On today's off-day, the Boise Spuds introduced high-profile free agent signees Egbert Behner and Alfredo Salazar at a press conference at the team's spring training complex. Lenny Duval of BBA Weekly, Will Bigby of Treasure Valley Sports and Sara Rodriguez-Green of BNN.com were among the reporters on hand to cover the presser, which also featured Spuds owner F. Nephi Grigg IV and the agents of both players.Behner and Salazar are expected to make their spring training debuts tomorrow for the Spuds against the Omaha Hawks.
Newest Spud Alfredo "Savage" Salazar shows off his new
duds to reporters at Boise spring training headquarters.
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Back in Boise, it was all-hands on-deck at the Spuds ticket offices as calls began to flood in for season tickets and group packages within minutes of yesterday's breaking news of Behner and Salazar's signings. "We haven't heard people this excited since our inaugural season five years ago," a Boise account executive told Baseball News Network. Team officials believe the free agent additions will help add to the win column, as well as additional revenue through ticket sales and merchandise.
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During Monday's practice, Boise players were abuzz about the additions of Behner and Salazar to the roster. The following is a collection of quotes from the day:
- Team captain Pedro Nava, on adding additional veteran leadership: "The kids are going to learn a lot from Eggy and Fredo. Hell, I can learn a lot from those two. Everyone is excited to get them on the field."
- Tomás Chávez, on fellow Salvadoran Salazar: "Señor Salazar is a legend back home. I even had a Savage Salvador-model glove as little kid. Now maybe he can help me with my batting this spring?"
- Pedro Holguín, on losing playing time to Salazar: "He's earned it, he's a Hall of Famer. Am I disappointed? Sure, but I get it. It's baseball. The new guys make the team competitive, plus it will push me to become a better player as well.
- Ramón Vela, on Behner's sideburns: "Mine are more stylish. Just ask the ladies."
- Bench coach Damon Rutherford Jr., on the two signings: "I've been in baseball for over forty years and this is the most dynamic roster I've ever seen. Frenchy, Godzilla and now these two? We've got something special going on in Boise. I cannot wait for the season to start."
Some are wondering if Egbert Behner's trademark sideburns
and right-arm are worth the $50M it took to sign him.
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Additional Boise team news and updates from training camp:
- When pitchers and catchers reported, reliever Tomás Chávez was told he would continue to be used as an emergency batter this season. During his career, Chavez has hit only .152 in 46 at-bats but manager Barrett Callahan believes the athletic Chavez can improve as a hitter and has asked him to spend time with hitting instructors before and after his normal pitching training this spring. Chavez's hard work has seemed to pay off, as he's 2-for-8 with a home run in pinch hitting duty in addition to pitching three scoreless innings this spring.
- Members of the Boise medical staff have had a quiet spring, with only minor injuries. Head team trainer Bernie Bruno is revered across the league and keeping the Spuds healthy this season will go a long way to the team's success.
- Recently acquired Rule 5 pick Mike Schofield was returned back to Jacksonville last week. As compensation, Jacksonville sent Boise two prospects, catcher Lorenzo Rosales and left-handed pitcher Flynn Bernard. Schofield was added to compete for the back-up catcher spot in Boise but with the exchange, 2038 back-up José Rivera is expected to have the same role this season. General Manager Joe Lederer told BNN that Rosales will add catching depth in the minors with the loss of Schofield and feels Bernard could be a special player but is at least two years from contributing in Boise.
- As expected, Dennis French and Yunosuke Terada are terrorizing pitchers this spring. French is hitting a blistering .404 with three home runs while Terada has two home runs and nine RBI to go with a .345/.500/.655 line. A pleasant surprise has been the production from catcher Claudio Pérez, batting .321 with three home runs and a team-leading seven runs scored.
- In the shadow of the Benher and Salazar signings was the minor league deal agreed to by third baseman Dan Norman. Once a touted prospect (#26 overall in 2033), Norman has failed to live up to expectations. Onto his third organization in three years, the 28-year-old will provide organizational depth and is expecte to start 2039 in Triple-A Salt Lake City.
- Halfway thru spring training, Boise made a number of transactions to cut down the roster: Laurent Durand, Douglas van Osch, Matt Mills, Saikaku Aoki, and Zack Miller were all assigned to Triple-A Salt Lake City while Gui-fan Ai was given his outright release, making the right fielder a free agent.
