“We’ve been more active than we’ve been able to be in recent years, simply because we had some extra cap space to mess around with. Thankfully, we had holes to allocate that extra money towards and now feel we’re in a good spot.” Niles continued.
The club has been active since the Monty Series concluded. Below are just some of the moves they have made, along with what Niles had to say about it.
November 9th, 2051
Traded 26-year old RHP José Barrón, 25-year old RHP José Martínez, 23-year old RHP Elliot Woodger, and 19-year old minor league RHP Ángel Villanueva to the Twin Cities River Monsters, getting 24-year old RHP Haravira Chandar, 18-year old RHP Enzo Bouton, and 22-year old LF Stan Moten in return.
November 13, 2051“This trade sort of fell into our lap. We knew we were going to have to shore up our starting pitching a bit this year if we wanted to compete in future seasons. Barron & Martinez had both had good years in the past, but when the offer for Bouton and Chandar came along, we couldn’t pass it up. To make matters better for us, this gave us relief from Elliot Woodger’s contract, and also gave us a starting third baseman for this coming season in Moten. He is listed as an outfielder, but he is penciled in currently to play third base in 2052.”
Signed SP Timo Dooley to a 5-year contract extension worth a total of $86,000,000.
November 14, 2051“As soon as Timo executed his opt-out, keeping him in our uniform became a number one priority. Thankfully, we came to an agreement on a fair contract that is de-escalating, meaning he will make less money as he gets older.”
Traded 22-year-old minor league 3B Ray Hoskins to the Edmonton Jackrabbits, getting 26-year-old RHP Juan Santana in return.
November 29, 2051“This was another opportunity to shore up our bullpen, getting a solid back end piece that had a low 3 ERA last season with Edmonton. With the addition of Moton to play third, Hoskins was unlikely to find at bats for us so likely a win-win.”
Signed free agent SP Neill Fenomore to a 6-year contract worth a total of $44,600,000.
December 1st, 2051“We had been in on Neil pretty hard early on. Looking at our current rotation, we knew we had a few holes to take care of. Neill is someone that we think can step right in and deliver quality outings for hopefully the next 6 years. We do have some wiggle room at the end of this deal, as does Neill as he could potentially make this just a 3-year deal if he chooses.
Signed free agent 2B Joey O'Brien to a 1-year contract worth a total of $2,000,000.
Signed free agent SS Luis Peña to a 3-year contract worth a total of $14,800,000.
December 12th, 2051“We’ll first off, we weren’t expecting to get both of these guys, but certainly aren’t upset about it. When Medrano exercised his opt-out, leaving us to replace almost 4 WAR from last season, we knew we had to do something at this position. Look for Luis to get the lionshare of starts at shortstop, and it’s possible that O’Brien actually gets quite a few at second base this season. He will also back up Moten at third base. This was a pretty solid win for us.”
Signed free agent 1B Hae-weon Ch'oe to a 1-year contract worth a total of $800,000.
“Ch’oe” is going to get at bats mainly against lefties, but also is going to be valuable backup for us at a reasonable price.”
December 16, 2051
Drafted SP Al Ziersch in the 2051 Rule 5 Draft (Round 1, Pick 7, 7th overall Pick) from the Boise Spuds.
“We think Ziersch has some sweet potential in our bullpen to strike out just about every left-handed batter he faces. That will be the extent of how we use him as he likely will not see the field against righties as much as we can help it.”
January 16, 2052
Signed free agent 1B César Torres to a 1-year contract worth a total of $2,240,000.
Signed free agentSP Esteban Cruz to a 3-year contract worth a total of $9,900,000.
“These are likely our last moves. Cruz fills in our 5th spot of the rotation, while Torres gives us an immediate bat against left-handed pitching from the 1st base position or as a designated hitter. I feel strong and comfortable to say that we could head into April right now knowing we have built a team that is improved over last season and one that could be expected to content for the postseason.”
