Depth Key for 2058 Edmonton Team (Hoppy Endings, pre Sim 1) [PP:2058.07]

[neugey]

Moreso than in recent seasons, there are a lot of new famous faces in Edmonton and a good chunk of the old guard is gone.

The offseason began with veterans CF Dan “Pizzaburger” Flores, LF/Super utility man and team captain Kane Gregson, defensive mainstay SS Damek Korbel and C Jay Pochin all reaching the end of their contracts with no contractual path to remain on-board. Onlookers thus thought that a big youth movement would be starting in Edmonton. Not so fast.

Jackrabbits management decide to take a brief detour in the other direction, at least for now. The approach seems clear: add good talent to the roster on mostly one-year contracts and allow the young talent a little more time to build their skills in AAA before contributing again in the minors. This circumstance is unfolding at multiple positions:

Catcher: It was presumed that last year’s 2057 4th round pick, the lefty offensive dynamo Jose Aguilar would get his shot this season after his fine start in A-ball. But the team decided that Aguilar needs more time and signed the well-traveled veteran Reggie Leeper to a 1-year contract to give Aguilar the time he needs. Like Aguilar, Leeper is a lefty hitter adept with the longball.

Corner outfield: Left-handed batter Dean Procter was hitting okay in the majors, but the team felt they needed a more dependable option for now, especially on the defensive side, signing Andre Ly. This gives Procter a year to get his confidence up against AAA pitching and work on his game and hopefully take a step forward soon.

Middle infield: It was thought that either Enrique Galvan or John Jowers would inherit a bigger bench role with the departure of Korbel. But instead both young men find themselves in AAA as majors/minors signee Carlos Benitez won the job. Benitez has a great batting eye which is something Jowers and Galvan both still need to work on. Management decided Benitez’ experience (over 500 BBA games) and elite eye would be the best value for the team in the 2058. Benitez appears to be arbitration-eligible in 2059, so it’s anyone’s guess who will occupy this infield depth role next season.

Right-handed reliever: Once the highly-paid closer Max Birstall is ready to return from the IL in a week or two, it’s likely either Sean Noah or Ivan Martinez will need to be optioned to the minors. Both younger players have high end velocity and strikeout ability but still need to work on rounding out their overall skillset. The reason someone needs to be demoted is that there’s one less seat in the bullpen because of the presence of Pedro German. The newly-acquired 33 year-old reliever German was viewed as the safer major league option for now and would allow Noah or Martinez – and possibly both – more time to round out.

Center field: The organization likes the development of some of their young CF options to replace Flores, particularly Cesar Mendoza, but felt that the steady veteran presence of CF Chuck Dickens was the best move. Dickens will also replace Gregson as team captain which was a major factor in the decision. This means that Mendoza and A-ball prospect Jiao-Long Lopan will need to wait.

But if you are thinking that this off-season was all about short-term depth moves for the Jackrabbits, then you haven’t been paying close enough attention. First off was Edmonton’s initial splash in free agency, adding Birstall to a spendy 4-year deal. Then a few months ago GBC star Antonio “Ambassador” Roman was added to patrol left field on a regular basis.

Thus, it's been an exciting offseason of team-building for the Edmonton front-office. As a result, it’s almost certain that AAA Tucson’s record will improve, and the team is also hoping with the infusion of gifted veterans that Edmonton will follow suit.