OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

Art Deco · 10-01-2023, 10:59 AM

We're still a bit down from losing the World Series after a 107-win regular season but time marches on and we have to get ready to give it another shot in 28.

Our fan loyalty went up and so did the payroll as Stu Sternberg is willing to give us $170M to play with. This would allow the return of everyone who can and still have about $15M left over. Whether I want to do that will be explored here and of course there are some free agents we'll lose, most notably SP Jeffrey Springs as well as a couple of key relievers in lefty Garrett Cleavinger and our closer Camilo Doval. (Seranthony Dominguez is also a free agent but after his subpar 2027 he's not a big loss). Depending on how things shake out Cleavinger might be the only one I'll make an effort to re-sign.

Position-by-position, not much change anticipated:

C: The strong combo of Shea Langeliers and Patrick Bailey is back but Langeliers is getting very pricey ($16.5M projected) as he enters his final year of arbitration. Both of them earned 1.7 WAR last year which speaks better of Bailey since he played about 1/3 of the time. I'm comfortable with turning over the full-time job to Bailey and it'd be nice to have the $16.5M to use elsewhere so stay tuned here.

1B: Bobby Marsh is a franchise stud coming off a 6.5 WAR season. He'll do.

2B: Oswaldo Cabrera earned 1.6 WAR in half a season after coming over from the Yankees and should be a solid option here.

SS: Carson Williams is the man - when he stays healthy as he missed about half the season last year. Super-utility guy Luisangel Acuna spent a lot of time filling in here last year, but his defense is poor at the position with Masyn Winn probably the better option as the backup.

3B: Elly De La Cruz is another franchise stud, although he had a slightly disappointing season by his standards.

IF: As mentioned we have Winn and Acuna to back up, and also Thomas Saggese, who's more a bat-first guy. Junior Caminero remains on the periphery of things and Testuhisa Hirata hit 32 homers at Durham last year so they could factor in as well.

LF: Kevin Alcantara had his big 30 HR/100 RBI breakout last year and is a fixture in the lineup now.

CF: Jackson Chourio is the man and just needs to stay healthy.

RF: Mason Auer's WAR dropped 75% from 5.2 in 2026 to 1.3 last year as he barely cleared the Mendoza Line at .210 after hitting .278 the year before. He came through big in the postseason and is still a superior outfielder who can also play CF so he'll remain a fixture and probably bounce back with something between 2026 and 2027.

OF: Acuna is really the 4th OF here. Brock Jones struggled miserably, in line with his poor 2nd half of 2026 and is probably ticketed for Durham. Roster space permitting, slugging prospect Joe Quelch has a shot at a backup OF role.

DH: Triston Casas returns and after a slow start he had a great second half. He'll platoon some with Saggese, who really broke out last year.

Rotation: Shane McClanahan, Waylin Santana, Matt Brash and Taj Bradley will all return, to give us a top 4 that will be the envy of most teams. With Springs gone we'll need another starter and right now I'm looking at Jack Perkins making the move from the pen. DL Hall is another reliever who can start but he'll be needed more in the bullpen especially if we lose the lefty Cleavinger. Joel Diaz and Braxton Beal are possibilities at Durham but are probably more likely to take Perkins' long relief role. Ryan Pepiot is also in the picture coming off an injury.

Bullpen: This will be the area that needs the most off-season work as we're losing as many as three pieces - four really if Perkins joins the rotation. Matthew Peguero will move up from setup man to closer to replace Doval, and Fernando Costume may be ready to move into the setup role. This would leave Pepiot and lefties Hall and Andrew Nardi as additional locks for the pen along with middle-long man Hayden Juenger. As mentioned someone like Diaz could stick in long relief as well. I'd still like to sign or trade for another high-quality arm or two.

So if you've read this far you'll see that we're pretty much running it back with only minor tweaks, the logical choice when you're talking about 107-win team that made the World Series.

10-01-2023, 10:59 AM	#100
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,714	2027-28 Offseason: State of the Team We're still a bit down from losing the World Series after a 107-win regular season but time marches on and we have to get ready to give it another shot in 28. Our fan loyalty went up and so did the payroll as Stu Sternberg is willing to give us $170M to play with. This would allow the return of everyone who can and still have about $15M left over. Whether I want to do that will be explored here and of course there are some free agents we'll lose, most notably SP Jeffrey Springs as well as a couple of key relievers in lefty Garrett Cleavinger and our closer Camilo Doval. (Seranthony Dominguez is also a free agent but after his subpar 2027 he's not a big loss). Depending on how things shake out Cleavinger might be the only one I'll make an effort to re-sign. Position-by-position, not much change anticipated: C: The strong combo of Shea Langeliers and Patrick Bailey is back but Langeliers is getting very pricey ($16.5M projected) as he enters his final year of arbitration. Both of them earned 1.7 WAR last year which speaks better of Bailey since he played about 1/3 of the time. I'm comfortable with turning over the full-time job to Bailey and it'd be nice to have the $16.5M to use elsewhere so stay tuned here. 1B: Bobby Marsh is a franchise stud coming off a 6.5 WAR season. He'll do. 2B: Oswaldo Cabrera earned 1.6 WAR in half a season after coming over from the Yankees and should be a solid option here. SS: Carson Williams is the man - when he stays healthy as he missed about half the season last year. Super-utility guy Luisangel Acuna spent a lot of time filling in here last year, but his defense is poor at the position with Masyn Winn probably the better option as the backup. 3B: Elly De La Cruz is another franchise stud, although he had a slightly disappointing season by his standards. IF: As mentioned we have Winn and Acuna to back up, and also Thomas Saggese, who's more a bat-first guy. Junior Caminero remains on the periphery of things and Testuhisa Hirata hit 32 homers at Durham last year so they could factor in as well. LF: Kevin Alcantara had his big 30 HR/100 RBI breakout last year and is a fixture in the lineup now. CF: Jackson Chourio is the man and just needs to stay healthy. RF: Mason Auer's WAR dropped 75% from 5.2 in 2026 to 1.3 last year as he barely cleared the Mendoza Line at .210 after hitting .278 the year before. He came through big in the postseason and is still a superior outfielder who can also play CF so he'll remain a fixture and probably bounce back with something between 2026 and 2027. OF: Acuna is really the 4th OF here. Brock Jones struggled miserably, in line with his poor 2nd half of 2026 and is probably ticketed for Durham. Roster space permitting, slugging prospect Joe Quelch has a shot at a backup OF role. DH: Triston Casas returns and after a slow start he had a great second half. He'll platoon some with Saggese, who really broke out last year. Rotation: Shane McClanahan, Waylin Santana, Matt Brash and Taj Bradley will all return, to give us a top 4 that will be the envy of most teams. With Springs gone we'll need another starter and right now I'm looking at Jack Perkins making the move from the pen. DL Hall is another reliever who can start but he'll be needed more in the bullpen especially if we lose the lefty Cleavinger. Joel Diaz and Braxton Beal are possibilities at Durham but are probably more likely to take Perkins' long relief role. Ryan Pepiot is also in the picture coming off an injury. Bullpen: This will be the area that needs the most off-season work as we're losing as many as three pieces - four really if Perkins joins the rotation. Matthew Peguero will move up from setup man to closer to replace Doval, and Fernando Costume may be ready to move into the setup role. This would leave Pepiot and lefties Hall and Andrew Nardi as additional locks for the pen along with middle-long man Hayden Juenger. As mentioned someone like Diaz could stick in long relief as well. I'd still like to sign or trade for another high-quality arm or two. So if you've read this far you'll see that we're pretty much running it back with only minor tweaks, the logical choice when you're talking about 107-win team that made the World Series.