[JetsIn06]

1954-1955 Offseason

FA roll (0-2): 0
Trade roll (0-2): 0

Carryover: 0
Profit ($31M): +1 in each
Worst record penalty: N/A

Total:

45+ rated FA: 1
Trades: 1

Unlucky.

I'm considering doing something drastic. SP Joey Parrish has three years of control left, and I'd like to get as much value out of him as possible before he gets crazy expensive.

We go back and forth with a couple of teams, but things start to get real when we talk to the New York Knights. It's a monster of a deal, with ten players exchanging teams.

We'd send four players; SP Joey Parrish, along with 3B Cortez de Santiago (#34 prospect), 1B Oscar Zavala (#61 prospect), and RP Larry Burchfield (a 40-rated former 9th-round pick).

In return, we'd get SP Jason Fuchs (50-rated SP with two years of control left), SP Chris Benka (#43 prospect), 1B Bill Robbe (#9 prospect), LF Jim Clatt (#20 prospect), RP Gary Battist (50-rated reliever with six years of control) and RP David Baker (50-rated reliever with four years of control).

It's a pretty wild deal, and obviously I'm sending the best player. However; Parrish only has three years left, and he's about to get very expensive. This season was strong, but the walks were up, the home runs were up, and the strikeouts were down. de Santiago keeps getting positive rankings but has been struggling in the minors, and the ratings have taken a dip recently. I liek Zavala but would be getting a much better 1B back.

LF Jim Clatt hit 40 HR in AAA last year, and can play a decent defense. All in all, I think this makes my team much deeper, and gives me a stud SP prospect who should be up in the next year or two in Benka, and a current rotation piece in Fuchs.

It stings, but I think it's the right move. We do it.

FA: 1
Trades: 0

Two of our players get Rookie of the Year votes; SS John Faiella and C Yasutaka Yamashiro. Our rookie catcher struggled to a .200 average, but hit 10 HR and walked enough to get his OBP up to .308, but defensively he was great, and finished the year with 3.3 WAR.

Acquired at the trade deadling, SP Mario Moreno finished third in Pitcher of the Year voting. He made 12 starts for us with a 3.69 ERA.

Free agency begins, but before we do anything, let's take a holistic look at the roster after our big trade:

C: RHB Yasutaka Yamashiro, 28 (4/6/7)
1B: RHB Bill Robbe, 25 (7/7/6)
2B: LHB Bill Marek, 28 (5/5/5)
3B: RHB Bobby Camacho, 24 (5/4/6)
SS: RHB John Faiella, 24 (7/3/6)
LF: LHB Nick Henriksen, 24 (6/6/5)
CF: LHB Jim Clatt, 25 (5/7/6)
RF: LHB Mike Gruver, 25 (6/6/5)
DH: RHB Guillermo Rodriguez, 24 (8/7/7)

This lineup should be really good, with plenty of power, on-base ability, and contact. The outfield defense is not where I want it to be, but I do need to get all of these guys in somehow. Clatt should not be in CF, but the power upside is huge.

OF Tony Serna is a RHB who should play against LHP. He's 24 with a 5/6/7 skill profile. OF Mike DeWeese is another option, just 25 years old. OF John Hollis is a switch hitter, 24 years old with a 6/4/4 profile. LHB 1B Bryant Hammock is a power bat with a nice profile as well. There's a lot of talent here.

On the pitching side:

SP1: RHP Mario Moreno, 27 (5/7/6)
SP2: RHP Jason Fuchs, 27 (5/5/6)
SP3: ?
SP4: RHP Brian Musto, 28 (5/5/6)
SP5: LHP Yukiharu Miyamoto, 31 (5/5/5)

Obviously, we're missing the ace here. We're missing the swing and miss guy. In an ideal world, Moreno is a #2, Fuchs is a #3, and we have an ace. But I still think moving Parrish was the right decision that will pay off for us.

We have a FA move and we have a budget to do something helpful. Clearly, I don't think adding offense is the right move. Let's go find an arm.

SP Nick Moody is our target. He'll be 33 next year, but has been hugely consistent; labeled as an "Iron Man," he's made 31+ starts every year for a decade. He's also got great stuff, striking out 24% of batters. He wants a good amount of money ($25M) but doesn't want a super long-term deal (5 years).

Our first number generator roll doesn't do it for us. We need a six or higher; we try again in week 2 but we get a five. But in week 3, it works out, and we make an offer. We also offer an opt-out after year three to sweeten the pot for him. He signs with us quickly, and we pencil him in as the ace for the next few years.

FA: 0
Trades: 0

We'll leave it at that, but when the trade deadline comes, don't forget that I have the ability to go beyond these moves at a 2x penalty; we'll revisit that when we get there.