Vicente Lamb, Stars Reporter
March 25, 2052
Redwood City – The Valencia Stars declared themselves finished with preseason free agency with the signing of star outfielder Jim Ashford on Saturday. Ashford, a longtime Las Vegas Hustler, opted out of his contract with his former club to pursue free agency this offseason. Stars general manager Alejandro Suárez mentioned, during the press conference introducing Ashford to the media and local fans this past weekend, that the Stars had been monitoring the situation with the left fielder very closely. "We knew that if Jim opted out that he would be one of our three big targets this offseason if a vacancy arose in the outfield. Negotiations were challenging," said Suárez, giving Ashford's agent, also in attendance, a sideways glance, which elicited laughter from the room, "but in the end we got a deal done."
For his part, Ashford expressed gratitude and enthusiasm for the opportunity to play for Valencia and the chance to compete for postseason glory. Championships have been hard to come by in Valencia, who haven't won their division since 2023 (and have never won the Johnson League Pacific) and last won a pennant in 2014. They have never in their 79-year history won a Landis/Brewster series. For his part, Canadian national Ashford won three assocation championships with Las Vegas from '47 to '49 in that club's extraordinary run.
More recently, Ashford won a Golden Bat in 2050, when he put up an impressive 155 wRC+, but struggled in an injury-shortened season last year, posting a wRC+ of just 105, the lowest of his career. Ashford had reportedly been seeking a six-year contract in free agency, but when he did not receive what his agent deemed to be an acceptable long-term deal proposal, Ashford settled on Valencia's one-year offer. Ashford's eleventh hour decision likely means that he will miss all of spring training this year.
