Warehouse Wire 2045.05: Rafael: Will he stay or will he go?
Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 3:10 pm
In the eye of the Charm City front office, the Feliciano Rafael trade with Portland back in 2041 was a gamble they won. Up until this year, Rafael went on a stretch that saw him be a solid upper mid rotation starter and pitch as healthy as he'd been in his career. Then of course, this year happened.
The vet only made it 15 starts this year after dealing with a herniated disks, something that has flared up throughout his career. The first time he dealt with the injury was way back in 2031. The back issues will probably keep him from being a Hall of Famer. His production when healthy has been very good and the 2038 Nebraska winner would probably have at least one more under his belt if it wasn't for that darn back.
Now he has to make the decision that will definitely be made taking into account his age and banged up back: does he opt-out and become a free agent?
Last time he had this chance with Charm City, he stayed on board. But he has a lot more money to lose in that case. This time, it's a $20M decision. Is it worth staying 1 more year or should he go to free agency and gamble on more money? Leaving may give him a better shot at another Landis. Despite putting together a good rotation around him and even some bats other teams like, they haven't had much success. This gives him a chance to jump on a team that's competitive now.
Despite his 1-9 record, he pitched fairly well. He still strikes out over 7 per 9 innings and he doesn't walk very many. He definitely has value as a guy to help fill out a rotation. Surely, he'd be on the block if he opts-in. That's another thing he has to think about.
The Jimmies offense is bad. Like, really bad. It has been for years now. With some young, cheap arms, they would love to free up the $20M to try and get an impact bat or two. Any upgrades, really. They can't keep running it back like they have and they'll need to get aggressive.
Rafael currently sits #3 on the Jimmies pitchers WAR list. He's one of the best the organization has ever had. But for the sake of the Jimmies, you gotta hope he decides to move on.
The vet only made it 15 starts this year after dealing with a herniated disks, something that has flared up throughout his career. The first time he dealt with the injury was way back in 2031. The back issues will probably keep him from being a Hall of Famer. His production when healthy has been very good and the 2038 Nebraska winner would probably have at least one more under his belt if it wasn't for that darn back.
Now he has to make the decision that will definitely be made taking into account his age and banged up back: does he opt-out and become a free agent?
Last time he had this chance with Charm City, he stayed on board. But he has a lot more money to lose in that case. This time, it's a $20M decision. Is it worth staying 1 more year or should he go to free agency and gamble on more money? Leaving may give him a better shot at another Landis. Despite putting together a good rotation around him and even some bats other teams like, they haven't had much success. This gives him a chance to jump on a team that's competitive now.
Despite his 1-9 record, he pitched fairly well. He still strikes out over 7 per 9 innings and he doesn't walk very many. He definitely has value as a guy to help fill out a rotation. Surely, he'd be on the block if he opts-in. That's another thing he has to think about.
The Jimmies offense is bad. Like, really bad. It has been for years now. With some young, cheap arms, they would love to free up the $20M to try and get an impact bat or two. Any upgrades, really. They can't keep running it back like they have and they'll need to get aggressive.
Rafael currently sits #3 on the Jimmies pitchers WAR list. He's one of the best the organization has ever had. But for the sake of the Jimmies, you gotta hope he decides to move on.