up.
With the club being full of young players, the time seemed right to take a run at a veteran catcher who is a leader and could be popular with fans. Enter the 34-year old Chicagoan, Luis Barrera. Despite an average 2042 with Calgary, Barrera looks like he fits the bill. Good contact and plus power make him a welcome addition to the lineup. While his defensive ability won’t win him any awards, he’s at least on par with the who the Kernels have had behind home plate this past season. Only problem is, he’s 34 and was demanding a 5-year contract north of $14 million a season. But sometimes as they say on the ski hill, go big or go home.
Next up, GM Webb needed to add a veteran arm in the rotation to help out his young starting corps.Pierre Legrand would’ve been the obvious candidate if the Kernels had $10 million extra in their budget, but alas, this is Des Moines, so they would need to settle for Reno over Las Vegas. That Reno-type candidate came in the form of Bobby Lynch The 30-year old Texan has put up and impressive 40.7 career WAR over 9 seasons with Edmonton, Calgary and Brooklyn. The Des Moinians had to swallow hard and accept his demands for a 6-year, $69 million contract that includes a player option after two years. But like with Barrera, it could work out that these two veteran pieces are what’s needed to help lift this young roster out of the cellar.
Finally, the last bit of budget space was allocated for a RP. This is always a tough proposition, since as seasons wear on, RPs start populating the waiver wire in increasing numbers and sometimes there is quality to be found. Not wanting to miss an above average arm at the outset of FA, Webb decided to target the 32-year old Panamanian, Adrian Garcia. Garcia hasn’t exactly destroyed opposing batters, but for most of his time in the big leagues, he’s posted an above replacement ERA. Hopefully, his last two seasons which were below replacement level, are anomalies and he bounces back. With Jose Castro, Juan Garcia, and Pedro Tanon anchoring the late innings, its hoped that Adrian Garcia can salvage a few games that start to go off the rails in the middle innings. If not, its back to dumpster diving and hoping someone threw out a diamond while cleaning the basement.
