[Izz]

Offseason

2028 Notes

ERA across the league rose to 4.04. Batting avg. rose to .260, the highest since the 2020 season.

Notable Club Happenings

14 Apr: The Aces fired their long-serving GM Steven Foley. 2028 was the first time in 5 years the Aces didn't make the playoffs. Foley had 2 Championship Rings, one with the Aces and the other with the Blue Sox in 2020.

14 Apr: The Roos fired skipper Marcus Brigatti. He'd been with the Roos for 3 seasons, and 2028 was the first time he didn't get them to the postseason.

Notable Free Agent Signings/Player Contract Extensions

8 May: This year's free agents included 37 y/o Benjamin Beamish, 28 y/o Wendell Trevelyan, 25 y/o Carl Spruijt, 37 y/o Axel Stennings, 29 y/o Karl Rice, 28 y/o Wendell Baxter, 38 y/o Dermott Ford (chasing 2,000 hits), 29 y/o Rick Hoolahan, 28 y/o Damian Neill, 27 y/o Jason McHugh, 37 y/o Mike Millar, 36 y/o Carlo Browne, 38 y/o Harrison Wonnocott, and 32 y/o Paul McKinna.

16 May: Benjamin Beamish signed a 2-year contract with the Aces. He was excited at the chance to finish his career in his hometown.

17 May: Axel Stennings signed for 2 years with the Heat.

17 May: The Fury replaced Gavin Moss, who they'd traded to the Thunder mid-season, with Wendell Baxter (.310/.360/.460 career), signing him to a 5-year deal.

21 May: The Roos re-signed Jason McHugh for 2 years.

23 May: Rick Hoolahan signed with the Thunder for 4 years.

24 May: The Cavalry snared Damian Neill on a big money 6-year deal.

26 May: Travis 'Roo' Mullens, 37 years old, signed with the Prospects for 2 years. He would be their closer.

30 May: The Metros re-signed Wendell Trevelyan to a 5-year deal.

8 Jun: Karl Rice signed a 5-year deal with the Cowboys.

15 Jun: The Cavalry signed Carl Spruijt for 4 years. At 25, Spruijt was the youngest free agent to ever hit the AUNZBL market.

29 Jun: The Fury signed Harrison Wonnocott to a 2-year deal.

1 Jul: Dermott Ford signed for 2 years with the Roos.

1 Jul: Carlo Browne, successful starter converted to successful closer, signed with the Fury for 2 years. They signed him as a starter, not a closer, though by the end of spring training he was back in the closer role.

1 Jul: The Metros signed Mike Millar to a 1-year deal. If Millar could stay healthy he could well be a good signing for the Metros.

7 Jul: Tyler Silk, who hadn't pitched since 2027, quietly filed for free agency. A few teams obviously still saw some worth in the battered strikeout machine, because rumors around his signing circulated through the offseason. Eventually, the Bandits procured his signature for the 2029 season, at a modest sum. Once again, betting agencies started 'How long will Tyler Silk last?' promotions. Most didn't think he'd get past October.

15 Jul: 41 year-old Byron Eissens signed a 1-year deal extension with the Bandits. In 2028 Eissens hit .241/.404/.459 with 20HR across 119 games.

7 Aug: The Roos re-signed Bob Wise to a 1-year deal. Before the start of the 2028 season, he'd signed for the Roos for 2 years, but the second year was based on a vesting option which he did not meet. Still, the club was happy to sign him again, by all accounts for a lot less coin.

8 Aug: The Metros signed Paul McKinna to a 1-year deal.

20 Aug: After testing the open market, Al Stapleton re-signed with the Metros for a year.

23 Sep: Russell Roberts signed a 1-year extension with the Aces.

Notable Trades

26 Apr: 36 y/o Hayden Foreman found himself on the move after signing with Perth only 1 season earlier. He was off to the Cowboys for 26 y/o utility Carl Sarkies (.249/.292/.394, 18HR in 2028, .248/.290/.395, 47HR lifetime) and a prospect.

30 Apr: The Cowboys found themselves in the trade news again, this time sending 30 y/o SS Neil 'Hamburger' Browne (.299/.351/.398, 3HR in 72 games in 2028, .254/.315/.354, 33HR career) to the Metros in return for 27 y/o RF Allan Anglesey (.298/.359/.474, 1HR in 19 games in 2028, .279/.359/.474, 14 HR across career--1 full season, 2 incomplete), and a prospect.

10 May: The Metros acquired 28 y/o RF Robin Pride (.290/.347/.514, 23HR in 2028, .278/.342/.446, 86HR career) from the Venom in return for 3 minor leaguers. One, 21 y/o 3B Sebastian Ayres, was rated a definite prospect.

28 May: Of all the teams, it seemed the Metros loved wheel and dealing the most at the trade table. They sent 25 y/o SP Lance Peet (16-10, 3.32 ERA, 3.85 FIP in 2028, 31-23, 3.74 ERA, 3.90 FIP career) to Perth for 27 y/o CF Tye Lightfoot (.254/.302/.397, 7HR in 66 games in 2028, .274/.315/.410, 28HR career) and a catching prospect.

31 May: In a real eyebrow-raising trade, the Heat agreed to send Alistair Blanksby (32 y/o) to the Bandits in exchange for 25 y/o 1B Juan Hernandez (.274/.350/.435, 14HR in 2028, .268/.342/.420, 53HR across 3 1/2 seasons career) and a pitching prospect.

15 Jun: The Metros pulled the trigger on another trade, questionable to some, acquiring 29 y/o SP Elliot Browne (12-14, 4.46 ERA, 4.21 FIP in 2028, 93-84, 4.03 ERA, 4.21 FIP career) from the Bandits in exchange for 29 y/o LF Cameron Dutton (.306/.361/.457, 194 hits, 35 dbls, 19HR in 2028, .271/.320/.438, 63HR lifetime) and a prospect.

20 Jun: The Aces sent 39 y/o LF Matt Dickinson (.246/.280/.419, 11HR off the bench in 2028) and a minor leaguer to the Heat in exchange for 32 y/o SS Martin Collard (.267/.315/.326 in 2028, .271/.315/.325 lifetime).

Notable Injuries

22 Sep: Angelo Glatz, Hobert starting pitcher, picked up the first significant injury of the 2029 season, impinging his shoulder tendons. He would be out for 5 months. The 25 y/o was gutted, but joked that he wasn't thinking of changing his last name to 'Glass' just yet.

Other Notes

Prior to Spring Training, the official AUNZBL site reported that the Heat had made the best offseason moves, gaining 11.4 WAR. The Cavalry were second with a net 5.0 WAR gain, and the Fury ranked 3rd, gaining 3.1 WAR.

The Bandits had made the worst moves, according to the experts, losing 8.5 WAR. The Aces lost 5.6 WAR, and the already terrible Blue Sox, who'd lost a heap of players to free agency but who only had the budget for one signing, an average reliever, had lost a net 3.6 WAR (though some of the free agents who left had negative WARs).

The 2 top prospects listed on the AUNZBL site leading into the 2029 season were both from Hobart. LF Christos Ross, and 1B Alistair Mildren. Both would start the season in the minors.