Ahh, the Phoenix Talons. Known more in the BBA for slightly entertaining Team News posts than for actual baseball. Much the same way that one goes to a minor league game not for the talent on display, but for the "experience" of being in the stadium.
Quick History
As a franchise, the Phoenix Talons have a history that dates back to the NACBA, the first nationwide league run by our beloved Commish. The current Talons were one of the original expansion teams of the modern era, having been formed in 2029. The GM tapped for the job had been in the BBA's (front office) feeder league at the time, the European Baseball Association, the forerunner of today's UMEBA.
The Talons were mediocre for the first half decade or so, and first finished above .500 in 2034. Following that campaign, the club became somewhat of a perennial contender for the next six seasons, with only one year below .500 (2036) and four playoff appearances. This "good" era of Talon baseball ended in 2040, with the club winning 90 games yet losing out on a playoff spot on the final weekend of the season. Since that time, Phoenix has been quite bad, losing over 90 games in '41, '42, and '43 and finally clawing back to even (81-81) this past season, yet again losing a postseason berth in the final week.
Key Losses
This past offseason, popular veteran Angel De Castillo (2.1 WAR) was denied his team option, while veteran SP Cisco Morales (1.7 WAR) was lost to free agency. Those two players represent the bulk of the difference-making talent lost at the major league level over the winter. Other players, such as C Sang-duk Sim (-0.7), SS Voitto Stromberg (-0.7), and 1B Tony Hernandez (+0.3) represent the concept of addition by subtraction. Many other young prospects were lost in trade this past winter (see below), and it must be mentioned that in June of 2044, the team traded away Mitchell Purssell, one of the league's best relievers. This deal, made when the club was out of contention early on, would come back to haunt them in September, as Purssell would have undoubtedly bolstered the club's surprise late season run and snared them the playoff spot they just missed out on.
Key Additions
The Talons went on a trading spree this past winter, acquiring big name starting pitchers Aki Kondo and Jubal Troop to bolster their rotation. These two veterans come with the coveted "Iron Man" injury rating, and and they will hopefully team up with the "Fragile" Don Smith to make a rather formidable rotation. In addition, the team, in an admission of error in trading away Purssell, acquired super-reliever Tiernan O'Macken from Yellow Springs. These three new arms represented over 11 WAR for their respective teams last season. On offense, the Talons traded for 1B Alejandro Ortiz (+2.4 WAR), C John Todd (+1.6), and OF Thad Meyer (+1.0), and signed 2B Jerome Delage (+1.5) as a free agent.
Pitching Summary
As mentioned, Kondo, Troop, and Smith will front a rotation that also features holdovers Luis Colon and finesse lefty Jaime Mercado. This group of five arms represents perhaps the most well rounded starting rotation in recent years for the Talons, though it comes at an almost unbelievable cost: These five players represent a mind boggling $74 million dollars in salary for this season alone (say it again: Seventy. Four. Million). As for the relief corps, new stopper Tiernan O'Macken leads a bullpen that also features longtime Talon Julio Cuevas, last year's team strikeout leader Cornell Sanchez, and versatile lefty Jose Rodriguez, who can start or relieve as needed. Though the bullpen is perhaps not as deep as a contending team needs, this is a pretty good pitching staff in a league full of good pitchers.
Lineup Summary
The Talons offense is led by last year's BBA home run king Pedro Guzman, one of the many huge bats from the power drafts of the late 2030's. He's joined once again by steady 3B Pankratz Isekenmier, possible 2045 breakout star RF Ramiro Hernandez, and sleeper LF Natsume Kondo. FA signees Alejandro Ortiz and Jerome Delage are also expected to make contributions, though Delage's defense at 2B will be best described as deleterious, while Ortiz can't hit lefties to save his life. Then it continues to go downhill fast: C John Todd and young CF Romao Saturnino likely should not be holding down starting roles for a contending team, and glove-only SS Dashiell Fairborn represents a galactic black hole in the order, sure to rack up the negative WARs. The club's failure to acquire a confidence-inspiring middle infielder will come back to haunt them, and the bench offers no help either; with the overrated 1B Takeichi Ohayashi, a past his prime Thad Meyer, and the one-dimensional RF Jesus Valenzuela all likely getting way more at bats than they should. This is a lineup not befitting Talons history, and will be league average at best, and that's a stretch.
Farm System Summary
Kinda good news so far, right? Well here's where the bill comes due. In trading for all of those players mentioned above, the club took a massive hit to a former top-ten farm system for a short term gain. Prospects such as C Ichizo Sugiyama (75), SP Roy Minty (65), SP Augusto Sanchez (60), SP Takashi Nakamura (60), and SP Antonio Gonzales (55) represent talent that could have helped the club this season as well as down the road. These five youngsters, as well as numerous other departed 50-rated depth-type prospects, represent the bulk of the franchise talent traded away this winter alone. And all for high priced veteran talent, some of whom will have to be re-signed as soon as this next offseason, costing additional budget that will be very hard to come by. Many have said that the club pulled the trigger way too early, and should have used this season's upcoming 10th overall pick to bolster the system and continue the rebuild. Having said that, the franchise managed to hang on to distant LF prospect Rajeshkumar Simha and intriguing lefty reliever Jeremy Smith. But after that, the cupboard is awful darn bare, and the Talons long term outlook remains mediocre from a farm system point of view.
Overall
Despite the impressive results, the Phoenix Talons have likely jumped too early for a chance at a couple years of playoff contention. Like a young family buying a too-expensive house, the Talons' track this offseason may look gaudy on the outside, but there are more problems the deeper and farther out you look. The club is up against the cap, and will continue to be so for years following this one due to the expensive long term contracts on the books. Not to mention the need to re-sign (as soon as 10 months from now) some of the talent brought over in trade. Depleting the farm system, now fronted by an IFA signee that is at least four seasons away, will handicap the franchise for years to come.
But is it all worth it? The team was bad, quite bad, from 2041 through 2043. Then, a surprise summer saw Phoenix contend for a playoff spot down to the final days of the 2044 season. This fact has led the Talons to believe they are on the cusp of another run like they had in the late 2030's. The necessary moves were made, and make no mistake, this is, on the whole, a very good team right now and looks to play well into October. Of this year. And maybe next. But the peak could be short lived, and many Talons fans can already see the long valley over the crest of the approaching hilltop.
Prediction
90+ wins and multiple rounds of playoffs. If the rotation stays healthy, it is of the sort that can go deep into the post season. A JL league championship could be in play here. But they will be held back by the offense and their average to below average fielding at key positions. Any help in trade will have to be salary-retained, assuredly costing them their #1 prospect.
Let's play some ball!
