2060 Brooklyn Robins Preview

[Trebro]

It's been an unlucky 14 years for the formerly playoff-rich Brooklyn Robins, losing 100 or more games 12 of the past 14 seasons, with the other two being 64-98 and 75-87. They aren't afraid to take risks, but those chances haven't paid off so far. Will the Robins take flight in 2060 or will it be another season where hunting for wins is much harder than hunting for worms?

Well, sorry Robins fans but I fear another rough year is ahead. Let's take a look.

Whadda ya Cano?

The biggest change for the Robins was the last-minute acquisition of Jorge Canó from Nashville, a trade that's brought a lot of attention to both clubs and divided the league in terms of the merits of the deal for Brooklyn.

Cano immediately makes an impact for Brooklyn, but how much? By WAR, he's easily the best offensive player on the team. But he dropped from 4.9 to 3.4 from 2058 to 2059, a significant drop. This is with the stacked Bluebirds lineup protecting him. More concerning is his power rating dropped from 8 to 7 and his eye from 8 to 7 and he's 27, so the potential bars of 9 on both look much less likely. Cano cannot field (-6.5 and -5.8 at third the past two seasons) so he has to do everything with the bat.

If he was part of a larger push to bring the team up, that might be one thing. But he's going to have to be The Star on offense for Brooklyn, and I'm just not seeing it.

Bullpen Boost

The other major work the Robins did in the 2059-60 off-season was to improve their bullpen. The major addition was former New Orleans closer Frank Benítez, signed to a two-year deal for 8.5 million a year, his rumored asking price. He's a good get (147 career saves) but he's also taking 10 percent of the team's public payroll. And one wonders how many saves he'll be asked to make given the rotation doesn't show any signs of significant improvement. Stephen Clulow, Jr. returns with his 2.7 WAR, but he's joined by former Long Beach reliever Harold Northard (who only has 7 career starts, all last year), Todd Jones (6.90 ERA, 18 losses in 2059 to lead the league), Tony Bernard (no MLB stats, over 4.00 ERA in his AAA career, including 5.45 in 2059), and Steven Anderton (6.20 ERA).

It feels like that closer money might have been better spent on a starter, unless the plan is to do a lot of bullpen games. Another new addition, Ryan Harmon, could help with that, given his stamina, but he had a rough year for Loserville (5.33 ERA in 28 games) yet was rewarded with two years guaranteed at 5 million each, and a third year if he vests.

The Best of the Rest

Brooklyn fans can look forward to young phenom Alfredo Trujillo, who mans second base. He had a great 2059, making the All-Star team with 23 home runs, a .303 average, and 128 OPS+. His star is shining bright and I'm sure the plan is to team him with Cano to help build a core. The problem is that there's just not a lot beyond those two offensively.

Wilson Prieto, a former first round pick remains a solid player with a 2.0 WAR, but his negative defense anywhere but left field limits his value somewhat and the HR drop from 31 to 17 should be concerning. They need him to rebound big-time.

Then there's Emilio Morales, Jr. 3.4 WAR in 2057. 1.2 WAR in 2058. -.1 in 2059. Yikes. His bat plays fairly well, but he can't find a position on the field. Now that Cano, who also doesn't field well is here, where does Morales play? I have no idea, but Brooklyn has 12 million reasons to try and figure it out. They desperately need him to get better, but his arrow is pointing squarely in the wrong direction, despite just being 26.

Anyone Else?

Unfortunately not, and that's the problem. The next best offensive player has .3 WAR and plays first base (Lawrence Miranda), a position where getting 1 WAR is pretty much the bar.

In short, the Robins are short all over the diamond, with question marks everywhere but second base. Even their established players have significant defecits.

Rotten Egg

I really hate to be so negative, and maybe this will be good team bulletin board fodder, but I'm just not seeing how this team avoids losing 100 games again. I'd hoped when reviewing them to find some silver lining to feather the nest, but I just couldn't. This team has a lot of work to do in order to get back into contention.

The offense might have some strong games, but their rotation is so shaky, I'm not sure even scoring 5 runs most nights is going to help, between the high ERAs, lack of experience, and defense that has so much negative zone range. If they are winning by the 8th or 9th, they have a good shot at winning, but is that realistically going to happen enough times to justify the money paid to Benitez, especially given it appears the Robins cannot spend up to the cap.

I appreciate their attempt to make some big moves, but from my perspective, they've been made in places that aren't their most desperate needs. And the depletion of their prospects to get Cano won't help. This team wasn't one player away yet. Or even two or three away. (I'm not even going to factor in whether Cano was worth the cost.) It's a team set to lose another 90+ games, unfortunately. I'd love for them to prove me wrong, but if you're betting on 100 or more losses, take the over.

[lordtoffee]

I appreciate the preview, Rob.

The season preview in game has us at 66 wins, which seems a little too positive to me. If I can get close to 60 wins, that would be a more realistic picture.

[Trebro]

I appreciate the preview, Rob.

The season preview in game has us at 66 wins, which seems a little too positive to me. If I can get close to 60 wins, that would be a more realistic picture.

If everyone bounces back offensively and the pitching is better than it looks on paper, I think you could get to 66. But we'll see.