Winning with Broken Bombers? - A Yankees Dynasty

[LondonYankee]

October 1st 2015

A 17-10 month in which we clinched the AL East. Our 96-63 record is second only to the Braves 99-60 in all baseball.



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As all year, our batters led the way. At Baltimore this month, Cano had his 2000th career hit. Corey Hart had a 3 homer game in a 12-3 blow out of the Red Sox and finally, Brandon Belt was Player of the Month for the AL with his .363 10 home run month.



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[LondonYankee]

October 4th 2015

So the regular season is in the books, we finished 97-65 and closed the season out with a win in Boston.



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Our success has been all about the offense, as you can see below we rank 1st in the major offensive categories:



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Here are the final MLB Batting stats, as you can see Brandon Belt features heavily



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The pitching stats however are pretty much void of a Yankees presence, only Liriano scraping into 5th in the K's per 9 innings category:



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Here are the Yankees batting stats:



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Brandon Belt of course is the standout but there are a number of others putting up stellar and in some cases, career seasons. Asdubral Cabrera hitting .301, putting him alongside Belt and Cano over .300. Kendrys Morales tied Belt with 41 homers and had a stunning 119 RBI's. Jason Castro was great at getting on base, leading the team with a .378 OBP.
Mason Williams had a bit of a sophomore slump, his batting average dropping to .251. That said he had to cope with a few niggling injuries through the year.

Here are the Yankee's pitching numbers:



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Gavin Floyd had our best win-loss record but at an ERA over 5!
Huston Street, Boone Logan and up and coming Mark Montgomery were the pick of the bullpen with strikes/innings pitch ratios by far and away the best of the team.

Now it's onto the playoffs!

[LondonYankee]

2015 Postseason

Wild Cards

AL: Toronto Blue Jays beat Oakland A's
NL: Miami Marlins beat Washington Nationals

Divisional Series

AL: New York Yankees beat Toronto 3-1
Cleveland Indians beat Seattle Mariners 3-2

NL: LA Dodgers beat St Louis Cardinals 3-0
Atlanta Braves beat Washington Nationals 3-1

League Championship Series

AL: New York Yankees beat Cleveland 4-2
NL: LA Dodgers beat Atlanta 4-1

After 3 very tough years in charge of the Yankees we've made it to the World Series. The postseason has been tough, our batting line-up stalled big time in the middle of the series with the Indians and we've had to rely on our pitching to see us through. Cano, Snyder, Corey Hart and Mason Williams have all been well below par so far. Only Brandon Belt and Asdrubal Cabrera and to a lesser extent Kendrys Morales have lived up to their regular season records.

I'll need all of them to fire if we're going to overcome the Dodgers in the Fall Classic. We start with two games in New York before flying out to LA for three and back to the Big Apple, if needed to finish the show. Whilst I'd love to believe we won't need those last games, I do know we've been terrible on the road in inter-league play, we really miss the DH when we can't use them. We need to change that when it really matters!

[LondonYankee]

November 6th 2015

BNN Special Report

Yankees take title #28!

It went to game 6 at Yankees Stadium. After winning the first two games in New York with blow out wins (combined score of 19-3) the Yankees then contrived to score no runs in the next two games and allow Dodgers fans to believe.
Game 5 in LA and enter Gavin Floyd. He'd had a good win-loss record through the regular season but was not slated to feature in the post season until injury struck Roy Halladay. Behind the big bats of Brandon Belt and Robinson Cano, Floyd pitched 9 solid innings allowing just one run. The Yankees scored 6 and took a 3-2 lead back to New York.
It went down to the 9th innings of Game 6, Josh Johnson had pitched a good game and the Yankees had a 4-3 lead before handing over to closer Huston Street. The Yankees were 1 out away from their first World Series title since 2009 when Street got the jitters, allowing a walk and a hit that brought Hanley Ramirez to the plate. Of all the Dodgers hitters you'd least like to face in this situation it's Ramirez. Street however came through and struck out Ramirez to send Yankee Stadium into ecstasy.

In the executive box, Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner was seen to embrace his GM Stuart Dubb. This was the first World Series of the Dubb era. Steinbrenner was later to tell reporters 'I can't say enough about what Stuart and Joe (Girardi), but particularly Stuart, have done this year to bring this title home. This is another great day in Yankee history and I have to say that Stuart has played a key role in putting the Bombers back into the Bronx'

Dubb meanwhile, was keen to play down his role 'This is an absolutely amazing feeling but the credit has to go the guys on our roster, they go out there every day and just try to be the best. This year they've been the best and I'm delighted for each and every one of them. We'll celebrate tonight for sure, but I can tell you now that for me and my staff we're going to get right back down to work to make sure we can come back strong next year and look to repeat'

[LondonYankee]

December 1st 2015

Before we head off to the winter meetings here's a quick look at whats happened so far in the off-season.

First up the 2015 Hall of Fame inductees were reliever Trevor Hoffman and Ken Griffey Jr.

Next there were a number of managerial changes. The White Sox are looking for a new manager, while Arizona ousted their GM. Meanwhile Detroit and San Diego took it out on their skipper and GM, both looking for two new leaders.

Before arbitration got underway I had to decide on whether we would allow Huston Street to go to free agency. I'd spoken to him in the season and we'd seemed quite far apart on doing a deal. However I'd always wanted to get something done and we sat down over a couple of days and worked out an $8.2m per year deal for 4 years, the 4th being a team option.

Whilst the arbitration committee were deliberating the yearly awards were being distributed.
I was proud to be named Manager of the Year.
It was even more pleasing to see Brandon Belt awarded the MVP. It was the icing on the cake for a great season for Brandon. He finished with a .300 average, an OBP of .393, 41 homers and 137 RBI's.

The arbitration committee came back with the following results for us:

SS Zack Cozart $850k, siding with the team.
OF JD Martinez $1m siding with the team.
1B and MVP Brandon Belt won his award at $10.6m. I'll need to tie him to a deal next year.
C Jason Castro won his argument too, getting $8.75m
MR Brandon Kintzler got $1.1m, that went our way.
MR Cody Eppley got $750k, again we won that one.

Boone Logan decided to take free agency after we were unable to reach an agreement on a contract. I'd have been happy to keep him around but he was seriously overvaluing himself.

As we head into December I'll be taking a look at the Rule 5 draft for some trade bait and will look to make moves to add strength to the starting rotation. Again.

[LondonYankee]

January 1st 2016

As the GM's were gathering at the winter meetings BNN broke the news that 25 year old Cleveland starting pitcher Danny Salazar was quitting the game so that he could donate a kidney to his sick brother. It's times like this that you are reminded that there are some things more important in life than baseball.

Before we'd got to the meetings though we'd had the Rule 5 draft and I'd acquired 3 players I intended to use as trade chips. 3B Seth Conner from Toronto, LF Andre Toney from Houston and CF Keury De La Cruz from Boston.

Onto the meetings and my first piece of business involved lowering the payroll and reducing the age of the team. Veteran OF Brett Gardner was dealt to Kansas City for young SP Noel Arguelles. With the salaries of A-Rod, Teixera & Sabathia weighing us down, we don't have a lot of salary room to play with so every cent saved makes a difference.

Next up a deal with Colorado. OF Kentrail Davis had struggled with injuries all year so wasn't going to be missed. In exchange we got SP Rob Scahill who'd actually been drafted by the Yankees 6 years before. He's going to be heading to AAA Scranton to see how he progresses.

I then moved SS Zack Cozart on, along with Rule 5 acquisition Conner to Pittsburgh. In exchange I got 2 prospects that Damon rated highly, RF Kris Bryant and 1B Jose Osuna.

While at the meetings we also picked up 2 players off waivers, SS Zach Green from the Reds and CF Anthony Alford from Toronto.

For various reasons, mainly salary related I couldn't get any more business completed, so I'll need to be working hard into January and February to try and get the pieces in place that we need to compete again next year.

[LondonYankee]

1st April 2016

I've struggled to get deals done and the team has struggled through Spring Training. The batting line-up is pretty much untouched but the starting rotation is still not where I want it to be. To that end, towards the conclusion of Spring Training I struck a deal with a player we had for the start of last season. SP Ubaldo Jimenez who we dealt to the Dodgers halfway through last year has signed a 1 year $1.3m deal. Ubaldo isn't a long term solution but he's going to fill a slot for the short term for us and hopefully carry over the form he finished the season in LA with, splitting time between their rotation and bullpen he delivered a sub 4.00 ERA, not great but better than throwing a prospect who's not ready in there.

Spring Training was hardly ideal as we finished 10-12. Our offense was efficient if not electric while our pitching continued to toil.



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Our batting stats:



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Our pitchers numbers:



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Hank Steinbrenner visited camp and told me that he expects at least another trip to the playoffs from us this year. If we can get our pitching on track that should be the least we manage.

All that's left is for Joe and I to sit down and discuss the line-ups and rotation for the start of the season and our trip to Baltimore.

[LondonYankee]

2nd April 2016

So here's how we'll line-up for the start of the season:

Leadoff: Mason Williams CF. He had his sophomore slump, I expect him to bounce back to his true level this year. If we can get him healthy all year I'll want to see at least 25 homers and 25 stolen bases.
2nd: C Jason Castro. He's not quick so not a traditional shout for the 2-hole but he gets on base. A lot. If he can do that he'll set up the 3 behind him to score lots of runs.
3rd: 1B Brandon Belt. I've decided to push Belt into 3rd and drop Cano down the line-up. Joe isn't convinced, lets see how it pans out for us.
4th: DH Matt Snyder. Matt's been lethal in Spring and something tells me he should be above Cano too. I hope Robi doesn't take it badly.
5th: 2B Robinson Cano. I must admit, sliding Robi down the order is more a 'gut' feeling thing than anything else. We can always change it if needed.
6th: 3B Kendrys Morales. Our converted 3rd baseman should, in theory provide us with 4 big bats in 3 to 6. That's a line-up for teams to fear if they're all firing.
7th: SS Asdrubal Cabrera. Had a fantastic 1st year in New York and there's no reason he can't keep that up.
8th: LF JD Martinez. Was less prolific than his corner field compadre but still offers great depth to our line-up.
9th:RF Corey Hart. Explosive on his day, but as his post-season slump showed he's not consistent. More bang please Corey!

Other options:

OF's D'Andre Toney and Keury De La Cruz, the two rule 5 acquisitions find themselves still on the roster, surprising them and me! Both had solid springs and it'll be up to them to prove they're worthy of staying here.
C JR Murphy has held off the challenge of fellow prospect Sandy Leon in providing back up to Castro.
2B Joe Scalafani is unlikely to see much action unless Cano gets hurt, but I like his potential.
3B Dante Bichette Jr may get some more opportunities this year after showing glimpses of his talent last year.
SS Derek Jeter. Jeter hit .318 in Spring but his body is beginning to fail him and fielding SS is a stretch for him now.

Mark Teixera and A-Rod are both still on our payroll and despite me exiling them to AAA they won't budge, happy to collect $20m + cheques for doing very little. Frustrating doesn't begin to describe the situation. CC Sabathia is als0 keeping them company at Scranton on similar money.

The Starting Rotation:

Josh Johnson - I can't help thinking Josh has more to give. His game 7 World Series performance helped me see what he's really got.

Roy Halladay - missed the post season with injury. I hope that hasn't taken too much out of him, I need him on form.

Max Scherzer - had a solid 1st season with us and was good in the postseason.

Francisco Liriano - also had a good postseason, I hope all these guys can do it in the regular season this time!

Ubaldo Jimenez - bringing him back is a risk, he really didn't shine for us before his trade but options were limited.


Gavin Floyd and Noel Arguelles are pretty much the only other options we have unless Manny Banuelos can finally stay healthy and live up to expectations. Winter trade acquisition Rob Scahill will join those two in AAA.

Bullpen

Huston Street will be the Closer again. He's lethal most of the times but when he slips he really slips.

Mark Montgomery and Joba Chamberlain will be the set up guys and both were excellent in Spring.

Brandon Kintzler is the other standout in the pen. With Cody Eppley and Hayden Sharp providing arms that may impress or may well depress!

There's not a lot else in the farm system so these guys need to stay healthy or the bullpen will be bare!

So that's the way we'll start, Baltimore here we come!

[LondonYankee]

May 1st 2016

After much deliberation at the start of the month I made a big decision, Mark Teixera was released from his contract. Sure I still had to pay it but I have too many overpaid veterans taking up places at AAA Scranton. I wish Teixera all the best for the future.

As for our performance in the opening month. Inconsistent is the word. 13-12, good for 3rd place and half a game back from Toronto.



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We lost Roy Halladay for at least 4 months in his first outing of the year, not a great start. Noel Arguelles was chosen to come up from AAA to replace him.
I also made a trade early in the month. OF Matt Joyce who spent a few months as a Yankee at the end of my 1st season returned to us, with SP Gavin Floyd going to Toronto. Joyce gives us a more experienced option to put into the OF than our two youngsters De La Cruz or Toney.

Stats wise this month it's a familiar story, our hitting is off the charts, while our pitching is stinking the place up. I really need to find at least one new starter for the rotation.
Asdrubal Cabrera got a Player of the week award while Matt Snyder is leading the way for our batters, he's thriving in the clean up role currently.



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[LondonYankee]

June 1st 2016

Another so-so month. Luckily everyone in the AL East is playing so-so. We're top of the division by 2 games from Baltimore and we're only at 27-27!



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Asdrubal Cabrera continues to hit for the best average in the league and Matt Snyder is the AL's home run king at the moment, he's such a dominant hitter on his day. Cano, Belt, Castro and Williams all had a bit of a slump through May so I'll be needing them to get back on track.

The less said about our pitching, the better.



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[LondonYankee]

July 1st 2013

We've had a much better month, we've stretched our record to 46-35, putting us 7.5 games ahead of the Blue Jays.
I made one move to try and bolster our rotation early in the month. Of course everyone around MLB knows that if there's one thing the Yankees need, its pitching. Therefore I paid through the nose for this one. And I'm not even totally convinced on him. Damon says he's good to go though so I'll listen to my Scouting Director on it. We traded for Kansas City's young starter Danny Duffy. In return we sent OF JD Martinez, OF Keury De La Cruz and C Sandy Leon. I was loathe to part with JD, he's been hitting well but OF is one area where I have a bit of depth. I wasn't keen on losing Leon either but we do have a number of serious prospects at C, so again he won't necessarily be missed.
Duffy meanwhile is 0-3 for the Royals but as I say, Damon is confident he's potentially way better than that and just needs a bit of luck and support.



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Here's the team performances:



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There was also sad news for all of baseball this month as pitching legend and Texas Rangers owner Nolan Ryan passed away. The Yankees sent a delegation including myself to Ryan's funeral to pay our respects to one of the true greats of any era.

[LondonYankee]

August 1st 2016

July was a very busy month with trades and contract negotiations.

First up a trade. This one was really needed. Finally a starter I can call an Ace. We got Chris Sale (this season 8-6, 3.58ERA) from the White Sox. I had to give up Francisco Liriano and minor leaguers C Greg Bird, 2B Rob Segedin and SP Curtis Simpson. Sale will of course take Liriano's spot in the rotation.

Next up a contract signing I was keen to get done. Brandon Belt signed a 4 year deal for $55m over that time.
Future All-Star CL Mark Montgomery also signed a deal that will shortcut arbitration, he's got $2.8m over 2 years.

Having taken Sale from them I was very surprised when the White Sox came to me offering SP Trevor Cahill for a number of prospects. Cahill wasn't having the greatest season but again I trusted Damon's opinion of him. We sent 3B Tyler Cohen, SS Luis Pena, OF Anthony Alford, SS Jorge Paredes, 3B Gerald Ladner. Of those Alford and Pena figure to be the highest rated, but I'm not looking to the future right now, we need to keep winning.

Then another big contract deal was sorted, Mason Williams for $19.8m over 4 years. I'm really pleased with the value on this deal.
Unfortunately 2 days later Mason got injured for about 6 weeks. Also going down with injury was fellow OF Corey Hart, his season was ended and that now left us short in the OF.

So, time to get my trade on again. Thomas Pham of the Phillies was the answer. Pham is only hitting .245 over his career in the majors but has some pop in his bat and if we can teach him to strike out less he'll be an even better hitter. The Phillies got pitchers Rob Scahill and Danny Duffy. Neither had been with us long but they'd both struggled to settle and were getting blown apart at AAA.

Also to help out our OF I've called up my first ever draft pick from AAA. I took JaCoby Jones with the 28th pick overall in the 2013 draft and he was this year ranked the #78 prospect in baseball. He's been hitting .286 with Scranton and although some say it's a little early to call him up, injuries mean he gets a shot. Another of my 2013 draftees RF Tucker Neuhaus was called up too. He was the 208th pick overall in that draft and was never expected to make it big. He has been at AA Trenton and was hitting .293. He hit a homer off the very first pitch he faced in the majors. Unlike Jones, I doubt I'll keep Tucker with the big club too long despite that start to his career in the majors.

On the field, July was not great, we went 8-18 and although we still hold the lead in the East we're only 3.5 games ahead of Toronto.



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A number of hitters are still slumping and it's shown on the scorecards this month.



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July of course was All-Star month, though that fact barely registered for us as only Matt Snyder made the AL squad. I'm pleased for Matt making his first trip to the game, it's fully deserved but I just wish we had more players performing to that level.

[LondonYankee]

September 1st 2016

A 14-13 month keeps us 3.5 games ahead of Toronto. Unfortunately Boston are on a tear and are up into 2nd only 1.5 games behind us.



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This is turning into a struggle in all departments. Both Sale and Cahill have struggled since coming over from Chicago. For the hitters, Snyder continues to dominate with home runs but his batting average has dipped below .280. Robinson Cano has struggled since May in 5th on the batting line-up but isn't showing the form to warrant moving above Belt or Snyder.



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[LondonYankee]

October 3rd 2016

What a disappointment. After getting a good start to this season we've totally blown it at the last. Through September we were battling the Red Sox for top spot and a 6 game winning streak towards the end of the month, including sweeping Boston at Fenway put us in total command of our own fate. We then however lost our last 7 games to crash into 2nd in the East 2 games back from the Sox and also lose out on the Wild Card by the same mark.



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Our batting stats for the year:



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Almost everyone bar Matt Snyder underperformed. I'm very disappointed with Brandon Belt's slump this year, also with Kendrys Morales similar drop in production. Mason Williams actually hit my goals of 25 steals and 25 homers (28 in the end) but his average at .269 was below what I expect.

Our pitching stats:



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Those stats are really the stuff of nightmares, I can't even pick out a standout performer. If I was pushed I'd say reliever Brandon Kintzler was probably our most effective performer.

The MLB stats in both categories show serious under-representation from our club. Congratulations to Matt Snyder for taking the home run title but he was the only Yankee to top any category(aside from Sale with his K/BB ratio but much of that was from his time in Chicago):

Batting:



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Pitching:



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It's clear that after the World Series I am going to have to get a lot of work done to get this team back on track and back into contention. There have been worse falls from grace over the years but our implosion post the All-Star game points to some serious worries.
I can't wait for my season review with Hank Steinbrenner.

Finally, it's farewell to a Yankees legend. Derek Jeter who spent most of 2016 in AAA has called time on his career. Jeter finished with 3486 hits and a major league slash line of .312/.380/.447. Derek goes into retirement with our thanks and best wishes. He'll always be remembered as one of the best to ever pull on a Yankee uniform. His #2 has been retired with immediate effect and I have no doubt he'll be in the Hall of Fame at the first opportunity.

[LondonYankee]

November 4th 2016

Before the playoffs got underway there were two contracts I wanted to get sorted. First was OF Corey Hart and we agreed on a 4 year deal for $8m per. Catcher Jason Castro was also extended, this time for only a year at $10.9m. His poor season had reduced his demands from around $15m earlier this year.

I then figured to watch the postseason before getting back to work.

Wild Cards

AL: Texas beat Los Angeles Angels
NL: Washington beat Philadelphia

ALDS:

Houston Astros 3 Texas Rangers 2
Cleveland Indians 3 Boston Red Sox 2

NLDS:

Atlanta Braves 3 Washington Nationals 1
San Diego Padres 3 Cincinnati Reds 2

ALCS:

Cleveland 4 Houston 2

NLCS:

Atlanta 4 San Diego 2

World Series:

Atlanta Braves 4 Cleveland Indians 3

Atlanta were deserved winners at the end of the year. They've put together a good team and made hard work of taking out the Indians but got their dues in the end.

Towards the end of the Series I got phone calls from two of my players agents. Both Joba Chamberlain and Huston Street had been upset when I handed the closer role to Mark Montgomery and they were now both demanding trades. Montgomery is the future so I've no regrets in my decision. I only hope I can get good value on Chamberlain and Street.

[LondonYankee]

December 1st 2016

December's already a busy month. First up some updates on free agency and arbitration that I forgot to mention last time.

Kendrys Morales wanted a massive contract and I wasn't prepared to pay him $15m+ for any length of time so he took free agency. Roy Halladay and Ubaldo Jimenez both took free agency.
Despite an average first few months with us I took up the team option on Trevor Cahill's contract at $8m for one more year.

Only two players were arbitration eligible, Cody Eppley and Brandon Kintzler. The arbitrator ruled for the team with both, Eppley getting $850k, Kintzler $1.3m.

This years free agent class included one player I was particularly keen on and had made trade offers for a number of times. Oakland SP Brett Anderson. He won't come cheap but I've opened negotiations and am confident we can do a deal.

I'm not even waiting to get to the Winter meetings this year to get business done, I'm just going for it.

So first up, a deal thats as much about getting rid of a bad character and some payroll as it is anything else, Huston Street has gone to the Mets. Minor League C Chad Carman comes to us in exchange.

Next, the other want away reliever Joba Chamberlain goes to Toronto with highly rated 25 year old CL prospect Patrick Fields coming to New York.

Next out the door, another reliever, Hayden Sharp going to Oakland. In return we got minor league RF Dusty Robinson. Sharp never delivered on his potential with the big club, maybe a change of scenery will suit him.

Then we did a deal with Miami. They got C prospect JR Murphy and we took LF Brent Keys. Keys broke into the majors last season, hitting .283. He's got some power and is a decent fielder, I like the look of him.

Next up I'll look at the rule 5 draft and then go onto the Winter Meetings.

[LondonYankee]

January 1st 2017

I've earnt my money this last month.

First up, the Rule 5 draft:

We lost two players that I stupidly overlooked, RF Jose Osuna and C Dylan Finch. Neither is slated to be a Hall of Famer, but both could turn into decent MLB level players.
I made up for it by picking up 3 players from the draft, they'll almost certainly be used in trades, they were - SP Rubby De La Rosa (Boston); CF Andrew Aplin (Houston) & 1B Zach Alvord (Kansas).

Next piece of business was to trade away LF Matt Joyce to Arizona. Coming in the other direction was young LF Paul Bailey. There's a big salary saving for not much difference in talent.

I then focused on sealing the free agent deal I really wanted. Brett Anderson. As expected there was a lot of interest in him - he has a career ERA of 3.28 - but I was confident we were in the lead. I finally convinced him with a 6 year deal totalling $114m.

I then returned to the Arizona Diamondbacks to get a young SS traded. Andrew Velazquez has the ability to hit for power and average and is a good fielder. He's also Bronx born. I bring him home and only have to give up one of my rule 5 acquisitions, Andrew Aplin in exchange.

Another minor trade was tied up with Oakland. Zach Alvord going to the A's with us getting minor league SP Jeff Thompson in exchange. Thompson has some heat and will work at AAA to improve his control.

Our 3rd Rule 5 acquisition has now gone too, SP Rubby De La Rosa has gone to the Mets and in return Damon and I believe we have a gem. SS Rob Williams projects to be a star. He's not ready for the majors yet, but it won't be long.

My next trade meant I had to give up OF JaCoby Jones, which doesn't please me greatly but Damon suggests that Atlanta's 2B Levi Hyams is more than worth giving up Jones. I hope he's right.

I then met with the Royals and picked up a top reliever prospect, Kurt MacNamara, sending Joe Sclafani the other way. Both teams do well out of this I feel.

With Kendrys Morales gone I've been looking for a new 3B. Anthony Rendon is the one I want. The White Sox however are not giving up the .265 career hitter up cheaply. They want RF Corey Hart and FOUR good prospects. I talk them down to Hart plus two. Those 2 being, MR Pablo Perez and 1B Tony Martinez.

Phew. That was a busy month.

I'm still on the lookout for one or two more pieces of the puzzle, possibly another reliever and maybe some experienced outfield cover. There's still time as we head into the New Year.

[NYY #23]

Nice job with this dynasty. Congratulations on #28, and hopefully 2017 will end much better than 2016.

[LondonYankee]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

Nice job with this dynasty. Congratulations on #28, and hopefully 2017 will end much better than 2016.

Thanks. Glad to see someone's reading!

[LondonYankee]

March 1st 2017

Spring Training is about ready to start. In the last couple of months I've made a few more moves that I hope will lead us back into contention.

First up another arm for the 'pen. Sean Burnett spent the last two years at Atlanta but was now a free agent. His 2016 was not spectacular but he's a reliable addition at $1.2m for a year.

Next is another free agent signing and a bit of a coup. OF Jackie Bradley Jr was a few years ago touted as Boston's Next Big Thing. He's suffered a lot of injuries and has probably not reached his potential. He's average .265 in an average of 90 games per season for the last 4 years. We've picked him up for $3.4m for a year.

Then I signed a top class reliever from free agency. Johnathan Broxton was the Phillies closer last year and did a great job, I expect I'll use him as a set up guy. He's signed for $10m per year for 4 years.

Finally a minor trade deal went through. I sent 3B Dante Bichette Jr to Pittsburgh getting minor league SP Johnathan Sandfort in return. Dante performed to a decent level when I needed him but he's never going to be anything other than a serviceable major league player. I wish him luck.

I think we're now set for Spring Training, lets see what Joe and the boys can do.