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Its no secret that the Des Moines Kernels have been walking a financial razor’s edge these last few seasons. Cash infusions from owner Stephen Collins Jr. have kept the franchise running this season but given Collins Jr.’s penchant for making a profit, its no secret that he’s angry with the balance sheet.
Des Moines has raised ticket prices this season but is still near the bottom of the league in that category. The price increase also comes after another year of futility giving Des Moinians even less reason to show up at the ballpark. All this adds up to very little, if any, funds for future extensions.
The immediate problem then becomes, if you have a star player who’s up for free agency in the offseason, but you can’t extend him, do you trade him if your franchise is in the playoff hunt? Especially if you could use that increased fan interest to put more butts in the seats and move your balance sheet into the black for future seasons?
That is the dilemma GM Webb faces with Lucio De La Cruz who is rumoured to be asking for a 5 year extension in the $80 million range.
The 27-year old Argentine is currently on track to have a career season, already posting a 1.8 WAR on the back of a 177 WRC+ and a Brewster leading 19 home runs. He and Juan Mateo are willing the Kernels into playoff contention. So what happens if they trade him and what can they get for him? Fans will definitely think twice about filling seats if GM Webb trades De La Cruz and signals that the playoffs aren’t important, but with the season he’s having, there could be a team out there that will give up something good in return.
Good in return will likely need to be a BBA ready prospect or young player who will be able to have an impact in the next couple of seasons. The Kernels have a good crop of young talent that won’t stay young and cheap for too much longer. In fact, De La Cruz is a little long in the tooth for this squad, but if the Kernels were just a little bit better, would be the key talent to end their playoff drought.
For now, its likely that GM Webb will starting sniffing around the trade market to see what’s out there while simultaneously hoping that the Kernels either start tanking or start to climb the standings. Either way, its better to have this problem than to have De La Cruz posting average numbers where the return might be less.
Stay tuned, the drama is just beginning.
