2055.09: Talkin' Black Sox (Sim #18)

[KJChmura]

On Brian King

In May, we started discussions around bringing Brian King back to Chicago. With his recent injury, we were hesitant on making a commitment, but at the same time – if he performs, we want to take advantage of the risk and have him in 2056. In the end, we landed on a 1 year guaranteed contract, with a team option for next year worth $1.5 million.

So far, Brian has been…. rusty. In his rehab appearances in Rockford, he really struggled. This past week, we promoted him and his first start was also a bit rough. So, where are we today? Well, we plan on giving King up to 5 starts to figure it out in the majors. If we do not see progress, his reunion will likely be over. If we do see progress, he will play the season out and hopefully be ready for a healthy 2056. In an ideal world, Brian King is in the Chicago rotation in 2056, back to his normal self of 10-14 wins and a 3.50-4.00 ERA.

On Eric Grant

We recently claimed Eric Grant off waivers from Yellow Springs. Eric is primarily a 1st baseman, with ability to play corner outfielder. At 26, we see Eric competing with Frank Collins for the 1st base role. Eric will be promoted with September callups and given plenty of at bats to prove himself.

Grant was a 1st round pick in 2050. We are now in 2055, which is just 5 years after his draft. Some players don’t even make it to the majors within 5 years of their draft. With Grant, he is on his 4th major league season and has proven himself to be a solid contributor in 2 of those. The risk of bringing Grant to Chicago was minimal for a potential starter.

On Bullpen

Earlier today, we finalized a trade for Aaron Anderson, a veteran reliever from Sacramento. Anderson will fit in as a late inning reliever for us as we work to clean up our bullpen.

In our 8 man bullpen, we feel comfortable with 5 of the spots. (Mike Baker, Usama Awad, Bryce Sparks, Francisco Ortiz, and Motuha Kalinda). Adding Anderson will give us another player that can help and fill in the late innings.

Despite a strong season, Leonard Thompson is not on the list of players we feel strong about in the bullpen. Leonard is going through a case of a mid-summer slump, with allowing 9 of his 13 runs this season in the past month. At 23, we think Leonard can be a valuable player, but his role will be strictly long reliever/mop-up going forward.

In Triple-A, we have Eli Price, who is a reliever we feel can be a mid to late inning reliever for us as soon as next year. Before we bring Eli to Chicago, we want him to be more consistent with his delivery. We believe arm fatigue is causing a bit of his issue this year as he has already pitched more innings than any prior season.

Nick Clark is another name to keep an eye on for the Chicago bullpen. Nick is coming back this year after 2 injured seasons. He has shown some promise in Chicago this season, but a few weeks ago he suffered a dead arm. Rather than try and pitch through it, we felt it was best to shut him down for a week and work his way back to Chicago. We expect him to be back with the club in early August and hopefully stays healthy for rest of season.


On Manager Alberto Sanchez

Anytime a team is not reaching expectations, a discussion around the managers job security comes about. Alberto is the 25th manager in Chicago history and that means a manager lasts an average of 3.25 seasons in the role. Alberto is the 3rd manager since 2050. These are not numbers built for success.

When we met with Alberto Sanchez at the end of 2054, we discussed the future and our commitment to stability. Our plan and goal is to keep Alberto leading this team through his contract. There have been no internal discussions around job security and whether Alberto will be with Chicago in 2056.

[RonCo]

Alberto Sanchez ... love him.

[KJChmura]

Alberto Sanchez ... love him.

Yellow Springs legend