The danger we know is better than the danger we’re unsure of!
Anyway, I’ve split the data by what I thought would happen, meaning whether I thought the team would/should keep the player, whether they should release them, or whether I was uncertain. This table is only players the GM kept around, of course. I’ll do another on the guys that the GM cut on the next rock. That said, I fully understand and acknowledge that my viewpoints are limited. I don’t know everyone’s plans, so I can only go on my gut feeling about players and value. In other words, I could be wrong, wrong, wrong!
But here we go:
| Team | Pos | Name | Age | Type | 2058 | 2059 | 2060 | Projection | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOI | RP | Anthony Annear | 33 | T | $1.2m | $1.2m(T) | Keep | Keep | |
| CCJ | RP | Juan Santana | 33 | T | $1.0m | $1.0m(T) | Keep | Keep | |
| DM | RP | Slawomir Trzcinski | 31 | T | $3.0m | $3.0m(T,O) | $3.0m(T) | Keep | Keep |
| DM | RP | Jeff Doane | 33 | T | $1.0m | $1.0m(T) | Keep | Keep | |
| LBC | RP | Rolf Reinhardt | 32 | T | $3.8m | $5.5m(T) | Keep | Keep | |
| LV | SS | Stewart Turton | 36 | T | $10.0m | $10.0m(T) | $10.0m(T) | Keep | Keep |
| LV | RF | Tom Rudge | 39 | T | $9.0m | $11.0m(T) | $11.0m(T) | Keep | Keep |
| MEX | 1B | Marco Acheson | 36 | T | $8.5m | $8.5m(T) | $8.5m(T) | Keep | Keep |
| MEX | SP | Vassilis Zorba | 31 | T | $2.8m | $2.8m(T) | Keep | Keep | |
| MTL | C | Calvin Johnson | 37 | T | $13.6m | $14.1m(T) | $14.6m(T) | Keep | Keep |
| MTL | SP | Kinzo Iwamoto | 34 | T | $1.4m | $1.4m(T) | $1.4m(T) | Keep | Keep |
| NO | RF | Juan Donéstevez | 37 | T | $7.7m | $7.7m(T) | $10.0m(T) | Keep | Keep |
| NSH | RF | Juan Rivera | 40 | T | $12.0m | $12.0m(T) | $12.0m(T) | Keep | Keep |
| PHX | 2B | Ángel Zalapa | 42 | T | $8.0m | $9.0m(T) | Keep | Keep | |
| SA | CF | Shafiq Zahir | 30 | T | $3.0m | $3.0m(T) | Keep | Keep | |
| SAC | 1B | Unem Ploid | 31 | T | $8.5m | $10.8m(T) | $10.8m(P) | Keep | Keep |
| SAC | CF | Pete Davis | 35 | T | $1.4m | $1.4m(T) | Keep | Keep | |
| TWC | SP | Yoshii Takuda | 31 | T | $4.8m | $4.8m(T) | $5.5m(T) | Keep | Keep |
| TWC | SS | Ignacio Venegas | 37 | T | $3.4m | $3.4m(T) | Keep | Keep | |
| BOI | SP | Danny Leach | 38 | T | $5.0m(^) | $8.5m(T) | Keep? | Keep | |
| MTL | LF | John Oliver | 33 | T | $1.3m | $1.5m(T) | $1.9m(T) | Keep? | Keep |
| SA | CL | Abdul-Muhaimin Muhsin | 26 | T | $1.5m | $1.2m(T) | $1.2m(T) | Keep? | Keep |
| VAN | RP | Ross Brown | 32 | T | $2.8m | $2.8m(T) | Keep? | Keep | |
| MEX | RP | John Avery | 32 | T | $2.8m | $2.8m(T) | $2.8m(T) | Release | Keep |
| SFB | SS | Dick Walton | 36 | T | $11.0m | $11.0m(T) | $11.0m(T) | Release | Keep |
| YS9 | RF | John Hopkins | 31 | T | $6.0m | $3.4m(T) | $3.4m(T) | Release | Keep |
| NSH | RP | Cristo Muñóz | 36 | T | $975k | $1.4m(T) | Release? | Keep | |
| YS9 | 3B | Don Pérez | 37 | T | $8.0m | $8.0m(T) | Release? | Keep | |
| CCJ | RF | Ulvi Basgil | 33 | T | $6.5m | $6.5m(T) | Release | Keep/Trade |
I was on the fence about Boise SP Danny Leach, Montreal OF John Oliver, san Antonio CL Abdul-Muhaimin Muhsin, and Vancouver RP Ross Brown.
At $8.3M and 38 years old, Leach appears to be done. But he’s also a popular guy, and his tough time in Boise could well just be an outlier. I was probably just wrong about Oliver. He can play around the whole OF, and at $1.4M he’s not a bad guy to have around despite the fact that he literally cannot hit … except for those 22 homers. In that way her reminds me of my own Craig Ablett, who I would probably pay to keep around if I needed to. I’m probably wrong about Mushin, too. Three of his past four years have been solid, and he’s only 26. Not sure why you wouldn’t keep him around. That said, he’s durable, but has never seen more than 60 IP in his career to date…so obviously there’s some tension there. Still, he’s pretty cheap. Why not. And, really, the same with Brown. At this point, I’m wondering where my brain was. Brown is apparently a bit of an asshole in the clubhouse, but when you drop FIP- numbers in the 70s, everyone just calls you “complicated” and moves on.
I’m a bit more firm on the guys I guessed would be released: John Avery, Dick Walton, John Hopkins, Cristo Muñóz, Don Pérez, Ulvi Basgil.
Since they are all either 1-season deals or followed with additional team options, they aren’t bad decisions, but releasing them would (to my eye) give the team their resources back. That said, there are cases to be made for keeping them. Perez and Walton, in particular, can still play. I just thought the price tags would lead them to be released, and then perhaps resigned. Basgil being traded makes some sense to keep. He’s probably properly paid at $6.5M, but I’d not go higher. I’m picking nits, though, I suppose. While I’d like to see him more in the $5M range, he could certainly make his cash back in production.
- - -
So, there you have it, an overview of all the league’s team options that were accepted. On the whole I’d say our GMs were pretty much spot on in that even the guys I wonder about were not obvious mistakes at all. I think that’s a thing about online leagues in general and the BBA specifically. Our GMs are almost always deeply engaged, highly thoughtful, and it seems like everyone always has a plan.
