Aside from the likely loss of Rich Dares as highlighted in our last team news, the Portland Lumberjacks front office is beginning to examine the likely upcoming losses on the roster to develop a plan of action on how to replace the vacancies. The front office has informed the press that the search to replace Dares may very well come from within and they'd have more news on that in the upcoming week as the off-season unfolds. But aside from the loss of Dares, here are some other key losses the roster expects this off-season....
C John Stanley - Stanley signed a 1 year deal last off-season to be the Lumberjacks backup catcher and served the role tremendously. So well in fact, the front office had hoped to bring Stanley back but Stanley and his agent will be looking to capitalize on the season to get a more lucrative starting gig elsewhere. In just 48 games played, Stanely hit .353 and posted a 1.4 WAR. His 1.019 OPS was insanely good. Assistant GM Sandy Mounds stated "we hate to lose Stanley. He put up all you could ask for and then some from someone spelling Uecker from time to time. Honestly, Stanley out hit Allan by a wide margin this season. But Ueck' is just too good a defensive catcher to even consider paying someone like Stanley what he wants. We wish John the best."
Reports this season indicated that Stanely was asking for a $7 million deal to extend and stay with Portland. While we doubt he'll get that on the open market, it is likely that John will get a pay raise from a team in desperate need of a catcher who will pay in hopes of getting somethign close to what he produced in 2061.
OF Matt Garrison - Injuries during the season forced the Portland front office to activate Garrison's Major League/Minor League contract clause and put him on the active roster. He actually played in 52 games and got 103 at-bats in some emergency duties. He put up a -0.1 WAR. He'll likely find his way back on someone's AAA roster this off-season after failing to sign with a team on a major league deal. He was paid $1.5 million a year ago.
RP Adrian Kraft - Kraft signed a 1 year deal last off-season to join Portland and was up and down. His 3.51 ERA and 1.35 WHIP over 56.1 relief innings isn't terrible. He only saw action in 25 games, mostly in mop-up situations. His -0.2 WAR suggests the Portland could have likely found that production from a lot of other guys as well. At 35 years of age, Kraft will hold out hope of finding a team that will keep him the show, but he'll likely find the same fate as Garrison which is signing a minor league deal with someone and pitching for their AAA team next season.
RP Ragnvard Lamm - Lamm was a RP conversion selection last year by Portland after being taken in the Rule 5 draft from Des Moines. Lamm showed promise of being a solid reliever, at least on paper, but the stats didn't back it up. Lamm logged 57.2 innings over 37 games, finishing the year with a 4.37 ERA and 1.49 WAR while posting a 6-5 overall record in the Lumberjacks pen. Despite a great fastball that topped out around 101 mph, Lamm still managed to post a -0.2 WAR. Granted it should also be noted that at the age of 35, 2061 was Lamm's rookie season in the BBA. Lamm had spent 4 years earlier in his career in the GBC with Jerusalem and Athens. He was with Athens in 2053 and had spent the next 8 seasons thumbing around various international minor league teams before spending the 2060 season with Des Moines' Triple-A team in El Paso.
"We had hoped to find another Frank Wilson" added Mounds. "A diamond in the rough. A needle in a haystack per se. But Lamm never quite got it together."
Lamm will be an interesting watch this off-season. His ability could land him another shot in the show for a team in search of a 12th or 13th pitcher on their staff. Perhaps someone like Portland.
