2019 Miami Marlins (Bringing back the Florida Marlins glory (?))

[lucho2107]

*Check out the 2020 season review on the last post of the thread!!
*Check out the 2020 offseason coverage for all the FA signings and trades on the second page !!
*Check out the 2019 postseason coverage on the second page!!


Context:
The game will start on March 18, 2019. After the Nationals lost Harper to the Phillies the NL East seems to be one of the most difficult divisions in all of baseball. The Braves won the division last season, the Phillies got better, the Mets have great talent in their roster and Nationals are still the big favorites to take the division. Being in a division with 4 contenders the Miami Marlins will welcome a partial rebuild. The new GM: Luis Alejandro Restrepo (me) will try to win as many games as he can and develop the young players in a big-league stage.

Manager Settings:
I will be the General Manager and keep Don Mattingly as my first team manager. Mattingly and the Minor league managers will handle the in-game strategy and I will handle the lineups, pitching staff and the depth charts (The minor league staff will handle this for the minor league teams)

Big League Roster evaluation:
*The active roster was automatically set when starting the game and the 40 man roster has currently 28 players.
SP: The current starting rotation is weak. We have one overpaid veteran in Chen, two young arms with medium potential (Gallen (45) and Richards (42)), one young player with potential (Pablo Lopez) and a major league 4-5th starter in Caleb Smith. I will give this 5 players the chance to prove themselves in the majors in the first month.
RP: I will need to add a new pitcher to my active roster because currently, we have only 6 relievers. The ideal closer, Riley Ferrell (Cur:51-Pot:63) will be on the IL for the next 9 weeks. Right now there is no one in relief that is worthy of a mention (Maybe Drew Steickhender but I am hoping to trade him) . Jose Ureña might be an emergency starter during the season and the closer will be Sergio Romo until Ferrell is back. The ideal candidate to fill the open spot in the bullpen will be a proven reliever with a good major league record.
C: The starting catcher job will go to Alfaro in spite of his low ratings. (My scout does not like him) He has power and can be the number 5 hitter. He also has an above-average defense.
IF: The infielder is filled with regular players. I will give a good lineup position to Starling Castro, hoping he gets a good first half and can be dealt with later in the season. I am also excited about Brian Anderson and he will have the 3B job.
OF: As it happens with most positions there is no one very notable in the outfield. I am hoping Lewis Brinson develops more in the kind of player that can be a thread at the top of the lineup. The veteran Granderson will have a chance to prove himself as the starting Left Fielder

The final take of the active roster:
There is an obvious lack of talent and quality in almost every spot in the field. I will start the season with these players hoping some of them have a good first half and can be traded to contending teams for a prospect in July.

Farm System:
There are very few high profile prospects. In AAA there is a couple of SP ready for the big leagues like Sandy Alcantara and Yordan Yamamoto. They will get the chance in MLB very soon. Nick Anderson could be called up from AAA and step up to be the new closer if the bullpen fails to post good numbers. The main position player in the AAA roster is Victor Mesa Mesa than it can be an interesting replacement if the Granderson experiment does not work out. Mangerius Sierra (currently in AA) might also have some major league outfield playing time

Owner goals:
As the GM I have to work to satisfy the owner. The goals for the 2019 season: play close to .500 ball (hopefully the team can achieve that), upgrade at shortstop (probably not going to work hard for that one). For the next season, the owner wants a power hitter a top 20 prospect and build a top 6 farm system. All of this goes in line with what I want to achieve.

Note: I know the OOTP 21 is coming out very soon but I will keep playing XX for the next six months. That is why I am starting this new simulation with the Miami Marlins trying to bring back a ring to Miami like the 1999 Florida Marlins did and build a Dynasty.

Note: I will try to post in this thread the progress of the season (main highlights, movements etc) at the end of each simulated week

[lucho2107]

Front Office status,

After reviewing the finances I´ve decided to set up the Ticket Price at $14,00, being the lowest in the league, trying to boost up attendance and increase the fan interest (currently at 31).
We have the third-lowest budget in the league and the second-lowest payroll.
We have 22 million for extensions and 18 million for free agents
There is a projected positive balance for the next year

I have offered a minor league contract to Dan Jennings (RP) that can become a $1,200,000 major league contract if he is promoted before the 30 days of the season. He will get the call to be part of the Major league bullpen.

The opening day starter will be: Caleb Smith

[lucho2107]

The first series of the season vs the Rockies ends in a split

We managed to win game 1 behind an amazing performance of our opening day starter Caleb Smith. He went 7.1 innings allowing 4 hits 0 ER and recording 10 K´s. Sergio Romo managed his first save of the season

As expected Wei Yein Chen didn´t have a good performance on game 2 and we were beaten by 12-5. The bullpen gave up 6 runs in the final 4 innings and JT Riddle made the first home run of the season for the team (he had 2 in the game)

March 30th game against the Rockies finished with a win for our team thanks to clutch hitting from the number 5 hitter Alfaro and a good performance from Zac Gallen (making his major league debut) and giving 4 ER in 7 IP. Sergio Romo had a scoreless 9th. He has been great in his two outings and he might keep the closer job.

The last game of the series against the Rockies was tough loss. Trevor Richards did an amazing job and went 7 IP with 2 ER. The offense failed to make clutch hits, leaving 16 men on base. Granderson had his first HR of the season

Austin Dean who had six hits in 14 PA sustained Shoulder tendinitis and he will be DtD. I still haven´t define who will replace him in the starting lineup

[eck.nicholas]

Awesome start. I look forward to seeing this one play out. Good luck in Miami... You've got a hell of a build to do.

[lucho2107]

April 1st game was a loss against the Mets by 2-1. Zack Wheeler from the Mets pitched an amazing game and almost shutout the team. The positive side of this loss is that we got a good performance from another starter (Pablo Lopez, I´ve got high expectations from him this season).
After the game, I´ve decided to place Austin Dean in the 10 IL and call Harold Ramirez (He has been added to the 40-man roster) up from AAA.

The second game of this home series against the Mets was another Pitching Duel. Caleb Smith followed his amazing first outing with another good one going 5IP and giving up 1ER. His pitch count was high (92) but the bullpen finished the performance and gave us the win. Romo is still lights out posting another 0 in the ninth innings and earning his third save of the season. Brian Anderson went deep for the first time of the season.

The third game feature some changes in the starting lineup order. Brian Anderson passed from the 1st spot to the #7 hole and JT Riddle was bumped up to the top of the lineup. Rosell Herrera had his first start of the season replacing Harold Ramirez in left field. In spite of this Jacob De Grom dominated the team and had a complete game. The positive outcome is that the team struck out only 6 times. Wei Yen Chen had another bad outing. My idea is to give him 2 more starts before I move him to the bullpen or release him (Any advice on this is welcomed!).

The first road game of the season is against the Braves and the Lineup is back to normal (Brian Anderson batting first). The offense is still very slow and we lost the game 11-2. Zac Gallen in his second start in the major only lasted 3.1 innings and gave up 5 ER. Jose Ureña was terrible in relief and Dan Jennings (the FA signing) is still struggling.

The second game against the Braves was the third loss in a row for our team. After a difficult start to the game where the starter Trevor Richards gave up 4 ER in 3.1 IP the bullpen guys did a good job keeping us in the game. Don Mattingly used all of the 7 pitchers in the bullpen. Disappointing news as Sergio Romo gave up the 2-run walk-off homer to Charlie Culberson (really?!!) Harold Ramirez has an OBP of . 455 in his first three games as a major leaguer.

The Sunday showdown at Sun Trust Park was the perfect scenario to end our losing streak, which we did by capturing a tight win. Pablo Lopez gave the bullpen the rest they needed by going 7 IP and Romo went back to my good grace by earning his 4th save by keeping the 1-run advantage in the ninth. Rossel Herrera had a game and he will replace Brinson as the starting center fielder next week. JT Riddle was the hero by bringing the first baseman Neil Walker (that was a pinch hitter for Ramirez) to the plate in the ninth.

[lucho2107]

The Monday of this new week is off for our team. Important league news as the Milwaukee Brewers signed Dallas Keuchel to a 1 year $16,200,000 deal. A little too high in my opinion. The next series for us is against the Reds and we will be facing two of their best SP in Sonny Gray and Luis Castillo.

As advertised the lineup was shaken a little bit trying to look for better offensive performance. Rossell Herrera and Neil Walker will start instead of Lewis Brinson and Garret Cooper. Caleb Smith was taken out of the game in the second inning, we still don´t have a diagnosis. The long and middle relievers did a good job to keep us in the game but an error from Alfaro cost us the unearned runs that finally cost us the W. The offense looked way better, we had 15 hits and scored 6 runs. Rossell Herrera and Neil Walker responded and each one had 5 bases in the game.

April 10th. I am done with Wei Yen Chen that had another awful outing, I will wait until his next start and move him to the bullpen and call up Yamamoto. Still deciding who is going down, probably Dan Jennings will be released. If Chen does not work in the bullpen he will be released and I will eat happily the roughly 30 million that is owed to him. The loss was 9-2 but Herrera and Walker keep hitting so they will be in the starting lineup for the rest of the week. The injury diagnosis for Smith is good, he will be day to day for the next 5 days. We have to wait to see if he is ready for his next start (Monday against the cubs).
We have been swept for the first time in the season (it was only 2 games in the great America Ball Park)

The series against the Phillies at home starts with a loss. Zac Gallen had another bad outing and is making me question if he is ready for the major league level. He will get another chance to prove himself next week. A good performance by the big three in the bullpen (Brice, Steickender, and Romo) kept us in the game but we left 21 men on base.

We won again! The second game against the Phillies was very close but we managed to get the clutch hits that disappear the last 2 games. Trevor Richards had another rocky start but he managed to last 5 IP. Jose Ureña did a good job as the long reliever and Romo did Romo things and earned his 5th save (every win has come off a save of Romo so far). Shacking the lineup is paying off and Neil Walker had another good game. Starlin Castro was the Player of the game and has been by far our best player on the season.

Third outing and a third amazing performance from Pablo Lopez. He went six shutout innings punching out 8 Phillies. The offense responded to the starter good outing and scored 7 runs on 9 hits. JT Riddle went deep for the third time this season. He is the current home run leader of the team.

[lucho2107]

I made some roster moves before the home series against the Chicago Cubs. Matt Synder (1B) was optioned to AAA and 29-year-old second baseman Jon Berti was called up to the majors. Austin Dean(LF) was reinstated from the IL and Lewis Brinson (CF) optioned to AAA. Dan Jennings (RP) was DFA´d. Nick Anderson was called up to the majors from AAA.

Sandy Alcantara was scheduled to be called up and start Monday instead of injured Caleb Smith but he Smith was ready and I´ve decided to roll with him. Wei Yin Chen was moved to the bullpen as a long reliever and Ureña was scheduled to be the starter for game 3 of the series. Gallen will start game 2. In spite of Smith's recent success, he had a bumpy game and gave up 6 ER in 4 IP. After the game, I can see it was a mistake to start him. Chen looked better as a long reliever and Dean celebrated his activation from the IL with a homer.

In league news, Milwaukee also signed Ryan Madson as FA. The contract will be for 3,32 M and will last one year. There is a club option attached.

After the loss in the second game against the Cubs, I have to admit I´ve handle poorly the pitching in this series. I´ve decided to start in short rest Zac Gallen that only lasted one inning and had to be taken out of the game injured. The 7 relievers were used in the game and they managed to give up 7 ER. Nick Anderson took the loss after making his second appearance since being called up. The Cubs were utterly superior and the team didn´t have a chance.

This awful series ended with a blow-out loss. Ureña pitched and Chen was again terrible as a reliever. Garret Cooper was the first position player pitching for us in the season. Bryant and Baez had two homers each. Let´s move on.

The good news on the Friday, April 19th game was that we won again. The bad news was that J.T Riddle was diagnosed with an oblique strain and will be out for at least 2 weeks. He went to the IL and Miguel Rojas (3B) was called up from AAA. Trevor Richards had a good outing going 6 innings and giving up 1 ER.

This was the first time of the season we have got back to back wins. Lopez had a decent outing and Romo got his 7th save of the season. Rossell Herrera and Starlin Castro are still hot. Miguel Rojas had his first game of the season playing shortstop and went 1 for 3 with a base on balls.

Sweep!!!!. Bring all your broom emojis. Caleb Smith bounced back from his bad outing and went six innings without allowing a run. Anderson and Steckeinder finished the game and we got our first shutout win of the season. Castro went deep again.

At the end of the week, the power rankings rank us as the 21st team. Better than I expected at the beginning of the season.

[lucho2107]

I´ve made a waiver claim on Brandon Kintzler. If we can get him there is an option we can go with a 4 man rotation and an 8 man bullpen. We will see. I also checked how much will it cost to release Wei-Yei Chen and its 55 million dollars. He will go back to the starting rotation after a week in the bullpen. I have my hands tied with his situation. After being DFA and placed on waivers no one claimed Dan Jennings and he refused to play in the minor league system and he was released.

What´s the point in getting mad at Chen? I have to accept I will lose a game every 5 days. I gave him the chance in the first game of the series against the Indians and... he blew it. He gave up 7 runs in the first inning. The good news is that Jon Berti touch all four bases in his first start and Kintlzer is a new member of the team. Jose Ureña will be DFA´d.

Yamamoto's first outing as a big leaguer was okay. He gave up 4 runs in the second inning but managed to post a zero in the next four innings his final scoreline was 6 IP, 4 ER, 1 BB and 2 K in 94 pitches. Cookie Carrasco was amazing for the Indians and we lost this duel 4-3. We lost the 2 games at Progressive field and now we will travel to Phillie.

April 26th. The third time in the season that we have lost three games in a row. The second consecutive outing of Richards that went south very fast. Martin Prado sent one over the fences and he will be getting the opportunity this series as the starting third baseman. Walker's production has slowed down considerably.

Well....4th consecutive loss in a row. Jake Arrieta managed to throw a 4 hit shutout. Kintzler's first appearance as a Marlin was not good. He pitched the ninth and gave up 2 runs.

5th consecutive loss. Caleb Smith had a rough outing he gave up 6 ER including 2 HR to Bryce Harper. Kintzler´s second outing as a Marlin was worse than the first one. Hopefully, he can figure it out soon because he has a salary of 5 million dollars so it´s not easy to let him go.

Some league news: Los Angeles Dodgers lost two key pitchers to injuries for the season; Ryu and Joe Kelly. The Astros signed Craig Kimbrel to a 1-year deal worth 11,300,000.

The worst week ever finally came to an end with the 6th consecutive loss. The Phillies swept us in this 4 game series. The team struck out 16 times, a season-high. Monday is off so I would try to make some roster and lineup changes to get back in the win column.

[lucho2107]

The last day of the month and the new week came with good news. The team finally got a W behind Yamamoto's second big league start. The 22-year-old pitcher went seven innings and allowed 1 earned run, punching out 6 Indians. Romo pitched again after 4 days without seeing action and earned a save by protecting the 1 run lead. Harold Ramirez is back as the starting left fielder replacing Austin Dean.
__________________________________________________ __________
End of the month league recap:
In our division the Phillies are leading after going 9-1 in the last 10 games. They have a record of 19-10. The favorites to take the division, the Braves have a record of 14-16.
The Angels (21-10) and the Red Sox´s (22-9) are off to a hot start.
Cody Bellinger is putting up MVP numbers so far (.320/.396/.1.036)
Luke Voit has been a surprise for the Yankees with 12 homers and a .410 OBP
__________________________________________________ __________

J.T Riddle had to be activated from the IL and Cooper (1B) will be sent down to AAA. Miguel Rojas has been excellent as a shortstop since being called up and in the second game of the series against the Indians he was in the starting lineup and Riddle on the bench. He responded by having himself a great day and belted two home runs. Trevor Richards finally had a good outing with a final line of 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H and 6K. This win capped the second series win of the season.

May 4th. After another off-day, the first blown save of Sergio Romo of the season cost us the W. A rally from the Atlanta Braves in the ninth allowed them to score two runs and win the first game of the series by 6-5. Lopez had another acceptable outing but the bullpen was horrible and allowed 4 earned runs in 3 innings.

Well.... it seems that every time we lose we go into a negative spiral. The third time we were shutout we also had a blowout loss against the Braves in game 2. After three promising outings, Caleb Smith has been in a slump his last two games. Tayron Guerrero struggled as well but helped the team by eating up 3 innings. The team left 21 men on base and 10 on scoring position. JT Riddle came back to the starting lineup as a shortstop, moving Miguel Rojas to third, and went 2 for 4.

The draft pool was revealed and I will scout it prior to the draft. Hopefully, we can take advantage of the 4th pick.

For the last game of the series and the week against the Braves, I change the lineup a bit. Walker batted sixth and Rojas went up to the cleanup spot. JT Riddle batted in the number 5 hole. But... Chen was pitching so obviously we lost and got swept at home. Again. The offense was quiet and Harold Ramirez was injured and diagnosed with a dead arm, he will be going to the 10-IL.



Note:
Any advice on what to do with Wei-Yin Chen is highly welcomed!
Any other comments or thanks to the thread are very welcomed! Hope you all like it!!

[lucho2107]

Last week ended with Harold Ramirez going to the IL. Lewis Brinson that was terrible the first two weeks of the season in MLB was called up because he was tearing apart in AAA (.418/.472/1.115).

It was another acceptable performance for the rookie Yamamoto. He went five and a third innings allowing two earned runs. The team rallied behind that good performance and managed to beat the Cubs by 5-4 and snap out of the losing streak. Yamamoto had also 1 hit and 1 sac fly. Granderson batted his 7th home run of the season and is leading the team in this category. Rizzo had 2 homers for the Cubs.

There were a couple of changes in the lineup for game 2 of the series against the Cubs. Austin Dean started in left field moving Rossell Herrera back to center and Martin Prado replaced Neil Walker at first. In spite of this, the game was a bust from the start. The Cubs scored 6 runs in the first three innings. Another bad outing for Trevor Richards and Nick Anderson struggled in relief. Austin Dean had a terrible day at the plate by striking out 4 times in 4 at-bats.

Some roster moves before the third game of the series against the Cubs. Nick Anderson (RP) was optioned to AAA and Sandy Alcantara was called up (He will make his first start of the season in the first game of the upcoming series). This move caused that Chen went back to the bullpen as a long reliever. Jon Berti (2B) was also demoted to AAA and the power first baseman Peter O´Brien will take his place. And as per usual, we lost the second game in a row in a walk-off style. Pablo Lopez had another quality outing, he is our best pitcher of the season. Peter O´Brien had 3 singles in his first game of the season and Lewis Brinson went 2 for 4. Kris Bryant had an extra-inning home run that gave the Cubs the victory.

More bad news as Riley Ferrel, one of the best prospects in our farm system, suffered another setback in his recovery and won't be back in action for at least 2 weeks. Ferrel has not been able to play at any level this season due to injuries. And in another pitching duel, we managed to lose our third game in a row. Caleb Smith was okay but the offense only scored one run against Kyle Hendricks that had a wonderful performance going eight frames and striking out 8 of our players.

Some league news: Rich Hill from the Los Angeles Dodgers has announced that he will retire at the end of the season. The Los Angeles Angels are still hot and won their 10th game in a row.

The second series of this week was in New York against the Mets and featured Sandy Alcantara's first start of the season. He was lights out amazing and completed five shutout innings in 84 pitches. The bullpen finished the W, in spite of Steckiender struggles in the 8th. Lewis Brinson has been hitting well since being recalled from AAA. Miguel Rojas earned the job as the starting third baseman with JT Riddle playing in short.

After a couple of quality starts, Yamamoto struggled a bit in his first outing in the city of lights. He gave up 4 earned runs in 5 innings. Our team only got three hits against the Mets that had Zack Wheeler on the mound (Wheeler has been very good for the Mets with a WHIP of 0.98 in 8 games). Pete O´Brien the recent call up from AAA got his first home run of the season. He might be the power bat we´ve been missing.

The last game of the series featured Trevor Richards vs Steven Matz. The game and the series went to the Mets. We have gone 2-8 the last 10 games and lost the last three series. Trevor Richards is out of options but he might be DFA before his next start. The bullpen and the pitchers of the Mets had a great series and our offense only scored 4 runs in three games.

[lucho2107]

It´s May 13th so I will start to update my trading block. It´s never too early for this. Some of the notable players from my team that are currently on the block;
-Caleb Smith (SP)
-Wei-Yin Chin (SP) (Who am I kidding)
-Sergio Romo (CL)
- Neil Walker (1B)
-Starlin Castro (2B)
-Curtis Granderson (LF)

All-star voting has just begun. I will wait until the end of June to cast my ballots.

The first game back home was a loss against Tampa by 6-4. Pablo Lopez unfortunately struggled and raised his season ERA to 4.28. Chen was good in the long relief again. Lewis Brinson keeps improving since being recalled and got 3 hits in four plate appearances. The trio of pitchers that we faced from Tampa (Glasnow, Roe, and Alvarado) are very probably going to the all-star game.

Winning again is nice and it is better to do it in a walk-off style that hopefully can spark something in the players for the next series. We got a quality outing from Caleb Smith and in spite of blowing the save for the second time this season, Romo got the W. Walker came back to the starting lineup replacing O´Brien and his clutch hit in the ninth gave us the W after 3 straight L. Alfaro got his first Home Run of the season. Granderson was injured and he went to the 10 days IL with a broken hand, he will be out for 4-5 weeks. Ramirez is back from the IL and will take the starting job in RF.

Granderson injured caused some changes in the lineup. Rojas will bat third and Riddle fifth. The cleanup spot (Granderson was there) will be occupied by O´Brien or Walker. The new lineup was not enough and Alcantara botched his second outing of the season. He gave up 5 ER in just the first inning. We managed to come close by keeping them to 5 runs and scoring 2 in the third but it wasn't enough. Another series opener that is a loss (vs Mets at home). Another week that we won't finish with a winning record.

Well.. we´re under .500 by 15 games. In spite of Yamamoto's good performance, the only ray of hope in the team, the offense went very quiet and we lost 2-1 against the Mets, again.

This is just terrible. Another 2-1 defeat against the Mets after De Groom threw a complete game for them. I decided to give Trevor Richards another shot and he did a good job, which means that he will be in the starting rotation for at least another week.

The Astros offered me a trade that will send CF Jake Marinisck to Miami for RHP Ben Meyers. I declined it.

[lucho2107]

Some league news as we started a new week. The White Sox´s have traded closer Alex Colome to the Los Angeles Angels that are starting to look like serious contenders. Mike Minor has been traded to the Dodgers that sent Russel Martin back to the Rangers. And finally, the Mets have traded for Jurickson Profar sending to the A´s starting pitcher Steven Matz and minor leaguer Joniah Todd.

The first series of the week will be played at an American League park vs the Detroit Tigers. For the third game in a row, we have been limited to one run and lost. Boyd lasted 8th innings for the Tigers and gave up one run. Pablo Lopez had another quality start going seven innings and allowing just two runs. Lewis Brinson was in the leadoff spot for the first time since the first week and had a home run.

The fifth loss in a run came after a Caleb Smith injury. He was diagnosed with a strained back and is day to day. The offense was insufficient again and only scored two earned runs. Wei-Yin Chen was good as a long reliever and Herrera and Walker got to 4 home runs in the season.

In some league news Zack Wheeler, probably the best pitcher in the national league so far, no-hit the nationals at Citi field.

Another rough outing for Sandy Alcantara that can´t seem to keep up with big-league hitters. It´s been forever since we won a game. Adam Conley did a horrible job as a reliever and he has been placed in the trading block. The offense was kind of better and managed to score more than 3 runs for the first time in 10 days. Brinson is still batting leadoff and he keeps raising his batting average.

So a new series and a new loss. Washington banged up the rookie Yamamoto in the first three innings. We managed to get back in the game by scoring 5 runs thanks to three home runs by Brinson, Alfaro, and O´Brien but it wasn´t enough and we lost. This is the worst losing streak for us in the season and we are officially the worst team in baseball. It is time for me to make some changes to the team.

Adam Conley and Austin Brice were DFA´d and placed on waivers. They were out of option. Nick Anderson and Tommy Eveld were called up to the majors. The second game of the series was the fifth time this season the team has failed to score a run. Fedde was amazing for the Nationals. Richards did an okay job in what it was one of the last opportunities to prove himself. Tommy Eveld debuted in the major league and gave up one run in two innings. Starlin Castro has requested to be traded and I will try to move him in the next couple days.

Back to back shutout losses for us. Patrick Corbin threw a complete game for Washington. There is not much to say. This was the worst week of the season and we have lost nine games in a row.

Some league news: Joey Wendle who was having a great season with Tampa batting for .364 is out for the season with a broken bone in the elbow

[GoBucsGo]

Really enjoying this. Love the quick style recaps. Tough to have to deal with the dumpster fire that is Chen. Maybe you can package him in a deal with other players for some decent prospects? Eat 50-60% of his salary and see if another team will bite.

[lucho2107]

May 27th. We played the last game of a 4 games series against the Nats at home and we lost again by 2-1. A quality start by Caleb Smith was not enough because Joe Ross and Sean Doolittle only allowed 4 hits and one earned run. We´ve lost the 10th game in a row.

The first trade of the season for us sent Trevor Richards to Seattle in exchange for minor leaguer RHP Gerson Bautista. Bautista is 23 years old and he is currently in AAA. He has a 68 rating potential according to OSA. He was assigned to our AAA team. Zac Gallen was recalled from AAA. The first game of the new series against the Giants at home was another tough loss by 6-4. Sandy Alcantara struggled again and he might be optioned to AAA before his next start. The offense was kind of better and Starlin Castro had his 7th home run of the season.

In extra innings, we lost again, the 12th time in a row. Tayron Guerrero gave up a three-run home run in the top of the eleventh inning. Castro bat is heating up and he batted another home run. There is not much to be excited about.

The last game of this series was another shutout loss. We only had one hit in the game. Zac Gallen´s start was okay. It´s hard to see how to turn things around. There is not much to do.

We went on the road to face the Padres and we lost again by a one-run margin. Pablo Lopez is apparently the only ray of hope in the team and had another good outing. The waiver claim Brandon Kintlzer has struggled to find his rhythm with our team and gave up 2 earned runs in the eight that finally costed the win.

WE WON AGAIN! After fifteen games losing we managed to beat the Padres at Petco Park. 4 runs in the first innings were enough. Riddle and Castro batted a couple of two-run homers and Caleb Smith went seven innings allowing only 2 earned runs. Sergio Romo earned the save. Austin Brice and Adam Conley cleared waivers and were assigned to the AA team.

The joy lasted only one day. Luis Avilan from the Padres threw a complete game, striking out 10 of our players and allowing only one earned run. Sandy Alcantara went 7 innings and allowed three earned runs. He is going back to the minors before his next start.
__________________________________________________ __________

End of the month league recap

The Red Sox´s shacked off their slow start and are tied with the Yankees at the top of the AL East

The Indians are the best team in baseball and already have a difference of 12 games against the Twins in the fight for the AL Central

The Angels and the Astros are still hot and are tied at the top of the AL West with 41 wins and only 19 losses.

In our division, the Braves, Phillies, and Mets are still very close to each other and surely the division will be very tied till the end of the season

The two other National League divisions are also very close with the only teams seeming out of contention are the Pirates and the Giants.

Manny Machado has put great numbers in his first season as a Padre. He is leading the league in home runs and RBI´s. Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs has had a great month and is in place to fight for the MVP of the National League.

The Mets have the two best pitchers in all of baseball in De Groom and Wheeler. Syndergaard is also having a great season.

[lucho2107]

Some roster moves. Sandy Alcantara was optioned to AAA and Mike Kickhamn was called up. Kickham is a 30-year-old starting pitcher and is out of option. He will have the chance to prove himself at the major level. If he succeed he will be on the team if he fails he will be released. I´ve made another trade. Starlin Castro and Brian Anderson will go the Boston Red Sox´s in exchange for Michael Chavis (3B), Triston Casas (1B) and Braxton Garret (SP). Castro was our best player of the season but he asked for a trade to a contending team. Hopefully, this brings a better vibe to the clubhouse and we start winning again. Jon Berti has been called up from AAA and will be the starting second baseman for the remainder of the season.

Today is the amateur draft. Bobby Witt Jr, the third baseman from High School was the first pick. We had the 4th pick and I picked Jasiah Dixon, a CF out of highschool. I´ve picked 7 players. It was a draft mainly for position players. Hopefully, I can negotiate and sign them all.

Before the first game of the new series against the Brewers, we made another trade. Rosell Herrera the left fielder was traded to the Chicago Sox´s alongside minor leaguer RHP Josh Roberson. In return, we received shortstop Tim Anderson ( 20% retain) and one of the top 5 prospects of their minor league system Ian Hamilton. Magnerius Sierra was called up from AAA to fill the active roster spot left by Rossell Herrera.

All of the roster moves were insufficient to win over the Brewers in the series opener. We´ve lost 6-2. Yamamoto gave up 5 earned runs in the second inning and the game was practically doomed from there. For the next game, I will try to play JT Riddle as a second baseman and Tim Anderson in shortstop.

It´s genuinely hard to win a game with this team. We´ve lost the third game in a row in spite of Zac Gallen´s good efforts. Yelich had a two-run blast in the eight that finally helped the Brewers win their third game in a row. There were some changes in the line-up for this one as Harold Ramirez played leadoff and Tim Anderson batted as clean up. Zac Gallen and Miguel Rojas are expected to be day to day for the next 5 days. Some more bad news as Kade Strowd my 10th round pick in the draft has informed me he will not sign with the Marlins and go to college instead.

And in a very close game, we lost and were swept by the Brewers. A good performance by Lopez, yet another one, was in vain as the offense struggled to get the clutch hit. We left 12 men on base. Alfaro had a home run, just his third in the season. Some good news, for a change, as my third-round pick in the amateur draft Javier Reynoso agreed to sign with the team. Nevertheless, my 4th round pick declined my offer and decided to go to college instead.

We are back at home and, as per usual, we lost the first game of the series vs Atlanta. You know, I feel like these recaps are getting extremely similar. The starting pitcher was decent, the offense went quiet and we lost by a tight margin.

In some league news, Eric Hosmer was diagnosed with a strained hip and will undergo surgery causing him to lose the rest of the season.

I don´t know what else to do. It´s pretty hard managing a team that can't seem to win any game no matter what. Another stellar performance by an opposing pitcher, Julio Teheran, that went eight and a third and limit us to 3 hits and one earned run. Mike Kickham made his first appearance in the majors since 2014 and finished with a slash line of 5.2 IP, 2 ER and 1 K. Chen, after some good performances as a long reliever, struggled to get an out and was credited with the loss.

June 9. Another week that we cant win a single game. The last game of the series was a 1 run loss. Tim Anderson had his first home run as a Marlin and Harold Ramirez his first one as a major leaguer. We left a man in third base with one out in the ninth to tie the game. We are in the bottom, by far, of the weekly power rankings.

[lucho2107]

The first series of the week was a home series against the St Louis Cardinals. In the first game, Zac Gallen had, probably, his best outing as a major league starter and went 7 shutout innings allowing only 2 hits and punching out 7. Nick Anderson and Sergio Romo finished the game and we have shutout another team for the first game of the season. The only run of the game came thanks to a 2 out double in the seventh by Lewis Brinson.

In some league news: star third baseman Evan Longoria who was hitting for .309 with 9 homers had a broken bone in the elbow and will be out for the rest of the season.

Behind Jack Flaherty, the Cardinals took game 2 of the series. The rookie pitcher went 8 innings and limited our team to 1 run and 3 hits. The run came from a Miguel Rojas home run in the third inning. Pablo Lopez had a decent outing but the two relievers that appeared in the 8th and the 9th each gave up a run, and the final score was 4-1. Abimael Gonzalez my 5th round pick has rejected my offer and will continue his education.

In some league news: the Arizona Diamondbacks have traded Greg Holland to the Washington Nationals in exchange for minor leaguer Jacob Rhinesmith and Rafael Am.

It´s been forever since we won a series and we finally managed by beating the Cardinals. It was a high scoring close game that finally went our way thanks to a 5 run 8th inning in which our lineup batted around power pitcher, Jordan Hicks. It was a good game for Neil Walker that had 3 RBI´s and 2 hits. Caleb Smith struggled but the relievers kept the game close and we finally took a series W.

League news: The Angels are still trying to improve their roster hoping to take the division from the Astros and traded for starting pitcher, Michael Pineda. The Twins received minor leaguer Connor Justs and minor leaguer Jose Augusto Quezada. In the National League, the Diamondbacks traded to the Mets, outfielder Adam Jones in exchange for a couple of low-level minor leaguers.

The second series of the week was against the Pirates at home. We lost game one by 5-4 thanks to a meltdown in the seventh by reliever Tayron Guerrero. Neil Walker has been swinging a hot bat the last few days and had a pinch-hit home run in the 6th. Tim Anderson hit a two-run blast in the third, his second one in a Marlins uniform. In 9 games he has been hitting for .250/.270/.528

It´s was a good week for us. The second game against the Pirates was an "easy" win by 5-1. Yamamoto had a great outing going six innings and allowing one run, that came via a Home Run. Tommy Eveld has been the best reliever in the team since being called up and he has an ERA of 2.31 in 12 I.P. Tim Anderson had another home run. Trading for him was risky because he has a kind of expensive contract. Nevertheless, I believe that he has the potential to be an All-star shortstop in the close future.

League news: The update in the all-star voting (June 16th) features Mike Trout in the AL and Christian Yelich in the NL as top vote-getters

It was, without a doubt, the best week since I´ve been in charge of the team. We won two series of the week. The Sunday showdown against the pirates was another amazing performance by Zac Gallen, his second in a row. He kept hitless the Pirates through 6 before giving up a one-run homer in the seventh. Anderson and Romo finished the game and it was the first time in the season that we´ve won back to back series.

[lucho2107]

Before the week started I´ve decided to make another trade to improve my minor league system. Neil Walker (1B) and minor leaguer Connor Scott (LF) were traded to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for minor leaguers; Jairo Labourt (CL), Laider Uceta (LF) and Jack Kruger (C). Garret Cooper was called up to the major to replace the hole that Neil Walker left.

In the first game of the week, Michael Wacha had a stellar performance and threw a complete game without allowing a single run. He struck out 10 of our players. Pablo Lopez, who had been excellent the last couple of weeks, had a terrible outing and allowed 7 earned runs in the first three innings. Curtis Granderson was eligible to come from the IL and was placed in rehab assignment in AAA.

The second game of the series against the Cardinals was a tough loss in extra innings. Caleb Smith had a good outing but Steckeinder blew the save and Kintzler gave the walk-off home run in the eleventh. Miguel Rojas had a three-run blast, his fourth of the year. Kolten Wong had himself a night and had a couple of homers, including the decisive in the eleventh.

Sergio Romo was placed in the 10-day injured list and Riley Ferrel was called up. Ferrel was injured for the first three months of the season and has just completed his rehab assignment. He had a 2.89 ERA in 11 games in AAA. He was a 5 rule draft pick last season from the Astros. TJ Schofield, my third-round pick, has declined my contract and decided to continue his education.

After a good week, the offense has had an awful series. We were shutout again by the Cardinals pitchers and a good performance by Mike Kickham was not enough. Kickham has earned his spot in the active roster, for the time being. Tommy Eveld is still hot and threw another scoreless inning.

A good performance by our pitching staff was finally backed up by the offense and we won at Busch stadium avoiding a sweep. The RBI´s were courtesy of Harold Ramirez and Lewis Brinson. Yamamoto had some control issues in the first 2 innings allowing 4 walks but he settled down after the third and went 6 strong without allowing a single run.

It´s been a disappointing week for us. We´ve been close in all of the games but things don't seem to go our way. In the first game of the series at Citizen Bank, we lost in extra-inning after an incredible performance by Zac Gallen. Ferrel in his first appearance in the majors gave up the decisive run in the tenth and was credited with the loss. Jean Segura was the walk-off hero for the Phillies.

Another loss after another disappointing performance by Pablo Lopez who has been in a slump lately. Garret Cooper had his first start since being called up and went 2 for 4 with one RBI. Harold Ramirez was injured after being hit by a pitch and was diagnosed with a fractured thumb. He will be out for 5-6 weeks. Peyton Graham, my second-round pick of the amateur draft has agreed to the signing bonus and will be joining the rookie league. Curtis Granderson was recalled from his rehab assignment in the minors and will fill Harold Ramirez's spot.

We won the final game of the series behind a wonderful Caleb Smith. He went seven innings and didn't allowed a single run. Tommy Eveld finished the performance and we shutout the Phillies. Curtis Granderson had his first hit and RBI since his injury a couple of weeks ago.

[lucho2107]

June 24. I´ve submitted my all-star ballots.

American League
SP: Tyler Glasnow (TB)
SP: Justin Verlander (HOU)
SP: Chris Sale (BOS)
RP: Anthony Swarzak (SEA)
RP: Luis A Garcia (LAA)
RP: Blake Treinen (OAK)
C: Kevin Plaweki (CLE)
1B: Luke Voit (NYY)
2B: Daniel Robertson (TB)
3B: Vladimir Guerrero JR (TOR)
SS: Anderlton Simmons (LAA)
LF: Andrew Benintendi (BOS)
CF: Mike Trout (CF)
RF: Domingo Santana (BAL)
DH: Giancarlo Stanton (NYY)

National League
SP: Jacob deGrom (NYM)
SP: Zack Wheeler (NYM)
SP: Patrick Corbin (WAS)
RP: Luke Gregerson (STL)
RP: Felipe Vazquez (PIT)
RP: David Robertson (PHI)
C: Wilson Contreras (CHC)
1B: Anthony Rizzo (CHC)
2B: Ketel Marte (ARZ)
3B: Manny Machado (SD)
SS: Orlando Arcia (MIL)
LF: David Dahl (COL)
CF: Starling Marte (PIT)
RF: Christian Yelich (MIL)
__________________________________________________ _________

There were some changes in the lineup for the first game of the week but the offense is still cold. Lewis Brinson went to the top of the lineup and Garret Cooper batted clean up. Brinson got a home run but his season average is still going down (.148). Tim Anderson´s bat seems to catch up with the level of the rest of the team and he is only batting for .208. Max Scherzer threw a complete game for Washington and Kickham struggled in the first 4 innings giving up 6 earned runs.

Another familiar game from the Marlins as our offense only scored one run and the opposing pitcher was the player of the game. Yamamoto had a slash line of 7 IP, 4 ER, and 6 K. Tim Anderson had a good game, after a rather terrible couple of weeks, and had a homer and two hits.

We won the last game of the series behind Zac Gallen's quality start. He has been amazing since he was recalled from AAA. Granderson and Dean went deep and we won 5-2 in the last game of the series against the Nationals.

Some roster moves before the series against the Phillies. Jon Berti was optioned to AAA after being a rather bad season as a backup infielder. Isan Diaz was called up to replace him. He will replace JT Riddle as the starting second baseman for a while.

Pablo Lopez is back to my good grace after he had an amazing performance. He shutout the Phillies and allowed only 3 hits in 6 shutout innings. Riley Ferrel was amazing in his second outing in the majors and struck out 6 in the 2 final innings. Tim Anderson is swinging a hot bat again and he had his second consecutive game with a homer.

For the first time ever, or it feels like it, we won consecutive games. This time it was in a walk-off fashion thanks to the recent call-up, Isan Diaz, 9th inning homer vs all-star Daniel Robertson. Diaz had three hits and 2 RbI´s, he was the player of the game. Miguel Rojas also went deep and he is the home run leader of the team.

The Sunday game against the Phillies was another shutout loss for us. Nick Pivetta dominated the lineup and Robertson finished the ninth earing his 19th save. On our side, there is not all bad news as Tommy Eveld is still showing his quality. He had two scoreless and hitless innings. The rookie of the month award went for Zac Gallen. If he keeps us the level of the last weeks he will be a serious contender for the rookie of the year award.

__________________________________________________ __________End of the month recap


The Blue Jays and the Rays have kept up with the Yankees and the Red Sox´s and are only 4 games behind each. The race for the AL East will be thrilling.

The Indians are still hot and have a 16 game difference with the Twins in the AL Central. The White Sox´s have the worst record in the American League

The Astros are finally at the top of their division after taking a 5 game lead against the surprising Angels.

Approaching the all-star break I can state the contender for a playoff spot in the American League are; Yankees, Red Sox´s, Rays, Blue Jays, Indians (the only team that seems to have division title in the bag), Astros and Angels.

The Phillies, Braves, and Mets are all in a one-run difference on the top of the NL East.

In the NL Central, no team is out of contention. Mediocre records for all the teams have caused that the last team in the division, the Pirates, is only 7 games behind the leader.

The Dodgers have a nice lead in the NL West and should have no problem capturing the division.

The Wild card race in the national league is very tied so the only teams that I can say are surely out of the race for a playoff spot are us (Marlins) and the Giants

[lucho2107]

Terrible news to start the week. The first-round pick (No 4 overall) for our team was not satisfied with the offer and did not sign with us. We will have a first-round compensation draft pick next season. The new class of international amateur is now available. I will try to sign at least 3 even though my scouting director does rank any player with an 80-grade overall potential and only 2 above 70.

After offering three contracts worth 3.75M in total we played against the Nationals on the road and lost 6 to 1. You know the story right? Great pitching from the other team, our starting pitcher struggled early (Yamamoto) and we lost another close game. Diaz is playing great since been called up, he has been earning his role in the starting lineup.

Some league news: Francisco Cervelli who has had a good season in the Pirates was traded to the Boston Red Sox´s in exchange for minor leaguers Nick Northut and Yordin Lozano.

The rookie of the month is still doing rookie of the month things and we took game 2 from Washington. Gallen gave up a run in the first but was amazing in the next five innings, he kept the Nationals hitless. Ferrel had another great 2 inning performance and Guerrero gave up a run in the ninth but closed the game. Granderson had another homer and he is showing why he is valuable to this lineup.

July 4. The 60th loss of the season comes before the All-star break. Lopez gave up 4 runs in the first, the offense gave us some hope in the third with 3 runs but then Chen in relief gave up 3. Tim Anderson was moved to the leadoff spot for this game and he batted a two-run blast. Eveld, Ferrel and Anderson threw shutout innings and are having a great season. We´ve signed to international amateurs; Juan Alejandro Castillo (C) and Roberto Campos (RF).

It was an extra-inning loss in the first game of the series against the Braves. The game finished 2-1 and it was Johan Camargo the walk of hero for the home team. Caleb Smith was great, he punched out nine Braves players. The only run for our team came via a single from Jorge Alfaro in the ninth.

Some league news: The Dodgers have traded for a left-handed pitcher, Richard Bleier. The Orioles received the second baseman prospect, Rafael Valera. And in a Blockbuster trade, that I don´t understand, the Yankees dealt Aroldis Chapman to the Dodgers receiving David Freese and minor league 3B Ronny Rojas

The three runs scored in the first innings were not enough to beat the Braves. Kickham gave up 5 runs and he was released after the game. Tim Anderson was back to the 3 hole in the lineup. Freddie Freeman had two homers for the Braves. In some good and surprising news, Miguel Rojas was selected to the All-Star game. The full roster for the game will be released tomorrow.

Some league news: As Boston is still trying to improve its bullpen. Liam Hendricks was traded from the Oakland A´s that received minor-leaguers Samuel Miranda and Tyler Esplin.

We´ve been swept by the Braves after not being swept in the last 4 series. It was an awful 8 inning by (yes you guessed it) Chen in which he gave up 4 runs by allowing back to back to back homers. Yamamoto's performance was okay and Brinson's season average is still going down, right now is .141. A move after the all-star break to the minors might be in order.

Some league news: All-star Reliever Blake Treinen has been traded to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for the next minor leaguers: Jorge Alcala, Zack Littel, and Cole Sands

___________________________________
All Star Rosters

American League

SP: Tyler Glasnow (TB)
SP: Justin Verlander (HOU)
SP: Chris Sale (BOS)*
SP: Ryan Feierband (TOR)
SP: Marco Gonzales (SEA)
SP: Corey Kluber (CLE)
SP: Adrian Sampson (TEX)
_________________________
RP: Chris Devenski (HOU)
RP: Blake Parker (MIN)
RP: Ryne Stanek (TB)
RP: Blake Treinen (OAK)
_________________________
C: Kevin Plaweki (CLE)*
C: Danny Jansen (TOR)
C: Gary Sanchez (NYY)
_________________________
1B: Miguel Cabrera (DET)
1B: Luke Voit (NYY)*
________________________
2B: Daniel Robertson (TB)*
2B: Jose Altuve (HOU)
2B: Franklin Barreto (OAK)
2B: Whit Merrifeld (KC)
________________________
3B: Yandy Diaz (TB)
3B: Yoan Moncada (CWS)
3B: Jose Ramirez (CLE)*
________________________
SS: Anderlton Simmons (LAA)**
SS: Francisco Lindor (CLE)
SS: Carlos Correa (HOU)
_______________________
LF: Andrew Benintendi (BOS)*
LF: J.D Martinez (BOS)
________________________
CF: Mike Trout (CF)*
CF: George Springer (CF)
CF: Byron Buxton (CF)
________________________
RF: Domingo Santana (BAL)
RF: Mookie Betts (BOS)*
RF: Josh Reddick (HOU)
_______________________
DH: Giancarlo Stanton (NYY)**

*Starters


National League

SP: Jacob deGrom (NYM)
SP: Zack Wheeler (NYM)
SP: Patrick Corbin (WAS) **
SP: Noah Syndergaard (NYM)
SP: Walker Buehler (LAD)
SP: Madison Bumgarner (SF)
SP: Mike Soroka (ATL)
SP: Max Scherzer (WAS)
SP: Matt Strahm (SD)*
___________________________
RP: Edwin Diaz (NYM)
RP: Josh Hader (MIL)
RP: Robert Stephenson (CIN)
RP: David Robertson (PHI)
_________________________
C: Wilson Contreras (CHC)*
C: Francisco Mejia (SD)
C: J.T Realmuto (PHI)
____________________________
1B: Anthony Rizzo (CHC)*
1B: Freddie Freeman (ATL)
1B: Max Muncy (LAD)
1B: Daniel Murphy (COL)
1B: Paul Goldschmit (STL)
1B: Joey Votto (CIN)
___________________________
2B: Ketel Marte (ARZ)*
____________________________
3B: Manny Machado (SD)*
3B: Matt Carpenter (STL)
3B: Justin Turner (LAD)
3B: Miguel Rojas (MIA)
3B: Anthony Rendon
____________________________
SS: Trevor Story (COL)**
____________________________
LF: David Dahl (COL)*
LF: Ronald Acuña JR (ATL)
LF: Andrew McCutchen (PHI)
_____________________________
CF: Starling Marte (PIT)*
CF: A.J Pollock (LAD)
____________________________
RF: Christian Yelich (MIL)*
RF: Cody Bellinger (LAD)

*Starters
**Injured

[lucho2107]

We´ve reached the all-star break!
Some league news: Zack Cozart and minor league 1B Brett Bond were shipped to the Cubs from the Angels in exchange for catcher Victor Caratini

Some roster moves before the all-star game. Lewis Brinson has been demoted to AAA. Victor Mesa, one of our top prospects has been called up to the majors. Mike Kickham was designated for assignment. Peter O´Brien was demoted to AAA. Sergio Romo came off the IL.

We´ve traded Drew Steickender to the Yankees in exchange for SP Jhonatan Losaiga, 1B Mike Ford and SP Drew Bies
We also claimed from waiver right-hand reliever, JT Chargois who was in the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Tayron Guerrero was traded to the Boston Red Sox´s in exchange for minor leaguer 2B Marco Hernandez

The All-star game went to the American league that won 6-2. Wilson Contreras was named the All-star MVP.

League news: The Yankees acquired Khris Davis from the A´s in exchange for Mandy Alvarez and Deivi Muñoz.

After the all-star break we faced the Mets at home. The new kids Mike Ford and Victor Mesa were in the starting lineup. Unfortunately, that was not enough and we lost by 5 to 2. Zac Gallen was roughed up a little bit after some amazing performances. Victor Mesa and Mike Ford each had a hit in their first game. Tommy Eveld pitched two scoreless and lowered his season ERA to 1.09

The 26th win of the season came via the walk-off. The Mets had on the mound Jacob deGrom who played until Curtis Granderson sent him home with a solo homer in the ninth. Granderson was the player of the game thanks to his two homers that were our only two runs in the game. Pablo Lopez had a good outing and Riley Ferrel was credited with the W

Another walk-off gave us a new series win. Caleb Smith was outstanding and new boy Chargois was credited with the win thanks to a clean ninth inning. This time the hero was the newly arrived Mike Ford that had a two-run homer in the ninth against the all-star closer Edwin Diaz.

For the first time in quite a while, we are not in the last place of the weekly power rankings. We are ranked 29th as the White Sox´s are crowned the worst team in baseball for the week.