The IBL's Chicago Iron Pigs

[gehrig38]

The guys who made it happen...

[gehrig38]

Originally Posted by Honorable_Pawn

Welp, he's done. Got a career shot?

And he's going to win the CL Koufax this year too. He's won the pitching triple crown 2 years out of 6 as well.

[gehrig38]

2017 OFF SEASON BEGINS

ORG NEWS
Omar has given our working budget for next year, 89 million, and a draft allowance of 5.1M. We’ll make it work but I continue to be flustered at the lack of investment in the draft.

OWNERSHIP, FRONT OFFICE AND PERSONNEL CHANGES

Edmonton is sold
Financier and Investment billionaire Glen Black has purchased the Edmonton Trappers. A demanding boss who spends money, Edmonton has a rather big market with great fan loyalty and apparently Mr Black is going to spend with the Trapper Budget at 122 million for next year. They’ve never made a post season appearance after finishing just a game back in ’12. They’ve had 2 rough seasons in a row.

Yankees fire GM, and Manager:
Jack Kane was let go by Staten Island ownership today. Kane was hired last year and Staten Island disappointed, going 72-90.

Heading out the door with him was manager Miguel Noriega. A somewhat surprising move given that they ‘stole’ him from Pittsburgh after 2 first place finishes in ’15 and ’16. Noriega had managed the Bulldogs since the IBL’s founding in 2012.

Silver Stars fires Silva:
San Antonio parted ways with Juan Silva after just 2 seasons. The 101 loss 2017 season was a bit too much for ownership.

Vegas fires Ashley:
Former 51’s bench coach, turned manager, Steve Ashley was let go after making the playoffs the past two seasons (winning 104 last year).

ARBITRATION
I will extend offers to both Alejandrez and Chartier, as both are comp guys. If one or both accepts, great, I cannot see either doing so.

I will decline to offer 26 year old Jose Torres arbitration. At 2M now and likely getting 3, I need to save money, and have a nice stable of both righties and lefties in their mid 20’s.

I am working to make a longer term offer to 24 year old lefty Jorge Sanchez as well. His arb number is low to mid 2’s from minimum, and his age and stuff make him a potential closer candidate in the coming years. Not to mention it’s always nice to try and keep players you discover, develop, and sign, in the fold.

And Troy Becker presents an interesting case. Were he LH I’d not think twice about declining arbitration. He’s not, he’s one of only two, with Ron Miller, RH outfielders that’s capable of hitting in this lineup, and he’s a far better defender. He’s a super 2, and is looking at low to mid 2m range. So I extend a 3 year 5.58M offer as he’s a great 4th and 5th guy, or Tulsa insurance if healthy, and can be a defensive guy if needed.

[Winnipeg59]

Congratulations on the World Series win. This is another great dynasty in the making and a very good read.
You should take more than a couple of hours to enjoy it, but...

Good luck building the Pigs up even more in the off-season!

[MizzouRah]

Congratulations!!!

[Orcin]

Wow, a sweep! Nice job. Score of 100 too.

Now comes the fun stuff. Win it again.

[gehrig38]

Some quick observations..

I didn't change any winners. I swapped Gomez for Bryant at 2-3, Gave Cruz the 3rd spot in the Koufax (was arguing for the 2nd) and added Thomas in the RotY for the CL over Saucedo.

The Rivera was a runaway for Cruz and Barlow, as Barlow was perfect in saves again. Two relievers, Raymond Peters (10-4) and Tom Conklin (11-4) jumped way up with double digit wins.

Pedro Salinas, tried to make an MVP case but Hudson had a slightly better season, and was an outstanding defender at 2nd. Salinas is a DH in waiting at 1st.

Chavez somewhat 'tailed off' but had a great year.

And how about Tulsa, wow, 3 players in the top 5? And 2 starters in the VORP top 5? Them losing was a huge upset.

Buffalo looks to be a team on the move, 3 of the top 5 WAR rookies. And Tulsa's adding another budding star in Jose Rodriguez, just a well run franchise that can spot talent.

Andrew Jones moves to RF and wins another Gold Glove. Ichiro takes one home.

[gehrig38]

OFF SEASON NEWS

10/28
Fresno nabs SP from the Bombers:
Boston dealt 26 year old Tom Dougherty to the Fresno Grizzlies for 22 year old OF prospect Jose Garcia. Dougherty was 3-5 in 16 games, 9 starts, with a 4.09 ERA. Dougherty was a waiver claim by Boston in 2016. Garcia is a speedy corner OF prospect with a great eye who is an outstanding corner OF’er.

10/29
Iron Pigs sign backup outfielder Becker:
Chicago today agreed to a 3 year 5.58M contract extension with 27 year old Troy Becker. Becker his .250/.342/.352 in 61 games this season in Chicago. His best year was 2015 when he hit .306/.386/.407 for Fresno. He was part of the World Series winning Driller club in 2016.

11/1
Managed to snag former Dayton Dragon SS Matt Walls to manage in Class A Denison. The 39 year old was a part time backup IF but is reportedly an excellent players manager and an otherworldly instructor in all phases of the game. He’s a future IBL manager in waiting.

11/5
River Cats ink former Chicago hurler to extension:
Sacramento has signed former Iron Pig Mike Davis to a 3 year 22.5M dollar contract extension. Davis was 11-9 4.28 this past year, in 28 starts.

(Not bad money but he hasn’t spent a full year on the roster in 5 years. He’s just 26 so it’s not a roster killing deal by any means. He was the pitcher we sent to Sacramento for Bryan Rogers).

IBL’S BIGGEST CONTRACTS
Bill Hill (SI) 20.2 Million
Vincente Romero (HOU) 19.8 Million
Colin Durham (FRE) 18 Million
Rich Stone (HOU) 17.6 Million
Steve Whiteway (BRO) 17.4 Million

11/7
IBL MANAGERS OF THE YEAR

It should come as little surprise that Chicago manager Jared Smith took home his 2nd manager of the year, and is the first IBL skipper to ever win the award in both the Coastal and Frontier leagues. Smith guided the Iron Pigs to an IBL best (and record) 113 wins and their first world title this year. He has 1 year and 475K remaining on his contract. And he’s looking for a 1.02M 4 year extension. We’ve extended a 750K 4 year offer, at 64 it’s likely his last deal and we need to seriously consider our options moving forward. It’s 99% likely the next manager of the Iron Pigs will be an internal hire, we’ve got far too many talented folks to look outside for a replacement.

Sacramento’s Bartolo Romero was named the Coastal League Manager of the year for the 2017 season. Romero was in his 6th season managing the club and after 3 straight years missing the post season he guided them back with a 100 win season this year. At 36 he figures to be just starting an outstanding career on the bench.

11/9
Fresno and Michigan swap:
Michigan continues to confound IBL folks with their various moves. Today dealing 27 year old shortstop Pat Dobson to Fresno for the #83 IBL prospect infielder Jesus Camacho. Camacho was the Grizzlies #2 pick in the ’15 draft out of Zapata HS in Texas. Michigan signed Dobson to a 4 year 34M dollar extension last off season. The Grizzlies also sent 750K in cash. Dobson is a career .232 hitter with 71 homers in 568 games. Had his best season last year hitting .254 with 32 homers and 89 RBI’s in 155 games. He was the Columbus Clippers #6 pick in the 2012 inaugural draft and the IBL’s #2 prospect that year. Columbus dealt him to Michigan in 2014 for reliever Craig Trent.

11/12
Fisher Cats deal IF to Hooks for SP, prospect:
New Hampshire has sent 27 year old backup IF Lawrence Mulholland to Corpus Christi for 25 year old SP prospect Liu-chun Teoh and 18 year old OF prospect Bernard Bouquet. Mulholland has hit .195 in 144 games over the past 5 seasons. He’s a defensive infield guy. Teoh is destined for an IBL pen if he can manage his control issues. In 115 IP over the past 3 seasons he’s walked 134, K’d 119. The Hooks drafted Bouquet in the 1st round (6th overall) out of Snook HS in Texas in 2017.

Hooks and White Caps deal:
Corpus Christi also announced they’d dealt starter turned reliever Jason Green to West Michigan for 20 year old OF prospect Nate Sipes. Green is 38-41 5.56 lifetime in 144 games, 106 starts. Sipes is a former Fresno Grizzly 1st round pick out of Westchester HS in Los Angeles.He was part of the Shawn Calhoun trade in the middle of the 2016 season.

11/13
White Caps grab SP Henry:
27 year old SP Glen Henry (25-27 5.10 ERA) is headed to the West Michigan White Caps. Buffalo dealt him for 24 year old of prospect Rick Hudson. This will be the outfielders 5th organization after being drafted by Las Vegas in the 2014 June draft out of UCLA.

11/15
Arbitration Hearings:
Will Harris asked for 982 and we offered 750, team win.
Jorge Sanchez asked for 3M, we offered 2.2M, player win.
Arturo Rodriguez asked for 2.75M, we offered 2.2M, player win.
Mike Moore asked for 1.311M, we offered 1.1M, player win.

So our payroll now looks to be around 73M going into next season after arbitration.

11/17
Columbus, Sacramento make a deal:
Columbus has sent 25 year old IF Chris Darcy to Sacramento for 27 year old RP Juan Amaya and 19 year old OF prospect Carlos Gonzalez. Darcy is a career .203 hitter with 14 HR’s in 117 games. He was the 2016 AAA Hitter of the year. A very good IF with big time pop he will likely be a backup IF vs RHP and start up the middle for Sacramento vs LHP. Amaya appeared in 150 games the past 2 seasons and is 16-12 with 11 Saves career, and a 3.65 ERA. Gonzalez was signed out of the Domincan in 2016 and is a future CF with blazing speed and a left handed bat the projects to hit for average.

11/18
A day we knew would come. Jean Chartier and Alfredo Alejandrez have both declined arbitration and filed for free agency. We’ll look around at SS alternative’s, and work to make the best of the compensation picks we get. We’ll talk to Chartier at a minimum, to see if there is any chance of a deal on shorter terms. Their filing leaves us with 38 players on the 40 man. The one name that pops on our radar above all others is 24 year old Barry ZIto. Unfortunately I don’t think we have room for a big ticket item. Our payroll is now locked in a 75.3 M and our budget is at 89. With expenses and player dev costs we’d have to make a major move to get something to open up. Cobbling together info from various sources it’s sounding like our 19 budget will be in the 105 million dollar neighborhood.

IBL CAREER LEADERS: OPS
Alex Rodriguez (ALK) 1.033
Todd Helton (GB) 1.017
Curt Whimster (TUL) 1.008
Angelo Gomez (PIT) .981
Hugh Collins (CHI) .961

11/20
Bombers, Railcats trade Francisco’s:
Boston traded 19 year old IF prospect Francisco Diaz to Baltimore for 28 year old 2B Francisco Ordonez. Ordonez is a career .239 hitter with 51 doubles, 5 triples and 34 homers in 454 games. He was the Bombers every day 2B last season. A gold glove winner at 2B in 2012 for Staten Island. Diaz, the IBL’s #82 prospect entering this season, was Baltimore’s 2nd rounder in 2016 out of Windham RVT in Connecticut.

11/25
Vegas gets another Guzman:
Salvador Guzman is their 3, Hector Guzman is their #5, and now Las Vegas has Pedro Guzman as their #4 starter. Baltimore dealt the 26 year old Guzman to Vegas for starting Catcher Kelyn Preston. Preston is a career .278-33-287 hitter in 740 IBL games and the 2014 Frontier League Gold Glove winner behind the plate. Guzman is 16-21 5.39 in 47 IBL starts but is coming off a 6-2 3.18 year in which he made 9 starts.

11/26
Baltimore resigns 2B Young:
The Railcats resigned 2B Edward Young to a 2 year 15.2M dollar free agent contract. Baltimore was the front runner from the day Young filed, as he hit .279-18-81 for them last season.

Pittsburgh grabs All Star Harvey:
It was expensive, but 28 year old All Star pitchers tend to be. The Coastal League Champion Bulldogs, likely concerned over the late season injury to ace Vincent Bray, have signed 2017 Vegas 51 All Star Glen Harvey to a monster 7 year 117.3M dollar free agent deal. Harvey is 51-45 4.23 lifetime in 132 games. He had a career best 16-8 record last season with a 3.64 ERA in 229.2 IP.

El Paso gets a 3rd Ace:
Barry Zito signed a 3 year 52.1M dollar free agent contract with El Paso today. The 24 year old former Koufax winner will for a dominating trio for the Diablo rotation, teaming with former K leader Cory Elkins and 22 game winner Artie Johnson.

(Holy cow, that’s a hell of a top end. WAY fewer dollars than I was expecting, I thought he’d get the Harvey type deal or more. El Paso is loading up)

IBL SINGLE SEASON RECORD: TOTAL BASES
Bill Hill (SI) 449 ‘12
Gerald Wright (DAY) 446 ‘15
Cy May (HOU) 429 ‘12
Curt Whimster (TUL) 416 ‘17
Curt Whimster (TUL) 398 ‘14

11/27
Fisher Cats pilfer a closer:
New Hampshire has wasted no time spending the new ownerships money. Today inking former Tulsa Closer Stewart Ward to a 2 year 22.6M dollar free agent contract. Ward is a 2 time all star (’16-’17) and is 24-16 with 111 saves and a 3.15 ERA. The 26 year old will make 10.1M this year and 12.5 next.

11/28
El Paso lands Ichiro in 6 player deal!
The Diablos have landed 28 year old RF Ichiro Suzuki from the Dallas Texans for 5 players. El Paso sends 23 year old OF Bryan Long (2017 5th rounder, big time avg/OBP prospect) 21 year old OF prospect Doug Mccord (2017 2nd rounder, corner OF, power bat with big time speed) 21 year old OF prospect Harvey Cameron (2017 7th rounder, ++ speed, corner OF) 22 year old IF/OF prospect Jose Vega (2017 9th rounder) and 21 year old CF prospect Mike Rigney (minor league FA). Ichiro hit .305 with 12 homers, 65 RBI’s and stole a single season IBL record 73-100 bases last season, as well as winning the CL Gold Glove in right.

(Someone else has plans on building a dynasty, holy cow. They’re loaded for bear right now)

11/29
Dallas inks RP:
The Texans have signed former Bulldog RP Will Clark to a 2 year 9.44M dollar deal. Clark was 5-4 7 Saves in 82 games last season with a 3.62 ERA.

Edmonton welcomes back Clifton:
The Trappers have inked former 3B Toby Clifton to a 3 year 48.6M dollar free agent contract. The 3rd year is a 16.2M vesting option for 550 AB’s. Clifton started his IBL career in Edmonton, and is a career .278 hitter with 147 homers and 537 RBI’s. Had a career high 38 HR’s in 2013. Last year he hit .270-30-89 in 129 games for Sacramento.

Sacramento signs Hooks Closer Miller:
Former Corpus Christi Closer Jon Miller has signed a 3 year 19.8M dollar deal with Sacramento to be the setup man for Rivera Award winner Bill Barlow. Miller was 5-10 with 24 Saves and a 4.29 ERA in 57 games last season.

Unhappy Fritz dealt:
Staten Island gave Andy Fritz his wish, shipping him to Las Vegas for 33 year old 2B Kris Wright. Wright is a 2 time IBL All Star. To complete the deal the Yankees sent top prospect Juan Vasquez and 2.58M dollars to Vegas. Fritz is 29-25 with 30 Saves in 367 career games and a 3.12 ERA. Wright is a career .273/.363/.404 hitter in 872 IBL games. Vazquez was the Yankees 2017 Supplemental pick in round 1 of the 2017 draft.

River Cats add another reliever:
Apparently people just aren’t paying attention. Sacramento is following in the footsteps of a few franchises, and building a bullpen made up of closers. Today signing former LA Closer Julio Gonzalez to a 2 year 23.2M dollar deal, and announcing that Rivera Award winner Bill Barlow would be moving into the setup role. Gonzalez is a 4 time IBL All Star. He is 3rd all time with 222 career saves.

[gehrig38]

RULE 5 DRAFT NEWS

We dealt former 2nd round pick Shane Jackson (C) to Dayton today. Jackson is 22, and an outstanding defensive player already (A Ball gold glove this year) but we are now sitting with 4 catchers on the 40 man, and all are very good to outstanding defenders. Jackson is rule 5 eligible, and will certainly get picked. Dayton GM Peter Todd was willing to offer a decent SP prospect in Esteban Flores, but more importantly, to make up value, swap 1st rounders. Moving us up from 20th to 3rd, in the 1st round. Flores is rule 5 eligible, and we won’t put him on the 40 man, but the 1st round move was more than enough value for the move. We end up taking no one and lose Catcher Jesus Fuentes to the LA Wizards.

12/2

Arizona inks Alejandrez to mega deal:
Former Iron Pig Alfredo Alejandrez has signed a 5 year 83M dollar deal with the Arizona Greyhounds today. The 5th year is a 16.6M team option with a 2.6M buyout. We will receive a compensation pick in the supplemental round. Fan interest went from 88 to 84, which is understandable. But this wasn’t and won’t be a team friendly deal imo. He will anchor the Greyhound rotation with former #1 prospect Gabrel Pimentel who was 5-2 2.99 last year.

Arizona ships SP to New York:
The Greyhounds then turned around and dealt 30 year old SP Millard Brown to New York (19-18 5.85 ERA) for 25 year old 2B Jeremy Christenson and 18 year old SP prospect Jose Esparza (11th round 2017). Christenson will play 2nd vs RHP and Brown moves into the Knight rotation.

Bombers trade Closer:
Boston sent 25 year old Jose Martinez to Las Vegas for 22 year old SP prospect Ben Gould and 21 year old 1B/DH prospect Nick Scott. Martinez is 8-11 with 39 saves lifetime, and a 3.40 ERA in 165 games. He saved 28 for the Bombers last year. Gould was the 51’s 7th pick in the 2017 draft, and a short season all star, and Scott was the #2 pick of Las Vegas in the 2015 draft out of Haysville HS in Wichita, KS.

12/3

Michigan inks free agent Catcher:
Dana Reed has signed a 2 year 14.3M dollar free agent contract with the Michigan Battlecats today. The 26 year old was a key part of the Bulldogs World Series run. He hit .263-24-92 last year and is a career .281 hitter in 622 IBL games (all with Pittsburgh) as well as a 2015 All Star.

12/4

Railcats continue makeover:
Baltimore came to terms on a 2 year 17M dollar deal with 2 time all star catcher Rajah Lashari. Lashari has 192 career homers (15th all time) and has spent the last 2.5 seasons in Philadelphia.

Baltimore trades C Gaskin:
The Railcats then turned around and dealt C Stu Gaskin (.247-41-128 in 246 games) to El Paso for 2B William Griffin. Griffin is a career .278/.347/.376 hitter in 160 games. A switch hitter who can play 2nd and LF, he’s a top of the lineup slapper who will likely play 2B every day for the Battlecats. Gaskin will likely platoon with 27 year old Cesar Barron in El Paso.

(Nice deal for Michigan, good to see them making sensible deals finally)

12/6

Arizona deals SP Woods:
Arizona today acquired 32 year old OF Jelmar Walraven (.283-17-63) a 2nd round pick and 2.38M from Las Vegas for 29 year old SP Flynn Woods (57-66 5.01) and 21 year old 1B Jesus Becerra. Walraven is a career .269 hitter with 111 HR’s. Becerra was the Greyhounds #2 pick out of Coastal Carolina this past June anda Rookie league all star.

Pittsburgh deals Villanueva:
Baltimore acquired Bulldog SP 31 year old Tomas Villanueva (56-59 4.82) for 27 year old 1B Tim Holmes (.229-60-181 in 393 games) amd 21 year old P prospect Chris Perry. Perry was the 4th pick of Baltimore in las years draft out of Skyline College.

Battlecats keep wheeling and dealing:
Michigan sent 28 year old RP John Coleman to Houston for 18 year old minor league OF Jesus Cruz. Cruz was dealt in the opposite direction earlier this year, and was signed by Staten Island in 2016 out of Puerto Rico. He’s a big time power prospect. Coleman is 8-13 with 6 Saves and a 4.85 ERA.

Mega deal nets Roughriders Tim Hudson:
Houston sent 5 prospects to Dallas for SP Tim Hudson. Hudson was 16-14 4.17 in 35 starts last year. Dallas will receive 23 year old OF Rafael Salgardo (#9 pick in 2016, big time hitting prospect and short season GG winner in Left) 1B Scott Scott (4th pick of Vegas in 2015, base stealer and power 1B prospect) 22 year old Justin Vance (#9 pick of Houston last year, speedy OF and great CF/LF defender) 23 year old CL prospect Matt Hodges (#6 pick in 2013, top 50 IBL prospect) and 20 year old IF prospect Mario Valentin (minor league FA). Hudson will slot behind ace Vincente Romero and ahead of Sergio De La Garza to give Houston a formidable 1-2-3 punch.

[gehrig38]

Greyhounds ink former Iron Pig RP:
Arizona signed lefty Jose Torres to a 2 year 1.06M dollar deal.

12/8 DAY 1

New York/Arizona, open the meetings:
Arizona is in full rebuild/overhaul mode. They shipped 25 year old SP Morgan Lewis to NY for 25 year old 1B/3B Steve Sheffield. Sheffield is a RH hitting corner IF prospect who has piled up minor league awards. 3 time all star, AA 3B gold glove and AA outstanding hitter award in 2017. He was the Knights 8th round pick in 2014 out of South Carolina. Lewis ill move into the Knight rotation after a brief cup of coffee this year. He’s 7-11 in 51 games, 21 starts, but was called up, many believe, too early in 2015 and allowed to get hit around. He was 0-1 1.50 in 12 innings this season.

Edmonton sends Politti, $, to Alaska for Green:
The Trappers acquired SP Jim Green for 3B Simone Politti and 2.398M in cash today. Politti is a career .299/.382/.440 hitter in 211 games with 55 doubles and 8 homers. He’s a premier defensive 3B. Green is 8-5 with 2 Saves and a 5.49 ERA in 62 games, 10 starts. He was 4-2 4.18 in 9 starts for the Avalanche this year. He will enter the Trapper rotation. Both players are 30 years old.

LA acquires veteran Catcher:
The Wizards sent 31 year old OF Roberto Becerra to Edmonton for 30 year old C Tom Gentry and 23 year old CL prospect Roberto Romo. Gentry will assume the everyday job for LA while Becerra will be a 4th OF and defensive guy vs RHP and platoon vs LHP in center for Edmonton. Romo was Edmonton’s 18th rounder out of Michigan State and is considered to be one of the top closing prospects in the lower minors.

12/9 DAY 2

Pittsburgh obtains veteran slugger:
The Bulldogs have shipped 31 year old OF Jose Palacios to Brooklyn for 38 year old DH Dave Norfleet and 2.7m in cash. Palacios will play for his 4th IBL team, with 2 stops in Pittsburgh, and is a career .232 hitter with 137 homers in 761 games. Norfleet will hit behind Angelo Gomez in the Bulldog lineup, bringing a career .275 average along with 174 homers in 823 games with Buffalo and Brooklyn.

12/10 DAY 3

Dallas, West Michigan swap:
The Texans have traded 29 year old 1B Gus Case to West Michigan for 23 year old OF Ramon Campos. Case is a slick fielding 1B who has been a backup most of his career. He’s a career .263 hitter in 417 games over 882 AB’s. He will get the bulk of the 1B duties vs RHP for West Michigan. Campos will get a shot to play right in Dallas against LHP, as well as offer speed off the bench.

Chicago, Boston, swap minor leaguers:
Sent 24 year old SP Bob Alexander to Boston for 25 year old 1B/DH Santiago Caro. The kid can hit, from the left side, and we have a surplus of AAA/40 man pitching. They were willing to swap 2nd picks as well, moving us from 20th to 6th in round 2. Caro was a Rule 5 for the Bombers, and we’ll need to keep him on the 40 man or the DL the entire season. The move up in picks was value for this deal if we have to return him.

Chicago, Alaska deal minor leaguers, picks.
We dealt 26 year old Esteban Flores, a candidate for the Alaska rotation and pen, to the Avalanche for 25 year old LH hitting OF Luis Avila. A .430+ OBP candidate and very good defender, runner, on the OF corners. We also acquired their 4th rounder for our 6th.

IBL SINGLE SEASON RECORD: STOLEN BASES
Ichiro (EP) 73 ‘17
Bob White (LV) 56 ‘17
Jimmy Rollins (BOS) 56 ‘17
Jesus Andrales (LV) 55 ‘15
Carl Crawford (GB) 54 ‘17

12/11 DAY 4

Fresno signs veteran slugger:
He’s only ever been associated with the Battlecats, being the ‘island’ in a poorly run franchise, the ‘lone star’. That’s about to change as 35 year old Bob Herman will don the Grizllies brown and orange for the next 2 seasons after agreeing to a 2 year 32M dollar deal with Fresno. A team sorely in need of power got their solution, and will insert the slugger into the 3 hole. He is a career .286 hitter with 210 home runs (11th all time) and has never played in fewer than 141 games in the past 6 seasons.

Brooklyn inks Palmer to 100+M dollar deal:
Dave Palmer spent the past 2 seasons hitting 79 homers for the Trappers, and will now spend the next 6 doing it for the Cyclones. Today agreeing to a 6 year 107.4M dollar contract. The 29 year old is expected to handle the DH duties for Brooklyn and is just a year removed from his monster .301-46-133 2016 season for the Trappers. He has 125 career homers.

Former Iron Pig signs on with the White Caps:
Craig Frank, a very popular guy in his 2+ seasons here in Chicago, has signed a 3 year 11.4M dollar deal with West Michigan.

12/12 Winter Meetings come to a close

Bulldogs deal Morris to Fresno:
Pittsburgh has sent 26 year old SP Dan Morris (3-7 5.60, 1 hitter in the post season last year) to Fresno for 30 year old 3B Bernado Reyes and 21 year old IF prospect Ron Wagner. Morris is 28-29 5.35 in 88 games (79 starts) and was 12-11 5.04 last season. He will open the season as Fresno’s #3 starter. Reyes is one of the leagues better defensive infielders all around the diamond and will provide AAA insurance. Wagner was the Grizzlies #3 pick in the 2014 June draft and projects to play 3B when he reaches the IBL.

Buffalo, New Hampshire swap:
Buffalo has sent 28 year old SP Elijah Walton and 650K in cash to New Hampshire for 22 year old 1B Gerardo Fernandez and 22 year old CL prospect Felipe Gonzalez. Walton is 18-23 6.66 lifetime in 53 games, 49 starts. Fernandez is a top shelf 1B/2B prospect with ++ speed and an XBH bat from the right side. He was signed out of Puerto Rico by Arizona in 2015. Gonzalez was signed out of Cuba by the Fisher Cats in 2013.

Philly acquires Silver Stars Thomas:
The Patriots have dealt 25 year old C Kevin Sharpe to San Antonio, along with 21 year old RP prospect Sherman Marr, for 26 year old 1B Ed Thomas. Thomas is a lifetime .283 hitter with 126 doubles and 131 homers in 584 games. He is coming off a monster .271-34-127 2017 campaign. Sharpe figures to platoon with 26 year old Nick Ackerman in San Antonio, and handle catching duties vs LHP. The price was heavy in 21 year old Sherman Marr, considered by many scouts to be 1 of the premier closer prospects in the IBL. He was their 6th pick in last years draft out of the University of Miami and was 4-2 with 17 saves and a 0.74 ERA in Short Season. He K’d 60 in just 36.1 IP.

[gehrig38]

12/13

Chicago signs young star:
We took the league by surprise a bit, announcing a signing that had gone under the radar. OF/DH Luis Chavez agreed to terms on a 4 year 22.88M dollar contract extension that will keep him well paid through the 2022 season. The 23 year old will be arbitration eligible next winter and the price tag was looking to be in the 7M neighborhood. We bought out his next 3 years of arbitration at 4.97/5.97/5.97 and his 1st year of eligibility for FA at 5.97, when in our opinions, his price tag would easily be north of 15M per year. He’s a great teammate and a great player. He’s got enough arm to play right if need be and his bat has produced 76 HR’s and 251 RBI’s in the past 2 seasons. More important, he’s played in 313 of 324 possible games. He’s also a 30/30 club member after his 39 homer 32 SB 2017.

(Fan interest jumped to 87 on the announcement.)

[gehrig38]

12/16

Alaska inks free agent ace to mega deal:
The Avalanche are serious about being contenders, spending 118.9M today to prove it. George Bean agreed to the 7 year deal today and will head up a young, and strong, Avalanche rotation hit hard by the departure of ace Barry Zito. Bean is a 29 year old, very durable, top of the rotation arm. He’s 82-50 career and coming off his best season yet. He went 15-5 in 23 starts after missing time on the DL for the 1st time in his career. His 2.78 ERA missed qualifying (he would have finished 2nd to Vince Bray’s 2.72) by 1/3rd of an inning.


There are still a slew of big ticket free agents out there. None bigger than Chartier, but Ross Tunstall, Lee Allen and a few more are still shopping themselves. Chartier is pretty firm on his 20+ million ask, and if I had it to do over again I may have caved at 15-17 for 5-6, but I am glad I didn't. I am betting he plays in around 50% of his games the next 5 years. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see him suiting up for 135+ a year. My next hope is that he signs with someone in the Coastal...

One of the interesting bats still out there is 26 year old Troy Glaus. Next to Chartier (24) he's the youngest bat out there.

[gehrig38]

12/17

Bombers attack the free agent market, land Rios:
29 year old slugger Orlando Rios will move from sunny Fresno to the cozy confines of Boston after agreeing to a 6 year 83M dollar free agent contract with the Boston Bombers. His salary will escalate from 10.3 next season to 16M in 2022 and he holds a 17.4M player option for 2023. Rios has hit 158 homers the past 5 years with a career best .310-41-141 his rookie season of 2013. He hit .259-30-197 last year.

IBL CAREER LEADERS: ERA
Joe Boswell (PIT) 1.66
Ernesto Cruz (CHI) 1.69
Bill Barlow (SAC) 2.01
Anbar Suhayb (ALK) 2.14
Julio Gonzalez (SAC) 2.35

12/19

Bulldogs sign Stuckey:
Pittsburgh agreed to terms with 31 year old IF Truman Stuckey on a 3 year 27.9M contract today. Stuckey is a .248 lifetime hitter with 116 home runs and will play SS vs RHP and likely 1B for departed Ross Tunstall vs LHP.

12/19

Battlecats sign Diaz:
Michigan has agreed to terms with 34 year old SP Marcos Diaz to be their opening day starter. Diaz signed a 2 year 19M dollar deal. He’s 65-59 4.60 lifetime. He was a career best 17-11 4.62 in 2015 for Columbus.

12/20

Battlecats get another SP:
Michigan follows up yesterdays signing by inking 29 year old Jason Allen to a 4 year 42.2M dollar free agent deal. Allen is 68-41 4.34 lifetime in 190 games, 155 starts and is coming off a 15-10 3.63 season for El Paso. His best year was 2014 when he went 17-4 3.68 and was an FL All Star. He was 16-6 4.52 the following year. Allen will now occupy the Battlecats #1 slot.

The Battlecats are also rumored to be in on 28 year old Closer Paul Woodard, along with Dayton and San Antonio.

12/22

Dayton signs CL Sloan:
34 year old Closer Jon Sloan signed a 3 year 7.44M dollar deal with Dayton today. The 3rd year vests with 40 GF. Sloan closed full time for the first time, last season and saved 39 of 42 games for Western Division Champion El Paso.

12/31

Battlecats ink CL Woodard:
Michigan signed 28 year old Paul Woodard to a 1 year 2.32M dollar deal to close for the Battlecats next season. Woodard saved 83 games the past 3 years (33 in ’15 38 in ’16 and 12 last year).

[gehrig38]

1/10

Battlecats, Hooks deal:
Michigan sent 26 year old OF Chris Green to Corpus Christi for 21 year old IF Raymond Nelson. Green is a career .249 hitter in 156 IBL games. He’s one of the premier LHH power prospects in the IBL and will likely hit 3rd of 4th for the Hooks. Nelson was Corpus Christi’s 6th pick out of ASU in the 2017 draft. Scouts love his bat as a high average, high OBP above average infielder at 2B/SS and 3B.

1/14

Battlecats continue to rebuild staff:
Michigan signed 26 year old setup man Pedro Quintero to a 1 year 2.32M dollar contract today, further rebuilding the entire staff. David Castillo is the only SP remaining from the opening day rotation last season.

RETIREMENT NEWS
2012 and 2013 Frontier League Koufax Winner Ernie Kelly has hung up his spikes. The 38 year old battled injuries and inconsistency the past 3 seasons and was moved to the Dayton pen, but decided this was his last year. He ends his brief career 65-38 with a 3.31 ERA in 190 games, 124 starts, and took home the 1st 2 Koufax Awards in FL history while helping propel Dayton to a 2012 World Series appearance. Talk is that he has interest in coaching (and we’ll certainly have interest in opening a position for him).

1/25

Pittsburgh signs Cantu:
The Bulldogs announced the signing of 28 year old IF Manny Canut to a 2 year 9.74M dollar deal today. The left handed hitting SS will handle the everyday role for Pittsburgh. He was the 2016 CL Gold Glove winner at short. He’s a career .270/.355/.377 hitter with 116 doubles and 101 SB’s.

NEWS
Jean Chartier remains a free agent. We talked again today but his stance is firm at 20+M in AAV. I’m wondering if he’s not going to find himself at home when spring training opens…

1/28

Houston extends star catcher:
The Roughriders and Catcher Mike Johnston have announced an agreement on a 3 year 24M dollar extension for the 30 year old slugger. Johnston, a 2017 All Star, was acquired last year by Houston and helped propel them to the Coastal League Championship series with a career best .279-32-94 year.

1/30

River Cats extend White:
2B Jason White has agreed to a 3 year 14.76M contract extension with Sacramento. The 28 year old has a 2 year guarantee of 9.84M with a 3 year player option at 4.92M.
He’s been with Sacramento since 2012, and their everyday 2B since 2013, hitting .247/.316/.439 with 115 homers and 358 RBI’s in 693 games.

2/1

Managed to snag 55 year old Jim Johnson to fill our last minor league post, AA manager. The former pitching coach has an outstanding reputation for handling players of all types and we think we got a steal, signing him to a 5 year 120K per deal.

Buffalo extends SP Barry:
28 year old Jimmy Barry has agreed to a 2 year 11.6M dollar contract extension with the Bisons. Berry wasa 14 game winner in 2013 and has been struggling the past 3 seasons after bouncing back and forth between the Buffalo rotation and bullpen. Apparently the Bisons feel he’s ironed out the kinks in 5 starts late last season (he was 3-1 3.86 in 37 games, 5 starts last year) and has told him he’ll get the ball opening day.

IBL RULE CHANGE
The DFA time period has been extended to 11 days for players designated for assignment.

Chicago deals top P prospect, C Moran to Dayton:
We sent 25 year old Mike Alexander (15-4 2.97 in 21 AAA starts) and 26 year old C Mark Moran (defensive stud) and our 5th round draft choice to Dayton for 25 year old SP Jesus Estrada and their 2nd round draft choice. Estrada was 7-12 5.17 last year in 47 games, 21 starts and has the potential to be a mid rotation guy if needed. For now he’ll serve as AAA rotation insurance. This deal also opens up a 40 man spot that we’ll use for 21 year old Roberto Martinez, who has nothing left to prove in AAA and will hopefully grab the 5th rotation spot in spring training.

2/3

Diablos land another big free agent:
El Paso has signed 27 year old SP Ray Anderson to a 7 year 66.5M dollar deal. The move further cements the Diablos as a runaway FL favorite. Anderson is anyone else’s 1 or 2, and he’ll go fourth in the El Paso rotation. A career 52-49 4.69 for the Knights, where he was their 1st pick, 3rd overall, out of Oklahoma State in 2012. He was a 2016 All Star. El Paso now has 24 year old Barry Zito (2016 Koufax winner) 26 year old strikeout machine Corey Elkins (2016 all star who missed all of last year with back/shoulder problems) 25 year old Artie Johnson (22-8 4.10 last year) Anderson and 25 year old rookie lefty Dave Wamboldt (2 time A ball pitcher of the year and 2 time minor league all star who has 1179 K’s in 1009 minor league innings) as their 5 man rotation.

2/4

Buffalo strengthens their pen:
The Bisons signed 26 year old RP Leslie Daniels to a 3 year 9.6M dollar free agent deal. Daniels will move into the closers role in Buffalo and former closer Glenn Hanna (176 saves) has agreed to be the primary setup man for the youngster.

Baltimore signs Trent:
RH reliever Craig Trent has agreed to a 1 year 6.7M dollar contract with the Railcats. The 29 year old will become Baltimore’s new closer, with 32 year old former closer Clinton Quinn moving into a setup role. Quinn had 39 saves last season and finished 3rd in the Mariano Rivera Award race.

Chartier chatter….
He’s now talking in terms of 3-4 years, 15-18 million. Still high, but it’s certainly a conversation worth having. If I can get him to bite on a 4-5 year 15M AAV or so deal, I can figure out how to make that work… I am still leery of money that big for a guy hurt that much.

[gehrig38]

2/9

Las Vegas signs All Star Tunstall:
The Las Vegas 51’s have announced an agreement with free agent slugger Ross Tunstall today. The 31 year old has agreed in principle to a 4 year 47.52M dollar contract. The last year of the deal is a 13.68M player option. Tunstall is a career .299 hitter and 7th all time in the IBL in home runs with 214. He is a 4 time all star and was the Bulldogs (then Riverhounds) 2nd round pick in the IBL’s inaugural draft of 2012.

2/11

Patriots resign Vasquez:
Philly came to terms with 28 year old Octavio Vazquez on a 2 year 9.44M dollar deal today. Vazquez had signed a 1 year deal as a free agent last winter, and went 13-10 4.09 in 33 starts this year. He was the 2013 gold glove winner in the Frontier League with Brooklyn.

2/21

Hooks sign Gold Glover Lange:
Corpus Christi has announced the signing of former gold glove winner Vincent Lange to a 3 year 24.63 million dollar contract today. The 27 year old was a key member of the western division winning Diablo lineup 6 years and is a career .258 hitter with 81 homers and 100 SB’s in 740 games. His best season came in 2014 when he hit .287-26-97.

[gehrig38]

To fix my gaffe, the IBL will be introducing a new, completely personalized 2018 schedule featuring inter league play. CL and FL teams will play 2 games, vs each team, in the other league, every year. This will alternate home/away for each club, each season.

[gehrig38]

Still hung over from the WS Celebrations!!

Seriously though, I am crafting up my own schedule, and it's taking FAR longer than I ever dreamed.

Things will commence shortly, once I get this completed.
Until then, Happy New Year.

[Renner]

Great read all the way through ! I couldn't help notice from the 2017 World Championship roster that Walt Thompson had a season that compares with his Manager's 2004 campaign. Walt was 21-4 2.91 ERA 225.2 IP 35 BB 226 K while Curt was 21-6 3.26 ERA 226.2 IP 35 BB 203 K in '04 !

[gehrig38]

I expect to have my schedule completed today at some point! Things should be ready to start going quickly after that.

[gehrig38]

And so is the IBL after a long and busy off season.
The league has created its very own schedule, that will be weighted towards divisional play.
Interleague is being introduced, with each club playing a 2 game, home and home series vs 1 opposing league club. They will rotate each season before playing the same club 2 times.
There will be day/night DH's, not many, but some, sprinkled in this season, and the regular season will go from opening night April 1st, to Monday October 1st, 162 games in 184 days.

We're about to head into spring training, and 24 year old superstar Jean Chartier remains unsigned, creating an enormous amount of chatter around the league.


(I now have a 28 teams schedule, created from scratch, with an ENORMOUS thank you to BigRod for the many late night chats!!!)