With the Landis Series concluded, which saw the Jacksonville Hurricanes defeat the Frick Frontier rival Calgary Pioneers, the off-season has now begun. The Boise front office expects to be extremely busy with variety of operational moves:Player Options
The Spuds had four options that kicked in during the off-season, two team options, one vesting option and one player option. Shortstop Norm Smith, who started 118 games for Boise in 2039, slashed .216/.300/.296 (.596 OPS) but played Diamond Glove-worthy defense to earn -0.1 WAR despite the poor offense. The Spuds quickly picked up Smith's option for $1.5M, with the plans for Smith to compete with veteran Joaquín Torres and prospect Motonobu Yamashita for the Spuds starting shortstop. The runner-up will be expected to fulfill defensive specialist and pinch-runner role in Boise, with the odd-man-out likely to be the starting shortstop in AAA Salt Lake City. Pitcher Javier Venegas was signed during the 2039 off-season to a low-risk two-year deal with the team option as the righty recovered from 2038 Tommy John surgery. While Venegas returned quicker than anticipated, the team saw his skills decline and not enough of a difference maker. The lone vesting option was for veteran slugger Alfredo Salazar. Salazar missed the 500 plate appearances qualifier by 23 PA. Salazar would have made $11.5M in his age-39 season but will now spend the off-season contemplating free agency or retirement. "Savage" slashed .247/.394/.512 (.906 OPS) and earned 2.9 WAR, which will net Boise a Type B compensation pick if signed by a club before the start of the 2040 season. The player option still in question is that of reliever Timofei Bakitski, who can test free agency waters or opt-in for $9M. At this time, "Vodak" is weighing his options.
Arbitration
The Spuds has eighteen players who are arbitration eligible, including the likes of Dennis French, Yunosuke Terada, Carlos Muñóz, Bill Pidduck, and Eliseu Satino. Sources believe that Boise has already decided to decline arbitration with Satino and Douglas van Osch, making the two players free agents.
Rule 6 Draft
Treasure Valley Sports can confirm that Boise had scouts in attendance of games for OF David Hall (Jerusalem), C William Parker (Cairo) and SP Tadamichi Yoshida (Bucharest) during the second-half of the UMEBA season, but it appears the Spuds will not look to bid on any players.
Expansion Draft
General Manager Joe Lederer is likely in the final stages of finalizing the team's list of protected players for the upcoming expansion draft. It's believed one of the two expansion clubs has been in talks with Boise about potential "claim and trade" deals, which would allow Boise to unload specific players with a prospect attached for compensation, likely to unload contracts to free up the team's player budget.
Personnel Hirings
The Spuds have a few openings in the minor leagues for managers and coaches and will be looking to fill those positions, as well as potentially promote current managers up levels within the organization.
Stadium Changes
As mentioned several weeks ago, team owner Francis Nephi Grigg IV has agreed to spend this off-season to increase seating and adjust the outfield dimensions of the stadium, the latter of which the front office has made a priority. "We're looking to have a more standardized field and adjust the extreme dimensions our park had when it opened," Lederer told reporters in October. When F. Nephi Grigg Memorial Stadium opened in 2035, it had one of the deepest centerfields and shortest foul lines, leading to a quirky scoring environment. The stadium went under minor dimension changes two years ago but still remains in need of changes to appease the Boise front office.
Minor League Changes
Boise has been working with a local marketing and design firm to update a few of the franchise's minor league teams. It's expected that these changes will be announced this week, as Lederer recently scheduled a press conference with national media invited.
Additionally, free agency will be coming up soon, along with the Rule 5 Draft during the Winter Meetings next month.
NEWS AND NOTES: 2039 8th-round draft pick Júlio García was named the Florida Prospect League's Reliever of the Year Award. García made one start plus ten relief appearances, going 1-0 with one save, 0.92 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and a stellar 30 strikeouts to just 3 walks in 19⅔ innings...Muñoz spent last week in the Dominican Republic at the unveiling of the Carlos Muñoz Academy, a high school specializing in math and science...Boise teammates and fellow countrymen Ricardo Ortíz and Ramón Vela were on-hand to support Muñoz and participate in a fundraiser softball game