[Bub13]

More fun, off-season style

(New additions will be underlined.)

WE
...The Islanders off-season hits the ground running, as we claim three players off waivers on one day. First, we nab OF Adam Dann from San Diego. Took a flyer on Dann, as he's 28 with only seven MLB at bats (one hit). Those are his only plate appearances above AA. He has little power, and won't hit much else besides, but is dynamic in the field. He rates at all three positions, has a great arm, great glove, and great range. Great! And yet, due to his weak bat he may still end up in AAA, if I can sneak him through waivers at the end of camp. No risk attached, though.

After Dann, we grab two relievers, trying to address that shortcoming I'm sure you're tired of hearing me whine about. We get 25-year-old lefty Aaron Glass from Seattle, and 26-year-old righty Chris Mayer from Richmond. Glass is all power, with a 99 MPH fastball and an even better curve. His control is average, but if he can keep the ball down, our infield defense should help make up for that. He had a combined 3.16 ERA in 71 IP for Philly and Seattle. Mayer has little big league experience (6 GP in two seasons), but is well-rated across the board, and combines a great slider with a good cutter. He's at least another decent-enough body to help plug the gap. Both will make minimum next year.

...To make room for more off-season moves, I waive backup C Willie Zamorano. He was an above-average platoon catcher for two seasons, but last year was slumpy and cranky, and is due a raise. He's claimed by the Angels.

...AWARD TIME: Travis McArthur wins the Gold Glove in LF. He started 154 games, made 1 error, had 19 assists, and a +10.7 ZR. Jack Shewmake, now our closer but a setup man last year, wins the AL Hoyt Wilhelm award. Silver Sluggers went to 1B Jeremy Dunklee and CF Josh Drayton. Ken Clark finished second in AL Cy Young voting (Toronto's Dave Henderson won his second consecutive award). AND....Dunklee wins the AL MVP award; Drayton finished third.

...ARBITRATIONS: As usual, we won the cheap ones, and lost the expensive ones. Moreno, Ferenczi, Miranda, Hebert, and Bolin will all make 800 or 750K. Wiggins will now make 4M, Shewmake 4.25, and Mullen 3.36. All raises have been budgeted for, so these aren't out of line.

...LET'S MAKE A DEAL: November ends with two trades. First, we send DH Erik Hodge and OF Marc Ferenczi to the Mets, getting CF Jason Raymer and RP Vinny Cruz. Raymer is similar to Dann, above, but a slightly better hitter and better baserunner. Cruz is a righty, solid in all areas, has three pitches, and stamina enough to be a spot starter for us. Raymer makes minimum, Cruz 980K.

Deal #2 is a lot bigger. We send 2B Phil Clarke and SP Bobby Anderson, along with prospects Aldo Gouweleeuw and Lawrence Teklu (both pitchers), to Minnesota for SP Tom DiFranco and RP Bryan Dever. Clarke was solid in his single year for us, but his escalating salary and rising prospects made him expendable; like Clarke, Anderson's salary had me looking to deal him. Aldo and Teklu are decent, but were well down the line on our prospect list. DiFranco, a 31-year-old lefty, has been a 3-4 WAR pitcher his career. He has four pitches, is a groundballer, and has better stuff and movement than Anderson, although lower control. He's only signed through next year however, so we'll have to reassess his future after the season. Dever's a high-stuff, high-movement guy, with good control. We're piling up relievers now.

...Rule 5 Draft comes and goes....and we add two more players. (Where will they all go?) OF Ernesto Martinez is our first pick, from Cincinnati. Good hitter with power, good fielder with a great arm, and is left-handed. Will absolutely not hit against lefty pitching, though. Next, we take C Jon Hudson from Atlanta. Decent contact and gap, won't strike out much, below average power and eye. Good fielder, and is "captain material." Both are on minor league deals.

...We finally dip into free agency with the signing of C Orlando Villanueva. He's 24, left-handed, with pronounced L/R splits. He's a decent enough hitter, but with a poor eye. He'll compete with Hudson to be the backup catcher we need. He had 8 at bats with Philly, with 3 hits, but hit poorly in AAA. He's a great clubhouse guy, and agrees to a minor league contract.

...We beef up our rotation a little more by signing free agent Brady Dunne. He's a righty, and is 35, but has been remarkably durable. He's been a 4-5 WAR guy most of his career, with a 98-MPH fastball coupled with a top changeup and good slider. His control is also remarkable, walking less than 2 men per game, and also keeps the ball down. He wasn't cheap, signing for $14M per for two years. But I had him pegged as the #2 free agent starter this fall, behind former Expo Bill Salazar, who is a year-in, year-out Cy Young candidate. Milwaukee got him for 19M per for the next 8 years. Dunne spent 2036 with the Dodgers.

...Yes, another reliever: Righty Steve Miller signs for 1.2M. Big time stuff, with a fastball that hits 101. Also has good movement and control. I think he can be a quality set up guy for us. He made 21 starts for Baltimore last year, but doesn't have the third pitch for the rotation. He's popular, and the fans go wild (!) after his signing.

...One more: we re-sign Ryan Key to a three-year deal, once he decided to stop asking for 2M per year. Very similar to Miller, above, but with less velo. Split between middle relief and a setup role last year.

...To make room for the recent signings, I place several marginal players on waivers, pending reassignment. We do lose one, however: original Islander draft pick OF Tred Winchester gets claimed by Washington. He had 8.5 WAR in AAA last year, which was by far his career highlight.


THEY
The big free agent signings this off-season are:
...LAD signs P Andy Fisher, 2 yrs 31.3M. Premiere SP numbers, but only a 7 stamina. They want him to close. Lot of money for a closer.
...RIC brings IF Ty Cobb (yep) back home, after four years in Detroit. He'll get 8.6 per for 2 years. A truly amazing contact hitter, his 14-year slash line is .355/.451/.420. He's hit 12 HR in those 14 years.
...RIC adds SP Gabe Pamperin, 4 yrs 58M. Was 12-12, 3.00 ERA, 6.3 WAR for Boston.
...KC adds the only international FA worth mentioning, RF Hakaru Watanabe. He'll hit highlight reel HRs, will probably bat .250, and strike out at least once per game. He signs for 9.4M per for 2 yrs.
...LAD gets 3B Josh Sikes for 83.7M over 6 yrs. That's a lot of green for a guy who's only topped 4 WAR once, averages 190 K's per season, and a career slash of .216/.306/.406.
...KC signs SP Daryll Evans for 18.1M for 2 yrs. Maybe we got Dunne on the cheap after all. He's a 5 WAR guy, but is now 32. That much cash ought to get you an ace, not a #3 guy.
...PHI signs SP Drew Warren for 10.4 per, and SP Tom Sloan for 13M per. They already have two other guys making over 13M, meaning they'll have nearly 60M invested in their rotation for 2037. Bears watching.
...CIN signs P Alex Lopez for 5.5M for 3 yrs. Too bad; he pitched for us last year, and will be on the DL until mid-summer, meaning I'd hoped other teams would avoid him and I could try signing him on the cheap while rehabbing him for 2038.
...MIL signs SP Bill Salazar away from the Expos, for 152M over 8 yrs. Team captain, solid ace material. Did miss 1/2 the season last year. (See also: Brady Dunne note, above.)
...MTL may have lost in pitching, but gained CF Andy Sanchez, who'll make 41.9M over 4 yrs. A fan favorite known for his highlight-reel plays in center, he might also compete for the NL batting crown.
...LAD overpay for RP Erik Davis, getting him at 8.1M per for 3 yrs. He's decent enough, but I signed better for 1.2M and under. The Dodgers have way more money than sense.
...CHW gives CL Casee Sutherland 12.6M for next season. Last year's NL Wilhelm Award winner had 110 K in 84 IP for Washington, but twelve million bucks from a last place team?
...starting pitching was all the rage this FA season. Also signed were: Erik McKay (RIC, 22.4M, 2 yrs); Ian Davidson (TEX, 48.4M, 4 yrs); Mike Gardner (CHC, 74.3M, 5 yrs)


HALL OF FAME
Hall voters put three players in this year: OF Mike Trout (98.7%), CL Paco Rodriguez (92.3), and SP Michael Samuels (85.5). I'm not surprised these three got in, but I am a little surprised that Rodriguez and Samuels made it their first year on the ballot. Lewis Thorpe (71.4) gained a percent, and Nabil Crismatt got 64.6 percent; no one else received more than 50 percent of the vote. There were no veteran's committee additions this year. (See also the HoF post, above.)


BREAKING NEWS!
The Colorado Rockies are no more. Despite (or maybe due to) being a Colorado native, owner Charlie Monfort has moved the team to Austin, Texas, where they will become the Outlaws. Monfort cited "lack of fan support" as a critical reason for the move. In their 43-year history, the Rockies only made the playoffs four times, with no division titles and zero championships. They had not made the playoffs since 2021, and had only one winning season since 2027. They won 61 games in 2036, and there's little hope that they'll win more in 2037. The team has been exceptionally quiet this off-season, making eight waiver claims and only one minor trade with Richmond. They'll play in 45,500 seat Clark Field, a hitter's ballpark that favors right handed batters.


Next up: Spring Training and all that jazz