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mikev · 10-06-2008, 09:21 PM

2013/14 Offseason News And Notes

It's been a relatively busy offseason for the Crusaders, even though there haven't been a great deal of additions to the team.

Gone to free agency are outfielder Michel Frechette, 3B/DH Javier Gallegos, and reliever Jesus Diaz.

It was also the end of an era in Crusader land, as injured starter Ken McKain was selected to be released as part of the GUBA-wide financial bailout. While we would have loved to keep him around, it just didn't make sense to pay over $18 million for the next two seasons to a guy who was going to be a 4th starter at best.

The team did address its lack of power, as center fielder Tagashashi Takahashi was sent to the Sao Paulo Surf in exchange for Anibal "The Wall" Santos. What Santos lacks in batting average compared to Takahashi, he more than makes up for in power. He's also easily Takahashi's equal defensively, and could very well be a better base stealer.

California also selected 1B/DH Tomomi Kikuchi in the Rule 5 draft. Kikuchi has huge power potential and makes above average contact, and could be a valuable slugger off the bench. He absolutely obliterated AAA last year, with a .335/.393/.590 line, 34 homers, and a 61.1 VORP. How well that will translate to the GUBA remains to be seen, but the club thought that it would be worth a roster spot.

In an effort to bolster the weakened pitching staff, potentially long term, starter Cahya Nasution was signed as a free agent at a manageable $750K per season for two years. His 3/3/3 talents are a bit underdeveloped, but I think if he's brought along slowly he could potentially be a good signing and the price was right.

The second free agent signing was 32 year old slugger Cristian Ruvalcubu, a career Los Angeles Quake who was sent to the Bogota Toros at the trade deadline last season. The big righty has a career .844 OPS and still obliterates left handed pitching, and will make 13.5 million per season over his two year contract.

With that, its likely that the Crusaders are just about done in the free agent market, as getting Jakob Forest inked to an extension is the primary focus of the rest of the offseason.

10-06-2008, 09:21 PM	#127 (permalink)
mikev Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 4,006 Thanks: 0 Thanked 24x in 19 posts	California Dreamin' vol. 8.1 *2013/14 Offseason News And Notes* It's been a relatively busy offseason for the Crusaders, even though there haven't been a great deal of additions to the team. Gone to free agency are outfielder Michel Frechette, 3B/DH Javier Gallegos, and reliever Jesus Diaz. It was also the end of an era in Crusader land, as injured starter Ken McKain was selected to be released as part of the GUBA-wide financial bailout. While we would have loved to keep him around, it just didn't make sense to pay over $18 million for the next two seasons to a guy who was going to be a 4th starter at best. The team did address its lack of power, as center fielder Tagashashi Takahashi was sent to the Sao Paulo Surf in exchange for Anibal "The Wall" Santos. What Santos lacks in batting average compared to Takahashi, he more than makes up for in power. He's also easily Takahashi's equal defensively, and could very well be a better base stealer. California also selected 1B/DH Tomomi Kikuchi in the Rule 5 draft. Kikuchi has huge power potential and makes above average contact, and could be a valuable slugger off the bench. He absolutely obliterated AAA last year, with a .335/.393/.590 line, 34 homers, and a 61.1 VORP. How well that will translate to the GUBA remains to be seen, but the club thought that it would be worth a roster spot. In an effort to bolster the weakened pitching staff, potentially long term, starter Cahya Nasution was signed as a free agent at a manageable $750K per season for two years. His 3/3/3 talents are a bit underdeveloped, but I think if he's brought along slowly he could potentially be a good signing and the price was right. The second free agent signing was 32 year old slugger Cristian Ruvalcubu, a career Los Angeles Quake who was sent to the Bogota Toros at the trade deadline last season. The big righty has a career .844 OPS and still obliterates left handed pitching, and will make 13.5 million per season over his two year contract. With that, its likely that the Crusaders are just about done in the free agent market, as getting Jakob Forest inked to an extension is the primary focus of the rest of the offseason. __________________ 70% of the earth's surface is covered by water. The other 30% is taken care of by Patrick Willis. Global Unified Baseball Association - Vice Commish and San Francisco Seals GM