At first glance it may appear that the Mustangs did not learn their lesson of paying huge money for big bats in their thirties after the disaster of signing Eric McSwan and Juan Ramirez for a combined $50 million a year. After all here they are again shelling out $25 a year for 31 year old Lorenzo Rodriguez. Yes, there are concerns. 2019 was Z-Rod's worse season. His batting average dipped below .300 for the first time and he posted a career low 1.4 WAR. Actually his numbers across the board were down. OBP, SLG, HR, RBI. All of it.
What it really came down to was available money. The Mustangs have virtually no payroll and with their young studs still a few years away from arbitration there is not much on the horizon. Even after maxing out scouting and player development budgets the projected final balance for 2020 was close to $50 million. So what is left to spend money on? The draft position is not high enough to make a big rookie offer a likely necessity. After seeing a couple of international FA classes a stud coming from that pool seems unlikely as well. In normal free agency Rodriguez was literally the only player available that looked good enough to unseat any projected Mustang starter. Even after adding $25 million to the payroll for Rodriguez the Mustangs are still sitting at only the 20th payroll in the ABL.
Two mistakes happened with the signing. First the Mustangs found out they need to send their accountants back to elementary school to retake some basic math classes. The two years of team options was obviously illegal. Thanks to Gary and Jason for catching my screw up and quickly correcting the contract. Z-Rod wanted an eight year contract. He negotiated me up to the $25 million number to accept a shorter one. While a two year commitment would obviously have been preferred the hopes are certainly that he will continue to produce into his third year.
The other unfortunate occurrence was the loss of the compensation pick. The Mustangs farm system is basically barren right now and the loss of a number 9 over all pick was determined to be not worth the signing. Research seemed to show that the first 10 picks were protected. In hind sight it is obvious that number comes from MLB where there are 30 teams. It turns out that it is the top 1/3 that is protected, or 8 in our 24 team league. Mustangs pick was literally ONE away from the being protected. It is just one of the little things that seem to happen to Mile High. It fits nicely with the #8 overall pick the Mustangs lost in the McSwan signing year, that one because of where on the calendar we used to hold the draft, and the Mustangs owner dying in the inaugural ABL season leaving the Mustangs to this day as one of a couple of teams with a less than perfect patience and fiscal personality in their owner.
OK. Enough with the complaining. Bottom line is I think the Mustangs made a financial move that they can definitely afford and brought in a bonafide big bat to bolster their lineup. I am setting the over under for Z-Rod home runs in Debris Field (KC) this season at 10. Lets get this season started!
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