The Edinburgh News
2028-11-07
Edinburgh – Don Mercer will not return to the Scottish Claymores next season.
When the power-hitting outfielder opted out of the final four seasons of his $34 million-per-year contract, Scottish management at first agreed to the terms he was asking (rumored to be in excess of $42 million per year for six years). But, over the weekend, general manager Vic Caleca changed his mind.
In a news conference Tuesday morning, Caleca announced – via Skype from his Central Indiana headquarters – that the team has withdrawn the offer. Mercer now will enter the free agent market.
“After extensive discussions with (team owner) Brad Kern, we made the difficult decision to part ways with Mr. Mercer,” Caleca said. “While it is true that Don is a singular talent, we cannot in good conscience tie so much of the team’s capital up in one player.
“As we have seen firsthand, injuries and other things do happen in this league. Were we to spend the kind of money Don was asking for on just one player and anything were to happen to that player … well, you can imagine the effect that would have on the team. We cannot mortgage the bright future of the Scottish Claymores to one greedy player.”
Mercer, as you might expect, did not take kindly to that characterization.
“Hey, the only reason this two-bit organization got into the damn playoffs is because I got ‘em there,” he said by telephone from his home near Miami, Florida. “You wonder why I wanted to walk? Now you know.”
Don Mercer leaving
Mercer came to the Claymores in a late July trade with the Duluth Warriors, who received relief pitchers Eitoku Tamura and Jesús Guerra and second-baseman Yeong-hun Kim in return.
Although Mercer seemed to sulk for the first few weeks after the trade and got off to a slow start with the Scottish, he warmed to the Claymore clubhouse and excitement of the pennant race and caught fire in September. During that month, he slashed .339/.374/.670 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs, and was named the Imperial League Batter of the Month.
“Jasper,” as his teammates call him, had a strong postseason, too, slashing .455/.480/.909 in the divisional series against Havana. He was named MVP of that series.
Now, the question is whether the Claymores can adequately replace that kind of production and find their way back to the playoffs next year.
“Some people were calling Caleca a ‘genius’ for pulling off that trade with Duluth,” noted Malcolm Wilkes, a respected analyst who writes the Imperial League column for PEBA Weekly. “Well, Mr. Genius ended up just renting Mercer for a couple of months - at the cost of three decent players - and now has to figure out to replace him. Sorry Claymores fans, Stephen Hawking he ain’t.”
Scottish players seemed surprised by the team’s decision to sever ties with Mercer.
“He’ll be missed, that’s for sure,” said second baseman José Escobido. “I don’t know that he ever felt comfortable in Scotland, though. And I know for a fact he thought Caleca was pretty squirrely.
“But one thing you learn after playing in the league as long as I have is that no one is irreplaceable. Management will figure something out. We were a good team before Jasper, and we’ll be a good team after him, too.”
Not all the effects of Mercer’s departure are negative, certainly.
Sources close to the Claymores front office said the team has now offered a contract extension to injured pitching legend Francisco Robles, who went down in June to a shoulder injury. Robles, who has 223 career major league victories and 2,531 strikeouts, was 6-2 with a 2.78 ERA at the time of his injury.
“The team did not offer what ‘Yogi’ was asking, multiple years in the mid-teens for salary, but I hear it was a generous one-year offer,” the source said.
Robles offer tendered
Whether Robles ultimately will agree to a short-term deal is yet-to-be determined, but he apparently is mulling the offer seriously.
“We want our fans to know this: we intend to create an organization here that can contend every year, as Havana, Aurora, Shin Seiki and the league’s other elite organizations do,” Caleca said.
“We are not afraid to spend money, but we will spend it wisely. Mr. Mercer apparently doesn’t understand that concept, so we look forward to him demolishing the finances of some other organization.”
News Briefs
OTHER SIGNINGS … The Scottish have opted to exercise the team options on second baseman José Escobido, outfielder José Guillén, and infielder Orlando Barrón ... ANOTHER DEPARTURE … Pitcher Kazuhiko Nishiyama, who slumped badly in 2028, has voided the last year of his contract and will test free agency. The team, apparently, had no interest in pursuing discussions with Nishiyama, anyway, although he reportedly was a favorite of owner Brad Kern ... UNREST IN THE MINORS … The Scottish apparently are locked in a dispute with their short season A-level minor league affiliate, the Fukumitsu Timbers. At issue is the team name and especially logo, which emphasize the first three letters of the region’s name (FUK), to the delight of late night comedians and league commentators. The Claymores are insisting on a change in name and logo, including a possible return to "Fushigi Yugi Celestial Warriors" in a nod to the team's original nickname in the League of the Rising Sun. Fukumitsu officials have resisted angrily, saying the team and community are invested in the current identity and have sunk quite a bit of equity into the current logo and team nickname. Negotiations are said to be at an impasse.
