Forecast for Goldeyes looks gloomy

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This article was published 17/05/2021 (1641 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT’S been more than 20 years since Rick Forney pitched professionally, but the longtime Winnipeg Goldeyes manager might just have to get his arm ready for action again.

It’s Opening Day of the American Association season on Tuesday and the Fish, who kick the year off with a three-game road series against the Sioux Falls Canaries, already find themselves shorthanded.

Last week, the Goldeyes said goodbye to two impressive arms, as Josh Lucas signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks and fellow right-hander Ryan Dull inked a deal with the Seattle Mariners. Lucas, a 30-year-old from Florida, has appeared in 22 MLB games over three seasons (2017-2019) and was expected to be a main cog on the staff. Dull, a 31-year-old from North Carolina, has 171 MLB games over the course of five seasons on his résumé.

That only scratches the surface. The Goldeyes were hit with a huge blow recently when starting pitcher Mitchell Lambson informed the club that he was moving on from pro ball to accept a full-time job back home. The Arizona resident originally joined the Fish in 2017 as a reliever but went on to become one of the most dominant starters in team history. The southpaw was named the AA’s pitcher of the year in 2019 after going 13-3 with a 3.03 ERA in 21 starts.

To top it off, shortstop Wes Darvill, one of the team’s most reliable fielders and hitters, has been placed on the inactive list as he’ll be suiting up for Team Canada until June 5 at the upcoming Americas Baseball Qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at the New York Mets’ spring training complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

“I’ve been left in a situation where I’ve lost my No. 1 starter, my No. 2 starter, my closer, and my shortstop in a 10-day period during a time when there are no players to sign… It’s great for them and I’m super happy these guys are getting back to affiliated baseball, but it’s left us in a situation where we’re scrambling,” Forney said in a phone interview on Sunday.

“You can’t replace a Mitch Lambson, you can’t replace a Josh Lucas at the top of your order. You can’t find a guy at the side of the road, or two guys at the side of the road, that can throw 250 innings for you. Somehow, we’re going to have to make up those 250 innings.”

Off the field, things haven’t exactly been easy for the Goldeyes, either. They held their training camp in Franklin, Wisc., and have now settled at The Ballpark, a 6,000-seat stadium in Jackson, Tenn., which is where they will reside until the Canada-U.S. border restrictions loosen up. The Fish ended their preseason on Saturday with a 9-3 win over the Houston Apollos in Jackson.

Even if there were players out there to sign, the Goldeyes are a tough sell these days due to all the uncertainty.

“I got my ass kicked this year trying to get players more than ever. It’s been difficult,” said Forney, who’s entering his 15th season as the team’s manager.

“I can’t answer questions. Players that are willing to play indy ball and willing to hear you out, you got to talk about your situation, the city you play in, you got to know what you’re selling. For years, I was selling myself, the Goldeyes organization and most importantly, I was selling the city of Winnipeg. But what was I gonna sell (this year)? Were we going to be a travel team? Were we potentially not going to play at all? It was very difficult.”

Instead of managing, Forney will have to do more coaching this year as he’ll likely have to bring in rookies out of college and try to develop them. Now the question is whether that talent, or lack thereof, will get the green light to make the trip north to play at Shaw Park at some point. The AA is returning to a traditional 100-game regular season this summer than runs till Sept. 6.

“Obviously, I’m hoping for the opportunity to get back to Winnipeg to see so many familiar faces that I’ve come to know over the last 20 plus years that I’ve been there. I know how much a lot of people are missing Goldeyes baseball, but I just don’t know if it’s a reality this year or if it’ll be in the cards,” he said.

“That would be heartbreaking to me because I know how important Goldeyes baseball is in the summer to a lot of people up there and it’s important to me.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31