This off-season has actually been a bit more interesting than most. Former Orioles GM Thomas Sanabria has taken over the helm in Philadelphia, the Mariners have given out the most lucrative contract for a position player in FCM history, the Yankees once again trade for a Cy Young caliber ace and the Pirates put together one of the best rotations in the NL Central with one signing. On the flip side, some teams stayed put when they could really have used a boost. Here are your off-season's winners and losers:
Mariners - Signing Lonnie Chisenhall gave that offense a real boost, not only with his bat but with his glove. The Mariners defense is very lacking, and that might be a real big reason why their pitching staff, which looks great on paper, can't seem to produce the right numbers. (See that 4.28 ERA) Should the pitching shape up, or the defense for that matter, maybe the Mariners can finish over .500 for the first time in FCM history. Nonetheless, this Mariner team is the best team in the AL West, so competing for a playoff spot will be very much a possibility for them, unless Cdawg or the new man in LA, Smoothie, have any tricks up their sleeves before the deadline. With all that being said, the Mariners are much more of a complete team as well as a team that is a couple of moves away from dominating the West for a good amount of time. OUTCOME: Winners
Royals - After a season that will go down in Kansas City baseball history, the Royals were planning to build upon it. What it really looks like is all their building and planning to win went 100% into last season, and while a World Series appearance is great, it isn't the same as winning the show. The loss of Tyler Sample's former dominance will put a dent in the all famous low ERA Royal staff, and while their offense can still pack a punch, they've lost a ton of ground to their division rival Tigers who have put together a team so great on paper people have chosen them as almost a shoe in for the AL Central title. What's even worse, is the Royals did absolutely nothing to try and zap new blood and energy into this years team. The Royals are coming out of the gate a bit lesser of a team and even though they are best known for their 2nd half comebacks, it will take some intensely strong moves from Royals GM Mike to get this team rolling when the dog days of August come around. Losing a staff ace, even if you have 2 or 3 aces left, is not a good when you have a club like the Tigers ready to show up and play. Their offense must pick up some slack and Alonso won't be able to carry the team on his shoulders for a series or two when they need it.
OUTCOME: Losers
Yankees - It's hard to make bad moves when you have the type of payroll flexibility that the Evil Empire has, and they didn't miss a beat this off-season. They added to their already All-Star starting rotation, trading for possible NL Cy Young Michael Stutes. The Yanks just couldn't fight up the Jays last year, but that rotation should give them a big time jump start this time around. They also added to the offense and defense in one shot, signing 4 tool player Jon Lucroy (minus the speed) to jolt some life into that offense that seemed dead on certain occasions last year. Put together with what they already have, these moves have made the Yankees a whole lot better entering their World Series hopeful 2017 campaign.
OUTCOME: Winners
Reds - The Reds have a great list of players on their team, and it seems like they are always one or two moves away from actually stamping themselves into October. Acquiring James Darnell this past winter might have been that golden move. Darnell is a 5 tool stud at any of the corner infield or outfield positions so it shouldn't be hard to get Butler and Longoria placed on the field. This Reds team is probably the best we've seen since the Big Red Machine back in the 70's that brought home the hardware twice. Should the Cubs fall down to injuries and the Astros lack in any sort of way, the Reds will definitely take charge, and that deal for Darnell is what will put them over the top. Getting some pen power in there is the next step, but I don't think that is the game plan in Cincy if you know what I mean.
OUTCOME: Winners
Athletics/Rangers/Angels - Everyone in that AL West division except for the Mariners have done a horrible job trying to compete. They have done nothing to stop the M's from taking over, even with the hope that new Angels GM Smoothie and long time A's GM Cdawg could put up a fight. I don't even have much to say about these pathetic teams but if they don't shape it up, HB will find himself one day in the FCM Hall of Fame just for his dedication and the amount of AL West division titles he'll rack up.
OUTCOME: BIG TIME LOSERS
Orioles - My former team was left with a nice bit of talent on it. I should have known that my absence would give someone else a chance to dismantle it and try their philosophy on the O-birds. Tillotson, gone. Leake, gone. Turner, gone. Jackson, gone. Depth, depleted. What do the O's have to show for it? A power spec with no defense, an RP who has 1 or 2 good seasons left at a cost of $24M, an old 1B who still has great pop but will soon be hanging on a cliff health-wise that costs a little over $12M until 2018, a skilled 27 year old starting pitcher who can't stay off the DL long enough to accumulate 200 IPs at a cost of at least $78M for the next 6 years, and a payroll that is $20M over budget. Yea, yea they got the cash, yea they still have some good talent in Rodriguez, Russell, Jay, Kinnosuke, Marte and Ramos (Funny how those are all guys I brought in), but what will happen come 2019 and beyond? A 3-5 year rebuilding period that will disappoint fans just as fast as their hopes were rejuvenated when I took office? I don't know what this new guy in Baltimore is doing, and I hear he has a weird way of doing things but it some how comes together for him. However, until I see that success, I'm going to come right out of the gate and say it: Drubbman destroyed the Baltimore Orioles that were on their way to consistent success. That's my take on it.
OUTCOME: Losers
Jays - The Blue Jays stayed put. Did nothing to try and counter the Yanks moves to get Lucroy and Stutes. They sat on their asses and watch the wind blow. You know what, that's the best choice they could have ever made. They didn't panic and trade their clear cut talent to obtain some sort of "stud" in order to "keep up" with New York. They new they had a team that was complete and decided to just add some depth and move some money. Even with the acquisitions of Michael Stutes and Jon Lucroy, the Blue Jays still have a team that can go toe to toe with the Bankees and win.
OUTCOME: Winners
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