PREAMBLE
I am sick and tired of coming into each season EXPECTING to lose and lose alot! In Sports...you can never just pick and choose which years you want to compete. There are always injuries and situations that take place within a year. The AL Central is not THAT tough of a Division. There are no Dodgers, Red Sox, Yankees etc...We have several young players who put together solid seasons this past year and we have some more young talent coming up in the minors. Some are closer to the Majors than others. My question: Why can't we make moves with the GOAL of Winning a Division? In the game of Baseball...you just never know. Also...You will see in my off-season plan that we do not need to spend as much as the Los Angeles Dodgers to construct a roster that will at the very least COMPETE!
COACHING STAFF
- Hitting coach: [Already decided]
- Pitching coach: [Already decided]
Jermaine Dye for 1B coach?
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Mike Tauchman: Non-tender
- Steven Wilson: Non-tender
- Derek Hill: Non-tender
I would non-tender Tauchman because he will be getting up there in age and coming off injuries. Steven Wilson: Do not need him. We can fill in bullpen spots with young pitchers. Derek Hill: No thanks. Non-Tender
CLUB OPTIONS
- Luis Robert Jr.: Exercise $20 million option
- Martín Perez: Buy out for $1.5 million
Luis Robert already had his option exercised. I know they tried trading him at the deadline last season and could not get anything for him. I think they have better luck in the off-season. You will see later.
Martin Perez: I did like Perez but he also got hurt and is getting up there in age. I also do not think he will in high demand this winter. If you absolutely need an arm when it is all said and done...you can sign him for much cheaper than $10M.
FREE AGENTS
1.) Ryan O'Hearn (3 Years / $37.5M). Worked with Dir. of Hitting Ryan Fuller in the past when he had success with the Os.
2.) Griffin Canning (1 Year / $5M). Starter who can provide some innings until our younger starters are ready.
3.) Lane Thomas (1 Year / $3M) Quality low salary OF who can hold down the fort until Montgomery is ready.
4.) Scott Barlow (2 Years / $6M). Guy who has closed games in the past and can fill in as closer if Taylor for some reason needs an off day or struggles to become a lock down closer.
5.) Tim Mayza (1 Year/ $1M). Lefty arm out of the bullpen.
TRADES
TRADE: OF Luis Robert ($20 M) to Phillies for 3B Alec Bohm ($10.25M) & SP Taijuan Walker ($18M)
TRADE: 2B Lenyn Sosa ($820K)& SP Davis Martin ($820K) to Red Sox for OF Jarren Duran ($7.7M)
TRADE: SP Jonathan Cannon ($820K) to As for OF JJ Bleday ($1M)
SUMMARY
TOTAL PAYROLL (Including Buyout and Deferred Salary) $96.67M. This is a touch above $90M but I think it is doable with no long term deals signed besides O'Hearn.
HITTERS
ANDREW BENINTENDI $15.1M
RYAN O'HEARN $12.5M
ALEC BOHM $10.25M
JARREN DURAN $7.7M
LANE THOMAS $3M
JJ BLEDAY $1M
MIGUEL VARGAS $820K
KYLE TEEL $820K
EDGAR QUERO $820K
CHASE MEIDROTH $820K
COLSON MONTGOMERY $820K
CURTIS MEAD $820K
BROOKS BALDWIN $820K
PITCHERS
TAIJUAN WALKER $18M
SCOTT BARLOW $6M
GRIFFIN CANNING $5M
TIM MAYZA $1M
JORDAN LEASURE $820K
SHANE SMITH $820K
MIKE VASIL $820K
SHANE MURPHY $820K
BRANDON EISERT $820K
FRASER ELLARD $820K
GRANT TAYLOR $820K
YOENDRYS GOMEZ $820K
WINKLEMAN GONZALEZ $820K
When I sat down to think of a plan that could work under the JERRY SELF IMPOSED BUDGET...I had to get creative. The goal was to re-work the OF, sign a 1B for a multi-years and add arms but leave spots open for our young prospects that are fairly close to the majors. Are the names super sexy? No. However, I think this roster allows spots to be filled by vets late in spring training or prospects that are close to the majors. I did not add a ton of power to the line up. However, I think this line-up can rack up extra base hits while also playing solid defense. I chose to add a bit more of speed instead. The Starting Pitching Department is where I really wanted to temporary fill holes but also leave the door open for Smith and Schultz.
