Architect of Oakland: The Pierre Lemieux Chronicles

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The Unified Baseball League (UBL) was established in 1975 with eight founding franchises across two leagues. The Liberty League began with the New York Monarchs, Atlanta Comets, Chicago Sentinels, and Nashville Stars, while the Dominion League launched with the Los Angeles Titans, San Francisco Dukes, Portland Pioneers, and Dallas Outlaws. These eight original clubs dubbed "The Founders" formed the foundation of the modern league.

In 1978, the Dominion League adopted the designated hitter (DH), creating the first major rules divergence between the two leagues. The first wave of expansion arrived in 1979, adding the Philadelphia Ironclads (Liberty) and Seattle Trailblazers (Dominion). This was followed by further expansion in 1981, when the Boston Paladins (Liberty) and Denver Crusaders (Dominion) joined the league. That same year, the UBL introduced its first wild card playoff berth, giving each league one non-division winner entry into the postseason.

Growth continued in 1983 with the addition of the Cleveland Rangers (Liberty) and Houston Legion (Dominion). Two years later, in 1985, the Pittsburgh Commanders (Liberty) and Toronto Vanguards (Dominion) entered the league. This triggered a restructuring into four divisions, with only division winners qualifying for the playoffs. The wild card system was temporarily removed as part of this change.

The next expansion occurred in 1990, with the Baltimore Wardens (Liberty) and Phoenix Archers (Dominion). Expansion resumed in 1992, adding the Milwaukee Bishops (Liberty) and San Diego Brigadiers (Dominion). With these additions, the UBL reinstated the wild card, now expanding to two wild card teams per league.

The mid-1990s were marked by controversy. In 1994, Barry Timar (San Diego Brigadiers, CF) and Joe Pugsley (Nashville Stars, SP) were both suspended for the entire 1995 season for PED violations. Nonetheless, the league grew in 1995, adding the Las Vegas Black Aces (Liberty) and Austin Commodores (Dominion).

The 1996 season became iconic due to a dramatic home-run chase between Zachary McLeer (Cleveland Rangers) and Alex Ebell (Milwaukee Bishops). McLeer hit 63 home runs, narrowly surpassing Ebell’s 62. However, on July 20, 1998, McLeer was permanently banned from the UBL for PED usage, ending a career in which he hit 341 home runs over eight seasons after being drafted 3rd overall in 1988. The 1998 season also saw expansion with the Indianapolis Tigers (Liberty) and Sacramento Terriers (Dominion), and it witnessed Alex Ebell breaking McLeer’s record with 65 home runs.

In 2000, the Dominion League abolished the designated hitter, restoring rule uniformity across the UBL. The following year, 2001, Ebell produced an astonishing 71-home-run season, and league rules changed again as free-agency eligibility dropped to five years of service time. A new wave of expansion arrived in 2005 with the Charlotte Diamonds (Liberty) and Oklahoma City Red Hawks (Dominion), followed by the Albuquerque Mets (Liberty) and Tucson Spinners (Dominion) in 2007.

The final major era of change came in 2010, which brought the New Orleans Slammers (Dominion) and Detroit Generals (Dominion) into the league. The league also saw its first change at the helm, as longtime commissioner Harold Mendez stepped down, succeeded by Richard Donovan. One of Donovan’s early acts was securing a new collective bargaining agreement, which included a binding clause to halt league expansion for at least twenty years and the Equal Geographic Adjustments Agreement. This saw the Pittsburgh Commanders move to the Dominion League, the Baltimore Wardens move to the Dominion League, the Phoenix Archers move to the Liberty League, and the San Diego Brigadiers move to the Liberty League. With these additions, each league was reorganized into three divisions—East, Central, and West, and an extra wildcard spot was added to both leagues. Additionally, a major scandal known as Tradegate erupted between the Austin Commodores and the Indianapolis Tigers. The fallout resulted in a massive fine and change of ownership levied on the Indianapolis Tigers, the Austin Commodores’ relocation to Oakland, under new ownership, moved to the Liberty League and intensified league-wide trade oversight reforms.

By the end of 2010, the Unified Baseball League stood at 30 teams, evenly divided across the Liberty and Dominion Leagues, each with East, Central, and West Divisions. This "New Era" marked the end of expansion and the beginning of modern UBL stability.

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A look into the 50 year history of the UBL, plus hitting and pitching records:

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All Johnny Shelby ever wanted to do was to make his son, Evan, happy. When Evan fell in love with the game of baseball, Shelby spent endless amounts of dollars to ensure Evan had the best trainers, the best equipment, and was on the best travel ball teams. In reality, Evan never had a chance to make it past junior varsity baseball. After failing to walk on to his local college team, Evan dropped out and joined the Shelby Investment Group, having learned the ins and outs of the finance game through his father. Both, however, wanted to remain in baseball through the purchase of a UBL franchise. An opportunity in 2010 presented itself with the sale of the Oakland Commodores due to the ​repercussions of the Tradegate scandal. This venture would come to fruition, and Johnny Shelby would become the owner of Oakland Commodores, naming Evan as President and Chief Executive Officer. This has, however, come with mixed results. Shelby has the mentality that winning is the only way to keep Evan happy. Unfortunately for him, the Commodores have not been winning much recently. In their 28-year history, they have only made the playoffs 4 times (2003, 2006, 2007, 2017) and have one championship from 2006. Changes within the organization were bound to be made.

Oakland Commodores Franchise History:

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Pierre Lemieux was used to being different. Born in Canada, Pierre found a love in baseball before it was “cool” to be a fan in Canada. Pierre was the star of his local high school team, but got little attention nationally because of living in Canada and the small baseball coverage there. Pierre knew he had to leave his native country to get into the game, and attended the University of Oakland, earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in statistics, and a certification in data science, where he created projection models to show the future stats of baseball players. Lemieux was able to secure an internship with the Commodores, and following a successful summer and his graduation the following spring, Pierre was offered and accepted a position as a research and development analyst. Enduring long days and late nights, Pierre made sure to stay on top of his work and excel, being highly regarded among his peers for his work.

The year is 2024, and Johnny Shelby has fired his latest GM, Geoff Brown, after another dismal season. By now, the word has gotten around that Shelby is running a tight leash and demands immediate results. Ever since Shelby has taken over, no GM has lasted more than their first contract at the helm. This has turned away many quality candidates, and this rings no truer than now. Shelby and his team have spent all of October reaching out to candidates, conducting interviews, and extending offers, but to no avail. All exterior candidates have declined, and the entire existing front office has indicated that they would like to remain in their current positions. Except for one.

Pierre was surprised when he was called into Shelby’s office as he arrived at the ballpark the morning of November 5th. You see, Mr. Shelby is almost never in the office early in the morning as he typically plays a round of golf to start off his day. Pierre was even more shocked to see Evan sitting adjacent to an open chair in front of Mr. Shelby’s desk. The 26 year old had no idea that an offer of a lifetime was about to come his way…

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November 6, 2024 (UBLN)

Subject: Pierre Lemieux Named GM, Takes Control of Commodores

Can Oakland win with Pierre Lemieux at the helm?

Several respected baseball commentators urged team ownership to show patience with the new man.

"New general managers are always in a rough spot," wrote one. "The organization needs to take a thoughtful, weighted approach. It has some great talent, but it also has holes. Lemieux shouldn't reinvent the wheel or feel pressured to make any knee-jerk decisions this early on. He knows the organization inside and out, and should take his time and base his assessment of the club on logic."

Sage advice, if Oakland will listen to it.

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Long time lurker, first time poster. I’ve played OOTP for 13+ years and have been inspired by reading some old and new dynasty reports to attempt my own, with a fictional story behind a fictional league. Join me from the view of Pierre Lemieux as he takes over the Oakland Commodores. Feel free to give me any feedback, tips, or questions about the team and league itself, or your thoughts and comments about the story.

Some settings I’ve changed:
Position player fatigue is set to moderate
Scouting is at normal
Dev speed at 1.100, aging speed at 1.000, dev target age is younger, aging target age is older, TCR at 100
10 dev lab slots
Trading difficulty is set right in the middle, with veterans favored by 3 clicks (in my experience this has been the most balanced), Reputation and Deadline Day are all disabled
Trading of injured players is on
Draft combine is disabled
Financials are pretty accurate to current day
League totals have been set to 2016, however it seems to be more of a pitchers league as you’ll notice with the amount of ERA’s under 4. Most all star players will hit .265 or higher or have 30+ homeruns

Without further ado, we jump back to our story.

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Well there’s a lot to get into on the first day on the new job! I’ve just finished moving all my stuff into my new office, which I must say is a lot nicer than my old cubicle amongst the rest of the analysts. I’ll miss being around them all but I’ll enjoy the peacefulness of my own space. I’ll soon have a meeting with the key members of the Shelby Investment Group, including Evan and Johnny Shelby, to go over current team staff, the current roster and contracts, and the vision for this offseason and beyond.

I was amongst the first to arrive in the conference room and got to chatting with some of the Shelby Investment Group ownership members. They finally know my name now! Evan arrived quietly and seated next to me. Mr. Shelby followed shortly and closed the meeting doors behind him. A summary of the meeting is as follows:
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Team personnel: There was one empty chair in the meeting which was for the assistant general manager. Mr. Shelby allowed me to find a suitor for this position on my own, which I was happy about. Our manager, Zach Bourdon, just signed a 5 year contract extension with the club. He has a 388-432 record in his 5 years as the Commodores manager, but has acceptable ratings (good/outstanding/outstanding). I intend to keep him around for the next season and will make a decision on him afterwards. The same goes for our bench coach, Ji-E “Bonnie” Ju, who has ok ratings (good/outstanding/excellent) although he struggles to completely mesh with Bourdon’s personality. We have a vacancy in our hitting, pitching and first base coach positions that I’ll look to fill immediately. Third base coach Craig Girardin is entering his second year in his position, and team trainer Cody Davis has been with the club since 2010. Our scouting director Daniel Rodriguez, is someone I’ve worked with during my time here. We’ve generally seen eye to eye on most things, so I’ll keep him and his ratings (excellent/excellent/good/excellent/neutral) around for this season. As far as our minor league coaches, I don’t intend to make any drastic changes just yet, and will only fill our current vacant positions (AAA HC, Short A Manager, Short A PC).

Coaches legend: handles development/influence mechanics/handles aging
Scout legend: scout majors/scout minors/ scout international/ scout amateurs/scouting preference

Some might wonder why I’m sticking with so many of the old staff despite the lack of recent success. My answer to that is that there can be many reasons as to why the club has been losing, the players or the staff. Making minor changes first will determine if the staff really is the problem or the players. Nobody should be comfortable, the results do need to change.

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Daniel Rodriguez took over the part of the meeting, going over the key players for the team this past year. Of course, I already knew all of this information, but I was able to share my thoughts and have them heard for the first time.

Starting Pitching: Our rotation is headed by our first round pick from 2017, 26 year old Tom Luther (4* current/5* potential). Luther is coming off of a year with a 2.27 ERA in 24 games started, and was extended for 6 years at 129.2 million dollars. 23 year old Jim Reed (3*/3.5*) is the 69th rated prospect in the UBL and had a 2.98 ERA in 33 starts with the big league club this season. The rest of the rotation is rather weak, with veterans Dan Pierce (29, 2.5*/2.5*, 3.56 ERA in 144 IP), Justin Waldron (32, 2.5*/2.5*, 4.05 ERA in 33 starts) and Travis Thomas (34, 2.5*/2.5*, 4.44 ERA in 135 IP) rounding it out. The 3.56 starters ERA ranked 10th in the Liberty League and is something that needs to improve.
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Bullpen: 32 year old Josh Ditzel (2.5*,2.5*) was the team's closer this past season with the previous years closer, Justin Devlin (3*/3*), recovering from a torn flexor tendon sustained in spring training. Ditzel had a 3.66 ERA with 33 games finished and 13 saves, and is under a $1.6 million contract for next season. He should be around for next season. The rest of the bullpen is… average. A 3.89 team ERA consisted of Javier Bueno (21, 2.5*/2.5*, 3.75 ERA), Dan Schweppe (30, 2*/2*, 2.65 ERA), Rich Miera (34, 2.5*/2.5*, 4.73 ERA), Steve Anello (36, 2*/2*, 5.02 ERA), Steve Pitcher (30, 2*/2*, 4.95 ERA), Nelson Guzman (32, 2*/2*, 4.29 ERA), and Kyle Backus (32, 2*/2*, 3.98 ERA).

My thoughts: I think the pitching has a few contributing members, but overall is either bad, old, or both. This is an area that will get some attention.

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Catchers: Marçall Camacho (30, 5* current, 5* potential) is our best player. Signed from San Diego last year, he slashed .287/.395/.459 with a 148 OPS+ and 42 doubles in 148 games. He won’t hit a ton of bombs, but he has decent power with 14 home runs. Defensively, he is average, with 60 blocking, 50 framing, and 45 arm. The downside is that he can opt out of the 3 year, 93 million dollars he’s owed after 2025. He is ranked as the best catcher in the UBL. 31 year old Ronnie Hatton (2.5*/2.5*) is our backup and is massively overpaid (owed 7.1 million in 2025 and 2026). He is great defensively but anemic with the bat, sporting a 28 OPS+. My first priority for a catcher is defense, but I also don’t want a black hole bat behind the plate.

First base: 24 year old Felix Reyna (3.5*/3.5*) is coming off of the worst year in his 3 year UBL career so far (.255/.327/.404, 14 HR, 110 OPS+). He’s arbitration eligible this offseason, and a long-term deal might be considered to take advantage of the down year.

Second Base: Jim McAfee (30, 3*/3*) is another player under a long term deal, owed 90 million in the next 5 years. He took a major step back with an 86 OPS+, his lowest since being traded to Oakland in 2017. Behind him is Guillermo Salvador (24, 3.5*/4.5*) who has elite contact skills but has not started more than 74 games in a season in his 4 years in the bigs.

Third Base: Sergej Pijnenburg (25, 2.5*/3*) is known more for his defense rather than his offense, but the 95 OPS+ he put up last season is nothing to scoff at. He’ll bat a modest .250 and put up double-digit home runs per his scouting report.

Shortstop: Rico Gutierrez (30, 3*/3*, 114 OPS+) and Jorge Gonzales (25, 3*/3*, 137 OPS+) split time at short last year. Both did the job fine. Gutierrez is owed 68.7 million over the next 4 seasons, and Gonzales will make the minimum. However our top prospect and UBL’s #3 prospect Francisco Rubio (20, 2.5*/5*) is almost ready. Acquired in the 2023 offseason for upcoming free agent starting pitcher Tommy Crist, he spent 71 games between A and AA while battling various injuries. He is listed as a shortstop, but his defensive capabilities don’t really suffice for my vision of defense at shortstop.

My thoughts: There’s a few other players I didn’t mention that are AAAA players or upcoming free agents, but overall I think we have a strength at catcher, first base, and a future strength at short. Second and third base are passable, but we have a lot of money tied up to guys that aren’t quite worth it, and might not even be warranted of having a starting spot.

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Outfielders: Seth Small (33, 3* current/3* potential) was our best hitter with a 119 OPS+ and can play all 3 outfield spots above average, but is an upcoming free agent. Eric McGuire (29, 3*/3*) spent most of the year in center, but is not best suited there defensively. He sported a 113 OPS+ and is owed 55 million through the next 5 years. Andino Barlini (31, 3*/3*) was our main right fielder but can also play center, he had a 94 OPS+ in a league leading 629 at bats. He’s owed 17.2 million next season before becoming a free agent. Juan Suarez (27, 2.5*/2.5*) was a September callup and is a defensive specialist. He might not hit much, but he will track down almost every ball that comes his way. Edgar Melendez (30, 2.5*/2.5*) was our main backup outfielder and had a 69 OPS+.

My thoughts: The outfield is old and needs some identity. There’s no true star here, just a bunch of role players. This area needs major improvement.

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Mr. Shelby then moved on to his vision. He wanted to build a successful ballclub, a perennial playoff team, and a profit machine for him and his shareholders. Sounds rather ambitious, right? He made it clear that all transactions, roster or personnel, needed approval from himself or Evan, and had 7 goals to lay out for me for this upcoming year. They were:

Play .500 ball

Acquire a Power hitter

Have a final total balance of $27,000,000

Bring in a manager with a better reputation

Improve Team Chemistry

Increase fan interest

Keep building your team up, in order to reach the playoffs in the next 5 seasons

Some of these goals I agreed to no problem: play .500 ball, acquire a power hitter, improve team chemistry, increase fan interest, and build the team up for the playoffs. The other two seemed a little harder. I knew we had some money tied up in some not great players and knew it would be hard to show a total balance of 27 million. However, it’s a part of the business, and I accepted. The main issue I had was the goal regarding our manager. No reputable manager wants to come to an organization that is known for losing and therefore has a short leash on its skippers. I made it clear that I wanted to stick with Bordoun for at least this upcoming season. Mr. Shelby gave me a puzzling look, as if he had never been disagreed with before in his life. Evan gave him a stern look, and Mr Shelby’s face changed to a more encouraging one.

“Okay, I’ll trust your intuition on Bordoun. How about you work on improving our team's defensive efficiency next year?” I happily agreed.

As the meeting concluded and all parties departed the conference room, Evan pulled me aside.

“Don’t worry too much about my dad; he’s a stubborn old man with little patience, but I’m helping him grow out of that. Just keep me in the loop of any moves you make, and you’ll be fine.” I nodded and smiled at him and made my way back to my office, taking that as a verbal stamp of approval to change up the roster as I see fit.

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I closed the door to my office and started making some calls. Who should I hire as my assistant GM? My first thought was to hire one of my old analyst friends, however they all expressed disinterest in a higher position due to the short leash that Mr. Shelby has on his GM’’s and their assistants. I then turned to the open market. The smart choice would be to go with someone who is experienced in the game and has a deep knowledge of the business. However, I felt the need to “pay it back” to someone inexperienced like myself. One of the first names that popped up was Lorenzo Islas, a 46-year-old former reliever who played from 1997-1999 but never made it past A ball. He has an outstanding view on minor league and amateur talent,and an excellent view on major league and international talent. We hit it off on the first call, and I offered him a 5 year contract, to which he said he would think about.

My next action of business was to fill out our major league staff. One of our goals was to acquire a power hitter, but I’d also like to improve upon the power of our current players. John Kropidlowski is the current hitting coach for the New York Monarchs AAA team. They finished with the most runs scored and tied for the second most home runs in their league. He’s also excellent at handling development, outstanding at influencing mechanics, good at handling aging, and legendary at teaching hitting. I offered him a 3-year contract.

I again ventured into the minor leagues for our pitching coach. Jordan Polk has been one of the best pitching coaches for the Pittsburgh Commanders A team, being outstanding in handling development, excellent in influencing mechanics, excellent at handling aging and outstanding at teaching pitching. I offered him a 4-year contract.

Last was our first base coach. Franklin Morales has consistently been successful as the New Orleans Slammers AA manager, winning manager of the year in 2020 and 2023. He has good relationships with most of our key players, and is excellent at handling development, outstanding at influencing mechanics, and excellent at handling aging. I offered him a 4-year contract.

I filled the rest of our vacancies in the minors as follows:

AAA HC: Bob Gilbert, good development, excellent mechanics, legendary aging (aging rating doesn’t matter too much at this level)

Short A Manager: Jason Vine, good development, outstanding mechanics

Short A PC: George Salter, good development, outstanding mechanics

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I next took a look at our arbitration-eligible players. Having dealt with arbitration hearings as an analyst, I try to avoid them as much as possible and agree on contract extensions, whether it be a one year deal or more. My predecessor had already offered contracts to a few arbitration-eligible players, and I did not want to ruffle any feathers by changing them unless I saw it absolutely necessary. The following fit in that category:
SP Justin Waldron offered a 1-year $7.8 million deal. He is 32 and wrecked, his velocity is dropping, and I will be rescinding that contract and seeing if he has any trade value. If not, I will let him walk.
1B Felix Reyna, offered a 1-year $3.96 million contract. He already favors the offer, so I won’t touch it.
2B Guillermo Salvador, offered a 1-year $3.12 million contract. As of now, I expect him to be my starting second baseman next year, so I won’t touch this one either.
3B Javy Rodriguez (24, 2.5* current/2.5* potential), offered a 1-year, $1.3 million dollar contract. He can play anywhere on the infield, but doesn’t have the bat to be a starter. He’s on his last option year, but I won’t touch the deal and will see if he can crack the team in the spring.
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The only other arbitration-eligible player was reliever Justin Devlin, who missed all of last year due to an injury. He’s one of our better relievers, and I offered him a 1 year, $2.8 million dollar deal. RF John Massa (2*/2*) is 32 and past his prime, I will not tender him a contract.


We have a few players that are due for free agency, and only one is worth mentioning in detail. First baseman Jamie Wasserman (30, 2.5* current/2.5* potential), shortstop Mike Olvera (31, 2*/2*), and pitchers Steve Anello, Travis Thomas, Eric Carpenter (36, 2*/2*), Nelson Guzman (32, 2*/2*), Rich Miera (34, 2.5*/2.5*), and won’t be offered a contract. Seth Small is asking for a 5-year, $92 million contract. I don’t have the budget to offer him that at the moment, nor do I see myself offering him a long-term deal. I am debating on whether I should extend a qualifying offer to him or not. If he accepts, that’s $21.4 million on someone who I don’t envision being a starter, but on the other hand, his agent tells me he is seeking a multi year contract. He could be pulling my leg, but I won’t make a decision on that just yet.
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We have 3 minor leaguers of note who are due for free agency. 1B Raffale Martinella (23, 2.5*/4.5*) is the #63 prospect in the UBL and had a 127 OPS+ in AAA last year. 1B Eric Weinert (25, 3*/3.5*) also spent the year in AAA and had a 111 OPS+. Luis Navarro (24, 2*/3.5*) is a little less developed than the two first baseman and had a 79 OPS+ in AAA. Martinella and Navarro were offered minor league contracts, and Weinert was added to the 40 man roster and added them all. They all have 3 available option years.

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Daniel Rodriguez joined me for this next meeting to discuss the player development lab. Rodriguez informed me that each team was given 10 slots to use during the offseason to help players improve a specific part of their game. We went over a vast majority of players in the organization, but settled on the following 10:

SS Francisco Rubio, generate batspeed (40 power current/70 power potential)

2B Guillermo Salvador, gap power (50/55)

SP Jim Reed, improve control (45/50)

1B Raffale Martinella, generate batspeed (60/80)

SS Jorge Gonzales, plate discipline (45/50)

RP Javier Bueno, improve control (45/50) side note, he has a 70-rated knuckleball with 97-99 velocity

3B Sergej Pijnenburg, quality contact (55/65)

CF Juan Suarez, two-strike approach (45/50)

SP Bobby Tyree (24, 2.5*/2.5*), improve control (45/55)

2B Do-Hyun Lee (23, 2.5*/2.5*), plate discipline (45/50)
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Rodriguez and I both agreed that we wanted to target younger players that could stick around the ballclub for a while, and both realized there weren’t too many candidates that filled this criteria. It took us quite a bit to settle on the last 3 slots as there weren’t many players we felt we wanted to invest in through the lab. That is something that needs to change.

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For my last meeting of the day, I called in our accounting team to join me and Daniel Rodriguez in my office for the next matter of business. We have a $200,000,000 budget ranked 23rd in the UBL, and a player payroll of $158,510,000 projected for 2025, ranked 21st. Add in staff, scouting, draft, player development, and international free agent expenses, and we have a total expense bill of $182,250,000. This puts our projected profit/loss before revenue and luxury sharing at around -$10,000,000. To me, this is where the issues begin. We have a lot of money tied up into players that aren’t playing up to their contract. Additionally, our roster is aging, and salaries are projected to increase, with the 2027 projection to be at $189.5 million.

One of my goals for the organization is to start building from within, and our player development budgets are too low for that. While we do have the 4th best minor league system in the UBL, it is not that deep behind #3 Francisco Rubio. Besides him and the aforementioned Martinella, our top 100 prospects include #61 starter Chris Apple (22, 2* current/2.5* potential) who spent 2024 in short A sporting a 124 ERA+, and #70 Omar Garcia (20, 1.5*/4*) who played 63 underwhelming games in A ball. We have some other decent potential players that have been drafted in the past 2 years, and they fill out spots 103, 106, 137, 177, 194, and 197 on the prospects list. Our player development budget is currently $7.7 million, draft budget at $2.73 million, and international free agency budget at $1.99 million. This is far too low.

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Our top 5 salaries are $33 million to Marçall Camacho, $18 million to Jim McAfee and Rico Gutierrez, $17.2 million to Andino Barlini, and $9.7 million to Edgar Melendez. Excluding Camacho, this is far too much given the quality of players they are. As we'll be needing to have a final total balance of $27,000,000, I'll have to make some moves to shed some bad contracts.

As this meeting drew to a close, the clock struck 8 pm. All these meetings made me lose track of time. I apologized to Rodriguez and the accounting crew for keeping them in the office so late and promised them dinner once I got my first big boy GM check. I got my notes in order for a bright and early start tomorrow morning, working the phones.

[raysfan6]

November 7, 2024 (UBLN)

Subject: Roberts and Jimenez Traded

The Commodores and Stars have been engaged in a little wheeling and dealing. They have just concluded a trade with 21-year old minor league RHP Cliff Leyte, 27-year old LF Ryan Roberts, 25-year old minor league LHP Corey Black, and 25-year old minor league 2B Eric Weinert going to Nashville in exchange for 25-year old LF Leo Jimenez, 23-year old CF Jose Flores, and 27-year old RHP Andy Reilly.
In his 139-game career Roberts is batting .254 with 6 doubles, no triples, 10 home runs and 30 RBIs. He has stolen 1 bases and scored 18 times.
Jimenez has hit for a .258 career average and totaled 328 hits, 47 home runs and 156 RBIs.

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The main piece in this trade for us was Jimenez (3*/3.5*). Jimenez slugged 23 home runs in 128 games last year earning his first all star appearance, and in my eyes can hit 30+ in a full 162. He’s making the minimum in 2025, and depending on his performance might earn a long term contract. Flores (3*/3*) fills the hole that was in center field while playing excellent defense (rated 80 in CF with 80 range, 55 error, 60 arm). He missed time last year with injuries limiting him to only 57 games, but still put up a 2.1 WAR. He’s arbitration eligible at $2.6 million and will be offered a 1 year deal in that range. Although Andy Reilly (3*/3*) is a flyball pitcher, he allowed 6 homeruns in 76 innings last year to a 2.16 FIP.

Weinert was roadblocked by Reyna in the majors and Martinella in the minors and I wanted to capitalize on his value. Roberts was a good pinch hitter last year but does not have the defensive capabilities to have a starting spot. Black does not have the control to be a dominant reliever, and Leyte could one day be a solid starter but projects to have below average stuff. The Stars are entering a possible rebuilding phase and these young players could boost their system.

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November 7, 2024 (UBLN)

Subject: Trade: McGuire for Navarro

Newspapers in Oakland and Cleveland reported that the Commodores have reached a deal sending 20-year old minor league RHP Adam Thompson, 26-year old 3B Keeran Seese, and 29-year old LF Eric McGuire to the Rangers for 26-year old LF Miguel Navarro.
Lifetime McGuire is hitting .272 with 435 hits, 82 doubles, 2 triples and 54 home runs. He has scored 176 runs and driven in 217.
Navarro has a lifetime .245 average and .316 on-base percentage in his career with 551 hits, 117 doubles, 22 triples, 83 home runs, 270 RBIs and 326 runs scored.

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Navarro (3.5*/3.5*) is a speedster with solid hitting numbers, hitting 23 homeruns and 29 doubles in 158 games. He can play all 3 outfield spots, and this trade along with acquiring Jimenez and Flores and, adding in Barlini, creates a strong outfield. McGuire adds a high batting average as the Rangers ranked 14th in the league in team batting average. Players were sad to see a leader go, but he was due almost $55 million over the next 5 years, and I was not planning on paying that to the soon to be 30 year old. Seese was out of options and was nothing more than backup infielder, and Thompson is young but does not project to be anything more than an emergency role.

[raysfan6]

November 7, 2024 (UBLN)

Subject: Commodores-Tigers Deal: Gonzales for Ressler

You can focus on the negatives after being traded to a new team -- finding a new place to stay, leaving teammates and friends, having to start anew -- but one player hopes to focus on the positives. "It means I'm wanted somewhere. At least one team sees potential in me." Those were the comments heard after the Oakland Commodores came to an agreement to deal 27-year old minor league 2B Jonathan Pasteur, 25-year old minor league RHP Antonio Gonzales, 24-year old minor league RHP Edwin Garcia, 24-year old minor league LHP Dave Rodriguez, 28-year old minor league C Manny Lopez, and 27-year old CF Juan Suarez to the Indianapolis Tigers for 26-year old RHP Mike Ressler earlier today. The deal is expected to be formally announced later this evening.
Since making his debut, Ressler has accounted for 46 saves. In 148 games, he has a 12-12 won-lost mark with 183 strikeouts in 153.2 innings.

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We needed a true closer, someone who could be the face of the bullpen, and Ressler could be that. He realized his potential last year and posted a 1.41 ERA and 1.67 FIP. Suarez was expendable after the two prior trades and had no options left. Gonzales could replace Ressler in the bullpen for the rebuilding Tigers as he has 3.5* potential, with Garcia and Rodriguez also being potential arms for the future. Pasteur is another infielder that is blocked by others, and Lopez is a minor league backup.

[raysfan6]

November 9th, 2024 (UBLN)

Subject: Oakland, Dallas Execute Trade

UBLN is reporting a rumored trade between the Oakland Commodores and Dallas Outlaws has been finalized. The deal, which is expected to be announced sometime during the next few hours, will reportedly send 30-year old 2B Jim McAfee and 19-year old minor league RHP Nick Scott to Dallas in return for 18-year old minor league LF Mark Hook and 35-year old RHP Glenn Bain. The clubs were noncommittal on the trade, but did not deny it.

During his career, McAfee has compiled a .230 batting average and collected 922 hits, 133 home runs and 444 RBIs.

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Subject: Commodores Swap Gutierrez to Red Hawks for Calkins

A trade was announced today at a press conference in Oakland. Not satisfied with their current roster, the Oakland Commodores general manager shook things up by acquiring 24-year old minor league CF Neil Calkins and 23-year old minor league C Javy Rodriguez from the Oklahoma City Red Hawks for 30-year old 2B Rico Gutierrez.

"We're a better team now," Commodores general manager Pierre Lemieux said. "We've added several pieces to the puzzle."

Gutierrez is hitting .253 lifetime with 768 hits, 126 doubles, 16 triples, 115 home runs, and 356 RBIs to date. He has scored 415 runs, walked 267 times and has a .323 OBP.

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McAfee and Gutierrez were making a combined $33.8 million next year and both are in the way of younger players. I want to give Salvador the reins next season, and Rubio will be ready for a big league spot soon. Both Dallas and Oklahoma City fill a spot in their infield with their respective acquisitions. Calkins (2.5*/3*) will be one of the first options to call up if an injury to our outfield occurs with his ability to consistently put bat to ball, and Rodriguez (2.5*/2.5*) has an average bat but good defense and can serve as our backup, allowing us to shop Hatton around. Hook (1.5*/4*) was the 57th pick in the 2024 draft and has plenty of tools to be a top starter in the bigs, if he develops. Bain is an innings eater for us and will be a good veteran presence among the pitching staff.