2032.09 - Despite BP issues, Jimmies Cut 2 RP's

[bcslouck]

An issue that has been ongoing, not only on the field, but in the team news has been the atrocious bullpen that the team has had this year. It has cost the teams many games and ruined good starts for a rotation that has been a revelation this year.

GM Brandon Slouck has made some minor moves in hopes of improving this, as he tries to salvage what little of a farm system he currently has to supplement the big league club in hopes of nabbing their first division title. And he appears to of had enough of the nonsense.

Mid-season acquisition Carl Pine and Ángel Rivera, who signed a 4-year contract worth a total of $6,800,000 prior to the 2031 season, have been cut. Denny Marino and lefty José Muñóz.

"At some point, you can't keep trotting guys out there who can't do the job," GM Brandon Slouck stated over a telephone conference with the local media. "I wish the best for Carl and Ángel. They are better than this and I expect them to catch on with someone and show that. But we are in a division race and they are hurting that. And we still have guys who aren't pulling there weight, but I'm hoping to send a message with this."

Pine was signed in hopes of stabilizing the bullpen but contributed to its failure. With a 7.94 ERA and 7.09 FIP, he was given a reduced role toward the end.

Rivera was signed back in 2031 with the hopes he could at least be a bridge guy to the later innings. While he was solid in 2031, numbers the team would kill for right now, he took a huge, disastrous step back in 2032. A 9.53 ERA with a 7.56 FIP will get you cut. He was given a longer leash than he should of given his long term contract.

Marino gets added back to the 40 man roster after clearing waivers earlier in the season. His ERA was an eye sore as well, ballooning over 10. However, his FIP at 3.18 suggested he was a pitcher of extremely back luck. And when looking for would could cause that, the .483 BABIP pops off the stats. While the team would like to see his BB/9 go down some, he should come back to the ML team and provide solid enough innings. He was fantastic down at AAA, not giving up a single run in 17.2 innings with a 15/2 strikeout to walk ratio. His much more stable .294 BABIP coupled with the numbers mentioned before gave him a 1.90 FIP. Hopefully he can avoid hard contact with his recall.

Muñóz was a left specialist last season for the team and gets recalled after working late innings for the Sailors. His numbers weren't as good as Marino's, but they were respectable and he also had solid numbers in his first season in the majors last season. The team is looking to insert him back into the lefty specialist role.

The team hopes the bullpen gets the ole addition by subtraction boost with cutting anchor on Pine and Rivera. While some of there acquisitions haven't worked out they way they'd like, the team is still hoping to get one more arm out there that is reliable. With the deadline rapidly approaching, they'll have to get a move on it.