If you ask many Omaha fans what the team needs to succeed, many will say “run the damn ball!”, until they realize you’re talking about the baseball team, in which most say “a new front office that cares about play on the field”.
Well, if a new front office isn’t the most likely scenario as GM Justin Niles is entering in on his 25th year in the Brewster organization, what can the team do to improve this off-season to shut down those fans who claim the team is just looking to make money win-or-lose?
Here are three things the team likely needs to make a move on this off-season in order to be successful in 2023 and beyond.
1.) Is Sloth Fratelli the answer behind the plate?
Many were excited about Fratelli’s potential when he arrived in Omaha in the trade that sent Malik Bin Mazin out the door. Early on, Des Moines has won that trade in a landslide. Fratelli has a 0.0 WAR in his first 200 games with Omaha. Mazin accumulated 6.2 WAR in his first 268 games in Des Moines and was just dealt for a package that included Hector Cano Jr.
Fratelli is still under control through 2056, but if he can’t get it together behind the plate it’s unlikely the team will have him until then as they need to find a consistent option both offensively and defensively to contribute in this role.
2.) Who the hell is going to play against left-handed pitching?
Currently, Omaha is full of left-handed batters, which is great until a southpaw pitcher comes along. Last season, the following were OPS+ statistics against lefties.
Dusty Crouch(-100)
Andre Ly(42)
Luis Pena(45)
Amid Kasim(49)
Wilson Estrada(93)
The team can’t expect Orlando Ordonez(186 OPS+), Du Wu(138 OPS+) and Eric Wagner(132 OPS+) to carry the load. It’s questionable whether Ly, Estrada, and Kasim should even be in the line up on days when a lefty starting pitcher is on the mound for the other team.
3.) What to make of the pitching staff.
So the team acquired Haravira Chandar last season, and he was great with a 4.07 ERA in 135 innings. Dooley was also very good after coming back from injury with a 3.48 ERA. Nakamura had an excellent sophomore year as well, with a 3.49 ERA in 214 innings. Beyond those 3, the team needs to figure it out. Esteban Cruz was fine with a 4.55 ERA, but he’s nothing more where he is slotted 5th. The swing and miss for Neill Fenomore clearly was a mistake and now the team owed him $3.7M the next 2 seasons with a potential opt out before the team would pay him $10,800,000 in 2055. He had a -0.1 WAR and 5.28 ERA last season.
Dave Ferrell blew nearly as many saves as he had opportunities, converting on 11 of 21, meaning he blew 10 leads to go with his 6.75 ERA, which was more than double his debut season after being a rule 5 draft choice. Can Ferrell be counted on for back end relief type work? For his credit in August and September after being called back up, he had a 3.86 & 1.59 ERA those months.
Bill O'Connor is coming back after appearing in 30 games after signing in late May with the club last year. He had a 2.43 ERA, which was basically the only bright spot in the entire bullpen. Juan Santana who was acquired from Edmonton last off-season had a 4.48 ERA in 72 underwhelming innings.
Then you have 2 odd balls. Al Ziersch appeared in 59 innings with the club, allowing a 3.79 ERA but going 0-5. Carlos Mata was also given his first taste of the majors, pitching to an even 3.00 ERA in 30 innings, giving up 3 home runs, and finishing with a 0.3 WAR. Mata clearly likes the number 3.
What can Omaha do to improve their bullpen, and who is the odd guy out? Clearly, they need at least one starting pitcher, unless you trust one of the young prospects that "ready" for their debut.
To recap:
Omaha has $18M in funds with needs at starting pitching, bullpen, hitting against left-handed pitchers, and questions behind the plate.
It’s December 16th and Omaha has not addressed one of those items.
