[Westheim]

November 25 – The Raccoons trade SP Angel Alba (52-57, 3.92 ERA) and MR Kody Mello (19-18, 3.76 ERA, 7 SV) to the Knights for 24-yr old MR Ricky McMahan (1-0, 5.23 ERA) and 21-yr old INF/LF Carlos Gutierrez (.286, 0 HR, 4 RBI).
November 25 – In a separate deal, the Raccoons also send 3B Victor Morales (.283, 22 HR, 161 RBI) to the Aces in exchange for OF Jaden Wilson (.296, 48 HR, 297 RBI).
November 28 – The Titans sign 39-year-old ex-Capitals 3B/SS Zach Suggs (.298, 384 HR, 1,510 RBI) to a 2-yr, $12.2M contract.
November 28 – Former Knights 2B/3B Nick Nye (.312, 233 HR, 1,005 RBI) inks a 3-yr, $16.8M contract with the Condors.
December 1 – Rule 5 Draft: 16 players are selected from outside their previous teams’ 40-man rosters. The Raccoons draft right-handed relievers Steven Hudson from the Cyclones and Garrett Napolitano from the Rebels.
December 6 – At age 39 and coming off the Buffaloes, SP Sean Sweeton (199-171, 3.65 ERA) signs a 2-yr, $7.6M contract with the Knights.
December 6 – Veteran third baseman Steve Dilly (.260, 186 HR, 861 RBI), 41 years old and most recently with New York, signs a $2.64M contract for 2066 with the Rebels.

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The guys coming over from the Knights exceeded rookie limits during the 2065 season, but McMahan was the #28 prospect going into that season, and Gutierrez might have appeared prominently on the list this year. I wasn’t trading away Angel Alba lightly, but his numbers were getting worse every year (he had led the CL in bombs away in 2063 and 2065) and this was a surprisingly good deal for him. Also, anything to break up that catastrophic bullpen that was not only terrible, but also full of chaos kids trying to light each other’s tails on fire.

Victor Morales had produced steadily the last two seasons, both a .740-ish OPS and a mountain of errors on the hot corner. The Coons badly needed a centerfielder, even though Wilson was a left-handed batter with injury issues, which might be why the Aces were so readily trading him. Wilson was making $3M in ’66 and then $4.48M annually for three years after that. He had been Rookie of the Year in 2061.

Gutierrez was not a lock to begin the season on the big league roster, but neither was McMahan really. Or he might be the closer. Who knew what we were going to throw at the wall next…!?

While we now needed a right-handed batting outfielder more than ever with the prospect of all three outfield starters being left-handed, the other question was concerning third base and who’d play there. In all honesty it was most likely Rich Monck getting shoved around one more time (Rich Hereford, anyone?), since he had the best throwing arm on that infield. Novelo would probably remain the shortstop for now. Between him and Gutierrez we’d have a pretty good defensive middle infield for the next few years, even though not necessarily right away on Opening Day, although Josh Mireles, the 20-year-old that shot up to AAA this past season, might soon have a word about that.

Entering December I was nagging the Gold Sox for another promising middle infielder of theirs. The Sox had perhaps even less pitching than the Raccoons, which didn’t mean that it was easy to tie a package for them.

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December 7 – The Raccoons acquire OF Tommy Branch (.224, 123 HR, 538 RBI) from the Gold Sox along with prospect AA INF Gary Gates, while delivering an orgy of failed prospects in MR Ricky Baca (3-2, 3.38 ERA, 2 SV), MR John Nesbitt (6-1, 4.60 ERA, 2 SV), AAA SP John Bollinger (8-8, 4.20 ERA), and AAA INF Carlos Cervantez. The Sox sweeten the deal with $250k in cash.

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Nobody had the intention of doing anything with Tommy Branch. He’s a salary dump by the Sox onto a team with no budget, but at least he’s on the final year of his contract. An all-or-nothing swinger, he brings at least a veteran presence to that outfield that could use a guiding paw or four. No, the main prize (besides getting rid of a flock of fringe pitchers and another clubhouse distraction in Baca) was Gary Gates, an unranked, but very interesting middle infielder with a contact bat, strong defense, and good speed. No power, sadly, but they can’t all hit 30 homers a year. Gates had not quite mastered AA pitching yet, so he was at least a year off right now.

At this point, the Raccoons had their outfield with Spicer, Wilson, and Corral starting and with right-handed support from Branch and Tallent, while Bentley, Matas, and Colter were probably all squeezed out to make the numbers add up, but who knows how many wicked trades we can swing here?

The rotation was reduced to (alphabetically ordered) Crowley, Fox, Nakayama, Sanchez, and Walla; while the bullpen had been torched quite relentlessly. The only relievers left on the extended roster that had worn the brown cap in earnest already were Dover, Garvey, Carrington, Soriano, and Read (these were ranked in decreasing willingness to put them anywhere near the Opening Day roster). I guess Cruz Madrid was still counting in a purely administrative sense. On top of that we now had McMahan and the Rule 5 picks Hudson and Napolitano. Good luck making a functional bullpen out of those. We still were nowhere near naming any of the hillbillies on staff an actual closer. There was also practically no budget room left. Go book your October vacations for next year now, you’ll get a good price and you’re not gonna miss anything.

What else is new? Victor Herrera has been waived off the 40-man roster, and I promise at some point I will stop talking about absolutely ghastly relievers.

Other Raccoons with new stalking grounds: Ben Morris got 2-yr, $1.27M from the Buffos; Isaac McDaniel signed with the Knights for 2-yr, $944k;

Hall of Fame voting is now also open, with the ballot being published even before the start of the winter meetings this year.