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GM_CheatSheets · 01-19-2017, 02:10 AM

Entering the start of the free agent signing period, I had about $30 million available to sign free agents. My first impression of the free agent class was a bit underwhelming. I identified my team needs in order of priority as CF, SS, SP, and CL.

There were two highly ranked short stops available: Francisco Lindor ($47.5 million/8 yrs/comp) and Nick Gordon ($19.22 million/9 years/comp). Though Lindor would ultimately sign for less than his demand, this was way too pricy for me. I thought long and hard about Nick Gordon as I could offer him an opt out after year two or three (essentially delaying the comp pick for a few years as my first pick will be protected). However, I wasn't able to convince myself that this was the best option before he signed elsewhere.

After Gordon, though, the options were scarce. There were three players with some minor league success but no major league track record asking for around $7 million per year for around 5 years. I made an offer to one of these players before ultimately pulling it back, with the logic that this was way too much (and more so too long) to commit to an unproven player.

Next, looking at CF, there were simply no options on the market with plus defense -- the one attribute I was looking for -- that would have been a reasonable buy.

On the other hand, there were several options on the starting pitcher market, but few without compensation attached or that looked like a good value buy. I ended up only signing one starter, who I hope will prove to be a great bargain. Kyle T. Smith is listed as a reliever but has four pitches, plus control, and above average stuff, movement, and stamina. In many ways he is similar to the signing of Tanaka last year. I just need to prioritize giving him a chance to start in spring training and even if he doesn't cut it as a starter, to give him a chance in the bullpen. He signed a one year contract for $0.9 million. He came in at #130 overall on my customized rankings

Without a clear closer option, I decided to wait until later in the offseason again to reevaluate.

I only made two other early offers: $0.75 million/1 year to minor league C Mario Feliciano, a strong defender with very high leadership, and $0.9 million to minor league 2B/SS Derian Cruz, plus defender with average hitting ability and poor power. Both signed. I expect to use Feliciano in AAA and Cruz as a AAA starter or MLB backup at SS and 2B. With this move I feel like I have good depth at both C and 2B, but still lack a clear, no doubt about it SS.

These signings also allowed me to make two trades from these positions of depth.

First, I traded MiLB 2B Nick Shumpert and MiLB CF Jim Sineath to the White Sox for RP Eric Lauer, MiLB RF Josh Lindberg, and MiLB C Alexander Alvarez. Lauer, a lefty is the main piece of the return for me. He is above average across the board in the main pitching categories and with three of his four pitches. This suggests that he has the ability to make a few spot starts if necessary. Lindberg is a plus defender in right field with plus intangibles and average hitting. At 23 years old, he is a borderline prospect. At 28, Alvarez is valuable minor league filler as a solid defensive catcher.

The second trade was the bigger one. It was actually the first time in my time playing OOTP that I have pursued this particular strategy in a trade. As I was unhappy with the value of available free agents, particularly at my positions of need, I decided to pull back two contract offers I made and to instead take on payroll in a trade in order to add another prospect to my farm system. While signing SS Gordon to a contract with an early opt-out and temporarily surrendering one of my comp picks would have made my team more competitive in the immediate term, I do like the alternative I pursued where I will keep the comp round pick and add a prospect via trade.

The contract I decided to take on was C Francisco Mejia's one year remaining at roughly $13.2 million. I sent back backup catcher Vazquez, MiLB RP Mendonca, and MiLB RP/SP Wiseman to Cleveland. Contract wise, this resulted in an $11 million hit to my budget. And the prospect I acquired, SP Jose Garcia, was a comp round pick in the most recent first year player draft and ranked #32 overall on my draft board on draft day.

Garcia is a 19 year old right handed starting pitcher. In the three pitching categories his potential stuff and movement are plus and potential control is above average. His control is currently the least developed of these three, which increases his risk. He has a three pitch mix (fastball 97-99 mph, sinker, and splitter) all of which are currently average offerings and project to get better. OOTP projects him to add an average changeup to his repertoire, but my scout does not see that happening. His high intelligence and very high work ethic make up his excellent intangibles rating. I'm especially excited to add a young and already sufficiently developed, high potential pitching prospect to my system as this is the exact type of prospect I missed out on adding in the draft last year.

After this, I shifted back to the FA market with my eye on adding a closer. All of the top available closers are in their mid to late 30's, making them poor options for my qualifying offer strategy. I did find a 31 year old a little farther down the board. I offered CL Silvino Bracho a two year contract for $6 million a year, the second year being a player option. Despite not being one of the elite closers available, he has all the traits I look for in this kind of a signing: above average pitching ratings and repertoire, some previous closing experience (66 MLB saves), and ERA and/or FIP marks below 4 in recent years. He also has an "iron man" injury history, making him less of a risk.

I gave one more look at what I would need to give up for a top defensive center fielder and only one who is strapped with a burdensome contract can even be had for one of my top players.

To cap off the offseason, I used the last of the available funds to increase my development budget to $32 million. I also feel good about entering the season with $5 million available as this could be handy if I draft several high-cost picks or decided to exceed the international amateur free agent cap.

Overall, this team isn't likely a contender yet, but I think has a good chance to finish around .500. Also, I forgot to mention that both Drury and Rivero did sign elsewhere so in addition to the players I've added to my farm system, I'll have two picks in the comp round. This essentially gives me three first round picks in the upcoming first year player draft.

My farm system overview is overdue and will be coming soon, but first, I'll advance through spring training...

01-19-2017, 02:10 AM	#28
GM_CheatSheets Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 171	Offseason Part 2 Entering the start of the free agent signing period, I had about $30 million available to sign free agents. My first impression of the free agent class was a bit underwhelming. I identified my team needs in order of priority as CF, SS, SP, and CL. There were two highly ranked short stops available: Francisco Lindor ($47.5 million/8 yrs/comp) and Nick Gordon ($19.22 million/9 years/comp). Though Lindor would ultimately sign for less than his demand, this was way too pricy for me. I thought long and hard about Nick Gordon as I could offer him an opt out after year two or three (essentially delaying the comp pick for a few years as my first pick will be protected). However, I wasn't able to convince myself that this was the best option before he signed elsewhere. After Gordon, though, the options were scarce. There were three players with some minor league success but no major league track record asking for around $7 million per year for around 5 years. I made an offer to one of these players before ultimately pulling it back, with the logic that this was way too much (and more so too long) to commit to an unproven player. Next, looking at CF, there were simply no options on the market with plus defense -- the one attribute I was looking for -- that would have been a reasonable buy. On the other hand, there were several options on the starting pitcher market, but few without compensation attached or that looked like a good value buy. I ended up only signing one starter, who I hope will prove to be a great bargain. Kyle T. Smith is listed as a reliever but has four pitches, plus control, and above average stuff, movement, and stamina. In many ways he is similar to the signing of Tanaka last year. I just need to prioritize giving him a chance to start in spring training and even if he doesn't cut it as a starter, to give him a chance in the bullpen. He signed a one year contract for $0.9 million. He came in at #130 overall on my customized rankings Without a clear closer option, I decided to wait until later in the offseason again to reevaluate. I only made two other early offers: $0.75 million/1 year to minor league C Mario Feliciano, a strong defender with very high leadership, and $0.9 million to minor league 2B/SS Derian Cruz, plus defender with average hitting ability and poor power. Both signed. I expect to use Feliciano in AAA and Cruz as a AAA starter or MLB backup at SS and 2B. With this move I feel like I have good depth at both C and 2B, but still lack a clear, no doubt about it SS. These signings also allowed me to make two trades from these positions of depth. First, I traded MiLB 2B Nick Shumpert and MiLB CF Jim Sineath to the White Sox for RP Eric Lauer, MiLB RF Josh Lindberg, and MiLB C Alexander Alvarez. Lauer, a lefty is the main piece of the return for me. He is above average across the board in the main pitching categories and with three of his four pitches. This suggests that he has the ability to make a few spot starts if necessary. Lindberg is a plus defender in right field with plus intangibles and average hitting. At 23 years old, he is a borderline prospect. At 28, Alvarez is valuable minor league filler as a solid defensive catcher. The second trade was the bigger one. It was actually the first time in my time playing OOTP that I have pursued this particular strategy in a trade. As I was unhappy with the value of available free agents, particularly at my positions of need, I decided to pull back two contract offers I made and to instead take on payroll in a trade in order to add another prospect to my farm system. While signing SS Gordon to a contract with an early opt-out and temporarily surrendering one of my comp picks would have made my team more competitive in the immediate term, I do like the alternative I pursued where I will keep the comp round pick and add a prospect via trade. The contract I decided to take on was C Francisco Mejia's one year remaining at roughly $13.2 million. I sent back backup catcher Vazquez, MiLB RP Mendonca, and MiLB RP/SP Wiseman to Cleveland. Contract wise, this resulted in an $11 million hit to my budget. And the prospect I acquired, SP Jose Garcia, was a comp round pick in the most recent first year player draft and ranked #32 overall on my draft board on draft day. Garcia is a 19 year old right handed starting pitcher. In the three pitching categories his potential stuff and movement are plus and potential control is above average. His control is currently the least developed of these three, which increases his risk. He has a three pitch mix (fastball 97-99 mph, sinker, and splitter) all of which are currently average offerings and project to get better. OOTP projects him to add an average changeup to his repertoire, but my scout does not see that happening. His high intelligence and very high work ethic make up his excellent intangibles rating. I'm especially excited to add a young and already sufficiently developed, high potential pitching prospect to my system as this is the exact type of prospect I missed out on adding in the draft last year. After this, I shifted back to the FA market with my eye on adding a closer. All of the top available closers are in their mid to late 30's, making them poor options for my qualifying offer strategy. I did find a 31 year old a little farther down the board. I offered CL Silvino Bracho a two year contract for $6 million a year, the second year being a player option. Despite not being one of the elite closers available, he has all the traits I look for in this kind of a signing: above average pitching ratings and repertoire, some previous closing experience (66 MLB saves), and ERA and/or FIP marks below 4 in recent years. He also has an "iron man" injury history, making him less of a risk. I gave one more look at what I would need to give up for a top defensive center fielder and only one who is strapped with a burdensome contract can even be had for one of my top players. To cap off the offseason, I used the last of the available funds to increase my development budget to $32 million. I also feel good about entering the season with $5 million available as this could be handy if I draft several high-cost picks or decided to exceed the international amateur free agent cap. Overall, this team isn't likely a contender yet, but I think has a good chance to finish around .500. Also, I forgot to mention that both Drury and Rivero did sign elsewhere so in addition to the players I've added to my farm system, I'll have two picks in the comp round. This essentially gives me three first round picks in the upcoming first year player draft. My farm system overview is overdue and will be coming soon, but first, I'll advance through spring training...