OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Returning the Dodgers to Prominence (1989)

CBeisbol · 09-29-2020, 07:12 PM

We've made some headway in addressing our roster. But, have yet to finalize any deal.

We've been focusing on
-Bringing Nolan Ryan back. Ryan had a good comeback season in LA last year, and we'd like him to continue his career here.

-To replace Smith, who was lost in the expansion draft: We've had some talks with the Rockies about bringing him back. We've also looked at free agent Jim Gott. Gott has a 116 ERA+ over the last 2 seasons and a 78 FIP-. That's 2.3 WAR. Smith had a 185 ERA+ and 60 FIP- during the same time. Smith has been better, but he's 2 years older and will cost around a million dollars more. Plus, whatever players we'd have to trade to acquire him.

-We've also talked to the Rockies about bringing back Dave Hansen. We like his left-handed bat off the bench and his defense at 3B and ability to play 1B and 2B. We've also looked into Chris Donnels (also selected by the Rockies in the expansion draft). We had discussion with the Cubs last year regarding Donnels, but eventually decided to go with Hansen. Free agent IFer Dale Sveum is also on the radar.

-The Red Sox approached us with an interesting player - SP Mark Langston. Langston was a favorite of mine. He's getting older, 32, but has put up 3, 4 and 5 WAR seasons the last 3 years. He has one year remaining on his deal at just over $2,000,000. Unfortunately, the Sox' asking price of Ramon Martinez was way too high. Other discussion involving minor league players have continued, but no agreement has been reached.

-The RF hole. We've looked at a number of options for filling this spot. The simplest would be to acquire a RFer. We've checked in with Tom Brunansky (1, 3.6 and 2.1 WAR the last 3 seasons). We've also talked with Bobby Bonilla about returning to RF allowing us to acquire a first baseman. Former Padre nemesis, John Kruk, is a free agent, but probably a bigger deal than we are looking to make. Andres Galaraga is a free agent, but he hasn't performed in the OOTP era (3.5 WAR in 4 years). Former Dodger Eddie Murray is available. He had 2 solid years in LA, then struggled in 1991 and had a bounce back year with the Royals and Mets last year (125 wRC+ and 4.2 WAR). Another option we've looked at is moving Dave Hollins to first and acquiring a third baseman. Gary Gaetti is a free agent, but struggled badly last year (67 wRC+) after consecutive 2 WAR seasons. He's a huge defensive upgrade over Hollins, though. We also toyed with the idea of signing SS Barry Larkin and moving Jon Valentin to 3B – but nothing came of that. Similarly, the Expos are offering IF Tony Fernandez. He could play 3B or SS but doesn't have the power we are looking to replace. The Reds are also shopping 3B Chris Sabo. Bo Jackson is also said to be recovering from his hip replacement. There's some temptation there.

-Lastly, we've made an offer to a player who doesn't fill any of the above holes, but was a favorite of mine as a kid. We'll see what happens with that.

09-29-2020, 07:12 PM	#14
CBeisbol Banned Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Ban land in 3...2... Posts: 2,943	Winter meetings We've made some headway in addressing our roster. But, have yet to finalize any deal. We've been focusing on -Bringing Nolan Ryan back. Ryan had a good comeback season in LA last year, and we'd like him to continue his career here. -To replace Smith, who was lost in the expansion draft: We've had some talks with the Rockies about bringing him back. We've also looked at free agent Jim Gott. Gott has a 116 ERA+ over the last 2 seasons and a 78 FIP-. That's 2.3 WAR. Smith had a 185 ERA+ and 60 FIP- during the same time. Smith has been better, but he's 2 years older and will cost around a million dollars more. Plus, whatever players we'd have to trade to acquire him. -We've also talked to the Rockies about bringing back Dave Hansen. We like his left-handed bat off the bench and his defense at 3B and ability to play 1B and 2B. We've also looked into Chris Donnels (also selected by the Rockies in the expansion draft). We had discussion with the Cubs last year regarding Donnels, but eventually decided to go with Hansen. Free agent IFer Dale Sveum is also on the radar. -The Red Sox approached us with an interesting player - SP Mark Langston. Langston was a favorite of mine. He's getting older, 32, but has put up 3, 4 and 5 WAR seasons the last 3 years. He has one year remaining on his deal at just over $2,000,000. Unfortunately, the Sox' asking price of Ramon Martinez was way too high. Other discussion involving minor league players have continued, but no agreement has been reached. -The RF hole. We've looked at a number of options for filling this spot. The simplest would be to acquire a RFer. We've checked in with Tom Brunansky (1, 3.6 and 2.1 WAR the last 3 seasons). We've also talked with Bobby Bonilla about returning to RF allowing us to acquire a first baseman. Former Padre nemesis, John Kruk, is a free agent, but probably a bigger deal than we are looking to make. Andres Galaraga is a free agent, but he hasn't performed in the OOTP era (3.5 WAR in 4 years). Former Dodger Eddie Murray is available. He had 2 solid years in LA, then struggled in 1991 and had a bounce back year with the Royals and Mets last year (125 wRC+ and 4.2 WAR). Another option we've looked at is moving Dave Hollins to first and acquiring a third baseman. Gary Gaetti is a free agent, but struggled badly last year (67 wRC+) after consecutive 2 WAR seasons. He's a huge defensive upgrade over Hollins, though. We also toyed with the idea of signing SS Barry Larkin and moving Jon Valentin to 3B – but nothing came of that. Similarly, the Expos are offering IF Tony Fernandez. He could play 3B or SS but doesn't have the power we are looking to replace. The Reds are also shopping 3B Chris Sabo. Bo Jackson is also said to be recovering from his hip replacement. There's some temptation there. -Lastly, we've made an offer to a player who doesn't fill any of the above holes, but was a favorite of mine as a kid. We'll see what happens with that.