Editor's note -- we are now all caught up and will be posting updates in "real time".
The baseball world's biggest focus this off season has been on the American League expansion. After the 1969 expansion Seattle Pilots had moved to Milwaukee in 1970, the City of Seattle filed suit against MLB for breach of contract. To settle things, Seattle is getting a new expansion team for 1977, the Mariners. To keep things even, the Toronto Blue Jays are also being added.
The first 10 expansion draft selections:
1. OF Reggie Smith (BOS), Toronto (.279/.341/.438, 185 HR, 1258 G, 3 time all-star)
2. OF Ellis Valentine (CAL), Seattle (.326/.382/.480, 17 HR, 83 RBI in AA in 1976)
3. P Jim Nash (OAK), Seattle (123-120, 3.65)
4. P Andy Messersmith (CWS), Toronto (68-83, 4.77)
5. IF Lenny Randle (NYY), Toronto (.268/.356/.339, 48 2B, 29 SB, 355 G)
6. P Sam McDowell (CLE), Seattle (124-105, 2.95, 6 time all-star)
7. P Luke Walker (DET), Seattle (62-56, 4.43)
8. C John Stearns (BAL), Toronto (.243/.322/.342, 57 2B, 352 G, 1 time all-star)
9. P Clinton Burr (TEX), Toronto (10-11, 3.89, 197 IP in 1976)
10. IF Julio Cruz (KC), Seattle (.315/.394/.406, 13 2B, 13 3B, 39 SB, 84 R in AA in 1976)
Montreal Notes
With the introduction of free agency in this off season, there are two Expos of note who are no longer under contract: P
Michael Willis (Career: 46-80, 4.86, 175 GS) and 1B
Jim Breazeale (Career: .240/.261/.360, 121 HR, 414 RBI).
Our rotation (in pencil) at the moment would be:
- Jack Fisher (15-8, 2.72, 235 IP)
- Frank Bork (12-14, 3.58, 239 IP)
- Dennis Eckersley (7-4, 2.69, 110 IP)
- Dick Ruthven (13-12, 4.35, 215 IP)
- Alan Griffin (injured, DNP)/Bill Kirkpatrick (5-10, 5.45, 142 IP)
There are still some questions concerning Griffin's health, so we would like to add to our pitching depth via free agency.
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A hole which we desperately need to fill is at 1B. Right now, 22 year-old
Mike Ondina is the only 1B on the 40-man roster. He hit .303/.406/.506 with 11 HR in 72 games for Denver (AAA) in 1976, but he has only 47 plate appearances for Montreal. So we will definitely be looking at 1B in free agency also.