OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - The Montreal Expos... Exposing the New MLB?

Griever20 · 01-03-2025, 01:42 PM

November 5th – First Base Coach Enrique Alvarez agrees to contract

November 6th – Manager Aaron McCreery, Pitching Coach John Santangelo and Assistant GM Alan Lehmann agree to their contracts. Bench Coach Jose Rivera got another team bidding for him, we raised our offer to 3y/$295k

November 7th- Hitting Coach Rafael Jimenez got another team hot on his tail… 3y/$345k new offer.

November 7th - Los Angeles Angels LF Stephen Baczewski(26, 3.5*) has just signed a big 5y/$90.6M extension with his club. The 2012 3rd overall pick is a 2x Silver Slugger and 2018 All-Star and is coming off a .281/337./464 19HR 66RNI 3.1WAR season with the team.

November 8th – We are up to 3y/$375k with Rivera as bench coach now. Scouting Director Dave Gomez agreed to his contract! We sent him to get a closer look to our big assets and improve the scouting accuracy on them.

November 8th – Denver Seahawks CF Ricardo Acosta(35, 3.5*) was allowed to sign a 3y/$44.1M extension with year three being a vesting option requiring 135 games. Given that Acosta has only reached that mark in three of the last six years, that could be a tough ask. The 6x World Series winner, 3x Gold Glover, 1x Silver Slugger and 3x All-Star has hit .274/.358/.437 11HR 67RBI 19/22SB 5.5WAR in 144 games this year.

Full Roster Analysis – Montreal Expos - Pitching

Starting Pitching

NMBL LHSP Bill Smith(24, 3* HS, 3/3.5* OSA, 11-13 4.85 213K 33GS 2.5WAR) - $500k
A 12th rounder in 2015, the teamgrown lefty features a 95-97mph fastball with a plus plus splitter and a decent curve, sinker and a waste pitch changeup. Stuff is definitely above average, but the main concern with him is not the ability to pitch good, it is to stay on the field. Our team trainer rates him as fragile. He will be under team control for a while and has performed quite well last season given the circumstances. Verdict: KEEP

NMBL RHSP Dan Hinton(21, 2.5/4* HS, 2.5/4.5* OSA, 0-6 6.57 44K 10GS 0.2WAR) - $500k
The #5 prospect in baseball and a good reason why the former GM needed to go. Hinton got called up after 2 starts in AA in 2020 and was surprisingly blown to pieces… An extreme groundballer with mid 90’s zip on his sinking fastball, and a good slider and changeup with a still developing curveball, but with a lot of control issues. Should probably start the year 2021 in AAA. The only red flag… fragile… Drafted 21st overall in 2017. Verdict: KEEP

NMBL RHSP Sam Griffin(27, 3*, 8-13 4.60 97K 35G/20GS 133IP 3.0WAR) - ARBITRATION
What the hell. You got a 3.0 WAR player, a 2019 EL All-Star as a starter, and put him into the bullpen… Yep, the old manager deserved to be fired. Griffin however, does not. He is a control artist by trait, generating a lot of groundballs by hitting the perfect pitch despite little speed on his sinker. Acquired in the 9th round, 263rd overall in the 2014 draft. Verdict: KEEP

NMBL LHSP Frank Montoya(26, 2.5*, 8-16 4.40 202K 32GS 3.7WAR) - ARBITRATION
Montoya ’s bread and butter is his splitter that gets him some solid strikeouts and he had a strong 2020, pitching to a 3.97FIP on a losing team. He can go deep into games and has average control and movement on his pitches. Acquired via Trade from Memphis at the 2019 trade deadline. Verdict: KEEP/SELL HIGH

NMBL RHSP Jon Marquardt(22, 2.5*, 1-6 5.04 51K 13HGS 0.2WAR) - $500k
A Rule 5 Draftee from the Boston Aeros last winter, he lost the first half of the season due to shoulder inflammation and was not great in the second half. His main pitch is a mid-90’s fastball with some junky offspeed stuff, but some solid control. Young, but already fragile and with 45/80 Stamina not the biggest workhorse in our staff. Maybe better suited as a long reliever out of the pen Verdict: KEEP/SELL HIGH

NMBL RHSP Victor Lopez(26, 2.5*, 1-2 4.40 3GS 14K 0.0WAR) - $500k
Another throwaway starter, signed as a minor league free agent in 2017. He has a strong ++ fastball and a good cutter, but the circle change he uses tends to not create enough speed difference to make it not hittable. He was parked in AAA (8-1 4.13 146K 2.5WAR) and also is controllable, but nothing special. Verdict: KEEP/SELL HIGH

NMBL RHSP/RP Danny Camp(35, 2*, 4-7 1SV 4.41 90K 32G/14GS 1.0WAR) - $8.4M FREE AGENT
Part of the 2015 World Series winning team as a starter, Camp has nothing more to offer as a starter. Verdict: LET GO
AAA RHSP Adrian Hilscher(20, 2.5*, 3-6 8.21 53K 14G/12GS -0.2WAR MLB) - $500k
Hilscher got a taste of the big league and didn’t like it one bit. He got lit up badly as his 95-97mph fastball worked well, but his offspeed stuff was waay to hittable. His body is for once, not fragile and he may live to see another season, but again, nothing special. Verdict: KEEP/SELL HIGH

R Dominican LHSP Brett Asselin(21, 1.5/5*,0-1 4.20 18K 3GS 0.8WAR R) – minor league contract
Asselin was our first rounder out of Notre Dame University this year and got a quiet little start in R ball. Recently named the #11 prospect in the postseason list by Baseball America, the llefty is already throwing a mid 90’s fastball with a potential ace level changeup and some amazing control potential. Blue chip prospect by both Dave G. and the OSA, we will have to monitor him closely. Acquired via 1st round draft pick, 11th overall in 2020. Verdict: KEEP

R Mexican RHSP Omar Dias(16, 0,5/4.5*,DNP) – minor league contract
A scouting discovery by the previous headscout, Dave G. loves the kid as well. Throws in the low 90’s and projects more as a finesse pitcher with 80 rated control, his fastball is nothing special but the changeup will be a beast. Could struggle with home runs in the future. Not on Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list. Verdict: KEEP

Honorable Mention AAA LHSP Rich Nelson(25, 2.5*, 8-12 3.39 148K 27GS 3.7WAR AAA) – minor league contract
Honorable Mention INT RHSP Adrian Hernandez(16, 0.5/4*, DNP) – international complex

Smith and Hinton are locked for this offseason at least, and so are the two top prospects. Everyone else… can be replaced as we have five 2.5* pitchers on the depth chart and still can look into free agency or the waiver wire.

Left-Handed Relief Pitching

NMBL LHRP Dusty Leone(24, 3*, 1-4 4SV 4.87 58 57.1IP 0.6WAR) - ARBITRATION
Our one pure lefty reliever in the pen. Throws a fastball and a changeup with groundball tendency and and does so with a sub 4 FIP. Not a superstar, but a solid arm at least. At age 24, he is now arbitration eligible, and could be a nice asset for us… or for a trade. 2nd round pick, 48th overall in the 2015 draft. Verdict: KEEP/SELL HIGH

S A LHRP Joe Herzer(22, 2.5/3*, 3-2 19SV 1.12 36K 32IP 0.9WAR S A) – minor league contract
According to Dave G. Herzer may not be that far away from the majors as one could think. A dynamite slider and a decent sinker with sidearm motion make him a standout lefty already. His sinker needs work, but he should be close and could be in our pen someday next year. Acquired in the 5th round of the 2019 draft, 149th overall. Verdict: KEEP/SELL HIGH

Right-Handed Relief Pitching

NMBL RHCL Ryan Rasbach(29, 4*, 4-4 25SV 3.52 82K 61.1IP 2.0WAR) - ARBITRATION
We have our very own 2x All-Star! A great fastball with one of the best curveballs in all of baseball, Rasbach lacks one thing to be an absolute elite close… control. He never got below 4.0BB/9 in four NMLB seasons. Still, he is the most talented player on our NMLB roster relative to his position, and he got 2 more years of arbitration left… Signed on a minor league contract in 2016. Verdict: KEEP and EXTEND OR TRY TO SELL HIGH

NMBL RHRP Adam Rudolph(22, 2.5*, 0-1 0SV 6.52 14K 9.2IP 0.1WAR) - $50k
A young, controllable arm with decent control and movement, a fastball that can hit triple digits and a good curve. Kinda underrated for his skillset, he should be around for a while. Acquired via trade from NMBL Toronto in 2017 Verdict: KEEP

NMBL RHRP Jesus Romero(30, 2.5*, 0-3 2SV 5.50 80K 75.1IP -0.4WAR) - FREE AGENT
Cost us $950k, replacement level RP. Verdict: LET GO

NMBL RHRP/SP Bill Wells(33, 2.5*, 1-6 4.99 59K 25G 4GS 61.1IP -0.2WAR) - FREE AGENT
Not worth the risk now, we got him as a minor league free agent in 2018. Verdict: LET GO

Honorable Mention R RHRP Bill Bell(20, 2/3*, 1-2 2SV 1.95 24G 27.2IP 1.0WAR R) – minor league contract

Shortened up things here a bit… the right-handed reliever pool made me depressed… We have a closer tho! Most of the other arms were covered as starters. AAA is stashed with relievers that will be running out of contract at the end of the year… we can stash up on them again on minor league contracts id say.

Make decisions on team options

Pitching – none

Arbitration decisions - Pitching

NMBL RHCL Ryan Rasbach(29, 4*) offered a 3y/$12.3M contract to buy out arbitration years under estimate.
NMBL RHSP Sam Griffin(27,3*) Offered a 4y/$13.25M extension, buying out 3 arbitration years and the first free agent year under current arbitration estimates
NMBL LHRP Dusty Leone(24, 3*) Offered a 1y/$1.3M deal.
NMBL LHSP Frank Montoya(26, 2.5*) NON-TENDERED

Make decisions about free agents/minor league free agents - Pitching

NMBL RHSP/RP Danny Camp(35, 2*) – LET GO
NMBL RHRP Jesus Romero(30 ,2.5*) – LET GO
The minor league free agent list is stacked, so I’ll skip those this year…

Set up Development Facilities Pitching

NMBL LHSP Bill Smith(24, 3* HS, 3/3.5* OSA) ->> Strength and Conditioning
R Dominican LHSP Brett Asselin(21, 1.5/5*) -> Secondary Pitch Improvement
NMBL RHSP Dan Hinton(21, 2.5/4* HS, 2.5/4.5* OSA) -> Increase Pitch Movement
R Mexican RHSP Omar Dias(16, 0,5/4.5*,DNP) -> Improve Control
INT RHSP Adrian Hernandez(16, 0.5/4*) -> Secondary Pitch Improvement

01-03-2025, 01:42 PM	#6
Griever20 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Dortmund, Germany Posts: 3,727	Roster Analysis - Pitching November 5th – First Base Coach Enrique Alvarez agrees to contract November 6th – Manager Aaron McCreery, Pitching Coach John Santangelo and Assistant GM Alan Lehmann agree to their contracts. Bench Coach Jose Rivera got another team bidding for him, we raised our offer to 3y/$295k November 7th- Hitting Coach Rafael Jimenez got another team hot on his tail… 3y/$345k new offer. November 7th - Los Angeles Angels LF Stephen Baczewski(26, 3.5) has just signed a big 5y/$90.6M extension with his club. The 2012 3rd overall pick is a 2x Silver Slugger and 2018 All-Star and is coming off a .281/337./464 19HR 66RNI 3.1WAR season with the team. November 8th – We are up to 3y/$375k with Rivera as bench coach now. Scouting Director Dave Gomez agreed to his contract! We sent him to get a closer look to our big assets and improve the scouting accuracy on them. November 8th – Denver Seahawks* CF Ricardo Acosta(35, 3.5) was allowed to sign a 3y/$44.1M extension with year three being a vesting option requiring 135 games. Given that Acosta* has only reached that mark in three of the last six years, that could be a tough ask. The 6x World Series winner, 3x Gold Glover, 1x Silver Slugger and 3x All-Star has hit .274/.358/.437 11HR 67RBI 19/22SB 5.5WAR in 144 games this year. Full Roster Analysis – Montreal Expos - Pitching Starting Pitching NMBL LHSP Bill Smith(24, 3* HS, 3/3.5* OSA, 11-13 4.85 213K 33GS 2.5WAR) - $500k A 12th rounder in 2015, the teamgrown lefty features a 95-97mph fastball with a plus plus splitter and a decent curve, sinker and a waste pitch changeup. Stuff is definitely above average, but the main concern with him is not the ability to pitch good, it is to stay on the field. Our team trainer rates him as fragile. He will be under team control for a while and has performed quite well last season given the circumstances. Verdict: KEEP NMBL RHSP Dan Hinton(21, 2.5/4* HS, 2.5/4.5* OSA, 0-6 6.57 44K 10GS 0.2WAR) - $500k The #5 prospect in baseball and a good reason why the former GM needed to go. Hinton got called up after 2 starts in AA in 2020 and was surprisingly blown to pieces… An extreme groundballer with mid 90’s zip on his sinking fastball, and a good slider and changeup with a still developing curveball, but with a lot of control issues. Should probably start the year 2021 in AAA. The only red flag… fragile… Drafted 21st overall in 2017. Verdict: KEEP NMBL RHSP Sam Griffin(27, 3, 8-13 4.60 97K 35G/20GS 133IP 3.0WAR) - ARBITRATION What the hell. You got a 3.0 WAR player, a 2019 EL All-Star as a starter, and put him into the bullpen… Yep, the old manager deserved to be fired. Griffin* however, does not. He is a control artist by trait, generating a lot of groundballs by hitting the perfect pitch despite little speed on his sinker. Acquired in the 9th round, 263rd overall in the 2014 draft. Verdict: KEEP NMBL LHSP Frank Montoya(26, 2.5, 8-16 4.40 202K 32GS 3.7WAR) - ARBITRATION Montoya* ’s bread and butter is his splitter that gets him some solid strikeouts and he had a strong 2020, pitching to a 3.97FIP on a losing team. He can go deep into games and has average control and movement on his pitches. Acquired via Trade from Memphis at the 2019 trade deadline. Verdict: KEEP/SELL HIGH NMBL RHSP Jon Marquardt(22, 2.5, 1-6 5.04 51K 13HGS 0.2WAR) - $500k A Rule 5 Draftee from the Boston Aeros last winter, he lost the first half of the season due to shoulder inflammation and was not great in the second half. His main pitch is a mid-90’s fastball with some junky offspeed stuff, but some solid control. Young, but already fragile and with 45/80 Stamina not the biggest workhorse in our staff. Maybe better suited as a long reliever out of the pen Verdict:* KEEP/SELL HIGH NMBL RHSP Victor Lopez(26, 2.5, 1-2 4.40 3GS 14K 0.0WAR) - $500k Another throwaway starter, signed as a minor league free agent in 2017. He has a strong ++ fastball and a good cutter, but the circle change he uses tends to not create enough speed difference to make it not hittable. He was parked in AAA (8-1 4.13 146K 2.5WAR) and also is controllable, but nothing special. Verdict:* KEEP/SELL HIGH NMBL RHSP/RP Danny Camp(35, 2, 4-7 1SV 4.41 90K 32G/14GS 1.0WAR) - $8.4M FREE AGENT Part of the 2015 World Series winning team as a starter, Camp* has nothing more to offer as a starter. Verdict: LET GO AAA RHSP Adrian Hilscher(20, 2.5, 3-6 8.21 53K 14G/12GS -0.2WAR MLB) - $500k Hilscher* got a taste of the big league and didn’t like it one bit. He got lit up badly as his 95-97mph fastball worked well, but his offspeed stuff was waay to hittable. His body is for once, not fragile and he may live to see another season, but again, nothing special. Verdict: KEEP/SELL HIGH R Dominican LHSP Brett Asselin(21, 1.5/5,0-1 4.20 18K 3GS 0.8WAR R) – minor league contract Asselin* was our first rounder out of Notre Dame University this year and got a quiet little start in R ball. Recently named the #11 prospect in the postseason list by Baseball America, the llefty is already throwing a mid 90’s fastball with a potential ace level changeup and some amazing control potential. Blue chip prospect by both Dave G. and the OSA, we will have to monitor him closely. Acquired via 1st round draft pick, 11th overall in 2020. Verdict: KEEP R Mexican RHSP Omar Dias(16, 0,5/4.5,DNP) – minor league contract A scouting discovery by the previous headscout, Dave G. loves the kid as well. Throws in the low 90’s and projects more as a finesse pitcher with 80 rated control, his fastball is nothing special but the changeup will be a beast. Could struggle with home runs in the future. Not on Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list. Verdict:* KEEP Honorable Mention AAA LHSP Rich Nelson(25, 2.5, 8-12 3.39 148K 27GS 3.7WAR AAA) – minor league contract Honorable Mention INT* RHSP Adrian Hernandez(16, 0.5/4, DNP) – international complex Smith* and Hinton are locked for this offseason at least, and so are the two top prospects. Everyone else… can be replaced as we have five 2.5* pitchers on the depth chart and still can look into free agency or the waiver wire. Left-Handed Relief Pitching NMBL LHRP Dusty Leone(24, 3, 1-4 4SV 4.87 58 57.1IP 0.6WAR) - ARBITRATION Our one pure lefty reliever in the pen. Throws a fastball and a changeup with groundball tendency and and does so with a sub 4 FIP. Not a superstar, but a solid arm at least. At age 24, he is now arbitration eligible, and could be a nice asset for us… or for a trade. 2nd round pick, 48th overall in the 2015 draft. Verdict:* KEEP/SELL HIGH S A LHRP Joe Herzer(22, 2.5/3, 3-2 19SV 1.12 36K 32IP 0.9WAR S A) – minor league contract According to Dave G. Herzer* may not be that far away from the majors as one could think. A dynamite slider and a decent sinker with sidearm motion make him a standout lefty already. His sinker needs work, but he should be close and could be in our pen someday next year. Acquired in the 5th round of the 2019 draft, 149th overall. Verdict: KEEP/SELL HIGH Right-Handed Relief Pitching NMBL RHCL Ryan Rasbach(29, 4, 4-4 25SV 3.52 82K 61.1IP 2.0WAR) - ARBITRATION We have our very own 2x All-Star! A great fastball with one of the best curveballs in all of baseball, Rasbach* lacks one thing to be an absolute elite close… control. He never got below 4.0BB/9 in four NMLB seasons. Still, he is the most talented player on our NMLB roster relative to his position, and he got 2 more years of arbitration left… Signed on a minor league contract in 2016. Verdict: KEEP and EXTEND OR TRY TO SELL HIGH NMBL RHRP Adam Rudolph(22, 2.5, 0-1 0SV 6.52 14K 9.2IP 0.1WAR) - $50k A young, controllable arm with decent control and movement, a fastball that can hit triple digits and a good curve. Kinda underrated for his skillset, he should be around for a while. Acquired via trade from NMBL* Toronto in 2017 Verdict: KEEP NMBL RHRP Jesus Romero(30, 2.5, 0-3 2SV 5.50 80K 75.1IP -0.4WAR) - FREE AGENT Cost us $950k, replacement level RP. Verdict:* LET GO NMBL RHRP/SP Bill Wells(33, 2.5, 1-6 4.99 59K 25G 4GS 61.1IP -0.2WAR) - FREE AGENT Not worth the risk now, we got him as a minor league free agent in 2018. Verdict:* LET GO Honorable Mention R RHRP Bill Bell(20, 2/3, 1-2 2SV 1.95 24G 27.2IP 1.0WAR R) – minor league contract Shortened up things here a bit… the right-handed reliever pool made me depressed… We have a closer tho! Most of the other arms were covered as starters. AAA is stashed with relievers that will be running out of contract at the end of the year… we can stash up on them again on minor league contracts id say. Make decisions on team options* Pitching – none Arbitration decisions - Pitching NMBL RHCL Ryan Rasbach(29, 4) offered a 3y/$12.3M contract to buy out arbitration years under estimate. NMBL* RHSP Sam Griffin(27,3) Offered a 4y/$13.25M extension, buying out 3 arbitration years and the first free agent year under current arbitration estimates NMBL* LHRP Dusty Leone(24, 3) Offered a 1y/$1.3M deal. NMBL* LHSP Frank Montoya(26, 2.5) NON-TENDERED Make decisions about free agents/minor league free agents - Pitching* NMBL RHSP/RP Danny Camp(35, 2) – LET GO NMBL* RHRP Jesus Romero(30 ,2.5) – LET GO The minor league free agent list is stacked, so I’ll skip those this year… Set up Development Facilities Pitching* NMBL LHSP Bill Smith(24, 3* HS, 3/3.5* OSA) ->> Strength and Conditioning R Dominican LHSP Brett Asselin(21, 1.5/5) -> Secondary Pitch Improvement NMBL* RHSP Dan Hinton(21, 2.5/4* HS, 2.5/4.5* OSA) -> Increase Pitch Movement R Mexican RHSP Omar Dias(16, 0,5/4.5,DNP) -> Improve Control INT* RHSP Adrian Hernandez(16, 0.5/4) -> Secondary Pitch Improvement __________________ The Montreal Expos... Exposing the New MLB? MLB 2015 - Being the Brewmaster(ended) MLB 2013: The Blue Jays That Never Were(concluded) Last edited by Griever20; 01-06-2025 at 02:12 PM.*