January 1: Our closer last year down the stretch Camilo Doval has joined the Cubs on a 1-year, $10M contract.
January 2: Xander Bogaerts signed a 3/53 deal with those same Cubs.
January 12: The ballots are counted and the results are in. This year we will witness three players added to the Hall of Fame. Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera, and Albert Pujols received the ultimate honor this year in being voted as the newest members of the Hall of Fame.
SP Justin Verlander 98.7 (1st year) Inducted HOF
1B Miguel Cabrera 98.0 (1st year) Inducted HOF
1B Albert Pujols 97.7 (1st year) Inducted HOF
SP Zack Greinke 72.7 (1st year)
CF Carlos Beltran 62.7 (6th year)
C Joe Mauer 48.3 (5th year)
C Yadier Molina 43.0 (1st year)
A loaded first-year class (with Greinke almost getting in) worked to the detriment of Beltran and Mauer.
January 19: And there goes the last our of big free agents as Spencer Torkelson signed a 4/56 deal with Washington.
February 12: Got this message from owner Stu Sternberg:
As we get closer to the start of the season, I have reviewed the team's financial state as of this moment. After seeing how the off-season has gone, I have decided to raise your team's budget from $198,000,000 to $210,000,000.
Good to know that we now have $43M to play with. Going to look for an good but expensive starter without much term left.
Also this bit of news from MLB:
Disappointed by the lack of recent success and a below-average fan support, Robert Nutting, owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, has decided to pack their bags and move the franchise to San Antonio. The team will be called the San Antonio Seagulls, and a new color scheme and uniform has been revealed already.
Emboldened by the extra cash, we went out a made a trade for a front-line starter:
Welcome to Tampa Bay, Grayson Rodriguez. G-Rod is a horse, having struck out 200 or more each of the last five seasons and having pitched 211 or more innings the last three. We'll also have him for three seasons at a reasonable price since Baltimore is picking up 50% of his salary. The price was high, though as we sent our third-best prospect (#77 overall) in Covarrubias Baltimore's way but you have to give to get. The Rodriguez acquisition likely means that Walt Khattak can get some seasoning in AAA and not start his arbitration clock earlier than needed (he doesn't even need to go on the 40-man right now). Since we're only going to pay Rodriguez $9M this season we still have $34M to spend, and I'll be looking at hitters now.
February 21: On second thought, I've decided not to look at hitters. My early preseason scouting reports have upgraded Blaze Jordan's hit tool to 55 to go with his 65 power and that seems good enough to stick him in the lineup as a Tork replacement. We'll use the $ on hand to fill holes as they may arise during the season or to fill whatever needs may emerge if certain players don't pan out.
We'll check back in with the Opening Day post.