I gave this a try over the last week or so.
I went with a drastic, total rebuild. Got rid of anyone making any more than the minimum (had to eat Chen’s contract). I stockpiled prospects but intentionally avoided bringing them up until I had a whole slew of them ready for the majors.
This approach led to a dumpster fire season in 2020 with a 45-117 record. Barely beat out the 2003 Tigers because of a strong final week. After that year I called up about 15 prospects (some very good, some marginal) and we immediately improved to 71 wins. I expected the improvement to go quickly after that, but it kind of stalled. Win totals the next two years were 76 and 77. Then, finally, I won the division in 2024 and 2025. Lost in the LCS both times I think.
In 2026 the team was good but had horrible luck and a ton of injuries. We dropped to 75 wins. I got sick of the owner giving me one year extensions despite my successful rebuild so I bailed for the Rockies. Wouldn’t you know it, in my first year in Colorado I lost the NLCS to.......the Marlins. Who then went on to win the WS lol. That was painful, but at least I knew that the team I had built up was capable of winning it all.
My most successful draft picks were both in 2020: Andrew Vaughn (1st) and Garrett Frechette (supp 1st).
All in all, it’s a very challenging team to take over. But if you like to rebuild, it’s a lot of fun.
