Scottish Scoops 31.001: The Overhaul

[Vic]

By Hamish Campbell
Claymores Beat Writer
The Edinburgh News

Longtime Claymores fans aren’t going to know many of the faces that report to the team’s Spring Training facility in Sarasota, Florida, this week.

Gone are such Scottish staples as 2B José Escobido, SS Naomi Honma, RF Vincent Powell, and SP Francisco Robles.

Instead, fans will need to acquaint themselves with the likes of rookie 2b Bernardo Alvarado, SS Matt Longchamps, and 3B Christian O'Rorke.

The ingress and egress of talent is part of a decision reached in the middle of last season that the Claymores’ aging roster of high-priced, declining talent would not be able to sustain anything like the playoff teams of the last few years.

So, management went about dismantling the team and bringing in boatloads of low-cost, mid-range talent.

“Guys like Alvarado and Longchamps aren’t going to immediately be like Escobido or Honma – but they’re young, they’re cheap, and they’re decent,” said PEBA Weekly analyst Malcolm Wilkes. “In talking with management, they’re not under the illusion that the guys they traded for are going to carry them to championships anytime soon. But they should be good enough to at least keep the Claymores watchable.”

That’s part of the thinking behind the team’s free-agent signings, too, Wilkes said.

“Take Jim Fox, for instance,” Wilkes said. “He’s a perfectly solid left fielder with a little pop in his bat, and he’s signed to a 4-year contract that pays $6 million per season for the first two years and then scales down after that. Fox can also opt out after that second year, which the Claymores may be counting on. Decent player for not a whole lot of cash.

“For the most part, I think you’ll see them stay away from big contracts and high-flying free agents. If they do go for a big-name free agent, it might be for a one-year deal to give the fans something to watch and be excited about in the short term.”

One thing the Scottish won’t do for the foreseeable future is trade draft picks.

General Manager Vic Caleca, speaking by phone from his Indianapolis-area office suite, said the team recognizes the importance of rebuilding a farm system that had decayed to virtually nothing.

“We brought in a little talent with our trades, but a lot of those guys are going to be heading to the major league team this season,” he said. “I’ve made it clear to our owner, Brad Kern, that Job One for the next several seasons will be stocking up the talent pool so we can build a sustainable organization.”

Whether Scottish fans – who’d grown fond of being in contention for the post-season – will be patient enough to wait out a long-term rebuild is a question that can only be answered over time.

“We think our fans will stick with us through this period – and, make no mistake, we’ll strive to put an entertaining, competitive team on the field even as we rebuild,” Caleca said. “That’s why we signed Fox and (starting pitcher) Stuart Mills – and why we’ve put in an offer for a short-term deal on another big name. We know we need to give fans a reason to come to the ballpark without mortgaging our future. We’ll try our best, and hope our fans will stick with us.”