[Sundance]

MLB News

10/30/24 - The AL will no longer use the DH
01/28/25 - The Arizona Diamondbacks have relocated and rebranded. They are now the Indianapolis River Hawks

Extensions

RP Chad Green - 3 years, $18,000,000
RP Pierce Johnson - 1 year, $3,500,000
RP Archie Bradley - 2 years, $3,000,000

Trades

To Milwaukee Brewers - RF Franmil Reyes, RF Chas McCormick, minor league CF A.J. Brown
To San Diego Padres - Minor league 3B Jason Rooks

With Hassell III waiting in the wings, I needed to make a spot on the roster for him. With our offense struggling so much in the postseason, I just don’t know if we can afford to carry a player like Reyes.

Rooks is a similar hitter to Reyes in that he can absolutely crush the ball, but he’s going to strike out a ton as well. He probably won’t ever break into our starting roster, but we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on him.

To Washington Nationals - Minor league RHP Camilo Doval, minor league RHP Andre Jackson
To San Diego Padres - Minor league 1B Jacob Rhinesmith, minor league RHP Holden Powell

Doval and Jackson were both pitchers who just weren’t going to break into our staff.

Rhinesmith is probably good enough to play in the majors, but he’ll have a hard time beating out Marcano. He offers us some organization depth should Marcano ever get hurt, and he could possibly fill a bench role as he can also play both corner outfield positions. Powell should be an average to above average reliever when he finishes developing. I’m not sure if he’ll ever reach a point where he is good enough to join our big league squad, but he’s worth taking a chance on.

To Milwaukee Brewers - 2B Ha-Seong Kim
To San Diego Padres - Minor league LF Max Kops, minor league RHP Alis Atague

It wasn’t that our offense was bad last season. It was more that it was inconsistent. Kim is the poster boy for inconsistency. We have Abrams waiting for an opening, and I think that he’ll be a much more consistent performer.

Kops was the Brewers’ number one draft pick in 2022 and was their top prospect. If he develops to his potential, he should be an elite contact hitter with enough power to make pitchers think twice about challenging him. Atagua has raw stuff, but lacks control and is susceptible to the long ball. He’s more of a project than anything else, but he was a nice little addition to sweeten the pot.

To Philadelphia Phillies - SP Blake Snell, minor league RHP Ryan Conroy
To San Diego Padres - RP Josh Staumont, minor league RHP Hunter Goodwin

It hurts to let Snell go, but I have to face the facts. Because of his injury history, he’s just not the pitcher he could have once been. Over the course of the season, Snell is probably going to be a serviceable starter still, but with his lack of control these days, it’s just too difficult to trust him in the postseason. Conroy should be an average to above average starter in the league, but we just have better options going forward.

Staumont is a flame throwing power pitcher with a knee-buckling curveball. If I’m being completely honest, I’m not sure if we’ll have room for him in our pen, but he’s an interesting piece to have around. Possibly an option for an injury replacement, or perhaps we might move him along as part of another deal. Goodwin is pretty similar to Staumont - he’s a hard throwing righty with a nasty curve. He has a tendency to serve balls on a platter more often than I’d like, but his stuff is just so good that he’s intriguing

To Toronto Blue Jays - SP Chris Paddack, minor league RF Tirso Ornelas
To San Diego Padres - SP Paul Campbell, minor league SS Rikelvin de Castro

Some will think I’m crazy for dismantling the best rotation in baseball last season. But the curse of being a smaller market team is the demand to perform while also saving money. We have young, inexpensive prospects waiting for a chance to break into the starting rotation, and I’m going to give them that chance.

Campbell is an average starter at this point in his career. I’m going to give some young guys a chance this season, but if they struggle, we might see Campbell step into a starting role at the back end of the rotation. De Castro is a pretty average prospect. There’s nothing to write home about. However, he’s a good presence in the clubhouse, and I wanted an additional piece as part of this deal.

To San Francisco Giants - RP Elvis Luciano, minor league RHP Josh Paulina
To San Diego Padres - RP Jesus Linarez, minor league RHP Andrew Dennis

Looking at our current roster, I felt like we had one too many pitchers. The choice came down to Luciano or Sandlin. I chose to keep Sandlin because he is a team leader. I would like to keep Luciano, but we really need another bat on the bench. The most difficult part was trying to find the right person to trade him for. We wanted to get someone of decent value, but I also needed someone who wasn’t going to be on the MLB roster this season.

Linarez fit that bill. He’s bounced back and forth between AAA and the MLB. He’s good enough to spend some time with the big league club if we need him, but he’s also not going to demand a spot on the roster. We could have gotten more for Luciano, but this trade was all about fit.

Arrivals

RF Willie Marin - 3 years, $7,500,000

Marin is a 27 year old free agent out of Venezuela. He stands at 6’6”, weighs 230 lbs, and is an intimidating presence in the box. He maintains a contact-oriented approach at the plate and has plus power. He’s an average fielder at best, but with his big frame, he has a cannon of an arm. He’s a hard worker and inspires others with his work ethic.

RF Jae-Ho Lee - 1 year, $1,300,000

Another international free agent. Lee is a 27 year old from South Korea. He has quick hands at the plate and should hit for a decent average. He’s also got enough pop to punish pitchers when they make a mistake. He’s got a good eye and should be tough to strike out. We’ll have to see this spring whether or not he’s good enough to start, but in either case, he should be a nice addition to our lineup.

Departures

RP Luis Gutierrez - Rule 5 Draft, Colorado Rockies

He was a decent prospect. At the time of him being picked up, he still looked a ways away from being ready for the big leagues. I’m a bit surprised the Rockies chose to pick him up. He’s developed a bit since then, but he’s still a borderline talent at this point. Would have been nice to keep a hold of him, but not terribly upset that he was drafted.

LF Corey Dickerson - Free agent, unemployed

The time felt right to move on from Dickerson. He’s still a very productive player and his price tag wasn’t bad, but there were some interesting international free agents and we have some prospects waiting for chances. It was just time to say goodbye. I’m very surprised that no one has picked him up yet. He’s 35, but he can still play and contribute.

LF Alek Thomas - Claimed off waivers, Houston Astros

Thomas was out of options and I was hoping to sneak him through waivers so that we could send him back to the minors. Unfortunately, that didn’t quite work out for us. We took a gamble and lost, although it wasn’t a terrible loss.

Outlook

With five straight playoff runs, including back to back World Series appearances in the last two seasons, all eyes will be on us to see if we can continue our run. Can we win a second title and make this a true dynasty? We’re predicted to once again be the best team in baseball, but can we keep living up to the hype? With the same bullpen and just a few changes to the starting rotation, we know that our pitching staff is going to be one of the best in the league. But can our offense come around and find consistency? Or will we once again go cold in October?