OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

**KBLover** · 05-03-2018, 03:13 PM

Re: OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

Wild Playoff Ride Ends With World Series Loss

The Angels went from steady and consistent winners into "which team will show up?" as the team fell from their lofty .670 perch to cling to a .600 winning percentage at season's end, winning "only" 98 games.

That was still good enough to win the division by 12 games. Turned out that the whole AL was one big ball of .500-ness in August and September.

That led the Angels into the playoffs where they faced the Yankees in the ALDS.

The two teams won alternating games, and that put the two teams tied at 2-2 heading into game five. If the trend continued, the Angels would be out as the Yankees won games one and three. However, the Angels won 2-1 in 10 innings. An Ohtani home run in the bottom of the 9th saved the Angels and Trout hit a sac fly for the winning run in the 10th.

That pushed the Angels forward to the ALCS where they faced the AL's best team, the Cleveland Indians.

The Indians came out in force, hyped by their home crowd, and easily took the first two game of the series. That momentum carried over into game three, putting the Indians up 3-0.

Then the Angels decided to show up. The amazing story that is Stiward Aquino came through with a solid start to win game four. After that, it was the story of the Angels bullpen. Four shutout innings to enable a rally in game five. Three shutout innings to let the bats break a 3-3 tie to win 4-3 in game six. And, again, in the deciding game, the bullpen pitched four strong innings and the Angels win the ALCS 4-3 after being down 3-0 in the series.

The stunned silence of the Indians fans said it all. That and the insane celebration taking place on the field by the Angels.

But perhaps all of those emotional wins just sapped the reserves of even this spunky team that's been known for its "can do" and "it's never over...until we win" attitude.

The Cubs would be the Angels opposition in the World Series. They, too, jumped out to a fast 3-0 lead, and this time there was just a shortage of magic left. The Angels did win game four, but the Cubs said "no" and won game five to bring the Commissioner's Trophy back to the AL.

The Angels will have to be content with their fifth World Series appearance in six years. This is their second defeat in that span. The first coming against the rival Dodgers.

As the curtain falls on 2023. The Cubs will celebrate and plot their plans for repeating while the Angels will look to make it six trips in seven years...and seek their fourth win.

"Losing sucks no matter how much you win, " Trout commented after the clinching game.

Enough said.

**KBLover** · 05-03-2018, 09:48 PM

Re: OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

Ohtani Extends for Nine Years

"As quick as expected. When both sides want something done, things can come together quickly, " GM Yarrow commented.

The Angels and their unique star came to a nine-year pact worth $273 million, a number some found smaller than expected.

"I thought we'd be looking at Trout money or more, but Ohtani has never been about the money. After all, he came in 'too early' in financial terms. So, I can't say I'm shocked at the low number, but I am a little surprised it was where it was, " Reynolds commented.

Reaction, as expected, in the Angels territory is joyful for the most part. Some are happy, but think nine years is a few too long, fearing that Ohtani will break down more quickly.

"Those last years will be an albatross to us. Maybe it's just part of the process, maybe something less would have made the negotiations take a negative tone, but I can't help but think he'll be useless past age 34 or so, " one sportswriter commented in her column.

For now, the Angels will not have to worry about losing their two-way star, that racked up another Cy Young-plus-MVP combination, any time soon.

...Or perhaps ever? It's is conceivable that Ohtani could retire at or soon after the end of this contract as he'd be 38.

"Ohtani, lifelong Angel. I like the sound of that, " one fan commented.

It might happen. It's hard to figure Yarrow would willingly let Ohtani go, if only to show loyalty for all the prior years, especially if he's still a fan favorite.

**KBLover** · 05-04-2018, 02:41 AM

Re: OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

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2024 Offseason Transactions Overview

Notable Free Agent Signings
Yankees sign LF Michael Conforto $30.8 million/7 yrs.
Cubs sign P Carlos Carrasco for $7.7 million/2 yrs.
Nationals sign C Gary Sanchez for $25 million/6 yrs.
Red Sox sign LF Andrew Benintendi for $20 million/5 yrs.
Cardinals sign P Edwin Diaz for $16.8 million/3 yrs.
Pirates sign SS J.P. Crawford for $11 million/4 yrs.
Blue Jays sign P Rio Ronflard for $20.5 million/6 yrs.
Diamondbacks sign P Felipe Rivero for $7.3 million/3 yrs.
Blue Jays sign C Jonathon Lucroy for $9.5 million/2 yrs. (vesting)
Reds sign P Eduardo Rodriguez for $15 million/7 yrs.
Nationals sign P Alex Claudio for $7 million/1 yr.
Cardinals sign P Corey Knebel for $14 million/3 yrs.
Red Sox sign P Corey Kluber for $18.8 million/1 yr.
Red Sox sign P Danny Salazar for $21.2 million/4 yrs.
Indians sign P Sergio Zavala for $6.7 million/3 yrs.
Astros sign LF Wil Myers for $2.9 million/3 yrs.
Mariners sign P Aaron Nola $20 million/2 yrs.
Twins sign 3B Michael Chavis for $4.8 million/1 yr.
Cardinals sign P Archie Bradley for $17.8 million/1 yr.

Angels Free Agent Signings
P Koda Glover for $7 million/1 yr.
1B Orazio Carli for a minor league contract with a major league option (Int’l).

Extensions Signed
Angels extend P Clayton Kershaw for $67 million over 3 years.
Angels extend P/OF Shohei Ohtani for $273 million over 9 years (vesting).
Astros extend 2B Jose Altuve for $98 million over 5 years.
Cubs extend C Willson Contreras for $72 million over 4 years.

Other MLB News
Reds starting pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez may have been lying about his age according to a controversial age test. MLB is trying to get official birth documents from Gutierrez’s native country, but the government has been uncooperative.

Albert Pujols was inducted into the Hall of Fame (1<sup>st</sup> ballot).
Carlos Beltran (2<sup>nd</sup> ballot) and Ichiro Suzuki (1<sup>st</sup> ballot) were close.

Angels Award Winners
Shohei Ohtani wins the AL Cy Young Award and the AL MVP Award.

Retirements
Mets pitcher Ray Gaither will retire after tests on his torn rotator cuff indicated that recovery is very improbable. He decided to call it a career to focus on his health and supporting his family.

Major Trades
Indians trade 3B Ken Vargas and RF Will Benson to Brewers for P Josh Hader.

Rays trade C Chris Betts and 3B Juan Graterol to Yankees for 2B Glyber Torres.

Angels trade P Jeremy Denton, P Jose Soriano, 3B Jahiem Winley, P Chris Knichel, and P Brad Brach to Tigers for SS Tadaaki Fukuda, P Ricardo Silva, and P Brayan Mejia.

Diamondbacks trade 2B Tyler Malone to Orioles for P Kodi Medeiros.

Mets trade SS Jelfry Marte to Blue Jays for P Marcus Stroman.

Rule 5 Draft
Round 1 – Angels select RF George Valera

Round 2 – No selection

The Angels lost no players to the Rule 5 draft this year.

Other Angels Moves
The Angels refused arbitration to 3B Michael Chavis, making him a free agent.

Designated C Barnhart, 2B Solak, CF Margot, 3B Kieboom (claimed by MIA) for assignment.

Angels Spring Training News and Notes
Fukuda, the big splash the Angels made this offseason, will be played at 3B as the team will start him at the position during the regular season, hoping that the transition will go smoothly. Fukuda has the range, it’s the arm that might be mildly inconsistent.

Reports are that Fukuda still needs work at third base but progress was made. He is still the starter at 3B and expects to provide a different, more aggressive, dynamic for the Angels offense.

Carli, a big 6’7”, 270 lb. first baseman from Venezuela, will be competing for the starting job with Bobby Bradley. Carli figures to make the roster, barring an abysmal performance, just a matter of what his role will be. Carli could also take DH responsibilities, pushing Matt Thaiss from the roster.

Carli is set to be the bench option at 1B and DH, ousting Thaiss.

The team’s top offensive prospect, CF Dominic Hutchinson, who has been marinating in the minors for a while now, will make his first case to stick at the major league level. He’s been given his first spring training invite and should see a lot of time at center field.

Hutchinson's performance left plenty to be desired; however, the team will start him in center field in a surprise move. Manuel Margot was designated for assignment, and it will be interesting to see if he will accept a demotion. If not, he probably will be returned to the roster and someone will have to be optioned, likely Derrick Cherry.

Tim Mavity and Jim Lenhart return once again with the latter hoping to stick, even if it’s only as a pitcher.

“I want to be a two-way player, but if step one is just getting on the roster as a pitcher, then so be it, “ Lenhart commented.

Lenhart made a strong case, going 4-0 with a 3.36 ERA in spring action. He will be in the Opening Day rotation, slotted as #4 starting pitcher.

Mavity is still trying to figure out his approach with using mostly two kinds of fastballs. Reports are that he's pestering John Farrell to help him throw with more velocity before he returns to the minors.

"More velo means more spin means more sink means more grounders. Folks think I'm kidding around, but fly balls are banned when I'm on the mound. I am not kidding, " Mavity commented.

With several of the team’s pitchers going to play in the World Cup of Baseball, the team gave a roster invite to the "Knuckle Princess" Eri Yoshida. The now 32-year-old woman is still playing the game she loves, even though she was not able to climb the ranks. The Angels decided to give her a taste of major league spring training and let her get some starts.

Yoshida threw 4 innings of no-hit baseball in her second spring start to pick up the win. The Angels all signed the baseball and gave it to her.

“I can’t believe this is happening, “ Yoshida spoke via interpreter, “I am honored and overjoyed at having success against major league hitters. I will always remember this day.” Yoshida clutched the baseball as she spoke.

Yoshida will likely continue getting starts as the World Cup rolls on and the team will likely rest the players that participated so they can be rejuvenated for the start of the season.

Another knuckleballer got an invite with the exodus of pitchers to the World Cup, the unique repertoire of Max Alba got to show what it can do. The combination of a 94-96 MPH fastball and a knuckler could be lethal if he can ever harness both extremes.

Alba didn't do particularly well, but may have learned enough to advance to AAA. That is where he will begin the season.

**WaitTilNextYear** · 05-04-2018, 03:40 PM

Re: OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

My progress has slowed lately because I've been scrubbing my save file of duplicate players. Dang, crawling through 30K+ players and deleting duplicates is no fun. Not sure how it came about or what happened to the player database, but I noticed it originally in the middle of my first season. Only about 4K players left to check...

Also thinking about dealing Betances for Javy Baez, when I get back to playing that is.

**KBLover** · 05-04-2018, 04:14 PM

Re: OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

Oh wow, that's horrible

I admire you for putting in that level of tedious work to fix the database.

I don't think I could make myself bother.

**WaitTilNextYear** · 05-04-2018, 05:32 PM

Re: OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

Originally posted by KBLover

Oh wow, that's horrible

I admire you for putting in that level of tedious work to fix the database.

I don't think I could make myself bother.

Yeah, it must mean that I really like the setup of this save file, lol.

I think somehow a shadow universe was created in this game and all the leagues got duplicated. Had to ensure that good Mike Trout and not mirror world Mike Trout was deleted.

**KBLover** · 05-06-2018, 12:29 AM

Re: OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

Trout Strokes 500th Home Run

The Angels won the game, but the focus was on the career milestone reached by Angels star Mike Trout.

The home run he hit in the 4th inning of a late September contest was his 500th of his career and his 34th on the season.

Trout has hit 30 HR in every year except for two (2013, 2016) since his rookie season, and he has hit 35 home runs in every season from 2018 until now, marking seven consecutive seasons.

"I'm just happy to have it done and now I can get it out of my mind. You can't help but think about it once you get to 490, especially at this point of the season. I didn't want it hanging over me to start another year or thinking about how I didn't get it as we go to the playoffs, " Trout commented.

Trout is batting .305 with 36 HR and 115 RBI. He has a .435 OBP and a .577 SLG. He has accumulated 8.8 WAR as the season winds down.

**KBLover** · 05-06-2018, 01:07 AM

Re: OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

Angels Win Division After Trying Start

The Angels shook things up coming out of spring training, and for the first couple months of the season, it looked like this would be a mistake.

Four young players were thrust into starting roles. Pitchers Shinji Mukai and Jim Lenhart were in the rotation with "The General" being given a relief spot where he would see a lot of action all season long, which was the plan.

3B Fukuda, the headliner trade made in the offseason, would be the starter while learning the position.

CF Dominic Hutchinson would be given center field after a poor spring training.

And for the start of the year, all four players were really having a hard time adjusting to the competition level.

On top of that, Shohei Ohtani was also struggling, looking nothing like his usual self. Then the news got worse...he would miss five weeks with an injury.

But the Angels stayed with it. They made no changes and kept the young players in their roles.

"We believe in our young guys and we believe in those that tell us they are ready. Sometimes, they need time to get into a rhythm, get used to preparations and facing the caliber of pitching and hitting up here. Yanking them around just makes their lives more difficult. Right as they try to adjust to starting or a position or a schedule, you change it on them. That doesn't help, " Scoiscia commented.

The Angels' faith would be rewarded. Mukai ended up with a 16-6 record, 3.23 ERA, and doing it with the expected finesse style he's featured in the minors. He also had a 1-hitter.

Lenhart never really hit a hot streak, but he pulled it together to be respectable on the mound, 11-13, 4.75 ERA is his year mark.

Dominic Hutchinson suddenly started finding gaps and hitting liners all over the field in September. He picked up a couple five-hit games and brought his batting average up from .212 to .246 in the month of September. He ended up with 29 doubles.

Fukuda brought an aggressive dynamic to the basepaths with 69 steals. On top of that, he brought his average up to .312 and his BABIP rose to .347.

And then there was the second half Ohtani put up.

"I've never seen anything like it. It's like he figured out everything he was doing wrong once the first of June came around, and then he pitched like Bob Gibson out there the whole rest of the year, " pitching coach John Farrell commented.

Ohtani's performance starting June 1? 16-1, 1.56 ERA, 181 strikeouts in 147 1/3 innings of work.

The end result was an 18-6 record with a 2.47 ERA, 235 strikeouts in 193 innings of work, 8.7 pitching WAR, and the AL pitching triple crown.

As far as the experimental role for "The General" Juan Chairez? 101 appearances, 114 innings, 166 strikeouts, 2.9 WAR. Not bad coming out of the bullpen.

And there was one constant: Mike Trout of course. He batted to a .308/.438/.578 batting line, 176 wRC+, and 9.2 WAR. He also added 27 stolen bases.

In all, the Angels won 104 games and are set to try to make another World Series appearance...and hopefully victory.

**KBLover** · 05-06-2018, 01:28 AM

Re: OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

Bittersweet Fall
Angels Farm System Rank Likely to Plunge

"It's always good to move your prospects from if-and-maybe into actual big leaguers. However, it's always a bit of a kick in the gut to watch your farm prospect rank to crash because your kids are no longer prospects, " Yarrow spoke.

Mukai is already off the list. Hutchinson will sooner than later as will Lenhart. If all goes well for him finally, Derrick Cherry will stick at the majors and he'll be off the list as well.

That would leave Tim Mavity, possibly still ranked the #1 prospect in the game, and...not much else. The only other ranked prospects as of this writing are SP Josh Farant (#105) and SS Steve Belfiore (#119).

**KBLover** · 05-07-2018, 02:12 AM

Re: OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

The Angels fell in their quest for the World Series as the Rays emerged victorious in the ALCS.

Not helping matters was Kershaw coming up lame with a serious shoulder injury, causing him to miss weeks, enough to miss the whole postseason had the Angels continued to advance.

The woes for the Angels came from Trout and Ohtani not playing their best this postseason. Ohtani did have three home runs, but he batted under .200 for the postseason. Also struggling was Dominic Hutchinson also struggled in his first postseaon series.

The Angels will have to lick their wounds and look ahead to 2025.

**miamikb2001** · 05-07-2018, 04:11 PM

Re: OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

Originally posted by KBLover

The Angels fell in their quest for the World Series as the Rays emerged victorious in the ALCS.

Not helping matters was Kershaw coming up lame with a serious shoulder injury, causing him to miss weeks, enough to miss the whole postseason had the Angels continued to advance.

The woes for the Angels came from Trout and Ohtani not playing their best this postseason. Ohtani did have three home runs, but he batted under .200 for the postseason. Also struggling was Dominic Hutchinson also struggled in his first postseaon series.

The Angels will have to lick their wounds and look ahead to 2025.

Really enjoying following your franchise

In year two of my Giants chise playing every game.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**WaitTilNextYear** · 05-08-2018, 01:48 AM

Carolina Knights Update

Code:

[SIZE="4"][B]AUGUST 1, 2019[/B]

[B]Season Record:[/B] 39-62 (18.5 GB NL East)
[B]July Record:[/B] 7-18
[B]Position:[/B] 6th Place NL East[/SIZE]

TEAM PAGE

SUMMARY

Spoiler

WHEELING AND DEALING

Spoiler

After kicking the tires on potential contract extensions with Collin McHugh, Dellin Betances, and Eduardo Nunez--Cox came to the conclusion that Carolina was unlikely to re-sign any of them. Betances will be a free agent for the first time and was asking for a 3 year $54M deal (no chance in hell this bottom-feeding team is paying almost 20 million per year for a reliever). McHugh was asking for a similar rate to Betances, but for a 6-year term. Nunez, on a 1 year $5M "show me" contract, has been Carolina's best player all season and was their token All-Star representative [.324/.346/.498 | 9 HR | 56 RBI | 11 SB | 2.1 WAR]. At one point, he hit safely in 36 of 38 games. He also had the audacity to ask for a $13M per season deal, which is another hard pass for the 32-year-old that ain't gonna keep playing like this.

*The Knights opened trading season on June 18th with a relatively insignificant deal; catcher Jett Bandy plus relievers Jonathan Holder and Jose Alvarado--three underperfomers--were shipped to the White Sox in exchange for RPs Zack Burdi, Aaron Bummer, Jace Fry and 3B prospect L.T. Tolbert. Bandy played in 164 games for Carolina posting a .218/.295/.402 line with 24 HR. Holder had a 6.67 ERA in 27 IP at the time of the deal. Alvarado had an ugly 9.8 BB/9 thru 68 innings with Carolina. The move also opens up a spot for Kyle Farmer to assume Bandy's AB's. On the other hand, Burdi is a potential closer-in-waiting when Betances is inevitably traded. Burdi will join brother Nick Burdi in the Knights' bullpen. Tolbert, an intriguing lefty bat at 3B, was hitting .298/.427/.455 at high A ball for the White Sox.

*On July 5th, Carolina came to terms with the Rockies, sending them Dellin Betances, catching prospect Danny Jansen, and pitching prospect Seranthony Dominguez. A moment of solitude for Carolina fans as they were tremendously sad to see Betances go [93.2 IP | 3.17 ERA | 1.07 WHIP | 51/55 saves]. The co-centerpieces of the deal for Carolina were 2B/OF Forrest Wall--who had been lighting up AA/AAA over the previous 2 seasons [.333/.419/.538 in 49 AAA games]--and Antonio Senzatela [3.93 ERA in 10 MLB relief appearances]. The 23-year-old Wall will bat leadoff and rotate thru 2B/LF/CF trying to gain experience. The club is hopeful that Senzatela can hold down a rotation spot because the starting rotation has a 5.36 ERA (2nd to last in NL) this season. Just awful. Carolina also poached a pair of relievers in the deal to bolster organizational depth: lefty Brad Wieck and righty Justin Lawrence.

*One week later, the Knights made a small deal in sending OF Brett Gardner--who, for the record, would not accept a demotion to AAA--to Houston for 3B Yulieski Gurriel and 40% of Yuli's remaining salary. Gardner started 182 games for Carolina over 1.5 seasons [.275/.345/.394 | 13 HR | 72 RBI | 15 SB | 3.2 WAR]. This was pretty much a salary dump for Houston as they have little use for Gurriel or for a declining Gardner. Gurriel made sense to Carolina because they were planning on dealing current 3B Nunez in a separate deal. Plus, with Houston's contribution Yuli will only be due $4.8M next season, which is a bargain for a starting 3B.

*On the same day, July 12th, All-Star 3B Eduardo Nunez was dealt to San Diego for SP prospect Joey Lucchesi. Similar to the deal for Senzatela, Carolina was really looking hard to find someone, anyone, to fill a starting rotation spot for next season.

*One final trade, on deadline day, was actually spurred by an offer from the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto offered SS Aledmys Diaz (who the Knights have no interest in) for SP Trevor Williams (who had pitched himself to the minors earlier this season). Thinking that a better match could be found, the Knights shopped Williams and found the Royals were willing to offer 1B Samir Duenez and the Marlins were offering 1B Justin Bour. After much agonizing, Carolina opted for the younger, cheaper, more well-rounded Duenez. The thinking is that someone should emerge from the stable of A.J. Reed (currently injured), Sam Travis, and now Duenez to be the "1B of the future." And, perhaps one of them could go to an outfield corner. Williams pitched to a 9-20 record with a 4.66 ERA over 41 starts (243.1 IP) with Carolina. Somehow he compiled -1.1 WAR in that period. Duenez, a rookie, had been KC's starting 1B this season [.267/.317/.441 | 11 HR | 43 RBI | 363 PA].

The Knights opted to hang onto McHugh instead of dealing him. The hope is that his demand might come down and this team is pitching-starved as it is. Plus, the guy is this franchise's "original player" and that has to count for something, right?

DRAFT AND SIGNINGS

Spoiler

**KBLover** · 05-08-2018, 06:09 PM

Re: OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

Cracks in the Solidified Front?

The Angels front office and staff has always seemed to be a single unified front, agreeing on the overarching principles that have guided the team's development and roster construction.

That may be changing a bit, based on what's coming out of the Angels front offices this offseason.

Sources, not named to protect their identity, have indicated something of a rift in how the team should approach this offseason. Primarily, the disagreement is over the possible acquisition of a power hitter to add to the lineup.

"The GM is not keen on the idea and doesn't even know where said power hitter would play. That tells me either that it's coming from the top or there's a faction of sorts now residing within the system that hates the fact that the Angels are not driven by power on offense, " one reporter commented.

"Where to play him?" is a question that would be tough to answer. Bobby Bradley has shown power, so first base is out. DH is out because that's where Ohtani is, unless the team would spend either money or prospects on a part-time DH. Left field is unlikely since Jahmai Jones, for now, is there. Power at catcher and middle infield is extremely rare and would be very expensive...if available at all. The team is unlikely to displace Dominic Hutchinson from CF.

That leaves third base.

Rumors are that the team has had some discussions about Sano and Gallo, playing for the Giants and Rangers, respectively. The Gallo rumors, at least, may have some merit as sources have confirmed "feeler talks" about the slugger. But whether or not talks will go far is uncertain, and the GM has reportedly "expressed dislike" for players with Gallo's hitting profile...namely power, walks, and 200+ strikeouts per year.

That's to say nothing of what the Rangers would want in return.

The Angels might wait until the regular season. Perhaps things will open up more once games are played. But if what's been leaked is any indication, it seems the GM is set on keep the team the way it always been.

Hard to blame him given the Angels' success under his leadership.

**KBLover** · 05-08-2018, 10:32 PM

Re: OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

Gallo Rumors Intensify After Rangers Confirm Offer

As spring training carries on, the Rangers publicly confirmed that they made a formal offer to the Angels involving Joey Gallo.

"Either this means there's a dialogue in place, or the Rangers have identified the Angels as a target for helping solve their financial woes, " one reporter commented.

Indeed, the Rangers are in the red, according to public documents and the league's accounting firm. Gallo is making $19 million per year for this year and next, which would get the Rangers back into the projected black.

The Angels are said to have closed talks quickly, citing the price. Details are unclear, but Bobby Bradley was brought up, which would likely shut things down fast, given the Angels are fans of their slugging first baseman.

"The Rangers might keep poking around. The Angels don't have a ton of top talent in their farm any more, so things might get tough if the Rangers are heading to a rebuild, " Plesac commented.

The saga continues and with Gallo being made publicly available, pressure may mount on the Angels GM to make something happen.

**KBLover** · 05-08-2018, 11:48 PM

Re: OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

The 2025 Los Angeles Angels

News and Notes from Spring Training

Tim Mavity will get his chance to see if he can enforce his "rules" at the major league level. A strong spring solidified his spot and sent Jim Lenhart back to AAA for the time being.

However, a spot might open for Lenhart, even if Mavity hangs on (the jury is out on that, BNN projected a 4.50 ERA), since Clayton Kershaw has suffered injuries off and on and might be finally succumbing to age as he turned 37 during spring training.

The rest of the rotation is as expected: Ohtani, Aquino, Mukai.

Jeurys Familia will be watched as he is also losing some of his stuff to the ravages of time. Should Familia falter too much, "The General" might move into the closer role. He's had some experience with it in the spring and during the season in his "use him anytime" role he now occupies in the bullpen.

Speaking of Chairez, he continues to have some mixed feelings about his relief role. He is used frequently, 101 times last season, but he still would like to start. Last season, he was dominating all year as opposed to his prior two years of starter where he declined sharply in the second half each year.

On the offensive side, not a lot has changed. Fukuda will move to SS to make room for Vientos, one of the team's Rule 5 pick ups. If Vientos can't get things done, the team will have to shuffle around the infield again. At least, Fukuda showed he can handle third base. Still, the Angels hope Vientos can be at least decent.

Derek Cherry got a lot of work in the spring playing several positions to fully round out his experience as a utility player. He is at least decent everywhere except catcher, according to most scouts.

The other change in the lineup comes at catcher. Again. Chance Sisco wanted far too much money to re-sign so the team drafted Canaan Smith in the Rule 5 draft to be the starting catcher. Ali Sanchez is still around and could step in. The bat is fringe on Sanchez, but the defense is exceptional.

Overall, the Angels are expected to be lead by the starting rotation. The entire rotation, including Mavity, made BNN's list for the top performers on the mound.

BNN is calling for 98 wins for the Angels, enough to take the division by a handful of games over the A's.

OOTP 19 Franchise Progress

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