Worst to First - The Sequel

[mirrf]

Originally Posted by mirrf

Who is your next team?

Originally Posted by mirrf

Weekly bump.

Well, it's been 2 weeks. I thought I should bump it again because I miss this thread.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by mirrf

Well, it's been 2 weeks. I thought I should bump it again because I miss this thread.

Thanks for bumping, and missing this thread. I miss it too, I've been doing a really bad job of keeping things going for quite a while now. Things have been hectic, not necessarily in a bad way, but hectic none-the-less.

I know better than to promise anything, but I just got back in town last night after a couple of weeks off, and some progress on my next team. I guess the good part is I have a little bit of a jump start on my next team, but given the situation didn't take the time to upgrade to OOTP19. So that will have to wait for the next, next team.

Since there are four teams left the pickings are getting slim. The Giants, Rangers, and Rays will wait for now though, and it's on to the Dodgers....

[NYY #23]

The Dodgers weren't the worst team in the league last year, but did finish in eighth place with a 75-87 record. Not quite worst to first, but close enough if we can pull it off.

One of my first objectives in LA is to rid ourselves of Ted King. He signed a six-year $150 million contract prior to the 2077 season hit just .240 with 20 home runs and 54 RBI for a WAR of 0.5. The one problem with the Dodgers logic is signing a poor outfielder to play in the field, or not being willing to play him at DH.

The White Sox have about $100 million in available dollars so I thought it could be a good match. We sent King along with SP Parker Reid (2-4, 3.81 ERA), shortstop Dave Scott (.303, 23 HR, 85 RBI), and outfield prospect Fraser Harvey to the White Sox in exchange for four minor leaguers: CL Michael Weddington, LF Matt Smith, SP Jeremy Spencer, and CF Trent Garner.

None are top prospects, but this was more about addition by subtraction and ridding ourselves of a bad contract to make my owner happy.

We have about $87 million to spend now, but do have some holes behind the plate, at first base, third, shortstop, in the outfield, rotation, and bullpen.

[NYY #23]

Former Angel Carlos Robles was the only player inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.



C Carlos Robles 90.8 (1st year) Inducted HOF
SS Richie Bennett 71.0 (1st year)
CL Roberto María 68.4 (2nd year)
1B Oliver Osborne 65.2 (1st year)
1B Anthony Webb 64.4 (4th year)
CL Tony Hodge 56.9 (1st year)
CL Pedro Navarro 46.6 (3rd year)
SP Jorge Cruz 37.9 (2nd year)
C Edward Widgery 31.3 (1st year)
SP Nick Bane 29.0 (1st year)
C Edgardo Díaz 14.9 (3rd year)
SP Mike Riddle 12.4 (10th year) Dropped
CL Stan Wagner 10.1 (4th year)
SP Paco Martínez 9.5 (2nd year)
SP Jeff Lowe 9.2 (3rd year)
SP Jessie Kessler 8.9 (4th year)
2B Dan Stephens 8.3 (8th year)
LF Jason Park 7.2 (1st year)
SP Rowan Moss 6.3 (4th year)
RF Ánibal Guerrero 6.3 (2nd year)
LF Roy Thomas 6.0 (2nd year)
SP Bob Everhart 6.0 (7th year)
RP Lorenzo Roberto 5.7 (1st year)
RF Ánibal Vallejo 5.7 (10th year) Dropped
1B Luke Sutton 5.2 (2nd year)
C Jorge Crespo 4.0 (1st year) Dropped
RP Jorge Rivera 4.0 (4th year) Dropped
RP Clarence Young 3.4 (3rd year) Dropped
SS Robinson Martínez 3.4 (8th year) Dropped
SP Ferry van Zwam 3.2 (1st year) Dropped
SS Lúcio Reyes 2.9 (2nd year) Dropped
SP Pablo Encarnación 2.6 (1st year) Dropped
C Enrique González 2.0 (2nd year) Dropped
1B José Mendoza 1.4 (3rd year) Dropped
SP Nick Fillmore 1.1 (1st year) Dropped
SP Fernando Rosas 1.1 (2nd year) Dropped
CL Pedro Quintanilla 0.9 (2nd year) Dropped
CF Adão Torka 0.6 (1st year) Dropped
SP Brendan Griffin 0.3 (1st year) Dropped

[NYY #23]

Our offseason started with trades, then ended with some free agent signings. The Dodgers first made a trade with Mexico City to give us a little roster flexibility, sending 1B Wayne McCord and 2B Jason Barton to Mexico City in exchange for SS Milo Stout and minor league reliever Bryan Perry.

The Dodgers made a second trade with Carolina, sending 2B Thom Whittier, minor league reliever Michael Weddington, and minor league outfielder Matt Smith in exchange for catcher Gerald Spilborghs and minor league reliever Ron Rodriguez. Spilborghs should take over as our starting catcher.

The Dodgers had the luxury of money, which is pretty rare when I take teams over. Our offseason was divided into two parts, the first was filling up our roster with minor free agent signings, while the second part was our quest to reel in the big fish.

Our first signing was closer Jose Navarro to a one year $1.5 million contract. Last year he had 14 saves and a 1.04 ERA in 26 innings.

Next up was signing 37 year old Pedro Martinez to a one year $9.5 million contract. He hit .228 last year with 30 home runs and will serve as our designated hitter.

We reunited with a familiar name from my past, signing outfielder Ben Morgan to a three year $30 million contract. Morgan hit .312 with 38 home runs last year with 102 RBI.

Jack Green signed a one year $4 million contract after going 10-13 with a 5.25 ERA last year. He'll help provide some rotation depth.

Third baseman Don Summerfield was brought aboard on a one year $1.2 million deal. He's got decent power, plays a solid defense, and is going to hit for a low batting average.

Reliever Pete Ryan (5-2, 4.60 ERA) was signed to a one contract, first baseman Keith Carter (.255, 10 HR, 49 RBI) was signed to a one year $1.5 million contract, and catcher Richard Rochester (.188, 16 HR, 48 RBI) was signed to a one year $1.8 million contract.

[NYY #23]

The price for top free agents was high. Former Gator Enrique Contreras signed a seven year $123 million contract after going 9-10 with a 4.28 ERA. 38 year old catcher Luis Rosa signed a two year $47 million contract, while shortstop Albert Gomez signed a seven year $146 million contract. So the price was high to sign a top free agent, and would likely cost us a draft pick.

German Perez is 35 years old, but has pitched over 200 innings in 12 straight years. Last year Perez was 23-7 with a 3.00 ERA with the White Sox, while leading the league with 312 strikeouts. He's won four Cy Young Awards during his career, one MVP, and we were interested. We got involved in a bidding war, but came to terms with Perez on a contract that will pay him $37 million this year, and next, provided he pitches 160 innings this year. His signing will cost us a draft pick though.

We signed a similar contract with 37 year old Cipriano Castillo, the former Monk who was 13-11 with a 3.88 ERA last year. He'll be paid $29 million this year, with a player option for next year. His signing will also cost us a draft pick, but Perez and Castillo should combine to give us a solid top of the rotation.

[NYY #23]

The Dodgers finished Spring Training with a 14-16 record and headed into the regular season trying to meet our owner's expectations of staying close to .500, which according to preseason predictions of an 83-79 record should be possible.

Reality wasn't as kind as predictions in April though as the Dodgers started the season 11-16 in a tie for last place, but I'm hopeful that our top three of German Perez, Carlos Murillo, and Cipriano Castillo can get going and help carry the team and things will get better.

[NYY #23]

The Dodgers made a trade this month sending starting pitcher Manny Mendoza and minor league third baseman Jeff Cameron to the Blue Jays in exchange for shortstop George Sutton and minor league pitcher Manuel Javier.

Mendoza will be a free agent after the season, and Sutton is just 25 years old, giving us a potential shortstop option for the future, or possibly third base option.

For the month the Dodgers were 14-13 and are now 4 games under .500.

Jose Leon of the White Sox hit the 300th home run of his career this month.

[NYY #23]

The Dodgers didn't have a draft pick until the supplemental round, and we drafted centerfielder Alin Ardeleanu with our first pick. In the third round we selected third baseman Darren Dooley. We're now suffering the consequences of signing two free agents with compensation.

Second baseman John McGilledon was our next pick, followed by pitcher Ken Smith and centerfielder Harry Potter. Let's hope he has some magical powers.

The Dodgers have started the month with an 8-5 record and are just one game under .500.

[NYY #23]

The Dodgers broke even with a 13-13 record in June. Ben Morgan is having a solid year for the Dodgers hitting .302 with 22 home runs and a WAR of 2.6. He has a higher WAR than both of our big-ticket free agent signings too.

31-year-old Rickie Arcizo of the Reds saved the 300th game of his career while 36-year-old Jose Martinez of the Orioles swatted his 300th career home runs.

[NYY #23]

The Dodgers went 10-14 for the month and have fallen into last place. Maybe the strategy of signing two high priced free agent starting pitchers wasn't the best one, but I don't necessarily regret the chance we took, even though it hasn't worked out too well.

36-year-old catcher Norris MacBeth of the Cardinals hit the 300th home run of his career.

[NYY #23]

The Dodgers had our best month of the year going 17-11 for the month and are now just two games under .500. Maybe the Dodgers can get lucky and have a solid end to the season and make a run at a Wild Card spot. Joe Numbers blasted the 400th home run of his career this month in what is likely his final season with the Dodgers as he'll be a free agent after the season.

33-year-old Matt Mills of the Tampa Bay Rays hit the 300th home run of his career.

[NYY #23]

Year 1 in Los Angeles turned out pretty well with the Dodgers going 11-14 in September, and 4-1 in October. That allowed us to finish the season with an 80-82 record and I think year one went pretty well.

Pedro Martinez retired from baseball due to his injuries. The 38-year-old signed a $9.5 million contract last offseason and played in just 37 games before getting hurt.

As expected Cipriano Castillo executed his option after going 10-14 with a 4.56 ERA, while German Perez had his option vested after going 14-10 with a 3.63 ERA. They combined for 8.5 WAR last year, which was a little less than I hoped for, but not terrible. I knew we overpaid when we signed both, and did expect them back.

Don Summerfield also retired from baseball after the season. He hit just .167 in 62 games. The Dodgers will welcome back Joe Numbers on a one year $1.4 million extension after he hit .247 with 26 home runs this year. We also signed Gonzalo Gomez to a one year $800,000 extension. He hit .204 with 10 home runs in 57 games, but he did give me two solid seasons in New Orleans. Gomez reached 300 career home runs in the final month of the season, and the 33-year-old definitely has power remaining.

35-year-old Jose Carlos Hernandez of the Braves picked up the 2500th hit of his career, while 29-year-old Tade de Jong of the Mets saved their 300th game.

Los Angeles Dodgers - 75-87 (.463) 25 GB
2078 - Los Angeles Dodgers - 80-82 (.494) 17 GB (Season Score - 526)

[NYY #23]

While the Dodgers have just under $6 million to spend on free agents this offseason, we're projected to have about $103 million next offseason. Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be any game changers who will be hitting free agency.

Both C Jose Rangel and 1B Donald Arnold were non-tendered.

Unsurprisingly the Dodgers were shut out of all awards. My last team didn't receive any awards either.

[NYY #23]

One of the bad things about losing two draft picks last year is it didn't help our weak minor league system. Throwing money at free agents doesn't necessarily solve our problems at this stage of our rebuild. Our minor league system is ranked 24th overall, so I decided to see what type of interest existed for German Perez.

It turned out quite a bit. We liked the Rockies system the best and ended up sending Perez, closer Ray Hastings, minor league second baseman John McGilledon, and minor league pitcher Antonio Zapata to the Rockies for a package of four prospects.

We welcome to Los Angeles pitchers Chris Moss (ranked #42 prospect), Sherman Miller (ranked #52), and Antonio Sandoval (ranked #32) along with catcher Joe Hutchinson.

You probably can guess what came next. Cipriano Castillo, Jack Green, and minor league pitcher Tyler Adams were sent to the Royals. Coming back to Los Angeles is starting pitcher prospects Juan Rojas and Dave Mobley, outfield prospect Keith Murray, and minor league reliever Mario Moreno.

That left Carlos Murillo as our best starting pitcher, but Murillo is a free agent after this year, is injury prone, and wants a mammoth contract to stay in LA. So we shipped him off to the White Sox along with minor league shortstop Hector Diaz and minor league outfielder Alin Ardeleanu.

Coming back to the Dodgers is the former number 3 prospect in baseball Gordon Baird. He made his major league debut last year and was 1-4 with 13 saves and a 2.29 ERA in 35 1/3 innings. He's definitely capable of starting though. In addition we added 23 year old reliever Pat Miller, minor league 2B Bennett Ferguson, pitching prospect Arnie Sargent, and minor league third baseman Jose Alvarado.

Three trades that changed not only next season, but beyond for the Dodgers.

[NYY #23]

With trades and upcoming free agent signings, the Dodgers are going to have a 40 man roster crunch. We have a lot of dead weight on our roster, or players that will be pushed out for younger players. For example, we have four second baseman on the roster. We recently traded for Bennett Ferguson, and have Cisco Martinez on our roster. Martinez did a fine job in his rookie season hitting .270 with 9 home runs and 32 RBI in 117 games. Ferguson is a year older, but didn’t make his big league debut yet. Ferguson has more power, Martinez has more speed. Neither is too strong defensively, and definitely not capable of playing another defensive position. They are both right-handed, so a platoon is out in addition to a position switch.

So given the construction of our roster one of them had to go, and while they were fairly comparable Martinez is probably a little more rounded, and offered a little bit more trade value. We included him in the deal along with 2B Orlando Rivera who hit .267 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI and would be no more than depth at second.

Antonio Aguilar is currently penciled in as our #2 starter, after we traded our top three. He's the type of pitcher that every team usually has. He'll throw about 180 innings, and though last year he was 7-15, but depending on run support his record could look much better. Five years ago he was 10-1 on the year. He's a back of the rotation starter, but I don't want him to take a rotation spot away from the kids.

He was traded along with the two second baseman, third string catcher Jeff Potts, and outfield prospect Keith Murray to the Braves.

Coming back to Los Angeles is corner outfielder Mike Williams, coming off a year in which he hit .286 with 32 home runs and 75 RBI. We also added 24-year-old reliever Eduardo Salgado.

[NYY #23]

Our next trade was attempting to take advantage of having some available money. The Blue Jays are about $13 million in the hole, so we traded for 3B Boyd Wade and his $13 million salary along with minor league starting pitcher Alonso Avila and minor league reliever Carl Miller.

Going back to Toronto is starting pitcher Mike Johnson, third baseman Johnny Edwards, third baseman Christophe Mayer, shortstop Jeremy Coates, and starting pitcher Jose Rodriguez.

It's all about creating roster spots. And we used one of those in signing LF Matt Bell to a three year $21 million contract. Bell hit .251 with 28 home runs and 66 RBI as a 30-year-old.

[NYY #23]

The Dodgers kicked off the new year with a trade and a couple free agent signings. First up was a trade to open roster spots sending center fielder Arthur Smith, shortstop John Marshall, starting pitcher Ben McGhee, outfielder Kevin Long, and outfielder Trent Garner to the Athletics in exchange for a pair of minor league relievers Jesse Wright and Arthur Lewis.

The Dodgers also announced the signing of first baseman David Julio to a $15.5 million contract, with a team option for a second year with a $2.3 million buyout. Julio hit .248 with 34 home runs and 91 RBI last year. He's 35, but should represent a clear upgrade at first base.

The Dodgers also announced that shortstop Tim Delaney signed a three year $44 million contract. While Delaney just turned 36 years old he hit .265 with 37 home runs and 94 RBI last year.

[NYY #23]

For the first time since 2062 no player was elected to the Hall of Fame, with Oliver Osborne the top vote getter, finishing with 73.5% of the vote.

1B Oliver Osborne 73.5 (2nd year)
SS Richie Bennett 72.3 (2nd year)
1B Anthony Webb 71.4 (5th year)
CL Roberto María 69.6 (3rd year)
CL Tony Hodge 67.2 (2nd year)
CL Gabriel Valdés 55.1 (1st year)
CL Pedro Navarro 44.9 (4th year)
SP Jorge Cruz 38.6 (3rd year)
SP Juan Galván 29.5 (1st year)
CL Matt Simmons Jr. 27.1 (1st year)
SP Nick Bane 20.2 (2nd year)
SP Svetozar Grol 19.3 (1st year)
C Edward Widgery 17.5 (2nd year)
C Edgardo Díaz 11.4 (4th year)
3B Víctor Padilla 10.5 (1st year)
SP Jeff Lowe 7.8 (4th year)
2B Dan Stephens 7.2 (9th year)
SP Bob Everhart 6.0 (8th year)
CL Stan Wagner 6.0 (5th year)
C Matt Schultz 5.7 (1st year)
SP Paco Martínez 5.4 (3rd year)
1B Luke Sutton 5.1 (3rd year)
RP Dick Eichel 4.8 (1st year) Dropped
SP Jessie Kessler 4.8 (5th year) Dropped
RF Ánibal Guerrero 4.5 (3rd year) Dropped
RP Orlando Vélez 4.2 (1st year) Dropped
SP Pepe Escobar 3.9 (1st year) Dropped
SP Rowan Moss 3.9 (5th year) Dropped
C Ramón Morales 3.3 (1st year) Dropped
LF Jason Park 2.7 (2nd year) Dropped
2B John Halpenny 2.7 (1st year) Dropped
LF Roy Thomas 2.7 (3rd year) Dropped
RP Pedro Alvarado 2.1 (1st year) Dropped
RP Lorenzo Roberto 2.1 (2nd year) Dropped
RP Manuel Sánchez 1.5 (1st year) Dropped
CL Gary Fisher 1.2 (1st year) Dropped
RP Peter Stevens 0.9 (1st year) Dropped
SP Mike Smith 0.9 (1st year) Dropped
SS Jed Jefferson 0.6 (1st year) Dropped
SP Alex Terry 0.6 (1st year) Dropped
SP Tony Smith 0.3 (1st year) Dropped
SP Beau Bryant 0.0 (1st year) Dropped

[NYY #23]

The Dodgers completed our offseason with some free agent signings. First up was 36 year old catcher Ramon Lupercio to a one year $1.5 million contract. His bat is no longer what he used to be, but he's still strong defensively.

We also signed centerfielder Cristobal Coronado to a one year $1.3 million contract. He's strong defensively, yet he hit just .225 with 6 home runs last year.

The Dodgers also added right fielder Vicente Romero on a one year $1.8 million contract. Romero hit .227 with 32 home runs and 102 RBI last year for the Astros, and is not strong defensively.

We also added slugging utility infielder Eric White on a one year $1.1 million contract. He hit 24 home runs last year in 516 at-bats.

Then finally we added three veteran pitchers to our bullpen. 32-year-old Rickie Arcizo was signed to a three year $15 million contract. He saved 29 games last year in 78 2/3 innings, with a career-high 5.72 ERA, which we are hoping was an anomaly. 35-year-old Jose Navarro signed a one year $8 million contract after letting him leave via free agency. He was 4-4 with 16 saves and a 3.08 ERA last year for the Dodgers. Our last signing was Harold Parker to a three year $50 million contract. The former Gator was 6-10 with 42 saves and a 2.99 ERA last year for the Cardinals.