MLB 2019 - Texas Rangers - A Challenge Mode Dynasty

[Griever20]

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June 5th – Our first-rounder, C Patrick Bailey, jumped on the money right away and signed one day after the draft.

June 7th – Our 8th rounder, hot RHRP Dave Corejo, decided that $3.2M of signing bonus weren't enough and that he would instead go to college. We went with plan b.) and offered $2.6M to our 11th round pick, RHSP Juan Acevedo(19, 1.5* HS, 3.5*OSA), a fireballer with a 96-98 heater that struck out 161K in 102IP in high school... and that also kinda wants to go to college.

June 8th – Our second rounder, RHSP Jan Figueroa, has signed, and we added five 2* prospects as minor league free agents that other organizations released prior to the draft. All of those are 19 and younger, and we will keep an eye on those kids.

June 9th – The wish to go to college wasn't strong enough as RHSP Juan Acevedo, together with 3rd rounder 1B Braedon Mooris(that name...) has signed today.

June 10th – RHSP Alec Hansen(25, 2/2.5*) was sent to AAA to for a rehab assignment to get in shape to start his MLB season. He was 5-5 with a 4.66ERA last year with the team... and with Abreu and Alzolay struggling, we need him.

June 13th – Our fifth-rounder, RHSP Travis Hamrick, has signed.

June 16th – And last but not least, our 4th rounder in SS Sandy A. Richardson signed.

June 25th – RHSP Adbert Alzolay was demoted to AAA following a 5IP 7ER performance in an 11-7 win over the Orioles. Alzolay was 5-5 with a 6.53ERA and 63K in 73IP. Alec Hansen was recalled after two strong rehab starts.

July 1st – Trade Alert!!! Surprising everyone in the morning hours of July 1st, news broke that the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers have agreed to a 7-player deal that will sent 2x All-Star RHSP Michael Fulmer(27, 3*, 2-8 5.99 59K 15GS) and #60 prospect and 2018 first overall pick RHSP Casey Mize(23, 1.5/3.5*, A+) to Texas

Going back to Detroit will be RHSP Adbert Alzolay(25, 1.5/3*, 6.53ERA), AA OF Hunter Bishop(22, 1/1.5*), A+ C Edilberto Mendoza(20, 0.5/2*), A 2B Jorbit Vivas(19, 0.5/1*) and A- SS Blaze Alexander(21, 0.5/2.5*). Experts are debating which side got the better deal, but it is save to say that Texas got the best MLB player and the best prospect in this deal, and Detroit will pay 15% of Fulmer's remaining 3 1/2 year contract.

Seranthony Dominguez(25, 1.5/2.5*) and his 7.50ERA were demoted to AAA to make room for Fulmer.

Series:
3-0 vs LAA(Adbert Alzolay 5.2IP 5H 2ER 1BB 5K W)
2-1 vs SEA(Cory Taylor 6IP 3H 0ER 4BB 6K W)
2-1 @ LAA(Albert Abreu 5IP 2H 0ER 2BB 5K)
1-2 @ HOU
3-0 @ BAL
2-1 vs OAK(Seranthony Dominguez 5IP 3H 1ER 2BB 6K, Justus Sheffield 7IP 3H 1ER 1BB 8K W)
0-3 vs TBR(Two games of bad offense, one game of bad pitching)
1-2 vs BAL
0-1 @ CHC

July: 15-11
Runs Scored: 315(1st)
Batting AVG: .268(2nd)
OBP: .350(2nd)
Home Runs: 83(2nd)
Stolen Bases: 64(1st)
Runs Against: 258(10th)
Starters ERA: 5.31(11th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.42(4th)
Defensive Eff.: .698(6th)

Ok, that was a hard negotiation and we have been going back and forward for two weeks before the deal could be finalized. The main idea was to bring in another good pitcher with MLB experience, groundball tendency... and that would not cost us one of the main prospects. Alzolay was expendable because with 25, he was one of the oldest duds in our pitching bonanza, and the other kids are maybe's... They may come back to hunt us big time tho.

It was time to make a statement that we want to add to a contending team without giving up players that could be part of our 2021 team(Crouse, Seise, Brannen) or a top 10 prospect like Allan. Contract wise, Fulmer is locked up till the end of 2023 and we will pay $5.9M/$8.1M/$9.4M/$10.3M for his services... and hope he will return to old form with us...

What motivated me to do this deal is rather obvious... we now have a 4.5G cushion over a non-Wild Card team and three months into the season... this one looks legit. We have a pythagorean W-L record of 45-34 and are 47-32... that is not a big swing. Hansenis back healthy, Joey Gallo has picked up the pace, the rest of the lineup is looking good, and Alex Claudio just won AL Pitcher of the Month for some strange reason...

Will we look to add on? Maybe, but the market needs to move more. There are some relievers we could get for free, like Wade Davis, Jake McGee or Justin Wilson who are available for one prospect... but would be only a minor upgrade as well...

Minor league upgrade, our first rounder slots in nicely as #87 prospect, Matthew Allan is still #4 and Logan still hates him, and #60 prospect SP Casey Mize will start for us in AA after he was 6-3 2.49 74K in 15 starts in A+ for Detroit. For his scouting report, 93-95 fastball, a cutter, slider and splitter with above-average movement and control. Turned 23 in May and looks pretty good for his age, but has not quite the ceiling of a top prospect or #1 overall pick, he is more like Thompson...

In Other News:
June 2nd - Pirates 1B Josh Bell(27, 2.5*) collected five hits today, but it was not enough as his team fell to the Mariners, 9-8. The 2019 NL All-Star went 5-5 R 3RBI 3DB for the day and is hitting .270-5-24 .795OPS in 53 games for the season.

June 12th - Cardinals SP Clayton Kershaw(32, 5*) trimmed his ERA down quite a bit by throwing a 3-hitter with 1BB and 10K in a 5-0 win over Milwaukee. The 3x Cy Young Winner is 7-4 3.08 108K in 14 starts.

June 16th - Reds 3B Rio Ruiz(26, 2.5*) had a career night today in a 11-9 loss to the Twins, going 3-3 3R 8RBI 3BB with three home runs. The 26-year old former Braves prospect is batting .224-3-12 .744OPS in 41G/7GS.

June 22nd - Rangers 3B Joey Gallo(26, 4*) was named AL Player of the Week for going 8-19 with 5 home runs and 9RBIs in six games. The 2019 AL All-Star is batting .246-17-61 with a .963POPS in 71 games this year.

June 26th - Angels CF Mike Trout(28, 5*) hit home run #300 today in a 4-1 loss to the Cubs, going 1-4 R RBI HR for the day. The 2x MvP is batting .331-19-49 1.060OPS in 76 games.

June 26th – Blue Jays 3B Josh Donaldson(34, 4*) is in fine form this year as he went 3-3 5R 4RBI 2BB with three home runs today in a 10-6 win over the Red Sox. The 3x All-Star is batting .284-24-70 .991OPS in 74 games this year.

July 1st – Blue Jays 3B Josh Donaldson(34, 4*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .385 with 9 home runs, 28RBIs and 26 runs scored for the month and .286-25-73 .992OPS in 78 games for the season.

July 1st – Mets LF Michael Conforto(27, 5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .340 with 13 home runs, 33RBIs and 24 runs scored for the month and .302-21-66 .995OPS in 78 games.

July 1st – Rangers LHCL Alex Claudio(28, 4*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 2-1 1.98 7SV 11K in 13.2IP and is 4-2 with 16SV and a 1.69ERA with 32K in 37.1IP.

July 1st – Cardinals SP Clayton Kershaw(32, 5*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 1.85 43K in 39IP and is 9-4 2.91 124K in 17 starts for the year.

July 1st – Tigers 1B Chris J. Shaw(26, 3*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after batting .315 with 9 home runs, 23RBIs and 21 runs scored for the month and .270-25-57 .906OPS in 75 games for the year.

July 1st – Diamondbacks SS Jasrado Chrisholm(22, 1.5/2*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after batting .296 with 4 home runs, 15RBIs and 18 runs for the month and .289-4-27 .813OPS in 70 games for the season.

[Griever20]

Transactions:

July 2nd – The international amateurs have arrived, and after we blew millions on a bad pitcher, we will try that again by offering $4.5M to LHSP Jorge Anjo(16, 3* HS, 4.5* OSA), a groundball workhorse with a 91-93 mph fastball, a curve and a slider and good control... he will be a potato in a year if he signs.

July 4th – Good thing we added a pitcher... as another one went down today. RHSP Alec Hansen will be placed on the 10-day DL today as he suffers from biceps tendinitis as he had to leave a 4-3 win over the Angels two days ago. We recalled Seranthony Dominguez...

July 5th – Two contracts have been signed today! LHSP Jorge Anjo will join our international complex, and 1B Bobby Bradley will stay till the end of 2026 as he put the pen on a 6y/$39M extension. Bradley is batting .263-24-70 .918OPS for the season.

July 6th – And another one. The Rangers locked up LHSP Justus Sheffield for 8y/$32M. He is 8-5 3.72 75K in 15 starts.

July 8th – Last but not least, RHSP Cory Taylor signed a 6y/$30M offer sheet that will keep him around till the end of 2026. The 26-year old is 5-5 4.31 84K in 17 starts.

July 13th – We will send two representatives to the All-Star Game, one pitcher in LHCL Alex Claudio(5-2 17SV 2.03 36K 44.1IP) and RF/DH Nomar Mazara(.331/.403/.620 26HR 76RBIs).

July 17th – The seller's market has not moved a lot and our owner is already complaining about us potentially missing his $20M profit target...

Series:
1-0 @ CHC(Michael Fulmer 6IP 8H 2ER 0BB 5K W)
2-2 @ LAA(Albert Abreu 6IP 4H 0ER 0BB 5K ND)
1-2 vs CWS
2-1 @ OAK(Michael Fulmer 6IP 5H 1ER 3BB 1K W)
1-1 vs DET
1-1 vs OAK(Justin Williams 4-5 4R 4RBI DB 3HR)
3-1 @ CWS(Nomar Mazara 2-4 2R 5RBI BB 2HR(33))
1-2 @ SEA
0-2 vs HOU

July: 12-12
Runs Scored: 573(3rd)
Batting AVG: .272(2nd)
OBP: .346(1st)
Home Runs: 162(3rd)
Stolen Bases: 99(1st)
Runs Against: 496(10th)
Starters ERA: 5.07(12th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.67(5th)
Defensive Eff.: .695(8th)

So, the trade deadline came... and went as we kept our powder dry after the Fulmer trade. There would've been plenty of relievers available that we could've brought in for a minor prospect, paying their wages... but we still felt like we are a year too early for that, and it is not quite time to do lopsided deals. That is exactly why we did the Fulmer deal and not the Stroman deal.

Obviously, the fact that when the dust had settled, we played .500 ball in July and my apocalyptic predictions have come through to some extent... Our offense has slipped a bit, our pitching has slipped despite Michael Fulmer coming over, and the Astros have SPRINTED away with a 22-4 month and of course have been active at the trade deadline, adding a talented SP and a hard-hitting 1B...

So, the division is most likely gone, but we still have a 3.5G cushion over a non-Wild Card team... it is just... this will be stressful two months...

Anyways, as for pitching, we skipped Dominguez once when we had the chance... and maybe we should not have as he had the best ERA this month of our starters. Fulmer started off decent, 2-2 4.37 and Albert Abreu continues to recover his form, 2-1 4.91, but Sheffield and Taylor of all guys have been struggling.

As for the pen... Montas and Chapman are a bit disappointing, but I keep my hands of that... as a group, they are doing fine.

About the offense... we are 8 runs behind the best offense in the AL... Houston that is... so not quite time to be pessimistic. The guys are fine and similar to the pen, I just let them do their thing...

A little tidbit... our international amateur signing Jorge Anjo... was named the #11 prospect INSTANTLY by Baseball America after he signed, and single A arm Freddie Jones, our 13th round pick this year, has risen to #96. More about that, once again, at the end of the regular season.

In Other News:

July 4th – Phillies SP Aaron Nola(27, 4.5/5*) blanked the Marlins 4-0 with a complete game 5-hitter with 2 walks and 12 strikeouts. The 2018 NL Cy Young Winner is 4-6 4.39 106K in 18 starts. One of the few aces according to Logan... unfortunately on a contender.

July 6th – Angels SP Shohei Ohtani(26, 4/4.5*) dominated the Astros in a 5-0 win, working 9IP 4H 0ER 2BB with 2 strikeouts. He is 6-2 3.65 80K in 13 starts, and batting .327-11-37 .997OPS in 43 games.

July 6th – Giants 3B Evan Longoria(34, 2.5*) reached a big milestone today, home run #300 in a 9-6 loss to the Rockies. The 2008 AL Rookie of the Year, 1x Silver Slugger, 3x Gold Glover and 3x All-Star is a career .269/.334/.469 300HR 1093RBIs 1887H in 1831 games.

July 10th – The Blue Jays HAMMERED the Royals 25-7 today, and here are two standout performances. LF Dalton Kelly(25, 2*, .253-3-16 .808OPS 41G) went 5-6 3R 5RBI 2DB TP with a stolen base, and 1B Yonder Alonso(33, 2.5*, .202-17-44 .741OPS 96G) went 3-3 5R 4RBI 4BB 2HR.

July 10th – Yankees SP Gio Gonzalez(34, 3*) blanked the Orioles 8-0 while holding them to 5 hits, no walks, and striking out 8. The veteran lefty is 9-6 4.56 89K in 18 starts.

July 22nd – Rangers RF Justin Williams(24, 3*) rapped three home runs in a 10-3 win over the Athletics today, going 4-5 4R 4RBI DB 3HR. The young outfielder is batting .298-25-78 .887OPS in 94 games.

July 22nd – Nationals 1B Edwin Encarnacion(37, 3*) hit career home run #400 today in a 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks today. The 3x All-Star is a career .264/.356/.488 hitter with 400HR, 1249RBIs and 1879 hits in 1985 games.

July 27th – Rangers RF Justin Williams(24, 3*) was named AL Player of the Week after batting 12-26 6HR 9RBIs and 9 runs scored. He is batting .302-27-82 .904OPS in 98 games.

July 22nd – Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia(36, 2*) and his team suffered a 9-7 loss to the Twins but still was able to celebrate as he collected career hit #2000 today. The 2008 AL MvP, 2007 AL RotY, 4x Gold Glover, 1x Silver Slugger and 4x All-Star is a career .301/.367/.437 hitter with 149HR, 780RBIs, and 2001 hits in 1689 games.

July 23rd – Phillies SP Aaron Nola(27, 4.5/5*) got his second shutout of the month, 7-0 over the Giants with a 3-hitter with 1BB and 6K. He is now 5-7 4.04 126K in 21 starts.

August 1st – Angels CF Mike Trout(28, 5*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .376 with 13 home runs, 28RBIs and 25 runs scored for the month and .340-32-78 1.119OPS 22/28SB in 104 games for the year.

August 1st – Dodgers SS Corey Seager(26, 5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .418 with 8 home runs, 24RBIs and 27 runs scored for the month and .352-26-90 1.050OPS in 104 games for the year.

August 1st – Astros SP James Paxton(31, 4*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 5-0 2.39 40K in 37.2IP for the month and 8-2 2.18 75K in 15 starts for the year.

August 1st – Phillies SP Hyun-Il Kym(30, 3*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 2.10 31K in 30IP for the month and 6-5 4.34 84K in 18 starts for the year.

August 1st – Royals RF Khalil Lee(22, 3/4*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after batting .350 with two home runs, 10 RBIs and 10 runs scored for the month, and .282-2-14 .779OPS 8/11SB in 64 games for the year.

August 1st – Brewers 3B Lucas Erceg(25, 25, 2*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after going .344 with 7 home runs, 20RBIs and 15 runs scored for the month, and .275-12-32 .768OPS in 67 games for the year.

[Griever20]

Transactions:

August 19th - Alec Hansen was, after suffering a setback, finally ready for a rehab assignment. He will join the major league team on September 1st, barring another injury.

August 25th – Speaking of injuries, we will be without Royce Lewis for three weeks as he suffered a high ankle sprain in a 6-7 loss to the Mariners. He leads the majors with 62 stolen bases. We promoted 3B Anderson A. Tejeda from AAA. He is hitting .299-11-38 .886OPS in 68 games.

September 1st – September call-ups are here! Alec Hansen allowed two runs in 18.2IP in his rehab assignment and will go straight into a 6-man rotation for September, LHRP Jake Brentz(25, 2/2.5*) will bring his 3.25ERA into our bullpen, and also brought up was RHRP Ariel Jurado(24, 2/2.5*, 3.72ERA) and outfielder Daniel Johnson Jr.(25, 1/1.5*, .227-3-39 .610OPS). The rest of the AAA team will stay down there... for a.) service time reasons, and b.) to support their playoff run as they are 75-56.

Series:
1-1 vs HOU(Nomar Mazara 3-3 2R 3RBI BB 2HR(37))
1-2 vs MIL
2-0 vs CHC(Cory Taylor 6.2IP 6H 1ER 0BB 6K W)
2-1 @ PIT(Albert Abreu 9IP 2H 1ER 1BB 4K W)
3-1 @ DET(Seranthony Dominguez 8IP 3H 0ER 0BB 2K W)
0-2 @ SFG
3-1 vs SEA(Justus Sheffield 7IP 4H 0ER 2BB 7K W)
2-1 vs NYY
1-1 vs SFG
0-1 @ CLE

August: 15-11
Runs Scored: 705(2nd)
Batting AVG: .270(2nd)
OBP: .344(1st)
Home Runs: 199(3rd)
Stolen Bases: 115(1st)
Runs Against: 611(7th)
Starters ERA: 5.21(13th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.37(4th)
Defensive Eff.: .699(3rd)

A strong 15-11 means two things... we are still 17.5G behind Houston... who went 20-7, and we have ourselves a 7.5G lead over a non-Wild Card team, the 67-63 Royals. I'm not saying we are playing out of the string yet as there are still 33 games to play, but it is looking good.

But, I have to admit that so far, Michael Fulmer has been a train wreck of a trade acquisition. He is now 3-3 with an ERA of 6.60 with us... that is WORSE than his Detroit numbers. Cory Taylor picked things up with a 2.33ERA in August, but all the other guys in the rotation had an ERA over 5... good thing our pen is still going strong...

Hitting wise... well, Joey Gallo had one of those .165 months, but this kid is streaky as hell, and you got to ride out the cold streaks to get to the hot streaks, and Nomar Mazara hitting .354-9-20 with an OPS of 1.127 in August... is good compensation. We have four guys with 34+ home runs on our team... by September 1st... insane.

Speaking of that, Mazara batting .340 means he is leading the batting race and is within 5 home runs and 7 RBI's of potentially winning the batting triple crown... no joke. Oakland's Matt Olsen has the other two categories, batting .297-48-119... C'Mon, you can do it!

Our offensive production will dip down a bit the next two weeks tho... as Royce Lewis obviously is out. Still, his .266/.345/.379 slashline with 4 home runs, 43RBI's, 61BB, 62/77 stolen bases, and whooping 4.0WAR with a +10.1 zone rating at short... means good things are happening for the kid, and he is only 21...

The goal for September/October, lock up that Wild Card, carry Nomar to greatness, stay healthy.

Minor league update:
Matthew Allan is 3-2 with a 3.64ERA in rookie ball and looking... better, Casey Mize was quickly promoted all the way up to AAA Round Rock... and is KILLING it there, 9-0 2.26 59K in 12 starts. Hans Crouse is struggling with a 4.76ERA, and our first rounder C Patrick Bailey was just promoted to AA after hitting a solid .267-7-32 .739OPS in A ball.

We obviously resisted the urge to give some of our AAA top 150 prospect the September call-up.

In Other News:

August 4th – Yankees RF Giancarlo Stanton(30, 4.5/5*) celebrated career home run #400 in a 5-4 win over the Dodgers tonight. The 2x MvP, 4x Silver Slugger and 6x All-Star is a career .272/.367/.579 400HR 954RBI 1315H hitter in 1320 career games.

August 8th – Red Sox RF Mookie Betts(27, 4*) had a 5-hit day in a 6-1 road win over the Rays, going 5-5 R 3RBI 2DB for the day. The 4x Gold Glover is batting .314-23-65 .917OPS in 110 games.

August 15th – The Padres had some fun in Denver, winning 20-11 and two guys performed really well here. SS Allen Cordoba(24, 2.5*) went 5-6 6R 2rBI BB with a double, and #2 prospect 3B Fernando Tatis Jr.(21, 2.5/4*) was 4-7 3R 7RBI DB with a home run and improved to hit .247-17-46 .712OPS in 94 games.

August 16th – Rangers SS Royce Lewis(21, 3/4.5*) lost a 20-game hitting streak in the second game of a doubleheader, a 4-6 loss, with the Tigers tonight. The former 1st overall pick is batting .268-4-43 .726OPS 61/76SB 90R in 114 games.

August 22nd – Mets SP Seth Lugo(30, 2.5*) has thrown an elusive no-hitter in a 5-0 win in San Diego, walking one and striking out five. Owner of the second no-hitter of 2020, he is 5-3 2.21 99K in 32G/15GS.

August 22nd – Dodgers SP Gerrit Cole(29, 3.5*) blanked the Giants 3-0 with a 4-hitter with 0BB and 4 strikeouts. The 3x All-Star is 12-3 3.49 128K in 26 starts.

August 28th – Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers(23, 5*) had a big 5-hit day in a 9-7 win over the Athletics, going 5-5 3R RBI BB DB. The 2x All-Star is batting .305-35-99 .960OPS in 129 games.

September 1st – Astros RF Kyle Tucker(23, 3.5*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .365 with 8 home runs, 28RBIs and 22 runs scored for the month and .308-25-92 .901OPS 31/42SB in 130 games for the year.

September 1st – Dodgers 1B Cody Bellinger(25, 5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .305 with 16 home runs, 37RBIs and 27 runs scored for the month and .288-52-138 1.039OPS in 132 games for the year.

September 1st – Blue Jays SP Chris Sale(31, 4.5*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 5-0 2.36 50K in 45.2IP for the month and 17-6 3.11 218K in 29 starts for the year.

September 1st – Mets SP Noah Syndergaard(28, 5*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 1.36 41K in 46.1IP for the month and 13-2 2.19 195K in 26 starts for the year.

September 1st – Royals SP Alfredo Mariscal(31, 3.5*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after going 5-0 1.65 27K in 32.2IP for the month and 14-7 2.93 136K in 27 starts for the year.

September 1st – Mets 3B Tadatoshi Tada(27, 4*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after going .271 with 9 home runs, 21RBIs and 22 runs scored for the month, and .251-15-43 .827OPS in 75 games for the year.

[Griever20]

Transactions:

September 4th – C Danny Jansen had to leave yesterday's game and came up with a sprained wrist. He will be day-to-day for 1-2 weeks. He won't be put on the DL, but we recalled C Josh Morgan so that he and Matt Whatley will share the catching duties for now. Jansen is batting .262-6-44 .715OPS in 107 games this year.

September 4th – The Rangers have successfully claimed RHSP Luis Ortiz(24, 2/2.5*) from the Brewers organization today. The flyball pitcher has only 31 days of service time and was 5-4 with a 4.39ERA and 103 strikeouts in 21 starts in AAA. He will report to AAA Round Rock as he had his minor league option already used by Milwaukee. He also has another option left. Ortiz was a 1st round selection by us in 2014 but was part of the Lucroy deal in 2016.

September 13th – SS Royce Lewis sprained ankle is fully healed and he was activated right away to return to the top of the lineup. Kudos to Jorge Castellanos who hit .268/.357/.394 with 7/7SB in the leadoff spot while Lewis was out.

Series:
1-2 @ CLE(Michael Fulmer 8IP 5H 2ER 0BB 7K ND)
1-2 @ NYY Magic #: 20 and we have fallen into the second Wild Card slot... BOS 7GB
1-2 vs LAA Magic #: 18 KCR & BOS 6GB
2-1 vs KCR (Albert Abreu 6IP 2H 0ER 5BB 2K W, Alec Hansen 6IP 4H 1ER 1BB 8K W) Magic #: 15 BOS 5.5GB
2-2@ SEA(Michael Fulmer 7IP 3H 1R 0ER 1BB 4K W) Magic #: 12 BOS 5GB
1-2 @ HOU Magic #: 10 BOS 4GB
0-3 vs CLE Magic #: 9 BOS 2GB
2-1 vs HOU Magic #: 4 BOS 3.5GB
1-1 @ LAA(Justin Williams 4-6 3R 2RBI 2HR(42)) Magic #: 3 KCR 3GB
3-1@ OAK(Cory Taylor 7IP 3H 1ER 2BB 6K W) CLINCHED AL WILD CARD!
2-0 vs OAK

September + October: 16-17
Runs Scored: 862(2nd)
Batting AVG: .269(2nd)
OBP: .342(2nd)
Home Runs: 249(3rd)
Stolen Bases: 137(1st)
Runs Against: 766(9th)
Starters ERA: 5.10(14th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.49(3rd)
Defensive Eff.: .698(3rd)

We tried really hard to bottle this, but we eventually managed to get into the Wild Card game, and with the last two games over the Athletics, we secured home field for the game against the Toronto Blue Jays of all teams. More on that in two posts... when we play that one out.

Nomar Mazara fell short of the triple crown, but still had an AMAZING season and with him leading the trio of sluggers in Mazara, Gallo and Bradley who all had an amazing season, and Justin Williams who adapted well to playing every day, batting .295 with 42(!) home runs, this offense is just incredible, and it is locked up till the end of... way down the road.

Pitching-wise, Michael Fulmer got going with a 2.97ERA in September and it seems that he has adapted to pitching in Arlington AND he has been lights out on the road for us. Brilliant. Cory Taylor scraped to his tenth win despite a horrible September and it will be Fulmer who gets the ball for the Wild Card game... just a gut decision... going with the hot hand.

As you may see below, Alec Hansen has some of his problems again. I did not report that above because it seemed like a minor injury... but turned out to be a sore shoulder that keeps on lingering with no recovery time. Hansen was lights out when healthy with a 1.78ERA in 6 starts, so we will keep him on the playoff roster no matter what.

Good news, apart from the longterm injuries, all hands are on deck for the Wild Card game... and with the revenue from that game, we should just be able to get closer to the profit projections of our owner... and with the great season and the attendance increase, we hopefully get a budget raise...

Coming up: Prospect Report, and the AL Wild Card Game!!!

In Other News:

September 9th – Braves SS Dansby Swanson(26, 3*) lost a 20-game hitting streak today by going 0-4 win 4-1 loss to the Phillies. The former 1st overall pick is batting .265-13-61 .721OPS in 130 games.

September 9th – Pirates SP Chad Kuhl(28, 2.5*) pitched through some back stiffness to blank the Rockies IN Denver 6-0, throwing a 9iP 3H 0ER 1BB 7K gem. The righty is 12-7 4.04 117K in 28 starts.

September 18th – Athletics SP Sean Manaea(28, 2.5*) rolled to an easy 7-0 over the Tigers today, going 9IP 4H 0ER 1BB 3K. The lefty moved to 11-13 4.49 154K in 31 starts.

September 21st – Rangers RF Nomar Mazara(25, 4*) was named AL Player of the Week, batting 14-29 3HR 5RBIs 8 runs scored. The 2020 AL All-Star is batting .348-49-124 with a 1.084OPS in 148 games.

October 1st – Red Sox RF Mookie Betts(27, 4*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .390 with 8 home runs, 18RBIs and 30 runs scored for the month and .322-31-90 .938OPS in 155 games for the year.

October 1st – Dodgers 1B Cody Bellinger(25, 5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .354 with 9 home runs, 29RBIs and 27 runs scored for the month and .299-61-167 1.059OPS in 159 games for the year.

October 1st – Yankees SP Luis Severino(26, 4/4.5*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 5-0 1.82 49K in 39.2IP for the month and 16-5 3.20 231K in 34 starts for the year.

October 1st – Pirates SP Logan Sendelbach(26, 3*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-1 1.59 27K in 39.2IP for the month and 10-11 4.54 96K in 27 starts for the year.

October 1st – Rays 1B Alec Bohm(24, 2/3*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after batting .267 with 9 home runs, 30RBIs and 24 runs scored in his first month in the majors.

October 1st – Rockies RF Sam Hilliard(26, 2.5*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after going .297 with 9 home runs, 16RBIs and 16 runs scored for the month, and .246-27-6 .753OPS in 147 games for the year.

October 7th – Rangers RF Nomar Mazara(25, 4*) has won the AL Batting Title this year, batting .342/.416/.649 51HR 132RBIs in 162 games.

October 7th – Brewers LF Christian Yelich(28, 4*) has won the NL Batting Title this year, batting .333/.412/.575 29HR 94RBIs in 159 games.

Rangers On The AL Leaderboards:
Nomar Mazara – AVG – .342 - 1st
Nomar Mazara – HR – 51 - 2nd
Joey Gallo – HR – 50 - 3rd
Bobby Bradley – HR – 49 - 4th
Nomar Mazara – RBI – 132 - 3rd
Nomar Mazara – OBP – .416 - 2nd
Nomar Mazara – SLG – .649 - 2nd
Nomar Mazara – OPS – 1.065 - 1st
Nomar Mazara – WAR – 8.1 - 3rd
Nomar Mazara – R – 137 - 1st
Royce Lewis – SB – 68 - 1st
Royce Lewis – CS – 16 - 2nd

[Griever20]

Confidential: Prospect Report, October 8th, 2020

I know that everybody is waiting anxiously for the AL Wild Card game, but still, here is the prospect report for the end of the season.

Greetings
Logan White
Scouting Director Texas Rangers

--

Pitching:

Close to the majors: AAA RHSP Pauly Milto(23, 1.5/2.5*), AAA RHSP Hans Crouse(21, 1.5/3*, #32 prospect(-2)), AAA RHSP A.J. Alexy(21, 1.5/2.5*), AAA RHSP Casey Mize(1.5/3.5*, #82 prospect), AAA SP Luis Ortiz(23, 2/2.5*), AAA RHRL Alex Speas(22, 2/3*)

Others: R RHSP Matthew Allen(18, 0.5/2.5*, #7 prospect(-2)), A RHSP Freddie Jones(21, 0.5/1.5*, #65 prospect), INT LHSP Jorge Anjo(16, 3*, #15 prospect)

Dropped out: AA LHSP Thomas Szapucki, R SP Justin Campbell

We certainly are in a position of strength when it comes to AAA rotation as any of the kids has potential. Yes, some of it is fringe and I included those 2.5* potential kids and Ortiz here just to prove a point... if you want to pull off a trade, you can easily throw one, or two of our starting pitchers in and it won't hurt us. Just... don't trade Crouse or Mize from that group.

Yes, I'm slowly warming on Allan. He was 3-2 with a 3.64ERA in rookie ball and looked genuinely fine, and more importantly, his control and movement have improved. Apart from that, the OSA is very hot on our 13th rounder in Freddie Jones who looked decent in A ball, and we may have found a gem in Jorge Anjo in Venezuela. The kid may become a middle of the order workhorse starter, but with a kid as young as that, the sky could be the limit. I won't give a 16-year old starter a 4.5* potential like the OSA guys tho.

Oh yes, and Szapucki is out of the list as you probably expected. Torn labrum, out for nine months, and he is 24 and stuck in AA. Could be the end of the road.

Catcher:

Close to the majors: none

Others: AA C Patrick Bailey(21, 0.5/4*), A+ C Edgardo Rodriguez(19, 0.5/3*), R C Raymond Torres(20, 0.5/4*)

Dropped out: none

So, our first rounder this year has held his ground in A+ but struggled in 9 games in AA ball, and Baseball America dropped him out of the Top 100 prospects...(We have no hitting prospect in the top 100 anymore...).

Pushing Rodriguez down to A+ was a good idea has he hit .267-6-39 .732OPS and looked like he learned a lot, and Raymond Torres looks like he could make a leap in to A ball next year as he hit .316-4-31 .859OPS in the Arizona Rookie League.


Infield:

Close to the majors: SS Chris Seise(21, 2/3*)

Others: AAA 2B Richie Palacios(22, 0.5/2.5*), A+ 2B Derwin Barreto(20, 0.5/2.5*), A 2B Matt McLain(20, 0.5/2.5*), R 2B Sean Mendoza(20, 0.5/3*), R 1B Braedon Mooris(18, 0.5/3*), R SS Sandy A. Richardson(18, 0.5/3*)

Dropped out: 3B Anderson A. Tejeda

Chris Seise is most definitely ready for the majors, batting .317-4-69 .752OPS in 132 games, going 28/38 in the stolen base department. He can give Castellanos a run for his money and would be a better backup than Estrada... but we are still not forced to put him on the 40-man. Your call.

As for the others... we have cooled a bit on a number of those, and on the other hand still, we see potential in our 2020 draft class in the low minors. Apart from Palacios who hit .273-10-45 .756OPS in AAA and should be able to make the jump in the "Close to the Majors" category, there is a lot of maybes here.

Outfield:

Close to the majors: AAA CF Cole Brannen(22, 2/3.5*)

Others: R CF Tyler Williams(20, 0.5/4*)

Dropped out: none

We did not really add someone in the draft to bolster our depth here, and Brannen looks like he could compete at the MLB level next year. He hit .286-7-51 .778OPS with 34/44SB and good defense and could be our fourth/fifth outfielder, pushing Calhoun off the 25-man roster... but similar to Seise, we can also keep him in the minors and off the 40-man for another year.

As for Williams, our 3rd rounder in 2019, I think it is time to start him in A ball next year. He hit .268-3-18 .849OPS in 47 games down in Arizona and he also defended well.

Overall, I think we improved our farm system in the draft, mostly with Bailey and some of the infielders, and we got us a very interesting arm in Jorge Anjo even though he cost us $4.5M. It will be very interesting to see how a lot of the kids develop in Winter Ball and in minor league camp.

[Griever20]

NL Wild Card:
New York Mets 1 – Atlanta Braves 2(10)
Atlanta advance to NLDS

-----

The Toronto Blue Jays:

Toronto made a turnaround quite similar to ours, moving from 71-91 to 90-72 while slashing the payroll. Good news, RHCL Roberto Osuna(25, 6* 5-5 14SV 2.10 85.2IP) saw his season end early and their bullpen is only 6th in the AL, so we got a shot... if we ever get last their ace. And unfortunately, their ace is an 8x All-Star... lefty Chris Sale(31, 4.5*). He was 21-7 with a 3.30ERA and 267 strikeouts in 245.2IP, leading the league in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, WHIP and pitcher's WAR... we are screwed.

Lineup-wise, they were 4th in the AL with 824 runs scored, and will lead off 2019 World Series champ CF Zach Granite(28, 2*, .275-5-42 .726OPS) followed up by RF Skye Bolt(26, 2.5*, .243-16-70 .762OPS). And then, there are the big bats.

2015 AL MvP 3B Josh Donaldson(34, 3.5*, .261-46-128 .906OPS), then free agent signee LF Khris Davis(32, 3*, .258-37-96 .883OPS), veteran 1B Yonder Alonso(33, 2*, .217-34-88 .792OPS) and of course... the big rookie 2B Bo Bichette(22, 2.5/3.5*, .277-25-74 .811OPS).

You want to know where the former #1 prospect, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has gone to? He retired from professional baseball in 2018 and became a professional golf player... too bad.

American League Wild Card Game:

October 9th, 2020

Toronto Blue Jays – Texas Rangers @Globe Life Park in Arlington

TOR: SP Chris Sale(L, 21-7 3.30)
TEX: SP Michael Fulmer(R, 6-2 5.22 with TEX)

Hype. The park was a sellout on Friday night, 49115 people came to watch and cheer for the first postseason game for both teams... since 2016. After the pregame show, featuring Adrian Beltre and Paul Molitor, Michael Fulmer went out and took the mound for the most important game of the season... so far?

Michael started off a bunch of groundballs... ending the inning on a double play with runners at the corners... the first bullet dodged. Sale countered that with... K, K, fly out... this is going to be fun... Our first baserunner reached... on an error by the first baseman... and Jansen sat there waiting for the end... after a lineout and an inning-ending groundout.

Royce Lewis defused another dangerous situation in the top of the third when Tulowitzki and Bolt singled and Josh Donaldson unleashed a hard grounder ... that Lewis read perfectly and fired to first to end the frame... PHEW. Our first hit came it the bottom third... base hit by Castellanos... let's use that speed.

He had to hold on a hard strike... and with the count 0-2... we called for a hit and run... we had nothing to lose here. Royce hit, Jorge ran... and Lewis was still out at first. Two down, Bobby Bradley up. We have too many left-handers... anyway, he worked a full count as Sale did waste some pitches here... and hit a hard grounder to third... inning over... TOR 0, TEX 0 after three.

The only got thing... we got the pitch count up here as the soon-to-be Cy Young winner was up to 63 pitches after four, while Fulmer mowed them down on nine pitches... but 3 flyballs in the fourth... DANGER. Yet, he got back into a 1-2-3 groove... and finally, Mr. Williams got a 2-2 fastball from Chrissy and did something good with it... into the gap... leadoff double in the FIFTH!

Action, and Joe Girardi went with the good old tactics. Billy McKinney was up, not exactly someone that kills lefty pitching... looked at strike one... and then, Girardi made a sign combo that looked like a dog that barked at a tree... and on the next pitch, Billy put the bat down for a bunt... perfectly. Williams to THIRD, McKinney out.

And that would bring up... Ricky Eusebio who got the start against the lefty... and he was patient. Ball one, a splitter low... ball two, fastball inside... then, a low fastball... GOLFED TO LEFT CENTER... HIGH BUT DEEP... Davis GOT IT... THROW TO HOME... NOT IN TIME! THE RANGERS LEAD 1-0!!!

Pitching with a lead, Fulmer conceded a blistering liner up the middle by Zach Granite, who had a big snowflake attached to his name by our sabermetrician... and that still proved to be right... as their leadoff man was gunned down trying to steal second base. And the pitcher's duel continued... even though Joe Girardi looked a bit troubled, he sent out Fulmer for the seventh... as he had only thrown 64 pitches and was cruising.

And then came Yonder Alonso, owner of a .217 batting average, but also the owner of 34 homers... and he caught the fastball... to deep right... waay back... waay back... track.. wall... Williams jumps up... THAT IS HIGHWAY ROBBERY! ALONSO IS OUT AND HE CAN NOT BELIEVE IT! He pitched another 1-2-3 inning, and then, the moment came.

We had driven up Sale's pitch count all night long despite making pathetic outs... and they went to the pen with one out in the seventh... and we started to hit. Williams and McKinney singled off the righty, they went back to bring in Rowan Wick(2.25ERA) to pitch to Eusebio... and we brought in Juan Pablo Martinez with two on and two down... BIG SPOT... that resulted in a pathetic strikeout...

Top of the eighth, the pen was already stirring with activity... and Michael Fulmer's day was over after 7.1 innings of 5-hit, 0ER, 1BB and 3K ball when Devon Travis hit a grounder past Gallo and Lewis... BRING THE CLOWNS...

Riley Ferrell to face .230-21-70 hitter Troy Tulowitzki... AND HE HUMILIATED THE VETERAN WITH THE HEATER... TWO DOWN... Zach Granite up. Lefty hitter... bring in the lefty... or Claudio. Girardi did not move a muscle... and the 28-year old hit a high fastball to center... Martinez running out... out... OUT... TRACK... CAUGHT!

Toronto stayed with Rowan Wick, and finally getting somebody else than Sale to face... at least ignited things a little bit... as Jorge Castellanos took him for a ride and a loong triple that rattled to the right field corner... and like we did all year long, the run did not sit at third base long... as Lewis collected it!

THREE OUTS TO GO FOR THE NLDS!!! BRING MR. 9-4 29SV 1.78ERA in 81 innings!

Skye Bolt... groundout to third. Josh Donaldson with the little hip groove... groundball up the middle... base hit... OH ****. Tying run at first, one down. Would Alex Claudio give it up?

Slugger Khris Davis was selective... and 2-2... when Jansen called for the changeup... and Davis got under it... high popup... and out! Now, Yonder Alonso at the plate... no right-handed pinch-hitter for the team managed by veteran John Gibbons? And that decision was discussed endlessly, and fruitlessly for days as Alonso flew out softly to center...

WE ARE IN THE NLDS!!! (against the 107 win Astros...)

SP Michael Fulmer 7.1IP 5H 0R 0ER 1BB 3K W
SS Royce Lewis 0-3 RBI
1B Bobby Bradley 0-3 2B HBP
RF Justin Williams 2-3 R DB
LF Billy McKinney 1-2
CF Ricky Eusebio 1-2
2B Jorge Castellanos 2-3 R TP
HR TOR: none
HR TEX: none
W: Michael Fulmer(1-0 0.00) L: Chris Sale(0-1 1.42) SV: Alex Claudio(1 0.00)
TOR 0 TEX 2 TEX wins AL WC game, advances to ALDS
Joe Girardi walked by me in the clubhouse after the game and told me "nice call with Fulmer, I should listen to your gut more often." We will need more of those big calls for the NLDS. And by the way, nice game management by Joe Girardi. Manufacturing that first run.

[Griever20]

The Houston Astros:

The Houston Astros have now on the division for the fourth time in a row with 100+ wins, but 'only' have that one illustrious World Series ring from 2017 in their bag. Still, it is hard to blame the front office for that as GM Jeff Luhnow has been the master of the 'Win now!' trade, adding pieces at the trade deadline every year with great success.

One result of that is the 2nd best rotation in the AL with RHSP Jacob deGrom(32, 3.5*, 14-6 4.65), acquired at the 2019 trade deadline, RHSP Colin McHugh(33, 3.5*, 15-7 4.20), RHSP German Marquez(25, 3/3.5*, 8-8 4.43), acquired this trade deadline from COL, and veteran RHSP Brad Peacock(32, 3*, 17-4 4.03). Pound by pound, they are better than our starters, but, they are all right-handed... and we have a strong left-handed lineup.

Worth mentioning another trade deadline acquisition... LHSP James Paxton(31, 3.5*, 8-2 2.08) who only made 16 starts and is out for most of the playoffs with biceps tendinitis... I'm happy about that...

Bullpen-wise, we are pretty even with RHSP Forrest Whitley(23, 3/4*, 11-8 3.96) joining RHRP Jeurys Familia(31, 4*, 7-3 6SV 2.49) and RHCL Ken Giles(30, 5*, 2-3 41SV 3.30) at the sharp end of their bullpen... They also only carry one lefty here... our former employee LHRP Jake Diekman(33, 3*, 4-2 2.11)... Yes, I'm desperately looking for advantages for us...

The lineup has beaten us by 30 runs this season for best in the AL, starting with 6x Silver Slugger 2B Jose Altuve(30, 4.5*, .292-20-100 .790OPS) in an off-year, sophomore and 2019 Rookie of the Year LF Kyle Tucker(23, 3.5/4*, .303-28-104 .884OPS) and another trade deadline acquisition, 1B Jesus Aguilar(30, 3*, .262-34-80 .904) who hit 34 home runs in 115 games between HOU and MIL.

Another off-year dud is hitting cleanup...4x All-Star SS Carlos Correa(26, 4/4.5*, .249-22-82 .776OPS), but behind him sit a lot of home runs... LF Derek Fisher(27, 3*, -248-38-118 .836OPS) and veteran leader CF George Springer(31, 3.5*, .242-36-93 .823OPS)...

If everybody brings their A game, the lineups match up pretty ok-ish, but the pitching is a concern, the experience is a concern, and a head to head record of 8-11 isn't pretty.

Prediction: HOU in 5.

American League Division Series Game 1:

October 11th, 2020

Texas Rangers – Houston Astros @ Minute Maid Park

TEX: SP Cory Taylor(R, 10-9 4.55)
HOU: SP Jacob deGrom(R, 14-6 4.65)

Yep, we will get deGrom right away as expected, and we obviously start this show on the road... Astros fans and some of the players were vocal about 'showing those upstarts from Arlington who is boss in the AL', but some of our fans sneaked their way into Minute Maid Park so we had at least some support here...

Tempers flared for the first time when Taylor hit Tucker straight in the back with a breaking ball... and he had no control whatsoever at the start of the game. A wild pitch and a walk to Aguilar spelled trouble, but a well-timed visit by Danny Jansen calmed him down a little bit... and he managed to K Correa and fool Derek Fisher into a groundout... first inning over.

deGrom was using his fastball a lot, alternating speeds between 92 and 98 mph, but something stopped clicking in the second... as we loaded the bags on walks with one out on him. With one down, Julio Pablo Martinez was at the plate and knew exactly what to do... sit on the heater, guess the right speed, and hit it. deGrom went with the heater away... and Martinez... LASER BEAM TO RIGHT CENTER... DEEP... OFF THE SCOREBOARD, ONE IN... TWO IN... IT'S A 3-RUN TRIPLE FOR THE CENTER FIELDER!!!

Castellanos added to the pain with an RBI-double and eventually was stranded at third... BUT TEX 4, HOU 0! And the massacre continued! Top 3rd, Mazara single... Joey Gallo works a full count... and gets a payoff-pitch cookie of the middle of the plate that hit the train tracks in left field, 2-run home run, TEX 6, HOU 0.

Two walks and a Danny Jansen single... familiar sight. Bases loaded and Julio Pablo Martinez at the plate... He would swing through the slider, but Castellanos tagged on with a sac fly... TEX 7, HOU 0. deGrom's day would be over after four, 4IP 7ER. Merry Christmas.

Now, the question was, would Cory Taylor leave this place alive and well... not because he was not pitching well as he no-hit the Astros through four... but he hit a batter per inning... Tucker in the first, Springer in the second, Altuve in the third and Springer again in the fourth...

That ended in the fifth where he 'only' walked Alex Avila to erase him with a double play... 5 no-hit innings for Cory Taylor... WHAT IS GOING ON WITH OUR PITCHING???

The Astros brought in Chris Devenski who, despite some walks, was better than deGrom and lucked into a scoreless sixth when we ran into an out on a hit-and-run. Meanwhile, frustration was at an all-time high for Houston as Taylor pitched a 1-2-3 6th and had two down in the seventh... when Alex Bregman came to the plate and hit a high and hard one to right center... and that one was out of the range of our outfielders and broke up the no-hitter... what a shame.

Taylor stayed in to face Avila and struck him out easily... and got a well-deserved handshake after that inning. 7IP 1H 0ER 2BB 6K with four hit batters... Our bullpen clowns still managed to cough up a couple of runs in the ninth... BUT THAT WAS A BIG GAME ONE WIN!

SP Cory Taylor 7IP 1H 0ER 2BB 6K W
SS Royce Lewis 1-5 SB(1)
DH Nomar Mazara 1-5 R
3B Joey Gallo 1-4 2R 2RBI BB HR
1B Bobby Bradley 0-3 R BB
LF Billy McKinney 1-1 3BB SB(1)
C Danny Jansen 1-3 R BB SB(1)
CF Julio Pablo Martinez 1-4 R 3RBI TP
2B Jorge Castellanos 1-2 2RBI BB DB
HR TEX: Joey Gallo(1)
HR HOU: none
W: Cory Taylor(1-0 0.00) L: Jacob deGrom(0-1 15.75)
TEX 7 HOU 2 TEX leads ALDS 1-0
Taylor is a god. Yes, he was effectively wild today, but I'll take it. This was the instance I was talking about. Everybody brought their A game... apart from Gerson Moreno who was asked to pitch the final two innings...

NLDS:
Chicago Cubs 5 – Philadelphia Phillies 3
Chicago leads NLDS 1-0.

Atlanta Braves 1 – Los Angeles Dodgers 7
Los Angeles leads NLDS 1-0.

ALDS:
Minnesota Twins 2 – Tampa Bay Rays 0(10)
Minnesota leads ALDS 1-0.

[Griever20]

American League Division Series Game 2:

October 12th, 2020

Texas Rangers – Houston Astros @ Minute Maid Park

TEX: SP Justus Sheffield(L, 10-13 4.84)
HOU: SP Collin McHugh(R, 15-7 4.20)

A pitching matchup that favors Houston, and by now, I'm a bit unsure if signing Justus Sheffield for 8y/$32M really was a good idea... time to earn your bucks here. And he has to as McHugh has been pretty good against us in the regular season, 2-1 with a 3.44ERA in five starts...

It was a cloudy afternoon, but no rain in the forecast, but were runs in the forecast? McHugh did start off the game with a walk to Lewis, and that is never a good idea... and BOOM... stolen base on the second pitch to J-Williams. And Williams took no prisoners and hit a slider into the gap... DOUBLE! TEX 1, HOU 0. Justin would move to third with one out... and Gallo with all his power... managed a flyball... to shallow left... not deep enough... and Bradley was a K.

Both starters were bleeding baserunners in the early going with Sheffield getting out of a two on, two out jam in the first and getting an inning-ending double play in the second, and us stranding a pair that inning... more runs were in the air.

Similar to game one, the Rangers were very patient and McHugh had problems with that... and when Justin Williams reached on an infield single, the bases were loaded in a hurry with walks by Gallo and Bradley with one down... Forced to throw strikes now, Billy McKinney got a high heater... and somehow hit it on the ground to first... to second... BRADLEY WITH A GREAT SLIDE BREAKS UP THE DOUBLE PLAY AND WILLIAMS SCORES! TEX 2, HOU 0.

Sheffield however was still wonky as Altuve singled, stole second, and was on his way home on a two-out line drive by Springer to center... but what looked like a base hit... turned into an out on a GREAT diving play by Martinez... three stressful innings over.

The fourth saw McHugh finally pitch a 1-2-3 inning, albeit with 85 pitches thrown already... and another leadoff walk issued by Justus Sheffield. That brought up their big trade deadline acquisition Jesus Aguilar... and the 30-year old took no prisoners and tattooed a mistake pitch by Sheffield to right field... and into a beer cup of an Astros fan, TEX 2, HOU 2.

But we answered... with a 2-out rally that started on a Joey Gallo double and knocked out McHugh with two down in the fifth. Blake Treinen came in for the second straight day, walked Bradley... walked McKinney... and the bases were loaded for our catcher Danny Jansen, batting .125 in the playoffs, 1-8. He hit a high fly ball to right center... too high... and caught.

The ship then went down when Justus allowed a 2-out walk to the same Aguilar in the 6th, and we called for the righty in Victor R. Diaz... who promptly allowed a couple of hard singles to make it TEX 2, HOU 3... our bullpen... to add insult to injury, he pitched a 1-2-3 2K seventh.

The Astros took no prisoners and got the lefty Jake Diekman in for the seventh, and their closer Ken Giles to pitch the eighth and Jeurys Familia the ninth... and Frankie Montas serving up a solo homer to Kyle Tucker did not help. Final score: TEX 2, HOU 4.

SP Justus Sheffield 5.2IP 4H 3ER 5BB 2K L
SS Royce Lewis 0-3 R 2BB SB(2)
RF Justin Williams 2-4 R RBI BB DB
3B Joey Gallo 1-4 BB DB
1B Bobby Bradley 0-3 3BB
LF Billy McKinney 1-3 RBI BB
CF Julio Pablo Martinez 0-3 BB
HR TEX: none
HR HOU: Jesus Aguilar(1), Kyle Tucker(1)
W: Jandel Gustave(1-0 0.00) L: Justus Sheffield(0-1 4.76) SV: Jeurys Familia(1 0.00)
TEX 2 HOU 4 ALDS tied at 1.
That winning run was in the air for a while. Justus was once again very wild today and only managed to strike out his first batter in the fifth... while walking a ton of people. Also, we were once again very patient, drawing nine walks, but were ice cold when the runners were on base... See you in Arlington in two days.

NLDS:
Chicago Cubs 6 – Philadelphia Phillies 1
Chicago leads NLDS 2-0.

Philadelphia Phillies 10 - Chicago Cubs 3
Chicago leads NLDS 2-1.

Atlanta Braves 5 – Los Angeles Dodgers 6(10)
Los Angeles leads NLDS 2-0.

Los Angeles Dodgers 7 - Atlanta Braves 5
Los Angeles wins NLDS 3-0, advances to NLCS.

ALDS:
Minnesota Twins 0 – Tampa Bay Rays 1
ALDS tied at 1.

[Griever20]

American League Division Series Game 3:

October 14th, 2020

Houston Astros - Texas Rangers @ Globe Life Park

HOU: SP German Marquez(R, 8-9 4.43)
TEX: SP Michael Fulmer(R, 1-0 0.00)

Big game. We have a chance here if Fulmer is anywhere close to his Wild Card form and we don't really want to fall behind 2-1 this series, having to win two games in a row against this Astros team with, on paper, worse starting pitching.

The game turned out as a pitcher's duel in the early going as Marquez was utilizing his great control to generate outs, and Fulmer was looking pretty locked in as well, striking out a batter per inning, but allowed the first run of the ballgame, a Bregman single that led to nothing. TEX 0, HOU 0 after three.

Given that Marquez seemed hittable during his spell with the Astros, we decided to go with a more aggressive approach... and were no-hit through four. That finally changed when the leadoff man in the 5th, Billy McKinney, worked a full count, fouled off two close pitches... and then dug out a low fastball for a single to right... WAY TO GO GUYS, WE HAVE A ******* HIT!

A double play and a flyout later, that inning was also in the books...0-0 after five. And that was about time for the Astros to mount a rally. Veteran Yulieski Gurriel fought off a fastball into right and after Altuve was fanned on a breaking ball, Kyle Tucker SOMEHOW snuck a groundball past our first baseman for a double... luckily, Gurriel is NOT fast. Bring up Aguilar... line drive... center field... short... Martinez charging in... DIVING PLAY... HE GOT IT AGAIN!

Our second hit was a two-out single by Justin W. and was of course wasted on an infield flyout... and both starters were eventually left with a no-decision here. The Astros ran through their pen like it was going out of style, using Diekman, Whitley and Giles... and that got them through nine innings.

That turned out to be the right decision... when we stranded Royce Lewis at second in the ninth, and Riley Ferrell walked Springer to start the 10th, and was subbed off for Chapman after a sac bunt. Kevin killed off Avila with a K... and Joe Girardi gambled and left him in for Gurriel. A double and a single later, we were down 2-0.

We had to start a rally against Ken Giles who already had pitched 1.2 innings at that time... and we couldn't. HOU 2, TEX 0.

SP Michael Fulmer 8IP 3H 0ER 2BB 5K
SS Royce Lewis 0-3 BB SB(3)
RF Justin Williams 1-3
1B Bobby Bradley 0-3 BB
LF Billy McKinney 1-3 BB
HR HOU: none
HR TEX: none
W: Ken Giles(1-0 0.00) L: Riley Ferrell(0-1 3.00)
HOU 0 TEX 2 HOU leads ALDS 2-1.
Should've gone with Alex Claudio to stop that runner at second base. A managerial mistake by someone... What a wasted effort by Michael Fulmer... and our bats were put in a deep freeze by German Marquez and co. We just could not figure out the sequence here and always hit the wrong pitches.

NLDS:
Philadelphia Phillies 3 - Chicago Cubs 1
Chicago wins NLDS 3-1, advances to NLCS.

ALDS:
Tampa Bay Rays 3 - Minnesota Twins 4
Minnesota leads ALDS 2-1.

[Griever20]

American League Division Series Game 4:

October 15th, 2020

Houston Astros - Texas Rangers @ Globe Life Park

HOU: SP Brad Peacock(R, 17-4 4.03)
TEX: SP Albert Abreu(R, 6-7 4.88)

Elimination game and the chances are... not good. Peacock was a machine this season, Abreu was wonky, and our bullpen was ***** this postseason, so odds are, this will be going south in a hurry.

But at least, our luck was in. Peacock was a bit wild in the early going, falling behind in a lot of counts, and falling behind on the scoreboard when Williams caught a mistake over the middle of the plate... and lasered it into the left-field gap for a loong... triple. Of course, he was not scored by out bats... but by a wild pitch. We erased another chance in that first inning thanks to a ***** double play... but still, HOU 0, TEX 1...

That lead lasted mere milliseconds as Springer put one into the seats top 2nd, Bregman walked, Alex Avila hit a hard double to center... and then, Gurriel broke his bat for a little chopper to third, Gallo decided to bounce it on the ground for an error... HOU 2, TEX 1, runners at the corners, one out... Good news, Abreu collected a couple of K's to end the frame... after two walks that scored another run... HOU 3, TEX 1.

Now, could we get those bats going? You bet! McKinney single, Danny Jansen single, both of the lucky groundball variant... and that brought up Mr. Triple Julio Pablo Martinez... and he did just that... flyball to right... off the wall in right... and Kyle Tucker had no read on it and was not deep enough... 2-RUN TRIPLE with nobody out. Of course, the next three suckers were not able to bring that run... SITTING AT THIRD BASE WITH NOBODY OUT... across. HOU 3, TEX 3 after two.

Yet, Peacock was then shredded for two more runs on four hits and a wild pitch... and then, Abreu gave one run back on a Gurriel home run... wild game that was HOU 4, TEX 5 after four with both pitchers out of the game after four...

Joe Girardi gambled. We needed length, and we needed good stuff... and he brought in Alec Hansen, still laboring on a sore shoulder that was not getting better since September 25th... which worked for one inning... and blew in our face in the sixth.

By that time, McKinney had put one into the seats to make it 6-4, but a leadoff double turned into runners at the corners with Altuve at the plate and one down.... now, bring the righty groundball reliever that can get a double play... WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE THAT GUY.... Moreno came in and got a groundout... and with lefty Kyle Tucker up, we tried out Aaron Loup... and that was turned into a groundball... up the middle into center... Bregman in, Gurriel in... HOU 6, TEX 6.

Both bullpen's were wobbling through the innings now with Jandel Gustave defusing a two on, two out situation with Gallo at the plate, and Montas ending the top seventh with the bases loaded.

Our ALDS and playoffs eventually ended when our bullpen served up back-to-back home runs in the eighth to Aguilar and Correa, and then our closer Alex Claudio allowed another run in the ninth.

SP Albert Abreu 4IP 3H 4R 2ER 5BB 5K
RF Justin Williams 2-5 R TP
DH Nomar Mazara 2-4 R BB DB BB
1B Bobby Bradley 1-4 R RBI
LF Billy McKinney 2-4 2R RBI HR
C Danny Jansen 2-3 R RBI BB DB
CF Julio Pablo Martinez 2-4 2RBI TP
HR HOU: Yuliesky Gurriel(1), George Springer(1), Carlos Correa(1), Jesus Aguilar(1)
HR TEX: Billy McKinney(1)
W: Forrest Whitley(1-0 0.00) L: Frankie Montas(0-1 10.13)
HOU 9 TEX 6 HOU wins ALDS 3-1.
While the result was expected against a 107 win team, this series still stings a bit. We should've won game three behind that Fulmer performance, and we did get nothing out of our pen all series long.

ALDS:
Tampa Bay Rays 7 - Minnesota Twins 10
Minnesota wins ALDS 3-1.

[Griever20]

This series showed some of our flaws.

While our bats have had their moment and scored a good amount of runs in game one and four, the Astros were able to cool off our hard lefty hitters a bit too easy with one reliever... as we had no strong, dangerous right-handed pinch hitter on the bench, only Eusebio.

-> Offseason Goal #1: Get a righty with pop for the bench, preferably 1B/Corner OF skills to replace the dead roster spot held by Willie Calhoun.

Our bullpen looked strong on paper in the regular season, but this series showed some serious flaws in my book... tho one serious flaw was the guy sitting in front of the PC, mismanaging some of the outings. As mentioned before, we look into our pen with runners at the corners and one out... and there is no pitcher that guarantees a K or a groundball... and that is right-handed.

Ferrell is nice but is the best of three middle reliever prototypes together with Diaz and Moreno, not a setup man or a groundball pitcher that saves our bacon.

The lefties... are nice but no use against right-handed sluggers and you don't want to use Claudio in the seventh here...

Then there is Frankie Montas... which means 50/50 chance between a strikeout... and a hard home run that has a chance to hit the ISS... he will be dumped this offseason.

-> Offseason Goal #2: Rework the bullpen, get a couple of right-handers with groundball tendency or high K rates in.

Game 4 showed that we lacked another quality starter as Albert Abreu was trash... but we knew that.

-> Offseason Goal #3: ACE

[Griever20]

Obviously, our owner was happy with the on-field performance and most of his goals, but would still want to see more attendance in the park. We had an average attendance of 35.317, he wants at least 38.600. In order to try that out, and given that our park holds 49.115 seats, we will lower the ticket price by a dollar, and see how that goes.

Budget wise, we got a raise by $6M, up to $204M, the 12th biggest budget in MLB.

Changes, Changes:
We will keep the group around as Joe Girardi agreed to a two-year extension that he rightfully earned for the on-field performance of the team.

Potential Free Agents and Non-Tendered Arbitration Candidates:

LHRP Kevin Chapman(32, 2.5*) 3-2 3.87 80K 79IP 0.5WAR
Signed 1y/$830k extension

RHRP Tony Zych(29, 2.5*) DNP in MLB
non-tendered

RHRP Frankie Montas(27, 4*) 5-6 3SV 4.90 118K 90IP 0.8WAR
Signed a 1y/$830k extension.

Luckily, most of our roster is either pre-arbitration or locked up. That does definitely not mean that we won't make changes, and that starts right away, even before free agency. One major weakness, that especially showed in the playoffs, is our bullpen construction. We try to assemble a rotation of groundballs, yet the only two groundball relievers we have are lefties in Loup and Claudio and I don't want Loup around anymore.

That means we will dive into right-handed relief pitching right away... stay tuned.

Pre-Free Agency Transactions and News:

November 6th – In a weird trade, the Rangers have acquired RHRP Dylan Cease(24, 3.5/5*) from the White Sox in exchange for AAA RHRP Tony Zych(30, 2*), AAA RHSP Jake Latz(24, 1.5*) and AA RHSP Chris Holba(24, 0.5/2*). Cease is expected to miss most of 2021 with a torn labrum in his shoulder, but was 1-3 2.73 84K in 59.1IP prior to the injury.

So, Dylan Cease is a long-term investment. He will be put on the 60-day DL for $535k, and we will reevaluate him for 2022. That is unimportant prospects for a potential 5* arm in the future. He came up when we shopped some names around, and given that we have space on the 40-man... why not.

November 7th – An active offseason for Texas already as they have just send RHRP Frankie Montas(27, 4*), AAA 3B Anderson A. Tejeda(22, 0.5/2*) and A- 2B Yhon Perez(20, 0.5*) to the Marlins in exchange for RHRP Jorge Guzman(24, 3/4*) and A- prospect 2B Aaron Bracho(19, 0.5/5* HS, 0.5/2.5* OSA).

Guzman is a good arm that worked as a closer for Miami last year and should be a good candidate for middle relief. Bracho was a throw-in as the OSA does not like him, the Marlins were not high on him, and he is not a top 200 prospect, but Logan likes him. They were pretty high on Montas as he should work better in their park but we needed to give up a little more due to his track record, unfortunately.

November 10th – After complex negotiations, the Rangers and Yankees have agreed to a deal that will sent #105 prospect RHRP Luis Angel Medina(21, 1.5/4*) and #12 prospect 1B/RF Steven Sensley(25, 2/3*) to Texas in exchange for RHSP Luis Ortiz(25, 2/2.5*), R RHSP Abraham Lopez(21, 0.5/1.5*), R 3B Johnny Cuevas(19, 0.5/2*) and R RHSP Luis Ramirez(19, 0.5/1.5*) and $4M of cash.

That was a tough cookie... as this wasn't the good old Yankees. We wanted to add a relief prospect, and looked for more, but with a 77-85 record... Cashman was under pressure. And he really liked flyball pitcher Luis Ortiz who we claimed off waivers in September... this trade was nearly dead tho as they asked for one of our more interesting prospects, like our 2019 supplemental pick Justin Campbell... but they were surprisingly susceptible to cash offerings.

Who is now this Sensley guy? He is a right fielder with Justin Williams kind of defense... and potential Joey Gallo kind of pop. We wanted a big right-handed bat for the bench that can rotate between left, right and first base if needed, and he will replace Willie Calhoun on the 40-man. Just... he is a left-handed hitter... but whatever. He has pop. Is he really a top 12 prospect? Not sure, but if they don't want him... He was a 12th round selection way back but burst onto the scene with an 18HR season in AA in 2019.

November 10th – The Rangers have waived and DFA'ed 1B/OF Willie Calhoun, RF Daniel Johnson Jr. and OF Yanio Perez today. All players eventually went through waivers unclaimed. 1B/OF Steven Sensley, RHRP Michael Matuella and the newly acquired relievers were put on the 40-man instead.

November 15th – In a trade between divisional rivals, the Rangers have acquired LHRP Brett Adcock(25, 3*) from the in exchange for veteran LHRP Aaron Loup(32, 2*), RHSP Alec Hansen(26, 2/2.5*) and R SP Ray Castro(23, 0.5*).

Adcock is easily the best lefty in our organization right now, and we wanted to get rid of Loup's contract and Alec Hansen... is injured too often for my liking. He was great when healthy, but was out for the playoffs more or less with a day-to-day injury and is a flyball pitcher... should the Astros get happy with him... and we got rid of some salary here. Now, we need a big righty closer with groundball tendency, and I could see Adcock and Claudio as the two lefties in our pen.

[Griever20]

Back from Christmas with the family where I had no real internet to post, but I played on a bit with my laptop. Now that I'm stuffed and tired, time for the next steps...

Awards:

November 13th – Rangers 2B Jorge Castellanos(24, 2/3*) won the AL Gold Glove at second base this year. The 24-year old Cuban defector had a .985 fielding percentage, a +7.9ZR and posted a 1.059 efficiency.

November 15th – Rangers DH Nomar Mazara(25, 4*) won the Silver Slugger as a designated hitter this year. A first-time All-Star this year, he is batting .342/.416/.649 with 51 home runs and 132RBIs.

November 16th – Blue Jays 2B Bo Bichette(22, 2.5/3.5*) won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, batting .277/.336/.475 25HR 74RBIs in 155 games.

November 16th – Brewers 2B Keston Hiura(24, 3*) won the NL Rookie of the Year Award, batting .308/.360/.525 15HR 71RBIs in 114 games.

November 18th – Blue Jays SP Chris Sale(31, 4.5*) won the AL Cy Young Award, going 21-7 3.30 267K in 33 starts. He also is an 8x All-Star.

November 18th – Mets SP Noah Syndergaard(28, 5*) won the NL Cy Young Award, going 16-4 2.41 248K in 33 starts. He has now won this award for two straight years.

November 19th – Rangers RF Nomar Mazara(25, 4*) won the AL MvP Award, batting .342/.416/.649 51HR 132RBIs in 162 games. He also was an All-Star this year and won the AL Silver Slugger at DH.

November 19th – Dodgers 1B Cody Bellinger(25, 5*) won the NL MvP Award, batting .296/.397/.655 61HR 168RBIs in 162 games. He is also a 3x All-Star, 2x Silver Slugger, 2017 NL Rookie of the Year and has won the 2018 World Series.

--

Top Free Agent Filings:

LHSP Jose Quintana(31, 4*) 17-9 2.87 193K 31GS 4.3WAR(CHC)
RHSP Jacob deGrom(32, 3.5*) 14-6 4.65 209K 33GS 3.4WAR(HOU)
LHSP James Paxton(32, 3.5*) 8-2 2.08 79K 16GS 2.1WAR(HOU)

C Kuniaki Takamura(26, 4*) joined the league from JAP

1B Carlos Santana(34, 3*) .277-35-118 .894OPS 160G 4.5WAR(PHI)
2B Jurickson Profar(27, 3*) .277-7-55 .761OPS 121G 2.0WAR(ARI/MIN)
3B Justin Turner(36, 4*) .292-27-127 .873OPS 160G 5.9WAR(LAD)
3B Jake Lamb(30, 3.5*) .272-26-93 .875OPS 159G 4.8WAR(ARI)
3B Matt Carpenter(35, 3*) .234-27-74 .780OPS 159G 2.3WAR(STL)

LF Giancarlo Stanton(31, 3.5*) .227-40-80 .845OPS 121G 1.8WAR(NYY)

We want Jose Quintana... that will most likely... not work. He wants $35M per year for 8 years. And that is not in the cards, our owner won't allow that as we would go over budget in the future. We will try to get back to him, hoping for his asking price to drop... but that one throws a spanner in the works for sure. Now, do we gamble?

RHSP Jake Arrieta is out with a torn ACL. The 34-year old veteran was 18-24 with a 4.83ERA with PHI and a 5.35FIP. We could get him for three years and $21M with the last year being an option year. I don't like that deal. Too many risks. Yes, Fulmer's stats were worse, but he also was 27 and a groundballer. Arrieta is not, and he is old.

I feel like I'm backed into a corner again...

[Griever20]

Transactions:

none...

In Other News:
December 7th - RF Giancarlo Stanton(31, 3.5*) has decided to re-sign with the Yankees and has put the pen on a 4y/$136M deal. He is a 6x All-Star, 2x MvP, and a 4x Silver Slugger.

December 9th - 3B Justin Turner(36, 4*) will join the Cardinals on a 3y/$79.4M deal that reunites him with his former teammate Clayton Kershaw. Turner won the 2020 NL Silver Slugger Award and was an All-Star in 2017.

December 13th - SP Carlos Carrasco(33, 3*) will play the next two years with the Red Sox for $14.4M. He led the AL in wins in 2017.

December 13th – Another bat for the Redbirds. 1B Carlos Santana(34, 3*) signed for 4y/$101.6M with the Cardinals, adding another bat to the puzzle. He was an All-Star in 2020.

December 13th – Back home! SP Jacob deGrom(32, 3.5*) returns to the Mets for 5y/$99M after a short stint in the AL. He is a 2x All-Star and was the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year.

December 14th – The Royals have a new catcher as C Kuniaki Takamura(26, 3.5*) will join them from Japan...

--

Winter Meetings... Hotel Room

Last two years, we were full of optimism about the Winter Meetings and had a lot of work done already. Well, we have done a lot of work... but the promise of bringing a big pitcher to Arlington... is tough to fulfill.

This offseason sucks. Carrasco, deGrom is gone, Nathan Eovaldi, a groundballer we had an eye on, was traded away before we could decide on what to do, and the big news... we offered a 4y/$120M deal to Jose Quintana... and he told us to get lost and his agent does not want to talk with us anymore... what a nightmare.

That also means we have to go back to the drawing board and that means... a trade or James Paxton. Paxton wants $23M p.a. for four to five years. We can do that... but do we want to?...

Logan and John both think we can get a better pitcher on a shorter deal via trade, or a younger pitcher that is cheaper and has the upside of Paxton. But, that would cost us some players from our MLB roster. Now, I'm going to tell you a little secret. I have an idea for a trade package that could work...

Julio Pablo Martinez is rated a 2* center fielder with 2 years and 110 days of service time. He hit .251 with a 77OPS+, no stolen bases, and amassed 0.1WAR last season. We have Ricky Eusebio who amassed 0.4WAR in 64 games, and we have Cole Brannen in AAA, a left-handed batter.

Maybe, just maybe, we can do something with that... Frustrating offseason.

[Griever20]

We knew this was going to be our best shot to get something done... so we split up. John and Logan worked the obvious trade candidates... the guys we had talks with before, and where a good arm was to be had... potentially.

I was freelancing... and my first try was to get hold of Michael Gold, the agent of Jose Quintana... who told me to get lost. That was a short conversation and meant we would not pursue him any further unless his asking price drops significantly... and that meant that the trade market would be the ticket...

First WhatsApp... "Yankees want the moon for Severino, no deal." Meanwhile, I gave a little statement to a media guy, saying that we will be fine and that we have a plan for a successful offseason... and by accident, I kinda ran into Jeff Luhnow, the hot Astros GM and I kinda thought... would he be willing to part with a starter?

We started talking despite him having lost Paxton & deGrom in free agency, but my target was to buy low. Houston had acquired RHSP German Marquez(25, 3/3.5*) from COL at the deadline, but he posted a 5.64ERA for them in 12 starts... and a 3.18ERA in the postseason with 6 scoreless against us.

Luhnow liked Martinez but he was out to get more... and it was clear what he wanted... relievers. An hour into the talks, we had a deal at hand. Two guaranteed years of Marquez for Martinez, Gerson Moreno and Victor R. Diaz. That is two of our main relievers from 2020... and Diaz was big for us as he won 9 games... I told him that I would think about it and that I would do the trade right away for Martinez + Moreno and we left it there for now...

Whatsapp: "Flaherty is off, Kershaw available for a high price, has a player option for 2022..." Mozeliak at the Cards... "Zach Davies available, but they want MLB pieces that are better than Martinez. Same for the Rockies for Jon Gray." Thanks Logan....

Backed into a corner. Marquez would be of the Fulmer/Taylor mold. Nothing SPECIAL...

Then, I stood before the Mets office here in Vegas... New York had just reunited their old stars. Thor, deGrom, Gsellman and Harvey... Their GM is a dude named Rob Freed, born in Las Vegas, and the boss since 2019. He got this team into third in the division this year with a 90-72 record with great pitching...

His center fielder right now is Trayce Thompson, 29-years of age, a bad defender in there, claimed off waivers... Get in there, I thought...

"Noah is off the table, Robert and Jacob just signed new contracts, so you want Harvey who is just recovering from injury and may be ready for spring?" - " Forget Harvey. I'm offering you a triples machine in Julio Pablo Martinez and a good reliever in Gerson Moreno for Dallas Keuchel."

There it is. The 2015 AL Cy Young winner was 10-7 with a 3.76ERA last year, is still looking good, under contract for 2021 and 2022 and 'only' makes $19.2M.

"I need more. Another reliever... Diaz... or a prospect..." Everyone wants Diaz... My mind was racing... "How about Bryan Mata instead. We developed him as a starter but he would be a great reliever..." - "Then, give me an SP prospect at least." - "Who do you have in mind?"

"Casey Mize(NOPE), Hans Crouse(NOPE), Matthew Allan(BIG NOPE), Justin Campbell(maybe), Jan Figueroa(maybe) or Andrew McDaniel(jackpot)."

"... Ok. McDaniel would work. That is a deal."

December 15th – The Rangers and Mets agreed to a blockbuster trade that will sent 2015 AL Cy Young Winner LHSP Dallas Keuchel(32, 4*) to the Rangers in exchange for CF Julio Pablo Martinez(24, 2*), RHRP Gerson Moreno(25, 2/3*), AA RHSP Bryan Mata(21, 1.5/2*) and R RHSP Andrew McDaniel(20, 0.5* HS, 0.5/2.5* OSA).

In Other News:

December 15th – The Red Sox just gambled on a torn UCL as they signed RHSP Masahiro Tanaka(32, 3*) for 2y/$17.4M today, announced at the Winter Meetings. The 32-year old only made two starts last year before his arm gave up and has a career 70-52 record with a 4.16ERA in 172 starts.

[Griever20]

"I can not believe you did that trade without even telling us anything," Mozeliak almost screamed at me as we were underway to the Convention Center for day two. "I had to make a quick decision there, that deal could've been dead for them if they just signed Enrique Hernandez or traded for another CF. We did not give up a crapton in this trade, and got two years of an ace without having to pay four more years for a dud pitcher."

"It is a good deal," Logan agreed. "McDaniels is not my kind of guy, tho there are people out there that like him a lot, and Martinez was a good center fielder, but we can recreate him with Brennan and Eusebio." - "It's just that..." - "Cut the crap John, Max is the boss, and he made a decision..."

Yeah, yeah, John Mozeliak was a bit pissed that I made that decision on my own... he still needs to realize that he is the ASSISTANT GM. Time to move on. "Anyways, we gave up a reliever, we could need a reliever, ideas?" - "Well, Cashman would give up Dellin Betances for almost nothing," Logan told us right away. Betances was a mixed bag, sometimes, he posts an ERA below two, sometimes an ERA over three, but he strikes out people.

"Heard that the Red Sox would move Capps, cheaper, younger, two years on his contract left," John added.

Given that we had the money available thanks to Quinana's greed...

December 16th – The Rangers continue to add arms as they acquired RHRP Dellin Betances(32, 4*) and RHRP Tommy Kahnle(31, 4*) from the Yankees today with New York paying 60% of Tommy Kahnle's remaining 2y/$10.2M deal.

Going back to the Yankees will be AAA SP A.J. Alexy(22, 1.5/2*), AAA SP Pauly Milto(23, 1.5/2*) and LHRP Brady M. Feigl(29, 1*).

The two starters are excess arms in AAA and I want the space for some of the younger, more promising prospects from our farm. Kahnle was injured a lot lately, but Girardi let out a spontaneous burst of laughter and said he could see him as our closer...

PS: Betances is a free agent next year.

[Griever20]

Side note: MLB announced that they will higher the pitcher's mound in order to get the offensive numbers down a bit.

Translation: I can't stand the 2018 league totals etc. and therefore changed to older settings, resulting in a lg. average .254/.319/.405.

The result should be, better pitching numbers, fewer home runs, more regular hits, and more small ball. Don't think that that change favors us a lot as our offensive numbers may go down, but it keeps me sane.

[Griever20]

Winter Meetings Day 3&4

Are we done now? Not quite... one more thing... I want to go with one lefty in middle relief and one lefty as closer... so we have Adcock, Brentz and Chapman + Claudio. Chapman has no options left and is worse than Adcock and similar to Brentz so... we dump him...

Speaking of dumping him, the Cardinals came up with a Michael Wacha trade again... the 29-year old makes $19.2M next year and had a 4.54ERA in 2020... nope... and the Cubs offered Albert Almora for MLB players or big prospects... also nope.

December 17th – In a quickly orchestrated deal, the Rangers sent LHRP Kevin Chapman(32, 2*) and RHRP Trey Wingenter(26, 2*) to the Nationals for AAA RF Autin Aune(27, 1.5*).


In Other News:
December 17th – In a rather big trade, the Mariners unloaded 3B Kyle Seager(33, 3.5*) and $4.69M of cash to the Phillies for SS Freddie Galvis(31, 2*) and AA RHRP John McMillon(22, 2/3.5*).

--

Transactions:

December 20th – LHSP Thomas Szapucki(24, 0.5/1.5*) was claimed off waivers by the Athletics. He is out for 6-7 additional months and posted a 6.65ERA in AA last year... good luck with that dead body... In preparation of the Rule V draft, we put AA RHRP Alex Speas(22, 2/3.5*) on the 40-man roster.

December 26th – We claimed 22-year old SS Nonie Williams(22, 0.5/2*, 0.5/2.5*) off waivers today. The former 3rd round pick was not put on the 40-man but sent to the minors instead.

January 4th – Another waiver claim as SS Justin Lopez(20, 0.5/2.5*) will join our org for free from the Padres... why they waive those kids on minor league contracts all the time...

January 15th – With the calendar flipping to 2021, we tried to lowball James Paxton... no success so far.

January 29th – And 3B Alexander Campos(20, 0.5/2*) is now part of our org as the kid was waived by Oakland.

February 2nd – We claimed SS Marcos Junior Gonzalez(21, 0.5/2.5*) off waivers from Cleveland today. To clarify, all those waiver claims are on minor league contract and won't be on our 40-man...

In Other News:

December 24th – There is the big signing. LHRP Jose Quintana(31, 4*) has agreed to a 5y/$150M contract with the Philadelphia Phillies today, pitching side by side with ace Aaron Nola for the next years. The 2x All-Star led the NL in Wins last year.

December 30th – The Marlins have a new third baseman as Jake Lamb(30, 3*) signed a 4y/$50.8M contract today. The 2017 NL All-Star is coming off a 4.8WAR year with ARI.

December 31st – New York has found a replacement for Dallas Keuchel as RHSP Jake Arrieta(34, 3*) signed for 2y'/$14.6M. The 34-year old 2015 NL Cy Young Winner is coming off a torn UCL.

December 31st – The Royals splashed out a 3y/$37.5M, with year three being a vesting option, to sign veteran 3B Matt Carpenter(35, 3*). The 2x All-Star and 2013 NL Silver Slugger has played all his career with the Cardinals.

December 31st – A former Ranger has signed... with the Blue Jays as IF/OF Jurickson Profar(27, 3*) agreed to a 4y/$49.1M contract today to replace Troy Tulowitzki at shortstop... good luck with that defense...

January 20th – It took him nine attempts, but here it is. With 88.3% of the votes, Roger Clemens joined the Hall of Fame today. The 7x Cy Young Winner, 1986 AL MvP and 11x All-Star is a career 354-184 pitcher with a 3.12ERA and 4672 strikeouts in 709 games.

January 20th – Another pitcher was inducted today as Curt Schilling got over the hump with 84.5% of the votes. The 6x All-Star is a career 216-146 pitcher with a 3.46ERA and 3116K's in 569 games.

January 29th – The Cubs won the race as LHSP James Paxton(32, 3.5*) signed a huge 5y/$150M offer sheet to pitch in Chicago. The Canadian missed parts of 2020 with injury but was 8-2 with 2.08ERA when healthy... I would not have agreed to our lowball offer with that one on the table either... well played by him and his agent... this is why I despise free agency...

[Griever20]

Rangers Announce Spring Training Roster
stadiumreport.bbn

February 25th, 2021

Coming off a 90 win season, the Rangers are viewed as the favorites for the division for some... as the blows kept on coming for the Astros. deGrom & Paxton left via free agency, and ever reliable Brad Peacock decided to hang up his cleats following the World Series win and some personal troubles. That leaves the door open for the following group:

Starting Pitching:
Albert Abreu(25, R), Hans Crouse(22, R) Seranthony Dominguez(26, R), Michael Fulmer(27, R) Ariel Jurado(25, R), Dallas Keuchel(33, L), Michael Matuella(26, R), Casey Mize(23, R), Justus Sheffield(24, L), Cory Taylor(27, R), Jake J. Thompson(26, R)

A deep group with a new sheriff on top with Dallas Keuchel, two really reliable right-handers in Fulmer and Taylor, another lefty in Justus Sheffield that started strong last year and then kinda fizzled out, and a ton of options for the #5, including two big prospects in Hans Crouse and Casey Mize... that are not even on the 40-man.

It is rumored that GM Max Gerlach has buyers remorse on the on the 8y/$32M contract extension for Sheffield and then there is ... Jake J. Thompson who is trying to make his return from surgery.

Right-Handed Relief Pitching:
Dellin Betances(32, R), Victor R. Diaz(26, R), Riley Ferrell(27, R), Jorge Guzman(25, R), Tommy Kahnle(31, R), Luis Angel Medina(21, R), Trevor Rosenthal(30, R), Alex Speas(22, R)

Left-Handed Relief Pitching:
Brett Adcock(25, L), Jake Brentz(26, L), Alex Claudio(29, L)

Want to hear a manager that does not commit to a closer: Joe Girardi is one. "We are considering our options," he said. From a roster construction angle, that makes a lot of sense.

Despite having a bullpen that was miles better than their rotation, Max Gerlach blew up the group and brought in Tommy Kahnle, Delin Betances and former Marlins closer Jorge Guzman as well as young lefty Brett Adcock... With that group, it would make a lot of sense to have a righty closer and go with two lefties in the pen.

Also, Trevor Rosenthal returns from injury... unless he blows his arm again...

Catcher:
Danny Jansen(25, R), Josh Morgan(25, R), Matt Whatley(25, R)

Danny Jansen will be the main gig here as he is coming off a .259/.355/.349 year with 2.3WAR overall and Matt Whatley is likely to be the defensive backup.

Infield:
1B Bobby Bradley(24, L), 1B/OF Willie Calhoun(26, L), 2B Jorge Castellanos(24, R), 2B Richie Palacios(23, L), IF Chris Seise(22, R), 3B Joey Gallo(27, L), SS Thairo Estrada(24, R), SS Royce Lewis(21, R)

Add Steven Sensley as a 1B option to the mix. The big battle on this roster will be Castellanos/Seise/Estrada for two infield spots with Richie Palacios having an outside chance... way outside chance.

Bradley made a big step forward last year and Royce Lewis is still only 21... and coming off a 4.5WAR season. This could be the best infield in the AL soon.

Outfield:
LF Billy McKinney(27, L), CF Cole Brannen(22, R), CF Ricky Eusebio(27, R), RF Daniel Johnson Jr.(24, L), RF Nomar Mazara(25, L), RF/LF Yanio Perez(25, R), OF/1B Steven Sensley(25, L), RF Justin Williams(25, L)

Take a big, hard-hitting outfield/DH mix... and add the bat of the #12 prospect in baseball to it. Steven Sensley is expected to make the 25-man, and will get a lot of exposure this Spring Training and is expected to learn some left field in the process... to platoon with Billy McKinney. Nomar Mazara and Justin Williams return as right fielder and DH, and center field will see the arrival of prospect Cole Brannan as left-handed part in a center field platoon.

[Griever20]

Taylor Out, Brennan And Seise On Opening Day Roster
stadiumreport.bbn

April 1st, 2020

Corey Kluber out for three months. David Paulino out for three months. Noah Syndergaard is out for the season. Madison Bumgarner is out for five months. Zach Wheeler is out for the season...

Compared to that, the Rangers survived Spring rather unscratched. Bobby Bradley will rejoin with the team after their first series as he was placed on the DL with blurred vision... and right-hander Cory Taylor with miss 2-3 weeks with a strained hamstring.

Apart from that, everybody is on board, and the closer decision was made... for Tommy Kahnle. That is a way to ruffle some feathers here. Without further talking:

Your 2021 Texas Rangers:

Starting Pitching:

RHSP Albert Abreu(25, 2/2.5*, $545k)6-7 4.88 136K 31GS 144IP -0.2WAR // 11-13 4.89 47GS 226.1IP 205K 0.8WAR (career)
Snuck in for 2-3 weeks because of the Taylor injury. Struggled last year with home runs and will never stop walking... other people. The stuff, 94-96 mph with a curve and a changeup, is above average, but not good enough to compensate for his control issues. Acquired from NYY in 2018/19 offseason.

RHSP Michael Fulmer(28, 3*, $9.5M) 8-11 5.57 130K 32GS 181IP 1.9WAR (TEX/DET) // 53-54 4.32 648K 149G/149GS 908.2IP 15.9WAR (career)
A 2x All-Star and 2016 AL Rookie of the Year, Fulmer features a 94-96 mph fastball with a sinker, a curveball, a slider, and a bad changeup. His start to his Rangers career was rocky, but his playoff performance was gutsy and his spring was decent, so there is hope he can play to his career stats. Acquired from DET at the 2020 trade deadline.

LHSP Dallas Keuchel(33, 4*, $19.2M) 10-1 3.76 120K 21G/21GS 139IP 2.4WAR // 97-82 3.72 1286K 247G/238GS 1560IP 26.8WAR (career)
A lefty with an 89-91 mph fastball sinker, a cutter, a slider, a changeup, and a knuckle curve, all with wicked movement. To add to that, he is a 3x Gold Glover a 3x All-Star and 2015 AL Cy Young Winner. Ace of staff and Opening Day starter. Acquired from NYM the last offseason.

LHSP Justus Sheffield(24, 2/2.5*, $4M) 10-13 4.84 156K 30G/30GS 165.1IP 1.5WAR // 11-13 4.64 176K 36G/32GS 186.1IP 1.8WAR (career)
Above average stuff, low 90's heater, slider, and changeup, his control picked up a bit last year, but a flyball tendency and low movement translates into a lot of home runs... And that may spell doom for him, long team. His contract extension might have been a mistake anyways. Acquired from NYY in the 2019/20 offseason.

RHSP Jake J. Thompson(26, 2.5/3*, $545k) 2-3 4.67 46K 10GS 52IP 1.0WAR // 9-13 5.46 158K 41GS 214.1IP 1.5WAR (career)
Jake J. Thompson is back... and looked rusty and out of sync in spring, posting a 7.78ERA in 19.2IP... let's hope he will not pitch like that in the next six months. A 93-95 mph fastball with a curve and a change, our scouts think he is more or less a finished product, maybe with a bit of potential on his curve and change. Acquired from TBR in the 2018/19 offseason.

RHSP Cody Taylor(27, 3/3.5*, $5M) 10-9 4.55 156K 32G/32GS 180IP 1.5WAR // 15-10 4.13 210K 43G/41GS 231IP 3.2WAR (career) DL 2-3 weeks
A groundball pitcher with a hard sinker and good breaking stuff, he still has room for growth... that he may not fulfill, but he has been good enough. His fastball is hard, 96-98, but unfortunately, he strained a hammy in spring and will be out till late April. Technically our #2. Acquired from SFG the last offseason.

Bullpen:

LHRP Brett Adcock(25, 3/3.5*, $545k) 1-0 0SV 3.18 5G 4K 5.2IP -0.1WAR (HOU) // 1-0 0SV 3.18 5G 4K 5.2IP -0.1WAR (career)
A surprise trade landed this surprise lefty for the Rangers and the scouting report was favorable. Good fastball, great curve, a slider and a change, and technically, he could start and will act as a long man if needed, said Girardi. His movement is a bit iffy, but he still may easily be one of the better lefty relievers in the majors. Acquired from HOU last offseason.

RHRP Delin Betances(33, 4*, $9M) 4-5 2SV 3.36 100K 67G 64.1IP 0.9WAR(NYY) // 35-25 38SV 2.57 785K 477G 494.2IP 10.7WAR (career)
One of the big strikeout artists in the AL, Betances is coming over after an off-color year that meant more home runs than usual... which is a problem in Arlington. Still, the 4x All-Star has one of the best curveballs in the majors and a 96-98 heater that easily baffles hitters. His control may be a bit iffy from time to time, and his track record as a closer is... pretty bad, but he will be an elite setup man. Acquired from NYY last offseason.

LHRP Alex Claudio(29, 4*, $9.5M) 9-4 29SV 1.78 65K 70G 81IP 3.0WAR // 24-26 111SV 2.47 297K 353G/1GS 390.1IP 9.8WAR (career)
Texas decided that this year, Claudio will not close, and instead is going to make use of his groundball magic as a setup man and in more flexible spots... He does not throw hard at all, but the movement on his sinker and on his changeup is absolutely filthy.. and the ball also always lands where we want it to land. 2x AL All-Star.

RHRP Riley Ferrell(27, 3.5/4*, $545k) 7-4 3SV 3.34 99K 80G 86.1IP 1.4WAR // 15-5 5SV 3.57 255K 205G 222IP 3.6WAR (career)
Ferrell did a good job for the last two year but we more or less used him as a setup man and that is not quite what he is all about. Yes, he strikes out 10.3 per nine, and that is with his mid 90's heater and a slider with good movement and control, but nothing elite. Acquired from HOU in the 2018/19 offseason.

RHRP Jorge Guzman(25, 3.5/4*, $545k) 4-1 12SV 4.45 49K 67G 64.2IP -0.4WAR // 4-1 12SV 4.32 61K 73G 64.2IP -0.4WAR (career)
A scrappy Marlins closer last year, he struggled with his control last year, but his 97-99 heater with a strong slider and good movement screams... quality reliever. We will ease him into a middle relief role and will try to find out what he really is about. Acquired from MIA the last offseason.

RHRP Tommy Kahnle(31, 4*, $5.1M) 0-2 0SV 5.68 4K 5G 6.1IP -0.3WAR(NYY) // 9-15 13SV 3.16 373K 291G 302.1IP 5.6WAR (career)
Don't laugh. Joe Girardi says, Kahnle is our closer. The veteran had a couple of freaky injuries over the last two years, but still, he has three big-ticket pitches, a 96-98 heater, a slider, and a quality changeup. He posts good movement, likes grounders, and is under contract until the end of 2022. Acquired from NYY last offseason.

RHRP Trevor Rosenthal(30, 2.5*, $2.8M) 0-0 0SV 9.00 1K 4G 3IP 0.0WAR // 15-25 121SV 3.12 498K 389G 377.1IP 6.9WAR (career)
An extreme groundballer with 98-100 on the gun, only the control kept him from being an absolute elite closer... and that control became worse and worse... with every injury. He is pretty much a bust. A 2015 NL All-Star, he was signed as a free agent in the 2019/20 offseason but missed all of 2020 with an injury...

Catcher:

C Danny Jansen(25, 2.5*, $545k) .259/.355/.349 6HR 47RBI 118G/118GS 2.3WAR // .271/.362/.372 9HR 60RBI 132H 138G 3.2WAR (career)
Not a great shot-caller, but a good arm and a decent hitter. Not a lot of power, but we still hope he can hit .270. Acquired from KCR at the 2019 trade deadline.

C Matt Whatley(25, 0.5/1.5*, $545k) .287/.329/.460 4HR 15RBI 45G/40GS 1.1WAR // .258/.307/.408 6HR 27RBI 60H 70G 0.9WAR (career)
Horrible hitter still, but he performed well in limited time last year. Decent defender that is a good backup.

Infield:

1B Bobby Bradley(24, 3*, $6.5M) .262/.358/.554 49HR 125RBI 162G/162GS 4.0WAR // .245/.330/.508 65HR 172RBI 223H 241G/239GS 3.1WAR (career) DL 2 days
Bradley turned from a question mark into an exclamation mark last season, hitting home runs left, right and center and posting a solid 4WAR season in 162 games, needing no rest at all. He also struck out 182 times... that is his weakness. Acquired from CLE in the 2018/19 offseason.

1B/RF/LF Steven Sensley(25, 2.5/3.5*, $545k) .270/.328/.465 19HR 80RBI 134G/133GS 2.5WAR (AAA) // DNP (career)
We wanted a right-handed hitter... and then found Steven Sensley for basically free on the trade market... and went for it. A power hitter that can also hit a single and a double, but won't walk a lot and collected a strikeout per game in AAA last year, he will be out backup 1B/corner outfielder and slot in left field from time to time when McKinney is slumping. Acquired from NYY last offseason. The #7 prospect in baseball!

2B Jorge Castellanos(24, 2/3.5*, $1M) .257/.330/.374 12HR 66RBI 161G/161GS 36/43SB 2.9WAR // .257/.330/.374 12HR 66RBI 161G/161GS 36/43SB 2.9WAR (career)
Castellanos did a strong job for us last season, and by hitting .286 in Spring, easily won the second base job over Chris Seise. A speedy guy with stellar defense and a Gold Glove in his rookie season, his ceiling is a .280-20 batter with 35 stolen bases and like, 90 runs scored.

2B/SS Chris Seise(22, 2/3*, $545k) .317/.353/.400 4HR 67RBI 132G/132GS 28/38SB 1.6WAR(AAA) // DNP (career)
A great defender with good speed, but his bat is a bit behind Castellanos' lumber, both in current and potential. Basically, he lacks the home run power of the Cuban, but everything else is similar. Won the backup infielder job easily over Thairo Estrada who did not impress anyone lately. First-round selection in the 2017 First-Year Player Draft.

3B Joey Gallo(27, 4/4.5*, $8.58M) .230/.334/.522 50HR 115RBI 6/9SB 160G/160GS 4.6WAR // .2227/.339/.521 189HR 407RBI 529H 673G 15.8WAR (career)
Gallo could not quite repeat his career year from 2019, but still is a premium slugger at third base that every team would love to have. His defense is still a tad above average and we hope that continues for a while, especially his arm is a cannon. Supplemental round Pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

SS Royce Lewis(21, 3/4.5*, $8.81M) .260/.337/.383 8HR 53RBI 68/84SB 140G/140GS 4.5WAR // .251/.327/.365 16HR 100RBI 116/151SB 301H 292G/290GS 6.2WAR (career)
Royce Lewis is getting better and better every day, and is pilfering a bag every second game while scoring 105 runs in 140 games. His defense is great, his batting average keeps on growing, and there is still some room for growth if he manages to cut down the strikeouts a bit more. Acquired from MIN in the 2018/19 offseason.

Outfield:

LF Billy McKinney(26, 3*, $545k) .271/.338/.398 9HR 65RBI 158G/151GS 1.2WAR // .257/.328/.418 34HR 147RBI 298H 315G/303GS 2.8WAR (career)
Having dropped 16 home runs less than in 2019, albeit for 27 additional points of batting average, McKinney's is not a save bet in any way, shape or form with Sensley potentially becoming a major home run threat. Still, he is a Gold Glove left fielder... at least on paper as his actual ratings don't quite tell the same story. Rule V draftee from NYY in 2018.

CF Cole Brannen(2, 2.5/3.5*, $545k) .86/.373/.405 7HR 51RBI 34/44SB 127G/125GS 2.2WAR // DNP (career)
Our center fielder against RHP, Brannen should be similar defensively to Martinez, should bat about the same average, but with a lot of stolen bases, giving us another speedy player for the bottom of the order. His batting still needs some work as his OBP could rise with a little bit more exposure, but overall he is a quality player already. Acquired from BOS in the 2018/19 offseason.

OF Ricky Eusebio(26, 2*, $545k) .232/.229/.379 8HR 24RBI 64G/57GS 0.3WAR // .225/.287/.357 8HR 28RBI 55H 73G/65GS 0.0WAR (career)
A great defender for all three outfield positions and a right-handed hitter that will platoon with Brannen now. Hit just above his weight last year, and is not exactly a pinch-hitting threat... Acquired from MIN in the 2019/20 offseason.

DH/RF Nomar Mazara(25, 4.5*, $12M) .342/.416/.649 51HR 132RBI 162G/162GS 7.8WAR // .285/.357/.495 127HR 397RBI 704H 650G 12.3WAR (career)
The reigning AL MvP. Enough said. He took the last step in his development last season and turned into an almost complete hitter that really led this team from the DH spot. If I have a say, his time in the field is over... but if he hits like that, $12M per year is a steal.

RF Justin Williams(25, 3*, $7.91M) .295/.330/.540 42HR 126RBI 160G/160GS 3.3WAR // .297/.339/.533 62HR 195RBI 335H 283G/277GS 5.1WAR (career)
Williams dropped some batting average and OBP due to him now also facing LHP, but with a strong lineup around him, he found a lot of additional power. Yes, his defense was average at best, but better than Mazara's and the -0.5WAR from his fielding were easily eaten up by his bat. Acquired from TBR in the 2018/19 offseason.

RF Yanio Perez(25, 1.5*, $545k) .255/.313/.408 13HR 59RBI 112G/105GS 0.8WAR(AAA) // .342/.375/.526 1HR 7RBI 13H 19G/4GS 0.1WAR (career)
The stopgap for the Bradley injury. Move on. Nothing to see here.

Owner Expectation: Play .500 ball.
Preseason Prediction: 98-64 1st in AL West
Last year, the prediction was only a bit off... but I would gladly take those 98 wins. We would be tied with CLE for the top spot in the AL..

Coming Up: Prospect Report & First Month of Baseball!