A fairly busy time all around.
We make a couple of lower-key FA acquisitions:
2B Smoky Joe Wood: 3 years, $16000 (Year 3 a vesting option)
While I am very comfortable with our first line, should any injuries befall us the drop to the backups is too steep for my liking. Joe helps improve that situation at 2B and also plays decently enough at the corner OFs. We will actually platoon him at LF against LHP with Smith. He still pitches as well, albeit in quick bursts, and will be used in that capacity if and as needed.
P Harry Krause: 1 year, $2000
Harry is merely a bridge to Dutch Reuther, still it seems a year away, moving into the rotation.
We also make a couple trades:
TRADE 1 OF 5 (12/27/18)
SS Bob Larmore traded to Philadelphia (NL) for IF Possum Whitted.
Possum is a handy utility who plays a solid enough 1B / 2B / 3B / LF, as well as SS and the other two OF spots with less polish.
TRADE 2 OF 5 (12/27/18)
P George Mogridge traded to Brooklyn for C Frank Snyder.
With Easterly at 33 and O’Farrell not quite developing as we’d hoped, I felt we needed a better backup catcher. Frank is only 24 and I believe is already good enough to take over the everyday role should Ted show signs of slipping.
This year certainly saw the offseason market heat up, both for FA and in trading, although no real blockbuster swaps were made. Here are the major deals:
- P Joe Williams: Giants, 7 years / $63300 (extension)
- C Heavy Johnson: Athletics, 8 years / $47980 (extension)
- C William Fischer: Cardinals, 5 years / $38000 (extension)
- P Rube Marquard: Giants, 5 years / $37000 (extension)
- OF Tilly Walker: Tigers, 5 years / $30000
- OF Cristobal Torriente: Red Sox, 4 years / $29600 (extension)
- P Andrew Foster: Red Sox, 4 years / $27200
- P Ferdie Schupp: Cardinals, 5 years / $18080 (extension)
- 3B Heinie Zimmerman: Robins, 3 years / $16800
- P Jim Scott: Red Sox, 3 years / $12680
- OF Fred Beck: Braves, 3 years / $11940 (extension)
- OF Wally Schang: Braves, 1 year / $7200 (extension)
- P Chick Brandom: Cardinals, 1 year / $5200
- P Hugh Bedient: Cardinals, 1 year / $4360 (extension)
- OF Joe Riggert from Indians to Senators for OF Walton Cruise and P George Cunningham
- C Verne Clemons from Giants to Cubs for OF Tim Hendryx and C Wickey McAvoy
- C Patsy Gharrity from Indians to Robins for OF Benny Kauff and C Eufemio Abreu
- SS Pelayo Chacon from Indians to Braves for OF Jack Dalton
- P Dick Rudolph from the Giants to the Red Sox for 3B Jimmy Johnstone and 2B Bruno Betzel
- 3B Ramon Gonzalez from the Browns to the White Sox for P Roy Hitt
- OF Casey Stengel and OF Sammy Vick from the Yankees to the Browns for C Lew McCarty and 1B Ed Douglass
ALL TRANSACTIONS
We have a solid 15-3 ST and all seems ready for us to push for a fourpeat!
The prognosticators have kept the faith with us, tipping us to hold off the Giants and Cards by a narrow margin, while they fancy the Senators to win the AL pretty comfortably this year from the Red Sox and Browns.
FULL PRESEASON PREDICTIONS