Projected Record: 69-93 (4th NL Central)
-With the DH now in the NL and less need for pinch-hit flexibility, we opted for 14 pitchers and 12 hitters. In what was presumed to be an either/or competition, we ended up sending down
both David Bote and
Matt Duffy.
-Bullpen roles aren't set in stone, but after quite a bit of tinkering, I'm optimistic about the current setup.
-In what was expected to be a close competition,
Connor Seabold ran away from
Clarke Schmidt for the fifth starter's spot, firing a 1.35 ERA over 20 innings with a 25:3 K/BB ratio.
-Of the three out-of-options pitchers, I opted to keep
Justin Steele as the long man/spot starter. He was almost certainly going to be claimed if we DFA'ed him and he can eat up far more innings than either Wick or Maples.
-Along with Seabold,
Brailyn Marquez was the star of the spring. He struck out 21 batters over 11 innings (six walks) with each appearance between 35 and 45 pitches. He'll continue working as a starter at Iowa, but the future is clearly as some sort of high-leverage, multi-inning weapon a la how the Brewers used to deploy Josh Hader.
Transactions:
04/01: Released LHP Andrew Chafin
-We took a big salary hit here ($2.2M) but he was clearly a shell of his prior self. Regrettable, but I wasn't going to continue tying up a roster spot.
04/01: Designated for Assignment RHP Rowan Wick
-Out of options, I assume Wick will end up clearing waivers and returning to the organization as decent bullpen depth in the upper minors.
04/03: Designated for Assignment RHP Dillon Maples
-He's a bit more likely than Wick to be claimed, but the lack of control (25) was too much to stomach.
