Starscreams | 2049 Stars an Overnight Success Years in the Making (49.25)

[mragland]

Starscreams: A Valencia Stars Baseball Blog

2049 Stars an Overnight Success Years in the Making

11/8/2049
Brianna Robles, Starscreams contributor

They say that success has many fathers, but in the case of the 2049 Stars baseball team that may in fact be true. The story of how the present Stars club was assembled goes back more than ten years, and involves five general managers: longtime Stars GM Lee Honigsfeld; Dillon Lowry, whose very brief tenure nevertheless included a pair of significant trades; Greg Smothers, author of the Ángel Zalapa trade; Neil Thomas, who reshaped the organization in his three years and drafted some key players; and current club president Morris Ragland, who's kept himself busy in his two seasons at the helm.

Let's take a look at the Stars opening day roster and how the players got there. While Harold Newbold was on the injured list for opening day, he's included here owing to his significant contribution to the team.

LF Fernando Archuleta – Free agent signing by Ragland in 2048.
CF Frédérick Brisset – Arrived via trade by Lowry in July, 2043.
1B Edgardo Díaz – Free agent signing by Ragland in December, 2048.
LF Júlio García – Drafted by Thomas in 2047.
RF Ramiro Hernández – Free agent signing by Ragland in January, 2049.
SS Thomas Jefferson – Drafted by Thomas in 2045.
C Roelof Klooster – Arrived via trade by Ragland in December, 2048.
CF Jim Lorenzen – Free agent signing by Ragland in November, 2048.
SS Carlos Martínez – Arrived via trade by Ragland in December, 2047
1B Juan Mateo – Free agent signing by Ragland in January, 2049
RF Gene Meade – Drafted by Honigsfeld in 2039.
3B Kenan Reis – Drafted by Honigsfeld in 2038.
2B Yodo Sato – Arrived via trade by Smothers in August, 2044.
DH Lee Stone – Rule 5 draft pick by Ragland in December, 2047.
C Clinton Tyler – Arrived via trade by Ragland in August, 2048.

SP Ken Arroyo – Drafted by Thomas in 2046.
SP Carlton Day – Arrived via trade by Ragland in January, 2048.
SP Michael Dixon – Drafted by Honigsfeld in 2043.
SP Greg Jackson – Arrived via trade by Lowry in July, 2043.
SP Harold Newbold – Arrived via trade by Ragland in January, 2048.
SP Jacob Smiley – Drafted by Thomas in 2045.

RP Pedro Calderón – Arrived via trade by Smothers in August, 2044.
RP Steve Harrison – Free agent signing by Ragland in November, 2048.
RP Jorge Huerta – Free agent signing by Ragland in December, 2048.
RP Earl Hutchinson – Arrived via trade by Ragland in January, 2048.
RP Martin Román – Arrived via trade by Ragland in December, 2048.
RP John Olson – Drafted by Honigsfeld in 2042.
RP Ron Smith – Drafted in 2044 by Smothers.

By the time that the present regime arrived in the winter of 2047, the club already had good bones. A new stadium, long talked about, was actually completed the year before under Thomas. There were young and talented players on the roster, and a farm system was loaded with prospects to bring up to the big club or trade for other pieces. The new GM just needed to wait until Dempster was completely off the books so he could expand payroll. Cash considerations from the Dempster deal Thomas had executed had flowed into the team's coffers and was ready to be spent on expanding Dunn Field. It could be argued that a lot of the heavy lifting of making the Stars into a contender had been done, the team's direction had been set, and Ragland just needed to stick the landing.

The (successful) Aaron Haney trade executed by Ragland in his first year was of a piece, part of a rebuild that began in earnest in July of 2043. The Haney trade was preceded by other trades of veteran players that brought young talent to the club. Lowry had traded away José Martínez to get Greg Jackson, and Ramón Pagán to get Brisset. Smothers took the baton and traded away Ángel Zalapa to get Sato and Calderón. Haney to Mexico City brought in Dennis French (for a time), Harold Newbold, and Carlton Day. This was the first major move of Ragland's tenure, but the last in a long line of big trades that began years before.

Some outside observers saw Valencia's moves in 2049 as hasty. When the GM threw the club into fifth gear in year two, it seemed sudden, like they were trying to pry open the window of contention maybe a year too early. But 2049 wasn't the second year of a rebuild, the rebuild had been going on for over five years already. The revolving door in the executive suite gave the impression of disorganization, and a team floundering at the bottom of the standings seemed to confirm this. But whether by accident or by design, the Stars rebuild had a surprising coherence, bringing talent to the big league club in time for a run this season.

[CTBrewCrew]

Nice incite and background into the Stars.