1 April 2062
Boise, Idaho
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by Stubby Bardenwerper
Ok, running thru the rotation was depressing. Truly. The good news is that Teague may have really shored up the bullpen. It was already his plan going into the offseason and that was a good thing.Closer
RHP CL Mario Santos - 2061: 48 G, 2-8, 26 SV, 50.1 IP, 4.11 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 2.0 K/BB, +0.3 WAR
So scouts say Santos is the 4th-best closer in the league. We'll see how that plays out. He has the tools for sure and 2062 will be his 3rd season in the role. He'll be parked here to sink or swim. Except maybe...
Setup
RHP Brian Groves - 2061: 56 G, 11-3, 7 SV, 71.0 IP, 2.66 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 2.1 K/BB, +1.5 WAR
LHP Yoriyuki Ine - 2061: 58 G, 6-4, 86.2 IP, 3.22 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 2.5 K/BB, +0.0 WAR
Brian Groves also looks a lot like a closer. He did swap roles with Santos for periods in 2061, but he'll make the right-handed half of Teague's preferred L/R setup configuration. Manning the left side is offseason signing Ine. He had an excellent 2061 for Chicago and 2060 for Atlantic City. Does he have gas left in the tank? We'll see. But there are other LHP options in middle relief if need be.
Middle/Long Relief
RHP Abban 'Eeyore' Layar - 2061: 60 G, 5-5, 5 SV, 85.2 IP, 2.42 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 3.0 K/BB, +1.3 WAR
LHP Michel Gautier - 2061: 9 G, 0-1, 1 SV, 6.1 IP, 1.42 ERA, 2.05 WHIP, 0.6 K/BB, +0.1 WAR
LHP Juan Guzmán - 2061: 34 G, 17 GS, 7-5, 2 SV, 132.1 IP, 4.62 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 2.0 K/BB, +1.3 WAR
RHP Robert Carlson - 2061: 39 G, 0 GS, 1-3, 63.1 IP, 5.40 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 1.4 K/BB, -0.4 WAR
RHP Gerald Rogers - 2061: 58 G, 6-9, 5 SV, 64.0 IP, 4.92 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 2.1 K/BB, +0.2 WAR
RHP Baz Badr - 2061: 26 G, 1-2, 35.1 IP, 8.15 ERA, 1.81 WHIP, 1.6 K/BB, +0.0 WAR
We covered Guzmán & Carlson in the rotation preview. Gautier is a LOOGY. Badr came out of the development lab this offseason with some increased MOV which is hoped to lower his HR/9, but he'll have to prove it in AAA first. The big get here is Layar, the only big-money signing for the Spuds. Layar could be in a setup role. Maybe even closer in a pinch. But he'll have one job and one job only: to stop Teague from having to see 3- or 4-run innings from the 5th to 8th innings.