Sacre Bleu! Les Return of Les Expos!

[jaa36]

A 16-10 May leaves us in a tie for first place with Atlanta at 31-22 overall. We've been terrific on both sides of the ball, leading the NL in runs scored and second in runs allowed. Wan-hua Chai had a three-homer game en route to a Player of the Week honors. Luis Victoriano Garcia had a five-hit game in a 20-4 win. Aaron Nola pitched a complete-game shutout and has a 2.36 ERA, and Zach Guth is 5-0, 2.25.

Around the league:
-Noah Syndergaard (NYM) signed an extension for $174M over four years, and Bryce Harper (WAS) signed for $185M over five years.
-Gary Sanchez (MIA) hit home run #300.
-The Yankees have the best record in baseball at 35-17.

[jaa36]

We've won five in a row heading into July and now hold a 46-33 record overall. That's just tied for second with the Nationals, a game and a half behind the Braves, but we remain atop the league in scoring and second in run prevention. It's been a dynamite first half for Aaron Nola, who leads the NL with 3.5 WAR and has a 6-4 record and 2.60 ERA. Zach Guth has been even better at keeping runs off the board, with a 7-0 record and 2.31 ERA. Kris Bryant leads the team with 18 home runs and Wan-hua Chai is a close second, with 17.

Our biggest weakness has been our bullpen, of all things- traditionally a strength of our new Expos franchise. Juan Ramirez in particular was struggling in the closer role, and blew three saves in the month. Reliever Norihide "Tubby" Kaneko has been on the trading block with the Nationals for the past few seasons- he came over from Japan at the age of 26 and had 133 saves in 4 1/2 seasons with Washington. The bad part is, he makes $24.6M this season, and then has one more arbitration year. The Nationals were willing to trade him and still pay his whole salary, and throw in pitcher Kevin Enfinger, who was the #29 prospect in baseball entering the season, and a minor league arm (Ajaz Alavi) for Kevin Barlow, one of the pitchers we got from the Cubs in the offseason. "Tubby" is not actually that heavy (205 pounds) and has a good fastball-splitter combination; he'll slide into the closer's role. Enfinger is a nice find himself, a left-hander who, at the age of 25, still has a change to refine his third pitch and end up in the rotation. Barlow pitched well (3.46 ERA, 1.0 WAR) in his limited time with the team.

I drafted outfielder Nate Early with the #28 overall pick in the draft; Early is a high schooler who could probably play anywhere on the diamond if he meets his potential. Our next four picks were also high schoolers: third baseman Kevin Merriman and pitchers Mike Bebo, Steve Federline and Kennan Warford. All of them were signed.

Around the league:
-Mike Trout (PHI) hit his 500th career home run, and Josh Donaldson (LAA) his 400th.
-There are two close races (AL West and NL East) and two races where the leaders are running away (Yankees in the AL East, Cardinals in the NL West).

[jaa36]

An up and down month leaves us 58-44 overall. We are trailing the Braves by 2 1/2 games and the Nationals by 1/2 game, but we are at least in very good position for a wild card spot. Norihide Kaneko has been a great addition so far, and hasn't allowed a run in 13 1/3 innings, and Juan Ramirez has turned his season around now that he's a setup man again (0.79 ERA). Fifth starter Noah Bremer somehow managed to go 3-0 with an 0.48 ERA in the month. The catching tandem of Zac Susi and Jake Rogers hit .419 and .325 respectively. We had three all-star selections, in Aaron Nola, Zach Guth and Kris Bryant; Jose Altuve was a disappointing snub.

With the bullpen still an area of need, I traded for Mets reliever Jamie Callahan, a 30-year-old veteran with a 3.32 ERA. Callahan is under contract for $7.9M this year and $8.4M next year, but the Mets agreed to pay over half his salary. 2023 second-round pick Amari Liburd went back to the Mets (he did not seem likely to be an impact player for us) as well as a minor-league catcher, and third baseman Ken Berry (a first-rounder in the same draft) and low-level reliever Chris Preuss also come to us.

After getting shut out from the best players, I ended up picking up Venezuelan infielder Fouad Cervantes as an international signee. The 16-year-old Cervantes is not terribly exciting and would be lucky to make it to the majors.

Around the league:
-The NL won the All-Star Game 6-4.
-Bryce Harper (WAS) and Giancarlo Stanton (NYY) got their 2000th hits.
-Michael Conforto (NYM) hit his 300th home run, and then signed an extension for five years, $169M.

[jaa36]

Catastrophe struck the Expos this month, as three key players hit the DL. The first was Colton Welker, who tore a quadriceps in the beginning of the month. With a 2-3 month recovery period, I hope that he'll be available at some point during the playoffs. Welker was having another terrific season, hitting .305 with a .365 OBP and 14 home runs. The second and most severe loss was Aaron Nola, who went down a week later with a torn elbow ligament. Nola was 9-6 with an excellent 3.23 ERA and 4.7 WAR in his first season in Montreal; he'll be out until at least May next year, a huge loss for our rotation. The final injury was to Jose Altuve, who suffered a hamstring strain the following week that will keep him out for most of September. Altuve has had a typically strong season, hitting .315 with a .376 OBP.

With all the injuries, I moved to shore up the rotation and the lineup, and made another deal with the Phillies, acquiring starter Sixto Sanchez and first baseman Rhys Hoskins for Scott Kingery, Kyler Murray, and minor prospects Chris Molinaro and Juan Maldonado. Kingery returns to his previous team after a year and a half of sub-replacement level play with us, and we agreed to pick up half of the remainder of his salary; naturally, since going back to Philadelphia he's hitting .380. Murray was (more or less) an original Expo, coming to us in our first trade for Keone Kela, and played three and a half pretty good seasons, winning a Gold Glove in right field along the way. The acquisition of Hoskins gives us a dominant power hitter in the middle of the lineup; Hoskins hit 35 home runs just last year and now has 24 this season, including six since joining our team. Sanchez, meanwhile, has had six good-not-great years with the Phillies, an even 49-49 with a 4.38 ERA in his career. Both Hoskins and Sanchez are slated to hit free agency at the end of the year.

We were also offered two smaller trades that I accepted, one that will bring over reliever Alex Colome and 24-year-old shortstop/center fielder Joerlin De Los Santos from Boston for outfielder Jeren Kendall, and another in which we netted 25-year-old outfielder Ernesto Adames for infielder Emerson Jimenez, who played a fair amount in our first two seasons. Both moves make us a bit younger moving forward.

Despite all this change, we remain very much in the thick of things, with a 71-58 record that's good for second place in the NL East, just 2 1/2 games behind the Braves. It was a good month for Kris Bryant (.288/5/20) and Brandon Marsh (.299/6/15), as well as new acquisition Hoskins (.301/7/18) and Sanchez (3-1, 1.50).

Around the league:
-The Yankees (91-37) are running away with things in the AL East. Kansas City, Atlanta and St. Louis lead the other three divisions.
-Jake Lamb (ARI) and Matt Chapman (OAK) hit their 300th career home runs.
-Former Expo Joey Lucchesi was suspended for seven games for fighting. Lucchesi is having a miserable season (3-8, 5.40), so good for me for trading him.
-Darwinson Hernandez (STL) threw a no-hitter against the Marlins.

[jaa36]

The Expos have made the postseason for the second year in a row, with an 88-64 record, good for second place in the NL East. We ended up three games behind the Atlanta Braves, and we were the best of the four wild cards. September was our best month (17-9) despite all of our August injuries. Kris Bryant had a torrid month (.385/9/27) and finished the season with a team-leading 7.0 WAR, 37 home runs and 118 RBI. It was another fine year for Jose Altuve as well, who finished at a league-leading .321 with 17 home runs, and our catching tandem of Zac Susi and Jake Rogers was quite good. Aaron Nola had a great year until his injury (as previously mentioned), and Zach Guth and Luis Patino made for solid mid-rotation starters. Noah Bremer actually led the team with 12 wins despite not actually pitching all that well.

We host the Colorado Rockies in the first round of the postseason; they went 81-76 and made the playoffs after beating the Mets in a one-game tiebreaker. (Once again a team was screwed out of the tiebreaker altogether, this year the Pirates.) Unsurprisingly, the Rockies led the league in scoring, behind Nolan Arenado (.260/35/107) and Tristan Pompey (.269/33/119), but their pitching was among the worst in the NL.

Around the league:
-The Yankees easily had the best record in baseball, at 110-46. Kansas City won the AL West, and the San Francisco Giants beat St. Louis in a one-game playoff to win the NL West.
-Francisco Lindor (CLE) got his 2000th career hit.
-Ken Giles (BAL) got his 300th save.

[jaa36]

We defeated the Rockies in two games.

The first game started off well, with the Expos mounting a 2-0 lead, but Sixto Sanchez gave up five runs in the second inning, and Ryan McMahon's second home run of the game expanded the lead to 6-2 in the fifth inning. Kris Bryant cut the deficit in half in the seventh with a home run, and in half again in the ninth with another. Two walks later, Arturo Figueroa came to the plate and blasted a 1-0 pitch to the opposite field for a three-run home run, giving the Expos an 8-6 lead that Norihide Kaneko held onto in the bottom of the inning.

With the series back in Montreal, Zak Susi opened the scoring with a three-run home run in the fourth inning. The other Zach (Guth) pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings, and Alex Colome and Kaneko took things the rest of the way for a 6-0 shutout victory. Bryant was named series MVP.

We now head to San Francisco to face the Giants. Colton Welker will return from the DL to rejoin the team, though will come off the bench as a pinch hitter, since we have Rhys Hoskins now. San Francisco actually had a worse record than us (84-73) but get the home field advantage as a division winner. They're a balanced team, with their offense including our old friend Tatsuma Kudo (.242/24/87), former Red Sox Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts, and power-hitting center fielder Heliot Ramos (.261/36/118). They've suffered a number of pitching injuries this season, but the rotation still features hard-throwing Jordan Hicks, who was 15-6 with a league-leading 3.05 ERA.

[jaa36]

It was a brutal five-game loss to the Giants in the Division Series- a disappointing end to what had been a pretty solid year.

We took the first game 3-2 behind a two-run home run by Jose Altuve and an insurance run on a homer by Carlos David Rodriguez in the ninth. Luis Patino only made it through 4 2/3 innings, but Alex Colome was outstanding in 2 1/3 innings of relief. The Giants made things interesting in the ninth but Norihide Kaneko eventually closed things down with the tying run on second base.

Game two got off to a good start, with the Expos jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning on a two-run triple by Tirso Ornelas. But Sixto Sanchez's command deserted him in the sixth, as he gave up four runs, and a Tatsuma Kudo homer in the following inning extended the Giants' lead to 7-2, which would prove to be the final score.

Game three was a Pyrrhic victory, as we sustained two losses that would haunt us for the rest of the series. Brandon Marsh hit a two-run homer in the second inning, but we fell behind 3-2 before tying the score in the fourth. The following inning, Carlos David Rodriguez singled home Luis Victoriano Garcia, who injured his knee en route to giving the Expos the lead. (He was, of course, replaced by Luis Jose Garcia.) We extended the lead to 5-3, and Norihide Kaneko was called in to pitch the eighth, but couldn't return for the ninth after straining his forearm, and was unable to pitch for the rest of the series.

Back-to-back home runs by Rhys Hoskins and Kris Bryant gave us a 4-0 lead in game four, but Cooper Benson gave those runs back and then some, as the Giants capped a seven-run inning with a grand slam by eventual series MVP Sahid Valenzuela. We were able to tie it up with a home run by Wan-hua Chai the next inning, but second baseman Richie Palacios scored on a wild pitch by Andres Munoz in the seventh to give the Giants an 8-7 lead. Rhys Hoskins doubled with two outs in the ninth, but Giants closer Erik Muscat struck out Bryant to end the game, and the series went back to San Francisco.

Sixto Sanchez pitched well enough in game five, but ran out of gas in the fourth inning and was relieved by Alex Colome, who again provided 2 1/3 outstanding innings. Richie Palacios drove in a run in the third, and Sahid Valenzuela scored on a sac fly in the eighth while the Expos were held scoreless by Derek Diamond. Muscat pitched the eighth for the Giants, but gave up a double to Bryant with one out in the ninth and was relieved by Jacob Nix. Wan-hua Chai was hit by a pitch, Zak Susi flew out, and with two outs, Brandon Marsh and then Tirso Ornelas singled and the Expos tied the score! Nix retired Carlos David Rodriguez, and with Norihide Kaneko unavailable, Luis Patino relieved Juan Ramirez in the bottom of the inning. First baseman Jacob Gonzalez doubled to lead off the inning, and one out later, Xander Bogaerts singled in the series-winning run.

Oh, what could have been! The Giants go on to face the Nationals and their ace Madison Bumgarner, while the Yankees and Orioles face off in the ALCS.

[jaa36]

The Yankees defeated the Giants in seven game to take their second championship in three years. They were led by center fielder and AL MVP Estevan Florial, who hit 54 home runs, and Anthony Rendon, who chipped in with a 6-WAR season himself. Giancarlo Stanton hit 41 home runs and now has 672 in his career, at age 36.

AL MVP: Estevan Florial, NYY (.254/54/111, 6.1)
NL MVP: Ronald Acuna Jr., ATL (.307/376/116, 7.1)
AL Cy Young: Ryan Rolison, OAK (17-5, 2.41, 7.0)
NL Cy Young: Jordan Hicks, SF (15-6, 3.05, 4.6)

Norihide Kaneko won the NL Reliever of the Year award. Kris Bryant won a Silver Slugger at third base and came a very close second the NL MVP voting. Fredi Gonzalez won his second straight NL Manager of the Year.

There will be a lot of turnover this offseason. Kris Bryant, Rhys Hoskins, Sixto Sanchez and Alex Colome will all leave as free agents. Norihide Kaneko was scheduled to earn ~$26M in arbitration and will not be tendered a contract, despite its award. Nabil Crismatt, who was a big part of our rotation in our first two seasons but spent last season in AAA, as also non-tendered. Alex Lange was signed to a small extension, two years with a third year-option for $1.6M per season, and Robert Gsellman's $1.2M option was picked up, giving us a couple of swingman options.

I signed the arbitration-eligible Colton Welker and Luis Victoriano Garcia to essential the same contract extension, six years for $49M, with the last two years team options. Zach Guth and Luis Patino will make $6.8M and $4.6M in arbitration this year, and Brandon Marsh $4.4M.

Around the league:
-Clayton Kershaw and Joey Votto both retired. Kershaw decided to go into politics.

[jaa36]

It was a winter of retooling for the Expos. We swung one big trade, acquiring right fielder Jarred Kelenic from the Pittsburgh Pirates. At age 26, Kelenic is a two-time all-star with four solid seasons under his belt- his biggest challenge has been staying healthy. Best of all, he makes just $5.4M this season, and is then under contract for $37M total over the following four years. Kelenic and Yoelvis Reyes, who started 29 games for the Pirates last season, cost just Jacob Maton and a low-level minor leaguer.

I ended up re-signing Rhys Hoskins for three years at $12M/year with a team option for a fourth. At nearly 33 years old, there is definitely the worry that Hoskins will fall off a cliff, but his power makes a big difference in our lineup. The trouble is figuring out how to fit in him, Colton Welker, and Wan-hua Chai in the same lineup. I also signed Jose Berrios, who has put in ten extremely mediocre seasons with the Twins (94-118, 4.88 ERA), including four straight seasons with an ERA above five. I foolishly signed him for five years at $9M/year, with the fifth being a player option. Why? His rating are pretty good and I think he'll end up doing better behind our defense.

I picked up in 25-year-old infielder Hueston Morrill in the Rule 5 draft, and we'll see if he can extend our run of successes in that area. I got outfielder Cash Case (another awesome name) for last year's first round pick Nick Early; Case is a good defensive outfielder that will make a capable reserve. The last move of the offseason was acquiring starting pitcher Luis Salinas and minor league reliever Luis Urrego from the Diamondbacks for reliever Jamie Callahan. Salinas was 11-7 with a 4.25 ERA last season and is another durable pitcher, having started at least 33 games in each of the last four seasons. Urrego is left-handed, and while he's never pitched above High A ball at the age of 25, he may be nice pickup. The Diamondbacks will cover 40% of Salinas's $11M salary, and he has a player option for the same rate after the season.

Around the league:
-Justin Verlander, Carlos Beltran, CC Sabathia and Ichiro Suzuki were inducted to the Hall of Fame.
-Pitcher Forrest Whitley signed the biggest contract of the offseason, $236M over six years with the Beavers.
-Among former Expos, Sixto Sanchez signed with the Astros for $155M over five years, Kris Bryant with the Mariners for $118M over three years (a steal), Alex Colome with the Astros for $78M over three years (ouch), Norihide Kaneko with the Angels for $34M over two years, Nick Madrigal with the Mets for $19M over three years.

[jaa36]

We are predicted by BNN to go 83-73 this season. Charles Bronfman Jr. expects us to finish with a winning record.

Once again we have the 32nd best farm system in baseball. No problem, guys, I'll just try to keep winning with my underrated prospects. Zaire Regular is our top prospect, rated #122 overall, and he had a heck of a season in 2025 in single-A last season, hitting .312 with 51 doubles. His ETA would be sometime in 2027 and he could be quite a hitter.

We open up with this lineup:
2B Jose Altuve
CF Carlos David Rodriguez
RF Jarred Kelenic
DH Wan-hua Chai
1B Rhys Hoskins
LF Arturo Figueroa
3B Hueston Morrill (I'm not sure about playing him over Welker...)
SS Luis Victoriano Garcia
C Zac Susi

The rotation is Zach Guth, Luis Salinas, Jose Berrios, Luis Patino and Cooper Benson. Aaron Nola actually will return quite soon, likely by the end of the month after a rehab assignment.

[jaa36]

We started the year an even 13-13, which is 4 1/2 games behind the Phillies. Jarred Kelenic has paid immediate dividends, with a .391 average and 20 RBI. Luis Victoriano Garcia, Jose Altuve and Zac Susi have all been above .300 as well. Rhys Hoskins and Wan-hua Chai have both been ice cold so far. Aaron Nola made it back for one start, but suffered back spasms and had to go back on the DL. Jose Berrios was suspended for eight games after brawling with Phillies shortstop Livan Soto.

Around the league:
-Jordan Hicks (SF) threw a no-hitter against the Cardinals.
-Madison Bumgarner (WAS) won his 200th game.
-Mookie Betts (SF) got his 2000th hit.

[jaa36]

It's been a lost season so far for the Expos. We managed to drop 11 in a row to start the month, and after losing 19 games in the month, we are now 21-32 overall. It's perhaps too early to blow up the team already, but we're nine games out from even a wild card slot, so that day may come quickly.

The problem has been primarily the offense, which has scored a league-worst 212 runs. Wan-hua Chai has been a huge disappointment, hitting just .188 this year, and Rule 5 pick Hueston Morrill has been even worse, hitting .159. Jarred Kelenic has really been the lone bright spot at .333/9/37. The pitching, when healthy, has been similarly wretched, with new acquisition the worst offender at 0-5 with a 9.88 ERA. One small consolation this month was Rhys Hoskins hitting his 300th career home run.

Around the league:
-Rick Porcello (STL) won his 200th game.
-Ian Happ (CHC) hit his 300th home run the same day as Hoskins.
-The Texas Rangers have the best record in baseball at 36-18. The Pirates are worst, at 19-34, but we're not far behind them.

[jaa36]

Well, time to throw in the towel on 2026! While we had a winning month overall, we are still just 35-44 overall, and seven games behind the fourth wild card. With that in mind, I began to sell off some players for future assets, starting with Jose Berrios, who went to our frequent trading partner Philadelphia (along with 2024 international signing Ernesto Celaya) for minor league pitchers Jonathan Pizana and Devin Davis. The 23-year-old Pizana is a 2023 first-round pick who could turn into an elite reliever. Davis was the Phillies' second-round pick in the same draft, has performed great in the minors (10-1, 2.44 at AA this year) and could be a future rotation piece. Berrios appears to be keeping his string of above-5 ERAs intact, and was 4-5 with a 6.32 ERA in his brief time with the Phillies. Rhys Hoskins, Zac Susi, Luis Salinas and Arturo Figueroa are other guys I'll be shopping. For that matter, I'd be eager to dump Aaron Nola's contract- he doesn't appear to be the same pitcher after coming back from his elbow injury this year, and given that he's making $39M a year, I could probably allocate that money elsewhere.

Jarred Kelenic continues to tear the cover off the ball (.324/17/50), and Juan Ramirez has pitched well upon resuming a setup role (2.80).

I drafted high school pitcher Alan Howlett with the #31 overall pick; Howlett could make it as a starter if all goes well. High school pitcher Jim Stoner, high school catcher Joel Coburn, college outfielder Chris Vincent and high school infielder Chris Shore rounded out the next four picks.

Around the league:
-Myles Austin (PIT) tore his meniscus tying his shoe.
-Francisco Lindor (CLE) got his 300th career home run.

[jaa36]

We went 12-11 in July and we're now 47-55 overall. Jose Altuve turned things on and hit .348 with four homers and 15 RBI. Aaron Nola was wretched, with an 8.31 ERA in five starts. Andres Munoz had an excellent month and notched five saves. Jarred Kelenic started the all-star game in right field, and Juan Ramirez also made the team.

I ended up trading Rhys Hoskins to Milwaukee with two minor leaguers for a package of four quasi-prospects. We got three potential bullpen pieces (24-year-old Ron Geiger, 23-year-old Jeff Pasceri and 19-year-old Josh Lackey) and an outfielder (25-year-old Vitor Watanabe). Hoskins hit .237 with 10 home runs prior to the trade, and we get out from the next two years of his contract.

We signed two international amateur outfielders: Alfredo Rivera (Dominican Republic, $5M) and Dominic Maltman (Australia, $4.6M). Neither seems likely to make much of an impact, but who knows.

Around the league:
-The Braves and the Rangers have the best records in baseball, at 64-39.
-Juan Miranda (TEX) has an outside change at a triple crown. He leads baseball with 42 home runs and 97 RBI, and is 18 points behind in the AL batting race at .314.

[jaa36]

That Aaron Nola trade is not looking too bright on my part. He just suffered another elbow injury and this time will require Tommy John, and so will miss the rest of the season AND next while I'm paying him a cool $39.5M for 2027. Oops! We went 13-16 on the month and are now 60-70 overall. Still just eight games back of the fourth wild card- we have kind of treaded water in that category- but it has not been a good year. Hueston Morrill is hitting .195 and has emphatically broken my streak of good Rule 5 picks. Arturo Figueroa is hitting .220, and I anticipate declining his option for next season. Similarly, I probably won't offer arbitration for Zac Susi and let him go as well.

In our final trade of the season, I sent Andres Munoz and a minor leaguer to the Twins for two highly-rated minor league pitchers, Rocky "The Wizard" Bell and Andy Moore, and minor league outfielder Luis Almazan. Bell was last year's #4 overall pick, Moore was this year's #7, and both have a chance to make an impact in the majors. Almazan is fast and should easily hit .300 but has no power and limited defensive abilities. It was a good haul for a reliever (Munoz) who had pitched well over his seven-season career (3.43, 44 saves) but was on an expiring contract.

Despite the rough season, I extended 2024 and 2025 Manager of the Year Fredi Gonzalez and bench coach Mickey Morandini for four more years.

Around the league:
-The NL East remains a dogfight between the Braves, Nationals and Mets, all of whom are within one game of each other.
-Cody Bellinger (LAD) hit his 400th career home run.
-Josh Donaldson (LAA) got his 2000th hit.
-The Red Sox traded Michael Kopech, who has over $140M left on his contract, to the Mets. So there's hope to get rid of Nola!

[jaa36]

We ended with a streaky September, with a six- and seven-game winning streak to go along with an eight-game losing streak. The overall result was actually our best month of the season, at 16-10. We finished the year 76-80 overall, which was six games out of a wild card spot. Jarred Kelenic was our best player overall (.316/28/82, .411 OBP, 5.4 WAR), with Jose Altuve not far behind (.308/28/76, 23 stolen bases). Wan-hua Chai had a torrid September (13 home runs, 28 RBI) to finish the year on a positive note. Zach Guth was effective in the rotation, and Juan Ramirez and Alex Lange quite good in the bullpen, but the rest of the pitching staff was a disappointment; lefty relievers Ian Boyd and Kevin Enfinger were particularly bad.

We played one memorable game against the Mets in which we won 12-11 after giving up seven runs (and the lead) in the eighth inning, then tying the score in the ninth and winning it in the thirteenth. Colton Welker and Jose Altuve each had five hits in that one.

Around the league:
-The Mets ended up running away with the NL East and had the best record in baseball at 94-62. The Yankees, Rangers and Giants won the other three divisions.
-Juan Miranda (TEX) hit 56 home runs and drove in 143 but did not win the triple crown.
-Giancarlo Stanton (NYY) hit his 700th career home run!! He hit just .196 this season, so he may not end up breaking the all-time record.
-Kyle Schwarber (CHC) hit his 300th.
-Austin Kendrick (KC) had six hits and hit for the cycle in the same game.

[jaa36]

The Texas Rangers won their first-ever World Series, beating the Washington Nationals in six games. The Rangers were 87-69 in the regular season, and were led by impressive 22-year-old Rookie of the Year Juan Miranda, who hit .302 with 56 home runs and 143 RBI! He was only listed as the #60 prospect heading into the season- oops.

AL MVP: Chad Workman, CWS (.304/49/124, 9.4)
NL MVP: Roman Galloway, NYM (.304/44/135, 6.9)
AL Cy Young: Ryan Rolison, OAK (8-11, 2.73, 5.1)
NL Cy Young: Noah Syndergaard, NYM (14-8, 3.47, 5.4)

Remarkable that Rolison won his second straight Cy Young given his losing record, but his league-leading ERA and WAR carried the day. Workman is an incredibly bright young star with the White Sox, a 25-year-old center fielder with 70+ ratings in every major category.

Jarred Kelenic won the Silver Slugger in right field. Owner Charles Bronfman Jr. was disappointed with our season, and our budget was cut from $250M to $244M for next year.

I declined the team option on Arturo Figueroa and did not offer Zac Susi arbitration. I didn't sign anyone to long-term extensions, but Zach Guth will make $9.5M next season, Luis Patino $5.4M, Brandon Marsh $5M, and Juan Ramirez $4.4M. For this offseason, we'll have holes to fill at catcher, third base and the rotation, but little to no money to fill them with. Zounds!

[jaa36]

The more things change, the more they stay the same. I ended up bringing back Zac Susi and Arturo Figueroa at reduced rates in free agency- Susi for $2M (he would have been making $12M in arbitration) and Figueroa for $2.9M (he would have made $17M on his option). I also traded Tirso Ornelas to the Royals for outfielder Chris Atherton and relief prospect Luis Cuevas. The Royals then ended up non-tendering Ornelas... OK. Matt Chapman, who had an impressive -1.8 WAR last year, signed as a minor league free agent and would make $5M if he makes the team; the 33-year-old Chapman has had an illustrious career, with over 300 home runs, and has good leadership skills, and I have some reason to hope for a turnaround this year. I picked up catcher Arturo Buruca in the Rule 5 draft as well; the 24-year-old Buruca hit .335 in double A last year.

Around the league:
-Fernando Tatis Jr. signed the biggest free agent contract, $233M over seven years with the Red Sox. Luis Severino signed with the Rangers for $205M over five years, Shohei Ohtani with the Phillies for $175M and five years, and Carlos Correa back with the Astros for $170M and five years. An aging Mike Trout, who is essentially a DH at this point, signed with the Yankees for $106M over three years.

[jaa36]

We lost starting pitcher Cooper Benson for the season to an elbow injury, but otherwise emerged from the preseason unscathed. Being cheap, I put Jake Rogers on waivers at the end of spring training, in favor of a Zac Susi and Arturo Buruca platoon; he was picked up by the Dodgers. Rogers was a part-time player in all five Expos seasons and was notable mostly for his excellent defense.

We are predicted to finish 87-69, which would be second in the NL East. Charles Bronfman Jr. expects us to stay close to an even record. Once again we have no top 100 prospects, and our system is rated #31 overall, with infielder Sergio Salinas listed as our top overall prospect at #138.

Opening day lineup:
SS Luis Victoriano Garcia
LF Cash Case
RF Jarred Kelenic
1B Wan-hua Chai
2B Jose Altuve
DH Arturo Figueroa
3B Matt Chapman
CF Carlos David Rodriguez
C Zac Susi

The rotation is particularly thin, with no Aaron Nola or Cooper Benson:
Zach Guth
Luis Salinas
Luis Patino
Alex Lange
Griffin Jax

Jax in particular seems to have nine lives; he's spent most of the last two seasons in Ottawa and has been DFA'd twice. Juan Ramirez is the closer yet again, and rookies Jeff Pasceri and Jonathan Pizana, both acquired last year, both made the team.

[jaa36]

We started off the year a disappointing 12-16. It could have been worse- three of the wins were walk-off come-from-behind victories snatched from the jaws of defeat. We've been outscored by 34 runs in the early going, and our run prevention has been the worst in the NL. The starting pitching in particular has been horrendous- no one has an ERA lower than 5.23. Offensively, Jose Altuve is hitting .330 and Matt Chapman .314, but everyone else has been horrible.

Around the league:
-Jose Ramirez (STL) got his 2000th hit.
-Joey Gallo (CHC) and Kris Bryant (SEA) got their 400th home runs, while Eloy Jimenez (DET) got his 300th.
-I forgot to mention that Miguel Cabrera and Adrian Beltre made the Hall of Fame.