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Art Deco · 11-17-2025, 10:04 PM

We're still licking our wounds here from leading Game 7 of the World Series after 7 innings and blowing it, but there's work to do as always in the offseason.

We have a bevy of pending free agents, most notably 3-time reigning AL MVP Fernando Tatis Jr, who most definitely will not be winning a 4th straight after a substantial dropoff this season. Still his "off" year was worth 4.8 WAR so even though he's on decline as he turns 36 in January, that's still a significant piece of the puzzle to replace. Also departing is starting catcher Samuel Basallo, starter Emiliano Teodo and most of the bullpen (Yordy Richard, Juan Nunez, Yeuris Jimenez, Hayden Juenger). Subaru Nakashima opted out of the final year of his contract, but that's not a problem since he's still under team control but he'll make more like $23M in arbitration than the $15M he was getting under his original deal. We also have him under control for 2036.

The good news is that we'll have more than enough money to spend to fill these holes. Here's what we have left who will make more than the minimum:

This group and everyone else adds up to $109M, but Stu Sternberg has loosened the purse strings and will allow us to spend $230M so hot damn, we have some cash to flash. It's possible some of it is spent to re-sign some of our free agents (not Tatis, but possibly Basallo, Teodo or some of the relievers). And of course we'll have plenty to spend to fill the holes at C, 3B and RP. Also there are a few names above who might be surplus to requirements as they say.

The position-by-position outlook:

C: Of course Basallo's absence looms large here. If we can't re-sign him then we have to find a legit starting catcher. Alejandro Contreras is a very good-hitting backup, but he's a 40 defender and not someone we want playing everyday.

1B: Alejandro Cerda showed well in his rookie year and why he was a top prospect but still has growing to do. The question is can he hit lefties or will he need a platoon partner? Geronimo Satiro is just that platoon partner so we should be good there. We have an excellent 1B prospect in Luis Figueroa who hit 308/402/643 at Durham last year and hit a combined 53 HR and 134 RBI between there and El Paso after coming over mid-season from San Diego. He's MLB-ready with 55 contact and 60 power but he's a lefty swinger like Cerda (who admitted can play LF) so he's likely blocked for now.

2B: Owen Paino had a disappointing year after a couple of good ones so all we can do is hope he bounces back.

SS: Edgar Quezada is an All-Star.

3B: Our other big hole with Tatis going elsewhere. Now Paino can play 3B so if we find ourselves with a top-notch 2B to acquire we can shift him around.

IF: I don't know about Pepin Schwartz, who has some pop but wasn't very good last year. We also have Kang-min Kim, who can play 2B and SS, and has 50 power and an 80 eye but only 40 contact. He's a whiz at 2B but I don't think I can ride with him as the 2B and move Paino to 3B, but he's got the inside track for the utility job.

LF: Ben Schmidt had a bounce-back year of sorts, but still well short of the promise he showed 4 years ago when we acquired him and he put up a 39-HR, 137-RBI season, followed by two awful years and then his decent 1.8-WAR season this year in only 311 AB. And he hit well in the postseason. On the other hand do I want to pay him $10-11M even with all the money in the world to spend? Chris Crisp can play here too if he's not DHing.

CF: Subaru is back.

RF: Jonathan Franks was a revelation last year, earning 2.8 WAR in 2/3 of a season, playing Gold Glove-caliber D and doing a little bit of everything.

DH: If Schmidt is the LF, Crisp is the DH.

OF: Cerda and Crisp can handle the OF and we still have Joe Edwards, who once looked like a fixture but injuries and some up-and-down play have dimmed his star. Then there's Alfredo Rosas, up for a while last year and with 3.5-star potential and had a 1.002 OPS at Durham. So we have a lot of depth in the grass.

SP: We return Sesay, Yohemas and Lambert, and Rogelio Vela could be the 4th starter but he was largely awful last year (he really should be better based on his ratings). We'll no doubt acquire a starter if Teodo wants too much and we also have top prospect Dillon Vokey waiting in the wings. Vokey made it to Durham last year and was decent and just needs to slightly improve his control to be effective in The Show. And Jose Garces is also an option, although I like him in the long relief role.

RP: Andrew Magno is our top returning reliever but a) he blew Game 7 and b) he's more of a lefty specialist. We needs arms, arms and arms here to go with the likes of Hydro, G.Ramos and others at the back end of the staff.

So the TL;DR:

1) Replace the Tatis-sized hole in our lineup with a 2B/3B
2) Find a really good catcher
3) Find another starter
4) Rebuild the bullpen almost completely
5) Enjoy the $100M+ we have to spend

Going to be an interesting winter.

11-17-2025, 10:04 PM	#287
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,791	2034-35 Offseason: State of the Team We're still licking our wounds here from leading Game 7 of the World Series after 7 innings and blowing it, but there's work to do as always in the offseason. We have a bevy of pending free agents, most notably 3-time reigning AL MVP Fernando Tatis Jr, who most definitely will not be winning a 4th straight after a substantial dropoff this season. Still his "off" year was worth 4.8 WAR so even though he's on decline as he turns 36 in January, that's still a significant piece of the puzzle to replace. Also departing is starting catcher Samuel Basallo, starter Emiliano Teodo and most of the bullpen (Yordy Richard, Juan Nunez, Yeuris Jimenez, Hayden Juenger). Subaru Nakashima opted out of the final year of his contract, but that's not a problem since he's still under team control but he'll make more like $23M in arbitration than the $15M he was getting under his original deal. We also have him under control for 2036. The good news is that we'll have more than enough money to spend to fill these holes. Here's what we have left who will make more than the minimum: This group and everyone else adds up to $109M, but Stu Sternberg has loosened the purse strings and will allow us to spend $230M so hot damn, we have some cash to flash. It's possible some of it is spent to re-sign some of our free agents (not Tatis, but possibly Basallo, Teodo or some of the relievers). And of course we'll have plenty to spend to fill the holes at C, 3B and RP. Also there are a few names above who might be surplus to requirements as they say. The position-by-position outlook: C: Of course Basallo's absence looms large here. If we can't re-sign him then we have to find a legit starting catcher. Alejandro Contreras is a very good-hitting backup, but he's a 40 defender and not someone we want playing everyday. 1B: Alejandro Cerda showed well in his rookie year and why he was a top prospect but still has growing to do. The question is can he hit lefties or will he need a platoon partner? Geronimo Satiro is just that platoon partner so we should be good there. We have an excellent 1B prospect in Luis Figueroa who hit 308/402/643 at Durham last year and hit a combined 53 HR and 134 RBI between there and El Paso after coming over mid-season from San Diego. He's MLB-ready with 55 contact and 60 power but he's a lefty swinger like Cerda (who admitted can play LF) so he's likely blocked for now. 2B: Owen Paino had a disappointing year after a couple of good ones so all we can do is hope he bounces back. SS: Edgar Quezada is an All-Star. 3B: Our other big hole with Tatis going elsewhere. Now Paino can play 3B so if we find ourselves with a top-notch 2B to acquire we can shift him around. IF: I don't know about Pepin Schwartz, who has some pop but wasn't very good last year. We also have Kang-min Kim, who can play 2B and SS, and has 50 power and an 80 eye but only 40 contact. He's a whiz at 2B but I don't think I can ride with him as the 2B and move Paino to 3B, but he's got the inside track for the utility job. LF: Ben Schmidt had a bounce-back year of sorts, but still well short of the promise he showed 4 years ago when we acquired him and he put up a 39-HR, 137-RBI season, followed by two awful years and then his decent 1.8-WAR season this year in only 311 AB. And he hit well in the postseason. On the other hand do I want to pay him $10-11M even with all the money in the world to spend? Chris Crisp can play here too if he's not DHing. CF: Subaru is back. RF: Jonathan Franks was a revelation last year, earning 2.8 WAR in 2/3 of a season, playing Gold Glove-caliber D and doing a little bit of everything. DH: If Schmidt is the LF, Crisp is the DH. OF: Cerda and Crisp can handle the OF and we still have Joe Edwards, who once looked like a fixture but injuries and some up-and-down play have dimmed his star. Then there's Alfredo Rosas, up for a while last year and with 3.5-star potential and had a 1.002 OPS at Durham. So we have a lot of depth in the grass. SP: We return Sesay, Yohemas and Lambert, and Rogelio Vela could be the 4th starter but he was largely awful last year (he really should be better based on his ratings). We'll no doubt acquire a starter if Teodo wants too much and we also have top prospect Dillon Vokey waiting in the wings. Vokey made it to Durham last year and was decent and just needs to slightly improve his control to be effective in The Show. And Jose Garces is also an option, although I like him in the long relief role. RP: Andrew Magno is our top returning reliever but a) he blew Game 7 and b) he's more of a lefty specialist. We needs arms, arms and arms here to go with the likes of Hydro, G.Ramos and others at the back end of the staff. So the TL;DR: 1) Replace the Tatis-sized hole in our lineup with a 2B/3B 2) Find a really good catcher 3) Find another starter 4) Rebuild the bullpen almost completely 5) Enjoy the $100M+ we have to spend Going to be an interesting winter.