Worst to First - The Sequel

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by Trebro

I sure hope Shibasawa hadn't bought a house!

Yeah, I imagine I'm not his favorite person right now!

[NYY #23]

This offseason turned out to be busier than I expected it would be. I spent a lot of time trying to fill our minor league system, which really was barren at some of the levels. Most of the pickups were just minor league filler, but there were a couple players who I liked that we agreed to minor league contracts with -

SP - Juan Hernandez - a 29 year old career minor leaguer who was 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA in AAA. He's depth and an insurance policy in case we need a starter in the majors.

CL - Ruben Castillo - 26 year old / MR Sergio Echevarria - 28 year old - both Cuban imports who will begin the year in the minors, but have some potential to move up

LF - Sumiteru Yamasaki - 28 year old - he's a poor man's Shibasawa that agreed to a minor league deal. He's just a tick below Shibasawa in power potential, and will have to prove himself in AAA, but could earn a call up with a good showing

2B - Kosho Tanaka - 32 years old - he's a defensive specialist coming over from Japan, but is a big question mark offensively

Next, the guys who actually signed for money -

SP - King Arden - 31 years old signed one year $1.033 million contract. Was 10-14 with a 4.12 ERA in 32 starts with the Angels and will enter spring as a fifth starter candidate

SP - Silas Harris - 29 year old signed one year $1.082 million contract. Was 4-12 with a 5.69 ERA in 22 starts with Tampa Bay. The year before Harris was 10-14 with a 4.27 ERA and is looking for a chance to rebound.

MR - Yue-rong Shiu - 29 year old signed a one year $1 million contract out of Taiwan. We'll see if he can cut it in the majors, but I think he could start, but potentially could close. I'll be paying close attention to him in spring training to get a better idea of his role.

CL - Noah Henderson - 30 years old. Signed 3 year $16 million contract. His name may ring a bell from his days with the Twins, but Henderson saved 22 games last year with a 2.23 ERA in 40 innings. He'll be our new closer, and hopefully help stabilize our bullpen.

OF - Chuck Dooley - 31 years old - Signed 1 year $3.9 million contract / OF - Ricardo Calderon - 29 years old - signed 1 year $1.9 million contract - I lumped them together because their situation is similar, even though they are very different players. Both are coming off injury plagued seasons and trying to regain some value. Dooley has the big home run bat, hitting just three years ago, while Calderon is the speedy, on-base guy.

2B - Albert Holguin - 25 years old - signed 3 year $22.5 million contract. Holguin has been remarkably consistent and durable throughout his career. He's hit roughly .270 with a .300 on-base percentage each year, stolen 50 bases per year, and been worth 2 WAR per year. He's strong defensively, doesn't strike out much, and doesn't have much power.

[NYY #23]

Spring Training was a rough time for the Breakers. We started off by losing SP Gabriel Zumaya for the year when he tore his UCL and he'll be getting Tommy John surgery. Last year Zumaya was 5-11 with a 3.54 ERA in 25 starts. We also lost our new closer Noah Henderson for 3-4 month with a shoulder injury before he pitched in a game that mattered. The final injury of spring was to backup catcher Nathan Wrangham.

Despite all that the Breakers had the best record in the majors in Spring Training, as meaningless as that is. We also added reliever Melvin Gross on a one year $2 million contract. Gross was 3-5 with a 2.06 ERA in Seattle last year and will be our temporary closer.

The Breakers also lost another player, King Arden, partially because of bad luck. Arden was injured during the first part of spring, and had yet to pitch in a game when we were paring down rosters. That left us with a choice of keeping him on the roster, or sending another player down. I risked putting Arden through irrevocable waivers, and he was claimed by the Rockies. That's definitely not how I imagined his Breakers' career to go, but those are the breaks.

Winning the fifth starter job in Spring Training was Yue-Rong Shiu who was 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA. It was a close race though, and it was tough cutting down pitchers. It's a long year though, so I'm sure we'll get a chance to see some of them this year. For now our lineup and rotation looks like:



Our owner expects us to get back to the playoffs this year, as do I. We'll see if we can shake off those spring injuries and get back to the playoffs in year two.

[NYY #23]

The 2025 season has gotten off to a rough start for the Breakers. Our players keep dropping like flies, and Carolina finds ourselves with a 11-10 record. Both Vicente Cano and Adrian Jackson are struggling in the rotation, our offense is struggling, and our defense is ranked 13th in the league.

It's early in the season and I don't want to panic, but I am a little bit worried. The trend of losing more on the road carried over to this season, except we have a losing record on the road.

With our offense struggling so much I did want to check in on Toin Shibasawa who we traded to the Cubs. He's hitting just .238 this year, and just went out with a knee injury, so even though I miss his big bat, he's not swinging it this year, at least yet.

[NYY #23]

The Breakers finished May with a 15-13 record, and despite the fact that we are still in the thick of the AL South race things haven't gone smooth in 2025.

It seems like it would be easier to talk about who hasn't been injured than has, at least that list would be shorter. Our outfield spent the majority of May banged up, and 3B Greg Deen has been out, although soon to return.

After focusing on improving our defense in the offseason, we're even worse than last year. Chuck Dooley has been awful in right field, but he's hitting. Mario Martinez is also not playing well defensively at first, and Victor Turner filling in at third, and Emilio Lopez have also been struggling defensively. I've been trying to bring in a veteran free agent who can help out defensively, and maybe even with the bat. Either at outfield or first base. So far I'm 0-2 after meeting their demand and getting in a bidding war.

The last thing I want to talk about is Yue-Rong Shiu. He's bounced back and forth between the closer role, and the rotation, going 3-5 with 3 saves and a 1.92 ERA in 56 1/3 innings. My manager is taking the closer by committee approach to the extreme with five different players getting saves. But regardless of his role I've been pleased with Shiu, and we agreed to terms on a two year $3 million extension. He's been well worth it so far early in his major league career.

[NYY #23]

With a 10-4 start to the month the Breakers have jumped out into first place with a 3 1/2 game lead in the AL South:



One of the moves that we made was finally agreeing to terms with a backup first baseman, Donovan Taylor. Taylor signed a 1 year $1.4 million contract and can play first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and the outfield. I guess he fits the definition of utility player and last year with the Pirates hit .218 with a .350 on-base percentage, hitting 12 home runs and driving in 51, worth 1.5 WAR. He's played all over the field for us, except first base. Since the Taylor signing Mario Martinez is hitting .420 with 5 home runs. Message sent and received.

Things are starting to come together in Carolina though with our rotation and bullpen both pitching well, and our offense starting to pick up.

It's also time for the amateur draft, with Carolina selecting 26th. With our first round pick in the draft we selected 22 year old college closer Jason Walker. I won't say he was the best available, but I will say he was the best available that we wouldn't have trouble signing, and I'd like to put him on the fast track to the majors.

In the second round we selected 21 year old starting pitcher Willie Allen. We selected another college closer, Dennis Dixon in the third round with starting pitching Roy Grant in the fourth round, and shortstop Juan Vazquez in the fifth round.

[NYY #23]

There is a fine line between being bold and being stupid. Usually it's the results on the field that's the deciding factor. Last year I signed Adrian Jackson to a 5 year $37.5 million contract and it worked out beautifully in year one when Jackson went 15-5 with a 4.12 ERA, but this year Jackson struggled going 0-4 with a 6.46 ERA, and struggled to the point where he lost his spot in the rotation, started complaining about it, and was demoted to AAA.

That's when an injury to catcher Clarence Tuffin forced my hand. With just two catchers on the 40 man roster, and a full 40 man roster I had to make a move. Someone had to be waived and designated for assignment, and that choice came down to Silas Harris or Adrian Jackson. Harris is signed to a one year deal and has pitched in just 4 innings. Jackson is signed for three more years after this season, and I've been watching his scouting reports go lower and lower with the stats to match.

That's why I selected Jackson to waive, and I was a little surprised when he was claimed by not one but two teams. So Jackson's career with the Breakers is over, and he's off to Atlanta. In hindsight maybe I should have tried to shop him around, but I can't go back and change that now.

The Breakers finished the month with a 17-10 record, and hold a two game lead over both Baltimore and Texas. July will be an important month for us.

We also agreed to terms with our top five draftees, and a 1 year $3.4 million extension with SP Gordon Sanchez. Mario Martinez was named Batter of the Month after hitting .364 with 9 home runs, 20 RBI, and 22 runs scored.

[NYY #23]

July was a month that I'd like to forget in Carolina. On the field we were a dreadful 9-17 and we've fallen 3 games back. We started the month losing 8 straight so I suppose it could have been worse, but I came pretty close to blowing it all up at one or two points in the month. Ultimately I chose to stay the course, and see how the season turns out. It's make or break time in Carolina.

[NYY #23]

August turned out better than July with the Breakers going 15-13 for the month which puts us just two games behind the Rangers and 1/2 game behind the Orioles. It's certainly tight in the AL South, and we have 9 games against the Rangers and 10 games against the Orioles left. That pretty much means anything can happen in the AL South.

We'll take this opportunity to recall as many reinforcements as possible to help get us through the month.

In other news I forget to mention in the midst of our awful July we managed to put some of the Adrian Jackson savings to an international amateur, 17 year old Arthur Chiostro, who we signed to a $5.2 million bonus. My scout thinks he's an ace in the making, and we'll take our chances, although hopefully I'll be gone from Carolina when he arrives.

Speaking of Adrian Jackson, he's just 1-6 with a 4.73 ERA in Atlanta, so he's pitching a little better, but with a 1-10 record and 5.22 ERA this year I don't miss him too much. My other high profile departure, Toin Shibasawa, is up to .251 with 16 home runs after a hot August. I still don't have regrets though.

On to what I hope will be an exciting September.

[NYY #23]

We kicked off September by dropping 2 of 3 to the Blue Jays, and 2 of 3 to the Rangers. The Rangers series hurts a little bit worse, as the Breakers now sit 4 games behind Texas:



I don't know why it struck me more after this week, but for some reason the realization that this league that was started with historical players is becoming more and more fictional hit me. Looking at the Breakers roster I don't have any "real player" on the roster, although there still are some real players out there, but their numbers are dwindling. And looking at the league leaders I see names like Alex Hunter, Troy Raymer, and Bret Schaefer and think who are these guys. That makes me think I have to do a better paying attention around the league and in the news.



One guy that's been in the news is Christian Lee of the Yankees. The 21 year old rookie shortstop is hitting .350 this season and is in the midst of a 32 game hitting streak for the second place Yankees, who are just a 1/2 game behind the Red Sox. Not a bad rookie season.

[Trebro]

Can't imagine why you'd be interested in Yankee shortstops.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by Trebro

Can't imagine why you'd be interested in Yankee shortstops.

I have to admit I'm a little bit jealous that a) we don't have a shortstop that good, and b) the real Yankees don't have a shortstop that good !

[NYY #23]

Another bad week for the Breakers as we dropped 3 of 4 to the Rays and won 2 of 3 against the Orioles. That leaves us just one game over .500 (72-71), but we trail the Rangers by 3 1/2 games and the Orioles by 2 games. We'll have 3 games vs the Rangers and 3 at Tampa Bay in the upcoming week.



We got some more bad news this week when we found out that Yue-rong Shiu will miss the rest of the year with an injury. Year two certainly has been challenging in Carolina. The worst part of the injury was that it occurred off the field when his girlfriend beat him up. Let's hope this week will be better.

An update on Christian Lee of the Yankees, who upped his hitting streak to 38 consecutive games this week.

[NYY #23]

The Breakers pulled to a second place tie with the Orioles, 2 1/2 games behind the Rangers after winning 2 of 3 from both the Rangers and Rays. This will be a big week for the Breakers with four games on the road against the Orioles and three games on the road against the Rangers. This week could either make or break us. Someone is going to have to step up for the injured Shiu though in the rotation.

Christian Lee of the Yankees saw his hitting streak come to an end at 39 games. Still a pretty impressive streak for a rookie.

Looking at the standings around the league and there are tight races in virtually every division, with our expansion counterparts the Montreal Expos the farthest second place team from first, trailing the Pirates by six games.

[rjl518]

you might just make it my friend

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by rjl518

you might just make it my friend

I'm hoping we can find a way to pull it off, but man, what a different team from last year.

[NYY #23]

While it's not over until it's over, the Breakers are hanging by a thread after losing 3 of 4 to the Orioles and 2 of 3 to the Rangers. We'll need a miracle to return to the playoffs in year 2 in Carolina. We'll have to get that miracle without Cory Keys, who went down with an injury and will miss the rest of the season.

[NYY #23]

Year two is in the books for the Breakers and we finished with a 81-81 record. I had high expectations to get back to the playoffs, but we couldn't get the job done this year. A couple of troubling things -

Road record - 31-50 (.383 PCT)
Extra innings - 5-10 (.333)
One run games - 27-32 (.458)

Injuries were a killer this season, and we didn't have the depth necessary to compete. I'll be looking forward to an interesting off season where we try and fill our holes and get back to the playoffs. I'll take a closer look after the playoffs once we find out our new budget.

[NYY #23]

After winning the AL South the Baltimore Orioles went down 3-1 to the Cleveland Indians, while the Yankees defeated the Astros 3-2 in the AL Division Series, while the Pirates beat the Rockies 3-1 and the Reds beat the Giants 3-2 in the NL Division Series.

In the ALCS it was the Yankees who beat the Indians 4 games to 3, with the Red beating the Pirates 4 games to 1. The World Series would go 7 games with the Reds outlasting the Yankees 4 to 3.

Meanwhile in Carolina our budget increased slightly from $124 to $128 million. That gives us a little bit of room to work with, but I expect that this will be a busy offseason as we reevaluate things in Carolina.

We'll have a couple of tough decisions to make with some arbitration players that are getting expensive, such as John Hester, who spent the year in AAA, but will be getting a raise from his $3.1 million salary. Or 2B Jesus Medina, who earned $4.2 million this year.

I expect a hectic offseason.

Carolina Breakers - Expansion
2024 - Carolina Breakers - 94-68 (.580) - GB (Defeated Seattle Mariners 3-1 in Division Series, Lost to Boston Red Sox 4-2 in LCS, Season Score - 99)
2024 - Carolina Breakers - 81-81 (.500) 4 1/2 GB (Season Score - 18)

[NYY #23]

The first trade of the offseason occurred when we shipped of John Hester to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for 22 year old reliever Ivan Cortez (3-7, 4 SV, 4.09 ERA) and 22 year old reliever Dale Stone, who was 4-3 with 22 saves and a 2.09 ERA in AAA. The deal will save some money trading a AAA starter and get us back a bullpen arm and potentially a second bullpen arm. Cortez may be able to start a few games for us as well.

The second trade of the offseason was exchanging a pair of large contracts. Going to the Giants is 3B Greg Deen and his $10 million per year contract along with minor league catcher Shawn Benson. The Breakers will be getting back 1B Anthony Newman, 24 year old 2B prospect Shawn Anderson, and minor league reliever Murilo Rito.

After playing in just 68 games for us this year I think Deen could use a change of scenery, and we get back a durable first baseman who hit .328 this year with 60 RBI, 45 runs scored, and was worth 4.1 WAR. This deal also puts a better defender at first base, and allows our current first baseman, Mario Martinez, to transition to the DH role to replace outgoing designated hitter Chuck Dooley. While Dooley hit .261 with 23 home runs and 78 RBI his fielding liabilities make it tough to extend Dooley at the prices he wants to play designated hitter.

Finally we'll non-tender both catcher Nathan Wrangham and 2B Jesus Medina. Neither had an at-bat in the majors, so the $5 plus million they are projected to earn in arbitration is better spent.