As always these offseason posts are not posted all at once but updated as the offseason goes on, so refresh for updates.
The news from above is that we can spend up to $180M on payroll again which will give us a lot of flexibility. The owner wants me to re-sign Jaiden Hardaway of course, and although I'd like him back in a vacuum it's Seth Williams' time. J-Hard is also now 35, and declined quite a bit last year even though he was still a 5-WAR player. Danny Ayala is also a free agent and his elite power bat will be missed as 45 HR, 140-150 RBI guys don't grow on trees. We have capable replacements (Jose Mendez should get more PT) but they won't be as productive as Ayala, who is asking for an 8/320 extension which he ain't gonna get. The other major free agent is Kikuo Kawase, whom I'm already trying to bring back for another 2 years and should be able to afford. Joe Trader is also a free agent and he put together a great contract year (1.4 WAR for a lefty specialist). I'd like to bring him back as well if his demands are reasonable.
And...Kikuo remains in the fold:
Here are the projected salaries for 2041 with Kawase aboard:
Everyone not listed of course is making the minimum, and the total currently stands at $132M. The one name that stands out here that likely isn't coming back is Jim Gebers. He lost his job (or at least the long side of a platoon) to Josh Beckett, and I'm not going to pay him $9M to be the 3B against lefties. Jordan Moore was an interesting waiver claim last year but he's going to be non-tendered or traded. Ramon Ruiz is pricey for a backup infielder but his versatility and glove and the fact that we need cover for the "wrecked" Jeff Baez means we keep him, as well as Baez who will earn the money with Gold Glove D and decent hitting as he was worth almost 4 WAR despite playing about 105-110 games. We just have to hope his next injury isn't one that puts him out for several months.
The top 4 in the rotation of Romero/Jackson/Brockman/Willard looks set with the 5th spot up for grabs among Jose Mendoza (if he comes back from bone chip surgery with his stuff intact), Jordan Perez (we'll give him another shot), Sean Forbes (his ratings and #s at Durham were great, I'm hoping his MLB struggles were a sample size thing) and possibly Jon Harbour, 2039's 5th starter for a while.
The bullpen looks solid again with the big 3 of Kawase, Pretty and Burgess, although if I can't re-sign Joe Trader priority #1 this offseason will be finding a top-notch lefty reliever. Chris Toombs will be back and hopefully last season's struggles are a blip rather than a trend. Dan Anderson was a revelation and whoever loses the 5th starter derby will end up in long relief.
McKee and Morley are back at catcher, the infield looks like Alexander-S.Williams-Baez-Beckett and OF/DH is a Mendez-Malone-Leonard-Ruggles-Willis combo. With Ruiz backing up on the infield, this leaves one spot I'd like to use on a RHB that can back up at the corner IF positions.
This is the 5th time in his 8 seasons Kawase's won the award and he probably deserved in the other 3, which is why I had no problem re-signing him even though his K/9 dropped from 17.3 to 13.7 last year. He didn't allow a single homer for the 2nd time in his career and has only surrendered 11 in 419 career IP.
November 13: Silver Sluggers were awarded and this year we "only" had 3: Josh Alexander (1B), Jaiden Hardaway (2B) and Danny Ayala (LF).
November 15: Houston's Elias Gomez won the AL Cy Young off a 13-8, 3.52 season with a league-best 256 Ks in 189 IP. Danny Romero finished 5th and Vinny Willard 6th in the voting. San Diego's Rogelio Espinoza took home the NL version with a 14-8, 3.23 record and 242 whiffs in 200 IP.
An impressive showing from Alexander this year, winning MVP in his first full season as a regular. I thought the voting would be closer but the combination of his big traditional HR/RBI numbers and his league-leading 6.3 WAR did the trick. Dodgers 2B Steve Cholette won in the NL off a .292-42-131, 6.6 WAR in a close vote over Milwaukee CF Dan Gregory.
We have a trade!
We kind of kill two birds with one stone here, moving Gebers and his salary while acquiring a stud lefty reliever who will replace Joe Trader if we have to. Quincy Siegle (and a marginal prospect) got the deal done, and although I liked Siegle and he contributed well in 2039 when we had infield injuries he was taking up a 40-man spot and wasn't needed at all last season. If he could hit lefties he'd probably be on the team but although he's a nominal switch-hitter he really only hits righties. Williams meanwhile saved 85 games for LA the last 3 seasons and has a career K/9 of 14.3.