2064.05 Nine Notes: 2063 Internal Review: First Base

[Trebro]

Bo, as per your request, I am reviewing the entire 2063 team in depth. I am not sure how much this will help, but here we go. So we'll start with an internal review of the various positions. Now for who's on first...

Grade Guide:
A = Totally comfortable with what I have
B = Pretty comfortable with what I have
C = I'm okay with what I have
D = I really need to upgrade
F = I cannot go into next season like this

2063 First Baseman for the Nine: Emilio Navarro, 25 (international signing) - .278 ave, 22 HR, .801 OPS, wRC+ 118, 1.9 WAR

Overall Position Grade in 2063: B

Navarro played in 159 games, starting 154 of them. He was THE first baseman for the Nine, full stop, only taking a few games off. But having 666 plate appearances might have worn him down a bit. He became significantly worse in the field at first, with a ZR of -8.7, compared to -2.6 in 2062 in 142 starts. I think Inkster overused him a bit, something I'll have to keep an eye on.

As far as his talent goes, Narvarro is a decent hitter who's still very affordable, likely under 2 million. I'll happily take 1 million per WAR for a bit longer, especially since he doesn't have huge splits, batting .269 against right and .305 against left. If he picks things back up a bit with the glove, he can even potentially be closer to a 3 WAR player again. But once he's exiting his arbitration years, I'll probably move on.

What's on deck?

I don't worry too much about first base, because there's almost always someone available who can do it. This was why I made a mistake extending Burhan Tahir early in my tenure, despite his immense popularity. You have to go into A-ball to get someone who is theoretically trying hard to be a first baseman on the regular (Alfredo Rodriguez because he's not great as an outfielder, just like Navarro wasn't great at being an outfielder) or who can easily move there (Alberto Hernandez). By the time Navarro wants five or six million, he'll either be consistently good enough to merit it, be traded because I'm going into a hard rebuild, or just sent away because I'm not paying a guy that much to only hit about 20 HR at first base who doesn't make up for it with good defense and an on-base percentage well north of .350.

What's the plan?

Stick with Navarro until he gives me a reason not to or someone else forces the issue. Could also be a trade candidate, but as noted above, he's not exactly unique and unless we're in a fire sale, what I'll get back wouldn't make sense for me.

Current Verdict: I could do a lot worse than Navarro, and I sometimes have. He'll be the starter in 2064, but I need to get him more frequent rest and hope for an uptick in his production/defense to improve my record from 2063.

Bo's Notes: First base isn't broken. Don't try to fix it.

[jiminyhopkins]

Looking forward to SS!

[BaseClogger]

Navarro is the classic worth way more to you than another team type player. Hes cheap and steady, which is useful but not something other teams fall all over themselves to trade for.

[Trebro]

Navarro is the classic worth way more to you than another team type player. Hes cheap and steady, which is useful but not something other teams fall all over themselves to trade for.

Oh absolutely, as was Tahir before him. I wouldn't trade for a type like him unless I really needed what he brings for a playoff push. There's a lot of MLB players who fit this mold.