Who needs Ken Norman when... we have Ken Norman at the house.
Heading into the offseason, not much was known about the direction of the Twin Cities River Monsters. The team was coming off a prolonged playoff stretch that finally came to an end in 2061. A small fire sale was had. Yet the Monsters decided to hold on to several players including a starting rotation that has been one of the best in the league in recent years. New owner Martin Delgado is a demanding penny pincher focused on extreme profit. Bob Nutting if you will. So with the top end of free agency off limits, the River Monsters are focused on finding hidden gems.
Parker Clontz is the biggest addition at $16 million over 4 years. Twin Cities view him as a bargain too good to pass up. Ricardo Norman wins the prize for biggest offseason bag at $64 million guaranteed money. Exactly 4 times the commitment as Clontz. Both are the same age and position. Clontz has a lower floor, yet a higher ceiling. Sure, he doesn't hit left handed. He doesn't try to fool you into thinking he is a third baseman. And he hasn't had the BBA success that Norman has. But Norman is lumping hard while Clontz is bumping. We feel really good about Clontz having a better career in Twin Cities than Norman in Madison.
Clontz role on the team is uncertain though. Raul Gallehos and Matt Malone are already figured into the right handed hitting 1B/DH equation for the next 6 years. All three have options though. So at the very least it allows Twin Cities to manipulate servi... I mean give Gallehos a little more seasoning in AAA. Not to mention, all 3 will be eligible for the Single A Pegler playoffs so we can continue our domination over the Toledo Liberty.
Twin Cities might be able to squeeze all 3 in the lineup for a few at bats on days we face a mostly left handed hitting lineup. Gallehos is not a complete tool at 3B. Or perhaps one of the three could be used in a future trade. This is what those in the business(who lack star players) call, "a good problem to have."
