"Well, he's the first name we 'could' have Wilson said, but he won't be the first official Lumberjacks player" Wilson commented. "The league has re-instituted the Rule 6 draft which allows for BBA teams to draft players from the UMEBA and therefore own the rights to that player in free agency. The expansion draft will happen before free agency hits so we'll have names and faces in Portland before a decision is made here. But yes, we did make a selection in the Rule 6. And that player is Jayden Harsnett."
Harsnett was eligible for the Rule 6 draft by virtue of being a former BBA player. In fact, Harsnett has never played a single inning in the UMEBA and reports are he never even traveled to the Middle East. Harsnett was released by Phoenix on September 8 of this past season. Manama waited an month and signed the outfielder to a 1 year, 5 million dollar contract. Some around the league wondered whether or not that contract expired at seasons end and Manama had just agreed to pay Harsnett for his services this calendar year, meaning, they just gave him $5 million for nothing. Further investigating shows that was the case, sort of. Harsnett was arbitration eligible in the UMEBA so the deal would have given the Pearls the chance to keep the veteran outfielder of let him walk back into BBA Free Agency. The latter option made some wonder why Wilson would even bother making the pick.
"Has anyone checked our roster right now?" Wilson asked. "You see we have no players right now, right!? While Harsnett is a little long in the tooth and struggled some last year, he could be a decent, veteran player to help a new franchise. He's a popular player for one" Wilson continued. "He plays good defense and has a good eye. Again, we aren't expecting to bring in a bunch of 5-tool players in year 1. But if a guy can play top notch defense, and get on base, well, there are two solid traits that may be useful for a new team."
But why go through the hassle of wasting effort on a guy who may be available anyway, Wilson was asked. "Simple. We now control the right to keep him if we want or don't want him. If he goes for a big sum in free agency, we'll let him walk. If he signs for a reasonable amount, we'll entertain keeping him. We aren't really out anything here."
Harsnett will have his $5 million contract with Manama voided by the commissioner's office and enter free agency. The last time he was a free agent in the BBA, he signed a 4 year deal worth $36 million total. "He won't be a Lumberjack for that price" Wilson laughed. He wasn't far removed from a solid 4 and 3 WAR season. He's produced a full 1.0 WAR in the last 2 years combined. Yes, we'd love to snag the former Harsnett for a cheap price, but we aren't going to be crazy with this decision."
