[Bub13]

2046-47 Off-Season, part 2

[Remember back in off-season post #1, where I said I wouldn't tinker with the lineup too much, and definitely wouldn't go after relievers? Yeah, I never said that.]

Away from the personal navel-gazing for a moment.... San Francisco fired manager David Baker, after three seasons of 75, 57, and 62 wins. No replacement yet. Also, rather less dramatically, a number of managers "were not renewed," or retired, following the season, for the following teams: Arizona, Baltimore, LA Angels, LA Dodgers, Miami, Pittsburgh, Portland, Seattle, Toronto, and Washington. Counting SF, that's eleven teams! Most surprising was Portland letting go of Kody Kirkland after making the playoffs. Baltimore released Nestor Corredor after 11 seasons, and LAD's 11-year skipper, Gabriel Alfaro, retired. Alfaro was twice manager of the year, and won titles in 2038 and 2042. Back to us, four managers/coaches (from A ball and lower) were not re-signed. I'll start searches to fill those positions after the season-end changeover.

Awards Season is here:
...AL Gold Gloves: [b]Rich Stoneback[/u] wins his 3rd award at SS; Paul Foster wins his 9th at 3B, his first with Toronto; the rest were with Minnesota; three other players won their second trophies
...NL Gold Gloves: Philly's Alex Castillo wins his 7th trophy at short; teammate Danny Baca wins his 4th, at first base; 2B Danny Diaz, LAD, wins his 4th; two others won their second awards
...AL Hoyt Wilhelm: odd winner, in that Milwaukee's H.O. Kara won despite finishing with only 17 saves and a 2.56 ERA. I guess 1.7 WAR was the clincher; our own Dan Brown finished sixth
...NL Hoyt Wilhelm: Richmond's Jay Debus recorded 46 saves, with a 1.70 ERA, and earned 3.4 WAR (more than most regular SP, frankly)
...AL Silver Sluggers: 3B Adam Groff wins his 7th, and DH Sen Masuda his first. Congrats! All but one winner were repeaters, with KC CF Luis Mendez nabbing his 5th, and BAL RF Cesar Alvarenga taking home his third straight
...NL Silver Sluggers: Brooklyn's 3B Chris White received his 6th trophy, at his third position (has 3 at SS, and 2 at 2B); Austin RF Phil Imel won his third straight, as did New Orleans 2B Jose Rodriguez (although his first two were at SS)
...AL Rookie of the Year: well, color me surprised, as 1B Chris Sanborn takes home the award, beating out White Sox SS Chris Rock by 5 points. Sanborn (.292/21/78, 2.2 WAR) probably won thanks to his power numbers, as Rock--who batted .313 with 3.9 WAR--hit just 5 dingers; how do I trade Sanborn now?
...NL Rookie of the Year: Padres CF Mike Israel received 26 first place votes to take home the trophy, after a .274/24/90 season, with 4.0 WAR
...AL Manager of the Year: you might think winning 102 games would be good enough for our Matt Sargent to take the award, but no; Milwaukee's Seon-gwon Che gets the nod, after a 95-win season. Granted, they did improve by 18 games and made the post-season for the first time in 6 seasons
...NL Manager of the Year: no surprise, as Atlanta's Dario Agrazal wins the NL trophy, to cap off a division win and a World Series title
...AL Cy Young: injuries ruined the season of Milwaukee's Jay Russo, the front-runner until hurt, but he still finished third in the voting; the winner was Houston's Chris Harris, who at least topped the AL with 6.0 WAR (I hear it's a useless stat?); he had a 12-8, 3.05 ERA season, with 229 K in 203.2 IP
...NL Cy Young: no shock here, as Atlanta's Jose Gutierrez (2.14, 14-4, 8.6 WAR, 279 K) was the unanimous choice; this is his second consecutive Cy Young win; the last time that happened in the NL was Gary Florence's magic run in 2039 and 2040
...AL MVP: YES, Adam Groff wins his third MVP award, getting 32 of 36 first place votes; he also won in 2039 and 2042; I mean, he DID win his 5th batting title and led MLB with 8.9 WAR
...NL MVP: a closer vote here, as Atlanta's John Arrington receives 23 first place votes to add to his season hardware (all-star nod, Silver Slugger, MVP, and World Series ring); if he can stay healthy, he'll have a Hall of Fame career [ED. note: three days after writing this, he fell at an awards ceremony and scabbed his knee. Not a serious injury, but an omen...?)

......

League news:
...not only did an elbow injury end Jay Russo's season and kill his sure-thing Cy Young win, but now a setback will cost him the 2047 season. It's hard to see how the 35-year-old comes back from this to have any kind of efficiency, to be honest.
...Tampa owner Stuart Sternberg has passed away. He'll be replaced by...his son, Stuart Sternberg, Jr., who is said to be a lenient economizer.
...Arbitration hearings are here, and I await breathlessly...

...and we came out okay, surprisingly. Rick Ramirez won his, and will get 3.395M (we offered 2.8); Ryan Ratliff won a 2.31M decision (2.0 from us); and oddly Ben Germann gets 1.1M (850K offer). All the others? We won, including Joseph Hart (he'll get 7.5M instead of the 10M he wanted) and Dan Brown (8.5M instead of 10M). All the other wins were low-salary guys who wouldn't have broken the bank either way. Also, Sen Masuda declined our 13M qualifying offer, and will hit the open market. (Friendly advice, big guy: you're not getting that much from anyone, sorry to say.)

......

Free Agents file! Time for us to come out swinging! Let's look at the top starting pitchers available, and see who we might consider as we rebuild our rotation... Here's Rafael Maldonado, 31, a two-time Cy Young/MVP winner. Excellent stuff, solid movement, great control. Groundballer. But--his third pitch, a curveball, has all but vanished. Ok. Plus, he's lazy and greedy. Umm. His WAR has dropped from 11.3 to 8.3 to 4.8. He also wants $21.5 per for 6 years. That's a contract that WILL bite someone on the ass. But not me. PASS.... How about longtime A's starter Francisco Pantaleon? He's 28, and with great stuff and good movement, but not nearly the control of Maldonado; still looks okay, tho. He's got five pitches, but only two are above average. He's been healthy so far over his five-year career. All good, but he wants $15.9M over 9 years, with the money escalating to boot. Nine years? Maaayyybe, but...nah. I've been burned before by paying for pitchers into their mid-30s.... So what about door #3, former Cubs vet John Baldwin? Excellent stuff, so-so movement, good control. Three good pitches, no fastball. Smart guy, but greedy and selfish. He's a lefty sidearmer, and doesn't fare so well against RHB. (Otherwise known as nearly 75% of MLB hitters, those pesky righties.) He's 31, and wants $14.4M per over 5 years. Eh, doubtful. Again, would rather not pa a pitcher big money up to age 36.... All three of these guys already have suitors, so the rumors say.... Interestingly, in the next tier down are two recent Hawaii castoffs: Rob Hart and Tim Pinksen. Supposedly the Cubs are sniffing around Hart, but I think he's toast. Oakland is looking at Pinksen, but he's a back-end guy, past 30, and not in my plans. Both are asking for less than $10M, which seems reasonable, but fool me once...

So what then? Why, I'm glad you asked!

OPERATION ROTATION RECLAMATION, PART ONE: We sniff around for teams that might have some pitching to burn but couldn't hit a lick last year, as we have young hitters to dangle. And hey presto! Boston comes to call, and we quickly agree to the following deal: we get SP Joe Koval (30, RH) and OF Jorge Sanchez (23, RH), in exchange for 1B/DH Chris Sanborn and OF Glenn Heath. Yes, that's right: we traded the AL Rookie of the Year and a 24-year-old top OF prospect. And what of it? We have plenty (I mean plenty) of OF, and with Groff moving to 1B, someone in that corner had to go. In exchange we get Koval, a six-year vet with excellent ratings across the board and four quality pitches. He's been a 4-to-5 WAR guy every season, and is a groundballer who's given up 0.6 HR/9 in his 937-inning big league career. In Sanchez we get a promising prospect who is an excellent fielder and good runner, has great intangibles, and will be at least a #4 OF if he hits his modest hitting ceilings; if he passes them, he'll be gold. Since we're giving up two younger players, I wanted a more sure-thing prospect (along with Koval) rather than a draft pick, even though Boston was willing to part with their second round pick. But wait, there's more...

OPERATION ROTATION RECLAMATION, PART TWO: OF Ramon Davila was our free agent find from last winter. His time in Hawaii turned out to be short, as we sent him, two others, and a pick, to the Mets for pitcher Dennis Perry (27, RH) and a first round pick. Why? Again: so many outfielders, so little space. Davila, 28, hit 25 HR but batted just .260, which was nearly a career best. I believe I have better-than-that coming up this year. We also sent sad-face backup OF Nate Flygare (he of the 156 combined AB over the last two seasons), who can get on base and run, but isn't as dynamic a hitter as we have--repeat after me--coming up from the farm. We also send 24-year-old pitcher Cory Bickett, who has promise but is coming along slowly, and was mired in AA last season. In exchange, I love the pick. I also like our new pitcher: Perry is a power pitcher who keeps the ball down, has three very nice pitches, and still has room to grow stuff- and control-wise. He's a bit unproven, as he only has 20 relief appearances under his big league belt and did struggle with control last year. But I'm taking the chance because he looks like a solid middle-rotation guy to me, and seems ready to take a spot.

We also trade minor league 1B Kevin Jacobson to St Louis for minor league 3B Jason Mickelson, but this is just a AAA roster move, to free up room for some 1B prospects, while shoring up an infield hole in the Santa Barbara gang.

......

Some big signings took place while we were welcoming our new guys to the islands...

...the Dodgers land a big fish who isn't a former closer, inking 1B Vinny Vargas to a 5-year, $129M deal. Vargas was a .340-hitting, 40-HR smashing terror over 11 years with Oakland. He was a free agent bust for Minny last year, tho, missing nearly half the season and slumping to just .276, his lowest full-season average (by 30 points) in his career. He'll help revive a Dodger attack that could only muster a .237 average last season.
...the Cubs double-dipped, landing the aforementioned SP Rafael Maldonado (5 yrs, $107M) and 3B Josh Toombs (5 yrs, $94M). Maldonado I've already talked about; he'll be good for another year, maybe two, then decline to become a cash-draining vampire. Toombs is a nice power hitter, who's turned in a few good seasons (and earned two Gold Gloves) with Milwaukee. Oddly, tho, at 30 it looks like he may have already lost a bit of contact, power, and discipline from his swing. Interesting.
...San Fran took a 3 year, $48.8M gamble on the always-injured Greg Tackett. "Tornado" should be in the Hall conversation, but injuries have cost him the equivalent of 3-4 seasons. When he's healthy, he's a do-everything hitter and outfielder. He's 35, which is not good, but has played 140+ games in four of the last five seasons; so maybe he's past the worst of his pains. But then again: he's 35.
...Toronto offered us a 30-HR hitting, 4-5 WAR earning, $16M catcher named Roger Morales. Lots of HR, but a career .245 average; and subpar defense. What do they want? My #1 prospect, my #3 prospect, and three other good-to-fair prospects. GET OUT. GET OUT NOW AND NEVER CALL ME AGAIN.
...Texas adds another quality SP--two in two years now--in the also-aforementioned Francisco Pantaleon. He's signed on for $98.2M over 7 years. Nice get for the Rangers, even if it does keep him in the division (comes over from Oakland). The A's may be pretty terrible this year.
...the Dodgers add another non-reliever (what?), signing the #1 catch in the market: 2B Juan Rodriquez, for 8 years, $177M. Just 27, and with 7 years of MLB experience, J-Rod can deliver 40 HR and a .340 AVG every year. When he wants to. Now, he probably won't do that in pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium, but he'll be just fine. He doesn't walk, and doesn't have the range for second (he really should move to third, with his sub-standard movement). At least he's out of the AL, finally.
...We tried trading for Brooklyn pitcher Jose Orozco, who rates better than the guys we did acquire; but he was too pricey. Ironic then, that the 32-year-old just declared bankruptcy, as his chain of vegan BBQ restaurants failed. Hard to believe, I know.
...Cleveland lands OF Mike Blough, a former member of the Pirates dynasty from the '30s. The 35-year-old still has it, coming off a 43-HR campaign with Brooklyn. He'll make $29M over the next 3 seasons.
...the Cubs have once again said "Enough!" to another late-season collapse, as they just inked OF Walt DiDio, 34, to a 4 year deal worth $50M. DiDio has lost a bit off his swing, but can still run and field with the best of them. He's an upgrade.
...Phillies OF Steve Dyer (who?) opened his own restaurant chain, featuring ballpark food and pub grub. "No vegan BBQ here," said the 27-year-old.

...Winter Meetings started on December 10th, with a flurry of minor signings (although Philly bolstered their already-strong bullpen with two more nice-looking veteran RP) and small trades. Although one of those trades saw a 35-year-old good-not-great relief pitcher go to Tampa for three decent-looking prospects. Who knows anymore...
...Day Two of the Meetings brings trades involving two former Islanders: San Diego moved out slugging old OF John Cannon for slugging not-so-old 1B Craig Long; while the Dodgers moved IF/OF backup extraordinaire Edward Ospina to the Giants. Neither Cannon (.218) nor Ospina (.188) hit their weight last year. Also, Seattle sent legit two-way player Steve Mellon to Miami. No word on where he'll fit with the Marlins.
...SF also picked up an under-the-radar player: IF Jared Russell, late of New Orleans. He can run, is one of the best fielders out there, and hits well enough to average .285 for his career. Not much power, but a complementary player the Giants haven't had in some time.
...Miami has offered us pitcher Corey Downes in three separate deals over the last two days. Downes is a free agent this fall, doesn't have the stuff or movement I want in a starter, and is a side-armer with bad L/R splits. NO NO NO.
...Two more big signings on Day Three: San Diego keeps up with LA by adding OF Bill Duce (who last played for...LA), for $46M over 3 years. The 2035 NL MVP can still hit, but is fairly immobile in the field these days. Meanwhile, the Yankees make their first big splash by getting former Philly SS Alex Castillo, for $96M and 6 years. The seven-time Gold Glove (5 at SS, 2 at 3B) winner can hit for power and gets on base, but is at best a .260 hitter. (He's still an upgrade over Brian Martin, who hit .297 but with just 15 walks, no power, and some pretty weak defense at a major position.)
...Boston made up for losing Koval to us by signing the top SP left on the board: John Baldwin inks for $53M over 4 seasons. He's been a pretty consistent 200-K guy for his five-year career (since coming over from Japan), but at 31, he could be on the verge of losing what little movement and control he has left.
...The Sox then go and add former Isle Tim Pinksen, at the cut rate of $9.7M over two seasons. Good on ya, Tim; just don't pitch well against us, and we're okay.

...Rule 5 Draft came and went without us making a claim. We did lose a player, however, in SP Andy Nowak. He came over from Cincy in the Hisami Masuda trade, and pitched well in AA before tearing his elbow ligament. He's still out for six more months. Although he's got some promise, at 26 and coming off a major injury, I took a chance that no one would claim him. Lost that one. But he's not a system-breaker.

...We make one more move before the New Year, signing stud reliever Ramon Sanabria to a 3-year, $15.3M deal (third year is a player option). He made a splash in his rookie season of 2040, saving 50 games with Detroit and winning the AL Hoyt Wilhelm trophy. He won the World Series (against us!) with Philly in 2045, and also pitched for the Phils last year. He's 30, a righty, and coming off a 57 IP, 2.67 ERA season where he also earned 1.0 WAR. Given how Pat Stanley and Rick Ramirez struggled in the setup role last year, and that the upcoming trio of Willard/Moore/Kramer is still no guarantee, I decided it was worth shoring up the bullpen with Sanabria. The fans, however, take no notice.
...Finally, Houston adds our former 1B Sen Masuda for a 5 year, $49.9M deal. Five years! He'll hit many home runs against us, I'm sure. But with his declining contact will probably bat .220 in another year or so. And, oh, the fans certainly took notice of this. SHUT UP FANS TRUST ME.

......

Time for a nap, as we change over from 2046 to 2047. What will the new year bring us? Probably a hangover, for a start.