Whither the Des Moines Kernels

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Whither the Des Moines Kernels

Post by FuzzyRawley » Sat Jan 23, 2021 8:38 pm

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Roh Rindfleisch Des Moines Register


The 2045 season is entering its final stretch and a familiar phrase has once again been repeated “The Des Moines Kernel will not make the playoffs”. They last made the playoffs in 2008, barely squeaking in with a 87-76 record. That 2008 team was led by Hall of Famer Rafael 'Mash" Rodriguez, Desi Stanley and Eugene Miller on the mound. The Kernels would kill to have players like that on the roster these days but even if they did, they would probably have to trade them for lack of money.

As such, once the season looked to be going off the rails, the Kernels had to unload talent this because the prospects of resigning were slim-to-impossible. Unfortunately, the market wasn’t the strongest for what Des Moines was selling.

First to go was the masher Lucio De La Cruz getting getting 25-year-old designated hitter Hugh Mangrouthormone, 19-year-old minor league starting pitcher Jae-myung Kim and $4,000,000 in cash in return from the Louisville Sluggers (Des Moines kept paying De La Cruz’s 2045 salary). This is a case of taking what the market offers. De La Cruz could make a windfall in FA and this likely scared away potential suiters leaving Des Moines in the position of being happy not just being left with nothing. The upside is Mangrouthormone could turn into a good asset in the coming seasons.

Next up, the Kernels off-loaded Juan Garcia2. The first Garcia to go was sidearming SP Juan Garciawho also ended up moving to Louisville in exchange for 25-year-old minor league shortstop Meles Lisimba and 20-year-old minor league third baseman Steve Hebert. Neither player is expected to have much impact in the big leagues but when the alternative is nothing, anything is a good bet.

The second Garcia to go was the RP Juan Garcia who landed with the Calgary Pioneers for 3B Russ Sandhoff. This deal at least gives the Kernels what looks to be a BBA-quality third baseman that will hit the majors hopefully when the team has gained some financial footing.

The final piece to was the 26-year oldLF Hector Cruz. Cruz was just not putting in the effort in Iowa anymore and had needed to get out of town. Fortunately, Charlotte took interest and offered up 17-year old C Shi-min Xi in return. How Xi develops is a toss up, but given how bad Cruz was for the Popcornmen, this was an easy bet to take.

Getting these remaining salaries off the books and combined with some owner cash, allowed Des Moines to go dumpster diving to ensure that the roster wasn’t a complete disaster for the rest of 2045 and 2046.

The Kernels picked up relievers Juan and Hernandez and Francisco Lucero plus 2B Hakim Ngowa off waivers. None of these guys will turn Des Moines into playoff contenders, but each one had at least another year of control or contract left which is attractive to a team with no long-term money going through a rebuild.

There was never any rational hope that 2045 would be the season that Des Moines fielded a competitive team, especially in the Heartland, but the Kernels gave it a shot with what they had. Now the focus moves to building a business that bring in a sustainable cash flow so young talent can be held onto rather than traded for less than optimal value. The big question looming, is can that happen in Des Moines? GM Webb sure hopes so and will be watching how the fickle Des Moines fans react to more losing seasons but higher ticket prices before playing that card.
:cool: They say it don't be like it is, but it do!

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