November 24, 2015: Aurora, Colorado – With Thanksgiving only two days away, perhaps it is time to give thanks to two players who have given Borealis fans eight-plus seasons of memories as they move forward in their lives. John Knight declared for free agency today, ending a seven-year love/hate relationship with the Borealis. Kijuro Kojima was set to file for free agency himself when he decided that it was time to hang it up. His arm failed to respond to physical therapy after Tommy John surgery brought on by an early season ligament tear.

Kojima, 30, entered 2015 as PEBA’s all-time wins leader. In a contract year, he was looking to extend that lead while helping Aurora defend their Sovereign League title. That all came crashing to the ground with a single pitch on April 11 at Canton. After 6 innings of one-run ball, his last pitch to Canton 2B Bob Dunn resulted in a fly out to end the 6^th inning, but he walked off the mound shaking his arm in his usual stoic manner. An MRI that evening showed the ulnar ligament tear and surgery was scheduled immediately – a surgery that doctors deemed a success.

Post-surgery, things went slowly, and by September 1^st, the strength gain in the arm was minimal. By Columbus Day, pain in the elbow caused the medical staff to shut him down for a month. Upon returning to PT on Veterans Day, a new pain began to surface in the elbow. With that, Kojima decided it was time to call it a career.

The quiet, stately Japanese national finished with a career 137-60 record and a 3.14 ERA. In 1,732 career IP, he struck out 1,401 and walked 441. Despite missing virtually all of 2015, his win total is good enough for 6^th all-time, and his strikeout total is 11^th-best. His last start was his 250^th career start. Had he not been injured, he would certainly sit 3^rd all-time in that category, just behind “Nails” and Conan. He sits 8^th (and likely would have finished 2015 at 7^th) in career VORP.

Kojima was a three-time All-Star and was selected to the All-Leather Team in 2012. Were it not for Markus Hancock, the Harley-riding right-hander may very well have a Golden Arm in his collection for a 2013 season in which he went 21-4, 2.64 ERA. Teams hit only .219 against Kojima in that record-setting season. Despite his quiet demeanor, it has often been thought that he’d go into coaching one day.

Knight Files
John Knight began his career as an 11^th round selection by New Jersey in the inaugural draft and had a solid initial campaign. After a slow start in 2008, Knight was part of a deal that brought SP Oscar Holloway to New Jersey from Canton. Before the 2009 season, Knight was traded from Canton to Aurora for MR Todd Sizer in what was, in retrospect, one of the most lopsided deals in PEBA history.

Knight settled right into the Aurora lineup and was a missing piece, aiding the Borealis’ lone championship run while hitting .308 with 38 2B and 35 SB. That was the beginning of a roller coaster career in Aurora. Fans grew to both love and yet be totally frustrated by the fleet, wonderfully gloved outfielder. His seasonal averages read like the Continental Divide: .308/.283/.312/.270/.333/.265/.289. Injuries played a part, as Knight found it difficult to stay off the DL for most of his time in Aurora.

Knight was a two-time All-Star. The 2013 season was the high-water mark for his career thus far. His .333, 44 2B, 21 HR, 49 SB season was rewarded with the Royal Raker Award. Two seasons later, John found himself at the low point of his career. A poor start and injuries saw him lose his starting position to rookie Ricardo Cruz. Despite hitting “only” .289 in 305 AB, Knight had 15 2B, 14 HR and 38 SB – all improvements over his 2014 Royal Raker hangover season.

Aurora allegedly made some token efforts at negotiating a contract with Knight. They offered him arbitration, which he declined, but it was pretty obvious that they never really were interested in matching the demands of his agent: a contract of $20M+.

Where might Knight land? Well, Aurora fans, hold your breath. Bakersfield seems a likely contender to land the services of your erstwhile Knight. Perhaps Charleston, who look to be making some sweeping changes to their lineup. Will Connecticut be willing to pony up another big deal after the deals for Pexego (since dealt to New Orleans) and “Rival” seemed to backfire? Fargo? The F-Heads? Ugh! We’re laying our money on Mr. Knight ending up in Omaha, but there are a number of teams with cash and need for an experienced, still young outfielder.

En-guo Awarded Big Arbitration Award
Aurora CF En-guo Guao received a huge pay raise. The Taiwanese outfielder was awarded a $13.5M contract for the 2016 season through arbitration. It is not known what Aurora offered En-guo, but rumors are that it was in the neighborhood of $11M. It’s no secret that Aurora attempted to sign the young CF to a long-term deal, but his agent held strong to a deal averaging over $13M for the length of the contract – a negotiation that has apparently left a sour taste in the mouths of Aurora brass. GM Will Topham is on record as unhappy paying the 25-year-old Guao considerably more than two-time Royal Raker Cory Pierce. Word of mouth trickling out of Northern Lights Park is that Topham is “fed up with the greedy kid and his agent” (Ha! Who’s calling who a kid?) and that he might just “trade him to Yuma and let him melt away drinking their water”. Awfully strong words from a young GM who often keeps those thoughts to himself, but sometimes youth gets in the way.

En-guo won the 2013 Wunderkind Award, hitting .321 with 19 HR and 60 SB. Like his counterpart in RF, En-guo has also had difficulties staying off the DL. Over the past two seasons, his average has dipped (.299 in 2014 and .288 in 2015), as has his slugging percentage. At 25, En-guo is going into his fourth full season with Aurora, and this may be a watershed season for Guao. A good start may see the team and their CF reach an agreement on an extension. Another sub-par start and another season in decline could indeed see a move made.

Rule 5 Roster Moves
The annual Rule 5 draft is on the horizon, and Aurora has made a variety of roster moves in an attempt to protect some of their younger prospects. With the retirement of Kojima and John Knight’s declaration of free agency, Aurora was able to protect a couple of players: SP Mike Lovell and 1B José López, both at AAAThornton. With the recent trade with San Antonio which included Chris Graves and Clarence Flores, roster spots opened that were filled with SP Nathan O’Reilly and OF Kane Talley, both at AAA as well. SP George Johnson was placed on the 40-man roster in place of C Ernie Card, who was claimed on waivers by Yuma.