Charm City 2060.3 - Relief for Hire

[DaveB]

One thing that has been steady in recent seasons has been the Jimmies bullpen. We've been among the best in the Johnson League in recent seasons with our relief corps. So what did I decide to do this offseason? Naturally I decided to rebuild the bullpen. This is a process that actually started last season. Age was something that was starting to creep into the picture as well as cost and free agency. Seeing those threw up a flag that made me realize it's probably time to start retooling the bullpen while we can still get some assets for what we have.

What we lost:
John Dawson - Trade with Las Vegas
Brian Groves - Lost of waivers
Tony Hidalgo - Trade with Rocky Mountain
Johnny Lovell - Trade with Atlantic City
Hughie Dunstone - Declined team option for 2060

The decision to update the bullpen was a difficult one for me to make last year. It was something however that I felt like needed to happen. We had players like Hidalgo and Lovell are 35 and 34 respectively so their time in the BBA is going to be ending sooner rather than later. They are projected to be reaching the free agent market after this year. I wanted to keep Groves, but he was not surprisingly scooped up on waivers. Groves however is 33 and will be a free agent after this season. John Dawson I really didn't want to trade because he was an absolute anchor in the bullpen for me, he was asking if memory serves me well for 10-12 million per year for 4 years. That wasn't happening here. Dunstone we acquired last year because I felt Dawson was going to be traded and wanted a veteran LHP for the playoff run. We lost a lot of talent that has logged a lot of valuable innings for us. It's going to be hard to replace these guys.

What we added:
Slobodan Omeragic - Free agency, formerly with Phoenix
Chung Chan - Free Agency, formerly with San Antonio
Seung-jin Cho - Trade with Nashville
Aelbehrt 'Wunderkind' Schlöndorff - Trade with Vancouver, Resigned in free agency
Stefan 'Bloviater' Galloway - Minor League Free Agent

Omeragic is a player that I'm interested in seeing what he'll be able to do as a full time reliever this year. He's struggled as a starter during his career, but his numbers as a reliever were pretty solid last year.
Chan is a player that reminds me a lot of Brian Groves. Very good pitcher vs RHP who struggles a little vs LHP. He's had a slightly higher than normal babip the last couple years so I'm hopeful that he'll be able to return to his 2055-2057 form with Valencia.
Seung-jin Cho we acquired last year from Nashville. I really like this guy. I think he's got back of the bullpen potential. I'm expecting to see him used this year in the middle relief role.
Schlöndorff I believe is going to slot into the setup role this year. We acquired him from Vancouver last season before the deadline. He wasn't willing to negotiate with us until the playoffs. Unfortunately we didn't have the cap space to resign him (he was seeking 6.5 for 3 years). We were lucky that he was willing to take the same deal in free agency
Stefan Galloway I'm not sure if he'll make the team. He has an opt out after May 1. I like him. I think he can be a serviceable middle inning reliever for us if he makes the squad.

Pitchers Remaining from last year:
Katsuyuki Heida
You-de Szema
Juan Santana
Manuel Barrera

Heida I'm not really sure what I'm doing with yet. He's either going to be our 5th starting pitcher or he's going to be the long man again this year. He seems to work better from the rotation, but he's been solid out of the bullpen as well.
You-de Szema is another player like Galloway that I'm not sure is going to make the team. If he opens the season in Charm City he'll be eligible for free agency after the season. He's been a solid player for us in the past.
Juan Santana will be our other setup man. The 34 year old has a 2.52 ERA and 184 ERA+ since joining the Jimmies as a minor league free agent in 2056.
Finally there is Manuel Barrera. Barrera is a franchise icon holding the team record in saves and I feel should get a long look at the Hall of Fame when he hangs up his cleats. He's returning as closer this year, but he lost a bit of spice on the old #1 as last season progressed. Will he be able to put together another solid season?

Pitchers making a push from the minors:
John Mellon
Mike Johnson
Evgeny Partyka
Alonso González

Out of the names listed above I think Mellon and Gonzalez have the best chance of seeing time in Charm City this year. Mellon I think will work better in the starting rotation, but we have 6 players ahead of him on the depth chart so it'll be tough for him to get innings there. Gonzalez we drafted in the 8th round in 2054 and has pitched well everywhere he's been. He's one of the few left-handed relievers in the system so unless he implodes in AAA he'll probably get at least a cup of coffee in September.

Expected 2060 Bullpen:

Closer: Barrera
Setup: Santana
Setup: Schlöndorff
Middle Relief: Omeragic
Middle Relief: Chan
Middle Relief: Cho
Middle Relief: Galloway or Szema
Long Relief: Heida

Galloway might make the team if we decide to carry 14 pitchers. If we role with 12 pitchers on opening day Galloway or Szema project to be the odd men out.

[BaseClogger]

You always have a great bullpen. Usually you’re selling guys off who would be middle relievers for me because you have a dozen guys for 8 spots.

Cho was a steal from Nashville. Chad should have gotten more than $250K for him.

I gave Dawson that $40M and I’m letting him be my second starter so we’ll see how that works out for me!

[DaveB]

You always have a great bullpen. Usually you’re selling guys off who would be middle relievers for me because you have a dozen guys for 8 spots.

Cho was a steal from Nashville. Chad should have gotten more than $250K for him.

I gave Dawson that $40M and I’m letting him be my second starter so we’ll see how that works out for me!

I like Dawson as a starter, but I think he struggled a bit in 24 due to his stamina. Maybe 25 will be better for him.

[Dington]

You always have a great bullpen. Usually you’re selling guys off who would be middle relievers for me because you have a dozen guys for 8 spots.

Cho was a steal from Nashville. Chad should have gotten more than $250K for him.

I gave Dawson that $40M and I’m letting him be my second starter so we’ll see how that works out for me!

In retrospect, I should have kept him and just sent Torres down to AAA since he had options, but I wanted my best staff out there and Cho wasn't doing great anyway.

[Krathan]

It will be interesting to see how the revamped bullpen works. I think it’s likely it works well for you. I’ve been chasing good bullpen production since joining the league but it’s been much more elusive for me. I usually spend at least half the season with a bullpen ERA ranked in the double digits.
Last year, I finished strong but a couple of those guys had some lumping occur in the offseason, so we’ll see.