[Westheim]

2026 PORTLAND RACCOONS – Opening Day Roster (first set in parenthesis shows 2025 numbers, second set career numbers; players with an * are off season acquisitions):

SP Mark Roberts, 31, B:L, T:L (21-7, 2.29 ERA | 78-58, 3.01 ERA) – welcome Mister Triple Crown! Mark Roberts struck out 238 and gutted his way to a short-rest Closing Day win to grab the coveted distinction of having led his league in all categories in 2025 and earned a Pitcher of the Year award on top of it. One of the elite pitchers right now, with a dazzling arsenal, very good control, and the occasional home run bug – he surrendered 19 in '25, but 30 in '24 to lead the league in that category then…
SP Rico Gutierrez, 26, B:L, T:L (11-8, 3.12 ERA | 45-38, 3.33 ERA) – struggled both with nagging injuries early in the season and to get run support during the entire season after he held a share of the wins lead in '24, when nobody in the CL won more than his 16 games. Upped the strikeouts to seven per nine innings in '25 and might still have some more room to grow. Has decent control while keeping batters alert with a move-happy 96mph heater.
SP Lance Legleiter, 29, B:S, T:R (2-4, 3.40 ERA | 4-5, 3.43 ERA) – spent most of the 2025 season as reserve in St. Pete while making a few spot starts in betwee and more in September. His arsenal is generally impressive, but it has taken him until his age 29 season to get a shot at a rotation spot; he has made only 12 major league starts to date between the Coons and Crusaders. Stamina is the main concern for him; he is unlikely to go past six or seven innings.
SP Kyle Anderson *, 27, B:R, T:R (9-14, 4.32 ERA | 51-62, 4.01 ERA) – acquired in a December trade with the Falcons along with Jason Butler for Jesus Chavez, Jack Sander, and a minor leaguer, Anderson – who led the league in losses two years ago – is assumed to have brutally suffered from terrible defense and everything will be so much better in Portland. At least he doesn't walk the world!
SP Dan Delgadillo, 23, B:R, T:R (2-3, 5.44 ERA | 11-12, 4.11 ERA) – 2025 was wholly a lost season for Yusneldan Delgadillo, whatever his real age might be, spending most of it recovering from Tommy John surgery and then getting whacked around during his nine starts with the team late in the season. The BABIP wasn't in his favor, but he also gave up a homer per start there at the tail end. 2026 is about getting all those paws pointed the right way again!

LR Jason Butler *, 25, B:R, T:R (2-2, 7.29 ERA | 2-2, 5.32 ERA) – also acquired in the Anderson deal with the Falcons, Butler has been whacked around in his career so far, but our scouting sees great potential and also solid improvement already. Control is a thing for him, but for now he is penciled in as long man and spot starter (he has never started a major league game in his career).
MR Jeff Kearney *, 33, B:L, T:L (5-6, 3.82 ERA, 9 SV | 24-30, 4.85 ERA, 27 SV) – free agent addition of the Manobu Sugano class of left-handed relievers; lethal to left-handed batters, but absolutely impossible to endure against right-handers.
MR Kevin Surginer, 26, B:R, T:R (6-5, 3.10 ERA | 14-10, 3.23 ERA, 2 SV) – very solid and mostly reliable reliever that goes about his job with so little noise that you sometimes entirely forget he's still there. Spent a considerable amount of his 2025 season in long relief, but figures to be used more prominently this year with the addition of Butler, but that doesn't mean we can't still run him out for multiple innings. His high endurance and stamina mean he is a good choice for long extra-inning games.
MR Billy Brotman, 27, B:L, T:L (2-1, 1.40 ERA, 3 SV | 6-7, 2.41 ERA, 8 SV) – control remains an issue for Billy, but his tendency to keep the ball on the ground help him greatly and he posted his second consecutive sub-2 ERA in 2025. Unlike Kearney, you can also let him face right-handers without closing your eyes and waiting for the crack.
MR Jeff Mudge *, 33, B:L, T:R (3-1, 4.26 ERA, 1 SV | 34-27, 3.74 ERA, 87 SV) – groundballer with a 96mph heater and a vicious curve that should feel right at home with a solid defense around the infield. So far spent all of his 10-year career in the Federal League, so most players he will regularly face so far have never seen him.
SU Jonathan Snyder, 26, B:L, T:R (3-7, 2.93 ERA, 42 SV | 15-11, 2.88 ERA, 67 SV) – struggled considerably down the road in 2025 and with the way Ricky Ohl performed all season long we thought it due to make a change in the closer assignment. Closer is a job that has been in a state of flux for the Raccoons ever since Angel Casas left the team many, many years ago…
CL Ricky Ohl, 27, B:R, T:R (5-1, 1.91 ERA, 1 SV | 6-2, 2.54 ERA, 2 SV) – was outright impressive after coming over from the Capitals and with 11.7 K/9 has been anointed the new closer. We expect great things from him.

C Elias Tovias, 26, B:S, T:R (.248, 11 HR, 60 RBI | .259, 46 HR, 200 RBI) – spent all of the second half of 2025 in a horrendous slump that completely ruined his slash line (.248/.290/.362) after a very promising first half of the season. Still squeezed in 32 extra-base hits despite not hitting much of anything in the last two months.
C/1B Brett O'Dell, 31, B:R, T:R (.283, 7 HR, 25 RBI | .269, 35 HR, 175 RBI) – career backup except for one season with the Bayhawks in '24 that is also on his fifth team seven major league seasons; O'Dell has yet to go deep for the Raccoons after coming over in a garbage time trade with the Cyclones last year, having been exchanged for Graham Wasserman.

1B Jon Gonzalez, 28, B:R, T:R (.300, 21 HR, 91 RBI | .281, 87 HR, 354 RBI) – in his second season with Portland, Gonzalez led the league in doubles (44) and extra-base hits (67), and while we were still hoping for more than 21 homers from him (he hit 24 in San Fran after all…) the resulting 138 OPS+ was a career high. Here is to more of that peak!
2B/LF/3B/SS Jarod Spencer, 28, B:R, T:R (.305, 3 HR, 38 RBI | .302, 6 HR, 173 RBI) – "Pop" Spencer remains an utterly weird player that batted over .300 and stole a CL-leading 46 bases (and being caught only eight times) in 2025, and somehow still managed to wind up with a 96 OPS+. He is not an extra-base hitter (25 XBH, a career high, in 571 AB) and he has no patience whatsoever at the plate. He walked a career-high(…) 18 times in '25, but at least he makes contact: he struck out only *20* times.
SS Alberto Ramos, 20, B:L, T:R (.260, 0 HR, 8 RBI | .260, 0 HR, 8 RBI) – the Raccoons are totally sure that Ramos, who's profile is reminding of what a young Cookie brought to the table more than a decade ago, can pull off the leadoff spot. There is no question about his defense. There are questions about his bat (like 24 K in 127 AB), which I prefer to counter by sticking fingers into my ears and singing LALALALALALALALALALALAICANTHEARYOU.
3B Matt Nunley, 35, B:L, T:R (.271, 6 HR, 45 RBI | .280, 126 HR, 758 RBI) – eternal Matt Nunley, in his 13th major league season remains unaccosted for his spot at the hot corner. No trade for a challenger materialized, and much the contrary, the Coons traded away Mike Grigsby, the only serious "prospect" they had in the high minors. Defense remains excellent, and the bat has remained steady for as long as we can remember.
SS/2B Tim Stalker, 27, B:R, T:R (.246, 7 HR, 28 RBI | .249, 27 HR, 185 RBI) – very good defensive shortstop, more than just token speed, and most of the time also a good batter; he did all he could to keep his spot, like winning a third consecutive Gold Glove at the most demanding position in the field, and yet he still got shunted to the siding by the arrival of Alberto Ramos.
3B/SS/2B Daniel Bullock, 28, B:S, T:R (.261, 1 HR, 13 RBI | .242, 3 HR, 79 RBI) – strong defensive infielder, especially on the left side of the infield, with a negligible bat, the Brazilian shortstop missed roughly half of the 2025 season in recovering from a knee injury. He is the official 25th man on the team, but no replacement for him materialized in the offseason.

RF/LF/1B/CF Terry Kopp, 29, B:L, T:L (.274, 4 HR, 19 RBI | .276, 108 HR, 539 RBI) – after a subpar second half in 2024 and a 2025 season almost completely wiped out by injury (179 AB), Terry will move to leftfield in deference of Alfaro's stronger arm and hope to stay in one piece in a contract year and charge at that 20 HR mark again that he broke only once in his career.
LF/CF/RF/1B Abel Mora, 29, B:L, T:R (.272, 18 HR, 65 RBI | .270, 76 HR, 382 RBI) – as much of an allround player as you can find, hitting for average (having reached .300 once with the Wolves) and power, possessing good speed, and fielding very well, also throwing for eight assists last year. Not quite Neil Reece Reborn, but then again Neil's a Hall of Famer and they just don't fall from the skies.
RF/LF Omar Alfaro, 25, B:S, T:L (.282, 12 HR, 55 RBI | .240, 36 HR, 153 RBI) – Year 4 in the Age of Omar was the first that actually hinted at it possibly being more than a reincarnation of the Dark Ages. While hampered by injury like every other outfielder that dared tumble onto the roster, Omar went deep 12 times and put up his first .800+ OPS with a .282/.354/.459 slash. While he is anointed the rightfield starter prior to the season, he should also be mindful of Gomez breathing down his (and the other starters') neck.
1B/LF/RF/CF Rafael Gomez *, 27, B:R, T:L (.276, 10 HR, 44 RBI | .265, 75 HR, 361 RBI) – acquired from the Rebels, Rafael Gomez is so far penciled in as the fourth outfielder, but will get all the starts against left-handers for sure, and can jump into any opening created by a slumping or injured outfielder.
LF/CF/RF Ricardo Carmona, 34, B:L, T:R (.260, 1 HR, 37 RBI | .309, 21 HR, 602 RBI) – signed to an early extension before the 2023 season even began, Cookie soon enough found himself in hell, not seeing the ball well the entire year and dropping 70 points from his 2022 batting average, and has remained in hell ever since; after three campaigns of zero WAR from Cookie as leftfield starter, the Raccoons concede defeat and will put one of their most expensive players on the far end of the bench for the last two years of his contract, probably also ending his Hall of Fame ambitions which would have hinged on him topping up on those 2,176 career base hits.

On disabled list: Nobody.

Otherwise unavailable: Nobody.

Other roster movement:
SP/MR Alvin Smith *, 31, B:R, T:R (0-1, 4.72 ERA | 19-27, 4.52 ERA, 1 SV) – waived and DFA'ed; intended as injury reserve in AAA after added as free agent on the cheap during the offseason
RF/1B/CF/LF Greg Borg, 27, B:R, T:R (.228, 2 HR, 20 RBI | .212, 2 HR, 25 RBI) – waived and DFA'ed; got 250 AB in 2025 and did virtually nothing with them; good defender across all his positions, but unfortunately doesn't wield much of a stick
LF Justin Gerace, 26, B:S, T:R (.230, 8 HR, 31 RBI | .226, 9 HR, 37 RBI) – demoted on Opening Day, Gerace can slug it, but also has giant holes in his swing, giving him a K rate of almost 25% in '25, and is also not really a gain to any clubhouse…

The remaining surplus players (Mansfield, Magallanes, Derks, Wilson) had already been moved to the AAA roster prior to Opening Day.

OPENING DAY LINEUP:

Vs. RHP: SS Ramos – 2B Spencer – CF Mora – 1B Gonzalez – LF Kopp – RF Alfaro – C Tovias – 3B Nunley – P Roberts
(Vs. LHP: SS Ramos – 2B Spencer – CF Mora – 1B Gonzalez – RF Alfaro – LF Gomez – C Tovias – 3B Nunley – P Roberts)

Abel Mora is batting third because he is the only guy that combines speed and power on this roster and I don't want a roadblock in front of him. Putting Ramos, who didn't exactly incinerate pitchers in his debut season, in the leadoff spot is a bit of a gamble, but if he works out, the singles slapper Spencer in the #2 hole will be that more lethal and might drive in tons of runs for a #2 batter. Gonzalez is more or less a lock in the cleanup spot unless Omar Alfaro grows at an exponential pace. The #5 through #7 batters are more or less interchangeable depending on performance, but there is not much hope for Nunley to get out of the #8 hole except when other players get rest and we switch in the reserves.

OFF SEASON CHANGES:

WAR is a useless stat (which isn't stopping me from using it to make a point from time to time, just as I see fit). The Raccoons made three trades in the offseason that I all considered to be advancing the team, yet all of them were WAR-negative. As a result, and because free agent additions were limited to relief pitchers, the Coons ended up 17th in the WAR gain table with a -1.3 value. But then again, WAR was judging them really unfairly this time around.

Top 5: Aces (+9.2), Gold Sox (+7.3), Canadiens (+6.7), Miners (+5.8), Stars (+4.2)
Bottom 5: Scorpions (-5.8), Thunder (-6.4), Titans (-7.0), Loggers (-8.9), Knights (-12.8)

PREDICTION TIME:

For the second straight year I was off my prediction by double digits. After considering the Coons to be shoe-in for 89 wins in '24 (which they didn't come close to), I predicted more misery and a 75-87 season for '25, which they outran by 13 wins.

What is in the division? The Titans have won four titles in a row and they are in any conversation. The Coons are in the conversation because they won 88 and look improved, and Ramos is totally going to bat .372 and steal 86 bases and score 175 runs. Totally!

The Elks and Crusaders seem to have a good offense, but their pitching has holes as big as the Rocky Mountains. The Loggers and Indians don't have much of anything except for question marks and a lousy future. No, the division will really be between the Coons and the Titans, but can we make up 14 games? The Titans lost some feathers, not a lot, but some. If the Coons stay healthy, keep zero-WAR players out of the lineup, and continue to pitch well, they might be a 95-win team. How much will the Titans drop from their 102-60 campaign? We sure hope at least seven games…

I hesitate to make a call as to who wins the division here… I want it to be us so badly, but I wonder whether we got enough.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:

Portland drops three spots in the farm system rankings from 7th to 10th. That they are anywhere close to the front ranks is still mostly due to Alberto Ramos, although his prospect days are numbered. We also got a top 25 entrant from the July IFA period, but ultimately remain limited to five ranked prospects, the same as last year.

Compared to last season, the Raccoons lost #98 prospect Felipe Delgado in a trade, and former #38 George James dropped out of the top 200.

8th (-7) – ML SS Alberto Ramos, 20 – 2022 international free agent signed by Raccoons
25th (new) – INT SP Izzy Chavez, 18 – 2025 international free agent signed by Raccoons
77th (new) – A SP Aaron Hagemann, 20 – 2025 first-round pick by Raccoons
112th (+45) – AAA CL Josh Boles, 22 – 2022 second-round pick by Warriors, signed as minor league FA by Raccoons
157th (-75) – AA SP Dave Martinez, 20 – 2022 international free agent signed by Raccoons

The franchise top 10 were completed by AA CL Jonathan Fleischer, 23 (), AAA SP George James, 22 (2024 1st Rd.), AA INF German Sanchez, 23 (trash heap), INT SP Raffaello Sabre, 17 (2025 IFA), and AAA 2B/SS Chris Golka, 24 (2021 2nd Rd.)

The top 5 overall prospects this year are:

#1 IND A INF Dan Schneller (newly drafted in 2025)
#2 LVA A SP Josh Heckman (newly drafted in 2025)
#3 ATL AA SP Andy Jimenes (scouting discovery in 2023)
#4 PIT ML 1B Danny Santillano (was #5)
#5 NAS AA 3B Jim Allen (was #3)

The remaining players from last year's top 5 were obviously Alberto Ramos, who dropped from #1 to #8; furthermore #2 VAN AA SP Geoff Swayze, who is still at the same level and dropped to #11, and #4 IND A SP Andy Bressner, who moved up to AA for this season and tossed a no-hitter at the single-A level in '25, but still dropped to #9 in the rankings.

Next: first pitch.