Bill Bradley and the Rockies Rebuild

[bengalmike17]

Entry #1

I think I'd better introduce myself. I'm Bill Bradley, and I'm the new Rockies GM. I was recently hired, and I'm excited to be a part of this wonderful organization. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and I lived there until I went off to college to play baseball and get a degree in business. I was drafted professionally by the Baltimore Orioles, but my career fizzled out after a few years, and I decided to join the front office. Here I am!


I hope to get this team up to a championship caliber year in and year out. That will take some work, so bear with me. It may seem at times that I don't know what I'm doing, but trust me, I have a plan, and I am going to stick to it. We have a lot of potential here in Colorado, and gaining assets is a must if we want to compete for the championship soon.


Right now, I don't believe we can win a championship with the current roster. We have a lot of players who fit one of two categories; either they are young and inexperienced, or they are aging veterans at the tail end of their career. We also have two great players. It's not as easy as you would think though. Keeping those players costs a lot of money, and both Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki are nearing the end of their prime. They both have humongous deals that will hinder us if we don't unload them. Even though they are fan favorites, it will be in the best interest of the team.


Until next time,
Bill Bradley


League News:

• In addition to Major League Baseball, there are six other leagues in the universe. Each of them now has posting turned on, and I added a maximum posting fee to each one in the range of $10 mm - $20 mm.

[darkcloud4579]

Awesome. Always good to see Rockies stories.

[bengalmike17]

Entry #2 State of the Roster
Hey guys, it's Bill. I just thought I'd go through the roster and what I see in most of the players. We've certainly got some talent! I'll give a few words about each of the players on my 25 man roster starting from the bottom and working my way up to the players with the highest overall rating.


MR Jordan Lyles; 23 years old(cur: 20/80; pot: 22/80)
Lyles isn't anything special. He's pretty average with all his pitches, and he doesn't have much to overpower or fool hitters with. I'm not sure he has much of a future with the team.


SS Josh Rutledge; 24 years old (cur: 21/80; pot: 37/80)
Like Lyles, there isn't anything spectacular, but Rutledge does have a couple nice tools. His gap power projects to be a little above average, and his ability to steal and run the bases is his best attribute. I think he can become a serviceable bench player.


C Jordan Pacheco; 28 years old(cur: 21/80; pot: 21/80)
Pacheco is by no stretch of the imagination a starting catcher, but he has good tools and has performed pretty well in the majors and high minors. His contact is slightly above average, and he has surprisingly good instincts on the basepaths for a catcher. I still am not sure what the future holds for Pacheco.


2B DJ Lemahieu; 25 years old(cur: 21/80; pot: 23/80)
I like DJ. If nothing big changes, he'll be the starting 2B for our club this season, despite his low overall ratings. His ability to hit the ball is very good, and his defense and speed are both above average. I guess I'll say it again, I like DJ.


RF Charlie Blackmon; 27 years old(cur: 21/80; pot: 21/80)
Blackmon is okay. Nothing special here. A replacement level type player. Good speed and range in the outfield, but his offense is subpar. Could be an adequate replacement to Cargo if he is dealt, but I might try and shop Blackmon as well.


CF Brandon Barnes; 27 years old(cur: 21/80; pot: 22/80)
Barnes isn't going to be on the team for long. A good bench bat, and he has good speed and defense, but I just don't feel like there is a spot on the team for him. I might have a spot for him in Triple-A though!


CF Corey Dickerson; 24 years old(cur: 21/80; pot: 45/80)
Dickerson came as a center fielder, but his defensive ratings are far better in left field, and when I changed his position, he became a 28 overall with the potential to be a 60 in the future. Not bad. I am impressed with Dickerson and like his future. He should be one of the building blocks going forward, but no one is safe.


SP Franklin Morales; 28 years old(cur: 22/80; pot: 23/80)
His overall ratings are pretty low, at least by my scouting director. I believe that he can be a good middle to back end of the rotation guy. His pitches all grade out above average, and I think he'll be a decent part of the rotation.


1B Justin Morneau; 32 years old(cur: 27/80; pot: 27/80)
A fragile player with two years left on his contract, I think I will be looking to get rid of him. His power would be nice in this park, but he isn't in the future plans.


MR Latroy Hawkins; 41 years old(cur: 29/80; pot: 29/80)
Hawkins won't be here long, as he's a season or two away from retirement, but he will be a decent late inning reliever for us. I think Latroy will finish his career here, but that's only because he is 41 years old and that he has a team option for next year.


RF Michael Cuddyer; 34 years old(cur: 29/80; pot: 29/80)
Cuddyer has a great bat. It will certainly play well in this park. His salary is a little high, and this year is the last in his contract, so I will definitely be exploring some trade options there. I like him, but he might be a little too expensive. I might potentially hold onto him the whole year to try and get some sort of draft pick compensation, but we shall see.


C Wilin Rosario; 25 years old(cur: 31/80; pot: 57/80)
I like Rosario. He's young, he's got a good bat, and pretty decent behind the dish. His power fits well in this park, and in his first two full seasons, he hit 28 and 21 home runs. Down the road he could be an extension candidate.


MR Adam Ottavino; 28 years old(cur: 33/80; pot: 37/80)
Ottavino has all of the tools to be a great reliever in the league. He's got a great pitch in his slider, and he is above average with all of his other pitches. For only $502,000 this year, he sure looks like a bargain.


SP Tyler Chatwood; 24 years old(cur: 40/80; pot: 59/80)
Chatwood is in a good spot. He's got good ratings on his pitches, he's young, and he's got the potential to get better. What's not to like? Needless to say, I think he'll be staying in Colorado for awhile.


SP Juan Nicasio; 27 years old(cur: 42/80; pot: 49/80)
Nicasio isn't totally special. He's pretty much above average in most of his stuff, which isn't bad, but it won't make him a great pitcher. He should be a middle of the rotation guy. I might look to move him.


MR Wilton Lopez; 30 years old(cur: 49/80; pot: 49/80)
This guy looks pretty good. His control is impeccable, and he's got some good pitches. I'm not sure how well he'll be, but I definitely think he'll be a pretty darn good reliever.


SP Jorge De La Rosa; 32 years old(cur: 49/80; pot: 49/80)
I have to say, I am not a fan of him. He seems decent, and he's above average in most of his pitch ratings, but I don't think he's worth $11 million. I am going to look to sell immediately.


3B Nolan Arenado; 22 years old(cur: 52/80; pot: 80/80)
That potential though! Seriously, Arenado should be the cornerstone of my franchise come a few seasons. His power potential looks to be his best tool, which fits well in our park. I will be keeping him, no doubt.


MR Chad Bettis; 24 years old(cur: 53/80; pot: 61/80)
Currently, he's a reliever, but he projects to be a starter, so I might explore that option later in the season. He's above average in most of his ratings. This will be his rookie season, as he only threw 44.2 innings in the majors last year. Probably a keeper, but he could be used.


SP Brett Anderson; 26 years old(cur: 53/80; pot: 59/80)
Anderson looks like he could be decent, but I don't trust him. His ratings are pretty good, but I might look to move him. That will depend on how his season goes.
MR Matt Belisle; 33 years old(cur: 67/80; pot 67/80)
Belisle looks like one of my top three relievers. His curveball is a great pitch, and everything else is well above average. He's making $4.25 mm this season, and this is his last year here. I may try and extend him, but if I can't do that I'll certainly try to move him.


LF Carlos Gonzalez; 28 years old(cur: 76/80; pot: 77/80)
Cargo is one of my studs, one of my expensive studs. He does everything well. He is injury prone, but when healthy he is still one of the best outfielders in the game. I will be looking to trade him off before his contract gets even more expensive.


CL Rex Brothers; 26 years old(cur: 79/80; pot: 79/80)
You're looking at the Rockies' 2014 closer. I love this guy. He's young and he's got great stuff. He isn't going anywhere, at least not under my watch.


SS Troy Tulowitzki; 29 years old(cur 80/80; pot: 80/80)
Not much to say here. You guys know about him. He's an 80 overall and he's pretty good in everything. He's making tons of money, and I don't want to pay him all that money.

[bengalmike17]

Entry #3 The First Month

The season is upon us, and with that comes the release of the top 100 prospect list. Our top ranked batter is Trevor Story, who came in at #77 on the list. David Dahl also made an appearance on the list, and he is ranked at number 99. Eddie Butler is our top ranked pitcher, and top prospect according to this list. He comes in at #33 overall. Jonathan Gray made the list at number 87 also. Our farm system isn't great, overall its ranked number 22. We have some room to improve there.

The first act of business as GM was to fire my scouting director. After going through some of his ratings, I didn't really trust his word. I found a scouting director named Tai Ban from Taiwan. He has only one year of experience under his belt, but his ability to scout is impeccable. He is legendary in scouting the majors, internationally, and scouting amateurs. He also outstanding at the minor league level. Ban agreed to my five year proposal, and just like that, we had a new scouting director.

I was scouring the free agents list trying to find some help, and I had to stop myself from going after Rusney Castillo. I would love to see him in a Rockies uniform, but that wouldn't fit the team philosophy.

Surprisingly, Joel Hanrahan was asking for just a minor league deal, so I offered one to him and within a few days he accepted. I quickly promoted him to the big league team, and I sent Jordan Lyles down to Triple A.

Jhoulys Chacin came off the DL on April 15^th, and we activated him and demoted CF Brandon Barnes to Triple- A. We have far too many outfielders on the active roster.

When Boone Logan came off the DL I sent Charlie Blackmon down to Triple-A and activates Logan.

At the end of April we are 15-14, which puts us at third place in the division. I talked with multiple clubs about our two stars, Cargo and Tulo. I had an offer in place with Cincinnati but decided to hold off for now. Tulo did get hurt in the middle of the month putting him on the bench for two weeks, but nothing serious happened. Wilin Rosario was our best hitter of the month. He only hit .198, but he put on a serious show of power. He hit 10 bombs and drove in 22 in the first month. Our best pitcher was Jorge De La Rosa. He won three games, posted an ERA of 2.41, and struck out 37. Not bad for a first month.

Major League News

• Kendrys Morales signed a one year, $2,910,000 contract with Seattle
• The Cardinals traded Jon Jay and Charlie Tilson to Boston for Clay Buccholz
• The Indians traded Nyjer Morgan and Eric Haase to Cincinnati for Mike Leake
• Rusney Castillo signed a one year contract worth $5,240,000 with Seattle.
• The Pirates sent Neil Walker, Mel Rojas, and $3 mm to the Athletics for Josh Reddick.
• The Indians traded Mike Aviles and Ronny Rodriguez to the Brewers in exchange for Khris Davis
• Miami sent Jeff Baker and Edgar Solano to Toronto for former Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey
• Red Sox pitcher Felix Doubront threw a no-hitter against the Blue Jays in a 2-0 win.
• The Diamondbacks sent Eric Chavez and Sergio Alcantara to San Francisco for Pablo Sandoval.
• The Mariners agreed to a trade with the Diamondbacks that would send Logan Morrison and Luiz Gohara to the D-backs. The Mariners will get Wade Miley in return.
• The Red Sox and Nationals agreed to a one-for-one deal of Mike Napoli for Doug Fister.

Top Performances of the month

• Jose Reyes and Adam Laroche both won the Al and NL batter of the month trophy.
• Justin Masterson and Tim Hudson won the AL and NL Pitchers of the month award.
• Xander Bogaerts and Chris Owings were both chosen as the Rookies of the Month in their respective leagues.

[bengalmike17]

First Month Record

[bengalmike17]

I realized before I started the month of May that I probably should have posted stats for our team, so here are the leaders in batting, pitching, and fielding for the team.

[bengalmike17]

Entry #4 The Month of May
Up to this point we were 15-14, which put us in third place in our division. So let's get going with the second month of the season. Wilin Rosario put on a surprising power show the first month of the season, and if he keeps this pace up, he could possibly hit 50 bombs this year.


A few days in I again tried to fish for offers for Tulowitzki, and I finally got some teams to bite. I was offered players like Justin Upton, Chris Davis, Adam Jones, Mookie Betts, Garin Cecchini, Philip Ervin, and more. I did the same with Gonzalez and again got plenty of bites. There were many impressive players offered, but the one that caught my eye was Joey Gallo. Gallo currently is 20 years old in AA ball, and is rated 21 overall now, with the potential to be a 74. OSA has him rated a little lower, but I trust my scout a bunch.


The draft pool was revealed today, and the top ten list came out with it. The OSA has the following players in their top ten draft prospects list:

• Max Pentecost, 21 year-old catcher out of college.
• Derek Hill, 18 year-old center fielder out of high-school.
• Grayson Greiner, 21 year-old catcher out of college
• Monte Harrison, 18 year-old center fielder out of high-school.
• Justin Bellinger, 18 year old first baseman out of high-school.
• A.J. Reed, 20 year-old first baseman out of college
• Aramis Garcia, 21 year old catcher out of college.
• Carlos Rodon, 21 year-old starting pitcher out of college.
• Bradley Zimmer, 21 year-old center fielder out of college.
• Jakson Reetz,18 year-old catcher out of high school.

Blockbuster Deal!
I finally found a suitor for Troy Tulowitzki in the Boston Red Sox. We agreed on a five for five deal that sent a number of highly valued prospects to us. I was able to dump over $24 mm of salary for the current season, as well as the $114 mm still left on Tulo's contract. The full deal looked like this:
Rockies Send:
Troy Tulowitzki
Drew Stubbs
Michael Cuddyer
Evan Frey
Juan Nicasio


Red Sox send:
Mookie Betts
Luis Alexander Basabe
Rafael Devers
Wendell Rijo
Garin Cecchini
Tai Ban, our scout, has high praise for Mookie Betts, rating his potential at 79/80. In his scouting report, he went as far as to say that as long as Betts stays healthy, he has a shot at the Hall of Fame. In his report he also said that Betts has almost no flaws in his hitting and that he should be pretty good very soon. Next, Ban went to scout Luis Alexander Basabe. Basabe is a 17 year-old center fielder. Ban says he has the potential to be rated 79/80. In his scouting report, Ban says that Basabe is a scout's dream who projects to have stardom ahead of him. Plus power and a great eye are just a couple of the tools that are impressive with Basabe. Rafael Devers is up next. The 17 year-old third baseman has the potential to be an 80/80 player. Ban says Devers could be one of the most dominant hitters of the next ten to 15 years. He says that Devers projects to hit about .310 in the majors with plus plus power. Wendell Rijo was also one of the prospects acquired in the trade. Ban gives him a rating of 21/80 currently, with the potential to be a 74/80 player. Ban raved about Rijo's tools, saying that he knows how to use them and he thinks that Rijo could be a star. Good tools could carry him to the majors. The second baseman is 18 years old. Last but not least is Garin Cecchini. The third baseman is currently rated a 26 out of 80, but has the potential to be a 73. Ban says that he has impact potential on offense, and that he could hit around .290 and will draw plenty of walks. All in all I think I got a pretty good haul.


Just as the dust was starting to settle, I finalized a deal with the Texas Rangers. I sent Carlos Gonzalez and a few other guys to the Rangers for several top prospects. In this deal, I also cleared up around $8 mm in budget space. The deal looked like this:


Rockies send:
LF Carlos Gonzalez
C Michael McKenry
SP Christian Friedrich
SS Josh Rutledge


Rangers send:
3B Joey Gallo
SS Luis Sardinas
SS Chris Bostick
3B Juremi Profar


Tai Ban gives Joey Gallo a potential rating of 63 out of 80. He says that Gallo has the tools to play at the top level and says that he is the prototypical clean-up hitter. Ban also noted that Gallo has a good eye. Ban focused on Luis Sardinas next. The 21 year-old shortstop has the potential to be a 72/80. He should be an average hitter with a good eye. His defense and speed are both well above average. He will constantly be a threat on the bases. Shortstop Chris Bostick was also a large part of the deal. He has the potential to be rated 74 out of 80. Ban calls him a natural on the field. He projects to be an average contact hitter who could hit 25 bombs every once in awhile. He is very good with the glove and he is a plus runner. He's also a gym rat. Juremi Profar (not to be confused with Jurickson Profar, the former top prospect) is the fourth prospect acquired for Gonzalez. Ban isn't as high on Profar as the rest of the league is, so I decided to trade for him anyways. Ban says he has the potential to be a 39/80 in the future, while the OSA says he could be a 74/80. Ban noted that there is a lot of raw potential here, but he doesn't think Profar can put it all together. Profar has above average contact potential and his approach at the plate is very nice.


Unfortunately, Corey Dickerson went down with an injury, which couldn't have happened at a worse time. Our roster is already very weak after all these trades went down, and now we lost another starter. Dickerson will be out for 5-6 weeks with a strained hamstring. Up until this point he was hitting .307 with four round-trippers and 17 RBIs.


I signed Casey Kotchman, Mike Lockwood, and Pedro Okuda to one year, $500k contracts to play at the major league level. All of them are rated as 21/80. We also claimed Don Kelly off of waivers from the Detroit Tigers.


All in all it was a busy month. We traded out two stars away for a haul of prospects. Three of our regular position players were not on the roster at the beginning of the season. Surprisingly, after all that has happened, we are 27-29. Not too bad. I took some big risks, a lot of those prospects are rated highly by my scout, but not by the OSA. I can't wait to see how my guys develop. I do trust Tai and usually go by what he says.


Major League News

• The Oakland A's sent Yoenis Cespedes and $3 mm to the Braves and received Ryan Doumit and Victor Caratini.
• Albert Pujols his his 500^th home run.
• The Diamondbacks traded Trevor Cahill to the Athletics and got prospects Daniel Robertson and Mel Rojas.
• The Diamondbacks and A's engaged in another trade, this time Arizona ships Aaron Shipman and Chris Kohler to Oakland and they'll receive Mark Trumbo in return.
• The Braves flipped Jordan Walden and $1.49 mm to the Royals for Cameron Gallagher and Daniel Rockett.
• The Orioles sent Wei-Yin Chen to the Twins for minor league pitcher Lewis Thorpe.
• The Pittsburgh Pirates announced they traded Harold Ramirez to the Orioles in exchange for Miguel Gonzalez and $529k in cash.
• The commisioners office confirmed that the Orioles acquired Justin Nicolino from the Marlins. The Orioles sent Zach Britton and $521k to the Marlins in the deal.
• The Mariners acquired AJ Ramos from the Marlins for Tyler Marlette and Johmbeker Morales.
• Pittsburgh acquired Al Alburquerque and Franklin Arias from the Pirates in exchange for Jose Tabata.
• The Phillies sent Jayson Nix to the Cardinals for Randy Choate and Luis M. Flores.
• James Paxton was shipped to Cincinnati and the Mariners will receive Ben Lively and Sal Romano in exchange.
• Minnesota sent Phil Hughes to Houston for Nolan Fontana and Telvin Nash.
• On May 28, 2014, Clayton Kershaw threw a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. He was perfect except for one walk. He struck out 14 Reds as the Dodgers prevailed 2-0.
• Shelby Miller tossed a no-no on May 28^th as well. Miller blanked the Yankees in a 4-0 Cardinals win. He struck out 6 and walked 1.
• The Red Sox signed Jon Lester to a two-year extension worth $21 mm total.
• The White Sox sent Adam Dunn to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Tony Sanchez and Jin-De Jhang.
• The Rangers sent Leonys Martin to the Nationals and received Tanner Roark in return.
• Wily Peralta of the Brewers was sent to Pittsburgh in exchange for pitching prospect Tyler Glasnow.
• The Diamondbacks sent JJ Putz to San Francisco in exchange for Adalberto Meija, Chris Marlowe, and Ty Ross.
• Bryan Evans was traded to St. Louis with Edmundo Sosa going to Miami.
• Hisashi Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners threw a perfect game on May 31, 2014. He defeated the Tigers 5-0 while striking out four. History was made!

Top Performances of the month

• Brandon Belt and Miguel Cabrera won the Batter of the Month award in their respective leagues.
• Justin Verlander was named the top pitcher in the AL for the month of May. Zack Greinke was named top pitcher in the NL in may.
• Josmil Pinto and Wilmer Flores won the AL and NL Rookie of the Month awards in their respective leagues.

[bengalmike17]

Entry #5 June and July

So its June 1^st, and we're 27-29. Not bad. With the trades that we made, our player payroll now stands at $56,027,500 million. We have approximately $45 mm in budget room to make moves.

MLB Draft

We have the eighth pick in this years draft. I'm quite pleased with where we pick, as we can draft a top ten talent. Alex Jackson was selected first overall by the Astros. With our first pick we drafted Carlos Rodon. Catcher Devon Fisher was our next pick. In the third round I took a risk and took starter Luis Ortiz. Ortiz has good potential, but his signability is impossible. We'll see what we can do there. I selected another catcher, this time it was Drew Lugbauer. Rounding out our top five was pitcher Touki Toussaint. All five of our top ten picks signed without a problem! They were all assigned to our rookie league except for Carlos Rodon. I put him in single A.

Corey Dickerson was finally eligible to come back off the DL on June 25, so I brought him back to the major league squad and sent down Mike Lockwood.

Through our wheeling and dealing as well as this past draft, our farm system is now ranked the fourth best. Our system is highlighted by the sixteenth best prospecy (Rodon), the 21^st best prospect (Ortiz), the 45^th best prospect (Eddie Butler), the 50^th best prospect (Cecchini), and the 51^st best prospect (Bostick).

July 2, International Signings

Our first international signing was Jorge Melendez, whom I signed for $45,000. Our scouting director says that he has the potential to be a 36/80 player. His best tool is his power. I also signed starting pitcher Juan Hernandez to a deal. His potential is 20/80, but he has control. We didn't spend much on him, but Ban is not a fan, saying, “Hernandez is dumb as a brick.” That's all we did this signing period. Not much that I liked. There were a few good prospects, but I didn't want to go over top of the $3 mm limit.

All Star Game

Corey Dickerson was our only representative on the NL team. Make us proud Corey!

Trade Deadline

The trade deadline passed without any other incident. I looked for a few deals but talks never got serious.

Record at the end of July

Our record at the end of July is 52-57. Respectable.

Major League News

• The Miami Marlins sent Dan Jennings and $501,000 to St. Louis for C.J. McElroy and Jose L. Gomez.
• Chris Tillman was sent from Baltimore along with $546k to Atlanta in exchange for Jason Hursh and Franklin Azuaje.
• The Blue Jays dealt Casey Jannsen and DJ Davis along with $3 mm in cash to the Padres for Jedd Gyorko.
• Jonathan Papelbon registered save number 300.
• Adrian Beltre collected hit number 2500.
• The Mets sent Gavin Cecchini (brother of our own Garin Cecchini) to the Orioles in return for Brian Matusz.
• Carlos Gomez of the Brewers was sent to the Minnesota Twins for Max kepler, Yorman Landa, and Matthew Summers.
• Prince Fielder hit home run number 300.
• Atlanta swapped David Carpenter to San Diego in return for Hunter Renfroe.
• Atlanta acquired Delino Deshields Jr. in return for Gustavo Nunez, who is headed to Houston.
• Ted Lerner, the owner of the Washington Nationals, passed away on Wednesday, July 9, 2014. His son Rob will take over as the owner.
• The Braves shipped Mike Minor to the Giants in return for Mikey Edie and Keury Mella.
• The Marlins sent prospect Andrew Heaney to the Astro's and received Alex White and $502k in cash.
• The Marlins agreed to ship Rafael Furcal and Angel L. Sanchez to the Brewers for Hunter Morris.
• The Twins sent Josh Willingham to the Cubs for Nate Schierholtz and Dan Vogelbach.
• The White Sox and Tigers made a surprising trade, as the Sox sent Dayan Viciedo to the Tigers for Phil Coke and Issrael De La Cruz.
• The Mariners sent Dustin Ackley and Isaiah Yates to the Angels for Hector Santiago.
• The Pirates sent Mark Melancon and $2.595 million to the Dodgers for Spencer navin and Luis Subero.
• Miguel Cabrera hit the 400^th homerun of his career.
• The Cardinals sent Matt Adams and $516k to the Rays in exchange for Steve Geltz and Manny Sanchez.
• The Braves have shipped David Hale and $502k to Kansas City for Elier Hernandez and Ryan Dale.
• The Braves sent Mauricio Cabrera and Kyle Wren to the Marlins for Mike Dunn.
• Yovani Gallardo was shipped from the Brewers along with $3 mm to the Twins for Dalton Hicks and Kohl Stewart.
• The Astros sent marc Krauss and $502.3k to the Marlins for Jesus Solorzano and Justin Bohn.

Top Performances of the Month

• Chris Davis won the AL Hitter of the month trophy for the month of June. Anthony Rizzo took home the prize in the NL.
• Felix Hernandez was the top pitcher in the month of June for the American League. Jonathan Papelbon was the top pitcher in the NL for the month of June.
• Jose Abreu and Wilmer Flores won the AL and NL Rookie of the Month trophy.

Future of the Journal:

I'm putting an end to the Major League Transactions, as that just got too lengthy. Instead I'll just post the big news instead of each trade that goes through.

[bengalmike17]

Entry #6

Locking Up Rex

One of my main goals right now is signing Rex Brothers to a contract extension before he getes expensive. As off September 1^st, he's compiled a record of 1-2 with a 2.42 ERA. He's saved 30 games and struck out 71. My initial offer to the 26 year closer was 6 years/ $23.28 mm. If he accepts I'll have locked up my closer for six years for cheap.

He signed several days later! Those negotiations went quite smooth!

Tanking??

I didn't do this purposely, in fact I wanted to stay around .500, but things just went awry. Right now, midway through September we're sitting at 61-85. Not good at all. If the season ended today we would have the fifth overall pick, I would be content with that.

End of the Regular Season

We did it. We made it. It was ugly. It didn't end well. But we made it. We finished last in our division with a record of 67-95. Almost 100 losses. That's pretty ugly. The good news is that we have the fourth pick in the upcoming amateur draft, so that is something to look forward to.

World Series

The Angels won the World Series four games to one over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Angels were led by batting title winner Mike Trout. Congratulations!

Major League News

• Mat Latos threw a no hitter against the Marlins.
• San Diego Padres owner John Moores passed away. His son John will take over. Our thoughts andd prayers are with the organization.
• Albert Pujols collected his 2500 ^th hit.
• Mark Buehrle won his 200 ^th game as a major league player.
• Mike Trout and Yadier Molina won the batting titles in their respective leagues.

[bengalmike17]

Entry #7

Posted Players

The [league redacted] League announced that the Chiba Lotte Marines posted left fielder Katsuya Kakunaka for a fee of $16 mm. Kakunaka is 27 years old with good doubles power and speed. We will not be going after him.

Option Years

Brett Anderson and Latroy all have team options for next year. Both were pretty average for us last year, and neither are worth their salary for next year, so they will both become free agents very soon.

Players Headed into Free Agency

Matt Belisle (66 overall)

Jorge De La Rosa (36 ovr)

Joel Hanrahan (44 ovr)

Latroy Hawkins (23 ovr)

Franklin Morales (23 ovr)

The only one I offered an extension to was Joel Hanrahan.

Other Extensions

I offered Wilin Rosario, our slugging catcher, a five year extension worth around $27 mm. The proposed deal is heavily front-loaded, allowing us to have flexibility in the future. Wilin agreed and just like that our catcher position was filled up for the forseeable future.

Adam Ottavino, the 28 year old reliever, agreed to a two year pact worth $900k annually. Stat-wise, Ottavino was one of our better relievers last year, pitching 59 innings and posting a 2.44 ERA. I am glad to have him on board for the next couple years.

We also signed DJ Lemahieu to an extension. The second baseman hit .275 for us this year, which was second highest on the team. He will earn $1 mm this year and the following he will receive $580k.

I got Joel Hanrahan to sign my extension of one year with an option for a second year. The deal will grant him $1,000,000 with the potential to earn $1.5 mm total.

Trades

Rockies sent:

Jhoulys Chacin

Wilton Lopez

Phillies sent:

Maikel Franco

Roman Quinn.

Chacin was only 26, but he was not good at all in our ballpark, and we got a good prospect that plays into the strengths of our park. Lopez was a throw-in to the deal. I didn't plan on offering him anything in arbitration and was going to let him walk. Quinn offers us top notch speed that is among the best in baseball. He's rated highly by our scout. Franco is a true cleanup hitter who should be a regular in the lineup very soon. He has lots of potential.

Rockies send:

Jordan Lyles

Christhian Adames

Yankees send:

Dellin Betances

Jordan Lyles and Adames had no place on this team, and I was able to swap them for Betances, a young reliever who has great stuff and movement. He will be on the major league team in the bullpen this year.

Gold Glove Awards
Justin Morneau won the gold glove award for NL first basemen. Congrats Justin!

League Rule Changes

Major League Baseball and the Serie Nacional de Baseball agreed to come together to form the Cuban American Baseball Association. The two leagues will share their drafts and will have a playoff at the end of the season. The playoffs will feature the top two finalists of each league. Major League Baseball issued a statement saying this is just the beginning and that the Association would continue to grow.

Another shocking rule change was the ability for Major League teams to now post their players. There was no maximum amount set, but again, the commissioners office said it could be subject to change in the future.

The third and final rule change this year was the abiliity to trade between all leagues, not just in Major League Baseball. This opens up a flurry of different possibilities and will make the world of baseball much more exciting.

Arbitration Results

We only had one player go into arbitration. Tyler Chatwood would not agree to an extension as his demands were too high, so we took him to arbitration. The arbitrator ruled in favor of the team. He will earn $4.6 mm next year.

Free Agency

Our first free agent signing was starter Allen Webster. The former top prospect wasn't retained by Boston, and I quickly snapped up the 24 year old. He's got good potential and good individual ratings and will likely start for the major league team.

Shortly after we signed Webster, Alex Colome signed a trade with us. Colome was with the Rays last year and was granted minor league free agency. He will be in play for a rotation spot next year. He will earn $1.2 mm for two years and after that he has two straight years with team options worth $650k and $550k.

End of Winter Meetings

So that's where we are right now. I made a few trade offers during the meetings but I'm not sure if they went through. We'll see. I like how the off-season is going so far. We're continuing to get younger and our team is shaping up.

[phillyboy19]

You are getting a lot of 3rd baseman prospects. What are you going to do with them? BTW how is Arenardo doing too.

[bengalmike17]

Originally Posted by phillyboy19

You are getting a lot of 3rd baseman prospects. What are you going to do with them? BTW how is Arenardo doing too.

He did really well last year. He hit .289, which was the highest for the team, and he also hit 25 bombs and drove in 97. He lead the team in batting average and RBI's and was tied with Rosario for the team lead in homers. His WAR was 2.9 for the season and his VORP was 30.2

As for third basemen, similar to what the Cubs are doing, I've got a ton of infield depth. Tons. Some of these guys, naturally, won't make it. I've got backups now. Having depth also allows me to package them in a trade. Many different options there. I might have to move one to the outfield too.

[bengalmike17]

Entry #8

Johnny Cueto
I did something crazy. I went out and bought myself a Christmas present. On December 23, Johnny Cueto announced that he had signed a one year deal worth $8.35 mm with a vesting option worth $6.25 mm. Cueto will most likely be the ace this season as we go from cellar dwellers to young up and comers. He adds excitement to the team short-term with no real impact against the long-term future, especially financially.

Cueto is 28 and is has above average stuff in pretty much every category. No doubt he is an improvement.

Rule 5 Draft

In the Rule 5 draft we selected Chris Archer of the Tampa Bay Rays. Archer is only rated with a 20 potential, but he is still recovering from Tommy John surgery. He is 26, and his individual pitch ratings are not bad at all. He could come into play once he comes off the DL at the back of the rotation.

More Rule Changes

Three more rule changes were added by the commissioner this year (not me). The DFA time was shortened to nine days, minor league options are now no longer valid (this means that players can be demoted without clearing waivers,) and veterans can no longer refuse a demotion to a minor league team.

Nolan Arenado Extension

I made a goof. I offered Nolan Arenado a contract extension, even though he was still on his rookie deal. He will earn $24.72 mm over four years, so the good news is that he will only be arbitration eligible for one year. I'm not all that mad though because I have tons of cap space and Arenado has turned into the best player on the team. Why not pay the man?

End of the Off-season

This pretty much concludes the off-season, and the team just went down to Spring Training. It should be interesting to see how our prospects do, and a couple position battles will be taking place.

[phillyboy19]

I want franco to be a starter man i love him. I normally move him to first cuz i play as the Phillies a lot and try to get checcini actually.

[bengalmike17]

Originally Posted by phillyboy19

I want franco to be a starter man i love him. I normally move him to first cuz i play as the Phillies a lot and try to get checcini actually.

I'm just finishing up spring training and am writing the dynasty report on it now, but I don't think Franco will be starting. I don't think I'll keep him on the Major League team either. He was one of my worst offensive batters this spring. He hit .188 with a .212 OBP. I think playing time in the minors would do him well. Besides, if I kept him up he wouldn't see much of the field, so I think sending him down would be the best for him

[phillyboy19]

Originally Posted by bengalmike17

I'm just finishing up spring training and am writing the dynasty report on it now, but I don't think Franco will be starting. I don't think I'll keep him on the Major League team either. He was one of my worst offensive batters this spring. He hit .188 with a .212 OBP. I think playing time in the minors would do him well. Besides, if I kept him up he wouldn't see much of the field, so I think sending him down would be the best for him

That's a smart move anyway I'll stop posting nonsense like this and let you get back to your dynasty

[bengalmike17]

Originally Posted by phillyboy19

That's a smart move anyway I'll stop posting nonsense like this and let you get back to your dynasty

Oh please, phillyboy! I love having people comment. It means people are listening. Comments like yours are welcome anytime!

[bengalmike17]

Entry #9 Spring Training

Spring Training Games

It is time for Spring Training and finding out how ready some of our prospects are for the majors. Through the first 12 games we were 5-7, and I had some observations.

What I saw

Our pitchers all have great stuff. We have got multiple pitchers with great stuff that just rack up the strikeouts. Unfortunately they give up way too many hits and way too many walks. Looking at the WHIPs of some of our pitchers is just ugly. Jonathan Gray has 3.00 WHIP so far and Chris Archer has a WHIP of 2.04. That is not acceptable and will need to be changed if they want to be on the team.

Nolan Arenado is still doing things no other player on the team can do. He's got a .394 average so far and it looks like he's in line to have another superb season. Maikel Franco has not shown anything so far, so he will likely start the season in the minors. We won't rush anyone.

Final Spring Training Results and Roster Cuts

Spring Training ended with a 12-14 record, but putting stock into that would be silly. We had some people exceed expectations and other underwhelm. One of the guys that stood out to me was Allen Webster. Webster threw 19 innings and compiled a 2.37 ERA with 14 strikeouts and 11 walks. Tyler Chatwood was just as good. Johnny Cueto , our star free agent acquisition was just awful this spring. He had an ERA north of 10 and had no control.

The rotation will be:

• Tyler Chatwood
• Johnny Cueto
• Chad Bettis
• Allen Webster
• Alex Colome

Rex Brothers will serve as the closer this year, with Boone Logan and Ernesto Frieri filling in the setup role. Adam Ottavino, Joel Hanrahan, and Dellin Betances will be middle relievers this year, and Chris Archer will be kept on the active roster as a long reliever/emergency starter.. Tyler Matzek, Jonathan Gray, Greg Burke, and Tommy Kahnle will be sent down.

On the offensive side, we will be rolling with the following starting 9:

• Pitcher
• Wilin Rosario
• Joey Gallo
• Mookie Betts
• Nolan Arenado
• Chris Bostick
• Ryan Wheeler
• Corey Dickerson
• Garin Cecchini

We will send down Kyle Parker, Luis Sardinas, Maikel Franco, Drew Garcia, and Rafael Ynoa.

[phillyboy19]

Can you go over your top prospects like vigilante did in his Padres dynasty please.

[darkcloud4579]

I like the idea of having the Cubans enter via a draft. Also intrigued by posting MLB players and if anything comes out of that. I've never done it the other way before, only with inferior leagues posting to the MLB with interesting results.

I think the Cueto deal is worth the risk, like you said...no fun in just bottom feeding all of the time and so, hope it pans out for you.