Atlanta Braves - How long will it take?

NovaNation19 · 06-14-2016, 10:11 PM

Hey everyone, first time poster here but have been a big fan of the OOTP games for a while. OOTP 17 is the first one I've ever actually bought, but I've been playing the iOS games for a while. MLB Manager 15 is probably the most successful I've been, I'm currently taking a break after having just won my 5th straight World Series with the Cubs (2016-2020).

Anyway, I decided that for my first dynasty with the full OOTP game, I'd give myself a nice challenge. I signed on as the GM of the Atlanta Braves, and I am currently midway through the 2017 season. I'll do a semi-detailed catch-up of 2016 over the next couple posts, and then go over the offseason and what's happened so far in 2017. Hope you all enjoy reading this!

March 2016 Summary

Team Transactions:
3/26:
-Signed LF Mitch Meyer (4.5 star potential), C Zach Risedorf (3.5 star potential), RF Alvaro Reyes (4.5 star potential), and 3B Yordi Calderon (1 star potential) to minor league contracts.

Notable League Transactions:
3/21:
-Marlins trade 2B Derek Dietrich to Royals in exchange for RHP Kelvin Herrera, minor league SS Marten Gasparini and $2 million.
-Mets trade 3B Eric Campbell and minor league RHP Logan Taylor to Red Sox in exchange for RHP Rick Porcello.
-Brewers trade C Martin Maldonado to Nationals in exchange for RHP Shawn Kelley, minor league LF Michael Taylor, and $3.4 million.
3/24:
-White Sox trade C Dioner Navarro, minor league SS Johan Cruz, and $3.4 million to Twins in exchange for RHP Kyle Gibson.
3/26:
-Orioles trade 1B Pedro Alvarez and $3.7 million to Phillies in exchange for SS Freddy Galvis and minor league C Lenin Rodriguez.
3/27:
-Indians trade 1B Mike Napoli to Cardinals in exchange for RHP Miguel Socolovich and minor league RHP Sandy Alcantara.

April 2016 Summary
(Normally I'd give an update on the monthly W/L record but unfortunately I can't seem to find the old schedules. I can say for sure that I started the season on an 8-game losing streak, and it never got much better after that.)

Team Transactions:
4/2:
-Demoted LF Dian Toscano to AAA.
4/6:
-Signed RHP Norge Ruiz to Minor League Contract (4.5 star potential).
4/23:
-Signed RHP Jason Grilli to 2-year contract extension worth $8 million, second year is a team option. (Re-signing him was a goal of the owner preseason.)
4/25:
-Fired manager Fredi Gonzalez after receiving multiple complaints about team chemistry from players, signed Matt Williams as interim manager for remainder of season.

Notable League Transactions:
4/9:
-Angels sign both RHP Tim Lincecum to 1-year, $920,000 contract and LHP Mark Buerhle to 1-year, $8.5 million contract
4/9:
-Angels sign 1B Justin Morneau to 2-year, $7.28 million contract
4/12:
-Cardinals sign LF Frederich Cepeda to 2-year, $18.2 million contract
-Angels sign RHP Josh Johnson to 1-year, $1.28 million contract
4/14:
-Cubs sign 3B Luis Yander La O to 1-year, $9.5 million contract
4/16:
-Dodgers sign 3B Yuliesky Gurriel to 1-year, $13.5 million contract
4/18:
-Dodgers sign RHP Kenley Jansen to 3-year, $52.8 million contract extension
4/20:
-Angels sign RF Alex Rios to 1-year, $1.48 million contract
4/30:
-Red Sox trade 2B Brock Holt and minor league LF Hemerson Serven to Royals in exchange for 1B Eric Hosmer

Interesting League News/Major Injuries:
4/4:
-Brewers RHP Shawn Kelley out for season due to radial nerve compression
4/16:
-Diamondbacks RHP Shelby Miller tosses no-hitter against Padres (2 strikeouts, 1 walk)
4/17:
-Mets RHP Bartolo Colon out for season due to radial nerve compression
4/23:
-White Sox C Kevan Smith hits for cycle against Rangers
4/24:
-Marlins 2B Dee Gordon hits for cycle against Giants
4/26:
-Astros LHP Dallas Keuchel tosses no-hitter against Mariners (4 strikeouts, 1 walk)
4/30:
-Braves C A.J. Pierzynski records 2,000th career hit

May 2016 Summary

Team Transactions:
5/7:
-LF Hector Olivera placed on 60-day DL with broken hand
-LF Matt Tuiasosopo promoted to MLB
5/10:
-CF Drew Stubbs designated for assignment and placed on waivers
-CF Sean Godfrey promoted to MLB
5/11:
-RF Jeff Francouer placed on 15-day DL with strained hamstring
-CF Ender Inciarte placed on 15-day DL with lacerated hand
-LF Ronnier Musterlier promoted to MLB
5/12:
-LHP Manny Banuelos activated from DL
-RHP Williams Perez demoted to AAA
5/13:
-Signed CF Michael Bourn to minor league contract and placed him on MLB roster
5/20:
-Demoted CF Drew Stubbs to AAA
-Traded RHP Jim Johnson to Rays in exchanged for RHP Steve Geltz
5/24:
-Traded 1B Freddie Freeman, RF Nick Markakis, and minor league RHP Williams Perez to Rangers in exchange for 1B Mitch Moreland, and minor leaguers RF Nomar Mazara, RHP Dillon Tate, RF Jairo Beras, and RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez. Moreland and Mazara placed on active roster.
5/27:
-Activated CF Ender Inciarte from DL
-Demoted LF Ronnier Mustelier to AAA
5/30:
-Demoted RHP Matt Wisler to AAA
-Promoted RHP Daniel Winkler to MLB
5/31:
-Placed RHP Julio Teheran on 60-day DL with radial nerve compression
-Promoted RHP Aaron Blair to MLB

Notable League Transactions:
5/5:
-Angels sign 1B James Loney to 1-year, $800,000 contract
5/19:
-Pirates sign LF David Murphy to 1-year, $800,000 contract
5/24:
-Reds trade LHP Tony Cingrani to Yankees in exchange for minor leaguers RHP Austin DeCarr and RHP Giovanny Gallegos
5/26:
-Brewers trade RHP Wily Peralta and $900,000 to Twins in exchange for minor leaguers 2B Engelb Vielma and LHP Sam Clay.
-Marlins trade RHP A.J. Ramos to Royals in exchange for minor leaguers SS Ricky Aracena and LHP Matt Tenuta
-Yankees trade 3B Chase Headley and $2.4 million to Pirates in exchange for LHP Jon Niese
-Indians trade C Roberto Perez to Phillies in exchange for RHP Jeanmar Gomez, minor league RHP Adonis Medina, and $70,000
5/28:
-Rays trade SS Taylor Motter to Mets in exchange for LHP Jerry Blevins, minor league SS Amed Rosario, and $1.7 million
-Rockies trade LHP Jake McGee and $700,000 to Phillies in exchange for minor leaguers RHP Nick Pivetta and 2B Luis Espiritu

Interesting League News/Major Injuries:
5/3:
-Cubs RHP Pedro Strop out for season due to bone chips in elbow
5/12:
-Mets LF Yoenis Cespedes out for season due to torn ACL
5/13:
-Padres RF Matt Kemp out for season due to broken kneecap
5/17:
-Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira hits 400th career home run
5/22:
-White Sox SS Jimmy Rollins out for season due to torn labrum
5/23:
-Marlins RHP Jose Fernandez out for season due to torn UCL
5/25:
-Royals RHP Jason Vargas out for season due to shoulder inflammation
5/26:
-Indians RHP Corey Kluber out for season due to torn back muscle
5/27:
-Yankees RF Carlos Beltran records 2,500th career hit
5/28:
-Cubs 3B Kris Bryant hits for cycle against Phillies
5/29:
-Blue Jays RF Jose Bautista hits 300th career home run

As you can tell, before the end of May I was already going into fire sale mode. Jim Johnson was only on a 1-year contract but was pitching horribly (6.80 ERA) so when I shopped him and was offer Geltz by Tampa Bay I jumped on the offer. At this point in the season we were hovering around the .300 mark, and even guys that were supposed to be playing well were terrible. Freddie Freeman had just 2 home runs and a .211 batting average, so I figured I'd start shopping him around to get a sense of what was out there, and I saw Mazara available and knew he could be a cornerstone right fielder, so I started making that trade happen and also got a placeholder first baseman along with 2 4+ star prospects, so I felt really good about that one. Plus, Freeman was going to get a lot more expensive and I was looking to cut as much salary as possible so I could go hard on the Int'l. free agent market.

I'll give another update on how the rest of the season went in the next post. Hope you guys enjoy browsing through this thread. It's gonna be ugly for a while but I'm hoping I can stockpile some talent and start to be a perennial contender by 2019 or 2020.

azdevil2004 · 06-14-2016, 10:44 PM

Good luck with Atlanta, that's definitely going to be a challenge. A few of us are doing Minnesota Twins dynasties too which is a difficult team.

I'll keep checking in to see how you're doing

NovaNation19 · 06-15-2016, 12:08 AM

Thanks for reading, azdevil2004. Yeah I've been reading through the forum the last day or two and I've seen quite a few Twins threads already. Braves and Twins are definitely the two biggest challenges in OOTP, and I'd say the Padres are pretty close.

June 2016 Summary
Yep, the Braves are bad. At this point the goal for the team is to play .333 ball. Extremely low expectations, but there's no point in holding on to a bunch of guys on one-year contracts that won't get qualifying offers. Might as well see what I can get for them, even if it means by August I'll be fielding a AAAA team. It doesn't help that I've had sudden rash of injuries. Lost Inciarte, the only productive hitter, for a couple weeks, and my best pitcher, Julio Teheran, is out until late September.

Team Transactions:
-Draft summary - Very productive, landed quite a few solid prospects and while I'm going to go a little over budget, it looks like there's only gonna be one or two guys that won't sign. Definitely improved the minor league system. First round pick was a 1B/3B named Will Craig. Looks like he's got .270/30/100 potential on a yearly basis.
6/9:
-Demoted LHP Manny Banuelos to AAA.
-Promoted RHP Matt Wisler to MLB
6/16:
-Activated RHP Shae Simmons from DL and placed him on active roster.
-Demoted RHP Steve Geltz to AAA.
6/21:
-Demoted RHP Daniel Winkler to AAA.
-Promoted RHP Mike Foltynewicz to MLB
6/22:
-Activated RF Jeff Francouer from DL and placed him on active roster
-Demoted CF Sean Godfrey to AAA

Notable League Transactions:
6/1:
-Yankees sign LHP Aroldis Chapman to 2-year, $25.4 million extension
6/9:
-Nationals sign 3B Anthony Rendon to 6-year, $85.5 million extension
6/17:
-White Sox trade 3B Brett Lawrie and $2.1 million to Reds in exchange for minor leaguers RHP Drew Hayes and SS Alex Blandino
-Mariners trade RHP Nate Karns to Rangers in exchange for minor league CF Eric Jenkins
6/24:
-Pirates trade 2B Sean Rodriguez and $800,000 to White Sox in exchange for RHP Zach Putnam
6/26:
-Astros sign LF Colby Rasmus to 4-year, $76 million extension
6/28:
-Rays trade C Curt Casali to Angels in exchange for 1B Ji-Man Choi
-Royals trade CF Reymond Fuentes to Athletics in exchange for LHP Sean Doolittle (AI Billy Beane is still a nutjob apparently)
-Yankees trade CF Jacoby Ellsbury and $6.1 million to Rangers in exchange for LHP Jake Diekman
6/30:
-Dodgers trade C Austin Barnes to Astros in exchange for LHP Tony Sipp

Interesting League News/Major Injuries:
6/3:
-Tigers RHP Francisco Rodriguez records 400th career save
6/9:
-Yankees RF Carlos Beltran hits 400th career home run
6/12:
-Pirates 1B John Jaso out for season due to torn ACL
6/19:
-Diamondbacks RHP Zack Greinke out for season due to ruptured finger tendon
6/20:
-Dodgers 1B Adrian Gonzalez hits 300th career home run

July 2016 Summary
Breaking news: the Braves suck. All month we've hovered around the .320 to .330 mark in winning percentage. The team is flat out bad, and this month I decided to part ways with a number of veterans, some of whom were performing at expectations, but most were performing below. None were gonna get a qualifying offer so it was a matter of finding the best available match, whether it was prospects or a major-league caliber player who was young enough that he could be a core member of the team for a few years.

Team Transactions:
-International Signing Period summary: I chose to go big and blow past the budget for the year. Might as well grab as many guys as I can considering the pool was stocked with some high quality talent. Got a few solid 3-4 star prospects for a pretty cheap cost, but the big money went towards a 16-year old SS named Victor Salgado. This man's got Jesus potential. Potential contact rating of 98, potential power of 70, great eye at the plate. Scouts say he will be one of the top ten hitters in baseball for at least 10 years and if he stays healthy will end up in the HOF. Cost me a pretty $7 mill to get him but I was already over the limit so I figured "go big or go home". Thrilled to have this guy.
7/16:
-Promoted LHP Manny Banuelos and RHP Steve Geltz to MLB.
-Demoted RHP Mike Foltynewicz to AAA.
-Traded LF Hector Olivera, RHP Jason Grilli, and minor leaguers SS Johan Camargo and RHP Jacob Webb to Dodgers in exchange for minor leaguers RHP Jose De Leon and 1B Cody Bellinger
7/18:
-Traded 1B Mitch Moreland to Pirates in exchange for RHP Juan Nicasio. Assigned Nicasio to AAA
-Promoted 1B Tyler Moore to MLB
7/26:
-Traded C A.J. Pierzynski to Blue Jays in exchange for RHP Drew Storen. Storen placed on active roster
-Traded 2B Kelly Johnson to Angels in exchange for minor league RHP Mike Morin. Morin placed on active roster.
-Traded RHP Bud Norris to Astros in exchange for 1B Jon Singleton. Singleton placed on active roster.
-Demoted RHP Shae Simmons to AAA
-Promoted C Willians Astudillo, CF Mallex Smith, and SS Daniel Castro to MLB
-Designated CF Michael Bourn and 1B Tyler Moore for assignment.
7/29:
-Placed C Tyler Flowers on 15-day DL with strained PCL
-Promoted C Braeden Schlehuber

Notable League Transactions:
7/3:
-Blue Jays trade 1B Chris Colabello to Phillies in exchange for RHP David Hernandez
7/6:
-Nationals trade 3B Anthony Rendon and minor league LHP Matthew Spann to Reds in exchange for 1B Joey Votto
7/7:
-Cardinals trade 2B Greg Garcia to White Sox in exchange for RHP Nate Jones
7/8:
-Mets trade minor league SS Matt Reynolds to Diamondbacks in exchange for RHP Daniel Hudson and $500,000
7/10:
-Blue Jays trade CF Kevin Pillar to Brewers in exchange for RHP Hiram Burgos
7/14:
-Tigers trade 1B Victor Martinez to Reds in exchange for RHP Homer Bailey
7/15:
-Angels trade 1B Justin Morneau to Brewers in exchange for 2B Aaron Hill and $2 million
-Astros trade LF Evan Gattis and $1.1 million to Giants in exchange for RHP Hunter Strickland
7/17:
-Padres trade RHP Kevin Quackenbush to Angels in exchange for minor league LF Kyle Survance
7/18:
-Mariners trade RHP Steve Cishek to Angels in exchange for minor leaguers 2B Alex Yarbrough and RF Brendon Sanger
7/22:
-Reds trade 1B Adam Duvall to Nationals in exchange for RHP Yusmeiro Petit and $800,000
-Padres trade 3B Yangervis Solarte to Brewers in exchange for RHP Chase Anderson
7/25:
-Mariners trade RHP Charlie Furbush to Yankees in exchange for minor league 3B Dante Bichette Jr.
7/27:
-Rays trade RF Corey Dickerson to Yankees in exchange for RHP Dellin Betances (cringes internally as a Yankees fan)
-Phillies trade LF Will Venable to Padres in exchange for RHP Carlos Villanueva and minor league LHP Brian Clark
-Indians trade CF Rajai Davis and minor league C Signarf Loopstok to Cubs in exchange for RHP Jason Hammel and $1.4 million
7/29:
-Cardinals trade LF Frederich Cepeda to Red Sox in exchange for RHP Koji Uehara
7/30:
-Dodgers trade LF Carl Crawford and $6.1 million to Padres in exchange for RHP Brandon Maurer and minor league LF Kyle Survance
7/31:
-Nationals trade minor league LHP Sammy Solis to Astros in exchange for CF Jake Marisnick

Interesting League News/Major Injuries:
7/9:
-Angels LHP Andrew Heaney out for season due to torn labrum
7/11:
-Cubs RHP John Lackey out for season due to shoulder inflammation
7/12:
-The NL wins the All-Star game in a crushing 12-2 victory on the back of the hapless Braves' only representative, CF Ender Inciarte, who went 3 for 3 in the game. (Pretty much the highlight of the Braves' season)

All-Star Team Rosters:

August 2016 Summary
Getting a couple young but solid MLB players has seemed to help. Slowly but surely we're getting a little better. We're hovering around the .330 to .340 area, right around where I set the target earlier in the season, and the minors have gotten significantly better through the season as well. While it's a struggle to get through this season, I know the future looks bright.

Team Transactions:
8/5:
-Released CF Michael Bourn and 1B Tyler Moore
8/16:
-Placed 3B Adonis Garcia on 15-day DL with quad strain
-Promoted 3B Rio Ruiz to MLB
8/17:
-Placed SS Daniel Castro on 15-day DL with strained rib cage muscle
-Promoted 2B Reid Brignac to MLB
8/18:
-Placed RHP Arodys Vizcaino on 15-day DL with sprained elbow
-Promoted RHP Daniel Winkler to MLB
8/24:
-Placed SS Erick Aybar on 15-day DL with oblique strain
-Placed LF Ender Inciarte on 15-day DL with sprained ankle
-Promoted CF Drew Stubbs and SS Sean Kazmar to MLB

Notable League Transactions:
8/2:
-Dodgers sign LHP Alex Wood to 5-year, $69.9 million extension
8/8:
-Mariners trade RHP Ryan Cook to Rockies in exchange for minor league RHP Erick Julio
-Rockies trade RHP Tyler Chatwood to Brewers in exchange for minor league SS Isan Diaz
8/23:
-Tigers sign RHP Ivan Nova to 1-year, $980,000 contract
8/27:
-Pirates sign RF Alex Rios to 1-year, $920,000 contract

Interesting League News/Major Injuries:
8/3:
-Padres LF Carl Crawford records 2,000th career hit
8/11:
-Tigers RHP Justin Verlander out for season due to torn labrum
8/16:
-Reds LHP John Lamb tosses no-hitter against Marlins (8 Ks, 2 BBs)
8/22:
-Twins LF Miguel Sano out for season due elbow sprain
8/23:
-Red Sox RHP Steven Wright out for season due to shoulder inflammation
8/28:
-Rangers 2B Rougned Odor out for season due to fractured wrist (reports indicate it was NOT the result of punching Jose Bautista, to everyone's surprise)
8/31:
-Rays RHP Danny Farquhar out for season due to radial nerve compression

September/October 2016 Summary (Reg. Season)
Well, the regular season has come to an end, and a dismal September caused the Braves to fall short of my meager .333 goal. We ended the season at an appalling 52-110. Granted, the team was not set up to be successful, but we still could have been more competitive had some of the few competent players gone out with injuries at bad times (Teheran, Inciarte twice, Vizcaino and Garcia). Either way, it should be an interesting offseason. There's not really anyone left to trade but there are going to be a couple positions where prospects see roadblocks, 3B and 1B the first of those. I'll have to make a decision on what I do with some players.

Team Transactions:
-September call-ups: RHPs Mike Foltynewicz, Juan Nicasio, Chris Withrow, and Shae Simmons, CF Sean Godfrey, and LFs Dian Toscano and Ronnier Mustelier.
9/5:
-Activated C Tyler Flowers and RHP Arodys Vizcaino from DL
9/8:
-Activated SS Erick Aybar from DL
9/9:
-Placed RHP John Gant on 60-day DL with bone chips in elbow
9/10:
-Signed RHP Drew Storen to 4-year, $53.96 million extension. Player opt-out after year 1, team option for year 4.
9/11:
-Signed RHP Alexi Ogando to 2-year, $2.4 million extension
9/12:
-Activated SS Daniel Castro from DL
-Demoted SS Sean Kazmar to AAA
9/14:
-Activated LHP Paco Rodriguez from DL
9/18:
-Activated LF Ender Inciarte from DL
9/23:
-Placed 1B Jon Singleton on 15-day DL with strained hamstring
9/26:
-Activated 3B Adonis Garcia from DL
-Demoted 3B Rio Ruiz to AAA
10/3:
-Activated RHP Julio Teheran from DL

Notable League Transactions:
None

Interesting League News/Major Injuries:
9/4:
-Giants C Buster Posey out for season due to fractured thumb
9/6:
-Braves become the first team to be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs (LOL)
9/9:
-Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera records 2,500th hit
9/15:
-Dodgers CF Joc Pederson out for season due to strained oblique
9/17:
-Red Sox RF Mookie Betts hits for cycle against Yankees
9/17:
-Dodgers clinch NL West
9/19:
-Mets 2B Neil Walker out for season due to fractured hand
9/19:
-Cardinals LF Matt Holliday records 2,000th career hit
9/21:
-Blue Jays clinch AL East
9/21:
-Mets clinch NL East
9/22:
-Giants RHP George Kontos forced to retire due to bone chips in elbow
9/26:
-Astros clinch AL West
9/27:
-Tigers LF Justin Upton out for season due to torn back muscle
9/27:
-Indians clinch AL Central
9/28:
-Cubs clinch NL Central
9/29:
-Angels clinch 1st AL Wild Card spot
9/30:
-Rays LHP Matt Moore out for season due to sprained ankle
10/1:
-Padres clinch 1st NL Wild Card spot
10/1:
-Rockies SS Jose Reyes records 2,000th career hit
10/2:
-Reds LHP John Lamb out for all of 2016 and 2017 due to torn rotator cuff
10/3:
-Athletics clinch 2nd AL Wild Card spot
-Nationals clinch 2nd NL Wild Card spot

Definitely a season to forget for me. Here are the final MLB standings:

Here are the full hitting and pitching statistics for the 2016 Braves:

I'll wrap up the 2016 playoffs and the offseason tomorrow.

NovaNation19 · 06-15-2016, 06:04 PM

2016 Playoff Summary

AL Wild Card Series: Angels def. Athletics
NL Wild Card Series: Padres def. Nationals

AL Division Series: Angels def. Astros 3-2
AL Division Series: Indians def. Blue Jays 3-2
NL Divison Series: Dodgers def. Padres 3-1
NL Division Series: Cubs def. Mets 3-0

AL Championship Series: Angels def. Indians 4-2
NL Championship Series: Dodgers def. Cubs 4-0

World Series: The Freeway Series, featuring the 2 Los Angeles teams, the Angels and Dodgers.

And the World Series Champion, in 7 games, is....

the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim!

Going into the 9th inning, the Angels held a narrow 3-2 lead over the Dodgers, but with 1-out in the bottom of the 9th, Yasmani Grandal's game-tying home run sent Dodgers Stadium into a frenzy. It would not last, however, as Yordanis Linares drove home Curt Casali with an RBI sac fly in the top of the 10th, and the Angels claimed their first World Championship since 2002, while the Dodgers remained in a drought stretching back to 1988.

News/Transactions During the Playoffs
10/11:
-Blue Jays sign LF Michael Saunders to 2-year, $16.4 million extension
10/20:
-Pirates sign RHP Mark Melancon to 2-year, $35 million extension

2016-2017 Offseason Part 1

2016 Award Winners
AL MVP: Angels CF Mike Trout: .289 BA, 42 HR, 96 RBI, .422 OBP, 21 SB, 9.9 WAR
NL MVP: Phillies 3B Maikel Franco: .317 BA, 35 HR, 102 RBI, .362 OBP, 5 SB, 7.8 WAR

AL Cy Young: Angels RHP Garrett Richards: 14-9, 2.66 ERA, 233.2 IP, 207 K, 6.1 WAR
NL Cy Young: Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw: 19-3, 2.63 ERA, 246.2 IP, 320 K!!!, 8.8 WAR

AL ROTY: Twins 1B Byung-Ho Park: .286 BA, 41 HR, 112 RBI, .334 OBP, 2 SB, 3.6 WAR
NL ROTY: Diamondbacks LF Socrates Brito: .352 BA, 19 HR, 84 RBI, .384 OBP, 12 SB, 5.2 WAR

AL Reliever of the Year: Indians RHP Cody Allen: 7-4, 2.39 ERA, 47 SV, 75.1 IP, 122 K
NL Reliever of the Year: Dodgers RHP Kenley Jansen: 8-2, 1.26 ERA, 53 SV, 85.2 IP, 117 K

AL Silver Slugger Winners: C Stephen Vogt (OAK), 1B Prince Fielder (TEX), 2B Jose Altuve (HOU), 3B Manny Machado (BAL), SS Troy Tulowitzki (TOR), LF Michael Brantley (CLE), CF Mike Trout (LAA), RF Jose Bautista (TOR), DH Nelson Cruz (SEA)
NL Silver Slugger Winners: P Jake Peavy (SF), C Yasmani Grandal (LAD), 1B Wil Myers (SD), 2B Neil Walker (NYM), 3B Maikel Franco (PHI), SS Corey Seager (LAD), LF Michael Conforto (NYM), CF Marcell Ozuna (MIA), RF Giancarlo Stanton (MIA)

AL Gold Glove Winners: P Xavier Cedeno (TB), C Blake Swihart (BOS), 1B Albert Pujols (LAA), 2B Dustin Pedroia (BOS), 3B Adrian Beltre (TEX), SS Andrelton Simmons (LAA), LF Alex Gordon (KC), CF Byron Buxton (MIN), RF Mookie Betts (BOS)
NL Gold Glove Winners: P Gerrit Cole (PIT), C J.T. Realmuto (MIA), 1B Brandon Belt (SF), 2B Kolten Wong (STL), 3B Anthony Rendon (CIN), SS Adeiny Hechavarria (MIA), LF Christian Yelich (MIA), CF Billy Hamilton (CF), RF Jason Heyward (CHI)

AL Manager of the Year: Terry Francona (CLE)
NL Manager of the Year: Dave Roberts (LAD)

11/4: Breaking News - MLB to expand to 32 teams
Initially, OOTP gave me the Austin Whales and Jacksonville Edge as the two automatic expansion teams, but I changed them to the Montreal Saints and the Carolina Racers. I thought about Mexico City but decided that if I were to do that, I'd wait for the next expansion and add a team in Puerto Rico so that there were 2 teams south of the border, so to speak. Montreal hired Manny Ocasio as the manager, and Carolina hired Jason Hunter. With 32 teams, I recognized the need to do a divisional realignment, since I won't expand again until at least 2023 or 2024. Which leads to...

11/4: Breaking News - DH position eliminated, no more Wild Card, new division alignment finalized
Due to the fact that multiple teams switched from AL to NL and vice versa, the MLB thought it best to eliminate the DH position, as has long been wished for by longtime MLB fans. With the new alignments, there are 4 divisions of 4 teams each, and a 164 game schedule. Because of the new structure, there is no more Wild Card position to get into the playoffs. Instead, the 4 division winners will be given seeds 1-4 based on winning percentage, and the 1 and 4 seeds will face off in the AL/NLDS as usual, while the 2 and 3 seeds play each other. With that said, here is the new divisional structure:

AL East:
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Philadelphia Phillies

AL North:
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Minnesota Twins

AL South:
Carolina Racers
Kansas City Royals
Tampa Bay Rays
Texas Rangers

AL West:
Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Angels
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners

NL East:
Montreal Saints
New York Mets
Pittsburgh Pirates
Washington Nationals

NL North:
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Toronto Blue Jays

NL South:
Atlanta Braves
Houston Astros
Miami Marlins
St. Louis Cardinals

NL West:
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants

Notable Personnel Hiring/Firings/Retirements
-Braves do not extend MAN Matt Williams, replaced by Bryan Price
-Mariners fire MAN Scott Servais, replaced by Bench Coach Tim Bogar
-Nationals MAN Dusty Baker retires, replaced by John Raburn
-Phillies MAN Pete Mackanin retires, replaced by Junichi Fukura
-Racers hire GM Leo Rodriguez
-Reds fire MAN Bryan Price, replaced by Shinji Nishida
-Royals fire GM Dayton Moore, replaced by Michael Buczkowski, MAN Ned Yost retires, replaced by Chris Chambliss
-Saints hire GM Hiroshi Moriwaki

NovaNation19 · 06-15-2016, 10:14 PM

Wild offseason in the MLB so far.

2016-17 MLB Offseason Summary Part II

November 2016 - Braves Summary
Not a whole lot to talk about here. Didn't bother negotiating arbitration contracts, let that process handle itself and I was fine with how it turned out. I fired my hitting coach Kevin Seitzer after a pretty abysmal year batting wise. I let the following guys head to free agency:
SP Jhoulys Chacin
CF Drew Stubbs
3B Gordon Beckham
RP Eric O'Flaherty
RF Jeff Francouer
SS Erick Aybar

Other than that the only transaction was losing 3 guys in the expansion draft, SPs John Gant, Jesse Biddle, and Rob Whalen, but none factored into my long-term plan so I'm not concerned.

November 2016 - Notable League Transactions
11/5:
-Twins trade LF Eddie Rosario to Phillies in exchange for RP Hector Neris and minor league SP Alberto Tirado
11/8 (long-term arbitration-avoiding deals):
-Astros sign SP Collin McHugh to 5-year, $67.5 million extension and SP Dallas Keuchel to 6-year, $119.5 million extension
-Athletics sign C Stephen Vogt to 5-year, $44.6 million extension and SP Sonny Gray to 7-year, $170.7 million extension
-Blue Jays sign SP Marcus Stroman to 6-year, $80.2 million extension
-Cardinals sign SP Michael Wacha to 6-year, $95.1 million extension
-Cubs sign SP Jake Arrieta to 4-year, $103.2 million extension
-Diamondbacks sign SP Shelby Miller to 5-year, $90.9 million extension
-Dodgers sign C Yasmani Grandal to 4-year, $68.9 million extension
-Giants sign LF Evan Gattis to 4-year, $19.24 million extension
-Indians sign SP Danny Salazar to 5-year, $27.28 million extension
-Orioles sign 3B Manny Machado to 7-year, $198.9 million extension
-Red Sox sign CF Jackie Bradley Jr. to 6-year, $72.7 million extension
-Twins sign LF Oswaldo Arcia to 5-year, $47.68 million extension
11/13:
-Padres trade C Derek Norris to Rangers in exchange for minor leaguers SP Collin Wiles and CL David Perez
11/27:
-Rockies trade RF Carlos Gonzalez and $2.1 million to Orioles in exchange for minor leaguers 1B Ryan Orr and SP Brian Gonzalez
11/28:
-Orioles trade LF Christian Walker to Cardinals in exchange for 2B Jedd Gyorko
11/30:
-Red Sox C Christian Vazquez and Mets SP Rafael Montero become the first members of the Carolina Racers and Montreal Saints franchises, respectively, through the MLB Expansion Draft
-White Sox trade LF Adam Eaton and $800k to Astros in exchange for RP Hunter Strickland and minor league CF Trevyne Carter
-Blue Jays trade 2B Ryan Goins to Orioles in exchange for RF Hyun-Soo Kim and $370k

December 2016 - Braves Transactions
-Hired Bill Mueller as hitting coach
-Free Agent Market: My owner lowered the team budget to just $108 million, so I can only look for small deals but that would've been the plan regardless. I signed 3 guys, 2 of them from the international market. The big "get" was SP Ricky Lara out of Venezuela on a 7-year, $67 million contract. It's built with several options in it to help make it affordable/help me get out if it goes bad, but he's a 4.5 star prospect so it's definitely worth it, plus he's already MLB ready. I also got a 4-star lefty reliever out of Curacao named Nelle van Leest on a minor league contract. The only domestic guy I signed was SP Matt Moore, and I got him on a cheap 3-year, $2.4 million deal. He had a mediocre '16 and I'm hoping I can get a bargain on that deal.
-Trades: I made one deal, and it was a pretty big one. I sent SP Julio Teheran and RP Shae Simmons to the Blue Jays and got 2 stud prospects back, 4-star C Max Pentecost and 4.5 star SS Richard Urena. Very good trade on my part, and Teheran became expendable with the free agent pickups.
-Rule 5 Draft: Only made one pick but got C Juan Centeno who'll be my backup in 2017. Unfortunately, I had to DFA some of my AAAA guys in order to protect more important guys who I could envision making the 25-man roster elsewhere, and one of the expansion teams claimed a bunch of those guys on waivers. Looking back I probably didn't need to put them on waivers, but they all can be replaced by minor league contract guys so it'll probably save me a bit of money.

December 2016 - Notable League Transactions
Just wait till you see some of these contract. Unreal stuff. Especially the Jose Bautista deal. Anyone else ever see a guy actually sign for that kind of average annual money?

12/3:
-Nationals trade 3B Adam Duvall and minor league SP Tyler Watson to Rangers in exchange for SP Nate Karns
12/9:
-Rockies sign SP Tim Lincecum to 1-year, $790k deal.
-Reds trade C Devin Mesoraco, minor league LF Kevin Garcia, and $30k to Pirates in exchange for SP Jeff Locke
-Rockies trade SP Jon Gray to Yankees in exchange for minor leaguers C Luis Torrens and 1B Miguel Flames
12/10:
-Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez retires, plans to become TV broadcaster
12/11:
-Mets sign 3B Martin Prado to 4-year, $31.2 million contract
12/12:
-Dodgers sign RF Alfredo Despaigne to 6-year, $136.8 million contract
12/13:
-Saints sign 2B Neil Walker to 2-year, $58 million contract
12/15:
-Angels sign RF Jose Bautista to 2-year, $97.5 million contract (SERIOUSLY!?!?!?!? - he was coming a year where he hit .252 with 53 HRs - but still almost 49 mill a year?)
12/16:
-Twins sign SP C.J. Wilson to 1-year, $2.44 million contract
12/17:
-Cubs sign C Francisco Cervelli to 7-year, $172.8 million contract
12/18:
-Reds trade 3B Brett Lawrie to Yankees in exchange for minor leaguer RFs Jhalan Jackson and Lisandro Blanco
-Angels sign RF Josh Reddick to 6-year, $134.4 million contract
-Reds sign SP Kris Medlen to 2-year, $13.3 million contract
-Saints sign 1B Mark Reynolds to 2-year, $7.52 million contract
-Reds sign LF Matt Holliday to 1-year, $15.4 million contract
-Nationals sign SS Jimmy Rollins to 1-year, $1.04 million contract
12/19:
-Rangers trade 1B Freddie Freeman to Cardinals in exchange for SP Michael Wacha
-Diamondbacks trade RP Tyler Clippard and $4.15 million to Indians in exchange for minor leaguers SS Kevin Bradley and 1B Jose Medina
-Mariners trade SP James Paxton to Red Sox in exchange for minor league C Ben Moore
-Diamondbacks trade SP Robbie Ray to Giants in exchange for minor leaguers SP Phil Bickford and 3B Manuel Geraldo
-Angels sign SP Mat Latos to 4-year, $34.8 million contract
-Astros sign SP Stephen Strasburg to 7-year, $283 million contract ($40.4 mill a YEAR)
-Cardinals sign C Matt Wieters to 2-year, $8.88 million contract
12/20:
-Saints sign 1B Mark Trumbo to 2-year, $24.4 million contract
12/21:
-Mariners trade SP Hisashi Iwakuma to Pirates in exchange for minor leaguers SS Kevin Newman, 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes, SP Jacob Taylor, CL Seth McGarry, and RF Michael Suchy
-Rockies trade SS Jose Reyes and $6.2 million to Brewers in exchange for minor leaguers SP Cody Ponce and SS Angel Ortega
-Yankees sign CF Carlos Gomez to 5-year, $73.5 million contract
-Racers sign 1B Adam Lind to 2-year, $14.2 million contract
12/23:
-Yankees sign 2B Jose Lopez to 2-year, $27.4 million contract
12/26:
-Blue Jays sign CL Brett Cecil to 2-year, $30.8 million contract
12/27:
-Cubs sign CL Sergio Romo to 3-year, $51 million contract
12/29:
-Racers sign CF Dexter Fowler to 1-year, $4.16 million contract
12/30:
-Racers sign 1B Mitch Moreland to 3-year, $20 million contract
-Angels sign 2B Justin Turner to 4-year, $19.56 million contract
-Yankees sign 3B Yunel Escobar to 3-year, $22.5 million contract

January 2017 - Braves Transactions
Did not make a single roster move this month. I feel pretty set going into 2017. Don't think I have a winning club yet but by 2018 my tune my change.

January 2017 - Notable League Transactions/News
1/3:
-The 2017 Baseball Hall of Fame Class has been revealed, with 3 entrants into immortality. With 97.6% of the vote in his first year, LF Manny Ramirez has made it. Also in his first year, with 84.7% of the vote, is RF Vladimir Guerrero. Finally, in his 7th year, 1B Jeff Bagwell makes it with 81.4% of the vote.
-White Sox sign RP Junichi Tazawa to 2-year, $11.14 million contract
-Saints sign SP Chris Tillman to 1-year, $1.04 million contract
-Rockies sign SP Jon Niese to 1-year, $3 million contract
1/4:
-Diamondbacks sign SP Jake Peavy to 1-year, $3.4 million contract
1/8:
-Giants sign RF Carlos Beltran to 1-year, $2.68 million contract
1/9:
-Dodgers sign 1B Edwin Encarnacion to 2-year, $71 million contract
1/10:
-Giants sign CF Rajai Davis to 2-year, $20.8 million contract
1/13:
-Blue Jays sign SP Scott Kazmir to 2-year, $67 million contract
1/14:
-Astros sign SP Andrew Cashner to 4-year, $108.2 million contract
1/15:
-Athletics sign RP Brett Anderson to 3-year, $21.9 million contract
1/18:
-Rangers sign C A.J. Ellis to 1-year, $3.28 million contract
1/19:
-Royals sign 3B Luis Valbuena to 2-year, $17.6 million contract
1/21:
-Yankees sign 3B Adrian Beltre to 2-year, $48.4 million contract
1/22:
-Rangers sign SP R.A. Dickey to 1-year, $8.2 million contract
1/24:
-Yankees sign 2B Chris Coghlan to 1-year, $3.8 million contract
-White Sox sign CF Austin Jackson to 3-year, $23.7 million contract
1/26:
-Brewers sign 1B Mike Napoli to 1-year, $1.74 million contract
1/28:
-Cubs sign LF Ian Desmond to 1-year, $1.22 million contract

NovaNation19 · 06-15-2016, 10:40 PM

2016-17 Offseason Summary Part III

February 2017 - Braves Summary
Another slow month in Atlanta. Only news were 3 players discovered by international scouts, one 16-year old SP with 4-star potential.

February 2017 - MLB News/Transactions
2/3:
-Giants sign RP Greg Holland to 1-year, $3.64 million contract
-Racers sign 1B Kendrys Morales to 2-year, $16.2 million contract
2/4:
-Brewers trade 1B Justin Morneau and $2.32 million to Blue Jays in exchange for RP Aaron Loup
2/6:
-Mets sign SS Andres Blanco to 2-year, $15 million contract
2/7:
-Blue Jays sign CL Brad Ziegler to 2-year, $20.6 million contract
2/10:
-Cardinals sign 2B Chase Utley to 1-year, $940k contract
-Yankees sign C A.J. Pierzynski to 1-year, $4.4 million contract
2/15:
-Royals sign SP Jorge De La Rosa to 1-year, $1.48 million contract
-Orioles sign 1B Mark Teixeira to 2-year, $14.6 million contract
2/22:
-Nationals sign SP Jeremy Hellickson to 3-year, $22.2 million contract
2/23:
-Reds sign RP Mike Dunn to 1-year, $2.04 million contract
2/25:
-Astros sign C Jason Castro to 1-year, $1.18 million contract
-Athletics sign SS Alcides Escobar to 1-year, $5.7 million contract
2/27:
-Twins sign CL Jonathan Papelbon to 1-year, $4.04 million contract
2/28:
-Mariners sign RP Neftali Feliz to 1-year, $2.76 million contract

March 2016 - Braves Summary
Other than finalizing the roster with spring training cuts, I made no other moves. In the next post, I'll share my opening day roster.

March 2016 - MLB Transactions/News
3/2:
-Phillies trade CF Aaron Altherr to Astros in exchange for minor league RFs Jon Kemmer and Kyle Tucker
3/2:
-Yankees sign 1B Pedro Alvarez to 1-year, $1.52 million contract
3/3:
-Indians sign CL Boone Logan to 1-year, $2.82 million contract
3/6:
-Yankees sign RP Koji Uehara to 1-year, $2.64 million and RP Pat Neshek to 1-year, $1.34 million contracts
3/22:
-White Sox sign RP Kevin Jepsen to 1-year, $1.72 million contract
3/28:
-Dodgers sign RF Jay Bruce to 1-year, $6.7 million contract

NovaNation19 · 06-15-2016, 11:25 PM

My personal belief is that the team will end up somewhere in between 90 and 95 losses. There's a lot of talent, but a TON of inexperience on the roster. BBN projects us as a 78-86 team, finishing 4th in the NL South, but on the bright side, that would put us just 5 games out of 2nd place, which doesn't sound too bad. But in reality, we've got the 3rd lowest payroll, the lowest budget and attendance, and we're tied for the smallest media contract.

So, without further ado, here's the 2017 Opening Day Roster for the Atlanta Braves. (2016 stats shown)

Starting Rotation:
1. Matt Moore (3-4, 3.98 ERA, 55 G (5 GS), 104 IP, 120 K, 0.1 WAR - TB)
2. Aaron Blair (4-13, 3.67 ERA, 23 GS, 139.2 IP, 98 K, 1.1 WAR)
3. Ricky Lara (International - no stats)
4. Daniel Winkler (3-4, 4.29 ERA, 12 G (9 GS), 50.1 IP, 45 K, 0.3 WAR)
5. Matt Wisler (5-16, 4.90 ERA, 32 G (30 GS), 165.1 IP, 133 K, 2.0 WAR)

Bullpen:
CL - Drew Storen (4-2, 11 SV, 2.57 ERA, 67 G, 73.2 IP, 84 K, 1.1 WAR - TOR & ATL)
Setup - Steve Geltz (6-2, 12 SV, 3.71 ERA, 65 G, 63 IP, 78 K, 0.5 WAR - TB & ATL)
Setup - Mike Morin (4-5, 1 SV, 2.59 ERA, 78 G, 87 IP, 79 K, 1.6 WAR - LAA & ATL)
Middle Relief - Arodys Vizcaino (2-8, 19 SV, 3.97 ERA, 61 G, 56.2 IP, 55 K, 0.0 WAR)
Middle Relief - Alexi Ogando (4-4, 2 SV, 3.43 ERA, 85 G, 89.1 IP, 81 K, 1.0 WAR)
Middle Relief - Juan Nicasio (0-1, 1 SV, 4.76 ERA, 23 G, 33 IP, 35 K, 0.1 WAR - PIT & ATL)
Long Relief - Manny Banuelos (4-8, 5.20 ERA, 20 GS, 105.2 IP, 95 K, 0.8 WAR)

Starting Lineup:
LF Ender Inciarte (123 G, .286 BA, 5 HR, 31 RBI, 9 SB, 3.4 WAR)
SS Richard Urena (124 G, .316 BA, 20 HR, 91 RBI, 6 SB, 4.4 WAR - A+ with TOR)
1B Jon Singleton (135 G, .243 BA, 32 HR, 70 RBI, 0 SB, 2.6 WAR - HOU & ATL)
3B Adonis Garcia (114 G, .258 BA, 19 HR, 61 RBI, 5 SB, 0.7 WAR)
RF Nomar Mazara (122 G, .274 BA, 13 HR, 62 RBI, 0 SB, 1.6 WAR - TEX & ATL)
C Tyler Flowers (81 G, .252 BA, 7 HR, 21 RBI, 0 SB, 1.1 WAR)
2B Jace Peterson (155 G, .247 BA, 3 HR, 34 RBI, 14 SB, 2.5 WAR)
CF Mallex Smith (62 G, .255 BA, 0 HR, 10 RBI, 17 SB, 0.8 WAR)

Bench:
C Juan Centeno (69 G, .233 BA, 0 HR, 20 RBI, 0 SB, 0.3 WAR - AAA with MIN)
2B Daniel Castro (16 G, .375 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 0.2 WAR)
3B Rio Ruiz (31 G, .149 BA, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, -0.1 WAR)
LF Dustin Peterson (99 G, .240 BA, 16 HR, 40 RBI, 2 SB, 1.3 WAR - AAA)
LF Jason Ellison (85 G, .222 BA, 4 HR, 35 RBI, 3 SB, 0.3 WAR - AA)

pgjocki · 06-15-2016, 11:58 PM

Nice summary. Confused why St Louis would give Wacha a big contract then trade him. The AI made some interesting moves, wonder if getting rid of DH affected roster management.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

NovaNation19 · 06-16-2016, 11:18 PM

A month of baseball is in the books and things aren't looking completely bleak in Braves land. While we finished the month in 4th place in the NL South, we're 13-14 and just a game and a half out of the division. The offense is playing much better so far this season, but unfortunately, the bullpen has been dreadful.

Thus far, I've only made one transaction of note and that was due to an injury. My starting SS Richard Urena got a herniated disc the 19th and is out for 2 weeks, so I called up Reid Brignac to replace him for the time being. Dansby Swanson would've gotten the call but he went on the AAA DL a couple days before that with a fractured finger.

That being said, I'm certainly looking at making some moves early in May to try and get much better productivity out of the bullpen. Generally I tend to run out of patience sooner than later but I wanted to let all the guys get a full month in and see if any of them start pitching better.

Here's the statistics for everyone that played in the month:

Starting Rotation:
1. Matt Moore (1-2, 3.20 ERA, 6 GS, 39.1 IP, 29 K)
2. Aaron Blair (0-3, 4.32 ERA, 6 GS, 33.1 IP, 23 K)
3. Ricky Lara (1-2, 3.03 ERA, 5 GS, 29.2 IP, 23 K)
4. Daniel Winkler (2-3, 5.83 ERA, 5 GS, 29.1 IP, 19 K)
5. Matt Wisler (2-2, 2.61 ERA, 5 GS, 31 IP, 20 K)

Bullpen:
CL - Drew Storen (2-0, 6/7 SV, 0.00 ERA, 12 G, 15.0 IP, 15 K)
Setup - Steve Geltz (0-0, 1.88 ERA, 12 G, 14.1 IP, 14 K)
Setup - Mike Morin (2-0, 7.62 ERA, 17 G, 13 IP, 13 K)
Middle Relief - Arodys Vizcaino (2-0, 5.54 ERA, 15 G, 13 IP, 11 K)
Middle Relief - Alexi Ogando (1-1, 5.14 ERA, 9 G, 14 IP, 13 K)
Middle Relief - Juan Nicasio (0-1, 4.63 ERA, 12 G, 11.2 IP, 7 K)
Long Relief - Manny Banuelos (0-0, 9.00 ERA, 14 GS, 7 IP, 10 K)

Position Players:
C Juan Centeno (29 AB, .138 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI)
C Tyler Flowers (82 AB, .220 BA, 6 HR, 14 RBI)
1B Jon Singleton (108 AB, .194 BA, 1 HR, 8 RBI)
2B Reid Brignac (12 AB, .417 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI)
2B Daniel Castro (48 AB, .354 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI)
2B Jace Peterson (85 AB, .212 BA, 1 HR, 3 RBI)
SS Richard Urena (DL) (53 AB, .321 BA, 4 HR, 5 RBI)
3B Adonis Garcia (84 AB, .238 BA, 3 HR, 14 RBI)
3B Rio Ruiz (50 AB, .340 BA, 2 HR, 11 RBI)
LF Justin Ellison (13 AB, .154 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI)
LF Ender Inciarte (104 AB, .288 BA, 0 HR, 10 RBI)
LF Dustin Peterson (33 AB, .212 BA, 2 HR, 8 RBI)
CF Mallex Smith (93 AB, .226 BA, 0 HR, 8 RBI)
RF Nomar Mazara (105 AB, .276 BA, 6 HR, 12 RBI)

May 1st, 2017 - League Standings

April 2017 - Notable League Transactions
4/3:
-Angels claim 1B David Ortiz off waivers from Red Sox
4/8:
-Cardinals sign SP Josh Johnson to 1-year, $17.2 million contract
4/9:
-Yankees sign SP Clay Buchholz to 4-year, $54.4 million contract
4/16:
-Mets sign SP Zack Wheeler to 6-year, $76.72 million extension
4/18:
-Red Sox sign 1B Eric Hosmer to 4-year, $64.6 million extension
4/26:
-Angels sign RF Kole Calhoun to 4-year, $33 million extension

Interesting League News
4/4:
-Angels SP Andrew Heaney tosses no-hitter against Rangers (10 K, 1 BB)
4/5:
-Rays CF Kevin Kiermaier hits for the cycle against Diamondbacks
4/7:
-Athletics 3B Danny Valencia out for season with ruptured achilles tendon
4/24:
-Pirates SP Tyler Glasnow out for season with torn labrum
4/25:
-Cardinals SP Jaime Garcia out for season with torn rotator cuff

NovaNation19 · 06-17-2016, 03:06 PM

After a respectable April and a decent start to the month, the wheels fell completely off the tracks in May, as we ended up with a 9-17 record for the month, putting us at 22-31 on the season. Losing 9 out of 11 to finish May was definitely not what I envisioned, and it seems like the NL South is a pretty strong division. I'm in 4th place, and Miami is in first, 10 games ahead of me. St. Louis is in 2nd 5 games out, and Houston's in 3rd 5.5 back, and all three of those teams are .500 or better.

I started to make some promotions/demotions and even made my first trade of the season, and just about every move I made centered around trying to make the league-worst bullpen better. We're hovering around a 5.00 ERA as a bullpen on the season, and it's pretty ugly all around with only a couple exceptions.

On May 2nd, I DFA'ed Alexi Ogando, who was 1-1 with a 5.14 ERA. He wasn't pitching terribly but of the bullpen pitchers, he had one of the higher salaries so I figured I'd DFA him and hope that I could find either a trade partner or he would be willing to go to AAA. To fill his spot, I called up Paco Rodriguez, who was only in AAA due to a pretty horrible spring training.

Ogando wasn't willing to go to AAA to regroup so I shopped him around but didn't find anything I was thrilled about. Eventually though, I found a trade partner in Baltimore, and I sent Ogando with 4 fringe minor leaguers that were expendable in exchange for Cesar Cabral, a AAA relief pitcher with no salary. That move was pretty much a salary dump (which really speaks to how cheap my owner is, considering he was making just $1.2 million). Also that same day (5/5), I sent Reid Brignac back down to AAA as Richard Urena was healthy again.

One week later I was back to making call-ups. I sent LF Justin Ellison down to AAA (.222/0/1, 6 Ks in 18 ABs) and called up LF Dian Toscano, who was shredding apart AAA, hitting .385 through 65 ABs. Bullpen-wise, Mike Morin was a major disappointment, as he had allowed 5 runs in just 3.2 IP in May causing his ERA to skyrocket to 8.64, so he got demoted in favor of Jose Ramirez, another guy who had a tough spring. I also demoted Manny Baneulos, as he was still scuffling to a 7.82 ERA and walking way too many batter. Norge Ruiz got the call to MLB, as he had pitched to a 2.41 in 41 AAA innings.

Later in the month I made one final move to strengthen the bullpen. I sent Arodys Vizcaino down to AAA on the 19th as he was giving up a lot of hits and his ERA was all the way up to 6.26. Rookie lefty Nelle van Leest pitched to a 1.72 ERA in AAA and got the call to the majors.

On the offensive side of things, a couple guys really had great months. Nomar Mazara won National League Batter of the Month after hitting .319 with 9 HRs and 24 RBIs in the month. Jon Singleton also got going, hitting .303 with 6 HRs and 18 RBIs, and Dustin Peterson continued to be a valuable 4th outfielder, hitting .310 with 2 HRs and 7 RBIs in just 29 ABs in the month. Unfortunately for him there's not really a way to get much more playing time as my current outfield is playing well. Inciarte only hit .236 for the month but is still overall playing good baseball, and Mallex Smith had a .256 month which is more than acceptable considering the hell he unleashes on the basepaths.

Unfortunately for the pitching, the two anchors at the back of the bullpen who'd been so reliable really struggled in May. Steve Geltz had a 9.00 ERA in 9 innings, and Drew Storen, while he did go 6/7 in save opportunities again, had a 7.20 ERA in 10 IP and took 2 losses in non-save opportunities. Fortunately for them, the rotation kept pitching well. Matt Moore went 2-2 with a 2.84 ERA in 5 starts, and in 6 starts, Ricky Lara had a 2.91 ERA. The only bad part of the rotation was Daniel Winkler, and he was moved into the bullpen in favor of Norge Ruiz by the end of the month, as he went 1-2 with a 6.92 ERA over 26 innings. If he doesn't quickly show improvement he's looking at a demotion.

May 31st League Standings

Notable May 2017 Transactions
5/12:
-Indians sign 1B Carlos Santana to 5-year, $100 million extension
5/16:
-Diamondbacks sign CF A.J. Pollock to 4-year, $62.5 million extension

Interesting May 2017 News
5/2:
-Mets SP Zack Wheeler out for season with ruptured UCL
5/15:
-Orioles RP Darren O'Day out for season with shoulder inflammation
5/18:
-Athletics SP Sean Manaea out for season with fractured elbow
5/19:
-Dodgers 1B Edwin Encarnacion hits 300th career HR
5/21:
-Cardinals SP Josh Johnson out for season with bone chips in elbow
5/21:
-Giants CF Rajai Davis out for season with torn ACL
5/21:
-Mariners 3B Kyle Seager hits for cycle in 23-0 victory over White Sox
5/24:
-Reds 1B Victor Martinez records 2000th career hit
5/30:
-Rangers SP R.A. Dickey out for season with shoulder inflammation

NovaNation19 · 06-17-2016, 06:20 PM

"Lol" is the only term I think that really captures how bad a month the Braves just went through. Overall, we went 8-19, but the first couple days and last couple days really make that look better than it was. We had one stretch where we lost 15 of 17 games, and 11 of those games we failed to score more than 3 runs. All told, 9 of the 27 games played in June we scored no more than a single run. It was apathy at it's finest.

The first move I made to try and get a little life into the team as well as further stock the minors was to trade 3B Adonis Garcia and 2 non-prospect RFs to the Orioles in exchange for 4-star LF prospect D.J. Stewart. Garcia had been a big disappointment; in 188 ABs he only managed to hit .223 with 6 HRs and 31 RBIs while playing subpar defense. He also was said to have a "me-first" attitude, and there were a couple complaints about team chemistry, so I figured he was expendable, considering Rio Ruiz was hitting over .300 coming off the bench. To take his place on the active roster, I called up my top 1B prospect, Cody Bellinger.

After the draft, which was disappointingly thin, I made my next trade on the 16th. Jace Peterson had really not been good at all in 201 ABs, hitting .219 with 2 HRs and just 14 RBIs, and I had Urena on the active roster with a little bit of 2B ability, plus Dansby Swanson and Ozhaino Albies knocking on the door. I traded Peterson along with a 1.5 star 3B prospect named Juan Yepez to the Carolina Racers in exchange for RP Yimi Garcia and a 3-star SP prospect named Zach Shannon. Garcia went straight to the active roster, and at this point I also called up Albies and Manny Banuelos from AAA. To make room, I sent down the still-struggling Daniel Winkler (3-6, 6.64 ERA) and DFA'ed Juan Nicasio, who was pitching to a 5.05 ERA while making over $4 million.

3 days later, I lost Rio Ruiz for 6 weeks to a knee sprain, and Dansby Swanson got the long-awaited call to the Majors. Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone with much ability at 3B, so Swanson got stuck over at the hot corner while Albies played SS and Urena played 2B, where he was slightly comfortable, but still not in his natural position. I was taking the gamble to give up a little bit of defensive security in the hopes that these guys would provide a spark.

On the 26th, I worked out a trade for Nicasio to go to the Nationals in exchange for RP Oliver Perez, but I didn't have any interest in keeping him, I was merely looking to dump Nicasio's salary since nobody was gonna give up a half-decent prospect for him. I immediately DFA'ed Perez, and 3 days later he was claimed by Colorado. Unfortunately, I got terrible news that same day - Richard Urena was out for 10 months due to a torn PCL. To fill 2B, I moved Swanson over, and to fill the hot corner, I called up my 2016 first round draft pick, Will Craig, who can play both 1B and 3B to a respectable level.

On that same day, I fired Bryan Price, at which point we were 7-18 in the month of June. Rather than immediately trying to find an interim manager though, I decided that I would step in and start managing the games for a short time. Price was obviously not a good manager, and I hired him mainly because my scouts said he'd get along well with the players (team morale was BAD in '16). But I decided to manage the team myself for a temporary period to gauge whether or not the team actually has ability, or is just not cut out to win. While I didn't expect to be a .500 team, 29-49 is well below where I thought the team could be playing. In my first game as manager, we took a 9-4 victory over the Royals, but we dropped the final game of the month 4-2 to fall to 30-50 on the year.

June 30th League Standings

June 2017 - Notable MLB Transactions
6/7:
-Mariners trade 2B Chris Taylor and minor league SP Luiz Gohara to Athletics in exchange for SP Brett Anderson
6/24:
-Cubs claim 1B David Ortiz off waivers from Angels

June 2017 - Interesting MLB News
6/1:
-Mariners SP Felix Hernandez out for season due to torn flexor tendon
6/20:
-Padres 3B Yangervis Solarte out for season with torn ankle ligament (was hitting .353)
6/21:
-Indians RP Cody Allen out for season with torn UCL
6/23:
-Dodgers SP Alex Wood out for season with ruptured disc
6/24:
-Diamondbacks SP Zack Greinke out for season with bone chips in elbow (2nd straight season ending injury, just 32 starts made in first 2 years of mega-deal)

NovaNation19 · 06-18-2016, 02:13 PM

July was kind of a strange month for the Braves. As the manager, we started out winning 5 in a row to start the month, which started to make me think that Bryan Price had been holding this team back. But then, we lost 11 of 13 before and after the All-Star Break, including a 4-game stretch of losses where we scored a total of 4 runs while giving up just 10. At that point, my record as the human manager was 8-11, which led me to the belief that while Price was holding the team back, there was still work to do. So, I hired a Korean manager named Tae-ryong Cho who has an excellent reputation as a conventional manager. He's gone 1-4 so far, but while I was negotiating with him the bench coach managed the team to 3 straight wins, meaning we finished out the month on a 4-4 run. Overall, we went 11-15 in the month. Not good, but certainly a step up from the previous month.

Of course, being in the bottom 4th of the league, I was once again a trade deadline seller. The first move I made though didn't involve any major league players, but I thought it was a pretty good pickup. For some reason, the Racers offered me 2.5 star catching prospect A.J. Jimenez in exchange for 1 star pitching prospect in A+ named Josh Graham. Pretty good depth pickup, he's in AAA now but will certainly be a September call-up.

On the 9th, I sent down Jose Ramirez (5.67 ERA) in favor of Joel De La Cruz, although that was primarily a move to help the bullpen depth, as I didn't have many well-rested arms in the bullpen. He went back down a few days later after allowing a run in 1.1 IP over 2 games, and Mike Morin got called up. He had been shelled in Atlanta earlier, but part of it was due to a ridiculous BABIP, so I sent him down to get him back in the groove and regain confidence and he dominated AAA.

July 27th was the day I made my "blockbuster" trade. While Mallex Smith had incredible speed and definitely has value as a CF, I knew I could be getting much better production out of the position. I also had an impending logjam at 1B, as Cody Bellinger had been riding the bench behind Jon Singleton, who was starting to struggle. I worked out a trade with the Indians, sending them Smith, Singleton, SP Daniel Winkler (AAA), and 2-star 2B prospect Kevin Josephina. In return, the centerpiece of the deal was CF Tyler Naquin, who was hitting .303 with 12 HRs and 52 RBIs with Cleveland. But in addition to Naquin, I got 2.5-star SP prospect Mike Clevinger, 3-star 2B prospect Tyler Krieger, 2-star SP prospect Daniel Gomez, and 1.5-star SP prospect Adonis Medina. Getting Naquin was great, but getting a bunch of solid prospect depth was a pretty nice addition as well.

Two days later I made my only other trade. Reid Brignac was a $1.1 million utility guy sitting in AAA, so I shopped him around pretty much just looking to dump the salary, and amazingly, the Orioles offered me 4-star 2B prospect Cole Stobbe. Absolute steal.

The only other move made was activating 3B Rio Ruiz on the 31st, sending RP Nelle van Leest down to AAA to make room.

Here are the statistics of the current active roster, which has been shuffled around by the new manager, who is controlling.

Rotation:
1. Matt Wisler (6-9, 4.02 ERA, 21 GS, 127.0 IP, 94 K)
2. Norge Ruiz (4-2, 3.62 ERA, 14 G/11 GS, 69.2 IP, 64 K)
3. Ricky Lara (4-8, 3.38 ERA, 21 GS, 122.1 IP, 97 K)
4. Matt Moore (7-8, 2.78 ERA, 21 GS, 132.2 IP, 131 K)
5. Manny Banuelos (1-1, 6.04 ERA, 32 G/1 GS, 28.1 IP, 32 K)

Bullpen:
CL: Mike Morin (2-1, 6.20 ERA, 2/2 SV, 28 G, 24.2 IP, 28 K)
SU: Drew Storen (2-3, 2.12 ERA, 20/23 SV, 41 G, 46.2 IP, 43 K)
SU: Yimi Garcia (2-7, 4.37 ERA, 14/16 SV, 44 G, 47.1 IP, 60 K) (ATL & TB)
MR: Arodys Vizcaino (2-2, 6.20 ERA, 28 G, 24.2 IP, 29 K)
MR: Paco Rodriguez (1-3, 3.38 ERA, 35 G, 32.0 IP, 26 K)
MR: Steve Geltz (2-2, 3.89 ERA, 0/2 SV, 52 G, 44.0 IP, 37 K)
LR: Aaron Blair (4-11, 4.50 ERA, 22 G/21 GS, 126.0 IP, 99 K)

Lineup:
1. LF Ender Inciarte (402 AB, .264 BA, 2 HR, 31 RBI, 22 SB)
2. 2B Daniel Castro (199 AB, .276 BA, 0 HR, 16 RBI, 2 SB)
3. RF Nomar Mazara (389 AB, .290 BA, 18 HR, 54 RBI, 2 SB)
4. CF Tyler Naquin (397 AB, .307 BA, 12 HR, 59 RBI, 8 SB) (ATL & CLE)
5. 1B Cody Bellinger (55 AB, .200 BA, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SB)
6. 3B Rio Ruiz (125 AB, .312 BA, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 0 SB)
7. SS Ozhaino Albies (78 AB, .205 BA, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 7 SB)
8. C Juan Centeno (125 AB, .224 BA, 0 HR, 12 RBI, 0 SB)

Bench:
C Tyler Flowers (305 AB, .210 BA, 9 HR, 35 RBI, 0 SB)
1B/3B Will Craig (101 AB, .248 BA, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 0 SB)
SS Dansby Swanson (118 AB, .220 BA, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB)
LF Dustin Peterson (133 AB, .248 BA, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 1 SB)
LF Dian Toscano (29 AB, .207 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB)

July 31st, 2017 - MLB Standings

July 2017 - Notable MLB Transactions
7/5:
-Angels trade RF Josh Reddick and $4.1 million to Reds in exchange for SP Raisel Iglesias and minor league RP Tejay Antone (2.5 star POT)
-Rockies trade C Tom Murphy and minor league SP Tyler Danish (0.5 star POT) to Twins in exchange for 1B Kennys Vargas
7/7:
-Tigers trade LF Justin Upton and $5.5 million to Giants in exchange for RP Greg Holland and minor league 3B Jonah Arenado (2 star POT)
-Orioles trade RP Zach Britton and $2 million to Rays in exchange for minor league LF Yon Mina (3.5 star POT)
7/8:
-Nationals trade minor leaguers 3B Tyler Skole (1 star POT) and C Roberto Medina (2 star POT) to Padres in exchange for SP Colin Rea
-Mets trade C Kevin Plawecki to Angels in exchange for RP Huston Street, minor league CF Jahmai Jones (4.5 star POT), and $2.8 million
-Giants trade RP Steven Okert to Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league SS Sergio Alcantara (3.5 star POT)
7/10:
-Marlins trade RF Destin Hood to Rockies in exchange for RP Adam Ottavino, minor league 2B Roberto Alcaraz (3 star POT), and $600K
-Dodgers trade RF Jay Bruce to Mets in exchange for RP Addison Reed
-Athletics trade SS Zack Cozart to Royals in exchange for RP A.J. Ramos and $700K
7/11:
-Twins trade 1B Byung-ho Park to Brewers in exchange for RP Will Smith and minor league SS Gilbert Lara (4.5 star POT)
7/12:
-Yankees trade SS Yunel Escobar and $2.9 million to Reds in exchange for RP Brandon Gomes
7/14:
-Cardinals trade SP Mike Leake and $1.9 million to Rays in exchange for minor leaguers CF Garrett Whitley (1.5 star POT) and RF Manny Sanchez (1.5 star POT)
7/15:
-Racers trade SP Jhoulys Chacin and $220K to Twins in exchange for minor league SS Wander Javier (4.5 star POT)
7/18:
-Saints trade 3B Mark Reynolds and $1.3 million to Red Sox in exchange for RP Carson Smith
7/19:
-White Sox trade RP David Robertson and $2.1 million to Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league SPs Carlos Hernandez (0.5 star POT) and Wei-Chieh Huang (2 star POT)
7/24:
-Diamondbacks trade LF Zach Borenstein to Red Sox in exchange for RP Yusmeiro Petit and $700K
-Mets trade 3B Martin Prado and $1.2 million to Saints in exchange for 2B Joey Wendle
-Racers trade 3B Travis Shaw to Padres in exchange for SP Tayron Guerrero
7/25:
-Angels trade RF Kole Calhoun, minor league 3B Kenny Towns (1 star POT), and $2 million to Athletics in exchange for SP Chris Bassitt
7/26:
-White Sox trade RP Junichi Tazawa and $900K to Twins in exchange for minor league 3B Darling Cuesto (1.5 star POT)
-Athletics trade LF Khris Davis to Angels in exchange for RP Cam Bedrosian and minor league RP Tejay Antone (2.5 star POT)
-Tigers trade SS Dixon Machado to Rangers in exchange for SP Cole Hamels and $6 million
-Pirates trade 3B Josh Harrison to Twins in exchange for RP Glen Perkins and minor league SS Gilbert Lara (4.5 star POT)
7/29:
-Brewers trade LF Ramon Flores and minor league LF Blake Clanton (1.5 star POT) to Cardinals in exchange for SP Adam Wainwright and $5.4 million
7/30:
-White Sox trade 3B Todd Frazier and $1.9 million to Twins in exchange for minor leaguers CF Juan Arias (3 star POT), RF Jose Bermudez (3 star POT), and LF Aaron Whitefield (1 star POT)
7/31:
-Twins trade 2B Brian Dozier and $1.9 million to Mets in exchange for RP Josh Smoker

July 2017 - Interesting MLB News
7/5:
-Diamondbacks CF A.J. Pollock (.293/9/38) out for season with torn back muscle
7/6:
-Yankees LF Brett Gardner (.276/12/33) hits for the cycle
7/11:
-Dodgers SS Corey Seager goes 2-4, leading NL to 3-0 victory over AL in All-Star game
7/15:
-Twins SP Trevor May tosses no-hitter against White Sox
7/17:
-Mets SP Steven Matz (10-5, 2.46 ERA) out for season with torn labrum
7/21:
-Blue Jays SP Scott Kazmir (4-8, 4.98 ERA) out for season with torn UCL
7/21:
-Marlins 3B Cody Asche (.256/12/41) out for season with broken kneecap
7/26:
-Royals CF Lorenzo Cain (.321/11/43) out for season with torn labrum
7/27:
-Rays RP Brad Boxberger (2-3, 3.02 ERA) out for season with radial nerve compression

AL Leaders
Batting Average:
1. NYY 2B Starlin Castro - .346
2. PHI CF Odubel Herrera - .340
3. SEA LF Jon Jay - .332

Home Runs:
1. BAL 1B Chris Davis - 38
2. TEX 3B Joey Gallo - 35
T3. TEX 1B Prince Fielder - 28
T3. BAL SS Jonathan Schoop - 28

RBIs:
1. BAL 1B Chris Davis - 94
2. PHI 3B Maikel Franco - 85
T3. TEX 1B Prince Fielder - 79
T3. CLE SS Francisco Lindor - 79
T3. TEX 2B Rougned Odor - 79

Stolen Bases:
1. MIN CF Byron Buxton - 17
T2. ARI LF Socrates Brito - 16
T2. OAK 2B Leury Garcia - 16

Wins:
1. CLE SP Corey Kluber - 16
2. BOS SP Edwin Escobar - 13
T3. BOS SP David Price - 11
T3. PHI SP Vincent Velasquez - 11
T3. KC SP Yordano Ventura - 11

ERA:
1. CLE SP Corey Kluber - 2.21
2. BOS SP Edwin Escobar - 2.34
3. BOS SP David Price - 2.69

Strikeouts:
1. BOS SP David Price - 180
2. TEX SP Michael Wacha - 176
3. OAK SP Sonny Gray - 175

Saves:
1. OAK CL Liam Hendricks - 30
2. BOS CL Craig Kimbrel - 29
3. TEX CL Shawn Tolleson - 26

NL Leaders
Batting Average:
1. LAD RF Yasiel Puig - .357
2. LAD SS Corey Seager - .328
T3. LAD CF Joc Pederson - .305
T3. CIN 3B Anthony Rendon - .305

Home Runs:
1. MIA RF Giancarlo Stanton - 32
T2. COL 3B Nolan Arenado - 29
T2. LAD SS Corey Seager - 29

RBIs:
1. LAD RF Alfredo Despaigne - 93
T2. CIN 3B Anthony Rendon - 76
T2. LAD SS Corey Seager - 76

Stolen Bases:
1. WAS CF Ben Revere - 32
2. CIN CF Billy Hamilton - 31
3. MIA 2B Dee Gordon - 29

Wins:
1. HOU SP Collin McHugh - 15
2. CHC SP Jake Arrieta - 14
T3. CHC SP Kyle Hendricks - 12
T3. LAD SP Hyu-jin Ryu - 12

ERA:
1. NYM SP Noah Syndergaard - 1.94
2. NYM SP Steven Matz - 2.46
3. HOU SP Collin McHugh - 2.60

Strikeouts:
1. MIA SP Jose Fernandez - 204
2. NYM SP Noah Syndergaard - 173
3. HOU SP Stephen Strasburg - 160

Saves:
T1. MIA CL Carter Capps - 33
T1. PIT CL Mark Melancon - 33
3. MIL CL Shawn Kelley - 30

2017 All-Star Rosters
AL - NL:

craftdr · 06-18-2016, 04:03 PM

This is great as I'm doing the same thing right now with the Braves so it's kind of interesting to see how someone else is handling this mess. Lot of potential in the system so if it develops, it could be fun.

NovaNation19 · 06-18-2016, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by craftdr

This is great as I'm doing the same thing right now with the Braves so it's kind of interesting to see how someone else is handling this mess. Lot of potential in the system so if it develops, it could be fun.

Haha "mess" is the nicest way of saying it. The potential is there, but it's certainly going to be an uphill battle, especially from the financial side of things, given how horrible my attendance is at just over 18K a game. Certainly should be interesting to see how quickly I'm able to turn things around.

NovaNation19 · 06-18-2016, 07:56 PM

For the Atlanta Braves front office, sometimes it seems like all they're doing is chasing rainbows. After showing signs of competitiveness in the month of July, August was yet another horrific month, as the team lost 6 of the final 7 games to finish the month 9-20. They're now the 2nd worst team in baseball, behind even one of the 2 expansion franchises (by a half game), and unsurprisingly, are officially eliminated from postseason competition. The main culprit this month was the same culprit the rest of the month - a terrible bullpen. The Braves saw late leads or late ties evaporate far more often than should ever happen, and team morale is at rock bottom. Rumor has it that if September is no better, manager Tae-ryong Cho could become yet another manager to be fired. If he were to be replaced for the 2018 season, the new manager would be the 6th different in just a 3 year span.

The first move I made came on the 1st, and it was a very minor move, simply demoting LF Dian Toscano in favor of CF Sam Fuld, who I'd signed to a minor league deal. He's a veteran presence the team sorely needed, as there was just 1 position player over the age of 30, Tyler Flowers at 31. Fuld was later granted a 1 year, $750K extension, likely meaning he'll be utilized as the 4th or 5th outfielder once again in 2018.

Unfortunately, 3B Rio Ruiz went down with another injury on the 18th, this time victim of a fractured foot that'll cost him a month. I called up 3B Carlos Franco from AAA to take his spot.

And just over a week later, I lost RP Arodys Vizcaino, also for a month, to a herniated disc. Nelle van Leest got the call back up to the majors, along with prized SP prospect Jose De Leon, who replaced Yimi Garcia, who imploded during the month to post a 9.00 ERA over 11 innings.

The primary reason why manager Cho is on the hot seat however, is the perceived poor pitching staff management. He took the gamble of moving struggling youngster Aaron Blair back into the rotation at the expense of the team's best starter, Matt Moore, who has since struggled mightily in the bullpen. Also having a rough month was former closer Drew Storen, who was moved into the setup role by Cho, and he was scuffled badly during August.

Here are the stats of the current 25-man roster, prior to September call-ups.

Starting Rotation:
1. Matt Wisler (7-11, 3.81 ERA, 25 GS, 148.2 IP, 111 K)
2. Norge Ruiz (6-5, 3.38 ERA, 20 G/17 GS, 109.1 IP, 100 K)
3. Ricky Lara (5-12, 4.12 ERA, 28 GS, 161.2 IP, 131 K)
4. Aaron Blair (4-17, 4.47 ERA, 28 G/27 GS, 161 IP, 125 K)
5. Manny Banuelos (3-2, 4.53 ERA, 36 G/4 GS, 47.2 IP, 50 K)

Bullpen:
CL: Mike Morin (3-1, 4.46 ERA, 9/9 SV, 39 G, 36.1 IP, 34 K)
SU: Drew Storen (4-5, 3.56 ERA, 20/23 SV, 57 G, 60.2 IP, 59 K)
SU: Matt Moore (7-10, 3.46 ERA, 31 G/24 GS, 156 IP, 159 K)
MR: Nelle van Leest (0-2, 4.56 ERA, 0/2 SV, 27 G, 23.2 IP, 29 K)
MR: Paco Rodriguez (1-3, 4.50 ERA, 49 G, 44 IP, 42 K)
MR: Steve Geltz (2-2, 3.32 ERA, 0/2 SV, 63 G, 57 IP, 48 K)
LR: Jose De Leon - Has not entered a game yet

Lineup:
1. LF Ender Inciarte (523 AB, .279 BA, 4 HR, 39 RBI, 24 SB)
2. SS Ozzie Albies (168 AB, .232 BA, 0 HR, 16 RBI, 10 SB)
3. RF Nomar Mazara (494 AB, .291 BA, 27 HR, 75 RBI, 2 SB)
4. CF Tyler Naquin (505 AB, .289 BA, 13 HR, 67 RBI, 11 SB)
5. 1B Cody Bellinger (159 AB, .233 BA, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 3 SB)
6. 3B Will Craig (143 AB, .252 BA, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 0 SB)
7. C Juan Centeno (211 AB, .223 BA, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 0 SB)
8. 2B Daniel Castro (301 AB, .272 BA, 0 HR, 22 RBI, 2 SB)

Bench:
C Tyler Flowers (323 AB, .214 BA, 9 HR, 36 RBI, 0 SB)
3B Carlos Franco (21 AB, .190 BA, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB)
SS Dansby Swanson (163 AB, .190 BA, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB)
LF Dustin Peterson (143 AB, .245 BA, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 1 SB)
CF Sam Fuld (4 AB, .250 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB)

MLB Standings - Through August 31st, 2017

August 2017 - Notable MLB Transactions
None

August 2017 - Interesting League News
8/4:
-Angels SP Andrew Heaney (9-8, 3.32) out for season with torn flexor tendon
8/8:
-Twins CF Byron Buxton (.301/17/55) out for season with torn labrum
8/10:
-Red Sox RP Craig Kimbrel records 300th career save
8/18:
-Cubs SP Jake Arrieta (15-4, 2.59) out for season with shoulder inflammation
8/28:
-Reds 2B Brandon Phillips (.268/9/49) out for season with fractured knee
8/30:
-Marlins LF Christian Yelich hits for the cycle
8/31:
-Dodgers clinch NL West Division

AL Leaders
Batting Average:
1. CLE LF Michael Brantley - .331
2. SEA LF Jon Jay - .323
T3. KC CF Lorenzo Cain - .321
T3. TEX 2B Rougned Odor - .321

Home Runs:
1. BAL 1B Chris Davis - 46
2. TEX 3B Joey Gallo - 41
3. TEX 1B Prince Fielder - 37

RBIs:
1. BAL 1B Chris Davis - 114
2. PHI 3B Maikel Franco - 107
T3. TEX 3B Joey Gallo - 98
T3. CLE SS Francisco Lindor - 98

Stolen Bases:
1. PHI SS J.P. Crawford - 21
2. CLE SS Francisco Lindor - 19
T3. ARI LF Socrates Brito - 18
T3. OAK 2B Leury Garcia - 18
T3. BAL LF Joey Rickard - 18

Wins:
1. CLE SP Corey Kluber - 19
2. BOS SP Eduardo Escobar - 15
3. BOS SP David Price - 14

ERA:
1. BOS SP Eduardo Escobar - 2.06
2. CLE SP Corey Kluber - 2.20
3. PHI SP Charlie Morton - 2.74

Strikeouts:
1. OAK SP Sonny Gray - 228
2. BOS SP David Price - 226
3. TEX SP Michael Wacha - 222

Saves:
1. BOS CL Craig Kimbrel - 41
2. OAK CL Liam Hendricks - 38
3. NYY CL Aroldis Chapman - 34

NL Leaders
Batting Average:
1. LAD RF Yasiel Puig - .353
2. LAD SS Corey Seager - .338
3. PIT 1B Josh Bell - .315

Home Runs:
1. MIA RF Giancarlo Stanton - 40
2. COL 3B Nolan Arenado - 38
T3. HOU SS Carlos Correa - 36
T3. LAD SS Corey Seager - 36

RBIs:
1. LAD RF Alfredo Despaigne - 105
T2. COL 3B Nolan Arenado - 96
T3. LAD CF Joc Pederson - 96

Stolen Bases:
1. CIN CF Billy Hamilton - 47
2. WAS CF Ben Revere - 39
3. MIA 2B Dee Gordon - 32

Wins:
1. HOU SP Collin McHugh - 20
2. LAD SP Kenta Maeda - 16
T3. CHC SP Jake Arrieta - 15
T3. CHC SP Kyle Hendricks - 15
T3. PIT SP Chad Kuhl - 15

ERA:
1. NYM SP Noah Syndergaard - 2.28
2. HOU SP Collin McHugh - 2.52
3. SD SP Tyson Ross - 2.55

Strikeouts:
1. MIA SP Jose Fernandez - 256
2. LAD SP Clayton Kershaw - 206
3. NYM SP Noah Syndergaard - 201

Saves:
1. PIT CL Mark Melancon - 41
T2. MIA CL Carter Capps - 39
T2. TOR CL Brett Cecil - 39

NovaNation19 · 06-18-2016, 10:27 PM

Never again will I hire a manager that retains full control over pitching staff and lineups. Tae-ryong Cho was fired at the conclusion of the season after completely obliterating the final month. In his short time with Atlanta this season, he managed the team to an abysmal 16-47 record. While I hate to have to bring in another new manager, reading the box scores and game logs proved to me that this guy was a complete disaster. We ended the season on a 10-game losing streak, clinching the worst record in the MLB for the 2nd season in a row. What a disaster. Final regular season record: 56-108, a .341 winning percentage.

I'm already working on hiring a new manager, with Scott Servais being my top choice. There's not very many guys out there who will not only have a positive impact on development but also develop good relationships with players, but he's one of them. Whoever I hire though, I'm gonna have to be patient with. I can't imagine that all the inconsistency is great for the players to be dealing with.

As for the roster moves I made during September, there weren't very many. I called up SPs Max Fried & Steve Janas, RPs Joel De La Cruz, Yimi Garcia, Jose Ramirez, and Andrew McKirahan, C A.J. Jimenez, and LFs Dian Toscano and Justin Ellison as the September 1st roster expansion.

Beyond that, all I did was re-activate Rio Ruiz and Arodys Vizcaino from the DL while placing Manny Banuelos on the DL with an oblique strain.

Oh, I should also mention that I fired my scouting director Brian Bridges, and replaced him with Yong Ke. Bridges was actually pretty good and I had no problem with him, but Ke has the reputation of a legend and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to land him.

Here are the final regular season stats:

Starting Rotation:
1. Matt Wisler (7-15, 3.74 ERA, 30 GS, 175.2 IP, 134 K, 2.3 WAR)
2. Ricky Lara (6-16, 4.90 ERA, 34 GS, 185.1 IP, 149 K, 1.7 WAR)
3. Aaron Blair (5-21, 4.44 ERA, 34 G/33 GS, 196.2 IP, 154 K, 2.0 WAR)
4. Norge Ruiz (7-8, 4.04 ERA, 26 G/23 GS, 138 IP, 131 K, 2.0 WAR)
5. Matt Moore (7-12, 3.62 ERA, 41 G/25 GS, 176.2 IP, 182 K, 1.3 WAR)

Bullpen:
CL: Mike Morin (4-3, 4.78 ERA, 13/16 SV, 47 G, 43.1 IP, 40 K, 0.2 WAR)
SU: Drew Storen (4-6, 3.88 ERA, 20/24 SV, 69 G, 69.2 IP, 65 K, 0.3 WAR)
SU: Yimi Garcia (2-7, 5.32 ERA, 14/16 SV, 68 G, 67.2 IP, 82 K, 0.6 WAR)
MR: Arodys Vizcaino (2-2, 4.62 ERA, 41 G, 37 IP, 47 K, 0.3 WAR)
MR: Paco Rodriguez (1-4, 3.74 ERA, 60 G, 53 IP, 49 K, 0.1 WAR)
MR: Nelle van Leest (0-2, 4.45 ERA, 36 G, 32.1 IP, 37 K, 0.3 WAR
MR: Andrew McKirahan (0-0, 4.42 ERA, 9 G, 10.2 IP, 8 K, 0.1 WAR)
LR: Jose De Leon (1-0, 3.60 ERA, 5 G/1 GS, 10 IP, 11 K, 0.2 WAR)
LR: Max Fried (0-0, 3.07 ERA, 5 G, 14.2 IP, 13 K, -0.3 WAR)
LR: Jose Ramirez (0-1, 6.43 ERA, 24 G, 28 IP, 32 K, -0.2 WAR)
LR: Steve Geltz (2-2, 3.26 ERA, 64 G, 58 IP, 51 K, 0.1 WAR)
LR: Joel De La Cruz (0-0, 2.70 ERA, 4 G, 3.1 IP, 5 K, 0.1 WAR)
LR: Steve Janas (0-0, 5.79 ERA, 3 G, 4.2 IP, 3 K, 0.1 WAR)

Disabled List:
Manny Banuelos (4-4, 4.29 ERA, 41 G/8 GS, 71.1 IP, 74 K, 0.8 WAR)

Lineup:
1. SS Ozzie Albies (264 AB, .258 BA, 1 HR, 23 RBI, 16 SB, 1.1 WAR)
2. LF Ender Inciarte (641 AB, .271 BA, 6 HR, 49 RBI, 26 SB, 2.2 WAR)
3. RF Nomar Mazara (595 AB, .292 BA, 32 HR, 85 RBI, 4 SB, 6.1 WAR)
4. 1B Cody Bellinger (258 AB, .202 BA, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 3 SB, -0.7 WAR)
5. CF Tyler Naquin (611 AB, .286 BA, 15 HR, 79 RBI, 12 SB, 5.2 WAR)
6. 2B Dansby Swanson (232 AB, .211 BA, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 0 SB, -0.8 WAR)
7. 3B Rio Ruiz (235 AB, .298 BA, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 1 SB, 1.6 WAR)
8. C A.J. Jimenez (48 AB, .229 BA, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 0.1 WAR)

Bench:
C Juan Centeno (267 AB, .221 BA, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 0 SB, 0.0 WAR)
C Tyler Flowers (325 AB, .215 BA, 9 HR, 36 RBI, 0 SB, 0.3 WAR)
1B Will Craig (195 AB, .246 BA, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 0 SB, 0.1 WAR)
2B Daniel Castro (361 AB, .291 BA, 0 HR, 29 RBI, 2 SB, 1.1 WAR)
3B Carlos Franco (28 AB, .214 BA, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, -0.1 WAR)
LF Justin Ellison (23 AB, .174 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, -0.4 WAR)
LF Dustin Peterson (147 AB, .252 BA, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 1 SB, 0.3 WAR)
LF Dian Toscano (55 AB, .236 BA, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 0 SB, -0.2 WAR)
CF Sam Fuld (7 AB, .571 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 0.2 WAR)

Disabled List:
SS Richard Urena (231 AB, .268 BA, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 10 SB, 1.0 WAR)

Final 2017 Regular Season Standings

American League Playoff Matchups:
Cleveland (109-55) vs. Arizona (86-78)
Boston (96-68) vs. Texas (96-68)

National League Playoff Matchups:
Los Angeles (107-57) vs. New York (93-71)
Houston (100-65) vs. Chicago (98-66)

September 2017 - Notable League Transactions/News
9/6:
-Marlins SP Jose Fernandez (13-6, 2.78) out for season with torn triceps
9/9:
-Red Sox RF Mookie Betts (.256/15/65) out for season with strained triceps
9/11:
-Cleveland Indians clinch AL North Division
9/12:
-Royals LF Alex Gordon (.297/10/60) out for season with herniated disc
9/13:
-White Sox SP Carlos Rodon (8-13, 3.49) out for season with radial nerve compression
9/13:
-Pirates C Reese McGuire (.279/6/54) out for season with knee tendenitis
9/14:
-Yankees 2B Starlin Castro (.332/11/57) out for season with strained hamstring
9/15:
-Cubs 2B Ben Zobrist (.351/9/42) out for season with concussion
9/16:
-Racers CL Chasen Shreve (3-7, 3.92, 15 SV) out for season with bone chips
9/19:
-Racers 2B Jace Peterson (.231/5/42) out for season with herniated disc
9/23:
-Angels RF Jose Bautista (.213/25/59) out for season with fractured foot
9/24:
Chicago Cubs clinch NL North Division
9/25:
-Nationals RF Bryce Harper (.313/31/75) out for season with fractured finger
-Texas Rangers clinch AL South Division
9/29:
-Arizona Diamondbacks clinch AL West Division
-Mets 3B David Wright (.253/12/54) records 2000th career hit
9/30:
-Boston Red Sox clinch AL East Division
-New York Mets clinch NL East Division
10/4:
-Houston Astros clinch NL South Division after defeating Miami Marlins 4-1 in a one-game playoff

Final AL Leaders
Batting Average:
1. CLE LF Michael Brantley - .327
2. TEX 2B Rougned Odor - .321
3. CLE SS Francisco Lindor - .317

Home Runs:
T1. BAL 1B Chris Davis - 53
T1. TEX 3B Joey Gallo - 53
3. TEX 1B Prince Fielder - 44

RBIs:
1. BAL 1B Chris Davis - 134
2. CLE SS Francisco Lindor - 126
3. PHI 3B Maikel Franco - 125

Stolen Bases:
1. CLE SS Francisco Lindor - 24
T2. ARI LF Socrates Brito - 22
T2. PHI SS J.P. Crawford - 22

Wins:
1. CLE SP Corey Kluber - 24
2. BOS SP David Price - 18
3. BOS SP Eduardo Escobar - 17

ERA:
1. CLE SP Corey Kluber - 1.97
2. BOS SP Eduardo Escobar - 2.32
3. TB SP Chris Archer - 2.59

Strikeouts:
1. BOS SP David Price - 276
2. TEX SP Michael Wacha - 272
3. OAK SP Sonny Gray - 270

Saves:
1. BOS CL Craig Kimbrel - 50
2. OAK CL Liam Hendricks - 46
3. NYY CL Aroldis Chapman - 42

Final NL Leaders
Batting Average:
1. LAD RF Yasiel Puig - .335
2. LAD SS Corey Seager - .333
3. NYM LF Michael Conforto - .323

Home Runs:
1. HOU SS Carlos Correa - 48
T2. COL 3B Nolan Arenado - 44
T2. MIA RF Giancarlo Stanton - 44

RBIs:
1. LAD RF Alfredo Despaigne - 128
2. LAD SS Corey Seager - 114
3. COL 3B Nolan Arenado - 109

Stolen Bases:
1. CIN CF Billy Hamilton - 56
2. WAS CF Ben Revere - 43
3. MIA 2B Dee Gordon - 40

Wins:
1. HOU SP Collin McHugh - 24
T2. PIT SP Chad Kuhl - 18
T2. LAD SP Hyu-jin Ryu - 18

ERA:
1. NYM SP Noah Syndergaard - 2.26
2. HOU SP Collin McHugh - 2.53
3. LAD SP Clayton Kershaw - 2.55

Strikeouts:
1. MIA SP Jose Fernandez - 263
2. LAD SP Clayton Kershaw - 259
3. NYM SP Noah Syndergaard - 257

Saves:
1. PIT CL Mark Melancon - 46
2. HOU CL Ken Giles - 45
3. MIA CL Carter Capps - 44

NovaNation19 · 06-19-2016, 02:44 PM

American League Division Series - Indians vs. Diamondbacks
Game 1: Indians win 4-0, CLE leads series 1-0.
Game 2: Indians win 3-1, CLE leads series 2-0.
Game 3: Indians win 5-0, CLE wins series 3-0.
Series MVP: CLE SP Danny Salazar (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9 IP)

American League Division Series - Rangers vs. Red Sox
Game 1: Rangers win 6-1, TEX leads series 1-0.
Game 2: Rangers win 6-2, TEX leads series 2-0.
Game 3: Red Sox win 5-3, TEX leads series 2-1. Down to their final out, Red Sox pinch-hitter Jordan Weems crushes a 3-run HR, sending the series to game 4 and etching his name into Boston lore
Game 4: Red Sox win 3-1, series tied 2-2.
Game 5: Red Sox win 3-2 in 12 innings, BOS wins series 3-2. Jackie Bradley Jr. becomes the second Boston postseason legend, as his go-ahead solo home run in the top of the 12th inning is enough to send the Red Sox to the ALCS.
Series MVP: TEX CF Lewis Brinson (.381 BA, 0 HR, 3 RBI)

National League Division Series - Dodgers vs. Mets
Game 1: Dodgers win 3-2, LAD leads series 1-0.
Game 2: Dodgers win 7-4, LAD leads series 2-0.
Game 3: Dodgers win 8-4, LAD wins series 3-0.
Series MVP: LAD LF Alfredo Despaigne (.538 BA, 2 HR, 3 RBI)

National League Division Series - Astros vs Cubs
Game 1: Cubs win 4-3 in 11 innings, CHC leads series 1-0. Jorge Soler's go-ahead RBI single in the 11th inning gives the Cubs the early series advantage.
Game 2: Cubs win 8-4, CHC leads series 2-0.
Game 3: Cubs win 7-6, CHC wins series 3-0. Alexei Ramirez brings joy to Cubs fans across the nation as his 2-RBI walk-off single completes the Cubs' sweep of Houston and sends them to face the Dodgers in the NLCS.
Series MVP: CHC 3B Kris Bryant (.364 BA, 2 HR, 3 RBI)

American League Championship Series - Indians vs. Red Sox
Game 1: Indians win 2-1, CLE leads series 1-0.
Game 2: Red Sox win 3-2, series tied 1-1. Jackie Bradley Jr. continues to win the hearts of Sox fans as he hits a clutch go-ahead 2-run HR in the top of the 9th, allowing Boston to tie the series as they head home.
Game 3: Red Sox win 5-4, BOS leads series 2-1.
Game 4: Indians win 5-3, series tied 2-2.
Game 5: Red Sox win 6-5, BOS leads series 3-2.
Game 6: Indians win 12-2, series tied 3-3.
Game 7: Red Sox win 4-3 in 10 innings, BOS wins series 4-3. Jordan Weems continues to battle Jackie Bradley Jr. for most heroic postseason performance as he hits a 2-run HR in the top of the 10th that proved to be enough to send the Red Sox to the World Series.
Series MVP: BOS C Blake Swihart (.346 BA, 2 HR, 3 RBI)

National League Championship Series - Dodgers vs. Cubs
Game 1: Cubs win 6-2, CHC leads series 1-0.
Game 2: Cubs win 5-3, CHC leads series 2-0.
Game 3: Cubs win 7-2, CHC leads series 3-0.
Game 4: Cubs win 5-4, CHC wins series 4-0.
Series MVP: CHC SP Kyle Hendricks (2-0, 1.35 ERA, 13.1 IP)

2017 World Series - Cubs vs. Red Sox
Game 1: Cubs win 1-0, CHC leads series 1-0. Much to the disappointment of Cubs fans wanting to see history, Cubs manager Joe Maddon removes starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks after 8 innings of no-hit baseball despite having thrown just 92 pitches, though he was on short rest. CL Neil Ramirez allowed a hit to ruin the combined no-hitter but nailed down the save to give the Cubs an early series advantage.
Game 2: Red Sox win 3-2, series tied 1-1. It's starting to feel like it's destiny for the Red Sox. Yet again, with their backs against the wall, a hero came out from the shadows. This time, it was 3B Mark Reynolds, whose 2-run HR in the top of the 9th gave the Red Sox a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Game 3: Cubs win 5-4, CHC leads series 2-1.
Game 4: Red Sox win 12-6, series tied 2-2.
Game 5: Red Sox win 7-3, BOS leads series 3-2.
Game 6: Cubs win 7-3, series tied 3-3, Game 7 forced for a second consecutive year.
Game 7: Red Sox win 5-2, winning their first World Series championship since 2013, and the Cubs fans at Wrigley Field can only watch as the visitors celebrate on the field, with the Cubs drought extended for one more year. It's a bitter pill to swallow, especially considering how close the Cubs were to finally ending the drought.
World Series MVP: BOS SS Xander Bogaerts (.417 BA, 1 HR, 7 RBI)

Season Awards
Most Valuable Player
AL: CLE SS Francisco Lindor (.317 BA, 35 HR, 126 RBI, 24 SB, 8.9 WAR)
NL: LAD SS Corey Seager (.333 BA, 43 HR, 114 RBI, 6 SB, 9.8 WAR)

Cy Young Award
AL: CLE SP Corey Kluber (24-4, 1.97 ERA, 251 K, 7.4 WAR)
NL: HOU SP Collin McHugh (24-3, 2.53 ERA, 183 K, 5.4 WAR)

Reliever of the Year Award
AL: TB RP Dellin Betances (4-5, 1.62 ERA, 17/19 SV, 72.1 IP, 123 K, 2.3 WAR)
NL: HOU CL Ken Giles (7-5, 1.65 ERA, 45/51 SV, 76.1 IP, 109 K, 1.8 WAR)

Manager of the Year Award
AL: CLE Manager Terry Francona (109-55 - Lost in ALCS)
NL: HOU Manager A.J. Hinch (100-65 - Lost in NLDS)

Rookie of the Year Award
AL: MIN SP Jose Berrios (12-8, 3.42 ERA, 202 K, 5.8 WAR)
NL: LAD LF Alfredo Despaigne (.279 BA, 35 HR, 128 RBI, 0 SB, 4.7 WAR)

Silver Slugger Awards
AL: CAR SP Ivan Nova, KC C Salvador Perez, TEX 1B Prince Fielder, TEX 2B Rougned Odor, PHI 3B Maikel Franco, CLE SS Francisco Lindor, MIN LF Oswaldo Arcia, LAA CF Mike Trout, ARI RF David Peralta
NL: NYM SP Noah Syndergaard, NYM C Travis D'Arnaud, CHC 1B Anthony Rizzo, TOR 2B Devon Travis, COL 3B Nolan Arenado, LAD SS Corey Seager, NYM LF Michael Conforto, LAD CF Joc Pederson, MIA RF Giancarlo Stanton

Gold Glove Awards
AL: NYY SP Masahiro Tanaka, KC C Salvador Perez, ARI 1B Paul Goldschmidt, ARI 2B Chris Owings, TB 3B Evan Longoria, PHI SS J.P. Crawford, SEA LF Jon Jay, TB CF Kevin Kiermaier, ARI RF David Peralta

NL: ATL SP Aaron Blair, PIT C Reese McGuire, SF 1B Brandon Belt, COL 2B D.J. LeMahieu, CHC 3B Kris Bryant, MIA SS Adeiny Hechavarria, ATL LF Ender Inciarte, CIN CF Billy Hamilton, HOU RF George Springer

That's a wrap on the 2017 MLB season folks. It's time to make this team competitive over the offseason and stop being the laughingstock of Major League Baseball.

NovaNation19 · 06-19-2016, 09:27 PM

With lots of talent starting to emerge at the big-league level for the Atlanta Braves, and entering my final year of my contract as the GM, I was entering the offseason in "now or never" mode. Not necessarily "win now", but I knew I had to strengthen the roster and make improvements to the team as a whole by taking advantage of my areas of depth.

To start the offseason, I extended a minor league contract to a couple AAA depth guys, RP Ian Krol, SP Mike Clevinger, and C Steven Rodriguez. After the World Series, I found out, much to my delight, that RP Drew Storen chose to NOT opt out of his contract, saying he "hoped to be a part of many future championship teams". The other option year was C Tyler Flowers' team option. Rather than put down $4 million, I allowed to let him walk, as 2.5 star prospect A.J. Jimenez was MLB-ready, and Juan Centeno is still on the roster.

Before arbitration hearings happened, I started making personnel moves. Surprisingly, the Angels fired Mike Scioscia, as if it was his fault the GM traded away 2 good outfielders and signed Jose Bautista to a $50 million dollar salary to hit all of .218. Either way, I made him a priority, and eventually agreed to a 5 year deal with him, which I was ecstatic about. I also had an opening for the bench coach slot, and I signed Scott Servais to a 3-year deal. Having fortified the personnel of the organization, I went to improve the roster.

My wonderfully-generous owner once again trimmed down the budget for the season, dropping us to $106 million. With so little money to spend and not a whole lot coming off the books (Flowers was the biggest salary going away) I knew I had to try and win the arbitration cases. It ended up going alright, as I went 3-3, and the new contracts totaled up to about $400K less than what the players demanded, so I considered that respectable.

When the free agent market opened up, I had just under $13 million to spend. Originally, I was going to spend it on pitching, but for the second year in a row, my main target quickly shifted towards an international player, in this case, 1B Bill Diego out of Argentina. He was already at his full 5-star potential as a 26-year old, and had a contact/power rating of 56/91, and played above average defense as well. While I had Cody Bellinger on the roster, Diego became my target, knowing that I could hopefully land a young, controllable, frontline rotation piece if I packaged Bellinger and Dansby Swanson together, as Swanson had been passed on the depth chart by both Ozzie Albies and Richard Urena. It took only a couple back and forth messages before Diego was an Atlanta Brave - I ultimately signed him to a 9-year, $223.66 million contract, although much less than the full amount is guaranteed. I don't remember it off the top of my head, but I believe around $160 million is guaranteed, and that's assuming he doesn't use the opt-out after a 4th year. The reason I was able to land him is I severely back-loaded the contract, as the 2018 salary is just $12.74 million. The last 2 years are team options for $35.7 and $40.7 million each. I figure that by the time that comes around, I'll either not be able to afford him, or he'll have helped the team become a perennial playoff contender and I'll have increased team revenue enough to keep him on.

With a sudden monster power threat entrenched in the middle of the order, I now had two MLB-ready, high-potential infielders with nowhere to play, SS Dansby Swanson and 1B Cody Bellinger. After failing to land SP Julio Urias from the Dodgers, I turned my attention towards the Tigers, and worked out a huge deal that I'm very satisfied with. I sent Detroit a package led by Swanson & Bellinger, and also including 1.5-star catching prospect Ricardo Rodriguez, and 0.5 star SP prospects Mario Carmona and Javier Guerra, along with $12,000 to help make it affordable for them. In return, the highlight of the package was SP Michael Fulmer, who immediately becomes the ace of a quickly improving staff. But in addition to Fulmer, I also landed 3.5 star CL prospect Joe Jimenez, 2.5 star CL prospect Jayden Bly, 4-star CF prospect Derek Hill, and 3-star LF prospect Christin Stewart, who will compete for a bench outfielder spot in spring training. All in all, I felt it was a really good haul, and considering I had plenty of SS and 1B depth, I was extremely happy with how this trade turned out.

I made one other trade during December. I freed up a million in salary by sending LF Dian Toscano, who was now pretty much useless, to San Diego and got 2-star CL prospect Pat Light, another guy who'll have a shot to make the team out of spring training.

I think the biggest steal of the offseason so far came for me in the Rule 5 draft. While I did lose a 4.5-star CF prospect in Tim McClellan (defensive wizard and blazing speed, not much of a bat) to Carolina, I stole a 3-star RF with 4-star potential from Seattle, named Alex Jackson. He's already got a power rating of 79 and defensive rating of 85, but he's got power potential of 89. He'll be a huge asset as a 4th outfielder coming off the bench with great power, and he's excellent insurance if I encounter an injury.

Here's the rest of the league news heading into January 2018:

Notable Retirees
SP R.A. Dickey
RP Fernando Rodney
SS Yuniesky Betancourt
LF Jayson Werth

November 2017 - Notable League Transactions/News
11/1:
-Angels fire Manager Mike Scioscia & GM Billy Eppler
-Giants fire GM Bobby Evans, Manager Bruce Bochy retires
-Mariners fire GM Jerry Dipoto
-Mets GM Sandy Alderson retires
-Orioles Manager Buck Showalter retires, Bench Coach John Russell takes his place
-Racers fire Manager Jason Hunter
-Reds fire Manager Shinji Nishida
-Royals manager Chris Chambliss retires
-Saints fire Manager Manny Ocasio
-Tigers fire Manager Brad Ausmus
11/5 (Notable long-term extensions to avoid arbitration):
-Astros sign RF George Springer to 5-year, $52.9 million extension
-Cubs sign 3B Kris Bryant to 7-year, $152.24 million extension
-Diamondbacks sign RF David Peralta to 5-year, $49.4 million extension and SP Patrick Corbin to 4-year, $64.3 million extension
-Giants sign 2B Joe Panik to 6-year, $68.64 million extension
-Indians sign 2B Jose Ramirez to 6-year, $32.56 million extension
-Mets sign SP Noah Syndergaard to 7-year, $100 million extension
-Phillies sign 3B Maikel Franco to 5-year, $77.6 million extension
-Red Sox sign RF Mookie Betts to 6-year, $89.42 million extension, SS Xander Bogaerts to 5-year, $80.1 million extension, SP Randall Delgado to 4-year, $25.56 million extension, and SP Eduardo Rodriguez to 5-year, $28 million extension
11/6:
-Mariners hire Myeong-seok Cha as GM
11/8:
-Royals hire James Coleman as Manager
-Giants hire Butch Davis as Manager
11/10:
-Yankees trade RF Aaron Judge to Mets in exchange for RP Jim Henderson, 4.5-star CF prospect Jahmai Jones, and $450K
11/11:
-Giants trade SP Robbie Ray to Red Sox in exchange for SP prospects Hagen Donner (0.5 star) and Christopher Acosta (0.5 star)
-Reds trade RP Henderson Alvarez to Blue Jays in exchange for minor league RP prospects Juan Nunez (0.5 star) and Juliandry Higuera (0.5 star)
11/12:
-Rockies trade 1B Kennys Vargas to Angels in exchange for SP Chris Bassitt and $500K
11/13:
-Saints hire Brian Shouse as Manager
11/14:
-Angels hire Alan Trammell as Manager
-Mets hire Bai-Hen Lin as GM
11/16:
-Reds hire Mark Johnson as Manager
11/17:
-Red Sox sign CL Craig Kimbrel to 3-year, $48.6 million extension
11/25:
-Racers trade C Christian Vazquez to Brewers in exchange for 2-star LF prospect Victor Roache
-Padres trade 2B Taylor Lindsey and 0.5-star SP prospect Dari Lopez to Dodgers in exchange for LF Hector Olivera and $2.4 million
11/27:
-Angels sign 1B John Jaso to 1-year, $1.02 million contract
-Racers hire Randy Knorr as Manager
-Tigers hire Tim Wallach as Manager
11/28:
-Racers trade 2B Ryan Brett and 1-star 2B prospect Wesley Roberson to Reds in exchange for 3B Eric Jagielo
11/29:
-Yankees trade RF Tyler Austin to Orioles in exchange for RP Mychal Givens and 1.5-star SP prospect John Pomeroy

December 2017 - Notable MLB Transactions & News
12/1:
-Padres trade C Austin Hedges and 1-star SS prospect Christopher Torres to Diamondbacks in exchange for SP Ty Blach
12/3:
-Orioles sign CF Ben Revere to 3-year, $6.72 million contract
12/4:
-Rangers sign SP Michael Pineda to 4-year, $52.5 million contract
12/5:
-Cardinals sign CL Yoshihisa Hirano (INT'L) to 3-year, $30.9 million contract and C Derek Norris to 2-year, $2.66 million contract
-Pirates sign SS Jhonny Peralta to 1-year, $5.1 million contract
-Saints trade RP Hunter Strickland and $870K to Astros in exchange for 1.5-star CF prospect Anfernee Grier and 1-star SS prospect Juan Maricio
-Twins sign SP Yovani Gollardo to 3-year, $9.96 million contract
12/7:
-Saints trade CL Carson Smith and $1.1 million to Dodgers in exchange for RP Frankie Montas
12/8:
-Angels sign LF Khris Davis to 2-year, $8.36 million contract
-Phillies sign RF Jose Bautista to 2-year, $24.4 million contract
-Pirates sign 2B Danny Espinosa to 1-year, $3.24 million contract
12/9:
-Dodgers sign SS Jordy Mercer to 2-year, $2.24 million contract
-Orioles sign SS Eduardo Escobar to 2-year, $1.35 million contract
-Twins sign SP Wily Peralta to 2-year, $2.01 million contract
-Yankees sign SP Johnny Cueto to 5-year, $86 million contract
12/10:
-Cardinals sign CF Lorenzo Cain to 2-year, $26.8 million contract
-Rangers sign C Yadier Molina to 1-year, $840K contract
12/11:
-White Sox sign RF Carlos Gonzalez to 1-year, $1.14 million contract
12/12:
-Pirates sign SP Nathan Eovaldi to 7-year, $98.7 million contract
-White Sox sign 3B Danny Valencia to 1-year, $1.44 million contract
12/13:
-Racers sign LF J.D. Martinez to 5-year, $109 million contract
12/14:
-Dodgers sign CL Mark Melancon to 3-year, $37.8 million contract
-Pirates sign SP Marco Estrada to 2-year, $4 million contract
-Racers sign RP Addison Reed to 2-year, $6.16 million contract
-Rockies sign CL Greg Holland to 1-year, $2.76 million contract
12/15:
-Angels trade 2B Tommy La Stella to Dodgers in exchange for RP Chris Hatcher and 0.5-star SP prospect Robert Tyler
-Angels hire Houston Jimenez as GM
-Angels sign CF Dexter Fowler to 2-year, $14.4 million contract
-Cardinals sign C Jonathan Lucroy to 2-year, $43.4 million contract
-Dodgers sign SP Lance Lynn to 1-year, $3.6 million contract
-Indians sign SP Hisashi Iwakuma to 1-year, $15.8 million contract
-Pirates sign 3B Todd Frazier to 6-year, $55.8 million contract
-Rangers sign SP Tyson Ross to 5-year, $167.5 million contract
-Royals trade CL Sean Doolittle to Phillies in exchange for 3-star SS prospect Arquimedes Gamboa, 0.5-star SP prospects Ranger Suarez and Matt Imhof, and 2-star C prospect Chace Sarchet
-Yankees sign SP Francisco Liriano to 2-year, $36.8 million contract
12/16:
-Cardinals trade 1B Matt Adams and $2.84 million to Mets in exchange for RP Dario Alvarez and 0.5-star SP prospect Adrian Almeida
-Red Sox sign CL Wade Davis to 3-year, $38.7 million contract
-Rockies trade 2B D.J. LeMahieu and $7.2 million to Dodgers in exchange for 0.5-star prospects SP Mitch Hart and RP Zach Attianese
12/17:
-Mets sign 2B Howie Kendrick to 1-year, $2.68 million contract
-Phillies trade RF Jon Kemmer and 1-star 1B prospect Jeremy Vasquez to Angels in exchange for SP Matt Shoemaker and $260K
-Royals sign 3B Brett Lawrie to 1-year, $690K contract
-White Sox sign SP Danny Duffy to 3-year, $17.3 million contract
12/18:
-Cardinals sign SP Toshiya Sugiuchi (INT'L) to 2-year, $41.6 million contract
-Indians trade 3B Garin Cecchini to Padres in exchange for RP Louis Coleman, 0.5-star SP prospect B.J. Myers, and $1.1 million
-Orioles trade 3B Adonis Garcia and 0.5-star SP prospect Miguel Gonzalez to Athletics in exchange for SP Rubby De La Rosa
12/19:
-Astros trade 3B Tyler White to Twins in exchange for RP Junichi Tazawa and 0.5-star RP prospect Brock Barger
-Rangers sign SP Mike Fiers to 2-year, $2.6 million contract
-Rockies trade C Ryan Casteel to Brewers in exchange for RP Jorge Ortega
12/20:
-Giants trade SS Brandon Crawford and 1-star C prospect Scott Manea to Cardinals in exchange for CF Randal Grichuk
12/21:
-Rockies trade 1B Ben Paulsen and 1-star C prospect Javier Guevara to Giants in exchange for SP Jacob Turner
12/23:
-Saints sign RP Steve Cishek to 3-year, $4.98 million contract
12/24:
-Angels sign SP Ricky Nolasco to 1-year, $4.88 million contract
-Royals sign SP Jordan Lyles to 3-year, $11.92 million contract
-Twins sign 3B Trevor Plouffe to 2-year, $12.8 million contract
12/26:
-Athletics sign SP Kris Medlen to 1-year, $2.04 million contract
-Mets sign SP Matt Harvey to 5-year, $162.3 million extension
-Rockies sign SP Tim Lincecum to 1-year, $1.08 million contract
12/27:
-Astros sign C Miguel Montero to 1-year, $820K contract
-Phillies sign 3B Adrian Beltre to 2-year, $9.6 million contract
-Yankees sign 1B Chris Colabello to 2-year, $2.84 million contract
12/28:
-Red Sox sign SP Charlie Morton to 2-year, $24.2 million contract
-Mets sign RP Erasmo Ramirez to 2-year, $1.57 million contract
12/29:
-Brewers sign SS Jose Reyes to 2-year, $5.28 million contract
12/30:
-Angels sign RF Brandon Moss to 3-year, $27.3 million contract

NovaNation19 · 06-20-2016, 12:15 AM

The rest of the offseason was pretty uneventful for the Braves. In early February, I found a 3-star LF prospect in the free agent and grabbed him on a minor league deal, he's a defensive wizard and has good speed, could be a September call-up type of player.

I got good news midway through February, as season ticket sales had pretty much doubled with the big offseason moves, and my owner increased the budget by about $4 million.

Because of that, I was able to fortify the bullpen once more with RP David Hernandez, who had 2.85 ERA in 72.2 IP with Detroit last season. I've got a pretty crowded group of guys in the mix for bullpen spots, but after two straight years of disastrous bullpen performance, I figure that I might as well give myself plenty of options. I landed him for 1 year at $1.5 million.

That's it for the Atlanta offseason. Spring training is coming up, and the next update I'll give is when we get to Opening Day where I'll reveal the rotation and starting lineup.

January & February 2017 - Notable MLB News/Transactions
1/2:
-Mets sign CL Jeurys Familia to 3-year, $34.9 million extension
-Tigers sign 2B Ian Kinsler to 1-year, $650K contract
1/3:
-2017 MLB Hall of Fame Class Revealed. With 91.7% of the vote in his first year on the ballot, 3B Chipper Jones makes it in. Also in his first year, with 89% of the vote, is 1B Jim Thome. Finally, in his 6th year on the ballot, SP Curt Schilling squeaks in with 75.9% of the vote.
-Angels sign SP Josh Johnson to 2-year, $10.2 million contract
-Mets sign 1B Brandon Belt to 7-year, $134.4 million contract
1/4:
-Nationals sign LF Carl Crawford 1-year, $590K contract
-Red Sox sign LF Curtis Granderson to 1-year, $820K contract
-Tigers sign SP Jake Peavy to 1-year, $650K contract
1/7:
-Rays sign SP Jason Hammel to 1-year, $860K contract
1/8:
-White Sox sign SP Jon Niese to 1-year, $690K contract
1/9:
-Red Sox sign CF Melvin Upton Jr. to 1-year, $520K contract
1/10:
-Saints sign RP Antonio Bastardo to 3-year, $2.37 million contract
1/11:
-White Sox sign 1B Yonder Alonso to 1-year, $640K contract
1/12:
-Red Sox sign LF Matt Holliday to 1-year, $530K contract
1/13:
-Padres sign RP Luke Gregerson to 2-year, $5.44 million contract
1/15:
-Cardinals sign RP Tony Watson to 3-year, $5.74 million contract
-Cubs sign SP Wei-yin Chen to 2-year, $23.2 million contract
1/17:
-Tigers sign SP Edinson Volquez to 2-year, $6.4 million contract
1/18:
-Rangers sign 1B Lucas Duda to 5-year, $62.6 million contract
-Twins trade SP Trevor May to Mets in exchange for 0.5-star SP prospect Jonathan Teaney
1/28:
-Cubs sign RP Brad Ziegler to 2-year, $5.52 million contract
1/29:
-Nationals sign C Jason Castro to 1-year, $670K contract
-Saints sign RP Yusmeiro Petit to 2-year, $5.36 million contract
1/30:
-Dodgers sign CL Huston Street to 2-year, $5.44 million contract
-Rangers sign RP Oliver Perez to 2-year, $7.2 million contract
2/1:
-Nationals sign LF Desmond Jennings to 2-year, $5.31 million contract
-Phillies sign C Jarrod Saltalamacchia to 1-year, $720K contract
-Pirates sign CL Mike Dunn to 3-year, $20.7 million contract
-Tigers sign SP Jered Weaver to 1-year, $780K contract
-Yankees sign RP C.J. Wilson to 1-year, $830K contract
2/4:
-Angels sign SP Yu Darvish to 2-year, $27.4 million contract
2/6:
-Saints sign RP Tyler Clippard to 1-year, $740K contract
2/9:
-Rays sign 1B Justin Morneau to 3-year, $8.64 million contract
-Royals sign LF Melky Cabrera to 1-year, $720K contract
2/10:
-Saints sign SP Matt Cain to 1-year, $790K contract
2/11:
-Yankees trade C Brian McCann, 4-star 3B prospect Joe Rizzo, and $8.65 million to White Sox in exchange for SP Jose Quintana
2/15:
-White Sox sign RP Jordan Walden to 1-year, $2.36 million contract
2/17:
-Giants sign RP Daniel Hudson to 1-year, $690K contract
-Royals sign SP Wade Miley to 1-year, $650K contract
2/18:
-Red Sox sign RF Jay Bruce to 1-year, $750K contract
-Twins sign RP Boone Logan to 1-year, $850K contract
2/19:
-Brewers sign RP Glen Perkins to 2-year, $3.3 million contract
2/20:
-Reds sign SS Asdrubal Cabrera to 1-year, $520K contract
2/21:
-Tigers sign 1B Mark Teixeira to 1-year, $860K contract
2/26:
-Padres sign RP Trevor Cahill to 1-year, $930K contract

NovaNation19 · 06-20-2016, 10:36 PM

I thought that I was done making moves for the season, but inevitably, things came up and roster moves happened.

The first move came on the first day of spring training, where I noticed that RP Steve Geltz had been downgraded to a 0.5-star player by my new scout, and decided to shop him around, since there was a very large and competitive pool of bullpen arms in the mix. I ended finding a really good deal (it even helped finances out by $250K) in exchange for a 3-star/4-star RP named Tony Zych. Definite improvement in that area, and another reliable arm to try and solidify the pen.

I also signed SS Ivan De Jesus Jr. to a minor league contract and put him on the roster, as my go-to backup middle infielder, SS Daniel Castro, is going to start the season as my Opening Day 2B, since Richard Urena is on track to come back about 2-3 weeks into the season.

I made the first round of Spring Training cuts on the 12th, and they weren't guys expected to make the team. I simply gave them a shot to see if they could light the world on fire, but as expect, they're all back down in the minors. C Max Pentecost, and SPs Wes Parsons and Touki Toussaint went back down.

On the 19th I made the next cut, and again, none of the guys sent down were established big leaguers. RPs Joel De La Cruz, Chi Chi Gonzalez, Steve Janas, and Brad Roney went down. However, I also was forced to DFA Sam Fuld, as he was out of option years and had been surpassed by a CF prospect I landed in the Fulmer-Swanson/Bellinger trade. He was claimed by Detroit and that was the end of Fuld's brief Atlanta tenure.

On the 29th I made the penultimate round of cuts, sending SP Chris Ellis, RP Pat Light, and LF Christin Stewart to AAA. All of them posted respectable numbers, but given their MLB inexperience and the high-level of competition at their positions, they were easy to send down.

On April 2nd, after finishing Spring Training at 14-14 with a 3-3 record against my divisional foes, I made the final round of cuts, but it sure as hell wasn't easy. Some guys were sent down despite posting really strong spring numbers, in part to either inexperience, or me trying to avoid DFA'ing some MLB players. SPs Mike Clevinger, Max Fried, Lucas Sims, and RP Andrew McKirahan were the first to be sent down, but they all made good impressions during the month and will likely get a look should injuries occur at the MLB level. The next guy I sent down was LF Dustin Peterson, who had an average spring, but was overshadowed by CF prospect Derek Hill, who hit .345, plays incredible defense, and has blazing speed off the bench. The 3 semi-established MLB players that were then sent down after having somewhat-rough springs were RP Manny Banuelos, RP Nelle van Leest (he actually had a great spring, but could use some more seasoning), and, as much as I hated to do it, SP Norge Ruiz. Ruiz had a strong 2017 season in the MLB, but had a rough spring and was overshadowed by newcomers to the rotation. He'll without question be the first to get the call-up.

That left me still with 27 players on the roster. I ended up having to DFA both Jose Ramirez and Arodys Vizcaino, as offseason acquisitions had surpassed Ramirez and Vizcaino had a horrific spring. Unfortunately, Vizcaino was claimed on waivers by Oakland, so he's gone. Ramirez is now at AAA.

Spring Training 2018 - MLB News/Transactions
3/3:
-Angels sign SP Anibal Sanchez to 3-year, $19.5 million contract
3/4:
-Red Sox sign SP Jaime Garcia to 1-year, $5.4 million contract
3/10:
-Red Sox sign LF Andre Ethier to 1-year, $3.16 million contract
3/14:
-Orioles sign LF Jon Jay to 3-year, $22 million contract

Owner Expectations - 2018
My owner is expecting to play close to .500 ball, while I'm projected to go 77-87. I think that's pretty low, and I'm optimistic we can have a winning season. He also wants me to lower Runs Scored Against, which is doable. Also, I'm expected to acquire a Gold Glove Award winner, which hasn't officially happened but I've gotten excellent fielders that he's satisfied with, so that's another one off the list. Financially, I've been asked to increase attendance to 19K per game (currently projected at 28K/game based on season tickets) and ended with a balance of $17M, and I'm projected $18.3M. Finally, the long-term goal is to get to the playoffs by 2022.

Maybe I'm just way too optimistic, but I think this team has an outside chance to get to the playoffs this year. If the players perform like they're capable of, I think it'll happen. The good part is, even if we're stuck muddling around the .500 mark, we've got the #2 minor league system in baseball, 3 of the top 20 prospects, and 7 of the top 100. That's not even counting some of the guys who've graduated to the bigs over the last 2 seasons.

I'm looking forward to the season. Here's the opening day roster, with 2017 stats shown.

Rotation
1. Michael Fulmer (11-12, 4.15 ERA, 34 GS, 199.2 IP, 218 K) - DET
2. Matt Wisler (7-15, 3.74 ERA, 30 GS, 175.2 IP, 134 K)
3. Ricky Lara (6-16, 4.90 ERA, 34 GS, 185.1 IP, 149 K)
4. Jose De Leon (10-9, 4.00 ERA, 26 GS, 150.2 IP, 132 K) - AAA with ATL
5. Matt Moore (7-12, 3.62 ERA, 41 G/25 GS, 176.2 IP, 182 K)

Bullpen
CL: Drew Storen (4-6, 3.88 ERA, 69 G, 69.2 IP, 65 K)
SU: Mike Morin (4-3, 4.78 ERA, 47 G, 43.1 IP, 40 K)
SU: Tony Zych (6-8, 3.54 ERA, 68 G, 76.1 IP, 92 K) - LAA
MR: David Hernandez (1-2, 2.85 ERA, 63 G, 72.2 IP, 80 K) - DET
MR: Yimi Garcia (2-7, 5.32 ERA, 68 G, 67.2 IP, 82 K) - CAR & ATL
MR: Paco Rodriguez (1-4, 3.74 ERA, 60 G, 53 IP, 49 K)
LR: Aaron Blair (5-21, 4.44 ERA, 34 G/33 GS, 196.2 IP, 154 K)

Starting Lineup
1. SS Ozzie Albies (264 AB, .258 BA, 1 HR, 23 RBI, 16 SB)
2. LF Ender Inciarte (641 AB, .271 BA, 6 HR, 49 RBI, 26 SB)
3. 1B Bill Diego - No statistics, International Free Agent
4. RF Nomar Mazara - (595 AB, .292 BA, 32 HR, 85 RBI, 4 SB)
5. CF Tyler Naquin (611 AB, .286 BA, 15 HR, 79 RBI, 12 SB) - CLE & ATL
6. 3B Rio Ruiz (235 AB, .298 BA, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 1 SB)
7. C A.J. Jimenez (264 AB, .307 BA, 11 HR, 49 RBI, 3 SB) - AAA with CAR & ATL
8. 2B Daniel Castro (361 AB, .291 BA, 0 HR, 29 RBI, 2 SB)
***NOTE: Starting midway through April 2B Richard Urena (4.5 stars/5 star potential) will move into the lineup and bat 5th or 6th

Bench
C Juan Centeno (267 AB, .221 BA, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 0 SB)
1B Will Craig (195 AB, .246 BA, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 0 SB)
SS Ivan DeJesus Jr. (276 AB, .228 BA, 4 HR, 29 RBI, 4 SB) - AAA with MIL
CF Derek Hill (305 AB, .230 BA, 0 HR, 13 RBI, 22 SB) - A+ with DET
RF Alex Jackson (245 AB, .306 BA, 17 HR, 60 RBI, 0 SB) - A+ with SEA

06-14-2016, 10:11 PM	#1
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	Atlanta Braves - How long will it take? Hey everyone, first time poster here but have been a big fan of the OOTP games for a while. OOTP 17 is the first one I've ever actually bought, but I've been playing the iOS games for a while. MLB Manager 15 is probably the most successful I've been, I'm currently taking a break after having just won my 5th straight World Series with the Cubs (2016-2020). Anyway, I decided that for my first dynasty with the full OOTP game, I'd give myself a nice challenge. I signed on as the GM of the Atlanta Braves, and I am currently midway through the 2017 season. I'll do a semi-detailed catch-up of 2016 over the next couple posts, and then go over the offseason and what's happened so far in 2017. Hope you all enjoy reading this! March 2016 Summary Team Transactions: 3/26: -Signed LF Mitch Meyer (4.5 star potential), C Zach Risedorf (3.5 star potential), RF Alvaro Reyes (4.5 star potential), and 3B Yordi Calderon (1 star potential) to minor league contracts. Notable League Transactions: 3/21: -Marlins trade 2B Derek Dietrich to Royals in exchange for RHP Kelvin Herrera, minor league SS Marten Gasparini and $2 million. -Mets trade 3B Eric Campbell and minor league RHP Logan Taylor to Red Sox in exchange for RHP Rick Porcello. -Brewers trade C Martin Maldonado to Nationals in exchange for RHP Shawn Kelley, minor league LF Michael Taylor, and $3.4 million. 3/24: -White Sox trade C Dioner Navarro, minor league SS Johan Cruz, and $3.4 million to Twins in exchange for RHP Kyle Gibson. 3/26: -Orioles trade 1B Pedro Alvarez and $3.7 million to Phillies in exchange for SS Freddy Galvis and minor league C Lenin Rodriguez. 3/27: -Indians trade 1B Mike Napoli to Cardinals in exchange for RHP Miguel Socolovich and minor league RHP Sandy Alcantara. April 2016 Summary (Normally I'd give an update on the monthly W/L record but unfortunately I can't seem to find the old schedules. I can say for sure that I started the season on an 8-game losing streak, and it never got much better after that.) Team Transactions: 4/2: -Demoted LF Dian Toscano to AAA. 4/6: -Signed RHP Norge Ruiz to Minor League Contract (4.5 star potential). 4/23: -Signed RHP Jason Grilli to 2-year contract extension worth $8 million, second year is a team option. (Re-signing him was a goal of the owner preseason.) 4/25: -Fired manager Fredi Gonzalez after receiving multiple complaints about team chemistry from players, signed Matt Williams as interim manager for remainder of season. Notable League Transactions: 4/9: -Angels sign both RHP Tim Lincecum to 1-year, $920,000 contract and LHP Mark Buerhle to 1-year, $8.5 million contract 4/9: -Angels sign 1B Justin Morneau to 2-year, $7.28 million contract 4/12: -Cardinals sign LF Frederich Cepeda to 2-year, $18.2 million contract -Angels sign RHP Josh Johnson to 1-year, $1.28 million contract 4/14: -Cubs sign 3B Luis Yander La O to 1-year, $9.5 million contract 4/16: -Dodgers sign 3B Yuliesky Gurriel to 1-year, $13.5 million contract 4/18: -Dodgers sign RHP Kenley Jansen to 3-year, $52.8 million contract extension 4/20: -Angels sign RF Alex Rios to 1-year, $1.48 million contract 4/30: -Red Sox trade 2B Brock Holt and minor league LF Hemerson Serven to Royals in exchange for 1B Eric Hosmer Interesting League News/Major Injuries: 4/4: -Brewers RHP Shawn Kelley out for season due to radial nerve compression 4/16: -Diamondbacks RHP Shelby Miller tosses no-hitter against Padres (2 strikeouts, 1 walk) 4/17: -Mets RHP Bartolo Colon out for season due to radial nerve compression 4/23: -White Sox C Kevan Smith hits for cycle against Rangers 4/24: -Marlins 2B Dee Gordon hits for cycle against Giants 4/26: -Astros LHP Dallas Keuchel tosses no-hitter against Mariners (4 strikeouts, 1 walk) 4/30: -Braves C A.J. Pierzynski records 2,000th career hit May 2016 Summary Team Transactions: 5/7: -LF Hector Olivera placed on 60-day DL with broken hand -LF Matt Tuiasosopo promoted to MLB 5/10: -CF Drew Stubbs designated for assignment and placed on waivers -CF Sean Godfrey promoted to MLB 5/11: -RF Jeff Francouer placed on 15-day DL with strained hamstring -CF Ender Inciarte placed on 15-day DL with lacerated hand -LF Ronnier Musterlier promoted to MLB 5/12: -LHP Manny Banuelos activated from DL -RHP Williams Perez demoted to AAA 5/13: -Signed CF Michael Bourn to minor league contract and placed him on MLB roster 5/20: -Demoted CF Drew Stubbs to AAA -Traded RHP Jim Johnson to Rays in exchanged for RHP Steve Geltz 5/24: -Traded 1B Freddie Freeman, RF Nick Markakis, and minor league RHP Williams Perez to Rangers in exchange for 1B Mitch Moreland, and minor leaguers RF Nomar Mazara, RHP Dillon Tate, RF Jairo Beras, and RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez. Moreland and Mazara placed on active roster. 5/27: -Activated CF Ender Inciarte from DL -Demoted LF Ronnier Mustelier to AAA 5/30: -Demoted RHP Matt Wisler to AAA -Promoted RHP Daniel Winkler to MLB 5/31: -Placed RHP Julio Teheran on 60-day DL with radial nerve compression -Promoted RHP Aaron Blair to MLB Notable League Transactions: 5/5: -Angels sign 1B James Loney to 1-year, $800,000 contract 5/19: -Pirates sign LF David Murphy to 1-year, $800,000 contract 5/24: -Reds trade LHP Tony Cingrani to Yankees in exchange for minor leaguers RHP Austin DeCarr and RHP Giovanny Gallegos 5/26: -Brewers trade RHP Wily Peralta and $900,000 to Twins in exchange for minor leaguers 2B Engelb Vielma and LHP Sam Clay. -Marlins trade RHP A.J. Ramos to Royals in exchange for minor leaguers SS Ricky Aracena and LHP Matt Tenuta -Yankees trade 3B Chase Headley and $2.4 million to Pirates in exchange for LHP Jon Niese -Indians trade C Roberto Perez to Phillies in exchange for RHP Jeanmar Gomez, minor league RHP Adonis Medina, and $70,000 5/28: -Rays trade SS Taylor Motter to Mets in exchange for LHP Jerry Blevins, minor league SS Amed Rosario, and $1.7 million -Rockies trade LHP Jake McGee and $700,000 to Phillies in exchange for minor leaguers RHP Nick Pivetta and 2B Luis Espiritu Interesting League News/Major Injuries: 5/3: -Cubs RHP Pedro Strop out for season due to bone chips in elbow 5/12: -Mets LF Yoenis Cespedes out for season due to torn ACL 5/13: -Padres RF Matt Kemp out for season due to broken kneecap 5/17: -Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira hits 400th career home run 5/22: -White Sox SS Jimmy Rollins out for season due to torn labrum 5/23: -Marlins RHP Jose Fernandez out for season due to torn UCL 5/25: -Royals RHP Jason Vargas out for season due to shoulder inflammation 5/26: -Indians RHP Corey Kluber out for season due to torn back muscle 5/27: -Yankees RF Carlos Beltran records 2,500th career hit 5/28: -Cubs 3B Kris Bryant hits for cycle against Phillies 5/29: -Blue Jays RF Jose Bautista hits 300th career home run As you can tell, before the end of May I was already going into fire sale mode. Jim Johnson was only on a 1-year contract but was pitching horribly (6.80 ERA) so when I shopped him and was offer Geltz by Tampa Bay I jumped on the offer. At this point in the season we were hovering around the .300 mark, and even guys that were supposed to be playing well were terrible. Freddie Freeman had just 2 home runs and a .211 batting average, so I figured I'd start shopping him around to get a sense of what was out there, and I saw Mazara available and knew he could be a cornerstone right fielder, so I started making that trade happen and also got a placeholder first baseman along with 2 4+ star prospects, so I felt really good about that one. Plus, Freeman was going to get a lot more expensive and I was looking to cut as much salary as possible so I could go hard on the Int'l. free agent market. I'll give another update on how the rest of the season went in the next post. Hope you guys enjoy browsing through this thread. It's gonna be ugly for a while but I'm hoping I can stockpile some talent and start to be a perennial contender by 2019 or 2020.

06-15-2016, 06:04 PM	#4
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	The Freeway Series 2016 Playoff Summary AL Wild Card Series: Angels def. Athletics NL Wild Card Series: Padres def. Nationals AL Division Series: Angels def. Astros 3-2 AL Division Series: Indians def. Blue Jays 3-2 NL Divison Series: Dodgers def. Padres 3-1 NL Division Series: Cubs def. Mets 3-0 AL Championship Series: Angels def. Indians 4-2 NL Championship Series: Dodgers def. Cubs 4-0 World Series: The Freeway Series, featuring the 2 Los Angeles teams, the Angels and Dodgers. And the World Series Champion, in 7 games, is.... the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim! Going into the 9th inning, the Angels held a narrow 3-2 lead over the Dodgers, but with 1-out in the bottom of the 9th, Yasmani Grandal's game-tying home run sent Dodgers Stadium into a frenzy. It would not last, however, as Yordanis Linares drove home Curt Casali with an RBI sac fly in the top of the 10th, and the Angels claimed their first World Championship since 2002, while the Dodgers remained in a drought stretching back to 1988. News/Transactions During the Playoffs 10/11: -Blue Jays sign LF Michael Saunders to 2-year, $16.4 million extension 10/20: -Pirates sign RHP Mark Melancon to 2-year, $35 million extension 2016-2017 Offseason Part 1 2016 Award Winners AL MVP: Angels CF Mike Trout: .289 BA, 42 HR, 96 RBI, .422 OBP, 21 SB, 9.9 WAR NL MVP: Phillies 3B Maikel Franco: .317 BA, 35 HR, 102 RBI, .362 OBP, 5 SB, 7.8 WAR AL Cy Young: Angels RHP Garrett Richards: 14-9, 2.66 ERA, 233.2 IP, 207 K, 6.1 WAR NL Cy Young: Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw: 19-3, 2.63 ERA, 246.2 IP, *320 K!!!, 8.8 WAR AL ROTY: Twins 1B Byung-Ho Park: .286 BA, 41 HR, 112 RBI, .334 OBP, 2 SB, 3.6 WAR NL ROTY: Diamondbacks LF Socrates Brito: .352 BA, 19 HR, 84 RBI, .384 OBP, 12 SB, 5.2 WAR AL Reliever of the Year: Indians RHP Cody Allen: 7-4, 2.39 ERA, 47 SV, 75.1 IP, 122 K NL Reliever of the Year: Dodgers RHP Kenley Jansen: 8-2, 1.26 ERA, 53 SV, 85.2 IP, 117 K AL Silver Slugger Winners: C Stephen Vogt (OAK), 1B Prince Fielder (TEX), 2B Jose Altuve (HOU), 3B Manny Machado (BAL), SS Troy Tulowitzki (TOR), LF Michael Brantley (CLE), CF Mike Trout (LAA), RF Jose Bautista (TOR), DH Nelson Cruz (SEA) NL Silver Slugger Winners: P Jake Peavy (SF), C Yasmani Grandal (LAD), 1B Wil Myers (SD), 2B Neil Walker (NYM), 3B Maikel Franco (PHI), SS Corey Seager (LAD), LF Michael Conforto (NYM), CF Marcell Ozuna (MIA), RF Giancarlo Stanton (MIA) AL Gold Glove Winners: P Xavier Cedeno (TB), C Blake Swihart (BOS), 1B Albert Pujols (LAA), 2B Dustin Pedroia (BOS), 3B Adrian Beltre (TEX), SS Andrelton Simmons (LAA), LF Alex Gordon (KC), CF Byron Buxton (MIN), RF Mookie Betts (BOS) NL Gold Glove Winners: P Gerrit Cole (PIT), C J.T. Realmuto (MIA), 1B Brandon Belt (SF), 2B Kolten Wong (STL), 3B Anthony Rendon (CIN), SS Adeiny Hechavarria (MIA), LF Christian Yelich (MIA), CF Billy Hamilton (CF), RF Jason Heyward (CHI) AL Manager of the Year: Terry Francona (CLE) NL Manager of the Year: Dave Roberts (LAD) 11/4: Breaking News - MLB to expand to 32 teams* Initially, OOTP gave me the Austin Whales and Jacksonville Edge as the two automatic expansion teams, but I changed them to the Montreal Saints and the Carolina Racers. I thought about Mexico City but decided that if I were to do that, I'd wait for the next expansion and add a team in Puerto Rico so that there were 2 teams south of the border, so to speak. Montreal hired Manny Ocasio as the manager, and Carolina hired Jason Hunter. With 32 teams, I recognized the need to do a divisional realignment, since I won't expand again until at least 2023 or 2024. Which leads to... *11/4: Breaking News - DH position eliminated, no more Wild Card, new division alignment finalized* Due to the fact that multiple teams switched from AL to NL and vice versa, the MLB thought it best to eliminate the DH position, as has long been wished for by longtime MLB fans. With the new alignments, there are 4 divisions of 4 teams each, and a 164 game schedule. Because of the new structure, there is no more Wild Card position to get into the playoffs. Instead, the 4 division winners will be given seeds 1-4 based on winning percentage, and the 1 and 4 seeds will face off in the AL/NLDS as usual, while the 2 and 3 seeds play each other. With that said, here is the new divisional structure: AL East: Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies AL North: Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers Minnesota Twins AL South: Carolina Racers Kansas City Royals Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers AL West: Arizona Diamondbacks Los Angeles Angels Oakland Athletics Seattle Mariners NL East: Montreal Saints New York Mets Pittsburgh Pirates Washington Nationals NL North: Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds Milwaukee Brewers Toronto Blue Jays NL South: Atlanta Braves Houston Astros Miami Marlins St. Louis Cardinals NL West: Colorado Rockies Los Angeles Dodgers San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Notable Personnel Hiring/Firings/Retirements -Braves do not extend MAN Matt Williams, replaced by Bryan Price -Mariners fire MAN Scott Servais, replaced by Bench Coach Tim Bogar -Nationals MAN Dusty Baker retires, replaced by John Raburn -Phillies MAN Pete Mackanin retires, replaced by Junichi Fukura -Racers hire GM Leo Rodriguez -Reds fire MAN Bryan Price, replaced by Shinji Nishida -Royals fire GM Dayton Moore, replaced by Michael Buczkowski, MAN Ned Yost retires, replaced by Chris Chambliss -Saints hire GM Hiroshi Moriwaki

06-15-2016, 10:14 PM	#5
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	Cash Thrown Everywhere Wild offseason in the MLB so far. 2016-17 MLB Offseason Summary Part II November 2016 - Braves Summary Not a whole lot to talk about here. Didn't bother negotiating arbitration contracts, let that process handle itself and I was fine with how it turned out. I fired my hitting coach Kevin Seitzer after a pretty abysmal year batting wise. I let the following guys head to free agency: SP Jhoulys Chacin CF Drew Stubbs 3B Gordon Beckham RP Eric O'Flaherty RF Jeff Francouer SS Erick Aybar Other than that the only transaction was losing 3 guys in the expansion draft, SPs John Gant, Jesse Biddle, and Rob Whalen, but none factored into my long-term plan so I'm not concerned. November 2016 - Notable League Transactions 11/5: -Twins trade LF Eddie Rosario to Phillies in exchange for RP Hector Neris and minor league SP Alberto Tirado 11/8 (long-term arbitration-avoiding deals): -Astros sign SP Collin McHugh to 5-year, $67.5 million extension and SP Dallas Keuchel to 6-year, $119.5 million extension -Athletics sign C Stephen Vogt to 5-year, $44.6 million extension and SP Sonny Gray to 7-year, $170.7 million extension -Blue Jays sign SP Marcus Stroman to 6-year, $80.2 million extension -Cardinals sign SP Michael Wacha to 6-year, $95.1 million extension -Cubs sign SP Jake Arrieta to 4-year, $103.2 million extension -Diamondbacks sign SP Shelby Miller to 5-year, $90.9 million extension -Dodgers sign C Yasmani Grandal to 4-year, $68.9 million extension -Giants sign LF Evan Gattis to 4-year, $19.24 million extension -Indians sign SP Danny Salazar to 5-year, $27.28 million extension -Orioles sign 3B Manny Machado to 7-year, $198.9 million extension -Red Sox sign CF Jackie Bradley Jr. to 6-year, $72.7 million extension -Twins sign LF Oswaldo Arcia to 5-year, $47.68 million extension 11/13: -Padres trade C Derek Norris to Rangers in exchange for minor leaguers SP Collin Wiles and CL David Perez 11/27: -Rockies trade RF Carlos Gonzalez and $2.1 million to Orioles in exchange for minor leaguers 1B Ryan Orr and SP Brian Gonzalez 11/28: -Orioles trade LF Christian Walker to Cardinals in exchange for 2B Jedd Gyorko 11/30: -Red Sox C Christian Vazquez and Mets SP Rafael Montero become the first members of the Carolina Racers and Montreal Saints franchises, respectively, through the MLB Expansion Draft -White Sox trade LF Adam Eaton and $800k to Astros in exchange for RP Hunter Strickland and minor league CF Trevyne Carter -Blue Jays trade 2B Ryan Goins to Orioles in exchange for RF Hyun-Soo Kim and $370k December 2016 - Braves Transactions -Hired Bill Mueller as hitting coach -Free Agent Market: My owner lowered the team budget to just $108 million, so I can only look for small deals but that would've been the plan regardless. I signed 3 guys, 2 of them from the international market. The big "get" was SP Ricky Lara out of Venezuela on a 7-year, $67 million contract. It's built with several options in it to help make it affordable/help me get out if it goes bad, but he's a 4.5 star prospect so it's definitely worth it, plus he's already MLB ready. I also got a 4-star lefty reliever out of Curacao named Nelle van Leest on a minor league contract. The only domestic guy I signed was SP Matt Moore, and I got him on a cheap 3-year, $2.4 million deal. He had a mediocre '16 and I'm hoping I can get a bargain on that deal. -Trades: I made one deal, and it was a pretty big one. I sent SP Julio Teheran and RP Shae Simmons to the Blue Jays and got 2 stud prospects back, 4-star C Max Pentecost and 4.5 star SS Richard Urena. Very good trade on my part, and Teheran became expendable with the free agent pickups. -Rule 5 Draft: Only made one pick but got C Juan Centeno who'll be my backup in 2017. Unfortunately, I had to DFA some of my AAAA guys in order to protect more important guys who I could envision making the 25-man roster elsewhere, and one of the expansion teams claimed a bunch of those guys on waivers. Looking back I probably didn't need to put them on waivers, but they all can be replaced by minor league contract guys so it'll probably save me a bit of money. December 2016 - Notable League Transactions Just wait till you see some of these contract. Unreal stuff. Especially the Jose Bautista deal. Anyone else ever see a guy actually sign for that kind of average annual money? 12/3: -Nationals trade 3B Adam Duvall and minor league SP Tyler Watson to Rangers in exchange for SP Nate Karns 12/9: -Rockies sign SP Tim Lincecum to 1-year, $790k deal. -Reds trade C Devin Mesoraco, minor league LF Kevin Garcia, and $30k to Pirates in exchange for SP Jeff Locke -Rockies trade SP Jon Gray to Yankees in exchange for minor leaguers C Luis Torrens and 1B Miguel Flames 12/10: -Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez retires, plans to become TV broadcaster 12/11: -Mets sign 3B Martin Prado to 4-year, $31.2 million contract 12/12: -Dodgers sign RF Alfredo Despaigne to 6-year, $136.8 million contract 12/13: -Saints sign 2B Neil Walker to 2-year, $58 million contract 12/15: -Angels sign RF Jose Bautista to 2-year, $97.5 million contract (SERIOUSLY!?!?!?!? - he was coming a year where he hit .252 with 53 HRs - but still almost 49 mill a year?) 12/16: -Twins sign SP C.J. Wilson to 1-year, $2.44 million contract 12/17: -Cubs sign C Francisco Cervelli to 7-year, $172.8 million contract 12/18: -Reds trade 3B Brett Lawrie to Yankees in exchange for minor leaguer RFs Jhalan Jackson and Lisandro Blanco -Angels sign RF Josh Reddick to 6-year, $134.4 million contract -Reds sign SP Kris Medlen to 2-year, $13.3 million contract -Saints sign 1B Mark Reynolds to 2-year, $7.52 million contract -Reds sign LF Matt Holliday to 1-year, $15.4 million contract -Nationals sign SS Jimmy Rollins to 1-year, $1.04 million contract 12/19: -Rangers trade 1B Freddie Freeman to Cardinals in exchange for SP Michael Wacha -Diamondbacks trade RP Tyler Clippard and $4.15 million to Indians in exchange for minor leaguers SS Kevin Bradley and 1B Jose Medina -Mariners trade SP James Paxton to Red Sox in exchange for minor league C Ben Moore -Diamondbacks trade SP Robbie Ray to Giants in exchange for minor leaguers SP Phil Bickford and 3B Manuel Geraldo -Angels sign SP Mat Latos to 4-year, $34.8 million contract -Astros sign SP Stephen Strasburg to 7-year, $283 million contract ($40.4 mill a YEAR) -Cardinals sign C Matt Wieters to 2-year, $8.88 million contract 12/20: -Saints sign 1B Mark Trumbo to 2-year, $24.4 million contract 12/21: -Mariners trade SP Hisashi Iwakuma to Pirates in exchange for minor leaguers SS Kevin Newman, 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes, SP Jacob Taylor, CL Seth McGarry, and RF Michael Suchy -Rockies trade SS Jose Reyes and $6.2 million to Brewers in exchange for minor leaguers SP Cody Ponce and SS Angel Ortega -Yankees sign CF Carlos Gomez to 5-year, $73.5 million contract -Racers sign 1B Adam Lind to 2-year, $14.2 million contract 12/23: -Yankees sign 2B Jose Lopez to 2-year, $27.4 million contract 12/26: -Blue Jays sign CL Brett Cecil to 2-year, $30.8 million contract 12/27: -Cubs sign CL Sergio Romo to 3-year, $51 million contract 12/29: -Racers sign CF Dexter Fowler to 1-year, $4.16 million contract 12/30: -Racers sign 1B Mitch Moreland to 3-year, $20 million contract -Angels sign 2B Justin Turner to 4-year, $19.56 million contract -Yankees sign 3B Yunel Escobar to 3-year, $22.5 million contract January 2017 - Braves Transactions Did not make a single roster move this month. I feel pretty set going into 2017. Don't think I have a winning club yet but by 2018 my tune my change. January 2017 - Notable League Transactions/News 1/3: -The 2017 Baseball Hall of Fame Class has been revealed, with 3 entrants into immortality. With 97.6% of the vote in his first year, LF Manny Ramirez has made it. Also in his first year, with 84.7% of the vote, is RF Vladimir Guerrero. Finally, in his 7th year, 1B Jeff Bagwell makes it with 81.4% of the vote. -White Sox sign RP Junichi Tazawa to 2-year, $11.14 million contract -Saints sign SP Chris Tillman to 1-year, $1.04 million contract -Rockies sign SP Jon Niese to 1-year, $3 million contract 1/4: -Diamondbacks sign SP Jake Peavy to 1-year, $3.4 million contract 1/8: -Giants sign RF Carlos Beltran to 1-year, $2.68 million contract 1/9: -Dodgers sign 1B Edwin Encarnacion to 2-year, $71 million contract 1/10: -Giants sign CF Rajai Davis to 2-year, $20.8 million contract 1/13: -Blue Jays sign SP Scott Kazmir to 2-year, $67 million contract 1/14: -Astros sign SP Andrew Cashner to 4-year, $108.2 million contract 1/15: -Athletics sign RP Brett Anderson to 3-year, $21.9 million contract 1/18: -Rangers sign C A.J. Ellis to 1-year, $3.28 million contract 1/19: -Royals sign 3B Luis Valbuena to 2-year, $17.6 million contract 1/21: -Yankees sign 3B Adrian Beltre to 2-year, $48.4 million contract 1/22: -Rangers sign SP R.A. Dickey to 1-year, $8.2 million contract 1/24: -Yankees sign 2B Chris Coghlan to 1-year, $3.8 million contract -White Sox sign CF Austin Jackson to 3-year, $23.7 million contract 1/26: -Brewers sign 1B Mike Napoli to 1-year, $1.74 million contract 1/28: -Cubs sign LF Ian Desmond to 1-year, $1.22 million contract

06-15-2016, 10:40 PM	#6
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	Spring is in the air 2016-17 Offseason Summary Part III February 2017 - Braves Summary Another slow month in Atlanta. Only news were 3 players discovered by international scouts, one 16-year old SP with 4-star potential. February 2017 - MLB News/Transactions 2/3: -Giants sign RP Greg Holland to 1-year, $3.64 million contract -Racers sign 1B Kendrys Morales to 2-year, $16.2 million contract 2/4: -Brewers trade 1B Justin Morneau and $2.32 million to Blue Jays in exchange for RP Aaron Loup 2/6: -Mets sign SS Andres Blanco to 2-year, $15 million contract 2/7: -Blue Jays sign CL Brad Ziegler to 2-year, $20.6 million contract 2/10: -Cardinals sign 2B Chase Utley to 1-year, $940k contract -Yankees sign C A.J. Pierzynski to 1-year, $4.4 million contract 2/15: -Royals sign SP Jorge De La Rosa to 1-year, $1.48 million contract -Orioles sign 1B Mark Teixeira to 2-year, $14.6 million contract 2/22: -Nationals sign SP Jeremy Hellickson to 3-year, $22.2 million contract 2/23: -Reds sign RP Mike Dunn to 1-year, $2.04 million contract 2/25: -Astros sign C Jason Castro to 1-year, $1.18 million contract -Athletics sign SS Alcides Escobar to 1-year, $5.7 million contract 2/27: -Twins sign CL Jonathan Papelbon to 1-year, $4.04 million contract 2/28: -Mariners sign RP Neftali Feliz to 1-year, $2.76 million contract March 2016 - Braves Summary Other than finalizing the roster with spring training cuts, I made no other moves. In the next post, I'll share my opening day roster. March 2016 - MLB Transactions/News 3/2: -Phillies trade CF Aaron Altherr to Astros in exchange for minor league RFs Jon Kemmer and Kyle Tucker 3/2: -Yankees sign 1B Pedro Alvarez to 1-year, $1.52 million contract 3/3: -Indians sign CL Boone Logan to 1-year, $2.82 million contract 3/6: -Yankees sign RP Koji Uehara to 1-year, $2.64 million and RP Pat Neshek to 1-year, $1.34 million contracts 3/22: -White Sox sign RP Kevin Jepsen to 1-year, $1.72 million contract 3/28: -Dodgers sign RF Jay Bruce to 1-year, $6.7 million contract

06-15-2016, 11:25 PM	#7
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	2017 Atlanta Braves Season Preview My personal belief is that the team will end up somewhere in between 90 and 95 losses. There's a lot of talent, but a TON of inexperience on the roster. BBN projects us as a 78-86 team, finishing 4th in the NL South, but on the bright side, that would put us just 5 games out of 2nd place, which doesn't sound too bad. But in reality, we've got the 3rd lowest payroll, the lowest budget and attendance, and we're tied for the smallest media contract. So, without further ado, here's the 2017 Opening Day Roster for the Atlanta Braves. (2016 stats shown) Starting Rotation: 1. Matt Moore (3-4, 3.98 ERA, 55 G (5 GS), 104 IP, 120 K, 0.1 WAR - TB) 2. Aaron Blair (4-13, 3.67 ERA, 23 GS, 139.2 IP, 98 K, 1.1 WAR) 3. Ricky Lara (International - no stats) 4. Daniel Winkler (3-4, 4.29 ERA, 12 G (9 GS), 50.1 IP, 45 K, 0.3 WAR) 5. Matt Wisler (5-16, 4.90 ERA, 32 G (30 GS), 165.1 IP, 133 K, 2.0 WAR) Bullpen: CL - Drew Storen (4-2, 11 SV, 2.57 ERA, 67 G, 73.2 IP, 84 K, 1.1 WAR - TOR & ATL) Setup - Steve Geltz (6-2, 12 SV, 3.71 ERA, 65 G, 63 IP, 78 K, 0.5 WAR - TB & ATL) Setup - Mike Morin (4-5, 1 SV, 2.59 ERA, 78 G, 87 IP, 79 K, 1.6 WAR - LAA & ATL) Middle Relief - Arodys Vizcaino (2-8, 19 SV, 3.97 ERA, 61 G, 56.2 IP, 55 K, 0.0 WAR) Middle Relief - Alexi Ogando (4-4, 2 SV, 3.43 ERA, 85 G, 89.1 IP, 81 K, 1.0 WAR) Middle Relief - Juan Nicasio (0-1, 1 SV, 4.76 ERA, 23 G, 33 IP, 35 K, 0.1 WAR - PIT & ATL) Long Relief - Manny Banuelos (4-8, 5.20 ERA, 20 GS, 105.2 IP, 95 K, 0.8 WAR) Starting Lineup: LF Ender Inciarte (123 G, .286 BA, 5 HR, 31 RBI, 9 SB, 3.4 WAR) SS Richard Urena (124 G, .316 BA, 20 HR, 91 RBI, 6 SB, 4.4 WAR - A+ with TOR) 1B Jon Singleton (135 G, .243 BA, 32 HR, 70 RBI, 0 SB, 2.6 WAR - HOU & ATL) 3B Adonis Garcia (114 G, .258 BA, 19 HR, 61 RBI, 5 SB, 0.7 WAR) RF Nomar Mazara (122 G, .274 BA, 13 HR, 62 RBI, 0 SB, 1.6 WAR - TEX & ATL) C Tyler Flowers (81 G, .252 BA, 7 HR, 21 RBI, 0 SB, 1.1 WAR) 2B Jace Peterson (155 G, .247 BA, 3 HR, 34 RBI, 14 SB, 2.5 WAR) CF Mallex Smith (62 G, .255 BA, 0 HR, 10 RBI, 17 SB, 0.8 WAR) Bench: C Juan Centeno (69 G, .233 BA, 0 HR, 20 RBI, 0 SB, 0.3 WAR - AAA with MIN) 2B Daniel Castro (16 G, .375 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 0.2 WAR) 3B Rio Ruiz (31 G, .149 BA, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, -0.1 WAR) LF Dustin Peterson (99 G, .240 BA, 16 HR, 40 RBI, 2 SB, 1.3 WAR - AAA) LF Jason Ellison (85 G, .222 BA, 4 HR, 35 RBI, 3 SB, 0.3 WAR - AA)

06-14-2016, 10:44 PM	#2
azdevil2004 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 44	Good luck! Good luck with Atlanta, that's definitely going to be a challenge. A few of us are doing Minnesota Twins dynasties too which is a difficult team. I'll keep checking in to see how you're doing

06-15-2016, 12:08 AM	#3
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	Thanks for reading, azdevil2004. Yeah I've been reading through the forum the last day or two and I've seen quite a few Twins threads already. Braves and Twins are definitely the two biggest challenges in OOTP, and I'd say the Padres are pretty close. June 2016 Summary Yep, the Braves are bad. At this point the goal for the team is to play .333 ball. Extremely low expectations, but there's no point in holding on to a bunch of guys on one-year contracts that won't get qualifying offers. Might as well see what I can get for them, even if it means by August I'll be fielding a AAAA team. It doesn't help that I've had sudden rash of injuries. Lost Inciarte, the only productive hitter, for a couple weeks, and my best pitcher, Julio Teheran, is out until late September. Team Transactions: -Draft summary - Very productive, landed quite a few solid prospects and while I'm going to go a little over budget, it looks like there's only gonna be one or two guys that won't sign. Definitely improved the minor league system. First round pick was a 1B/3B named Will Craig. Looks like he's got .270/30/100 potential on a yearly basis. 6/9: -Demoted LHP Manny Banuelos to AAA. -Promoted RHP Matt Wisler to MLB 6/16: -Activated RHP Shae Simmons from DL and placed him on active roster. -Demoted RHP Steve Geltz to AAA. 6/21: -Demoted RHP Daniel Winkler to AAA. -Promoted RHP Mike Foltynewicz to MLB 6/22: -Activated RF Jeff Francouer from DL and placed him on active roster -Demoted CF Sean Godfrey to AAA Notable League Transactions: 6/1: -Yankees sign LHP Aroldis Chapman to 2-year, $25.4 million extension 6/9: -Nationals sign 3B Anthony Rendon to 6-year, $85.5 million extension 6/17: -White Sox trade 3B Brett Lawrie and $2.1 million to Reds in exchange for minor leaguers RHP Drew Hayes and SS Alex Blandino -Mariners trade RHP Nate Karns to Rangers in exchange for minor league CF Eric Jenkins 6/24: -Pirates trade 2B Sean Rodriguez and $800,000 to White Sox in exchange for RHP Zach Putnam 6/26: -Astros sign LF Colby Rasmus to 4-year, $76 million extension 6/28: -Rays trade C Curt Casali to Angels in exchange for 1B Ji-Man Choi -Royals trade CF Reymond Fuentes to Athletics in exchange for LHP Sean Doolittle (AI Billy Beane is still a nutjob apparently) -Yankees trade CF Jacoby Ellsbury and $6.1 million to Rangers in exchange for LHP Jake Diekman 6/30: -Dodgers trade C Austin Barnes to Astros in exchange for LHP Tony Sipp Interesting League News/Major Injuries: 6/3: -Tigers RHP Francisco Rodriguez records 400th career save 6/9: -Yankees RF Carlos Beltran hits 400th career home run 6/12: -Pirates 1B John Jaso out for season due to torn ACL 6/19: -Diamondbacks RHP Zack Greinke out for season due to ruptured finger tendon 6/20: -Dodgers 1B Adrian Gonzalez hits 300th career home run July 2016 Summary Breaking news: the Braves suck. All month we've hovered around the .320 to .330 mark in winning percentage. The team is flat out bad, and this month I decided to part ways with a number of veterans, some of whom were performing at expectations, but most were performing below. None were gonna get a qualifying offer so it was a matter of finding the best available match, whether it was prospects or a major-league caliber player who was young enough that he could be a core member of the team for a few years. Team Transactions: -International Signing Period summary: I chose to go big and blow past the budget for the year. Might as well grab as many guys as I can considering the pool was stocked with some high quality talent. Got a few solid 3-4 star prospects for a pretty cheap cost, but the big money went towards a 16-year old SS named Victor Salgado. This man's got Jesus potential. Potential contact rating of 98, potential power of 70, great eye at the plate. Scouts say he will be one of the top ten hitters in baseball for at least 10 years and if he stays healthy will end up in the HOF. Cost me a pretty $7 mill to get him but I was already over the limit so I figured "go big or go home". Thrilled to have this guy. 7/16: -Promoted LHP Manny Banuelos and RHP Steve Geltz to MLB. -Demoted RHP Mike Foltynewicz to AAA. -Traded LF Hector Olivera, RHP Jason Grilli, and minor leaguers SS Johan Camargo and RHP Jacob Webb to Dodgers in exchange for minor leaguers RHP Jose De Leon and 1B Cody Bellinger 7/18: -Traded 1B Mitch Moreland to Pirates in exchange for RHP Juan Nicasio. Assigned Nicasio to AAA -Promoted 1B Tyler Moore to MLB 7/26: -Traded C A.J. Pierzynski to Blue Jays in exchange for RHP Drew Storen. Storen placed on active roster -Traded 2B Kelly Johnson to Angels in exchange for minor league RHP Mike Morin. Morin placed on active roster. -Traded RHP Bud Norris to Astros in exchange for 1B Jon Singleton. Singleton placed on active roster. -Demoted RHP Shae Simmons to AAA -Promoted C Willians Astudillo, CF Mallex Smith, and SS Daniel Castro to MLB -Designated CF Michael Bourn and 1B Tyler Moore for assignment. 7/29: -Placed C Tyler Flowers on 15-day DL with strained PCL -Promoted C Braeden Schlehuber Notable League Transactions: 7/3: -Blue Jays trade 1B Chris Colabello to Phillies in exchange for RHP David Hernandez 7/6: -Nationals trade 3B Anthony Rendon and minor league LHP Matthew Spann to Reds in exchange for 1B Joey Votto 7/7: -Cardinals trade 2B Greg Garcia to White Sox in exchange for RHP Nate Jones 7/8: -Mets trade minor league SS Matt Reynolds to Diamondbacks in exchange for RHP Daniel Hudson and $500,000 7/10: -Blue Jays trade CF Kevin Pillar to Brewers in exchange for RHP Hiram Burgos 7/14: -Tigers trade 1B Victor Martinez to Reds in exchange for RHP Homer Bailey 7/15: -Angels trade 1B Justin Morneau to Brewers in exchange for 2B Aaron Hill and $2 million -Astros trade LF Evan Gattis and $1.1 million to Giants in exchange for RHP Hunter Strickland 7/17: -Padres trade RHP Kevin Quackenbush to Angels in exchange for minor league LF Kyle Survance 7/18: -Mariners trade RHP Steve Cishek to Angels in exchange for minor leaguers 2B Alex Yarbrough and RF Brendon Sanger 7/22: -Reds trade 1B Adam Duvall to Nationals in exchange for RHP Yusmeiro Petit and $800,000 -Padres trade 3B Yangervis Solarte to Brewers in exchange for RHP Chase Anderson 7/25: -Mariners trade RHP Charlie Furbush to Yankees in exchange for minor league 3B Dante Bichette Jr. 7/27: -Rays trade RF Corey Dickerson to Yankees in exchange for RHP Dellin Betances (cringes internally as a Yankees fan) -Phillies trade LF Will Venable to Padres in exchange for RHP Carlos Villanueva and minor league LHP Brian Clark -Indians trade CF Rajai Davis and minor league C Signarf Loopstok to Cubs in exchange for RHP Jason Hammel and $1.4 million 7/29: -Cardinals trade LF Frederich Cepeda to Red Sox in exchange for RHP Koji Uehara 7/30: -Dodgers trade LF Carl Crawford and $6.1 million to Padres in exchange for RHP Brandon Maurer and minor league LF Kyle Survance 7/31: -Nationals trade minor league LHP Sammy Solis to Astros in exchange for CF Jake Marisnick Interesting League News/Major Injuries: 7/9: -Angels LHP Andrew Heaney out for season due to torn labrum 7/11: -Cubs RHP John Lackey out for season due to shoulder inflammation 7/12: -The NL wins the All-Star game in a crushing 12-2 victory on the back of the hapless Braves' only representative, CF Ender Inciarte, who went 3 for 3 in the game. (Pretty much the highlight of the Braves' season) All-Star Team Rosters: August 2016 Summary Getting a couple young but solid MLB players has seemed to help. Slowly but surely we're getting a little better. We're hovering around the .330 to .340 area, right around where I set the target earlier in the season, and the minors have gotten significantly better through the season as well. While it's a struggle to get through this season, I know the future looks bright. Team Transactions: 8/5: -Released CF Michael Bourn and 1B Tyler Moore 8/16: -Placed 3B Adonis Garcia on 15-day DL with quad strain -Promoted 3B Rio Ruiz to MLB 8/17: -Placed SS Daniel Castro on 15-day DL with strained rib cage muscle -Promoted 2B Reid Brignac to MLB 8/18: -Placed RHP Arodys Vizcaino on 15-day DL with sprained elbow -Promoted RHP Daniel Winkler to MLB 8/24: -Placed SS Erick Aybar on 15-day DL with oblique strain -Placed LF Ender Inciarte on 15-day DL with sprained ankle -Promoted CF Drew Stubbs and SS Sean Kazmar to MLB Notable League Transactions: 8/2: -Dodgers sign LHP Alex Wood to 5-year, $69.9 million extension 8/8: -Mariners trade RHP Ryan Cook to Rockies in exchange for minor league RHP Erick Julio -Rockies trade RHP Tyler Chatwood to Brewers in exchange for minor league SS Isan Diaz 8/23: -Tigers sign RHP Ivan Nova to 1-year, $980,000 contract 8/27: -Pirates sign RF Alex Rios to 1-year, $920,000 contract Interesting League News/Major Injuries: 8/3: -Padres LF Carl Crawford records 2,000th career hit 8/11: -Tigers RHP Justin Verlander out for season due to torn labrum 8/16: -Reds LHP John Lamb tosses no-hitter against Marlins (8 Ks, 2 BBs) 8/22: -Twins LF Miguel Sano out for season due elbow sprain 8/23: -Red Sox RHP Steven Wright out for season due to shoulder inflammation 8/28: -Rangers 2B Rougned Odor out for season due to fractured wrist (reports indicate it was NOT the result of punching Jose Bautista, to everyone's surprise) 8/31: -Rays RHP Danny Farquhar out for season due to radial nerve compression September/October 2016 Summary (Reg. Season) Well, the regular season has come to an end, and a dismal September caused the Braves to fall short of my meager .333 goal. We ended the season at an appalling 52-110. Granted, the team was not set up to be successful, but we still could have been more competitive had some of the few competent players gone out with injuries at bad times (Teheran, Inciarte twice, Vizcaino and Garcia). Either way, it should be an interesting offseason. There's not really anyone left to trade but there are going to be a couple positions where prospects see roadblocks, 3B and 1B the first of those. I'll have to make a decision on what I do with some players. Team Transactions: -September call-ups: RHPs Mike Foltynewicz, Juan Nicasio, Chris Withrow, and Shae Simmons, CF Sean Godfrey, and LFs Dian Toscano and Ronnier Mustelier. 9/5: -Activated C Tyler Flowers and RHP Arodys Vizcaino from DL 9/8: -Activated SS Erick Aybar from DL 9/9: -Placed RHP John Gant on 60-day DL with bone chips in elbow 9/10: -Signed RHP Drew Storen to 4-year, $53.96 million extension. Player opt-out after year 1, team option for year 4. 9/11: -Signed RHP Alexi Ogando to 2-year, $2.4 million extension 9/12: -Activated SS Daniel Castro from DL -Demoted SS Sean Kazmar to AAA 9/14: -Activated LHP Paco Rodriguez from DL 9/18: -Activated LF Ender Inciarte from DL 9/23: -Placed 1B Jon Singleton on 15-day DL with strained hamstring 9/26: -Activated 3B Adonis Garcia from DL -Demoted 3B Rio Ruiz to AAA 10/3: -Activated RHP Julio Teheran from DL Notable League Transactions: None Interesting League News/Major Injuries: 9/4: -Giants C Buster Posey out for season due to fractured thumb 9/6: -Braves become the first team to be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs (LOL) 9/9: -Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera records 2,500th hit 9/15: -Dodgers CF Joc Pederson out for season due to strained oblique 9/17: -Red Sox RF Mookie Betts hits for cycle against Yankees 9/17: -Dodgers clinch NL West 9/19: -Mets 2B Neil Walker out for season due to fractured hand 9/19: -Cardinals LF Matt Holliday records 2,000th career hit 9/21: -Blue Jays clinch AL East 9/21: -Mets clinch NL East 9/22: -Giants RHP George Kontos forced to retire due to bone chips in elbow 9/26: -Astros clinch AL West 9/27: -Tigers LF Justin Upton out for season due to torn back muscle 9/27: -Indians clinch AL Central 9/28: -Cubs clinch NL Central 9/29: -Angels clinch 1st AL Wild Card spot 9/30: -Rays LHP Matt Moore out for season due to sprained ankle 10/1: -Padres clinch 1st NL Wild Card spot 10/1: -Rockies SS Jose Reyes records 2,000th career hit 10/2: -Reds LHP John Lamb out for all of 2016 and 2017 due to torn rotator cuff 10/3: -Athletics clinch 2nd AL Wild Card spot -Nationals clinch 2nd NL Wild Card spot Definitely a season to forget for me. Here are the final MLB standings: Here are the full hitting and pitching statistics for the 2016 Braves: I'll wrap up the 2016 playoffs and the offseason tomorrow.

06-15-2016, 11:58 PM	#8
pgjocki All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Maryland - just outside DC Posts: 1,483	Nice summary. Confused why St Louis would give Wacha a big contract then trade him. The AI made some interesting moves, wonder if getting rid of DH affected roster management. Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk __________________ - - - World Series championships: 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982, 2006, 2011

06-16-2016, 11:18 PM	#9
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	April 2017 - Not too shabby A month of baseball is in the books and things aren't looking completely bleak in Braves land. While we finished the month in 4th place in the NL South, we're 13-14 and just a game and a half out of the division. The offense is playing much better so far this season, but unfortunately, the bullpen has been dreadful. Thus far, I've only made one transaction of note and that was due to an injury. My starting SS Richard Urena got a herniated disc the 19th and is out for 2 weeks, so I called up Reid Brignac to replace him for the time being. Dansby Swanson would've gotten the call but he went on the AAA DL a couple days before that with a fractured finger. That being said, I'm certainly looking at making some moves early in May to try and get much better productivity out of the bullpen. Generally I tend to run out of patience sooner than later but I wanted to let all the guys get a full month in and see if any of them start pitching better. Here's the statistics for everyone that played in the month: Starting Rotation: 1. Matt Moore (1-2, 3.20 ERA, 6 GS, 39.1 IP, 29 K) 2. Aaron Blair (0-3, 4.32 ERA, 6 GS, 33.1 IP, 23 K) 3. Ricky Lara (1-2, 3.03 ERA, 5 GS, 29.2 IP, 23 K) 4. Daniel Winkler (2-3, 5.83 ERA, 5 GS, 29.1 IP, 19 K) 5. Matt Wisler (2-2, 2.61 ERA, 5 GS, 31 IP, 20 K) Bullpen: CL - Drew Storen (2-0, 6/7 SV, 0.00 ERA, 12 G, 15.0 IP, 15 K) Setup - Steve Geltz (0-0, 1.88 ERA, 12 G, 14.1 IP, 14 K) Setup - Mike Morin (2-0, 7.62 ERA, 17 G, 13 IP, 13 K) Middle Relief - Arodys Vizcaino (2-0, 5.54 ERA, 15 G, 13 IP, 11 K) Middle Relief - Alexi Ogando (1-1, 5.14 ERA, 9 G, 14 IP, 13 K) Middle Relief - Juan Nicasio (0-1, 4.63 ERA, 12 G, 11.2 IP, 7 K) Long Relief - Manny Banuelos (0-0, 9.00 ERA, 14 GS, 7 IP, 10 K) Position Players: C Juan Centeno (29 AB, .138 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI) C Tyler Flowers (82 AB, .220 BA, 6 HR, 14 RBI) 1B Jon Singleton (108 AB, .194 BA, 1 HR, 8 RBI) 2B Reid Brignac (12 AB, .417 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI) 2B Daniel Castro (48 AB, .354 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI) 2B Jace Peterson (85 AB, .212 BA, 1 HR, 3 RBI) SS Richard Urena (DL) (53 AB, .321 BA, 4 HR, 5 RBI) 3B Adonis Garcia (84 AB, .238 BA, 3 HR, 14 RBI) 3B Rio Ruiz (50 AB, .340 BA, 2 HR, 11 RBI) LF Justin Ellison (13 AB, .154 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI) LF Ender Inciarte (104 AB, .288 BA, 0 HR, 10 RBI) LF Dustin Peterson (33 AB, .212 BA, 2 HR, 8 RBI) CF Mallex Smith (93 AB, .226 BA, 0 HR, 8 RBI) RF Nomar Mazara (105 AB, .276 BA, 6 HR, 12 RBI) May 1st, 2017 - League Standings April 2017 - Notable League Transactions 4/3: -Angels claim 1B David Ortiz off waivers from Red Sox 4/8: -Cardinals sign SP Josh Johnson to 1-year, $17.2 million contract 4/9: -Yankees sign SP Clay Buchholz to 4-year, $54.4 million contract 4/16: -Mets sign SP Zack Wheeler to 6-year, $76.72 million extension 4/18: -Red Sox sign 1B Eric Hosmer to 4-year, $64.6 million extension 4/26: -Angels sign RF Kole Calhoun to 4-year, $33 million extension Interesting League News 4/4: -Angels SP Andrew Heaney tosses no-hitter against Rangers (10 K, 1 BB) 4/5: -Rays CF Kevin Kiermaier hits for the cycle against Diamondbacks 4/7: -Athletics 3B Danny Valencia out for season with ruptured achilles tendon 4/24: -Pirates SP Tyler Glasnow out for season with torn labrum 4/25: -Cardinals SP Jaime Garcia out for season with torn rotator cuff

06-17-2016, 03:06 PM	#10
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	May 2017 - Good times are gone After a respectable April and a decent start to the month, the wheels fell completely off the tracks in May, as we ended up with a 9-17 record for the month, putting us at 22-31 on the season. Losing 9 out of 11 to finish May was definitely not what I envisioned, and it seems like the NL South is a pretty strong division. I'm in 4th place, and Miami is in first, 10 games ahead of me. St. Louis is in 2nd 5 games out, and Houston's in 3rd 5.5 back, and all three of those teams are .500 or better. I started to make some promotions/demotions and even made my first trade of the season, and just about every move I made centered around trying to make the league-worst bullpen better. We're hovering around a 5.00 ERA as a bullpen on the season, and it's pretty ugly all around with only a couple exceptions. On May 2nd, I DFA'ed Alexi Ogando, who was 1-1 with a 5.14 ERA. He wasn't pitching terribly but of the bullpen pitchers, he had one of the higher salaries so I figured I'd DFA him and hope that I could find either a trade partner or he would be willing to go to AAA. To fill his spot, I called up Paco Rodriguez, who was only in AAA due to a pretty horrible spring training. Ogando wasn't willing to go to AAA to regroup so I shopped him around but didn't find anything I was thrilled about. Eventually though, I found a trade partner in Baltimore, and I sent Ogando with 4 fringe minor leaguers that were expendable in exchange for Cesar Cabral, a AAA relief pitcher with no salary. That move was pretty much a salary dump (which really speaks to how cheap my owner is, considering he was making just $1.2 million). Also that same day (5/5), I sent Reid Brignac back down to AAA as Richard Urena was healthy again. One week later I was back to making call-ups. I sent LF Justin Ellison down to AAA (.222/0/1, 6 Ks in 18 ABs) and called up LF Dian Toscano, who was shredding apart AAA, hitting .385 through 65 ABs. Bullpen-wise, Mike Morin was a major disappointment, as he had allowed 5 runs in just 3.2 IP in May causing his ERA to skyrocket to 8.64, so he got demoted in favor of Jose Ramirez, another guy who had a tough spring. I also demoted Manny Baneulos, as he was still scuffling to a 7.82 ERA and walking way too many batter. Norge Ruiz got the call to MLB, as he had pitched to a 2.41 in 41 AAA innings. Later in the month I made one final move to strengthen the bullpen. I sent Arodys Vizcaino down to AAA on the 19th as he was giving up a lot of hits and his ERA was all the way up to 6.26. Rookie lefty Nelle van Leest pitched to a 1.72 ERA in AAA and got the call to the majors. On the offensive side of things, a couple guys really had great months. Nomar Mazara won National League Batter of the Month after hitting .319 with 9 HRs and 24 RBIs in the month. Jon Singleton also got going, hitting .303 with 6 HRs and 18 RBIs, and Dustin Peterson continued to be a valuable 4th outfielder, hitting .310 with 2 HRs and 7 RBIs in just 29 ABs in the month. Unfortunately for him there's not really a way to get much more playing time as my current outfield is playing well. Inciarte only hit .236 for the month but is still overall playing good baseball, and Mallex Smith had a .256 month which is more than acceptable considering the hell he unleashes on the basepaths. Unfortunately for the pitching, the two anchors at the back of the bullpen who'd been so reliable really struggled in May. Steve Geltz had a 9.00 ERA in 9 innings, and Drew Storen, while he did go 6/7 in save opportunities again, had a 7.20 ERA in 10 IP and took 2 losses in non-save opportunities. Fortunately for them, the rotation kept pitching well. Matt Moore went 2-2 with a 2.84 ERA in 5 starts, and in 6 starts, Ricky Lara had a 2.91 ERA. The only bad part of the rotation was Daniel Winkler, and he was moved into the bullpen in favor of Norge Ruiz by the end of the month, as he went 1-2 with a 6.92 ERA over 26 innings. If he doesn't quickly show improvement he's looking at a demotion. May 31st League Standings Notable May 2017 Transactions 5/12: -Indians sign 1B Carlos Santana to 5-year, $100 million extension 5/16: -Diamondbacks sign CF A.J. Pollock to 4-year, $62.5 million extension Interesting May 2017 News 5/2: -Mets SP Zack Wheeler out for season with ruptured UCL 5/15: -Orioles RP Darren O'Day out for season with shoulder inflammation 5/18: -Athletics SP Sean Manaea out for season with fractured elbow 5/19: -Dodgers 1B Edwin Encarnacion hits 300th career HR 5/21: -Cardinals SP Josh Johnson out for season with bone chips in elbow 5/21: -Giants CF Rajai Davis out for season with torn ACL 5/21: -Mariners 3B Kyle Seager hits for cycle in 23-0 victory over White Sox 5/24: -Reds 1B Victor Martinez records 2000th career hit 5/30: -Rangers SP R.A. Dickey out for season with shoulder inflammation

06-17-2016, 06:20 PM	#11
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	June 2017 - Lol "Lol" is the only term I think that really captures how bad a month the Braves just went through. Overall, we went 8-19, but the first couple days and last couple days really make that look better than it was. We had one stretch where we lost 15 of 17 games, and 11 of those games we failed to score more than 3 runs. All told, 9 of the 27 games played in June we scored no more than a single run. It was apathy at it's finest. The first move I made to try and get a little life into the team as well as further stock the minors was to trade 3B Adonis Garcia and 2 non-prospect RFs to the Orioles in exchange for 4-star LF prospect D.J. Stewart. Garcia had been a big disappointment; in 188 ABs he only managed to hit .223 with 6 HRs and 31 RBIs while playing subpar defense. He also was said to have a "me-first" attitude, and there were a couple complaints about team chemistry, so I figured he was expendable, considering Rio Ruiz was hitting over .300 coming off the bench. To take his place on the active roster, I called up my top 1B prospect, Cody Bellinger. After the draft, which was disappointingly thin, I made my next trade on the 16th. Jace Peterson had really not been good at all in 201 ABs, hitting .219 with 2 HRs and just 14 RBIs, and I had Urena on the active roster with a little bit of 2B ability, plus Dansby Swanson and Ozhaino Albies knocking on the door. I traded Peterson along with a 1.5 star 3B prospect named Juan Yepez to the Carolina Racers in exchange for RP Yimi Garcia and a 3-star SP prospect named Zach Shannon. Garcia went straight to the active roster, and at this point I also called up Albies and Manny Banuelos from AAA. To make room, I sent down the still-struggling Daniel Winkler (3-6, 6.64 ERA) and DFA'ed Juan Nicasio, who was pitching to a 5.05 ERA while making over $4 million. 3 days later, I lost Rio Ruiz for 6 weeks to a knee sprain, and Dansby Swanson got the long-awaited call to the Majors. Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone with much ability at 3B, so Swanson got stuck over at the hot corner while Albies played SS and Urena played 2B, where he was slightly comfortable, but still not in his natural position. I was taking the gamble to give up a little bit of defensive security in the hopes that these guys would provide a spark. On the 26th, I worked out a trade for Nicasio to go to the Nationals in exchange for RP Oliver Perez, but I didn't have any interest in keeping him, I was merely looking to dump Nicasio's salary since nobody was gonna give up a half-decent prospect for him. I immediately DFA'ed Perez, and 3 days later he was claimed by Colorado. Unfortunately, I got terrible news that same day - Richard Urena was out for 10 months due to a torn PCL. To fill 2B, I moved Swanson over, and to fill the hot corner, I called up my 2016 first round draft pick, Will Craig, who can play both 1B and 3B to a respectable level. On that same day, I fired Bryan Price, at which point we were 7-18 in the month of June. Rather than immediately trying to find an interim manager though, I decided that I would step in and start managing the games for a short time. Price was obviously not a good manager, and I hired him mainly because my scouts said he'd get along well with the players (team morale was BAD in '16). But I decided to manage the team myself for a temporary period to gauge whether or not the team actually has ability, or is just not cut out to win. While I didn't expect to be a .500 team, 29-49 is well below where I thought the team could be playing. In my first game as manager, we took a 9-4 victory over the Royals, but we dropped the final game of the month 4-2 to fall to 30-50 on the year. June 30th League Standings June 2017 - Notable MLB Transactions 6/7: -Mariners trade 2B Chris Taylor and minor league SP Luiz Gohara to Athletics in exchange for SP Brett Anderson 6/24: -Cubs claim 1B David Ortiz off waivers from Angels June 2017 - Interesting MLB News 6/1: -Mariners SP Felix Hernandez out for season due to torn flexor tendon 6/20: -Padres 3B Yangervis Solarte out for season with torn ankle ligament (was hitting .353) 6/21: -Indians RP Cody Allen out for season with torn UCL 6/23: -Dodgers SP Alex Wood out for season with ruptured disc 6/24: -Diamondbacks SP Zack Greinke out for season with bone chips in elbow (2nd straight season ending injury, just 32 starts made in first 2 years of mega-deal)

06-18-2016, 02:13 PM	#12
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	July 2017 - Respectable July was kind of a strange month for the Braves. As the manager, we started out winning 5 in a row to start the month, which started to make me think that Bryan Price had been holding this team back. But then, we lost 11 of 13 before and after the All-Star Break, including a 4-game stretch of losses where we scored a total of 4 runs while giving up just 10. At that point, my record as the human manager was 8-11, which led me to the belief that while Price was holding the team back, there was still work to do. So, I hired a Korean manager named Tae-ryong Cho who has an excellent reputation as a conventional manager. He's gone 1-4 so far, but while I was negotiating with him the bench coach managed the team to 3 straight wins, meaning we finished out the month on a 4-4 run. Overall, we went 11-15 in the month. Not good, but certainly a step up from the previous month. Of course, being in the bottom 4th of the league, I was once again a trade deadline seller. The first move I made though didn't involve any major league players, but I thought it was a pretty good pickup. For some reason, the Racers offered me 2.5 star catching prospect A.J. Jimenez in exchange for 1 star pitching prospect in A+ named Josh Graham. Pretty good depth pickup, he's in AAA now but will certainly be a September call-up. On the 9th, I sent down Jose Ramirez (5.67 ERA) in favor of Joel De La Cruz, although that was primarily a move to help the bullpen depth, as I didn't have many well-rested arms in the bullpen. He went back down a few days later after allowing a run in 1.1 IP over 2 games, and Mike Morin got called up. He had been shelled in Atlanta earlier, but part of it was due to a ridiculous BABIP, so I sent him down to get him back in the groove and regain confidence and he dominated AAA. July 27th was the day I made my "blockbuster" trade. While Mallex Smith had incredible speed and definitely has value as a CF, I knew I could be getting much better production out of the position. I also had an impending logjam at 1B, as Cody Bellinger had been riding the bench behind Jon Singleton, who was starting to struggle. I worked out a trade with the Indians, sending them Smith, Singleton, SP Daniel Winkler (AAA), and 2-star 2B prospect Kevin Josephina. In return, the centerpiece of the deal was CF Tyler Naquin, who was hitting .303 with 12 HRs and 52 RBIs with Cleveland. But in addition to Naquin, I got 2.5-star SP prospect Mike Clevinger, 3-star 2B prospect Tyler Krieger, 2-star SP prospect Daniel Gomez, and 1.5-star SP prospect Adonis Medina. Getting Naquin was great, but getting a bunch of solid prospect depth was a pretty nice addition as well. Two days later I made my only other trade. Reid Brignac was a $1.1 million utility guy sitting in AAA, so I shopped him around pretty much just looking to dump the salary, and amazingly, the Orioles offered me 4-star 2B prospect Cole Stobbe. Absolute steal. The only other move made was activating 3B Rio Ruiz on the 31st, sending RP Nelle van Leest down to AAA to make room. Here are the statistics of the current active roster, which has been shuffled around by the new manager, who is controlling. Rotation: 1. Matt Wisler (6-9, 4.02 ERA, 21 GS, 127.0 IP, 94 K) 2. Norge Ruiz (4-2, 3.62 ERA, 14 G/11 GS, 69.2 IP, 64 K) 3. Ricky Lara (4-8, 3.38 ERA, 21 GS, 122.1 IP, 97 K) 4. Matt Moore (7-8, 2.78 ERA, 21 GS, 132.2 IP, 131 K) 5. Manny Banuelos (1-1, 6.04 ERA, 32 G/1 GS, 28.1 IP, 32 K) Bullpen: CL: Mike Morin (2-1, 6.20 ERA, 2/2 SV, 28 G, 24.2 IP, 28 K) SU: Drew Storen (2-3, 2.12 ERA, 20/23 SV, 41 G, 46.2 IP, 43 K) SU: Yimi Garcia (2-7, 4.37 ERA, 14/16 SV, 44 G, 47.1 IP, 60 K) (ATL & TB) MR: Arodys Vizcaino (2-2, 6.20 ERA, 28 G, 24.2 IP, 29 K) MR: Paco Rodriguez (1-3, 3.38 ERA, 35 G, 32.0 IP, 26 K) MR: Steve Geltz (2-2, 3.89 ERA, 0/2 SV, 52 G, 44.0 IP, 37 K) LR: Aaron Blair (4-11, 4.50 ERA, 22 G/21 GS, 126.0 IP, 99 K) Lineup: 1. LF Ender Inciarte (402 AB, .264 BA, 2 HR, 31 RBI, 22 SB) 2. 2B Daniel Castro (199 AB, .276 BA, 0 HR, 16 RBI, 2 SB) 3. RF Nomar Mazara (389 AB, .290 BA, 18 HR, 54 RBI, 2 SB) 4. CF Tyler Naquin (397 AB, .307 BA, 12 HR, 59 RBI, 8 SB) (ATL & CLE) 5. 1B Cody Bellinger (55 AB, .200 BA, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SB) 6. 3B Rio Ruiz (125 AB, .312 BA, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 0 SB) 7. SS Ozhaino Albies (78 AB, .205 BA, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 7 SB) 8. C Juan Centeno (125 AB, .224 BA, 0 HR, 12 RBI, 0 SB) Bench: C Tyler Flowers (305 AB, .210 BA, 9 HR, 35 RBI, 0 SB) 1B/3B Will Craig (101 AB, .248 BA, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 0 SB) SS Dansby Swanson (118 AB, .220 BA, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB) LF Dustin Peterson (133 AB, .248 BA, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 1 SB) LF Dian Toscano (29 AB, .207 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB) July 31st, 2017 - MLB Standings July 2017 - Notable MLB Transactions 7/5: -Angels trade RF Josh Reddick and $4.1 million to Reds in exchange for SP Raisel Iglesias and minor league RP Tejay Antone (2.5 star POT) -Rockies trade C Tom Murphy and minor league SP Tyler Danish (0.5 star POT) to Twins in exchange for 1B Kennys Vargas 7/7: -Tigers trade LF Justin Upton and $5.5 million to Giants in exchange for RP Greg Holland and minor league 3B Jonah Arenado (2 star POT) -Orioles trade RP Zach Britton and $2 million to Rays in exchange for minor league LF Yon Mina (3.5 star POT) 7/8: -Nationals trade minor leaguers 3B Tyler Skole (1 star POT) and C Roberto Medina (2 star POT) to Padres in exchange for SP Colin Rea -Mets trade C Kevin Plawecki to Angels in exchange for RP Huston Street, minor league CF Jahmai Jones (4.5 star POT), and $2.8 million -Giants trade RP Steven Okert to Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league SS Sergio Alcantara (3.5 star POT) 7/10: -Marlins trade RF Destin Hood to Rockies in exchange for RP Adam Ottavino, minor league 2B Roberto Alcaraz (3 star POT), and $600K -Dodgers trade RF Jay Bruce to Mets in exchange for RP Addison Reed -Athletics trade SS Zack Cozart to Royals in exchange for RP A.J. Ramos and $700K 7/11: -Twins trade 1B Byung-ho Park to Brewers in exchange for RP Will Smith and minor league SS Gilbert Lara (4.5 star POT) 7/12: -Yankees trade SS Yunel Escobar and $2.9 million to Reds in exchange for RP Brandon Gomes 7/14: -Cardinals trade SP Mike Leake and $1.9 million to Rays in exchange for minor leaguers CF Garrett Whitley (1.5 star POT) and RF Manny Sanchez (1.5 star POT) 7/15: -Racers trade SP Jhoulys Chacin and $220K to Twins in exchange for minor league SS Wander Javier (4.5 star POT) 7/18: -Saints trade 3B Mark Reynolds and $1.3 million to Red Sox in exchange for RP Carson Smith 7/19: -White Sox trade RP David Robertson and $2.1 million to Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league SPs Carlos Hernandez (0.5 star POT) and Wei-Chieh Huang (2 star POT) 7/24: -Diamondbacks trade LF Zach Borenstein to Red Sox in exchange for RP Yusmeiro Petit and $700K -Mets trade 3B Martin Prado and $1.2 million to Saints in exchange for 2B Joey Wendle -Racers trade 3B Travis Shaw to Padres in exchange for SP Tayron Guerrero 7/25: -Angels trade RF Kole Calhoun, minor league 3B Kenny Towns (1 star POT), and $2 million to Athletics in exchange for SP Chris Bassitt 7/26: -White Sox trade RP Junichi Tazawa and $900K to Twins in exchange for minor league 3B Darling Cuesto (1.5 star POT) -Athletics trade LF Khris Davis to Angels in exchange for RP Cam Bedrosian and minor league RP Tejay Antone (2.5 star POT) -Tigers trade SS Dixon Machado to Rangers in exchange for SP Cole Hamels and $6 million -Pirates trade 3B Josh Harrison to Twins in exchange for RP Glen Perkins and minor league SS Gilbert Lara (4.5 star POT) 7/29: -Brewers trade LF Ramon Flores and minor league LF Blake Clanton (1.5 star POT) to Cardinals in exchange for SP Adam Wainwright and $5.4 million 7/30: -White Sox trade 3B Todd Frazier and $1.9 million to Twins in exchange for minor leaguers CF Juan Arias (3 star POT), RF Jose Bermudez (3 star POT), and LF Aaron Whitefield (1 star POT) 7/31: -Twins trade 2B Brian Dozier and $1.9 million to Mets in exchange for RP Josh Smoker July 2017 - Interesting MLB News 7/5: -Diamondbacks CF A.J. Pollock (.293/9/38) out for season with torn back muscle 7/6: -Yankees LF Brett Gardner (.276/12/33) hits for the cycle 7/11: -Dodgers SS Corey Seager goes 2-4, leading NL to 3-0 victory over AL in All-Star game 7/15: -Twins SP Trevor May tosses no-hitter against White Sox 7/17: -Mets SP Steven Matz (10-5, 2.46 ERA) out for season with torn labrum 7/21: -Blue Jays SP Scott Kazmir (4-8, 4.98 ERA) out for season with torn UCL 7/21: -Marlins 3B Cody Asche (.256/12/41) out for season with broken kneecap 7/26: -Royals CF Lorenzo Cain (.321/11/43) out for season with torn labrum 7/27: -Rays RP Brad Boxberger (2-3, 3.02 ERA) out for season with radial nerve compression AL Leaders Batting Average: 1. NYY 2B Starlin Castro - .346 2. PHI CF Odubel Herrera - .340 3. SEA LF Jon Jay - .332 Home Runs: 1. BAL 1B Chris Davis - 38 2. TEX 3B Joey Gallo - 35 T3. TEX 1B Prince Fielder - 28 T3. BAL SS Jonathan Schoop - 28 RBIs: 1. BAL 1B Chris Davis - 94 2. PHI 3B Maikel Franco - 85 T3. TEX 1B Prince Fielder - 79 T3. CLE SS Francisco Lindor - 79 T3. TEX 2B Rougned Odor - 79 Stolen Bases: 1. MIN CF Byron Buxton - 17 T2. ARI LF Socrates Brito - 16 T2. OAK 2B Leury Garcia - 16 Wins: 1. CLE SP Corey Kluber - 16 2. BOS SP Edwin Escobar - 13 T3. BOS SP David Price - 11 T3. PHI SP Vincent Velasquez - 11 T3. KC SP Yordano Ventura - 11 ERA: 1. CLE SP Corey Kluber - 2.21 2. BOS SP Edwin Escobar - 2.34 3. BOS SP David Price - 2.69 Strikeouts: 1. BOS SP David Price - 180 2. TEX SP Michael Wacha - 176 3. OAK SP Sonny Gray - 175 Saves: 1. OAK CL Liam Hendricks - 30 2. BOS CL Craig Kimbrel - 29 3. TEX CL Shawn Tolleson - 26 NL Leaders Batting Average: 1. LAD RF Yasiel Puig - .357 2. LAD SS Corey Seager - .328 T3. LAD CF Joc Pederson - .305 T3. CIN 3B Anthony Rendon - .305 Home Runs: 1. MIA RF Giancarlo Stanton - 32 T2. COL 3B Nolan Arenado - 29 T2. LAD SS Corey Seager - 29 RBIs: 1. LAD RF Alfredo Despaigne - 93 T2. CIN 3B Anthony Rendon - 76 T2. LAD SS Corey Seager - 76 Stolen Bases: 1. WAS CF Ben Revere - 32 2. CIN CF Billy Hamilton - 31 3. MIA 2B Dee Gordon - 29 Wins: 1. HOU SP Collin McHugh - 15 2. CHC SP Jake Arrieta - 14 T3. CHC SP Kyle Hendricks - 12 T3. LAD SP Hyu-jin Ryu - 12 ERA: 1. NYM SP Noah Syndergaard - 1.94 2. NYM SP Steven Matz - 2.46 3. HOU SP Collin McHugh - 2.60 Strikeouts: 1. MIA SP Jose Fernandez - 204 2. NYM SP Noah Syndergaard - 173 3. HOU SP Stephen Strasburg - 160 Saves: T1. MIA CL Carter Capps - 33 T1. PIT CL Mark Melancon - 33 3. MIL CL Shawn Kelley - 30 2017 All-Star Rosters AL - NL:

06-18-2016, 04:03 PM	#13
craftdr Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 256	This is great as I'm doing the same thing right now with the Braves so it's kind of interesting to see how someone else is handling this mess. Lot of potential in the system so if it develops, it could be fun.

06-18-2016, 07:56 PM	#15
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	August 2017 - Still terrible For the Atlanta Braves front office, sometimes it seems like all they're doing is chasing rainbows. After showing signs of competitiveness in the month of July, August was yet another horrific month, as the team lost 6 of the final 7 games to finish the month 9-20. They're now the 2nd worst team in baseball, behind even one of the 2 expansion franchises (by a half game), and unsurprisingly, are officially eliminated from postseason competition. The main culprit this month was the same culprit the rest of the month - a terrible bullpen. The Braves saw late leads or late ties evaporate far more often than should ever happen, and team morale is at rock bottom. Rumor has it that if September is no better, manager Tae-ryong Cho could become yet another manager to be fired. If he were to be replaced for the 2018 season, the new manager would be the 6th different in just a 3 year span. The first move I made came on the 1st, and it was a very minor move, simply demoting LF Dian Toscano in favor of CF Sam Fuld, who I'd signed to a minor league deal. He's a veteran presence the team sorely needed, as there was just 1 position player over the age of 30, Tyler Flowers at 31. Fuld was later granted a 1 year, $750K extension, likely meaning he'll be utilized as the 4th or 5th outfielder once again in 2018. Unfortunately, 3B Rio Ruiz went down with another injury on the 18th, this time victim of a fractured foot that'll cost him a month. I called up 3B Carlos Franco from AAA to take his spot. And just over a week later, I lost RP Arodys Vizcaino, also for a month, to a herniated disc. Nelle van Leest got the call back up to the majors, along with prized SP prospect Jose De Leon, who replaced Yimi Garcia, who imploded during the month to post a 9.00 ERA over 11 innings. The primary reason why manager Cho is on the hot seat however, is the perceived poor pitching staff management. He took the gamble of moving struggling youngster Aaron Blair back into the rotation at the expense of the team's best starter, Matt Moore, who has since struggled mightily in the bullpen. Also having a rough month was former closer Drew Storen, who was moved into the setup role by Cho, and he was scuffled badly during August. Here are the stats of the current 25-man roster, prior to September call-ups. Starting Rotation: 1. Matt Wisler (7-11, 3.81 ERA, 25 GS, 148.2 IP, 111 K) 2. Norge Ruiz (6-5, 3.38 ERA, 20 G/17 GS, 109.1 IP, 100 K) 3. Ricky Lara (5-12, 4.12 ERA, 28 GS, 161.2 IP, 131 K) 4. Aaron Blair (4-17, 4.47 ERA, 28 G/27 GS, 161 IP, 125 K) 5. Manny Banuelos (3-2, 4.53 ERA, 36 G/4 GS, 47.2 IP, 50 K) Bullpen: CL: Mike Morin (3-1, 4.46 ERA, 9/9 SV, 39 G, 36.1 IP, 34 K) SU: Drew Storen (4-5, 3.56 ERA, 20/23 SV, 57 G, 60.2 IP, 59 K) SU: Matt Moore (7-10, 3.46 ERA, 31 G/24 GS, 156 IP, 159 K) MR: Nelle van Leest (0-2, 4.56 ERA, 0/2 SV, 27 G, 23.2 IP, 29 K) MR: Paco Rodriguez (1-3, 4.50 ERA, 49 G, 44 IP, 42 K) MR: Steve Geltz (2-2, 3.32 ERA, 0/2 SV, 63 G, 57 IP, 48 K) LR: Jose De Leon - Has not entered a game yet Lineup: 1. LF Ender Inciarte (523 AB, .279 BA, 4 HR, 39 RBI, 24 SB) 2. SS Ozzie Albies (168 AB, .232 BA, 0 HR, 16 RBI, 10 SB) 3. RF Nomar Mazara (494 AB, .291 BA, 27 HR, 75 RBI, 2 SB) 4. CF Tyler Naquin (505 AB, .289 BA, 13 HR, 67 RBI, 11 SB) 5. 1B Cody Bellinger (159 AB, .233 BA, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 3 SB) 6. 3B Will Craig (143 AB, .252 BA, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 0 SB) 7. C Juan Centeno (211 AB, .223 BA, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 0 SB) 8. 2B Daniel Castro (301 AB, .272 BA, 0 HR, 22 RBI, 2 SB) Bench: C Tyler Flowers (323 AB, .214 BA, 9 HR, 36 RBI, 0 SB) 3B Carlos Franco (21 AB, .190 BA, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB) SS Dansby Swanson (163 AB, .190 BA, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB) LF Dustin Peterson (143 AB, .245 BA, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 1 SB) CF Sam Fuld (4 AB, .250 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB) MLB Standings - Through August 31st, 2017 August 2017 - Notable MLB Transactions None August 2017 - Interesting League News 8/4: -Angels SP Andrew Heaney (9-8, 3.32) out for season with torn flexor tendon 8/8: -Twins CF Byron Buxton (.301/17/55) out for season with torn labrum 8/10: -Red Sox RP Craig Kimbrel records 300th career save 8/18: -Cubs SP Jake Arrieta (15-4, 2.59) out for season with shoulder inflammation 8/28: -Reds 2B Brandon Phillips (.268/9/49) out for season with fractured knee 8/30: -Marlins LF Christian Yelich hits for the cycle 8/31: -Dodgers clinch NL West Division AL Leaders Batting Average: 1. CLE LF Michael Brantley - .331 2. SEA LF Jon Jay - .323 T3. KC CF Lorenzo Cain - .321 T3. TEX 2B Rougned Odor - .321 Home Runs: 1. BAL 1B Chris Davis - 46 2. TEX 3B Joey Gallo - 41 3. TEX 1B Prince Fielder - 37 RBIs: 1. BAL 1B Chris Davis - 114 2. PHI 3B Maikel Franco - 107 T3. TEX 3B Joey Gallo - 98 T3. CLE SS Francisco Lindor - 98 Stolen Bases: 1. PHI SS J.P. Crawford - 21 2. CLE SS Francisco Lindor - 19 T3. ARI LF Socrates Brito - 18 T3. OAK 2B Leury Garcia - 18 T3. BAL LF Joey Rickard - 18 Wins: 1. CLE SP Corey Kluber - 19 2. BOS SP Eduardo Escobar - 15 3. BOS SP David Price - 14 ERA: 1. BOS SP Eduardo Escobar - 2.06 2. CLE SP Corey Kluber - 2.20 3. PHI SP Charlie Morton - 2.74 Strikeouts: 1. OAK SP Sonny Gray - 228 2. BOS SP David Price - 226 3. TEX SP Michael Wacha - 222 Saves: 1. BOS CL Craig Kimbrel - 41 2. OAK CL Liam Hendricks - 38 3. NYY CL Aroldis Chapman - 34 NL Leaders Batting Average: 1. LAD RF Yasiel Puig - .353 2. LAD SS Corey Seager - .338 3. PIT 1B Josh Bell - .315 Home Runs: 1. MIA RF Giancarlo Stanton - 40 2. COL 3B Nolan Arenado - 38 T3. HOU SS Carlos Correa - 36 T3. LAD SS Corey Seager - 36 RBIs: 1. LAD RF Alfredo Despaigne - 105 T2. COL 3B Nolan Arenado - 96 T3. LAD CF Joc Pederson - 96 Stolen Bases: 1. CIN CF Billy Hamilton - 47 2. WAS CF Ben Revere - 39 3. MIA 2B Dee Gordon - 32 Wins: 1. HOU SP Collin McHugh - 20 2. LAD SP Kenta Maeda - 16 T3. CHC SP Jake Arrieta - 15 T3. CHC SP Kyle Hendricks - 15 T3. PIT SP Chad Kuhl - 15 ERA: 1. NYM SP Noah Syndergaard - 2.28 2. HOU SP Collin McHugh - 2.52 3. SD SP Tyson Ross - 2.55 Strikeouts: 1. MIA SP Jose Fernandez - 256 2. LAD SP Clayton Kershaw - 206 3. NYM SP Noah Syndergaard - 201 Saves: 1. PIT CL Mark Melancon - 41 T2. MIA CL Carter Capps - 39 T2. TOR CL Brett Cecil - 39

06-18-2016, 10:27 PM	#16
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	End of Season 2017 - Never again Never again will I hire a manager that retains full control over pitching staff and lineups. Tae-ryong Cho was fired at the conclusion of the season after completely obliterating the final month. In his short time with Atlanta this season, he managed the team to an abysmal 16-47 record. While I hate to have to bring in another new manager, reading the box scores and game logs proved to me that this guy was a complete disaster. We ended the season on a 10-game losing streak, clinching the worst record in the MLB for the 2nd season in a row. What a disaster. Final regular season record: 56-108, a .341 winning percentage. I'm already working on hiring a new manager, with Scott Servais being my top choice. There's not very many guys out there who will not only have a positive impact on development but also develop good relationships with players, but he's one of them. Whoever I hire though, I'm gonna have to be patient with. I can't imagine that all the inconsistency is great for the players to be dealing with. As for the roster moves I made during September, there weren't very many. I called up SPs Max Fried & Steve Janas, RPs Joel De La Cruz, Yimi Garcia, Jose Ramirez, and Andrew McKirahan, C A.J. Jimenez, and LFs Dian Toscano and Justin Ellison as the September 1st roster expansion. Beyond that, all I did was re-activate Rio Ruiz and Arodys Vizcaino from the DL while placing Manny Banuelos on the DL with an oblique strain. Oh, I should also mention that I fired my scouting director Brian Bridges, and replaced him with Yong Ke. Bridges was actually pretty good and I had no problem with him, but Ke has the reputation of a legend and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to land him. Here are the final regular season stats: Starting Rotation: 1. Matt Wisler (7-15, 3.74 ERA, 30 GS, 175.2 IP, 134 K, 2.3 WAR) 2. Ricky Lara (6-16, 4.90 ERA, 34 GS, 185.1 IP, 149 K, 1.7 WAR) 3. Aaron Blair (5-21, 4.44 ERA, 34 G/33 GS, 196.2 IP, 154 K, 2.0 WAR) 4. Norge Ruiz (7-8, 4.04 ERA, 26 G/23 GS, 138 IP, 131 K, 2.0 WAR) 5. Matt Moore (7-12, 3.62 ERA, 41 G/25 GS, 176.2 IP, 182 K, 1.3 WAR) Bullpen: CL: Mike Morin (4-3, 4.78 ERA, 13/16 SV, 47 G, 43.1 IP, 40 K, 0.2 WAR) SU: Drew Storen (4-6, 3.88 ERA, 20/24 SV, 69 G, 69.2 IP, 65 K, 0.3 WAR) SU: Yimi Garcia (2-7, 5.32 ERA, 14/16 SV, 68 G, 67.2 IP, 82 K, 0.6 WAR) MR: Arodys Vizcaino (2-2, 4.62 ERA, 41 G, 37 IP, 47 K, 0.3 WAR) MR: Paco Rodriguez (1-4, 3.74 ERA, 60 G, 53 IP, 49 K, 0.1 WAR) MR: Nelle van Leest (0-2, 4.45 ERA, 36 G, 32.1 IP, 37 K, 0.3 WAR MR: Andrew McKirahan (0-0, 4.42 ERA, 9 G, 10.2 IP, 8 K, 0.1 WAR) LR: Jose De Leon (1-0, 3.60 ERA, 5 G/1 GS, 10 IP, 11 K, 0.2 WAR) LR: Max Fried (0-0, 3.07 ERA, 5 G, 14.2 IP, 13 K, -0.3 WAR) LR: Jose Ramirez (0-1, 6.43 ERA, 24 G, 28 IP, 32 K, -0.2 WAR) LR: Steve Geltz (2-2, 3.26 ERA, 64 G, 58 IP, 51 K, 0.1 WAR) LR: Joel De La Cruz (0-0, 2.70 ERA, 4 G, 3.1 IP, 5 K, 0.1 WAR) LR: Steve Janas (0-0, 5.79 ERA, 3 G, 4.2 IP, 3 K, 0.1 WAR) Disabled List: Manny Banuelos (4-4, 4.29 ERA, 41 G/8 GS, 71.1 IP, 74 K, 0.8 WAR) Lineup: 1. SS Ozzie Albies (264 AB, .258 BA, 1 HR, 23 RBI, 16 SB, 1.1 WAR) 2. LF Ender Inciarte (641 AB, .271 BA, 6 HR, 49 RBI, 26 SB, 2.2 WAR) 3. RF Nomar Mazara (595 AB, .292 BA, 32 HR, 85 RBI, 4 SB, 6.1 WAR) 4. 1B Cody Bellinger (258 AB, .202 BA, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 3 SB, -0.7 WAR) 5. CF Tyler Naquin (611 AB, .286 BA, 15 HR, 79 RBI, 12 SB, 5.2 WAR) 6. 2B Dansby Swanson (232 AB, .211 BA, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 0 SB, -0.8 WAR) 7. 3B Rio Ruiz (235 AB, .298 BA, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 1 SB, 1.6 WAR) 8. C A.J. Jimenez (48 AB, .229 BA, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 0.1 WAR) Bench: C Juan Centeno (267 AB, .221 BA, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 0 SB, 0.0 WAR) C Tyler Flowers (325 AB, .215 BA, 9 HR, 36 RBI, 0 SB, 0.3 WAR) 1B Will Craig (195 AB, .246 BA, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 0 SB, 0.1 WAR) 2B Daniel Castro (361 AB, .291 BA, 0 HR, 29 RBI, 2 SB, 1.1 WAR) 3B Carlos Franco (28 AB, .214 BA, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, -0.1 WAR) LF Justin Ellison (23 AB, .174 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, -0.4 WAR) LF Dustin Peterson (147 AB, .252 BA, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 1 SB, 0.3 WAR) LF Dian Toscano (55 AB, .236 BA, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 0 SB, -0.2 WAR) CF Sam Fuld (7 AB, .571 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 0.2 WAR) Disabled List: SS Richard Urena (231 AB, .268 BA, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 10 SB, 1.0 WAR) Final 2017 Regular Season Standings American League Playoff Matchups: Cleveland (109-55) vs. Arizona (86-78) Boston (96-68) vs. Texas (96-68) National League Playoff Matchups: Los Angeles (107-57) vs. New York (93-71) Houston (100-65) vs. Chicago (98-66) September 2017 - Notable League Transactions/News 9/6: -Marlins SP Jose Fernandez (13-6, 2.78) out for season with torn triceps 9/9: -Red Sox RF Mookie Betts (.256/15/65) out for season with strained triceps 9/11: -Cleveland Indians clinch AL North Division 9/12: -Royals LF Alex Gordon (.297/10/60) out for season with herniated disc 9/13: -White Sox SP Carlos Rodon (8-13, 3.49) out for season with radial nerve compression 9/13: -Pirates C Reese McGuire (.279/6/54) out for season with knee tendenitis 9/14: -Yankees 2B Starlin Castro (.332/11/57) out for season with strained hamstring 9/15: -Cubs 2B Ben Zobrist (.351/9/42) out for season with concussion 9/16: -Racers CL Chasen Shreve (3-7, 3.92, 15 SV) out for season with bone chips 9/19: -Racers 2B Jace Peterson (.231/5/42) out for season with herniated disc 9/23: -Angels RF Jose Bautista (.213/25/59) out for season with fractured foot 9/24: Chicago Cubs clinch NL North Division 9/25: -Nationals RF Bryce Harper (.313/31/75) out for season with fractured finger -Texas Rangers clinch AL South Division 9/29: -Arizona Diamondbacks clinch AL West Division -Mets 3B David Wright (.253/12/54) records 2000th career hit 9/30: -Boston Red Sox clinch AL East Division -New York Mets clinch NL East Division 10/4: -Houston Astros clinch NL South Division after defeating Miami Marlins 4-1 in a one-game playoff Final AL Leaders Batting Average: 1. CLE LF Michael Brantley - .327 2. TEX 2B Rougned Odor - .321 3. CLE SS Francisco Lindor - .317 Home Runs: T1. BAL 1B Chris Davis - 53 T1. TEX 3B Joey Gallo - 53 3. TEX 1B Prince Fielder - 44 RBIs: 1. BAL 1B Chris Davis - 134 2. CLE SS Francisco Lindor - 126 3. PHI 3B Maikel Franco - 125 Stolen Bases: 1. CLE SS Francisco Lindor - 24 T2. ARI LF Socrates Brito - 22 T2. PHI SS J.P. Crawford - 22 Wins: 1. CLE SP Corey Kluber - 24 2. BOS SP David Price - 18 3. BOS SP Eduardo Escobar - 17 ERA: 1. CLE SP Corey Kluber - 1.97 2. BOS SP Eduardo Escobar - 2.32 3. TB SP Chris Archer - 2.59 Strikeouts: 1. BOS SP David Price - 276 2. TEX SP Michael Wacha - 272 3. OAK SP Sonny Gray - 270 Saves: 1. BOS CL Craig Kimbrel - 50 2. OAK CL Liam Hendricks - 46 3. NYY CL Aroldis Chapman - 42 Final NL Leaders Batting Average: 1. LAD RF Yasiel Puig - .335 2. LAD SS Corey Seager - .333 3. NYM LF Michael Conforto - .323 Home Runs: 1. HOU SS Carlos Correa - 48 T2. COL 3B Nolan Arenado - 44 T2. MIA RF Giancarlo Stanton - 44 RBIs: 1. LAD RF Alfredo Despaigne - 128 2. LAD SS Corey Seager - 114 3. COL 3B Nolan Arenado - 109 Stolen Bases: 1. CIN CF Billy Hamilton - 56 2. WAS CF Ben Revere - 43 3. MIA 2B Dee Gordon - 40 Wins: 1. HOU SP Collin McHugh - 24 T2. PIT SP Chad Kuhl - 18 T2. LAD SP Hyu-jin Ryu - 18 ERA: 1. NYM SP Noah Syndergaard - 2.26 2. HOU SP Collin McHugh - 2.53 3. LAD SP Clayton Kershaw - 2.55 Strikeouts: 1. MIA SP Jose Fernandez - 263 2. LAD SP Clayton Kershaw - 259 3. NYM SP Noah Syndergaard - 257 Saves: 1. PIT CL Mark Melancon - 46 2. HOU CL Ken Giles - 45 3. MIA CL Carter Capps - 44

06-19-2016, 02:44 PM	#17
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	2017 Playoffs & Season Awards American League Division Series - Indians vs. Diamondbacks Game 1: Indians win 4-0, CLE leads series 1-0. Game 2: Indians win 3-1, CLE leads series 2-0. Game 3: Indians win 5-0, CLE wins series 3-0. Series MVP: CLE SP Danny Salazar (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9 IP) American League Division Series - Rangers vs. Red Sox Game 1: Rangers win 6-1, TEX leads series 1-0. Game 2: Rangers win 6-2, TEX leads series 2-0. Game 3: Red Sox win 5-3, TEX leads series 2-1. Down to their final out, Red Sox pinch-hitter Jordan Weems crushes a 3-run HR, sending the series to game 4 and etching his name into Boston lore Game 4: Red Sox win 3-1, series tied 2-2. Game 5: Red Sox win 3-2 in 12 innings, BOS wins series 3-2. Jackie Bradley Jr. becomes the second Boston postseason legend, as his go-ahead solo home run in the top of the 12th inning is enough to send the Red Sox to the ALCS. Series MVP: TEX CF Lewis Brinson (.381 BA, 0 HR, 3 RBI) National League Division Series - Dodgers vs. Mets Game 1: Dodgers win 3-2, LAD leads series 1-0. Game 2: Dodgers win 7-4, LAD leads series 2-0. Game 3: Dodgers win 8-4, LAD wins series 3-0. Series MVP: LAD LF Alfredo Despaigne (.538 BA, 2 HR, 3 RBI) National League Division Series - Astros vs Cubs Game 1: Cubs win 4-3 in 11 innings, CHC leads series 1-0. Jorge Soler's go-ahead RBI single in the 11th inning gives the Cubs the early series advantage. Game 2: Cubs win 8-4, CHC leads series 2-0. Game 3: Cubs win 7-6, CHC wins series 3-0. Alexei Ramirez brings joy to Cubs fans across the nation as his 2-RBI walk-off single completes the Cubs' sweep of Houston and sends them to face the Dodgers in the NLCS. Series MVP: CHC 3B Kris Bryant (.364 BA, 2 HR, 3 RBI) American League Championship Series - Indians vs. Red Sox Game 1: Indians win 2-1, CLE leads series 1-0. Game 2: Red Sox win 3-2, series tied 1-1. Jackie Bradley Jr. continues to win the hearts of Sox fans as he hits a clutch go-ahead 2-run HR in the top of the 9th, allowing Boston to tie the series as they head home. Game 3: Red Sox win 5-4, BOS leads series 2-1. Game 4: Indians win 5-3, series tied 2-2. Game 5: Red Sox win 6-5, BOS leads series 3-2. Game 6: Indians win 12-2, series tied 3-3. Game 7: Red Sox win 4-3 in 10 innings, BOS wins series 4-3. Jordan Weems continues to battle Jackie Bradley Jr. for most heroic postseason performance as he hits a 2-run HR in the top of the 10th that proved to be enough to send the Red Sox to the World Series. Series MVP: BOS C Blake Swihart (.346 BA, 2 HR, 3 RBI) National League Championship Series - Dodgers vs. Cubs Game 1: Cubs win 6-2, CHC leads series 1-0. Game 2: Cubs win 5-3, CHC leads series 2-0. Game 3: Cubs win 7-2, CHC leads series 3-0. Game 4: Cubs win 5-4, CHC wins series 4-0. Series MVP: CHC SP Kyle Hendricks (2-0, 1.35 ERA, 13.1 IP) *2017 World Series - Cubs vs. Red Sox* Game 1: Cubs win 1-0, CHC leads series 1-0. Much to the disappointment of Cubs fans wanting to see history, Cubs manager Joe Maddon removes starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks after 8 innings of no-hit baseball despite having thrown just 92 pitches, though he was on short rest. CL Neil Ramirez allowed a hit to ruin the combined no-hitter but nailed down the save to give the Cubs an early series advantage. Game 2: Red Sox win 3-2, series tied 1-1. It's starting to feel like it's destiny for the Red Sox. Yet again, with their backs against the wall, a hero came out from the shadows. This time, it was 3B Mark Reynolds, whose 2-run HR in the top of the 9th gave the Red Sox a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Game 3: Cubs win 5-4, CHC leads series 2-1. Game 4: Red Sox win 12-6, series tied 2-2. Game 5: Red Sox win 7-3, BOS leads series 3-2. Game 6: Cubs win 7-3, series tied 3-3, Game 7 forced for a second consecutive year. Game 7: Red Sox win 5-2, winning their first World Series championship since 2013, and the Cubs fans at Wrigley Field can only watch as the visitors celebrate on the field, with the Cubs drought extended for one more year. It's a bitter pill to swallow, especially considering how close the Cubs were to finally ending the drought. World Series MVP: BOS SS Xander Bogaerts (.417 BA, 1 HR, 7 RBI) Season Awards Most Valuable Player AL: CLE SS Francisco Lindor (.317 BA, 35 HR, 126 RBI, 24 SB, 8.9 WAR) NL: LAD SS Corey Seager (.333 BA, 43 HR, 114 RBI, 6 SB, 9.8 WAR) Cy Young Award AL: CLE SP Corey Kluber (24-4, 1.97 ERA, 251 K, 7.4 WAR) NL: HOU SP Collin McHugh (24-3, 2.53 ERA, 183 K, 5.4 WAR) Reliever of the Year Award AL: TB RP Dellin Betances (4-5, 1.62 ERA, 17/19 SV, 72.1 IP, 123 K, 2.3 WAR) NL: HOU CL Ken Giles (7-5, 1.65 ERA, 45/51 SV, 76.1 IP, 109 K, 1.8 WAR) Manager of the Year Award AL: CLE Manager Terry Francona (109-55 - Lost in ALCS) NL: HOU Manager A.J. Hinch (100-65 - Lost in NLDS) Rookie of the Year Award AL: MIN SP Jose Berrios (12-8, 3.42 ERA, 202 K, 5.8 WAR) NL: LAD LF Alfredo Despaigne (.279 BA, 35 HR, 128 RBI, 0 SB, 4.7 WAR) Silver Slugger Awards AL: CAR SP Ivan Nova, KC C Salvador Perez, TEX 1B Prince Fielder, TEX 2B Rougned Odor, PHI 3B Maikel Franco, CLE SS Francisco Lindor, MIN LF Oswaldo Arcia, LAA CF Mike Trout, ARI RF David Peralta NL: NYM SP Noah Syndergaard, NYM C Travis D'Arnaud, CHC 1B Anthony Rizzo, TOR 2B Devon Travis, COL 3B Nolan Arenado, LAD SS Corey Seager, NYM LF Michael Conforto, LAD CF Joc Pederson, MIA RF Giancarlo Stanton Gold Glove Awards AL: NYY SP Masahiro Tanaka, KC C Salvador Perez, ARI 1B Paul Goldschmidt, ARI 2B Chris Owings, TB 3B Evan Longoria, PHI SS J.P. Crawford, SEA LF Jon Jay, TB CF Kevin Kiermaier, ARI RF David Peralta NL: ATL SP Aaron Blair, PIT C Reese McGuire, SF 1B Brandon Belt, COL 2B D.J. LeMahieu, CHC 3B Kris Bryant, MIA SS Adeiny Hechavarria, ATL LF Ender Inciarte, CIN CF Billy Hamilton, HOU RF George Springer That's a wrap on the 2017 MLB season folks. It's time to make this team competitive over the offseason and stop being the laughingstock of Major League Baseball.

06-19-2016, 09:27 PM	#18
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	2017-18 Offseason - Part I With lots of talent starting to emerge at the big-league level for the Atlanta Braves, and entering my final year of my contract as the GM, I was entering the offseason in "now or never" mode. Not necessarily "win now", but I knew I had to strengthen the roster and make improvements to the team as a whole by taking advantage of my areas of depth. To start the offseason, I extended a minor league contract to a couple AAA depth guys, RP Ian Krol, SP Mike Clevinger, and C Steven Rodriguez. After the World Series, I found out, much to my delight, that RP Drew Storen chose to NOT opt out of his contract, saying he "hoped to be a part of many future championship teams". The other option year was C Tyler Flowers' team option. Rather than put down $4 million, I allowed to let him walk, as 2.5 star prospect A.J. Jimenez was MLB-ready, and Juan Centeno is still on the roster. Before arbitration hearings happened, I started making personnel moves. Surprisingly, the Angels fired Mike Scioscia, as if it was his fault the GM traded away 2 good outfielders and signed Jose Bautista to a $50 million dollar salary to hit all of .218. Either way, I made him a priority, and eventually agreed to a 5 year deal with him, which I was ecstatic about. I also had an opening for the bench coach slot, and I signed Scott Servais to a 3-year deal. Having fortified the personnel of the organization, I went to improve the roster. My wonderfully-generous owner once again trimmed down the budget for the season, dropping us to $106 million. With so little money to spend and not a whole lot coming off the books (Flowers was the biggest salary going away) I knew I had to try and win the arbitration cases. It ended up going alright, as I went 3-3, and the new contracts totaled up to about $400K less than what the players demanded, so I considered that respectable. When the free agent market opened up, I had just under $13 million to spend. Originally, I was going to spend it on pitching, but for the second year in a row, my main target quickly shifted towards an international player, in this case, 1B Bill Diego out of Argentina. He was already at his full 5-star potential as a 26-year old, and had a contact/power rating of 56/91, and played above average defense as well. While I had Cody Bellinger on the roster, Diego became my target, knowing that I could hopefully land a young, controllable, frontline rotation piece if I packaged Bellinger and Dansby Swanson together, as Swanson had been passed on the depth chart by both Ozzie Albies and Richard Urena. It took only a couple back and forth messages before Diego was an Atlanta Brave - I ultimately signed him to a 9-year, $223.66 million contract, although much less than the full amount is guaranteed. I don't remember it off the top of my head, but I believe around $160 million is guaranteed, and that's assuming he doesn't use the opt-out after a 4th year. The reason I was able to land him is I severely back-loaded the contract, as the 2018 salary is just $12.74 million. The last 2 years are team options for $35.7 and $40.7 million each. I figure that by the time that comes around, I'll either not be able to afford him, or he'll have helped the team become a perennial playoff contender and I'll have increased team revenue enough to keep him on. With a sudden monster power threat entrenched in the middle of the order, I now had two MLB-ready, high-potential infielders with nowhere to play, SS Dansby Swanson and 1B Cody Bellinger. After failing to land SP Julio Urias from the Dodgers, I turned my attention towards the Tigers, and worked out a huge deal that I'm very satisfied with. I sent Detroit a package led by Swanson & Bellinger, and also including 1.5-star catching prospect Ricardo Rodriguez, and 0.5 star SP prospects Mario Carmona and Javier Guerra, along with $12,000 to help make it affordable for them. In return, the highlight of the package was SP Michael Fulmer, who immediately becomes the ace of a quickly improving staff. But in addition to Fulmer, I also landed 3.5 star CL prospect Joe Jimenez, 2.5 star CL prospect Jayden Bly, 4-star CF prospect Derek Hill, and 3-star LF prospect Christin Stewart, who will compete for a bench outfielder spot in spring training. All in all, I felt it was a really good haul, and considering I had plenty of SS and 1B depth, I was extremely happy with how this trade turned out. I made one other trade during December. I freed up a million in salary by sending LF Dian Toscano, who was now pretty much useless, to San Diego and got 2-star CL prospect Pat Light, another guy who'll have a shot to make the team out of spring training. I think the biggest steal of the offseason so far came for me in the Rule 5 draft. While I did lose a 4.5-star CF prospect in Tim McClellan (defensive wizard and blazing speed, not much of a bat) to Carolina, I stole a 3-star RF with 4-star potential from Seattle, named Alex Jackson. He's already got a power rating of 79 and defensive rating of 85, but he's got power potential of 89. He'll be a huge asset as a 4th outfielder coming off the bench with great power, and he's excellent insurance if I encounter an injury. Here's the rest of the league news heading into January 2018: Notable Retirees SP R.A. Dickey RP Fernando Rodney SS Yuniesky Betancourt LF Jayson Werth November 2017 - Notable League Transactions/News 11/1: -Angels fire Manager Mike Scioscia & GM Billy Eppler -Giants fire GM Bobby Evans, Manager Bruce Bochy retires -Mariners fire GM Jerry Dipoto -Mets GM Sandy Alderson retires -Orioles Manager Buck Showalter retires, Bench Coach John Russell takes his place -Racers fire Manager Jason Hunter -Reds fire Manager Shinji Nishida -Royals manager Chris Chambliss retires -Saints fire Manager Manny Ocasio -Tigers fire Manager Brad Ausmus 11/5 (Notable long-term extensions to avoid arbitration): -Astros sign RF George Springer to 5-year, $52.9 million extension -Cubs sign 3B Kris Bryant to 7-year, $152.24 million extension -Diamondbacks sign RF David Peralta to 5-year, $49.4 million extension and SP Patrick Corbin to 4-year, $64.3 million extension -Giants sign 2B Joe Panik to 6-year, $68.64 million extension -Indians sign 2B Jose Ramirez to 6-year, $32.56 million extension -Mets sign SP Noah Syndergaard to 7-year, $100 million extension -Phillies sign 3B Maikel Franco to 5-year, $77.6 million extension -Red Sox sign RF Mookie Betts to 6-year, $89.42 million extension, SS Xander Bogaerts to 5-year, $80.1 million extension, SP Randall Delgado to 4-year, $25.56 million extension, and SP Eduardo Rodriguez to 5-year, $28 million extension 11/6: -Mariners hire Myeong-seok Cha as GM 11/8: -Royals hire James Coleman as Manager -Giants hire Butch Davis as Manager 11/10: -Yankees trade RF Aaron Judge to Mets in exchange for RP Jim Henderson, 4.5-star CF prospect Jahmai Jones, and $450K 11/11: -Giants trade SP Robbie Ray to Red Sox in exchange for SP prospects Hagen Donner (0.5 star) and Christopher Acosta (0.5 star) -Reds trade RP Henderson Alvarez to Blue Jays in exchange for minor league RP prospects Juan Nunez (0.5 star) and Juliandry Higuera (0.5 star) 11/12: -Rockies trade 1B Kennys Vargas to Angels in exchange for SP Chris Bassitt and $500K 11/13: -Saints hire Brian Shouse as Manager 11/14: -Angels hire Alan Trammell as Manager -Mets hire Bai-Hen Lin as GM 11/16: -Reds hire Mark Johnson as Manager 11/17: -Red Sox sign CL Craig Kimbrel to 3-year, $48.6 million extension 11/25: -Racers trade C Christian Vazquez to Brewers in exchange for 2-star LF prospect Victor Roache -Padres trade 2B Taylor Lindsey and 0.5-star SP prospect Dari Lopez to Dodgers in exchange for LF Hector Olivera and $2.4 million 11/27: -Angels sign 1B John Jaso to 1-year, $1.02 million contract -Racers hire Randy Knorr as Manager -Tigers hire Tim Wallach as Manager 11/28: -Racers trade 2B Ryan Brett and 1-star 2B prospect Wesley Roberson to Reds in exchange for 3B Eric Jagielo 11/29: -Yankees trade RF Tyler Austin to Orioles in exchange for RP Mychal Givens and 1.5-star SP prospect John Pomeroy December 2017 - Notable MLB Transactions & News 12/1: -Padres trade C Austin Hedges and 1-star SS prospect Christopher Torres to Diamondbacks in exchange for SP Ty Blach 12/3: -Orioles sign CF Ben Revere to 3-year, $6.72 million contract 12/4: -Rangers sign SP Michael Pineda to 4-year, $52.5 million contract 12/5: -Cardinals sign CL Yoshihisa Hirano (INT'L) to 3-year, $30.9 million contract and C Derek Norris to 2-year, $2.66 million contract -Pirates sign SS Jhonny Peralta to 1-year, $5.1 million contract -Saints trade RP Hunter Strickland and $870K to Astros in exchange for 1.5-star CF prospect Anfernee Grier and 1-star SS prospect Juan Maricio -Twins sign SP Yovani Gollardo to 3-year, $9.96 million contract 12/7: -Saints trade CL Carson Smith and $1.1 million to Dodgers in exchange for RP Frankie Montas 12/8: -Angels sign LF Khris Davis to 2-year, $8.36 million contract -Phillies sign RF Jose Bautista to 2-year, $24.4 million contract -Pirates sign 2B Danny Espinosa to 1-year, $3.24 million contract 12/9: -Dodgers sign SS Jordy Mercer to 2-year, $2.24 million contract -Orioles sign SS Eduardo Escobar to 2-year, $1.35 million contract -Twins sign SP Wily Peralta to 2-year, $2.01 million contract -Yankees sign SP Johnny Cueto to 5-year, $86 million contract 12/10: -Cardinals sign CF Lorenzo Cain to 2-year, $26.8 million contract -Rangers sign C Yadier Molina to 1-year, $840K contract 12/11: -White Sox sign RF Carlos Gonzalez to 1-year, $1.14 million contract 12/12: -Pirates sign SP Nathan Eovaldi to 7-year, $98.7 million contract -White Sox sign 3B Danny Valencia to 1-year, $1.44 million contract 12/13: -Racers sign LF J.D. Martinez to 5-year, $109 million contract 12/14: -Dodgers sign CL Mark Melancon to 3-year, $37.8 million contract -Pirates sign SP Marco Estrada to 2-year, $4 million contract -Racers sign RP Addison Reed to 2-year, $6.16 million contract -Rockies sign CL Greg Holland to 1-year, $2.76 million contract 12/15: -Angels trade 2B Tommy La Stella to Dodgers in exchange for RP Chris Hatcher and 0.5-star SP prospect Robert Tyler -Angels hire Houston Jimenez as GM -Angels sign CF Dexter Fowler to 2-year, $14.4 million contract -Cardinals sign C Jonathan Lucroy to 2-year, $43.4 million contract -Dodgers sign SP Lance Lynn to 1-year, $3.6 million contract -Indians sign SP Hisashi Iwakuma to 1-year, $15.8 million contract -Pirates sign 3B Todd Frazier to 6-year, $55.8 million contract -Rangers sign SP Tyson Ross to 5-year, $167.5 million contract -Royals trade CL Sean Doolittle to Phillies in exchange for 3-star SS prospect Arquimedes Gamboa, 0.5-star SP prospects Ranger Suarez and Matt Imhof, and 2-star C prospect Chace Sarchet -Yankees sign SP Francisco Liriano to 2-year, $36.8 million contract 12/16: -Cardinals trade 1B Matt Adams and $2.84 million to Mets in exchange for RP Dario Alvarez and 0.5-star SP prospect Adrian Almeida -Red Sox sign CL Wade Davis to 3-year, $38.7 million contract -Rockies trade 2B D.J. LeMahieu and $7.2 million to Dodgers in exchange for 0.5-star prospects SP Mitch Hart and RP Zach Attianese 12/17: -Mets sign 2B Howie Kendrick to 1-year, $2.68 million contract -Phillies trade RF Jon Kemmer and 1-star 1B prospect Jeremy Vasquez to Angels in exchange for SP Matt Shoemaker and $260K -Royals sign 3B Brett Lawrie to 1-year, $690K contract -White Sox sign SP Danny Duffy to 3-year, $17.3 million contract 12/18: -Cardinals sign SP Toshiya Sugiuchi (INT'L) to 2-year, $41.6 million contract -Indians trade 3B Garin Cecchini to Padres in exchange for RP Louis Coleman, 0.5-star SP prospect B.J. Myers, and $1.1 million -Orioles trade 3B Adonis Garcia and 0.5-star SP prospect Miguel Gonzalez to Athletics in exchange for SP Rubby De La Rosa 12/19: -Astros trade 3B Tyler White to Twins in exchange for RP Junichi Tazawa and 0.5-star RP prospect Brock Barger -Rangers sign SP Mike Fiers to 2-year, $2.6 million contract -Rockies trade C Ryan Casteel to Brewers in exchange for RP Jorge Ortega 12/20: -Giants trade SS Brandon Crawford and 1-star C prospect Scott Manea to Cardinals in exchange for CF Randal Grichuk 12/21: -Rockies trade 1B Ben Paulsen and 1-star C prospect Javier Guevara to Giants in exchange for SP Jacob Turner 12/23: -Saints sign RP Steve Cishek to 3-year, $4.98 million contract 12/24: -Angels sign SP Ricky Nolasco to 1-year, $4.88 million contract -Royals sign SP Jordan Lyles to 3-year, $11.92 million contract -Twins sign 3B Trevor Plouffe to 2-year, $12.8 million contract 12/26: -Athletics sign SP Kris Medlen to 1-year, $2.04 million contract -Mets sign SP Matt Harvey to 5-year, $162.3 million extension -Rockies sign SP Tim Lincecum to 1-year, $1.08 million contract 12/27: -Astros sign C Miguel Montero to 1-year, $820K contract -Phillies sign 3B Adrian Beltre to 2-year, $9.6 million contract -Yankees sign 1B Chris Colabello to 2-year, $2.84 million contract 12/28: -Red Sox sign SP Charlie Morton to 2-year, $24.2 million contract -Mets sign RP Erasmo Ramirez to 2-year, $1.57 million contract 12/29: -Brewers sign SS Jose Reyes to 2-year, $5.28 million contract 12/30: -Angels sign RF Brandon Moss to 3-year, $27.3 million contract

06-20-2016, 12:15 AM	#19
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	2017-18 Offseason - Part II The rest of the offseason was pretty uneventful for the Braves. In early February, I found a 3-star LF prospect in the free agent and grabbed him on a minor league deal, he's a defensive wizard and has good speed, could be a September call-up type of player. I got good news midway through February, as season ticket sales had pretty much doubled with the big offseason moves, and my owner increased the budget by about $4 million. Because of that, I was able to fortify the bullpen once more with RP David Hernandez, who had 2.85 ERA in 72.2 IP with Detroit last season. I've got a pretty crowded group of guys in the mix for bullpen spots, but after two straight years of disastrous bullpen performance, I figure that I might as well give myself plenty of options. I landed him for 1 year at $1.5 million. That's it for the Atlanta offseason. Spring training is coming up, and the next update I'll give is when we get to Opening Day where I'll reveal the rotation and starting lineup. January & February 2017 - Notable MLB News/Transactions 1/2: -Mets sign CL Jeurys Familia to 3-year, $34.9 million extension -Tigers sign 2B Ian Kinsler to 1-year, $650K contract 1/3: -2017 MLB Hall of Fame Class Revealed. With 91.7% of the vote in his first year on the ballot, 3B Chipper Jones makes it in. Also in his first year, with 89% of the vote, is 1B Jim Thome. Finally, in his 6th year on the ballot, SP Curt Schilling squeaks in with 75.9% of the vote. -Angels sign SP Josh Johnson to 2-year, $10.2 million contract -Mets sign 1B Brandon Belt to 7-year, $134.4 million contract 1/4: -Nationals sign LF Carl Crawford 1-year, $590K contract -Red Sox sign LF Curtis Granderson to 1-year, $820K contract -Tigers sign SP Jake Peavy to 1-year, $650K contract 1/7: -Rays sign SP Jason Hammel to 1-year, $860K contract 1/8: -White Sox sign SP Jon Niese to 1-year, $690K contract 1/9: -Red Sox sign CF Melvin Upton Jr. to 1-year, $520K contract 1/10: -Saints sign RP Antonio Bastardo to 3-year, $2.37 million contract 1/11: -White Sox sign 1B Yonder Alonso to 1-year, $640K contract 1/12: -Red Sox sign LF Matt Holliday to 1-year, $530K contract 1/13: -Padres sign RP Luke Gregerson to 2-year, $5.44 million contract 1/15: -Cardinals sign RP Tony Watson to 3-year, $5.74 million contract -Cubs sign SP Wei-yin Chen to 2-year, $23.2 million contract 1/17: -Tigers sign SP Edinson Volquez to 2-year, $6.4 million contract 1/18: -Rangers sign 1B Lucas Duda to 5-year, $62.6 million contract -Twins trade SP Trevor May to Mets in exchange for 0.5-star SP prospect Jonathan Teaney 1/28: -Cubs sign RP Brad Ziegler to 2-year, $5.52 million contract 1/29: -Nationals sign C Jason Castro to 1-year, $670K contract -Saints sign RP Yusmeiro Petit to 2-year, $5.36 million contract 1/30: -Dodgers sign CL Huston Street to 2-year, $5.44 million contract -Rangers sign RP Oliver Perez to 2-year, $7.2 million contract 2/1: -Nationals sign LF Desmond Jennings to 2-year, $5.31 million contract -Phillies sign C Jarrod Saltalamacchia to 1-year, $720K contract -Pirates sign CL Mike Dunn to 3-year, $20.7 million contract -Tigers sign SP Jered Weaver to 1-year, $780K contract -Yankees sign RP C.J. Wilson to 1-year, $830K contract 2/4: -Angels sign SP Yu Darvish to 2-year, $27.4 million contract 2/6: -Saints sign RP Tyler Clippard to 1-year, $740K contract 2/9: -Rays sign 1B Justin Morneau to 3-year, $8.64 million contract -Royals sign LF Melky Cabrera to 1-year, $720K contract 2/10: -Saints sign SP Matt Cain to 1-year, $790K contract 2/11: -Yankees trade C Brian McCann, 4-star 3B prospect Joe Rizzo, and $8.65 million to White Sox in exchange for SP Jose Quintana 2/15: -White Sox sign RP Jordan Walden to 1-year, $2.36 million contract 2/17: -Giants sign RP Daniel Hudson to 1-year, $690K contract -Royals sign SP Wade Miley to 1-year, $650K contract 2/18: -Red Sox sign RF Jay Bruce to 1-year, $750K contract -Twins sign RP Boone Logan to 1-year, $850K contract 2/19: -Brewers sign RP Glen Perkins to 2-year, $3.3 million contract 2/20: -Reds sign SS Asdrubal Cabrera to 1-year, $520K contract 2/21: -Tigers sign 1B Mark Teixeira to 1-year, $860K contract 2/26: -Padres sign RP Trevor Cahill to 1-year, $930K contract

06-20-2016, 10:36 PM	#20
NovaNation19 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 147	2018 Spring Training & Season Preview I thought that I was done making moves for the season, but inevitably, things came up and roster moves happened. The first move came on the first day of spring training, where I noticed that RP Steve Geltz had been downgraded to a 0.5-star player by my new scout, and decided to shop him around, since there was a very large and competitive pool of bullpen arms in the mix. I ended finding a really good deal (it even helped finances out by $250K) in exchange for a 3-star/4-star RP named Tony Zych. Definite improvement in that area, and another reliable arm to try and solidify the pen. I also signed SS Ivan De Jesus Jr. to a minor league contract and put him on the roster, as my go-to backup middle infielder, SS Daniel Castro, is going to start the season as my Opening Day 2B, since Richard Urena is on track to come back about 2-3 weeks into the season. I made the first round of Spring Training cuts on the 12th, and they weren't guys expected to make the team. I simply gave them a shot to see if they could light the world on fire, but as expect, they're all back down in the minors. C Max Pentecost, and SPs Wes Parsons and Touki Toussaint went back down. On the 19th I made the next cut, and again, none of the guys sent down were established big leaguers. RPs Joel De La Cruz, Chi Chi Gonzalez, Steve Janas, and Brad Roney went down. However, I also was forced to DFA Sam Fuld, as he was out of option years and had been surpassed by a CF prospect I landed in the Fulmer-Swanson/Bellinger trade. He was claimed by Detroit and that was the end of Fuld's brief Atlanta tenure. On the 29th I made the penultimate round of cuts, sending SP Chris Ellis, RP Pat Light, and LF Christin Stewart to AAA. All of them posted respectable numbers, but given their MLB inexperience and the high-level of competition at their positions, they were easy to send down. On April 2nd, after finishing Spring Training at 14-14 with a 3-3 record against my divisional foes, I made the final round of cuts, but it sure as hell wasn't easy. Some guys were sent down despite posting really strong spring numbers, in part to either inexperience, or me trying to avoid DFA'ing some MLB players. SPs Mike Clevinger, Max Fried, Lucas Sims, and RP Andrew McKirahan were the first to be sent down, but they all made good impressions during the month and will likely get a look should injuries occur at the MLB level. The next guy I sent down was LF Dustin Peterson, who had an average spring, but was overshadowed by CF prospect Derek Hill, who hit .345, plays incredible defense, and has blazing speed off the bench. The 3 semi-established MLB players that were then sent down after having somewhat-rough springs were RP Manny Banuelos, RP Nelle van Leest (he actually had a great spring, but could use some more seasoning), and, as much as I hated to do it, SP Norge Ruiz. Ruiz had a strong 2017 season in the MLB, but had a rough spring and was overshadowed by newcomers to the rotation. He'll without question be the first to get the call-up. That left me still with 27 players on the roster. I ended up having to DFA both Jose Ramirez and Arodys Vizcaino, as offseason acquisitions had surpassed Ramirez and Vizcaino had a horrific spring. Unfortunately, Vizcaino was claimed on waivers by Oakland, so he's gone. Ramirez is now at AAA. Spring Training 2018 - MLB News/Transactions 3/3: -Angels sign SP Anibal Sanchez to 3-year, $19.5 million contract 3/4: -Red Sox sign SP Jaime Garcia to 1-year, $5.4 million contract 3/10: -Red Sox sign LF Andre Ethier to 1-year, $3.16 million contract 3/14: -Orioles sign LF Jon Jay to 3-year, $22 million contract Owner Expectations - 2018 My owner is expecting to play close to .500 ball, while I'm projected to go 77-87. I think that's pretty low, and I'm optimistic we can have a winning season. He also wants me to lower Runs Scored Against, which is doable. Also, I'm expected to acquire a Gold Glove Award winner, which hasn't officially happened but I've gotten excellent fielders that he's satisfied with, so that's another one off the list. Financially, I've been asked to increase attendance to 19K per game (currently projected at 28K/game based on season tickets) and ended with a balance of $17M, and I'm projected $18.3M. Finally, the long-term goal is to get to the playoffs by 2022. Maybe I'm just way too optimistic, but I think this team has an outside chance to get to the playoffs this year. If the players perform like they're capable of, I think it'll happen. The good part is, even if we're stuck muddling around the .500 mark, we've got the #2 minor league system in baseball, 3 of the top 20 prospects, and 7 of the top 100. That's not even counting some of the guys who've graduated to the bigs over the last 2 seasons. I'm looking forward to the season. Here's the opening day roster, with 2017 stats shown. Rotation 1. Michael Fulmer (11-12, 4.15 ERA, 34 GS, 199.2 IP, 218 K) - DET 2. Matt Wisler (7-15, 3.74 ERA, 30 GS, 175.2 IP, 134 K) 3. Ricky Lara (6-16, 4.90 ERA, 34 GS, 185.1 IP, 149 K) 4. Jose De Leon (10-9, 4.00 ERA, 26 GS, 150.2 IP, 132 K) - AAA with ATL 5. Matt Moore (7-12, 3.62 ERA, 41 G/25 GS, 176.2 IP, 182 K) Bullpen CL: Drew Storen (4-6, 3.88 ERA, 69 G, 69.2 IP, 65 K) SU: Mike Morin (4-3, 4.78 ERA, 47 G, 43.1 IP, 40 K) SU: Tony Zych (6-8, 3.54 ERA, 68 G, 76.1 IP, 92 K) - LAA MR: David Hernandez (1-2, 2.85 ERA, 63 G, 72.2 IP, 80 K) - DET MR: Yimi Garcia (2-7, 5.32 ERA, 68 G, 67.2 IP, 82 K) - CAR & ATL MR: Paco Rodriguez (1-4, 3.74 ERA, 60 G, 53 IP, 49 K) LR: Aaron Blair (5-21, 4.44 ERA, 34 G/33 GS, 196.2 IP, 154 K) Starting Lineup 1. SS Ozzie Albies (264 AB, .258 BA, 1 HR, 23 RBI, 16 SB) 2. LF Ender Inciarte (641 AB, .271 BA, 6 HR, 49 RBI, 26 SB) 3. 1B Bill Diego - No statistics, International Free Agent 4. RF Nomar Mazara - (595 AB, .292 BA, 32 HR, 85 RBI, 4 SB) 5. CF Tyler Naquin (611 AB, .286 BA, 15 HR, 79 RBI, 12 SB) - CLE & ATL 6. 3B Rio Ruiz (235 AB, .298 BA, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 1 SB) 7. C A.J. Jimenez (264 AB, .307 BA, 11 HR, 49 RBI, 3 SB) - AAA with CAR & ATL 8. 2B Daniel Castro (361 AB, .291 BA, 0 HR, 29 RBI, 2 SB) ***NOTE: Starting midway through April 2B Richard Urena (4.5 stars/5 star potential) will move into the lineup and bat 5th or 6th Bench C Juan Centeno (267 AB, .221 BA, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 0 SB) 1B Will Craig (195 AB, .246 BA, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 0 SB) SS Ivan DeJesus Jr. (276 AB, .228 BA, 4 HR, 29 RBI, 4 SB) - AAA with MIL CF Derek Hill (305 AB, .230 BA, 0 HR, 13 RBI, 22 SB) - A+ with DET RF Alex Jackson (245 AB, .306 BA, 17 HR, 60 RBI, 0 SB) - A+ with SEA