Haney's looming opt out could make this season now or never.
Here we are on the eve of the 2057 playoffs and there's a lot of excitement here in Twin Cities. A lot of the excitement this year has been increased due to the acquisition of Aaron Haney last offseason. Haney, a bona fide BBA Hall of Famer, was brought to the team as a hired gun with the sole intention of making them a championship contender.
Bringing him to Minnesota last season was not an easy task. It required a very gimmicky contract. The fact is, the River Monsters only wanted to give Haney one year. So the player opt-out after 2057 was by design.
The team figured if he had a great season in 2057, which he did, he'd earn $12 million and opt out, making it a one-year deal, which in retrospect would be a very good bargain.
Meanwhile, if he had a bad season or started to decline, they could release him just after the 2057 season and spread out the remaining $30 million over four years of the contract, which is still a big hit, but not so much for a big market team that's been rolling in cash the past several seasons.
On the surface, it looks like this deal has gone exactly as planned. Haney produced well, he's probably going to opt out, and the River Monsters are in the playoffs, where they have a very good chance at winning it all. But what happens if Haney doesn't opt out? He still had a great season, but is he going to be worth $20 million to the team next year?
You have to remember, this is a veteran team that struck gold on a lot of buy low players a few years ago. They also don't have a minor league system, so the good young players that they have are already in the BBA and already starting to get expenses. In other words, the team has run into cap issues.
So if Haney opts in, the river monsters are at the cap and are not going to be able to resign or replace Blaine Tyler, Antonio Hernandez, Gilberto Falconelli, Felipe Delgado, Eric Buckson, or Luis Rubio.
None of those players are exactly core players, but this Twin Cities team has been known for their depth, and these players are a big reason for their success.
So at the end of the day, Twin Cities is going to have a lot of questions to answer this offseason, whether Haney stays or whether he goes.
