NALB - 2019 Offseason/Preseason

K. Fields
2020-07-27T17:05:16-04:00
Baseball

Prior to the 2019 NALB season there were some notable roster moves.

The Brooklyn Knights were notably quiet during the offseason. Here were their roster moves:

The Knights extended the contracts of 11 players through salary arbitration: Marcos Delgafillo, Roberto Hernández, Júlio Guillén, Darius Luxton, Aaron Patterson, Ken Hannah, Andrew Strain, Alberto Pescador, Xerxes Scaife, Juan Fuentes, and Cristófor De Jesús.

Arbitration was offered to Dan Conley and Lariel Gómez. Both players declined and opted to file for free agency. Romeo Usquiano also entered the free agent market.

Several players were lost in the Rule 5 Draft: SP Yuniesky Porraz to the Luisville Beasts, 2B Marcos Perlanga to the Washington Allies, SP Dave Williams to the Nashville Firecats, and 3B Ning Wa to the St. Rock Mudcats.

Brooklyn traded 34-year-old reliever Rikiya Kiyomizu to the Quebeck Sky Chiefs, getting 25-year-old reliever Iemitsu Kanemitsu, 23-year-old minor league first baseman Mark Bulger and 24-year-old minor league starting pitcher Jesús Medián in return. The Knights agreed to retain $1.9 million of Kiyomizu's $2 million salary. Kanemitsu gives the Knights organization a younger left-handed reliever. He will start the season with the AAA Santa Ana Drifters.

Notable offseason free agent signings:

The Dunedin Otters landed veteran third baseman Pete Chavez. After hitting .345 last season, the Otters felt comfortable offering Chavez $9.1 million for one year.

It didn't take long for the first mega-deal of the offseason. On November 26, 2018, second-baseman Rico Gómez signed an eight year contract with the Phoenix Rattlers for $82.8 million. The 27 year old had previously spent his entire career with the Luisville Beasts.

Catcher Dan Conley left the Brooklyn Knights for free agency. He found a new home in Luisville. The Beasts and Conley agreed to a $33 million deal over five years.

Jonathan Grandberry has had a successful career with the Cornfield Axemen. He is now headed to Phoenix thanks to a six year $56.5 million offer from the Rattlers.

Lariel Gómez will be wearing green and gold in 2019. The former Brooklyn Knight is now a member of the Dunedin Otters. His four year contract is worth $24.4 million.

The Key West Corals added quality arms to its bullpen. They signed Joe Farrell for $7.36 million over two years. Sergio Aispro also signed with the club for a meager $550,000 one year contract. Aispro has struggled with staying healthy and was pleased to find a new home in 2019.

Notable offseason trades:

The St. Rock Mudcats traded 32 year old center fielder Oscar Barrientes to the Luisville Beasts for 22 year old first baseman Steve Sherlock, 23 year old minor league first baseman Pat Byrd, and 21 year old minor league first baseman Dud Hildebrandt. St. Rock is currently in rebuilding mode and wanted to offload $10.22 million of Barrientes' salary. A fixture in the Mudcats' lineup for the past 13 seasons, he has been one of the league's best center fielders with a .326 career batting average. Unfortunately, Barrientes suffered a torn ribcage muscle last season and missed a significant number of games. He hopes to stay healthy and be productive once again in Luisville.

The Richmond Slam traded 29 year old first baseman Codie Laton to the St. James Crusaders for 36 year old starting pitcher Logan MacImmey and 24 year old minor league left fielder Miguel Gago.

The Stade Maples traded 25 year old center fielder Ken MacEachern to the Key West Corals for 26 year old closer Berto Sarzoza.

The St. James Crusaders traded 30 year old starting pitcher Anastasio Urbáez to the Luisville Beasts for 29 year old center fielder Ramón Cantú, 22 year old minor league shortstop Ric Crane, and a 3rd round draft pick.