Sometimes you just gotta go. So, come on by Kid Krauss's Kum & Go's Kourtyard. Come and go as you like.
But some players of Des Moines were dropped with a thud. Or several thuds, late in 2061 due to tight salary cap space, ridiculous arby demands, and no remaining option years. Let's look who got the boot and if other teams have picked them up. We'll start with...
Exhibit #1 - 1B-3B Ricardo Norman.
This Queensite has been an over achiever. His 4.8 WAR in 476 at-bats in '58 were enough for the FL Rookie-of-the-Year Award, despite a -1.2 ZR in 33 games at third. He started 95 games at first and tended toward elite defense. Former DMO-GM Josh called him Roberto but also that he was "filling in acceptably (though for a negative ZR) at 3B after Felix Parreno was traded..." JRamirez brought Parreno back to Iowa for the '60 campaign with a 6-year contract worth a total of $61,000,000 that some GMs raised their eyebrows at. Parreno has delivered with 5.4 and 3.7 WAR seasons so far.
Norman, and teammate Kevin Thistle, were putting up 60-homer numbers the first half of 2060 before both came down to reality. Norman was abysmal the second half of the season and the All-Star first baseman was benched and even sent down to El Paso (AAA) for 17 games. It was a matter of seeing the random number generator doing its thing and evening out Norman's stats. The 2057 first-round draft pick then hit .333 with three round trippers in 10 playoff starts vs Portland and . He finished with 38 homers, fifth in the league, and was named FL Charles Puckett Golden Bat Hitter for first base. Last season, 2061, he had a 3.0 WAR in 138 games, but his home run total slipped to 19. His ratings have dropped from 6/7/5 to 5/5/5 and JR decided he wasn't worth keeping around, not for $8mm.
Madison has signed Norman to a 6-year contract worth a total of $64,300,000, which raises my eyebrows. But maybe he'll bounce back in a new town and team. I hope he hits 1000 homeruns for the Wolves, just not against the DMO.