Welp, ok maybe there is... but he is still a really great guy.
Last season was all about rebuilding and culture change. One of the many waiver claims the River Monsters made was a 29 year old injury prone, right handed hitting DH by the name of Wayne Morris. It was quite peculiar at the time that the River Monsters would take a multi million dollar contract off the hands of a division rival. In fact, there was much speculation that the team targeted 5-6 of the leagues juggernauts and claimed every player they exposed just to be a dick and leach away what depth they could. But Morris was different. He was the kind of guy that embodied what they wanted Twin Cities to be.
Morris rewarded the team by having a solid season. He was literally the only River Monster to carry his weight at the plate. Along the way, Morris became the leader in the clubhouse. it looked like a marriage that would last into the future. Until business got in the way. Morris and the River Monsters couldn't agree on an extension. Twin Cities held a strict "no more then 2 years gauranteed" policy, while Morris was looking for 3. The River Monsters quickly traded for Hadji Ufanisi to fill the role of team captain.
As the page turned to the 2051 offseason, an opportunity arouse that was too good to pass up. Hadji was traded and the captain seat was once again empty. As Twin Cities scoured to fill the chair, way down on the list of free agents sat Wayne Morris. Lost in the shuffle of a super class of free agents, Morris had no choice but to swallow his pride and lower his demands. The River Monsters jumped at the chance to rekindle the relationship on a one year deal.
Only the River Monster were not done. They continued down a bender of off season spending that would later bring in Lúcio 'Lockjaw' Cuellar , a known captain in his own right. Later on the team stumbled upon Logan Niles, yet another captain, on a waiver claim. Now, there is nothing wrong with having 3 captains. It just takes the novelty off of it and makes you just another player on the roster.
With an offensive roster growing by the sim, the River Monsters hamstrung themselves by carrying 15-16 hitters and only 11-12 pitchers when usually they like to keep 13. They were able to get away with it due to some timely scheduled days off and a musical chairs style rotation. Well, until now. With 7 games in 7 days, there was no choice but expand the pitching staff. Coincidentally this coincided with the amatuer draft. One in which Twin Cities drafted number one and came away with a mega bat.
With absolutely zero realistic player options, Twin Cities had a roster crunch. Wayne Morris is a self aware. A 30 year old right handed hitting injury prone DH hitting .224 on the last year of his contract put him front and center on the chopping block. Rather then hiding in a locker whenever the GM walked in, Morris was pro active and figured out a way he could help.
Morris stepped up and volunteered to get domoted.
What Morris was eluding to is the September callup factor. Twin Cities has been bullish on giving away this new found depth because if they can hang around until September, they could be extremely dangerous with the expanded roster. Plus, you can never have too many coaches on the bench.Wayne Morris wrote:"I just want to help this team any way I can. I see a special group here and I want to be a part of it. Down in AAA we already have Ted Benson and Stan Moten. Both of those guys are struggling right now. I feel as a veteran leader, I can help them get to that next level. Same with Félix Ramos. I hear he is itching to sign and will most likely come here to Duluth for a few weeks. I want to take him under my wing. And besides, a Mouton, Ramos, Morris, and Benson 1-4 is pretty filthy at the AAA level. And I'm sure all four of us will be back up at some point.
