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2014 Preseason Assessment
I liked the lineup of hitters we had going into the season, but there were noticeable holes. Our lineup was loaded with power hitters, but devoid of contact hitters and speed. This had to change.
The rotation was even worse. Outside of Scott Kazmir and Sonny Gray, our pitching was fairly weak. We would have zero chance of winning a 5-game or 7-game series in the postseason with the likes of Jesse Chavez or Tommy Milone making playoff starts. I also wanted to upgrade our bullpen. Jim Johnson (50+ saves for the Orioles in back-to-back seasons) was a nice pickup for the A's, but I wanted a fireballer who could get strikeouts in our closer role. Johnson did not fit the bill.
In review, my targets for the 2014 offseason would be:
-Speedster for the top of the lineup
-Contact hitter
-Two starting pitchers for the top of our rotation
-Power pitcher for bullpen
On top of that, our payroll for the following season was shaping up to be a disaster. We would have no money to sign any players to extensions this season, or make a decent run at the free agent market after this season. There weren't any mammoth contracts or salaries on the ledger, but tough choices would be have to be made. I had to walk the fine line between building a team to contend for a title in 2014, but tightening payroll for the next couple of years.
With my list of ingredients now set, it was time to go shopping.
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