OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

jamus23 · 12-08-2007, 07:53 PM

Recapping Free Agency
March 1, 2083
Al Vincent
Staff Writer

Broncos fans may be wondering just what exactly general manager John Mounts has in mind. Despite having openings at second base, third base, designated hitter, and backup catcher, Denver seemingly addressed only one of those needs during the free agent signing period. Veteran catcher Greg Lauritsen was signed to a one year deal that will pay him $800,000 in 2083. The 34 year old Lauristen, who has played for Pittsburgh, Rochester, San Jose, Grand Rapids, and Sacramento in his career, is a lifetime .221/.280/.341/.621 hitter, with 16 career homeruns in 643 at bats. He is considered an average defensive catcher.

Although Mounts said that he had been in contact with former Broncos' second-baseman Tomas Sato, the two sides were unable to come to an agreement, and Sato signed a four year deal with Buffalo worth $1.8 million per season. It is not believed that Mounts and former third-baseman Joseph Swayze had any communications. Swayze signed a four year deal with Sacramento for a surprisingly low $881,400.

Besides Lauritsen, the only other free agents that the Broncos acquired were signed to minor league contracts. Centerfielder Jorge Gonzalez and shortstop Efrain Ashlock were with the Broncos last season and aren't expected to contribute much beyond perhaps token September cups of coffee. Second-baseman German Leal, however, may be another story. If the Broncos decide to make Jack Rumfelt the starting second-baseman, and all indications are leaning in that direction, then the 30 year old Leal may get an opportunity to platoon with the left-handed hitting Rumfelt. Leal has 533 career at bats and has batted a respectable .266/.299/.424/.723 with 17 homeruns. Leal has a bit of pop, decent contact skills, and is a smart baserunner(22 steals in 30 attempts at the big league level). He is not very good defensively, however.

Despite the acquisitions of Lauritsen and Leal, there remains doubt about what the Broncos intend to do about third base and designated hitter. Michael Phillips may get a shot at third, but there is simply no one in the organization available to play DH. At this point, as the team prepares for the draft and the beginning of spring training, a trade is almost inevitable. The question is, who might the Broncos trade for, and who will they give up?

To switch gears a bit, Tomas Sato and Joseph Swayze were not the only ex-Broncos to sign with new teams this offseason. Former deisgnated hitter Mark Bakke, who considered retirement, wound up signing a one year deal with Green Bay for $421,400. Former utility man Patrick Chason signed with Kansas City for two years. The deal is worth $402,500 per year. Outfielder Michael Stennis signed a one year deal worth $410,400 with Charlotte. Veteran relief pitcher Steven Andrade signed with Hartford on a two year deal worth $799,200 per year. Former catchers Michael Grace and Gary Kibby both signed minor league deals with Los Angeles.

And now, it is time to hand out grades to each team for their free agency performances:

A+

Only the Hartford Whalers earned the highest possible grade. Hartford acquired perhaps the best hitter on the market, shortstop Ralph Jennings, and locked him up for seven years at more than $8.6 million per. For an in-his-prime star, that's an excellent deal. But the Whalers didn't stop there. They snagged probably the two best relievers on the market in Mitchell Larson and Michael Leto, and bolstered team depth with some very solid signings in 3B Don Guan, 2B Marion Hotchkiss, 3B Daniel Briese, and RF Larry Romanowski. But they didn't stop with those players, either. Veteran second-baseman Lucas Bustamante was dealt to Kansas City for 28 year old starting pitcher Edward Chambliss and a pitching prospect, and the newly acquired Guan was immediately flipped to Portland for 27 year old starting pitcher Bill Leatherman. In one offseason, the Whalers added a major young star, improved their position player depth, acquired two relatively young starting pitchers, and bolstered their bullpen. For a team that missed the playoffs by two games last year, this offseason could put them over the top.

A

Of course, the team that just beat out Hartford for a playoff spot last year might have something to say about that. The Buffalo Bills had themselves a nice offseason as well. The Bills signed first-baseman Carter Vanderhoof to a four year deal worth more than $4.8 million per year. They also added second-basemen Antonio Cortines, Tomas Sato, and Ciro Joubert. At first glance, adding three players at the same position seems odd, but it's really not as strange as it looks. Joubert fits better as a supersub, and a pretty good one. Cortines is coming back from an injury, so it's unclear how he'll perform. A Sato/Cortines platoon would work very well, and Sato can be moved around a bit, too, if need be.

Both Hartford and Buffalo will likely be looking up at Pittsburgh in the Northeast this year. Despite plenty of resources, the Pirates have tended to eschew free agency in favor of developing through the draft and astute trading. But when ace starting pitcher Scott Council unexpectedly drew little interest from teams, the Pirates swooped in and signed him to a very reasonable deal of $7 million per year for four years. The addition of Council makes an already formidable rotation a very scary one.

It seems that the Northeast Division as a whole had a very strong offseason. Rochester joins its division partners by getting a good grade, as well. The Rhinos jumped on the young slugger, RF Gustavo Manrique, and signed him to a four year deal worth over $5 million per year. They also added starting pitcher George Lasseter for four years and more than $3 million per year, and left-fielder John Schenk.

The Washington Senators get the final "A". Washington shelled out over $10 million per year to sign SP Cleveland Lauria to a four year deal. The Senators also added catcher Man Merino, signing him to three year deal worth over $3 million per year.

B+

Atlanta gets the only B+. The Braves signed RF Flavio Trujillo to a six year deal worth more than $9.6 milion per year. That was good. But they also signed 3B Andrew Francis to a four year deal worth more than $3 million per year. The amount there wasn't excessively bad, though it wasn't great, but four years seems rather ridiculous for the 35 year old Francis- especially when the Braves already have Raymond Stair to play third base. Definitely a questionable signing. Another dubious decision was to give RF Carl Gray a four year deal. Gray has been a servicable player the last few years with San Diego, but four years seems absurd.

B

Grand Rapids had two nice signings. First, starting pitcher Vicente Caruso signed a two year deal worth more than $7.3 million per year. Given his age and potential for injury, a two year deal isn't too bad for the 37 year old left-hander. Second, the Tigers signed catcher Ramon Martinez to a four year deal worth more than $3 million per year. This one is somewhat surprising, as the Tigers already have the talented 22 year old, Lucien Lum, to play catcher, but Lum is a bit injury prone, so this should provide Grand Rapids with some strong depth and insurance. If the Tigers can fit both into the lineup, that would be good, too.

Nashville had one big signing, adding catcher Daniel Lane. Lane received a 6 year deal worth more than $8.3 million per year. The only thing keeping the Predators from a higher grade is that they also inexplicably gave the 36 year old 2B Cristian Zarzuela a three year deal. Additionally, not making an attempt to bolster their rotation could come back to haunt them. Mose Urick carried Nashville into the playoffs last year, just barely. Can he do it again?

It seems odd to give New Jersey a high grade, but despite the Devils' awful record last season, their only truly gaping holes were at shortstop and in the bullpen. Their remaining positions either had solid players or young players that the Devils were getting a look at. New Jersey went out and addressed the shortstop need, signing Brian Hall to a four year deal worth $2.2 million per year. They didn't do much besides that, but it's not easy to be a player in free agency when you were the worst team in baseball the previous season.

Portland's offseason was interesting. The Trailblazers made only one big money signing, and it may have been one of the worst contracts doled out. For some unknown reason, Portland handed 32 year old starting pitcher Norman Dale a three year deal worth more than $4.1 million per year. That's the Norman Dale of the 7.38 career ERA. That's the Norman Dale who was 6-20 with an 8.55 ERA two years ago while playing for Grand Rapids. Aside from that baffling contract, Portland made a number of astute, solid, small money signings: 3B Fred Elliott, C Howard Bevers, 2B Aaron Palacios, 3B Aaron Buchanon, SP Jose Padula, C Andrea Burkley, LF Bryan Carley. They also picked up 3B Don Guan in the trade with Hartford.

Sacramento nabbed first-baseman Nestor Adrover, signing him to a three year deal worth more than $6.1 million per year. The Kings also added 3B Joseph Swaye for a pretty reasonable amount.

C+

Knoxville wasn't particularly active, but they did bring back shortstop Joseph Bailey, who has played the last three seasons with the 79ers, on a 3 year deal worth about $6.6 million per year.

On the one hand, Tucson brought back 2B Elmer Giancola on a one year deal worth about $4.5 million, added RF Richard Billips on a three year deal worth $5.3 million per year, and made some potentially solid signings of guys like SP George Molina, SP Benjamin Guertin, and 3B Charles Troutt. They even engaged in a multi-player trade with Charlotte, picking up outfielders Danny Guzman and Jonathan Constantino in exchange for infielders John McQuillen and Randall Bowen. On the other hand, the Diamondbacks lost two premiere starting pitchers in Cleveland Lauria and Scott Council, and did not adequately replace them. No, giving Pedro Pedilla of the 5.25 career ERA $1.4 million over four years doesn't count as "adequately replacing" anybody. Lauria and Council were two key components that kept Tucson near the top of the Central Division. With them gone, can the Diamondbacks remain competitive?

C

Assigning Denver a grade is a bit difficult, but a "C" seems reasonable. The Broncos did address their backup catcher need, but have done little else. They might be able to get by with what they already have to fill second base and third base, but that question mark at designated hitter lingers.

Kansas City didn't do much this offseason, but the Royals did pick up a couple of solid bench options in 3B Patrick Chason and LF Ronald Coughlan.

Memphis acquired CF Tristan Straub and 1B Mark Soderlund. Solid, if unspectacular, moves.

C-

Charlotte didn't do much in free agency, adding outfielders Michael Stennis and Derek Moos, but the Panthers did make that trade with Tucson. McQuillen and Bowen do bolster a weak infield, and dumping Danny Guzman's contract wasn't a bad move for a team in Charlotte's financial position. But one wonders why they also gave up the 26 year old Constantino, who is a talented young player seemingly on the verge of breaking out.

The Green Bay Packers are a mess of an organizations, which obviously makes it difficult to improve much in free agency, but still. The Packers signed a 38 year old Mark Bakke, and that's about it. Could things be more unexciting in Green Bay?

The same question can be asked about Phoenix, whose only signing of any note was of SP John Marcil, he of the 6.12 career ERA. And on a tangent, a better question to ask might be: Why have the 2064 expansion teams been so awful? All four(Phoenix, New Jersey, Charlotte, and Green Bay) lost at least 90 games last year, and none have really seen any sustained success at any point. Almost 20 years after coming into being, it seems that they should at least be competitive occasionally.

D

Harrisburg's offseason might have been even more dull than the previous teams. The Capitals' only signings were a bunch of middling players on minor league contracts. I suppose the bright side is that now Harrisburg has some decent relief pitching depth.

While the Capitals cornered the market on mediocre relief pitchers, Los Angeles was doing the same thing for middling catchers, grabbing the likes of Michael Grace and Gary Kibby, as well as a few others. At least in the Dodgers' case, they have a pretty talented team, so people can dismiss this as a silly obsession while the Dodgers likely finish with a winning record.

F

There is only one "F" awarded, and it may come as a surprise. Or maybe not, since they are the only team left. Do the defending West Division champions, the San Jose Sharks, deserve an "F"? Well, the Sharks' starting rotation has gradually been devolving into mediocrity, and in this free agent period, there were three premiere starting pitchers on the market. San Jose always has plenty of money to spend, so it seems inexplicable that no attempt was made at any of Lauria, Council, or Caruso. So they get an F for having the ability and the opportunity to address an obvious need and seemingly ignoring it.

Incomplete

San Diego and Miami both receive grades of "incomplete". Amazingly enough, the two defending league champions did not make any free agent signings whatsoever. Is that hubris?

12-08-2007, 07:53 PM	#242 (permalink)
jamus23 All Star Reserve Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 599	Recapping Free Agency March 1, 2083 Al Vincent Staff Writer Broncos fans may be wondering just what exactly general manager John Mounts has in mind. Despite having openings at second base, third base, designated hitter, and backup catcher, Denver seemingly addressed only one of those needs during the free agent signing period. Veteran catcher Greg Lauritsen was signed to a one year deal that will pay him $800,000 in 2083. The 34 year old Lauristen, who has played for Pittsburgh, Rochester, San Jose, Grand Rapids, and Sacramento in his career, is a lifetime .221/.280/.341/.621 hitter, with 16 career homeruns in 643 at bats. He is considered an average defensive catcher. Although Mounts said that he had been in contact with former Broncos' second-baseman Tomas Sato, the two sides were unable to come to an agreement, and Sato signed a four year deal with Buffalo worth $1.8 million per season. It is not believed that Mounts and former third-baseman Joseph Swayze had any communications. Swayze signed a four year deal with Sacramento for a surprisingly low $881,400. Besides Lauritsen, the only other free agents that the Broncos acquired were signed to minor league contracts. Centerfielder Jorge Gonzalez and shortstop Efrain Ashlock were with the Broncos last season and aren't expected to contribute much beyond perhaps token September cups of coffee. Second-baseman German Leal, however, may be another story. If the Broncos decide to make Jack Rumfelt the starting second-baseman, and all indications are leaning in that direction, then the 30 year old Leal may get an opportunity to platoon with the left-handed hitting Rumfelt. Leal has 533 career at bats and has batted a respectable .266/.299/.424/.723 with 17 homeruns. Leal has a bit of pop, decent contact skills, and is a smart baserunner(22 steals in 30 attempts at the big league level). He is not very good defensively, however. Despite the acquisitions of Lauritsen and Leal, there remains doubt about what the Broncos intend to do about third base and designated hitter. Michael Phillips may get a shot at third, but there is simply no one in the organization available to play DH. At this point, as the team prepares for the draft and the beginning of spring training, a trade is almost inevitable. The question is, who might the Broncos trade for, and who will they give up? To switch gears a bit, Tomas Sato and Joseph Swayze were not the only ex-Broncos to sign with new teams this offseason. Former deisgnated hitter Mark Bakke, who considered retirement, wound up signing a one year deal with Green Bay for $421,400. Former utility man Patrick Chason signed with Kansas City for two years. The deal is worth $402,500 per year. Outfielder Michael Stennis signed a one year deal worth $410,400 with Charlotte. Veteran relief pitcher Steven Andrade signed with Hartford on a two year deal worth $799,200 per year. Former catchers Michael Grace and Gary Kibby both signed minor league deals with Los Angeles. And now, it is time to hand out grades to each team for their free agency performances: A+ Only the Hartford Whalers earned the highest possible grade. Hartford acquired perhaps the best hitter on the market, shortstop Ralph Jennings, and locked him up for seven years at more than $8.6 million per. For an in-his-prime star, that's an excellent deal. But the Whalers didn't stop there. They snagged probably the two best relievers on the market in Mitchell Larson and Michael Leto, and bolstered team depth with some very solid signings in 3B Don Guan, 2B Marion Hotchkiss, 3B Daniel Briese, and RF Larry Romanowski. But they didn't stop with those players, either. Veteran second-baseman Lucas Bustamante was dealt to Kansas City for 28 year old starting pitcher Edward Chambliss and a pitching prospect, and the newly acquired Guan was immediately flipped to Portland for 27 year old starting pitcher Bill Leatherman. In one offseason, the Whalers added a major young star, improved their position player depth, acquired two relatively young starting pitchers, and bolstered their bullpen. For a team that missed the playoffs by two games last year, this offseason could put them over the top. A Of course, the team that just beat out Hartford for a playoff spot last year might have something to say about that. The Buffalo Bills had themselves a nice offseason as well. The Bills signed first-baseman Carter Vanderhoof to a four year deal worth more than $4.8 million per year. They also added second-basemen Antonio Cortines, Tomas Sato, and Ciro Joubert. At first glance, adding three players at the same position seems odd, but it's really not as strange as it looks. Joubert fits better as a supersub, and a pretty good one. Cortines is coming back from an injury, so it's unclear how he'll perform. A Sato/Cortines platoon would work very well, and Sato can be moved around a bit, too, if need be. Both Hartford and Buffalo will likely be looking up at Pittsburgh in the Northeast this year. Despite plenty of resources, the Pirates have tended to eschew free agency in favor of developing through the draft and astute trading. But when ace starting pitcher Scott Council unexpectedly drew little interest from teams, the Pirates swooped in and signed him to a very reasonable deal of $7 million per year for four years. The addition of Council makes an already formidable rotation a very scary one. It seems that the Northeast Division as a whole had a very strong offseason. Rochester joins its division partners by getting a good grade, as well. The Rhinos jumped on the young slugger, RF Gustavo Manrique, and signed him to a four year deal worth over $5 million per year. They also added starting pitcher George Lasseter for four years and more than $3 million per year, and left-fielder John Schenk. The Washington Senators get the final "A". Washington shelled out over $10 million per year to sign SP Cleveland Lauria to a four year deal. The Senators also added catcher Man Merino, signing him to three year deal worth over $3 million per year. B+ Atlanta gets the only B+. The Braves signed RF Flavio Trujillo to a six year deal worth more than $9.6 milion per year. That was good. But they also signed 3B Andrew Francis to a four year deal worth more than $3 million per year. The amount there wasn't excessively bad, though it wasn't great, but four years seems rather ridiculous for the 35 year old Francis- especially when the Braves already have Raymond Stair to play third base. Definitely a questionable signing. Another dubious decision was to give RF Carl Gray a four year deal. Gray has been a servicable player the last few years with San Diego, but four years seems absurd. B Grand Rapids had two nice signings. First, starting pitcher Vicente Caruso signed a two year deal worth more than $7.3 million per year. Given his age and potential for injury, a two year deal isn't too bad for the 37 year old left-hander. Second, the Tigers signed catcher Ramon Martinez to a four year deal worth more than $3 million per year. This one is somewhat surprising, as the Tigers already have the talented 22 year old, Lucien Lum, to play catcher, but Lum is a bit injury prone, so this should provide Grand Rapids with some strong depth and insurance. If the Tigers can fit both into the lineup, that would be good, too. Nashville had one big signing, adding catcher Daniel Lane. Lane received a 6 year deal worth more than $8.3 million per year. The only thing keeping the Predators from a higher grade is that they also inexplicably gave the 36 year old 2B Cristian Zarzuela a three year deal. Additionally, not making an attempt to bolster their rotation could come back to haunt them. Mose Urick carried Nashville into the playoffs last year, just barely. Can he do it again? It seems odd to give New Jersey a high grade, but despite the Devils' awful record last season, their only truly gaping holes were at shortstop and in the bullpen. Their remaining positions either had solid players or young players that the Devils were getting a look at. New Jersey went out and addressed the shortstop need, signing Brian Hall to a four year deal worth $2.2 million per year. They didn't do much besides that, but it's not easy to be a player in free agency when you were the worst team in baseball the previous season. Portland's offseason was interesting. The Trailblazers made only one big money signing, and it may have been one of the worst contracts doled out. For some unknown reason, Portland handed 32 year old starting pitcher Norman Dale a three year deal worth more than $4.1 million per year. That's the Norman Dale of the 7.38 career ERA. That's the Norman Dale who was 6-20 with an 8.55 ERA two years ago while playing for Grand Rapids. Aside from that baffling contract, Portland made a number of astute, solid, small money signings: 3B Fred Elliott, C Howard Bevers, 2B Aaron Palacios, 3B Aaron Buchanon, SP Jose Padula, C Andrea Burkley, LF Bryan Carley. They also picked up 3B Don Guan in the trade with Hartford. Sacramento nabbed first-baseman Nestor Adrover, signing him to a three year deal worth more than $6.1 million per year. The Kings also added 3B Joseph Swaye for a pretty reasonable amount. C+ Knoxville wasn't particularly active, but they did bring back shortstop Joseph Bailey, who has played the last three seasons with the 79ers, on a 3 year deal worth about $6.6 million per year. On the one hand, Tucson brought back 2B Elmer Giancola on a one year deal worth about $4.5 million, added RF Richard Billips on a three year deal worth $5.3 million per year, and made some potentially solid signings of guys like SP George Molina, SP Benjamin Guertin, and 3B Charles Troutt. They even engaged in a multi-player trade with Charlotte, picking up outfielders Danny Guzman and Jonathan Constantino in exchange for infielders John McQuillen and Randall Bowen. On the other hand, the Diamondbacks lost two premiere starting pitchers in Cleveland Lauria and Scott Council, and did not adequately replace them. No, giving Pedro Pedilla of the 5.25 career ERA $1.4 million over four years doesn't count as "adequately replacing" anybody. Lauria and Council were two key components that kept Tucson near the top of the Central Division. With them gone, can the Diamondbacks remain competitive? C Assigning Denver a grade is a bit difficult, but a "C" seems reasonable. The Broncos did address their backup catcher need, but have done little else. They might be able to get by with what they already have to fill second base and third base, but that question mark at designated hitter lingers. Kansas City didn't do much this offseason, but the Royals did pick up a couple of solid bench options in 3B Patrick Chason and LF Ronald Coughlan. Memphis acquired CF Tristan Straub and 1B Mark Soderlund. Solid, if unspectacular, moves. C- Charlotte didn't do much in free agency, adding outfielders Michael Stennis and Derek Moos, but the Panthers did make that trade with Tucson. McQuillen and Bowen do bolster a weak infield, and dumping Danny Guzman's contract wasn't a bad move for a team in Charlotte's financial position. But one wonders why they also gave up the 26 year old Constantino, who is a talented young player seemingly on the verge of breaking out. The Green Bay Packers are a mess of an organizations, which obviously makes it difficult to improve much in free agency, but still. The Packers signed a 38 year old Mark Bakke, and that's about it. Could things be more unexciting in Green Bay? The same question can be asked about Phoenix, whose only signing of any note was of SP John Marcil, he of the 6.12 career ERA. And on a tangent, a better question to ask might be: Why have the 2064 expansion teams been so awful? All four(Phoenix, New Jersey, Charlotte, and Green Bay) lost at least 90 games last year, and none have really seen any sustained success at any point. Almost 20 years after coming into being, it seems that they should at least be competitive occasionally. D Harrisburg's offseason might have been even more dull than the previous teams. The Capitals' only signings were a bunch of middling players on minor league contracts. I suppose the bright side is that now Harrisburg has some decent relief pitching depth. While the Capitals cornered the market on mediocre relief pitchers, Los Angeles was doing the same thing for middling catchers, grabbing the likes of Michael Grace and Gary Kibby, as well as a few others. At least in the Dodgers' case, they have a pretty talented team, so people can dismiss this as a silly obsession while the Dodgers likely finish with a winning record. F There is only one "F" awarded, and it may come as a surprise. Or maybe not, since they are the only team left. Do the defending West Division champions, the San Jose Sharks, deserve an "F"? Well, the Sharks' starting rotation has gradually been devolving into mediocrity, and in this free agent period, there were three premiere starting pitchers on the market. San Jose always has plenty of money to spend, so it seems inexplicable that no attempt was made at any of Lauria, Council, or Caruso. So they get an F for having the ability and the opportunity to address an obvious need and seemingly ignoring it. Incomplete San Diego and Miami both receive grades of "incomplete". Amazingly enough, the two defending league champions did not make any free agent signings whatsoever. Is that hubris? __________________ 2081: Desperation in Denver Last edited by jamus23 : 12-08-2007 at 08:06 PM.