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Old 10-04-2024, 12:47 PM   #1421
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The 2037 Wild Card Round



And the Rays learn their opponent for the ALDS as they'll take on the A's at the Trop to start things off.



Toronto will have the daunting task of taking on defending champs and 109-win Houston in the other ALDS.



The Spirit made quick work of the Dodgers and will face the Cubs next.



And the Mets round out the DS field with some help from former Ray Orlando Tosado as they will head to the desert to take on Arizona.
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Old 10-10-2024, 10:32 PM   #1422
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October 10-11, 2037: ALDS Game 1 & NLDS Games 1-2

Let's go Joes....



It's only Game 1, but tonight it was Joever for the Oakland A's once Joe Marlette and Joe Stack were done with them in the ALDS opener. Marlette pitched like the ace he's been for years with a truly dominant performance and Stack staked him to a 3-0 lead with a pair of homers after having a down season (1.0 WAR after averaging 3.1 the last two seasons). Mal Stephens, a surprise starter in RF over Duk-yoon Ko, salted away the game with a 2-run shot in the 8th. It could have been more - although the box says they only left 6 men on base, that came from a pair of bases-loaded situations with one out which they couldn't convert. Danny Morales will try to give the Rays a 2-0 lead going back to California tomorrow.


In yesterday's NLDS openers:



And in the rest of today's DS action:

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Old 10-11-2024, 12:01 AM   #1423
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October 12, 2037: ALDS Game 2

Rollin' on...



On the heels of Joe Marlette the night before, Danny Morales gave the Rays another dominant pitching performance as Rays pitching has held the A's to a single run over the first two games of the ALDS and as a result Tampa Bay holds a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series. Morales was backed by Luis Berumen, who was 3-4 with a 2-run homer to make it 4-0 after Wander Franco led off the game with a longball. Gabe Bryant gets first crack at closing it out two nights from now in Oakland.

And it looks like we might be headed a repeat of last year's ALCS as the Astros got by the Jays again:



Former Rays Chris Ferguson (5 strong innings) and Josh Scanlon (a 1-2-3 10th via strikeout for the win) led Houston on the mound.
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Old 10-11-2024, 01:59 PM   #1424
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October 13, 2037: ALDS Game 3 & NLDS Game 4

Houston, we have a rematch:



The Rays completed the sweep of the A's in a rollercoaster Game 3 in Oakland. It started off like the first two games with a dominant starting pitching performance and some longballs from the Rays as Gabe Bryant had them up 3-0 thanks to Justin Blackwell, who homered and singled in a run. But their bugaboo this season, the bullpen, reared its ugly head in the 6th after Jamie Arnold and Tony Alicea (called in early in a key situation) crapped the bed and Oakland was suddenly up 5-3 on the way to 6-3. But back-to-back jacks from series MVP Luis Berumen and Danny Arroyave cut the lead to 6-5 in the 8th, and then Billy Doughty started a three-run 9th-inning rally with a double, the first of three straight hits which led to the winning run. Now it's on to another ALCS against the Astros once again, who swept their series with Toronto as well.



So only Arizona-Mets is going the distance.
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Old 10-11-2024, 02:52 PM   #1425
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October 16, 2037: NLDS Game 5

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Old 10-15-2024, 11:24 AM   #1426
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October 17-18, 2037: ALCS Game 1 & NLCS Games 1-2

First blood...



With all respect to the Oakland A's, the Astros were always going to be the real hurdle for the Rays to cross before getting back to the World Series as Houston is not only the defending WS champion but had an MLB-best 106 wins this year. And while there's a long way to go the Rays got off to the ideal start in taking Game 1 at Minute Maid Park. It wasn't easy of course and they had to endure ace Joe Marlette pitching well but inefficiently, forced to leave two batters into the 5th despite a 2-1 lead thanks to having to throw 95 pitches. The bullpen couldn't quite hold that lead thanks to Rays nemesis Patrick Upchurch homering to tie it, but it held from there and Danny Arroyave's sac fly put them up for good in the 8th and a couple of 9th-inning homers leading to 3 runs salted it away. In Game 2 Danny Morales will be playing with house money and a chance to bring this series back to the Trop in a realistic position where we can win it there.

In the NLCS Game 1:



and Game 2:

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Old 10-15-2024, 05:16 PM   #1427
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October 19, 2037: ALCS Game 2

Laying the lumber...



The Rays jumped all over former teammate Chris Ferguson and obliterated the Astros 11-3 to improbably take both games in Houston and head back to Tropicana Field with a substantial 2-0 series lead. Ferguson was wild in loading the bases with the first three hitters before Danny Charlton brought two of them home with a double and two batters later Joe Stack continued his hot postseason with a 3-run shot to make it 5-0. Justin Blackwell went back-to-back with Stack (Stack to Black?) to make it 6-0 and with Danny Morales on the mound the rout was on from there. Danny Arroyave and Luis Berumen each went deep later as Tampa Bay beat Houston at its own power game and are now halfway to avenging last year's ALCS loss. Gabe Bryant will get the ball for Game 3 at the Trop.
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Old 10-15-2024, 06:49 PM   #1428
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October 20-21, 2037: ALCS Game 3 & NLCS Games 3-4

So close...



The Rays were one out away from taking a 1-0 win over Houston and all but burying them with a 3-0 series lead. But Jadon Smith has been the master of the blown save this year and he did it again, giving up a 2-out, 2-run homer in the 9th to breathe life back into Houston and make it a series again. Of course Smith wouldn't have been pitching to the man who hit the homer (Josh Briley) had Wander Franco not booted an easy grounder at 2nd earlier in the inning. Otherwise blame falls on the shoulders of the offense, which could only muster a Danny Rodriguez RBI triple which looked like it would stand up. Gabe Bryant had to leave after 4 with a hamstring tweak which won't keep him from starting a Game 7 should we go that far. Tomorrow Leo Gutierrez toes the rubber for the Rays and he could either be brilliant or terrible; either way the bats are going to have come up with more than one run tomorrow. And hopefully we're not looking back on today's 9th inning for the rest of the winter.

In the NLCS the Memphis Spirit, who came into the league as an expansion team 15 years ago, are one win away from their first-ever World Series:



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Old 10-15-2024, 07:13 PM   #1429
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October 22, 2037: ALCS Game 4 & NLCS Game 5

Back in charge...



The Rays bounced back from the previous night's excruciating loss to beat Houston and go up 3-1 in the ALCS. Luis Berumen showed that they'd have no ill-effects from the day before by getting things started with a 2-run homer in the first, but Houston took the lead in the 2nd thanks to another key error, this time from Danny Arroyave as they still haven't scored an earned run in the two games at the Trop. Tampa Bay was not deterred however, and a 3-run rally in the 5th won them the game thanks to RBI doubles from Wander Franco and Danny Charlton. And this time the bullpen held with another great outing from Branden Gammage and an equally excellent one from Tony Alicea, who came on in the 8th and was allowed to close it out in lieu of the mercurial Jadon Smith. The Rays are now in an envious position as not only do they need but one win in the next three to advance to the World Series, they'll have their ace Joe Marlette looking to close it out tomorrow night.

And should the Rays get there they'll be walking with their feet ten feet off of Beale as the Memphis Spirit closed out the Mets:

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Old 10-15-2024, 07:32 PM   #1430
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October 23, 2037: ALCS Game 5

Keep the champagne on ice...



If anyone thought the defending champion and 106-win Houston Astros would go quietly into that good night they'd be wrong, as they got the better of the Rays in Game 5 to bring the series back to Space City. Joe Marlette wasn't as sharp as usual and the Rays had several baserunning blunders, including a man picked off, a man doubled off on a line drive, and they also grounded into a pair of double plays as they squandered numerous chances to add to the two runs they scored. Danny Morales will take the ball for chance #2 to win the ALCS in two days' time.
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Old 10-15-2024, 09:08 PM   #1431
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October 25, 2037: ALCS Game 6

Welp...



Once again the Rays had Houston where they wanted them with a late lead and once again the bullpen let them down. Wander Franco's 2nd homer of the game broke a 4-4 tie in the 7th and they tacked on another run via an error to go up 6-4 with only 3 innings between them and the World Series. But Tony Alicea, who was supposed to pitch into the 8th to bridge them to Jadon Smith, couldn't get anyone out and gave up 3 runs as Houston ended up prevailing 8-6 and forced a Game 7. It was a shame as Franco had a huge night, leading off the game with a homer and then coming through huge again in the 7th in what could be his next-to-last game after a long and storied Rays career. So now it's all down to one winner-take-all game with Gabe Bryant getting the start for Tampa Bay. To quote Chris Martin (the Coldplay guy, not the 2020s middle reliever), "nobody said it was easy / no one ever said it would be this hard".
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Old 10-15-2024, 11:54 PM   #1432
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October 26, 2037: ALCS Game 7

Delayed but not denied...



The Rays made have blown a 3-1 series lead and blown two of the games they lost in the late innings, but somehow they still found a way to prevail and get to the World Series after a wild 10-7 win in Game 7 over Houston. It did not start off well at all with Gabe Bryant struggling big-time, giving up 3 homers and putting them in holes of 3-0 and 4-2. But the offense put 8 on the board between the 5th and 7th, taking the lead in the 5th on Luis Berumen's solo homer immediately after Series MVP Wander Franco tied it with a 2-run shot. Danny Rodriguez (who had a big series himself) added a 2-run single in the 6th to give them some breathing room, and Agustin Lopez's 2-run double in the 7th proved to also be a big hit. The pitching wasn't great, but the up-and-down Jadon Smith was up tonight as he fanned a pair in a 1-2-3 9th and found himself at the bottom of the dogpile. So now it's on to the Fall Classic against first-timers Memphis.
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Old 10-17-2024, 07:30 PM   #1433
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October 28, 2037: World Series Game 1

Oof...



All the ingredients were there: the Rays jumped out to a 4-1 lead against Memphis ace Josh Johnson and they had their own on the mound in Joe Marlette. But Marlette ran into trouble in the 5th, giving up the tying runs, and then lefty Jamie Arnold came in and gave up a 3-run homer to a lefty batter, and that was all she wrote. Also lefty Ken Battle came in and gave up a 3-run homer to lefty as well to truly put it out of reach, so another bad game for the bullpen. Young lefty Leo Gutierrez will get the ball in Game 2, and the pressure will be on him to avoid a trip to Memphis down 0-2.
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Old 10-17-2024, 08:23 PM   #1434
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October 29, 2037: World Series Game 2

A win is a win, but....



High drama at the Trop as Joe Stack walked it off in the bottom of the 10th with a 3-run homer after Danny Arroyave and Danny Charlton each single with two out, giving the Rays an 8-5 win and evening up the World Series at a game apiece, but boy oh boy that bullpen. In the biggest game of his young career Leo Gutierrez was brilliant and left in the 7th with a 2-0 lead which Tony Alicea (acquired from Memphis earlier this season) of course immediately allowing a 2-run homer to first man he faced. And after the Rays answered with 3 in the bottom of the inning, Branden Gammage gave up a homer to make it 5-3 and then in the 9th Jadon Smith got two outs (and it should have been 3 if not for a Justin Blackwell error, another problem for this team this postseason) before giving up a game-tying 2-run triple to former Ray Bobby Marin. Somehow Jamie Arnold managed to pitch the 10th without allowing a run (although he did put a couple of men on) and for that he was awarded the win. Earlier it took the bats 6 innings to finally break through against another former Ray, Joe Scheu (who was traded for Alicea). Danny Morales will pitch Game 3 in Memphis and the offense will try to secure a bullpen-proof lead.
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Old 10-17-2024, 09:17 PM   #1435
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October 31, 2037: World Series Game 3

At least the bullpen didn't blow this one...



Danny Morales pitched well but the Rays couldn't generate any offense and they lost 6-1 to Memphis to fall behind 2-1 to the Spirit in the series. The game turned in the 7th when Tampa Bay had a great chance to get back in after Danny Arroyave doubled and Joe Stack singled to lead off the inning. But that was followed by a strikeout, shallow fly ball and medium fly ball to end the threat and Memphis broke it open in the bottom of the inning when it was Ruben Abeyta's turn to bring shame on the bullpen due to both his pitching and his fielding as his own error made the 3 runs against him unearned. Gabe Bryant will get the ball tomorrow as the Rays look to even up the series once again.
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Old 10-17-2024, 09:37 PM   #1436
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November 1, 2037: World Series Game 4

Do you believe in miracles?...



A 1-0 Rays win was about the last thing I expected tonight, especially given the lone run came on Danny Charlton's homer in the 2nd and the staff (especially the bullpen) had to make it hold up for 8 innings. But somehow they did it, and the shaky team defense managed to do its job with Tampa Bay pitching combined for a mere two strikeouts. Gabe Bryant had far from his best stuff tonight, but he gutted it out through 6 innings in his final start of the season keeping Memphis off the board, and then our top three relievers looked the part over the final three innings. Joe Marlette, a former Spirit himself, will look to shake off his shaky Game 1 outing and give the Rays their first lead of the series in tomorrow's Game 5.
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Old 10-17-2024, 10:51 PM   #1437
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November 2, 2037: World Series Game 5

Ugh...



The Rays pulled off the most dramatic of comebacks in the 9th, but all it did was prolong their agony as they fell 6-5 to Memphis in 11 and now have to take Games 6 & 7 in St. Pete if they want to be champions. Luis Berumen's longball in the 9th, his 7th of the postseason, cut Memphis' lead to 5-3 but looked like a mere consolation shot before Danny Arroyave, who had earlier homered, doubled and Joe Stack came through in the clutch with another jack to tie the game. Eyes then turned to the beleaguered Tampa Bay bullpen, and although they did hold in the 9th and 10th the 11th was a bridge too far as Jadon Smith in his second inning gave up a leadoff double and walked the bases loaded around two outs. A tiring Smith gave way to Tony Alicea, who walked the first man he faced to force in the losing run and put the Rays on the brink. It'll be up to Leo Gutierrez to hopefully repeat his brilliant Game 2 outing to keep the season alive in a couple of days.
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Old 10-18-2024, 11:39 AM   #1438
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November 4, 2037: World Series Game 6

See ya next year...



The 2037 Rays went out with a whimper, not a bang as they were manhandled 7-0 by Memphis in Game 6, giving the 2022 expansion Spirit their first-ever championship. The offense was frustrated by former Ray Joe Scheu, who kept escaping damage with double plays as Tampa Bay batters hit into four of them on the night. They had two on in the first and the bases loaded in the second but couldn't score, and Memphis took it from there. Fittingly in a year where the bullpen was the source of our frustration, all four Rays relievers who pitched tonight allowed a run.
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Old 10-19-2024, 08:53 PM   #1439
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2037-38 Offseason: State of the Team

It was a good season for the Rays even if they did fall two games short of their ultimate goal, especially considering the slow start they got off to. The good news is that most of the core returns for 2038 although we do bid adieu to Wander Franco, who is decline and turns 37 when next season starts. He did have a nice playoff (317/419/619) so we'll let him go out on a high note. The main area that will have to be made over is the bullpen, with Jadon Smith and Tony Alicea declining their player options and Ruben Abeyta and Jamie Arnold free agents. Although they all put up decent numbers overall they were a source of aggravation throughout the season and especially in the playoffs, so maybe the new crew will be more consistent.

Here's how our salary obligations for 2038 shake out, with minimum-salary guys not listed:



Our total projected payroll assuming everyone is kept is just under $123M and we have a $170M payroll budget so there will be plenty of money to spend to fill our needs, either via trade or free agency. Gutierrez will probably be moved and there's another name or two I could part with (see below) so we'll have around $50M to play with.

The position-by-position outlook:

Catcher: Billy Doughty took the job by the throat in the second half and should be a fixture behind the plate for years to come. Hence the desire to jettison Gutierrez, who was sent to Durham as he's not a great defensive C and his bat was down as well. I'll see what I can get for him in trade and if noting special he'll likely to be non-tendered, leaving Art Bing as a solid backup (good glove, decent power).

First Base: Despite a good postseason Joe Stack took a step back this year from 3.9 WAR to 1.0 and found himself on the bench against lefties but is now due a raise to at least $7M. With Danny Charlton available to play the position and Luis Berumen better suited to DHing instead of playing the OF, Stack will be shopped to hopefully fill one or more of our needs. Either way expect lefty-killer Agustin Lopez to get ABs against southpaws as he tuned them up to the tune of 364/411/561 in 190 PAs this year and followed that up by hitting them at 458/552/583 in the playoffs.

Second Base: Franco is gone, leaving a hole. I'd like to shift Justin Blackwell over here from SS (where he had an atrocious -13.9 ZR) and bring in a much better glove to play the position. Blackwell only had 0.7 WAR despite a 20/20 season as a result.

Shortstop: See second base.

Third Base: Can we get back Danny Arroyave to his previous 30 HR, 90 RBI level? He had a star-crossed, injury-riddled (3 IL stints) season but came on in the playoffs, looking like his old self. We'll pay around $8M to find out.

Infield: Luis Cisneros was the primary IF back and played a lot of 3B in Arroyave's absence, has some pop and put up a +4.1 ZR at the hot corner and can also fake it at 2B/SS, so he'll likely be back. One-time top prospect Claus Hoppenbrouwers missed most of the year and can play the middle infield as well as the outfield and will be in the mix.

Left Field: If Berumen is moved to DH, LF opens up for either an acquisition or a possible Mal Stephens/Alex Rivas platoon. After hitting 260/312/525 with 17 HR and 9 SB in 242 AB in 2036, Stephens dropped off to 218/268/359 with 5 HR and 14 SB in a similar number of at-bats while Rivas hit 284/329/403 with 47 SB but only 1.5 WAR thanks to a brutal -10.2 ZR as he was miscast in CF before we moved him off the position.

Center Field: Rookie Danny Rodriguez came up and provided a spark, earning 1.1 in only 30 games and playing plus D at the position (+2.4 ZR in only 30 games), then followed that up with a solid postseason (although he didn't hit in the World Series). The job is his.

Right Field: Tony Fisher was our best acquisition last winter, hitting 260/363/543 with 28 HR and 76 RBI in 103 games before his season was cut short with a severe hip strain and he was missed in the postseason. He should settle in as a neutral fielder so the bat will more than play. He could play LF if we get someone who's better defensively in RF.

Designated Hitter: As mentioned we project Berumen here as part of our general effort to improve the atrocious team defense, an effort that started with Doughty and D-Rod becoming regulars late in the season.

Outfield: We also have Duk-yoon Ko, known as the Korean Kyle Schwarber but who unfortunately didn't hit like Schwarber, struggling to a 176/310/372 line. Unlike Schwarber, he's a plus defensive OF but it's questionable where he fits in and he can't hit lefties.

Others: Rookie Frank Duron was up briefly and the man can hit (65 contact, 55 power with 60 potential) and raked at Durham, but he's really a 1B/DH type and there isn't much room at those positions. Another rookie and former first-round pick Danny Dicochea also impressed in some brief action but he too is probably better suited for 1B than 3B and there's no room at the inn for him either.

Rotation: Coming back intact with Marlette/Morales/Bryant as good a threesome as anybody's and Leo Gutierrez looks like a legit MLB starter. The fifth starter's job could go to holdover Mario Urizar, who had a good WAR but lousy numbers thanks to the bad D behind him and could thrive if we improve there, or top prospect Dwayne Marion, who should be ready for a shot.

Bullpen: As mentioned at the outset this is the big renovation project for the offseason with lefty Branden Gammage the only late-inning guy coming back. Middle men like Bridgewater, Mauricio and Coggin will return but we're going to need at least 2-3 more quality arms including a legitimate closer. Could we re-sign a Smith or Alicea? Possible (we'll have the money) but we'll see.

So our goals for the winter are (the TL;DR version):

*Find a SS with a good glove, preferably one who can hit some
*Possibly find a corner outfielder of some quality
*Build a new bullpen including a closer and set-up guy
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Old 10-21-2024, 06:23 PM   #1440
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2037-38 Offseason, Part 1

As always we start off with retirements of interest.

Former Rays: Andrew Greckel, Xavier Edwards, Heliot Ramos, Reid Detmers.

Others: Bobby Witt Jr., Francisco Alvarez, Christian Pache, Nomar Mazara, Marco Luciano.

Greckel is the most notable among former Rays, he hit 185 homers over 6 seasons with the club from 2025-2030 and earned 16.4 WAR in that time, collecting WS rings in 2025 and 2029. He became a free agent and signed with the Angels where he hit 123 homers and 331 RBI over his first 3 years with them. His career tailed off but he did hit 35 HR with the Mets as late as 2035 and finishes with 403.

OK, time to start wheeling and dealing:



There wasn't a great trade market for Gutierrez but fortunately Houston was desperate to deal Maldonado, who is actually a really good hitting prospect (70 contact w/75 potential, 55 HR power) who hit .189 with 1 homer in 37 AB in his first MLB cup of coffee. He could be the corner OF we're looking for, although he's barely better than Berumen in the field so he might be ticketed for Durham (or be a backup). Still a great return for a catcher we didn't want anymore.

Next deal:



No matter how much we tried, Ko ("The Korean Kyle Schwarber") just couldn't get his average above the Mendoza Line with us or provide enough homers even though he has 65 power and an 80 eye. And with Stephens and Rivas already around as backup OFs with the newly-acquired Maldonado to boot, we had a glut of OFers and it was time to deal Ko while he still had value. And again I think we did quite well, adding to the bullpen with Baca, who as a rookie displayed his 70 stuff (80 potential) with a 3.18 ERA and 67 whiffs in 56 IP for the A's, and was their #1 pick in 2036. Baca also is capable of starting which he did in the minors but only has 40 stamina. Meanwhile we also get Oakland's #1 pick in 2035 in Arevalo, who has 65 contact and 50 power with 70 and 55 potential and is a 65 LF. He hasn't hit less than .309 at any of his MiLB stops and will play with Maldonado at Durham for now.

Still another trade:



This one's a bit out of left field (no pun intended). Serrato is the #51 prospect in baseball and was our most sought-after property. He has 70 power potential but is somewhat unremarkable in the other facets of the game so personally I found him to be a bit overrated (and he only hit 22 HR while slashing 266/330/446 at AA Montgomery this year). So when I can turn him into the haul we got here I wasn't going to say no. The key here is Rivera, a second-year player who already has this track record:



What's not shown here (other than his ratings) is that he's a Gold Glove RF, having won in his rookie season last year and the favorite to win again after putting up a +11.9 ZR this season. This gives us the corner OF we were looking for and vastly improves the team defense and he actually hit better than the guy he'll replace in the lineup due to 1B/DH shuffling, Joe Stack.

But wait - there's more! Monts is a 23-year old switch-hitting 1B who hit 325/347/588 with 12 HR in 160 AB after being called up from the minors last year and has 70 contact w/60 power. By all rights he should be our 1B next year except we'll have Danny Charlton there and Luis Berumen will be the DH. Durham is shaping up to have one helluva team next year or we could flip Monts in a bigger deal.

And then there's Sears, a young hard-throwing (98-100mph) reliever with 60/60/60 potential but was at A+ ball next year. Based on his current ratings he'd be passable in an MLB pen right now but we'll start him at AA and see what happens. To me I don't understand the eagerness of Seattle's GM to do this deal nor the ambivalence of my AGM, but I couldn't not make this deal. To make room on the 40-man for Rivera and Monts we DFA'd OF Jay Farrar and P David Marin.

And finally the trade we were promising:



No longer will I be able to make Stack puns as we may have acquired our SS (or 2B) in Jackson. The 24-year-old wasn't terribly impressive in his rookie year with the Mets (0.6 WAR in 104 games) but has much more potential with 55 contact, 50 power, 65 avoid Ks and is a 65 2B and 55 SS. He did have a +6.1 ZR at 2B in 91 games with the Mets and was even +0.7 at SS in limited action. I think he'll hit substantially better than the 241/270/342 he did last year and we have enough offense elsewhere to cover him if he doesn't. I probably play him at SS and move Blackwell to 2B where hopefully he can at least be average as we don't necessarily need Gold Glovers at the positions, just moving to a 0 ZR would be an incredible improvement over the -20 Blackwell at SS and Wander at 2B combined for last season. We also get another 1B in Pepin, who has 50 contact/60 HR power potential but isn't terribly exciting.

The common theme in all these trades is that we're acquiring young guys who can be key parts of the team over the next 5 years or more, and we're saving on salary while improving overall.

OK enough trade excitement, let's move on to Awards Season:

Gold Glove: A farewell nod for Joe Stack at 1B, his 4th straight and I'm sure Mets fans will enjoy watching him pick it at the position. More importantly, a second straight win in RF for newest Ray Danny Rivera.

Reliever of the Year: Greg McClay of Texas won in the AL (38 SV, 1.40 ERA) while Cincinnati's Stan LeVea was the NL choice (4 wins, 6 SV, 1.60 ERA but only 1.0 WAR, not sure what those voters were smoking). Our Branden Gammage had the most WAR (2.6) of any MLB reliever so he got my AL vote but that was all he received.

Silver Slugger: Despite a slow start to the season our Danny Charlton finished strongly enough to grab the AL DH award.

Rookie of the Year: In the AL it was Houston's Shigekuni Nakayama, who hit .326-34-109 in a very impressive maiden season and in the NL it was the even more-impressive Melvin Archundia, who put up a whopping .316-52-128 line with a 1.016 OPS. Nakayama took 31 of 32 votes while Archundia was unanimous.

Cy Young: As great a season as Joe Marlette had for us, I couldn't begrudge the award going for the 2nd straight year to Baltimore's Joe White, who won the pitching triple crown (20-5, 2.67, 347K in 222 IP) and was good for 7.8 WAR. He had my first-place vote but three other voters went for Marlette, who could have won in a normal non-White year. Our Danny Morales finished 4th. A much closer race in the NL where Memphis' Josh Johnson took his 4th Cy after winning consecutively in 2031-33. Johnson was 15-9, 3.17 with 261 Ks in 193 IP and he beat out the Mets' Juan Ramires 184-153 (19-12 in first-place votes) who was 10-10, 3.07 with 247 Ks in 216 IP.

MVP: San Antonio's 2nd-year masher Darius Williams won fairly comfortably over Oakland's superstar SS and 2033 MVP winner Jeremy Begley. Williams put up an 8.3-WAR season after hitting 338/414/632 with 46 HR and 131 RBI. Begley actually slightly out-WARed him at 8.4 after hitting 283/322/513 with 34 HR, 113 RBI and an otherworldy +26.4 ZR at SS. In the NL Kevin Agulilard followed up his 2033 NL MVP with another one after leading MLB in WAR at 9.6 thanks to a 344/415/683 (a triple slash triple crown) with 50 HR and 121 RBI. He was a unanimous winner.

With all the trades and awards talk this post has gotten a bit too long so I'll break it up here instead of when I usually do at the new year.
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