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Bub13 · 04-24-2017, 08:19 PM

Our first real off-season is upon us. We've got a season under our belts, and I have a better idea of who I want to stay for 2035, and who needs to go. I'll also get a better feel for what I want to do when I see the results of arbitration. While we're not an extremely limited team budget-wise, we have to be sensible when doling out contracts. I don't want to put marginal players who aren't in the long-term future of this team on big deals. By 'big' I mean I'm not paying a marginal starter 6-10 million bucks per season. Plus, if we're going to have any hope of going after free agents, we'll need room to do that. I know I don't have to strictly play by OOTP's financial rules, but I'm going to try.

So, having said all that. My goals for the off-season? Build a better pitching staff. I was only happy with two pitchers last year: SP Oscar Wiggins and CL Jay Yates. Everything else is wide open. I want pitchers with better control (2nd in most walks allowed is no good), and while I prefer groundballers, our infield defense is not yet so reliable as to make that type of pitcher a must-have. Still, I'll favor that type, all other things being equal. Beyond the pitching staff, I'm a little more open to whatever is out there. I've got a nebulous crowd of outfielders, so I'd like to end up with three obvious starters and a more well-defined bench. I'd love to upgrade at SS. (Yes I know: a 57-win team probably needs upgrades everywhere.) I also want players who are more willing to take a walk to get on base.

Summing up: 1) Pitching; 2) Better contact/eye/OBP players; 3) Cheap FA

OCTOBER
...10/6 -- we get things off to a quick start with our first post-season trade: SP Fernando Tello to DET for RP Juan Salazar. There's a lot to like about Tello: intangibles, great stuff, stamina, three quality pitches. But his control was lacking (102 BB in 173 IP) and he didn't strike out enough batters to make up for that. I've had Salazar before, in Brooklyn, and he's an able set up man who instantly makes our bullpen much better. He's in the last year of his contract though, and currently makes 1.2M.
...10/13 -- our next move could be a big one. I'm excited, at least. We signed free agent SP Ken Clark out of the Mexican League for 10.5M over 3 years. My scouts love this guy, saying he has no weaknesses: good stuff, movement, and control; three developed pitches; and decent stamina. He was drafted in the 10th round by the Mets in 2028, but they released him in '29. Apparently he joined the foreign legion for a few years, because he drops off the radar until turning up for Puebla in Mexico in 2032. Last year was his first decent year, with a 3.4 WAR. There are caveats, of course: LMB is not MLB; pitchers are notoriously unreliable; and the fact that he signed quickly, as apparently no one else was after him. So a steal or a dud. We'll find out quickly, at least.

NOVEMBER
...11/1 -- Owner Goals time! I kind of like owner goals, even if some make no sense. I figure that's like management everywhere, not just in baseball. Last year our goals were: don't suck completely, average 29K in attendance, and make a profit. We did, we didn't, and we did. This year, we get: 1) Don't Suck Completely. I'm working on it. 2) Upgrade at CF. Again...working on it. 3) Increase attendance to 34K. Um...tougher, but if we play better, we'll get there. 4) Build your farm to a top-7 team. I think we'll get there sooner than you think. 5) Long term goal to make playoffs by 2041. If I can't make the playoffs by year 7, fire me.
...11/1 -- we also get a message that fan loyalty has dropped to "Above Average." Really, after one year? Fickle b*st*rds. And...Pagan has cut our budget by nine mil, down to 86M. Come on! How do you expect me to build a winning team, big guy? Jeez.
...11/6 -- I'm always up for taking advantage of other GMs, and this next move could be just that: we claim on waivers C Austin Collins from MIL. Collins right now is all hitter: not that he's exceptional anywhere, but he makes good contact, doesn't strike out much, and should develop above average power and eye. He could become a steady .290 or .300 hitter, with 15-20 HR per season. But he is slow as dirt, and his ratings as a catcher are...not good. Below average arm, catcher rating at 11 (of 20). I'll give him time in ST to see if he'll develop any more behind the plate, but as I've got two decent backstops already, Collins could see most of his time at DH. He's an upgrade there already, rating better across the board than last year's DH's, Thomas and Elder.
...11/20 -- signed Ryan Castellani to be our pitching coach in Poughkeepsie, our S A affiliate. This will be his first coaching position.
...11/24 -- TRADE! We send IF Tom Nietzke and RP Matt Inman to NYY for SP Bobby Anderson. Basically a back-of-the-lineup IF and a decent RP for a quality starter. Anderson is one of those ratings-over-stats guys, as he's had three years in the Yankees rotation and nothing stands out. He does not have great stuff, and in fact has no fastball at all, going entirely with cutter/curve/change/forkball. Very good movement and control, tho. Plus, he's a leader, and the players immediately appreciate that. He'll make 3.3M, but his contract balloons to 8M next season.
...11/26 -- arbitration decisions came out today. Mostly good news for us, as arbitrators favored the team in 8 of 10 decisions. But the ones we lost will cost us: SP Oscar Wiggins will get 6M, and OF Eric Lane 4.2M. Wiggins was our best starting pitcher by quite a lot last year, but I can't see that he's worth 6 mill. Lane is a big swinger, and did play well for us after coming over from CLE, but again I think it's an overpayment for a guy who only hits home runs, and not by the bucketful. No one else was awarded more than 1.2M, so we're not in too much pain. Yet.
...11/27 -- TRADE! More pitching. This time we send SP Jackson Klug and 1B/DH Harlan Thomas to MIA for SP Jimmy Wunderlich. I have a soft spot for Klug, as he was the only pitcher last year who got a hit for me. But he's a high stuff/low movement flyball pitcher, and I hate giving up tons of home runs. Thomas became expendable with the acquisition of Collins and the (hopefully) continued development of Dunklee at first. Wunderlich is my kind of pitcher: lots of green in the ratings, with no weak spots; groundballer; good intangibles. Went 12-12 with a 3.95 ERA and 2.5 WAR for a weak MIA team last year. Won't strike out a lot of guys. Like Anderson, also a forkball pitcher. Only noticing that now. In fact, none of the three pitchers I've acquired this off-season have a fastball. Interesting...

DECEMBER
...12/1 -- the pitching retooling continues, as we send OF Miguel Torres to STL For RP Jack Shewmake. Torres has a lot of tools: glove, speed, power, eye, and low K totals. But low contact and gap just kill him for me. Shewmake is a bit of a gamble, like most relievers. His ratings are outstanding: fantastic stuff, closer level really. Good control. Two excellent pitches (including a fastball, finally!). Velo approaching 100 mph. His stats have not been good tho: 1.62 WHIP and 5.52 ERA (but a 3.30 FIP). So he gives up a lot of hits. He did have 32 saves for the horrible Cardinals, so maybe he does have something. I'm hopeful.
...12/14 -- International free agents come out, and it's a whole lot of YAWN. We do sign 24-year-old 2B Eigo Mikami out of Japan. Solid defensively and speed to burn, but he doesn't hit. High work ethic tho, so maybe he'll still pan out. He agrees to a minor league deal.
...12/27 -- Rule 5 draft claim RP Evan Larkins from RIC. Decent enough ratings and a hard worker. Has spent two unsuccessful seasons in AAA, however. No risk, medium/high reward.
...12/30 -- going after a lot of minor league-type free agents. One worth mentioning is SS Ethan Dow. He's a lot like Mikami, above: great glove, very fast, but average bat and no power at all. Baltimore picked him in 2027, released him six months later, and he's spent six years in Mexico. Strictly a AAA guy right now, but if his bat develops he could be a quality bench player. He's 25 tho, so....long shot.

JANUARY
...1/2 -- another minor league FA signing that could develop: 1B Carlos Quintero. All bat, he projects above average in contact, gap, eye, and K avoidance. Below average power. No glove. Was a scouting discovery for TOR in 2027, and was making steady progress for them, but they just gave up on him. He's good enough for AAA, even though he never rose higher than rookie ball for the Jays. Elsewhere, we sign a lot of pitchers, the kind of guys who'll probably be looking for another minor league deal a year from now.
...1/2 -- Hall of Fame voting results: Stephen Strasburg gets in in his first year of eligibility. Of course he gets 99.3% of the vote, despite being about as sure a thing as this dynasty has produced. (See his career in the first post.) Two of my former MIA/RIC guys, Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Fernandez are the only other candidates to receive 30% of the votes. They probably won't get more next year. Some guys with pretty decent careers dropped off the list this year: Yasiel Puig, Elvis Andrus, Michael Wacha, and Nick Castellanos. They'll go into the Hall of Very Good.
...1/27 -- our glorious owner, Mr. Fickle Pagan, has decided in his glorious gloriousness to raise our budget "after seeing how the off-season has gone." We're back up to $95M...where we were last season.

FEBRUARY
...2/5 -- nothing happened this month, except that I signed a new manager for AAA Kansas City. Clarence Whitney was an 8th round draft pick of mine for Richmond, a 2B with intangibles to burn. His potential was low, but I took a chance that he'd develop beyond his means. He didn't, and retired at 26 after barely making it to AAA. But just look at his player pic. This guy is taking no crap from anybody:

Now look at him, just thirteen years later. He looks like Grady from Sanford and Son.

No wonder, since he's done nothing but travel in his dozen years as a coach: hired as the batting coach for the Hanwha Eagles in Korea, he stayed three seasons and won a title. Then off to San Diego, to manage the Padres. That ended after his second year and 58 wins. Then two years as pitching coach for Kane County in the Midwest League, and then back to Korea for a year as the batting coach for Lotte...and another KBO title. The White Sox then signed him to be their new manager, where he lasted just under four years, getting fired just before the end of 2034. Tidy up, Clarence. You might be in KC for a while.

...2/13 -- Mets owner Joey Wilpon died. Son Eric Wilpon will succeed him.

MARCH
...Spring Training! Really not much to report. We went 14-14, just slightly better than last year, which doesn't really mean much. More meaningful is that we suffered no injuries, outside of minor league SS Ethan Dow, who'll miss a month. We also got some offense from 2034 #1 overall pick Travis McArthur. He's got some developing to do yet, particular his patience and strikeout avoidance, but could play for us right now. But I still have a host of MLB-level outfielders, and would prefer for him to get a little more seasoning in AAA. Go rip the minors apart, Travis. You'll be on the islands soon enough.

APRIL
...4/2 -- TRADE! It's tough to trade pitching when you're trying to become and up-and-coming team, but we had a glaring hole at SS during camp. So today I fixed it: we sent RP Mike Koslowsky to NYY for SS/2B Tony Castro. Castro is very smart, plays hard, and has ginormous talent in the field. At the plate, he rarely strikes out, but is average to just above everywhere else, aside from having no power at all. He's 25, and has played three years in New York. He had a very good rookie year, batting .303 with 17 triples, but his stats have regressed since. He'll probably bat at 8 or 9 for us, and if he hits at all, it will be a bonus.
...4/2 -- we get one final message from our owner, who never seems to be around, but is always sending me these little messages: "I hope the off-season has treated you well! This is also a reminder that you should at least try to stay close to an even record." I've never even met the man, yet still he annoys me.
...4/2 -- Preseason Prediction time! MLB says we'll win 72 games and finish last in the West. Surprise, surprise. They also say that 1B Dunklee will hit 30 HR and hit .297/.399/.530. I'll take that. Elsewhere, AL division winners will be Toronto (100 wins), Minnesota/Cleveland (tied at 88), and the Angels (99). Texas and Boston will finish with 85 wins and duke it out for the other wild card. In the NL, Atlanta (95), Montreal (97), and San Francisco (87) will win their divisions, with Richmond (89) and Pittsburgh (93) getting wild cards. I'm a little surprised about that MTL/PIT pick, but the Expos are picked to have three starters and their closer among the top ten pitchers in the league. League doormats will be the White Sox (60 wins), Detroit (62), New Orleans (68), and St. Louis (69). We're just above doormat status! Huzzah!

Next up: Opening Day roster and personal outlook

04-24-2017, 08:19 PM	#7
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	Now is the Winter of our (Dis)Content Our first real off-season is upon us. We've got a season under our belts, and I have a better idea of who I want to stay for 2035, and who needs to go. I'll also get a better feel for what I want to do when I see the results of arbitration. While we're not an extremely limited team budget-wise, we have to be sensible when doling out contracts. I don't want to put marginal players who aren't in the long-term future of this team on big deals. By 'big' I mean I'm not paying a marginal starter 6-10 million bucks per season. Plus, if we're going to have any hope of going after free agents, we'll need room to do that. I know I don't have to strictly play by OOTP's financial rules, but I'm going to try. So, having said all that. My goals for the off-season? Build a better pitching staff. I was only happy with two pitchers last year: SP Oscar Wiggins and CL Jay Yates. Everything else is wide open. I want pitchers with better control (2nd in most walks allowed is no good), and while I prefer groundballers, our infield defense is not yet so reliable as to make that type of pitcher a must-have. Still, I'll favor that type, all other things being equal. Beyond the pitching staff, I'm a little more open to whatever is out there. I've got a nebulous crowd of outfielders, so I'd like to end up with three obvious starters and a more well-defined bench. I'd love to upgrade at SS. (Yes I know: a 57-win team probably needs upgrades everywhere.) I also want players who are more willing to take a walk to get on base. Summing up: 1) Pitching; 2) Better contact/eye/OBP players; 3) Cheap FA OCTOBER ...10/6 -- we get things off to a quick start with our first post-season trade: SP Fernando Tello to DET for RP Juan Salazar. There's a lot to like about Tello: intangibles, great stuff, stamina, three quality pitches. But his control was lacking (102 BB in 173 IP) and he didn't strike out enough batters to make up for that. I've had Salazar before, in Brooklyn, and he's an able set up man who instantly makes our bullpen much better. He's in the last year of his contract though, and currently makes 1.2M. ...10/13 -- our next move could be a big one. I'm excited, at least. We signed free agent SP Ken Clark out of the Mexican League for 10.5M over 3 years. My scouts love this guy, saying he has no weaknesses: good stuff, movement, and control; three developed pitches; and decent stamina. He was drafted in the 10th round by the Mets in 2028, but they released him in '29. Apparently he joined the foreign legion for a few years, because he drops off the radar until turning up for Puebla in Mexico in 2032. Last year was his first decent year, with a 3.4 WAR. There are caveats, of course: LMB is not MLB; pitchers are notoriously unreliable; and the fact that he signed quickly, as apparently no one else was after him. So a steal or a dud. We'll find out quickly, at least. NOVEMBER ...11/1 -- Owner Goals time! I kind of like owner goals, even if some make no sense. I figure that's like management everywhere, not just in baseball. Last year our goals were: don't suck completely, average 29K in attendance, and make a profit. We did, we didn't, and we did. This year, we get: 1) Don't Suck Completely. I'm working on it. 2) Upgrade at CF. Again...working on it. 3) Increase attendance to 34K. Um...tougher, but if we play better, we'll get there. 4) Build your farm to a top-7 team. I think we'll get there sooner than you think. 5) Long term goal to make playoffs by 2041. If I can't make the playoffs by year 7, fire me. ...11/1 -- we also get a message that fan loyalty has dropped to "Above Average." Really, after one year? Fickle bstrds. And...Pagan has cut our budget by nine mil, down to 86M. Come on! How do you expect me to build a winning team, big guy? Jeez. ...11/6 -- I'm always up for taking advantage of other GMs, and this next move could be just that: we claim on waivers C Austin Collins from MIL. Collins right now is all hitter: not that he's exceptional anywhere, but he makes good contact, doesn't strike out much, and should develop above average power and eye. He could become a steady .290 or .300 hitter, with 15-20 HR per season. But he is slow as dirt, and his ratings as a catcher are...not good. Below average arm, catcher rating at 11 (of 20). I'll give him time in ST to see if he'll develop any more behind the plate, but as I've got two decent backstops already, Collins could see most of his time at DH. He's an upgrade there already, rating better across the board than last year's DH's, Thomas and Elder. ...11/20 -- signed Ryan Castellani to be our pitching coach in Poughkeepsie, our S A affiliate. This will be his first coaching position. ...11/24 -- TRADE! We send IF Tom Nietzke and RP Matt Inman to NYY for SP Bobby Anderson. Basically a back-of-the-lineup IF and a decent RP for a quality starter. Anderson is one of those ratings-over-stats guys, as he's had three years in the Yankees rotation and nothing stands out. He does not have great stuff, and in fact has no fastball at all, going entirely with cutter/curve/change/forkball. Very good movement and control, tho. Plus, he's a leader, and the players immediately appreciate that. He'll make 3.3M, but his contract balloons to 8M next season. ...11/26 -- arbitration decisions came out today. Mostly good news for us, as arbitrators favored the team in 8 of 10 decisions. But the ones we lost will cost us: SP Oscar Wiggins will get 6M, and OF Eric Lane 4.2M. Wiggins was our best starting pitcher by quite a lot last year, but I can't see that he's worth 6 mill. Lane is a big swinger, and did play well for us after coming over from CLE, but again I think it's an overpayment for a guy who only hits home runs, and not by the bucketful. No one else was awarded more than 1.2M, so we're not in too much pain. Yet. ...11/27 -- TRADE! More pitching. This time we send SP Jackson Klug and 1B/DH Harlan Thomas to MIA for SP Jimmy Wunderlich. I have a soft spot for Klug, as he was the only pitcher last year who got a hit for me. But he's a high stuff/low movement flyball pitcher, and I hate giving up tons of home runs. Thomas became expendable with the acquisition of Collins and the (hopefully) continued development of Dunklee at first. Wunderlich is my kind of pitcher: lots of green in the ratings, with no weak spots; groundballer; good intangibles. Went 12-12 with a 3.95 ERA and 2.5 WAR for a weak MIA team last year. Won't strike out a lot of guys. Like Anderson, also a forkball pitcher. Only noticing that now. In fact, none of the three pitchers I've acquired this off-season have a fastball. Interesting... DECEMBER ...12/1 -- the pitching retooling continues, as we send OF Miguel Torres to STL For RP Jack Shewmake. Torres has a lot of tools: glove, speed, power, eye, and low K totals. But low contact and gap just kill him for me. Shewmake is a bit of a gamble, like most relievers. His ratings are outstanding: fantastic stuff, closer level really. Good control. Two excellent pitches (including a fastball, finally!). Velo approaching 100 mph. His stats have not been good tho: 1.62 WHIP and 5.52 ERA (but a 3.30 FIP). So he gives up a lot of hits. He did have 32 saves for the horrible Cardinals, so maybe he does have something. I'm hopeful. ...12/14 -- International free agents come out, and it's a whole lot of YAWN. We do sign 24-year-old 2B Eigo Mikami out of Japan. Solid defensively and speed to burn, but he doesn't hit. High work ethic tho, so maybe he'll still pan out. He agrees to a minor league deal. ...12/27 -- Rule 5 draft claim RP Evan Larkins from RIC. Decent enough ratings and a hard worker. Has spent two unsuccessful seasons in AAA, however. No risk, medium/high reward. ...12/30 -- going after a lot of minor league-type free agents. One worth mentioning is SS Ethan Dow. He's a lot like Mikami, above: great glove, very fast, but average bat and no power at all. Baltimore picked him in 2027, released him six months later, and he's spent six years in Mexico. Strictly a AAA guy right now, but if his bat develops he could be a quality bench player. He's 25 tho, so....long shot. JANUARY ...1/2 -- another minor league FA signing that could develop: 1B Carlos Quintero. All bat, he projects above average in contact, gap, eye, and K avoidance. Below average power. No glove. Was a scouting discovery for TOR in 2027, and was making steady progress for them, but they just gave up on him. He's good enough for AAA, even though he never rose higher than rookie ball for the Jays. Elsewhere, we sign a lot of pitchers, the kind of guys who'll probably be looking for another minor league deal a year from now. ...1/2 -- Hall of Fame voting results: Stephen Strasburg gets in in his first year of eligibility. Of course he gets 99.3% of the vote, despite being about as sure a thing as this dynasty has produced. (See his career in the first post.) Two of my former MIA/RIC guys, Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Fernandez are the only other candidates to receive 30% of the votes. They probably won't get more next year. Some guys with pretty decent careers dropped off the list this year: Yasiel Puig, Elvis Andrus, Michael Wacha, and Nick Castellanos. They'll go into the Hall of Very Good. ...1/27 -- our glorious owner, Mr. Fickle Pagan, has decided in his glorious gloriousness to raise our budget "after seeing how the off-season has gone." We're back up to $95M...where we were last season. FEBRUARY ...2/5 -- nothing happened this month, except that I signed a new manager for AAA Kansas City. Clarence Whitney was an 8th round draft pick of mine for Richmond, a 2B with intangibles to burn. His potential was low, but I took a chance that he'd develop beyond his means. He didn't, and retired at 26 after barely making it to AAA. But just look at his player pic. This guy is taking no crap from anybody: Now look at him, just thirteen years later. He looks like Grady from Sanford and Son. No wonder, since he's done nothing but travel in his dozen years as a coach: hired as the batting coach for the Hanwha Eagles in Korea, he stayed three seasons and won a title. Then off to San Diego, to manage the Padres. That ended after his second year and 58 wins. Then two years as pitching coach for Kane County in the Midwest League, and then back to Korea for a year as the batting coach for Lotte...and another KBO title. The White Sox then signed him to be their new manager, where he lasted just under four years, getting fired just before the end of 2034. Tidy up, Clarence. You might be in KC for a while. ...2/13 -- Mets owner Joey Wilpon died. Son Eric Wilpon will succeed him. MARCH ...Spring Training! Really not much to report. We went 14-14, just slightly better than last year, which doesn't really mean much. More meaningful is that we suffered no injuries, outside of minor league SS Ethan Dow, who'll miss a month. We also got some offense from 2034 #1 overall pick Travis McArthur. He's got some developing to do yet, particular his patience and strikeout avoidance, but could play for us right now. But I still have a host of MLB-level outfielders, and would prefer for him to get a little more seasoning in AAA. Go rip the minors apart, Travis. You'll be on the islands soon enough. APRIL ...4/2 -- TRADE! It's tough to trade pitching when you're trying to become and up-and-coming team, but we had a glaring hole at SS during camp. So today I fixed it: we sent RP Mike Koslowsky to NYY for SS/2B Tony Castro. Castro is very smart, plays hard, and has ginormous talent in the field. At the plate, he rarely strikes out, but is average to just above everywhere else, aside from having no power at all. He's 25, and has played three years in New York. He had a very good rookie year, batting .303 with 17 triples, but his stats have regressed since. He'll probably bat at 8 or 9 for us, and if he hits at all, it will be a bonus. ...4/2 -- we get one final message from our owner, who never seems to be around, but is always sending me these little messages: "I hope the off-season has treated you well! This is also a reminder that you should at least try to stay close to an even record." I've never even met the man, yet still he annoys me. ...4/2 -- Preseason Prediction time! MLB says we'll win 72 games and finish last in the West. Surprise, surprise. They also say that 1B Dunklee will hit 30 HR and hit .297/.399/.530. I'll take that. Elsewhere, AL division winners will be Toronto (100 wins), Minnesota/Cleveland (tied at 88), and the Angels (99). Texas and Boston will finish with 85 wins and duke it out for the other wild card. In the NL, Atlanta (95), Montreal (97), and San Francisco (87) will win their divisions, with Richmond (89) and Pittsburgh (93) getting wild cards. I'm a little surprised about that MTL/PIT pick, but the Expos are picked to have three starters and their closer among the top ten pitchers in the league. League doormats will be the White Sox (60 wins), Detroit (62), New Orleans (68), and St. Louis (69). We're just above doormat status! Huzzah! Next up: Opening Day roster and personal outlook Last edited by Bub13; 05-06-2018 at 11:45 AM.