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Art Deco · 03-25-2025, 10:36 AM

It was another bitter playoff loss as we were swept by Houston in the ALCS after putting together a 107-win season and going all-in. This is going to be a definite offseason of transition as pending free agency and some bloated salaries will mean a substantial makeover of the roster, including almost a completely rebuilt buillpen.

The salary outlook:

We were given a budget of $170M and keeping everyone here would cost $155M. We're not keeping everyone though and I'll get into that in the position-by-position outlook.

C: Billy Doughty was one of the best catchers in baseball in his first full season and we're set there for a while. Art Bing was a decent enough backup.

1B: Our first possible change. Danny Charlton had a down season and he's getting very expensive so I'm going to explore trading him as we have a bunch of 1B/DH types ready to go at Durham.

2B: Justin Blackwell bounced back with a big season after it looked like his days were numbered, initially ceding his job to Isaiah Jackson before winning it back.

SS: Jeremy Begley is a superstar.

3B: Danny Arroyave returns for one more year but after that we have a couple of very good 3B prospects in the minors who will hopefully be ready in 2040.

IF: Jackson will return as the primary IF backup, as will Agustin Lopez who kills lefty pitching like no other.

LF: Tony Fisher had a 50-homer season and returns.

CF: Danny Rodriguez should be Rookie of the Year and is a superstar in the making.

RF: Going to give Danny Rivera a mulligan on 2038 as he did come on late and in the playoffs. Hopefully he returns to his 2037 form with Seattle when he was a 5-WAR player. He's still young.

OF: Alex Rivas was the primary backup and his speed and defense are useful but we may have other options that will be cheaper than the $4M he's projected for.

DH: Luis Berumen. With elite ratings and a great track record, Berumen was the biggest disappointment last year (232/303/448, down to 0.2 WAR after 5.1 last year). Since he'll make $14M this year he is officially on the block as we have plenty of hitters ready to take his place (Ines Monts, who hit during his September callup, Danny Perez, Frank Duron, Danny Arevalo, Willie Maldonado, I could go on)

SP: Here's where the holes start to show. Ace Danny Morales is back for his last year of arbitration, Leo Gutierrez returns as well, as does (unfortunately since he picked up his $29.8M player option) one-time ace Joe Marlette and his stuff which diminished from about 70 to 40 over the course of the season. If we can get someone to take Marlette in trade we'll deal him. Gabe Bryant is a big loss and we're making him an $18M qualifying offer, but my guess is he goes free agent. Also a FA is Chris Ericson, who was so good for us down the stretch and to whom I've made an extension offer. Moises Baca will likely fill one of the holes although we might need him to close. So we could have anywhere from 0-2 slots to fill and if we deal Charlton and/or Berumen it's likely to be for pitching.

Bullpen: If you thought the rotation was in for a shakeup, get a load of the pen. ALL of our top guys are free agents (Alicea, Lewis, Gammage, LeVea, Arnold, Montgomery) leaving only Jon Coggin, Ken Battle and possibly Baca if we don't use him in the rotation. Rebuilding the pen will be the offseason's primary focus.

The tl;dr version:

1. Find about 4-5 relievers including a closer.
2. Find 1-2 starting pitchers.
3. Make salary room for 1 & 2 by dealing Charlton and Berumen.

Going to be an interesting winter.

03-25-2025, 10:36 AM	#1514
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,613	2038-39 Offseason: State of the Team It was another bitter playoff loss as we were swept by Houston in the ALCS after putting together a 107-win season and going all-in. This is going to be a definite offseason of transition as pending free agency and some bloated salaries will mean a substantial makeover of the roster, including almost a completely rebuilt buillpen. The salary outlook: We were given a budget of $170M and keeping everyone here would cost $155M. We're not keeping everyone though and I'll get into that in the position-by-position outlook. C: Billy Doughty was one of the best catchers in baseball in his first full season and we're set there for a while. Art Bing was a decent enough backup. 1B: Our first possible change. Danny Charlton had a down season and he's getting very expensive so I'm going to explore trading him as we have a bunch of 1B/DH types ready to go at Durham. 2B: Justin Blackwell bounced back with a big season after it looked like his days were numbered, initially ceding his job to Isaiah Jackson before winning it back. SS: Jeremy Begley is a superstar. 3B: Danny Arroyave returns for one more year but after that we have a couple of very good 3B prospects in the minors who will hopefully be ready in 2040. IF: Jackson will return as the primary IF backup, as will Agustin Lopez who kills lefty pitching like no other. LF: Tony Fisher had a 50-homer season and returns. CF: Danny Rodriguez should be Rookie of the Year and is a superstar in the making. RF: Going to give Danny Rivera a mulligan on 2038 as he did come on late and in the playoffs. Hopefully he returns to his 2037 form with Seattle when he was a 5-WAR player. He's still young. OF: Alex Rivas was the primary backup and his speed and defense are useful but we may have other options that will be cheaper than the $4M he's projected for. DH: Luis Berumen. With elite ratings and a great track record, Berumen was the biggest disappointment last year (232/303/448, down to 0.2 WAR after 5.1 last year). Since he'll make $14M this year he is officially on the block as we have plenty of hitters ready to take his place (Ines Monts, who hit during his September callup, Danny Perez, Frank Duron, Danny Arevalo, Willie Maldonado, I could go on) SP: Here's where the holes start to show. Ace Danny Morales is back for his last year of arbitration, Leo Gutierrez returns as well, as does (unfortunately since he picked up his $29.8M player option) one-time ace Joe Marlette and his stuff which diminished from about 70 to 40 over the course of the season. If we can get someone to take Marlette in trade we'll deal him. Gabe Bryant is a big loss and we're making him an $18M qualifying offer, but my guess is he goes free agent. Also a FA is Chris Ericson, who was so good for us down the stretch and to whom I've made an extension offer. Moises Baca will likely fill one of the holes although we might need him to close. So we could have anywhere from 0-2 slots to fill and if we deal Charlton and/or Berumen it's likely to be for pitching. Bullpen: If you thought the rotation was in for a shakeup, get a load of the pen. ALL of our top guys are free agents (Alicea, Lewis, Gammage, LeVea, Arnold, Montgomery) leaving only Jon Coggin, Ken Battle and possibly Baca if we don't use him in the rotation. Rebuilding the pen will be the offseason's primary focus. The tl;dr version: 1. Find about 4-5 relievers including a closer. 2. Find 1-2 starting pitchers. 3. Make salary room for 1 & 2 by dealing Charlton and Berumen. Going to be an interesting winter.