2052.2: Offseason Checklist Review

[Rubaboo]

The 2051-52 was a big one for the Aztecs. Lots of players, many of them very valuable, on the way out, two potential franchise cornerstones entering the last years of their respective contracts, holes to fill in the field. It definitely looked to be quite the headache type of offseason for a team coming off a franchise best win total. Front offices, of course, keep their priorities as close to the vest as possible to maintain any kind of competitive edge. With the offseason in the rearview though, let's take a look inside the Aztec offseason playbook and see how Mexico City did prepping for 2052.

Priority One: Get Corfield's Extension Done
All-World SP Dave Corfield has been on the early fast track to a Hall of Fame career through his first six BBA seasons. A pair of Nebraska awards both show his worth to the Aztecs and have been a harbinger of a potential whopper of an extension. The Aztec front office has made it clear on a number of occasions that they had no intention of dealing Corfield, viewing the past trade of franchise legend Enrique Gomez as a huge mistake, so they had little leverage going into negotiations.

The Grade: A+
After a few weeks worth of negotiations, the team inked Corfield to a $82,500,000 extension, an AAV of $13,750,000. He surely would have gotten more than that on the open market, so this is a win all around. Corfield gets paid, albeit at a hometown discount, the team gets to keep their ace, at a non-ruinous wage, and has the ability to continue to build around him. All good news here.

Priority Two: Replace Outgoing Players
From a competition standpoint, this should probably have been Priority One. The Aztecs watched 25.8 WAR walk out the door after the Championship series, with guys like Ramirez, Vega, Collins, and Collazo heading out the door, and needed to find a way to put a competitive team together from FA, once a literal nightmare for Mexico City's GM.

The Grade: B(?)
Obviously, these types of things are always a 'Time Will Tell' kind of situation, Klooster, Smith, and Medrano look like quality additions in positions of need. The team also re-upped Moreno (more on this later) and is reportedly still in negotiaions for another bat. The offense will almost certainly take a step back from last season's, but the defense, particularly in the infield, should be upgraded and the team should still be very able to compete in what should again be a loaded JL Frontier.

Priority Three: Re-Sign Fernando Moreno
Fernando Moreno Things. Music to a GM who loves consistent, above agerage production more than anything's ears. Moreno, for his part, has been insanely consistent and has been pretty affordable for the Aztecs, averaging just a shade over $8M AAV on his contract that ended at the end of the year. Moreno was looking to get paid, reportedly asking north of $17M on a 6 year extension throughout the season. The team was unwilling to touch that pay band, the line in the sand was drawn, and Moreno prepped to go to FA for the first time in his career. The team maintained their interest throughout the process and once Moreno softened his stance a bit and came back to the negotiation table it was on. Not an easy negotiation, but the two sides agreed on an $11M deal with a team option for 2053 at the same rate.

The Grade: B-
Always good to bring back a franchise guy. Is $11M a bit steep? Perhaps, but the heart wants what the heart wants and this heart wants Moreno to be a career Aztec. Dare I say, even the new Juan Pablo?

Priority Four: Explore an Extension for Felix Roman
Felix Roman is an elite player. He put up 7.1 WAR in his first year in Mexico City. He plays CF, which is an organizational black hole for the Aztecs. The fit makes total sense for Mexico City so the team opened communications with Roman's camp about an extension.

The Grade: Incomplete
Roman is asking for a whopper of an extension - just over $23M on a Six year deal. Yikes. We love the guy, but no. The team will continue to work to try to whittle that number down throughout the season but signs point to Roman headlining the FA class of 52-53.

[mragland]

Come on, Roman's not even asking for a raise.