[gordyhulten]

OFFSEASON ROSTER EVALUATION: Beginning of Free Agency
Game Date: November 11, 2000

I’ve started the housecleaning by releasing the overaged, underdeveloped dregs of my minor league system: SP J. Russell, SP D. Sherman, SP R. Watson, MR D. Turner, 1B C. Murphy, SS M. Conway, CF M. Zamora, CF N. Weston, RF E. Ayala, SS L. Roberts, 2B C. Weatherly, 1B J. Montalvo, SP L. Fernández, SP M. Flint, SP J. Montoya, SP P. Murray, SP T. Wood, 1B M. Smith, 3B J. Kirkpatrick, 3B W. Phillips, 1B D. Benson, SP R. Drake, C P. Barr, C D. Calhoun, C J. López, 1B E. Barlow, 1B S. Pate, and 3B M. Morales.

In addition, a number of other players became free agents because of expiring contracts rather than a deliberate release: RF M. Walker, RF A. Canales, 1B R. Sandoval, 3B D. Simmons, SP J. López, MR M. Forbes, MR B. Wilson, MR D. Tucker, C A. Espinoza, C J. Navarro, CF D. Whitehead, 1B J. Washington, CF J. Curry, 3B J. Vallés, MR G. Williams, MR R. Pérez, MR R. Hicks, C R. Walton, 2B A. Rodríguez, SS J. Samuels, SS E. Ayala, RF J. Carr, 1B E. Bly, LF A. Shepherd, SS B. Jones, SP K. Hunter, SP D. Williams, C G. Miller, C G. Díaz, C P. Hernández, 2B J. Leonard, 1B W. Mathews, RF J. Lee, LF W. Cooley, MR J. Castro, and CF D. Hernández.

Nevertheless, the effect is the same – they’re gone. The only two that are really significant in any way are the two major-league outfielders (Canales and Walker). Canales’ departure is already hurting ticket sales, but he is 37 years old, and bringing him back isn’t even worth considering.

I’ve also managed to pick up a trio of infielders to minor-league free agents. The first is Leon Benabe (Talent: Contact 7 / Gap 8 / HR 2 / Eye 4 / Avoid Ks 7), a 19yo 2B/3B who was a very late pick in 1999 and has bounced around a few organizations in the past 18 months. The second is Montae Lambruschini (Talent: 6/8/3/6/6), a 22yo Italian who is an excellent 2B and is going to start the season in AA at least. The third is Norris LeBlanc (Talent: 5/7/2/6/4), another 22yo. LeBlanc has already shown a bit of a flair for getting on base - .369 OBP in AA last year – and is a great baserunning threat. He’s going to start in AAA at least, and would probably be a candidate for a major-league roster spot if he were more versatile in the field.

Sadly, this may be as exciting as free agency gets during this first offseason. I do have a number of other targets for minor-league contracts, but the owner has expressly forbidden any major-league signings until and unless payroll can be reduced.

As of the opening of free agency, here’s my organizational chart:



I’m not going to spend a lot of time promoting and demoting guys in the offseason, so a lot of these guys will move between levels as we approach Spring Training.

For now, my goal is to get creative and see if I can trade Tyler Wright and Mike Rasmussen so that we can get this franchise back into the black in one season rather than two or three.