Crawdad Chronicles 40.04 - A look to 2041

[JimBob2232]

After bowing out of the playoffs, the New Orleans Crawdads are looking to 2020. It is a team that might look rather different (and younger) than the 2040 crowd.

Likely gone are 2040 free agent catcher additions Luiz Barrera https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 34740.html and Antonio Tobais. In there place is likely one of two phenom catchers, Pedro Gomez(https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 33679.html) or Roloef Klooster https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 30978.html . Its possible there may not be enough room for both of them, so we'll see what GM Jim Roberts plans to do. Gomez hit .320 in 25 plate appearances in 2040, so he appears ready to handle the full time duties.. New Orleans would like his power to develop some more, but cant wait and hold him back anymore.

Also, potentially on the trade market is perennial gold glove winner Yancy Cravat https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 31138.html . His departure would give way to Marousek (https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 38106.html)1B Gianni Francolini or Raul Fernandez https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 40753.html if he is ready

It remains to be seen if pitching phenoms Christian Garcia https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 37799.html and Gilberto Nevarez (https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 42848.html) will be ready in the spring, but perhaps a september callup is more likely. both need some work on their contol, and Nevarez has never pitched above AA ball, but both put up great numbers in their respective minor league campaigns.

SS Jose Sanchez (https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 43351.html) may finally be ready. There is some concern he didnt dominate in AAA last year, but unless there is a great FA on the market, he may be the best SS New Orleans can garner next year. Although Korbel (https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 42120.html)is kicking around too.

And lastly, OF Juan Donestavez (https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 43014.html) is more than ready after putting up a 5.6 WAR last year in Havana. He will liely slot in as the RF in a lineup of Donestavez in right, 2040 ROY Rangel (https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 40970.html) in center and Carlos Gonzalez switching to left. That puts Virgil Shafer https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 08.htmlout of a job.. Hard to do for a guy who had 33 HRs and a 3.0 WAR.

The bullpen is probably the biggest wild card. Look for New Orleans to try to shore that up via FA. CL Lacerda https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 43620.html led the league in saves last year, but also had an ERA north of 5.00. Jim Roberts will probably move him to a setup role (or try him as a starter) to see what a change can do. Guy has an 80 potential, so finding the right role for him is key.

Any way you slice it, things are about to get a whole lot more interesting in 2041

Oh...and they have 50M to spend in FA.

[RonCo]

Here come the Dads.