2020-2021 Offseason Part 1: So with the end of the season, I immediately set out to acquire some quality prospects to boost my team for the coming years. The goal isn't to just throw together a team that can have a competitive window for a year or two, but to have a full-blown dynasty to replace the Dodgers in the NL West. And boy did we start off well ...
Wander Franco Blockbuster: How could I resist the most exciting prospect in baseball?
Per Fangraphs, Franco is "close to a perfect prospect, as he's plus at almost everything he tries." His 80 hit tool and 80 FV is reflected in game with 80/60/50 scouting potential. His only weakness is his
merely good defensive range, meaning he's borderline for a SS role. His arm is great, which sets him up to surpass Matt Chapman as the best defensive 3B in MLB if his range (which I think was like 55 at the time??) forces him to move. I pulled this trade off by sending Bleday, red-hot Austin Slater, Kieboom, and some other prospects off, while taking on the bulky contract of a quickly deteriorating Kevin Kiermaier whose in game value isn't quite what it is IRL. Obviously it sucks to lose Bleday and Kieboom having just traded for them, but Franco has Trout-like WAR potential as a SS if he pans out, which dwarfs the opportunity cost of losing Bleday and Kieboom imo.
Franco quickly rose through AAA and would start 127 games for me in 2021, slashing .297/.349/.432 with 10 HRs and a 111 OPS+. He didn't exactly set the world on fire here, but these numbers are definitely really solid for a starting SS. His fielding also improved quickly and he put up REALLY solid numbers in the field, with +6.1 ZR at SS over his 127 games. Not gold glove numbers, but definitely better than other young studs like Tatis by comparison. His ratings jumped up fast, finishing the season at 75/45/45 and a much-improved 65 defense at SS by October 2021, all with room to grow.
Retrospective: Reporting in 2030, JJ Bleday would never return to my team and would go on to have a very respectable career in Tampa. He did not debut in the majors until 2023 at age 25, where he posted -0.4 WAR in 85 starts. However, he quickly rebounded with his peak season in 2024 where he would slash .330/.404/.582 with 33 HRs, good for an outstanding 161 OPS+. Coupled with -0.2 ZR in RF, he finished the year with 6.1 WAR, finishing second in American League MVP voting (I select winners myself to ensure the best person wins
) to eventual winner 2B Lucius Fox, who put up 6.6 WAR behind elite fielding and a 119 OPS+ in his rookie season with Cleveland. Anyways, Bleday never again made an All-Star team, though he did put up a couple more 4+ WAR seasons. In 2027, TB rewarded him with a 4yr/$74.2m extension, putting up 8.2 WAR in the three seasons since then. For his career he sits at 22.4 WAR and 196 HRs through 2030. Definitely not a HoF candidate at age 32, but a well-above average big leaguer for sure. Definitely could have used an MVP season from him, but in retrospect I 100% made the right trade. More on that later ...
Kieboom has followed a similar trajectory to Bleday, putting together several good seasons in Tampa with his peak also coming in 2024, where he slashed .292/.376/.509 with 28 HRs, good for a 135 OPS+. Paired with a +4.0 ZR at 3B, he finished with 5.3 WAR across 141 starts. He's had 3 other all-star caliber seasons by my estimation and has 29.2 career WAR at age 33. In 2029, after being selected as an all-star, he rejected a qualifying offer from the Rays, only to then sign a disastrous 1yr/$1.8m deal with Kansas City, likely due to bloated budgets around the league and having regressed to a 50 value player by the end of the season. Another player who has had a respectable career, but ultimately not somebody I really missed.
Anyways, that's all for now, more 2020-2021 offseason updates to come, some more exciting trades to discuss, and of course a recap of the season itself!