View Single Post
Old 08-26-2019, 06:51 PM   #9
Paulie123
All Star Starter
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Manchester, England
Posts: 1,945
December 2054

Free agency
  • I put in a series of offers for free agents to fill the many gaps in our 25-man roster created by last month’s departures. Although our high first round draft pick is protected, I’ve only just offloaded some big earners from the payroll and am not prepared to offer a new large contract that I might regret in a couple of years. There were no absolute “can’t miss” guys in this offseason’s free agent pool anyway.
  • My staff and I drew up a (lengthy) list of targets, and our strategy was to move quickly, so that we would have both time and other options if we could not get the guys we wanted. As it happened, I managed to bag all my top targets before the month was out.
  • C Jorge Flores (age 31, RHB, 1.5*) agreed a one-year deal for $2.2m and barring injury will start the new season as back up Pedro Rivas, ahead of Manolo Huerta. Flores hit for a .721 OPS this season. Defensively he’s dropped off from his level of 2050 when he won a Glove Wizard award at catcher, but he’s still good and I like good defense in that position.
  • The team lacked good defense and was particularly poor at CF. To replace Warren Glass, I agreed a two year, $11m deal with former Baton Roug outfielder Rory Simmons (age 30, LHB, 1.5*). Simmons is a streaky slugger so you never know what he’ll do with the bat, but his value comes from his elite defense, where he’s won two Glove Wizard awards, and exceptional baserunning. He’ll bat 8th or 9th in the order.
  • Plugging the hole at RF is Ian Britt (age 28, RHB, 2*). Britt has never quite performed to the generous talent assessments of SCL scouts and has a disappointing career .657 OPS. He was disappointing for me at the Magpies in 2053, where he never made it out of the minor league roster and I traded him to Annapolis. Now Britt will get the chance to show me what he can do. He’ll platoon with Arroyo in RF.
  • The first free agent pitcher to sign on the dotted line was lefty Gerardo Rivera (age 30, LHP, 2.5*), twice an all-star but looking to bounce back from putting up the worst season of his career (8-15, 4.75). He has operated almost exclusively as a starter during his professional career so far, but will join our pitching staff in the bullpen as the lefty setup man. Made his major league debut as an Eagle back in 2046 after I had traded him there from the Magpies while still a prospect. Rivera’s 1-yr deal is worth $2.4m.
  • MR Don Rich (age 34, RHP, 2.5*) became yet another ex-Magpie to join me here in Richmond. Rich has outstanding control (career 2.00 BB/9) but can sometimes struggle to beat the bat. He’ll begin the season on the minor league roster and will be the first call-up in the event of injury or underperformance.
  • Next free agent reliever to agree terms was MR Seth Middleton (age 29, RHP, 4*), on a 1-yr deal. My scouts have concerns over his fitness (they claim he’s “wrecked”) and he was certainly disappointing for Denver last year, where he put up a 4.90 FIP over 66 innings. But his walk rate was way up on his career norms and I’m gambling his $4m salary on an injury-free bounce back.
  • I also secured a recognised closer in the shape of veteran Justin Dodson (age 36, RHP, 3*). Dodson throws at a pedestrian pace and has always relied on movement and control to get outs. He is coming off a terrific season for Nashville, where he went 5-2 with a 1.36 ERA and led the league with 52 saves. Surprisingly he was not a Type A or Type B free agent, and so his $4.5m deal doesn’t attract draft pick compensation.
  • These deals mean that five of my 2055 reliever corps (Dodson, Suárez, Middleton, Rich, Rivera) are on only 1-year contracts, so I could have a bullpen to rebuild again this time next year. But by the time we get to the draft in June, I’ll be able to make an assessment of which guys I will try to sign to an extension, and also the extent to which I’ve been able to draft young relievers who may be able to join the roster for 2056.
  • A busy month of arrivals for the New Player Support department!

Roster moves
  • Butch Davis agreed a contract extension to buy out his arbitration years 2056, 2057, 2058. The deal is worth $9m annually, below our current arbitration estimate for Davis of $11m. I think this could prove to be great value to the team.
  • I agreed a similar arbitration years contract with fellow young starting pitcher Manny Clemons. The $5m is slightly over his arbitration estimate for 2056, but I hope will save money over the course of the contract compared to three years of likely escalating arbitration awards.

News from around the league
  • Ex-Magpies RF Pedro Soto cashed in with a lucrative $102m/5yr free agent move to Denver. He is incredibly consistent and I’m not thrilled to have him in our division.
  • Lansing signed up veteran RF Jeff Harrington on a deal worth $79m over 4 years. He has a career .813 OPS and has slugged 270 homers. A good move by the Sharks.
Attached Images
Image 
Paulie123 is offline   Reply With Quote