Rice Leaving Calgary?
It is starting to look like CF Todd Rices stay in Calgary will be a short one. A controversial deal brought him to the Pioneers before last season in return for fan favorite Chairman Mao. Rice helped the team make the playoffs last season, but seemed to have lost a step in the field this year and then strained a hamstring. He asked for an extension of over $15 million per season and when the team rejected his demands he broke of negotiations and has refused to talk to the team since.
“Well I don’t like to comment on players that we are negotiating with, but unless there is a change in attitude I think we won’t see Todd in the outfield next season,” said Calgary GM Kevin Dickson. “I mean first off he asked for a ridiculous sum of money, then he has missed what, 6 weeks with a pulled muscle and according to a recent study I read, he was the worst fielding center fielder in the league so far this year. The team has been doing pretty good without him so my PMs are open and the other GM’s know my number if anyone is interested.”
In Rice’s absence, Jorge has gotten the majority of the playing time in center field. He hit .310 in June and is hitting .385 in July, while fielding the position better than Rice did. The Pioneers also drafted some outfield depth this year to provide the team with some insurance.
Rice is a career .329 batter and right now wouldn’t even earn the team a supplemental draft pick. He is scheduled to come off the IR soon and the team is expected to sent him to AAA St. Paul on a rehab assignment. We reached out to Rice and his agent and neither would comment on this story.
