MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

[jrnlgrn]

Re: MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

Seattle Mariners Franchise: 2020

Breaking! Mariners Pitching Woes Take On New Form

Starting pitcher Andre Moore goes down with a broken hand:

25 yr. old Andrew Moore broke his throwing hand in the early innings of yesterdays game against the Angels. Moore left after only 3 innings of work in visible pain. Initial reports were that he suffered a severe sprain but after an MRI it turn out to be far more serious. Late August is the earliest the Mariners could see the return of Moore. Prior to the injury Moore had posted 7 strikeouts, allowed 3 hits and had no runs allowed through 8 innings of work.

If you recall Moore was brought up a little over 2 weeks ago from (AAA) Tacoma after the Mariners sent down struggling Wade LeBlanc. Reports were the Mariners would bring up LeBlanc but in his only minor league outing so far his struggles continue even at the minor league level. In his only start for Tacoma he lasted only 3.2 innings giving up 4 runs and a walk.

The injury to Moore and the poor performance of LeBlanc has the Mariners front office scrambling to find a MLB ready 5th starter as their remaining minor league options while plentiful aren't as ready for the show as they would like. The organization is wasting no time and are currently exploring trade options and are said to be targeting pitchers Carlos Rondon from the Chi Sox and Torontos' Marcus Stroman. Meanwhile the Mariners have called up Erik Swanson to fill the void until a suitable replacement can be aquired.

[Mike Lowe]

Re: MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

I'm starting a new franchise with opening day rosters. Deciding between the Twins, Rangers, or possibly my rooting interest Tigers.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[jrnlgrn]

Re: MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

Seattle Mariners Franchise: 2020

Making Moves a 3-Way Trade!

The 2020 season is still young but Thursday the Mariners were involved in a 3 team trade with the Blue Jays and Rays.

• Mariners get: Marcus Stroman (SP), and Jose Peraza (SS) from Toronto and Mike Zunino (C) Tampa Bay
• Blue Jays get: Jason Swann (CP) from TB, Tom Murphy (C) and J.P. Crawford (SS) from Seattle
• Rays get: Brandon Brennan (RP), Ryon Healy (1B) and Dylan Moore (3B) from Seattle

The addition of Stroman surely signals the end of the line for pitcher Wade LeBlanc. Jose Peraza, who has struggled this year will split time with Freddy Galvis at the Short. Mike Zunino was member of the Mariners from 2013-2018 and makes his return and will back up Omar Narvaez. The Mariners new arrivals could be seen as rentals as all 3 are in the final year of their contracts.

In a bid to acquire some young MLB ready talent to further the teams goal of building depth and a strong farm system the Mariners could be looking to package the struggling LeBlanc and Zunino in a trade deal down the later in the season.

[UTAllTheWay]

Re: MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

2019 ALDS Astros Update

Game 2: Red Sox @ Astros (me) - Sox lead 1-0

Pitching matchup: Rick Porcello vs. Gerrit Vole

Well my Astros certainly responded after the extremely disappointing Game 1 loss and it began in the very first inning with a solo home run by Altuve.

1-0 Astros

The Red Sox would respond in the 3rd inning scoring two runs to take the lead, but it would be short lived as Josh Reddick hit a two-run home run to take the lead back in the bottom of the 3rd.

3-2 Astros

In the 5th inning Brock Holt hit a solo home run off of Cole to tie it up... once again it wouldn't last long as Josh Reddick doubled home Kyle Tucker, and then Jose Altuve hit his second home run of the day, this one to score 2.

6-3 Astros

After struggling in the 6th inning, including a bases loaded walk to score one for the Red Sox, Gerrit Cole would finally leave the game.Chris Devenski would come in and shut the Red Sox down with the bases loaded to keep the lead.

6-4 Astros

The 7th inning is where the game pretty much ended as the Astros went back-to-back with Robinson Chirinos and Josh Reddick (his second of the game). The Red Sox would add two more runs and actually threaten a little in the 9th but Roberto Osuna came in and shut them down.

Final: 8-6 Astros

This game was the complete opposite of Game 1. Any time we got the bat on the ball today it was going over the fence. Gerrit Cole, despite giving up 3 runs, had a good outing. He just lost control in the 6th and I had to take him out. Luckily our bullpen did enough to win. Devenski got into some trouble in the 7th, but Shane Greene (our deadline acquisition) came in and stopped them dry. Then the Red Sox got a runner on 1st and 2nd with 1 out in the ninth inning against Pressly, but Osuna came in to shut the door.

The series is tied 1-1 as we head to Boston

[UTAllTheWay]

Re: MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

My 2019 Houston Astros season is over. After tying the series 1-1 I decided to play the rest of it out before providing an update and we ended up losing both games in Boston.

Game 3 was a battle for 7 innings, but the Red Sox lineup is absolutely relentless. In the 8th inning it went from a 3-3 ball game to a 7-3 ball game. There was no recovering from it.

Game 4 started off horribly. Collin McHugh gave up 4 runs in the first inning and our hopes were bleak, but McHugh settled in and Peacock backed him up. The Red Sox were held at 4 the rest of the game. In the 5th inning we scored 3 runs and it seemed like we might actually be able to pull it off, but the Red Sox bullpen stopped us in our tracks. We lost the game 4-3 and the series 3-1.

After simulating the rest of the playoffs, the Pirates win the 2019 World Series! What an incredible accomplishment considering the National League had three teams with at least 99 wins. The Pirates beat two of them (Dodgers and Cubs). Then they beat the Red Sox in the World Series.

Now begins the tough work. This offseason is going to include some huge decisions.

Do we bring Cole back even though it will require a ton of money?
What happens with Collin McHugh who will be a free agent this offseason?
Some key bullpen pieces will be free agents, how much money will they want?
Do we bring Chirinos back as our everyday catcher, or do we move on to try to save some money?

It will be interesting to say the least.

[Sweatmonkey]

MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

NL EAST

IMG_1267.JPG


*BASEBALL HEAVEN*
“2020”

MOST NOTEWORTHY
OFFSEASON MOVES


PHILLIES

Philadelphia went HARD at improving an already stellar pitching staff! Guessing they got the same memo about the importance it played in that first postseason of the league lol! They signed Chris Archer early then proceeded to snatch both Nolan Ryan and Jim Palmer. Ryan and Palmer won 35 games last season between the 2 of them alone! I suppose after inking the 2 of them Archer became more of a currency of sorts as he was dealt to Boston with Ashburn in the Bennitendi trade. Mattingly was a jawdropping move as well, not sure where that leaves Hoskins now though. But the message was clear that they plan to make waves!

IMG_1206.jpg

IMG_1207.jpg

IMG_1208.jpg

IMG_1209.jpg



BRAVES

Yet another very busy front office in the first offseason of this brand new league that is flooded with quality free agents looking to grab their first (and in most cases last) lengthy contracts.

With Chipper manning the hot corner for the tribe from start to finish last season like a machine and rarely even needing rest, it left some very elite talent, namely Joe Torre and Eddie Mathews sitting on the bench rendering them almost non existent in that inaugural season. Both having the ability to hit the FA market of course exercised that right and were among the first to find homes. Torre in St Louis and Matthews in Pittsburgh. Josh Donaldson spent the entire 2019 campaign at AAA Gwinnett and was flirting with the FA market as well. Donaldson was not biting on the initial (rather conservative) offers the Braves threw out and it began looking unlikely a deal would be made. All the same Atlanta still obviously likes top tier depth and options at that spot, so if they were going to have to dig into the “big money” wallet, they had another player in mind and successfully landed George Brett. Agreeing to a tremendous 11 year deal worth $196.7 million. Braves management discussed the possibility of trying Chipper at short which might make Swanson the odd man out. Should be interesting to see how that plays out.

In a somewhat surprising move, Atlanta would sign one of the best bats in the league last year. One of only a couple players to give Billy Williams a run for his money in his epic pursuit of that triple crown. Duke Snider! Agreeing to an 8 year $156.3 million dollar deal. Snider hit for an amazing .350 average while smacking 43 HR tallying a jaw dropping 152 RBI! He will join a crowded and already crazy talented outfield including Andruw Jones, Dale Murphy and Acuna Jr, not to mention a young Jason Heyward.

If we call the Snider deal surprising, then I’m really not sure how to describe the move they made very late as Spring was getting close. General managers around the league were heard banging their heads on war room tables when it was announced the Braves had finalized a trade with the Angels acquiring Mike Trout in return for 3 top prospects Soroka, Contreras and Koogler to the Angels. Sources say Anaheim was likely the club to initiate this discussion because they have went all in on completely restocking talent in quantity rather than quality, and the Braves just probably had a hard time passing on an opportunity to grab such a unique talent as Trout. Competition will be fierce at the Braves camp this spring lol.

Lastly the Braves signed young talented catcher Keibert Ruiz as a potential catcher of the future and possible backup to McCann immediately. They surprisingly did little to address the losses in their pitching staff externally, but stated Neikro would most likely join the rotation and the many young talented arms they’ve accumulated will be given a chance to claim a role.

IMG_1231.jpg

IMG_1232.jpg

IMG_1233.jpg

IMG_1234.jpg



NATIONALS

The Washington organization was absolutely ecstatic with how their current cast and historic alumni collectively performed way above anybody’s expectations. To do it with “our guys” was so indescribably satisfying, one executive was heard saying. That being said there was little pressure or desire for that matter to make any earth shaking changes. The players seemed to mostly agree as the only hold out was Harper who turned down multiple offers before the Nationals decided to let Soto have a shot at the vacated roster spot.

Washington did however state that they had every intention of doing their due diligence making rounds to talk to any free agents they liked or would remotely be interested in. While doing just that they found themselves in a conversation that kept being revisited and gaining steam until an actual deal was realized and signed. In another one of the biggest “out of nowhere” deals this offseason the Nationals had signed 23yo Johnny Bench to a 9 year $171.7 million deal. Sources credit the turning point in the conversations was a weekend trip Bench took to Washington where he spent almost the entire time hanging out with Gary Carter and the 2 of them obviously hit it off very well, prompting Carters blessings which according to the Nationals brass was absolutely necessary.

IMG_1235.jpg



METS

The Mets were another team not looking to make big time changes and instead allow some of their young talent they’ve invested time into a chance to rise up.

The one BIG free agent they did sign was Orel Hershiser to a 9 year $171.7 million deal. Hershiser went 20-3 last season with a 2.61 ERA and dominated in his postseason starts for the Dodgers as their ace. His addition to a rotation already featuring Tom Seaver, Jacob Degrom and Noah Syndergard gives the Mets one of the best in the league!

Losing Hernandez to the Cardinals in free agency was certainly a blow, but in a poetic turn of events, again initialized by the Angels, they would acquire the services of Paul Goldshmidt in a deal that sent Yoenis Cespedes and young pitching prospect Fernando Espinosa to LA.

IMG_1238.jpg

IMG_1239.jpg



MARLINS

The NL east is shaping up to be probably the most competitive division in baseball this year. Not exactly an ideal environment for a team still trying to establish its own identity. But Miami has found a different way to approach this task. Mainly through waivers and the ability to offer starting positions to players otherwise playing backup to irreplaceable legends. And they are doing it with a sense of urgent determination.

They started by nailing down the young 24yo RF Markakis to a 6 year deal. Then convinced 26yo Will Clark to call Miami home for 9 years. Clark spent almost the entire last season on SF bench rarely even getting to pinch hit, but will have first base all to himself with the Marlins. The other big name they signed was Craig Kimbrel who pretty much sat last year out never finding a taker, so he’s hungry to prove he’s still relevant.

Miami did lose a couple key players. Castro signed with Cleveland, AJ signed with the Yankees and Urena signed with the Angels.

But as mentioned earlier the Marlins went hard at players left exposed to Waivers. Signing RP Austin Brice 3B Renato Nunez and Utility man Steve Wilkerson all left for waivers by Baltimore. They also snatched 3B Mitch Walding that Philadelphia left as well. They finished with free agents signing utility infielder Johan Comargo who obviously had nowhere up to go in Atlanta as well. Last but certainly not least they obtained RP Robert Stephenson from Cincinnati in the Rule5 draft. I guess you could call that stocking the shelves.


IMG_1279.jpg

IMG_1280.jpg

IMG_1281.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[Watson]

Re: MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

Felt myself getting stale with my Braves franchise so I invoked my 30-team control and headed up the Orioles rebuild with some aggressive moves past the ASB.

Got the Red Sox #1 pitching prospect and a high-B potential reliever for some guys that have no purpose with a team 30 games back at the halfway point. The O's are going to play young from here on out.

...the only issue is at first. I MIGHT be able to move Trumbo at the deadline but I don't know what I'm going to do with Chris Davis. Might just have to bite the bullet and give him the DFA.



Edit: and this was after I moved a bundle of C prospects to the Cubs for Alex Lange as a part of a different side project, he's already in the majors and holding his own.

[Sweatmonkey]

MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

AL EAST

IMG_1275.JPG


*BASEBALL HEAVEN*
“2020”

MOST NOTEWORTHY
OFFSEASON MOVES



Orioles

IMG_1210.jpg

IMG_1211.jpg

Losing Palmer to free agency was definitely a heartbreaker for the O’s, but they took care of business securing the rest of their foundation players along with adding a couple significant bats and a slew of solid proven big league players, that may not all be A listers but definite pros! Starling Marte and Yasiel Puig were the most noteworthy pickups, giving them a rock solid outfield. They also added depth and solid options to the infield signing Asdrubal Cabrera and Josh Harrison. Plus they were able to bring Mark Trumbo back who was the main piece they sent to KC to land Duffy last season. They also added quality options to their pitching staff that should produce some healthy competition for starting rotation spots, signing Julio Teheran and Jhoulys Chacin. They also added Joe Kelly to help further shore up their bullpen. Baltimore’s front office put in some serious work this offseason and I look for them to at least start giving the big dogs in the AL east some headaches.





YANKEES

IMG_1242.jpg

IMG_1243.jpg

IMG_1244.jpg

IMG_1245.jpg

IMG_1246.jpg

IMG_1247.jpg

IMG_1248.jpg

The Yankees never seem to disappoint when it comes to adding flare to a storyline do they lol? Let’s just say losing to Boston in the ALDS must have left an awful taste in their mouths that demanded a response. That response was to go right at the Redsox free agents. In particular those that played the biggest roles defeating them.

First they landed Jimmie Fox signing the 31yo to a 10 year $186.6 million contract. Then they signed Boston’s closer from last season Luis Tiant. But the move that will have the Boston faithful in a rage next season was New York signing Ted Williams to an 8 year $157 million deal. Wow! Haha!

They also signed arguably the best SS in the game, 33yo Omar Vizquel to a 9 year deal. And with Posada shopping the free agent market they grabbed Yasmani Grandal on a 4 year deal as well.

On top of grabbing Tiant they further boosted their bullpen by signing Steve Cishek who was an intricate part of the Cubs World Series run last season. Plus they won the Christy Mathewson showdown and grabbed AJ Burnett both of who will surely bolster the starting rotation.




BLUEJAYS

IMG_1263.jpg

If you’re just measuring talent lost vs gained through the free agent market this year, then Toronto was one of the biggest losers this year. Losing Alomar and Molitor to SF, and Joe Carter to Cleveland were huge subtractions without doubt. But their one BIG signing of Reggie Jackson certainly helped soften the blow to the outfield. As far as the infield goes, instead of throwing massive money at the 2 they lost, the decision was made that it was time for the kids to step up. (mainly Guerrero and Bichette). They also still have Joe Panic who they received in the Pillar trade from SF last year. They also added Brandon Belt (yet another quality first baseman that the Giants had been hoarding lol). Lastly they added another quality starter in a trade with Boston adding Nathan Eovaldi in return for C Luke Maile and young OF prospect Daniel Johnson.



REDSOX

IMG_1303.jpg

Boston had so many unsigned question marks they put out their offers and sat back idly waiting most of the offseason before getting an idea of what they were even building around. Their rival Yankees surprisingly started sweeping up Boston free agents like crazy very early on, grabbing players like Foxx and Williams, then their closer Tiant.

Then Bogaerts signed with the Royals, and Damon went to Milwaukee.

Boston could absorb a lot of that purely with their depth but it was time to go to work. They started by signing Giambi to a 2 year deal. Giambi was eager to have the opportunity to play everyday after sitting on the Yankee bench all last season. Then they signed SS Jose Iglesias to take Bogaerts spot. To shore up the outfield they worked out a trade with Philadelphia sending them Benintendi for speedy young CF Richie Ashburn and starting pitcher depth in Chris Archer. Jackie Bradley Jr. should rejoin the main club this season and JD Martinez will likely see time in the field as well, but they appear to have survived without too much damage. Maybe


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[UTAllTheWay]

Re: MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

Houston Astros Franchise Update

The offseason has passed and with it there were some major moves that were made around the league. Madison Bumgarner signed with the Braves for 4 years. Yasmani Grandal signed with the White Sox for 6 years. Anthony Rendon signed with the Dodgers for 6 years. Josh Donaldson signed with the Nationals for 3 years.

But enough about the rest of the league. Let's talk about what happened with my team:

- We offered Gerrit Cole a QO and he ended up signing a huge contract with the Tigers.
- I made a foolish mistake if offering Will Harris a QO. He accepted it (more on him later).
- We let Robinson Chirinos walk and he ended up with the Nationals on a one-year deal.
- The Nationals also picked up Collin McHugh.
- We signed Anthony Rizzo to a 2 year contract. He will be our full time 1st baseman.
- We signed Clay Bucholz to a two-year deal as well. He will take McHugh's place in the rotation until Whitley, Rodgers, Martin, or Bukauskas are ready to go.
- Signed Rene Rivera to a 1 year deal. He will back up Stassi for the time being.
- On the trade front, I wanted to replace Gerrit Cole with someone that could really help out so I decided to sort of copy the real life Astros. We traded Will Harris, AJ Reed, and Derek Fisher to the D-Backs for Zack Greinke.

With those moves, here is our lineup to start the regular season:

RF - Josh Reddick
2B - Jose Altuve
3B - Alex Bregman
SS - Carlos Correa
1B - Anthony Rizzo
LF - Muchael Brantley
DH - Kyle Tucker / Yuli Gurriel
C - Max Stassi
CF - George Springer

OF - Jake Marisnic
INF - Aledmys Diaz
C - Rene Rivera

Here is our rotation:

Justin Verlander
Zack Greinke
Lance McCullers Jr.
Brad Peacock
Clay Buchholz

LRP - Josh James
LRP - Chris Devenski

MRP - Ryan Pressly
MRP - Hector Rondon
MRP - Joe Smith

SU - Shane Greene

CL - Roberto Osuna

We kept the changes to a minimum, but we did significantly upgrade at 1B. Our rotation is still very good and we still have strong pieces in the bullpen.

It should be an exciting season once again.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

Cardinals take 3 of 4 from Cubs

The Cardinals took 3 of 4 in a pivotal late June series against the Cubs in Chicago. The Cardinals lost the series opener, but bounced back to win the final three games and now are back to within 5 1/2 games of the divisional leaders.

The Cardinals will now travel to Texas to face the Rangers in a quick 2 game series.

[LowerWolf]

Re: MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

At the start of the 2019 season, A.J. Minter was the Braves closer. Through April, he was utterly dominant in that role, going 6-for-6 in saves with a 0.31 ERA.

Despite Minter’s performance, I still signed Kimbrel to be my closer. I couldn’t watch him just wither on the free-agent vine. So Minter moved to a set-up role, getting an occasional save opportunity.

It’s now mid-August and Minter has been demoted to AAA after pitching a lot like his real-life self. He gave up three runs last night to the Mets, pushing his once dominant ERA to an unsightly 5.28.

I’m hoping he can find himself quickly at Gwinnett. I’d like to carry at least three lefties in the postseason bullpen. Biddle and Venters have two spots locked up. But Minter, Newcomb and Fried have all struggled and been demoted. If none of them can get it together fast, I may have to swing a waiver trade for Jake Diekman.

[FSanchez12]

Re: MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

Stabilizing The Ship - A Pittsburgh Pirates Franchise
Midway through Spring Training, Gray's Way Proving Itself

Pirate City/Bradenton, FL - Record aside, the Pirates are certainly embracing the Gray Way of operations in Bradenton, FL. The Pirates sit 10th in the Grapefruit League right now, at 6-7, but if you ask anyone at Pirate City, nobody really cares about that. They're focused on changing an organizational mindset that was set back in 2013, working on playing smart baseball. Working on creating runs, keeping runners off base, and pitch movement.

The Pirates find themselves hitting .283 as a team throughout the spring, and while cogs in the lineup like Josh Bell and Starling Marte are struggling to find their bats down south, players sich as Cole Tucker, Jose Osuna, Kevin Newman, and veteran leaders Corey Dickerson and Melky Cabrera are picking up the slack. "It's great to have awesome leaders like Melk and Corey in the clubhouse", Josh Bell stated to the press before a workout at Pirate City on yesterday afternoon. "They lead by example, Corey is coming off a Gold Glove season and Melky has years of experience in this league. It's great to have them suiting up with us day in and day out."

Meanwhile, Brett Gray has already publicly noted his approval for the body of work that Kimera Bartee has turned in with the Pirates rotation this spring. The Pirates have been slowly lifting their foot off the brake for Pirates starters this spring, and currently are working on getting the starters into the 5th inning of their starts, regardless of outcome. So far, so good for most of the rotation, with Joe Musgrove and Trevor Williams both sport a sub-1 ERA after three appearances this spring. Strikeouts are up for both, and even Chris Archer has been somewhat impressive outside of a single struggle-filled outing earlier this spring. While Archer has been impressive, he has also been very vocal this Spring, telling reporters "It's nice to be myself again. I don't want to discount any of the work that Mr. Searage did, because he's a professional coach, and he has a long history of turning pitchers into solid starters here, but it's very nice to be able to pitch the way we want to pitch in certain counts." Also impressive this spring, is RP Nick Burdi. Burdi, who is returning off of elbow surgery last year, was a Rule 5 Pick by the Phillies in the Winter of 2017, who was then traded to the Pirates. Burdi, who has thrown 8.0 innings this spring, has struckout a team-leading 11 batters. Burdi, along with Clay Holmes and Dovydas Neveraskas are both fighting for bullpen spots.

Rumors out of Pirate City are with the impending Tommy John Surgery on SP Chad Kuhl, is that he will be rehabbed back as a reliever when he returns to the team. GM Brett Gray noted "Chad is a character that we really want on this ballclub. He has shown sides of electric stuff in the past, and we feel that with the right coaching, he has back end of the bullpen stuff in both his sinker and his slider. We point towards the growth of Blake Treinen last year with the A's as a point to where we'd like to get Chad."

The Pirates will look to head up north to Cincinnati later this month to start off the 2019 Season, but there are still some unanswered questions. We'll be sure to see those get answered as we get closer to the start of the season.

[Sweatmonkey]

Re: MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

NL CENTRAL

IMG_1266.JPG

*BASEBALL HEAVEN*
“2020”

MOST NOTEWORTHY
OFFSEASON MOVES


PIRATES

IMG_1308.jpg

Pittsburgh really handled business keeping their core players in Pittsburgh showing the confidence they have in their already established foundation. The biggest piece and only “regular” lineup player they lost was Archer, who honestly had a sub-par season in 2019 to put it nicely. Other than him the only other “big name” lost to FA was Starting Marte to Baltimore. But Marte was not an everyday player on this stacked Pirate team anyway. They did make 1 very big acquisition however signing Eddie Matthews significantly upgrading their 3rd base position and transforming their lineup into arguably now one of the best in baseball!



REDS

IMG_1290.jpg

IMG_1291.jpg

Cincinnati was mostly happy with their core players and progressing younger talent, but of course lost a few rather important pieces with Bench going to Washington and Perez signing with the White Sox. Those obviously hurt the most but they also lost a couple others, most notably Puig going to Baltimore. So they found themselves mostly plugging holes, and considering the circumstances did a decent job. (Hard to truly replace Bench and Perez)

First they signed Rizzo to a bargain 3 year $25.8 million deal. Rizzo would again be competing for time with the aging but still mega talented Votto. And this was still a better scenario than he had with the Yankees obviously. He will certainly get his opportunities here.

Next they brought back a familiar face for the OF in Adam Eaton, who was similarly buried by that undeniable OF in Washington.

Next they signed C Yan Gomes expecting him to compete with Tucker Barnhart to replace Bench as the everyday backstop.

The other big noteworthy signing was Collin McHugh, who spent last season working out of the bullpen, and was an important piece of that Championship Astro team. Cincinnati plans to insert him into their rotation as a starter this year, which is what he wants as well.



BREWERS

IMG_1301.jpg

IMG_1302.jpg

Milwaukee was rather quiet this offseason but did return almost all of their core players. The only regular position player lost was Grandall to the Yankees. The Brewers did sign Jonny Damon however who will most likely split time with Cain in center. They also grabbed the 44yo CP Trevor Hoffman. Even at his age he’s still one of the most effective closers in the game.






Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[Sweatmonkey]

MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

AL CENTRAL

IMG_1274.JPG

*BASEBALL HEAVEN*
“2020”

MOST NOTEWORTHY
OFFSEASON MOVES


WHITE SOX

IMG_1240.jpg

The White Sox are another team stocked full with talented young all star potential players just about to take flight. So it’s no surprise they didn’t do a lot with their roster either. But with Big Frank going to find the Big Paycheck they were certainly on the lookout to fill the role he played for them. Even though they still had Konerko they didn’t want to just lose the production Franks bat added to their lineup. Also truth be told, Konerko is adequate with the glove but they would like more.

The search did bear fruit and found them the one big pickup they made signing Tony Perez to an 8 year $157.9 million deal. Perez was actually leading the triple crown race before going on the IL for almost 2 months allowing Williams to run away. Even missing that huge chunk of time Tony finished with a .327 average hitting 29 HR and notching 94 RBI. Impressive numbers for a partial season.



INDIANS

IMG_1251.jpg

IMG_1252.jpg

IMG_1253.jpg

IMG_1254.jpg

IMG_1258.jpg

Cleveland addressed their weak spot from last season signing veteran backstop Posada. Plus with Vizquel heading to New York they also grabbed Starlin Castro who spent the entire last season on the IL hoping he will quickly return to form. Meaning Lindor will surely reclaim his role at short this season.

Cleveland also signed LF Joe Carter who was another guy having a career type year before going to the IL with an Achilles injury about mid season ending his year.

Next they signed Jose Abreu to take over at 1st base freeing them up to trade Santana to the Rangers.

Last they were able to sign Josh Dondaldson to a 2 year deal.



ROYALS

IMG_1260.jpg

IMG_1261.jpg

IMG_1262.jpg

The Royals took some pretty big hits in the free agency market losing the big bats of Brett and Trumbo along with speedy outfielder Billy Hamilton, but did well in their attempts to replenish landing the young 23yo Bryce Harper to a 10 year deal. Harper is coming off a 50 HR campaign where he hit for a .336 average and 119 RBI.

They also landed Xander Boegarts to upgrade the always important SS position, and signed Ron Guidry to add some pop to the back end of their bullpen.





Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[Sweatmonkey]

Re: MLB The Show 19 Franchise Discussion Thread

NL WEST

IMG_1268.JPG

*BASEBALL HEAVEN*
“2020”

MOST NOTEWORTHY
OFFSEASON MOVES


GIANTS

IMG_1225.jpg

IMG_1226.jpg

IMG_1227.jpg

IMG_1228.jpg

IMG_1229.jpg

Boy oh boy was SF busy and determined this offseason. I suppose losing to their rival Dodgers in the final inning of the final game of the NLDS did not sit well with their base at all. The most obvious weak spot that everybody in the league knew needed to be addressed for them was 2nd base, and they certainly did that signing arguably the absolute best all around 2 bagger on the market Roberto Alomar to an 8 year deal. But they didn’t stop there! Guess they figured since the opportunity was there, why not field one of the best overall middle pair around and signed Alan Trammel to a 7 year deal as well. These guys should be fun to watch defensively this year and both hit around or over .300 last year with over 30 HR and 20 SB. Crazy good numbers for middle infielders.

*(spoken in my best late night infomercial voice)*
“BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!” Lol! Why not finish the job and grab an upgrade for 3rd base too? The Giants decided to go ahead and grab the aging 37yo Paul Molitor who was hanging out in the FA pool but coming off a year with Toronto where he hit for a .331 average and 43 HR while tallying 117 RBI! Oh yeah he also had 18 SB lol! Sure doesn’t sound like somebody ready to hang em up to me lol.

*” AND THAT’S NOT ALL”* haha

I’m supposing they had budget to spare so they decided “why not grab another ridiculous bat and just figure out how to use him later.” SF added another .330 average 34 HR 119 RBI bat in Edgar Martinez giving them yet another elite 1st baseman to add to their collection that already includes the likes of Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda. This move also pretty much made it clear they had no intent of trying to resign Will Clark who was also on the FA market.

In less relevant moves they signed Jason Castro as an obvious backup/ insurance policy for Posey and Ryan Pressley to add depth to a bullpen that would obviously be losing their closer Christy Mathewson who was openly involved in serious discussions with the Cardinals, Yankees and Redsox who were each taking turns outdoing each other daily, guaranteeing he would not be cheap to put it mildly lol! Definite A for effort overall here though!





Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports