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DD Martin · 12-03-2025, 01:40 PM

As we Head into Spring Training

Expectations are again very high this year as we come off two World Series appearances (but no championship).

Players Lost after last season

SP Cliff Simpson (Signed by Toledo, traded to Toronto)
C Sean White (Signed by Duluth)
3B Miguel Toledo (Signed by Thunder Bay)
CF Jose Gomez (Signed by Windsor)
SP Matsusuke Yoshida (Signed by Windsor)
RP Kevin McAskill (Signed by Traverse City)
2B Walker Dunse (Signed by Duluth)
P Augusto Gonzalez (Signed by Owen Sound)
SS Simon Lefevre
OF Jim Harris

Players Signed prior to Spring Training

SP Kieron Aplin 1 year $525,000
C Chris Cuff minor league deal with majors option ($600,000)
SP Dustin Randolph minor league contract $100 bonus
C Guo-quiang Lee 1 year $1,000,000
SP Julio Castro 1 year $7,000,000
LF Robert LeRoy 6 years $157,000,000 total
1B Jean Piquet minor league contract

In looking at it we signed 2 big time players and a couple of guys who have a shot at making the roster out of spring training (Aplin and G Lee). The rest were destined for AAA.

Did we do enough? We have P John Moore back in camp and ready to go for the spring. He has been a starting pitcher but the plan this season is to work him through the bullpen most likely unless we have a major injury or someone disappoints.

We also will eventually get back SP Yale Hulburt who with Jose Cedeno packs a pretty good 1-2 punch. Hulburt is under contract this season and next for $20,000,000 each and then has a team option in 2058 (age 39 season) for $17,000,000. Odds are that he will not be in Chicago on that deal in 2058, but we will need to see how things shake out. He is slated to return sometime in mid-late May.

Finally we have DH/OF Jose Aranda coming back. He will miss the first week or two as he is scheduled to be off the DL just as the season begins. He will likely get a week to 10 days to hit at AAA for his spring training before making his return to Chicago.

When you look at the off-seasons that my two chief rivals have put together, ours looks less impressive. But you have to remember that Toledo traded 4/9 of its starting position core at the deadline last season. I was amazed that they played as well as they did based on that deal in the 2nd half. The stats point to that they were the best team in the USA last year, but they finished 10 games below their expected win total based on runs differential. So for them to add like they did and if they can win 1-run games this year, they are going to be tough and might even be the favorites.

Heading into camp we have the following positions locked up. First with the pitchers.

SP #1 - Jose Cedeno
SP #2 - Julio Castro (LH)
SP #3 - Val Imbert
SP #4 - Joe Johnson
SP #5 -

So the top 4 spots are virtual locks but the position up from grabs at least for the first 6-7 weeks of the season will be for the last starting rotation spot. We will be looking at Bill Lutz, Ed Reddin, Stan Storey, JJ Walker, Jason Dickerson and Kieron Aplin. LHSP Curt Hoplins (age 21 prospect #12 overall) will be in camp but with Hulburt returning in late May it is likely that Castro will fill the spot that would have potentially been Hopkins. The general feeling is that he just isn't quite ready, but when he is we expect big things.

Bullpen

CL Pat Wright
SU Larry Stott
SU John Moore
MR Ken Shannon

So we have 4 spots in the pen basically sewn up and several more will likely go to Lutz and Walker if they do not win the #5 in the starting rotation. We will likely go with 11 or 12 pitchers so that means that we will have 1-3 open for competition.

Also in camp vying for those spots is (besides Walker, Lutz, Storey and Reddin) will be David Butler and Richard Hershel (who scouts say is a mid-rotation SP last season, but expectations have cooled a bit this year).

Position Players
C - Juan Duran
1B - Reagan Osborn
2B - John Lambert
SS -
3B - Travis Arnaud
LF - Robert LeRoy
CF - Cris Luna
RF - Tom Stone
DH - Jim Ashley

Really the only position battle will be at SS this spring as 21-year-old rookie Cristo Sandoval who we believe is the future for us will be battling Pablo Farrulla. I would really like Sandoval to win the job and be ready as I like Farrulla as the backup middle infielder, but after last September there are doubts that Sandoval is ready with the bat. If he isn't playing every day for us in Chicago he will be playing everyday at AAA Saugatuck for the Joe's.

With Jose Aranda out, we have decided to give that 10-14 day trial to Tom Stone in RF. Jim Ashley will be the DH. When Aranda returns hopefully by April 23rd at the latest, he will go back as the DH and Ashley will go back to RF. Stone will likely head back to AAA unless he is so impressive that he forces our hand early. This is likely Ashley's last season with Chicago as his $22 million option next season will not likely be exercised despite his great play. We will be in a serious budget crunch next season and we will look to have Stone take over in RF full time next season. Is he ready? We will get a good look in the first 2 weeks of the season and all spring.

There will be a battle for the backup catcher spot between Chi-yong Lee (B-R) and Guo-quiang Lee (B-L). That will be a very tight battle I would think. Guo has the advantage of being a left handed bat.

We will likely have Larry Davis (2B/3B/1B) in the mix for a spot as well as switch hitting 3B/1B Cruz Torres. Juan Vazquez (2B) and Marc Nakayama (1B) are long shots for this years club although we do like the power potential of Nakayama. He looks like a good hitter that plays 1B and corner OF. Unfortunately for Nakayama, he is blocked by Reagan Osborn at 1B. He deserves a spot and next year will probably be his year as we look to trim some expenses most likely in the OF.

Quentin Helmer OF-1B, Ken Davis corner OF, Steve Hickman CF (likely will be on the team with Lambert being the only real 2B and won't be available for backup duty in CF). Also back but looking at more of a backup role is LF Matt Graves (who led the GLBL in stolen bases last season with 58).

There is a chance that we could sign additional players especially with infield experience but that will be decided as we move through spring.

Next - Spring Training Results and Preparation for the Regular Season
Have we Done Enough?

12-03-2025, 01:40 PM	#56
DD Martin All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Seattle area Posts: 1,026	As we Head into Spring Training Expectations are again very high this year as we come off two World Series appearances (but no championship). Players Lost after last season SP Cliff Simpson (Signed by Toledo, traded to Toronto) C Sean White (Signed by Duluth) 3B Miguel Toledo (Signed by Thunder Bay) CF Jose Gomez (Signed by Windsor) SP Matsusuke Yoshida (Signed by Windsor) RP Kevin McAskill (Signed by Traverse City) 2B Walker Dunse (Signed by Duluth) P Augusto Gonzalez (Signed by Owen Sound) SS Simon Lefevre OF Jim Harris Players Signed prior to Spring Training SP Kieron Aplin 1 year $525,000 C Chris Cuff minor league deal with majors option ($600,000) SP Dustin Randolph minor league contract $100 bonus C Guo-quiang Lee 1 year $1,000,000 SP Julio Castro 1 year $7,000,000 LF Robert LeRoy 6 years $157,000,000 total 1B Jean Piquet minor league contract In looking at it we signed 2 big time players and a couple of guys who have a shot at making the roster out of spring training (Aplin and G Lee). The rest were destined for AAA. Did we do enough? We have P John Moore back in camp and ready to go for the spring. He has been a starting pitcher but the plan this season is to work him through the bullpen most likely unless we have a major injury or someone disappoints. We also will eventually get back SP Yale Hulburt who with Jose Cedeno packs a pretty good 1-2 punch. Hulburt is under contract this season and next for $20,000,000 each and then has a team option in 2058 (age 39 season) for $17,000,000. Odds are that he will not be in Chicago on that deal in 2058, but we will need to see how things shake out. He is slated to return sometime in mid-late May. Finally we have DH/OF Jose Aranda coming back. He will miss the first week or two as he is scheduled to be off the DL just as the season begins. He will likely get a week to 10 days to hit at AAA for his spring training before making his return to Chicago. When you look at the off-seasons that my two chief rivals have put together, ours looks less impressive. But you have to remember that Toledo traded 4/9 of its starting position core at the deadline last season. I was amazed that they played as well as they did based on that deal in the 2nd half. The stats point to that they were the best team in the USA last year, but they finished 10 games below their expected win total based on runs differential. So for them to add like they did and if they can win 1-run games this year, they are going to be tough and might even be the favorites. Heading into camp we have the following positions locked up. First with the pitchers. SP #1 - Jose Cedeno SP #2 - Julio Castro (LH) SP #3 - Val Imbert SP #4 - Joe Johnson SP #5 - So the top 4 spots are virtual locks but the position up from grabs at least for the first 6-7 weeks of the season will be for the last starting rotation spot. We will be looking at Bill Lutz, Ed Reddin, Stan Storey, JJ Walker, Jason Dickerson and Kieron Aplin. LHSP Curt Hoplins (age 21 prospect #12 overall) will be in camp but with Hulburt returning in late May it is likely that Castro will fill the spot that would have potentially been Hopkins. The general feeling is that he just isn't quite ready, but when he is we expect big things. Bullpen CL Pat Wright SU Larry Stott SU John Moore MR Ken Shannon So we have 4 spots in the pen basically sewn up and several more will likely go to Lutz and Walker if they do not win the #5 in the starting rotation. We will likely go with 11 or 12 pitchers so that means that we will have 1-3 open for competition. Also in camp vying for those spots is (besides Walker, Lutz, Storey and Reddin) will be David Butler and Richard Hershel (who scouts say is a mid-rotation SP last season, but expectations have cooled a bit this year). Position Players C - Juan Duran 1B - Reagan Osborn 2B - John Lambert SS - 3B - Travis Arnaud LF - Robert LeRoy CF - Cris Luna RF - Tom Stone DH - Jim Ashley Really the only position battle will be at SS this spring as 21-year-old rookie Cristo Sandoval who we believe is the future for us will be battling Pablo Farrulla. I would really like Sandoval to win the job and be ready as I like Farrulla as the backup middle infielder, but after last September there are doubts that Sandoval is ready with the bat. If he isn't playing every day for us in Chicago he will be playing everyday at AAA Saugatuck for the Joe's. With Jose Aranda out, we have decided to give that 10-14 day trial to Tom Stone in RF. Jim Ashley will be the DH. When Aranda returns hopefully by April 23rd at the latest, he will go back as the DH and Ashley will go back to RF. Stone will likely head back to AAA unless he is so impressive that he forces our hand early. This is likely Ashley's last season with Chicago as his $22 million option next season will not likely be exercised despite his great play. We will be in a serious budget crunch next season and we will look to have Stone take over in RF full time next season. Is he ready? We will get a good look in the first 2 weeks of the season and all spring. There will be a battle for the backup catcher spot between Chi-yong Lee (B-R) and Guo-quiang Lee (B-L). That will be a very tight battle I would think. Guo has the advantage of being a left handed bat. We will likely have Larry Davis (2B/3B/1B) in the mix for a spot as well as switch hitting 3B/1B Cruz Torres. Juan Vazquez (2B) and Marc Nakayama (1B) are long shots for this years club although we do like the power potential of Nakayama. He looks like a good hitter that plays 1B and corner OF. Unfortunately for Nakayama, he is blocked by Reagan Osborn at 1B. He deserves a spot and next year will probably be his year as we look to trim some expenses most likely in the OF. Quentin Helmer OF-1B, Ken Davis corner OF, Steve Hickman CF (likely will be on the team with Lambert being the only real 2B and won't be available for backup duty in CF). Also back but looking at more of a backup role is LF Matt Graves (who led the GLBL in stolen bases last season with 58). There is a chance that we could sign additional players especially with infield experience but that will be decided as we move through spring. Next - Spring Training Results and Preparation for the Regular Season Have we Done Enough? Last edited by DD Martin; 12-03-2025 at 01:47 PM.