Be Like Mike: 2018-19 Offseason

[White Sox GM (Michael)]

Giving Brandon 15% royalties on the revenues from this post because I'm shamelessly stealing his idea, and 15% royalties to Bryan for the name

Welcome to Be Like Mike, where I recommend the best path moving forward for your teams. Is this early? Yes, but I won't have time for it during the semester. Let's start with the AL East. This division could have five reasonably good teams next season, with probably 3 or 4 vying for playoff positions.

Baltimore Orioles

The sun is setting on the Orioles dynasty, but I think he should give it one more crack before rebuilding, as the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays franchises have not fully arrived yet. The team's biggest obstacle will be money, as I estimate he will be at least $60M in debt after picking up the Blackmon deal. Even after trading all 2020 and Rule V picks for cash, he will have to get more somehow. I think the most reasonable ways to do that would be to trade Chapman (probably pairing him with picks to get someone to take him), then trade Quintana and Felix together to a team with a lot of money that needs pitching and get some prospects back. Then, of course, flip those prospects for more money. Other trade candidates are Beltre (short-term deal that Jeff can live with as he rebuilds) and Votto (one of his best players). Or, don't pick up the Blackmon deal, or trade him. Since he'll be losing Kimbrel and Robertson in addition to probably Chapman, he'll have to find a bullpen for cheap. The starting pitching should hold up and the lineup will also be fine.

Boston Red Sox

It looks like the Sawx are gonna start trying in 2019. I would try for one big FA that's young (Harper, Arenado, Rendon, Cole, Gregorius), plus a short-term bat/arm depending on who you get out of that list. For example, CC Sabathia would be a good arm to buoy pitching statistics. Then, start consolidating the farm. I know it's fun to own 25 SS prospects, but it's not cost-efficient when you're going to start caring about your payroll. It will also help to get some impact prospects this way. With so many picks already and a really strong lower minors farm, I would prioritize the rest of the payroll on absorbing salary through trades before/during FA (in which you can probably get more picks or prospects)

New York Yankees

It would be fun if Justin pushed all his chips to the middle, but I think he prefers to build from within. That's fine, but Justin already faces a big 40-man roster crunch. For example, he doesn't need Travis Shaw, Matt Chapman, AND Brian Anderson. I'd package one of those with a starter and get a great outfielder. He probably needs to make a few of those moves with so many prospects on the way. This continues down to the farm system, where there's even more excess than there was in Boston. There isn't a great need to have 120 outfield and pitching prospects, so many will have to be traded at some point. I would also desperately try to sign Harper or another OF (Ozuna after a down year?), but I don't think it will happen. So just spend the money on finding the next Luis Castillo I guess.

Tampa Bay Rays

To the surprise of nobody, Forbz announced he wants to blow up his team. I don't see a major rebuild in the works, but a one year retool to set up for life in a division with 3 monster farms seems wise. Longo, Castro, and Duffy won't fetch a ton, but trading them would free up a lot of cap space, and moving expiring contracts Cervelli and Garcia could return some decent scale pitchers. I actually think the most value is in the bullpen. It doesn't make much sense for retoolers to hold on to relievers, but I'd probably keep a few for 2020 (say, Kela and Steckenrider) and move the rest for some stuff that'll help more down the road. At this point, the team wouldn't look strong, but there'd be enough money to buy one or two guys in FA and spend the rest on picking scale players off teams that need the cash.

Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto sniffed a playoff spot this season, and they have everyone returning. The pitching is pretty much fine as-is, especially with so many arms on the way. The lineup is also pretty set. Sanders' two biggest needs are corner outfield, shortstop and first base (Bauers is solid, but I wouldn't trust him to be the starting 1B on a competitor next season when the lineup already lacks pop). I think it makes sense to try to sign Harper, Gregorius, and then trade for an expiring 1B like Yonder Alonso. Then, use some excess cash or prospects to build up the bullpen.

[White Sox GM (Michael)]

The AL Central has long been one of the league's toughest divisions, but this offseason will be characterized by cap troubles and rebuilding for these franchises. It's also a lot of shrug emoji for me here with some of these teams.

Note: Anticipating the Royals and Brewers will switch franchises, but I will post Brandon's franchise here and Russi's later.

Cleveland Indians

Psych's franchise is officially out of cap hell and can truly start building its future this season. I think Psych plans on building his farm, which probably means a lot of pick buying and some prospect buying mixed in. He'll also save plenty of cash to make another huge IFA haul, as he did this season. I think investing in a lot of FAs in the $5M range on short-term deals to fill out the team will keep the group semi-competitive before the full enforcements arrive.

Chicago White Sox

The ChiSox are a mostly set roster with $15-$20M to clear. Most of that will come from trading their bullpen, like Doolittle and Yates. They'll also need some back-end starting pitching, probably acquired by trading an extra bat like Cesar Hernandez or Asdrubal Cabrera. A pretty boring plan that will probably turn into me trading Aaron Nola and passing out in a ditch with a needle in my arm.

Detroit Tigers

The Tigers are a WC contender this year, and I expect them to be in a similarly in-between spot next season. I think it depends on the return he can get for expiring guys like Springer, Lester, Castellanos, and Gardner, as well as two-year contracts like Greinke, rehabbing Cueto, and Choo. I would dangle Springer and Greinke first. If a significant prospect return comes back, I think Detroit could do a rapid rebuild and be competing soon given an already solid farm. If not, clear cap by trading Estrada and Walker, then use some OF/P prospect depth to grab a 2B and maybe a replacement pitcher while Cueto is out.

Kansas City Royals

Brandon has been letting his young players go through growing pains (hello, Yoan K. Moncada), but I think his team is so inexpensive that he'll have no problem adding a top SP in free agency (Cole or Corbin would make sense) and letting his current squad take care of the rest. I think this team is too close to being really good to not go for it. But I also know Brandon wants to rip it down, and I'm not entirely sure what that would entail, but would probably involve Realmuto and Ramirez moving for bigass packages.

Minnesota Twins

The Twins are in cap hell this offseason, but it's nothing trading Gleyber Torres to the White Sox won't solve. Another very obvious solution is trading Cruz, especially since the team employs 4+ hitters for 3 positions (Torres, LeMehieu, Machado, Turner). I would trade Cruz for a pitcher (focusing more on clearing cap than getting a comparable return), then try to trade some OF depth for a better corner OF option. Otherwise, this team is pretty damn set.

[White Sox GM (Michael)]

The AL West has a clear team at the top, but there are two more Wild Card contenders, along with two more in different phases of a rebuild.

Houston Astros

Max's Astros are one of the league's strongest squads, but their first priority will have to be clearing about $40M in cap space for next season. Operation cap clear is already underway, as Dee Gordon and Edwin Encarnacion have been placed on the block. Since the team doesn't really have MiLB assets, it's probably going to have to get below the cap limit almost exclusively through trading players. I would also move Raisel Iglesias and Brandon Morrow for decent scale pitchers and cash, solving two problems at once (the bullpen is fine without those two). Another option is dealing Marwin Gonzalez if he finds a trade partner. From there, the focus would be adding a bat or two to fill out the lineup again. These sets of deals would leave the MLB team weaker in the meantime, but midseason adds are always a possibility, and this would be trading exclusively from the team's strengths.

Los Angeles Angels

The Angels are well situated with a good combination of prospects and cap space. Plus, the hitting has two great starts with Hoskins and Soto, plus several top hitting prospects that will be up pretty soon. It would still be a good idea to add an outfielder (I like the idea of Puig). Adding an ace is probably the priority, though. If he doesn't feel like going for it in the immediate future, I think Alex Wood is a good fit, and he will probably be underpriced relative to all the other aces out there. However, Clayton Kershaw should also fit well within the budget here. I would see how SP FA goes and determine aggressiveness in competing from that.

Oakland Athletics

The A's are in the Wild Card hunt, but you wouldn't know it from looking at their roster. Their best hitter and pitcher and probably Randal Grichuk/Tyler White and Zach Eflin. However, JT has gotten this far from riding the hot hand and frantically making trades weekly. As the roster is currently constructed, that's probably how things will have to go in the near future. I think the smart thing would be to trade his cheap pen arms for promising hitters, since he'll just rebuild the pen again off the waiver wire. He should also try to acquire a third baseman by dealing one of his CFs. Ultimately, I don't think JT could get to truly serious playoff contention in 2019 without fucking over his cap space for future seasons. I would ride this next one out, hope for a high pick or maybe catch fire and nab a WC spot, and then he'd be in good position to reload in 2020 with much more cap space (don't tie up so much money in obligations).

Seattle Mariners

Once one of the lost franchises of ODC, the M's are definitely one of the most fun competitors in the league, which all starts with Francisco Lindor and Cody Bellinger. This team doesn't need much to stay competitive in 2019. The pitching is pretty full, but the lineup will have holes at second, third, and left field. Dave has a deep enough farm where moving prospects for solid short-term solutions at those positions wouldn't be too difficult. I would also consolidate SPs and RPs to cut some unnecessary salary and upgrade the end of the rotation and the depth of the pen. I don't think I'd do anything fancy otherwise, but it would be reasonable to use picks like the first rounders to land a pitcher behind Price.

Texas Rangers

After a lackluster 2018, it would be in Bill's best interest to rebuild. Carlos Carrasco will net a huge return for those teams with strong farms that don't want to burn all their cash (or don't have cash to burn). Felipe Vazquez is elite, but it wouldn't make sense for a rebuilder to keep such a great closer. I would eat like half of Belt's contract and get a prospect haul for him. I'd probably hold on to Nelson until he proves his worth post-injury, while Porcello should get a nice return no matter what. A mediocre but not pushover team would remain beyond those trades. With presumably a lot of cap space, I think it'd be wise to go for one big FA (Arenado would be my target) that should still be elite in a few seasons. If Nolan isn't available, go for someone like Didi Gregorius and spend the remaining money on close-to-MLB prospects.

[White Sox GM (Michael)]

Ahh, the NL Easy East ha ha ha. Almost all of these teams should be going for it, which could actually make this a very competitive division.

Atlanta Braves

Wood's most exciting days as the owner of the Braves are ahead. The team is already solid, but at least three top prospects are arriving shortly. With that, I wouldn't do much with the hitting outside of acquiring some middle infield help. The pitching is pretty good, but it could use maybe a second- and third-tier addition through free agency (something like Kenta Maeda and CC Sabathia). I would then assess this team again in May and see if the NL East title is a realistic goal. Wood is this league's most patient owner, so I'm sure he will wait until the time is right for this squad.

Miami Marlins

Kevin's rebuild is well underway, and it's already led to a nice young pitching staff. I think he should be competitive for one of the younger FA bats (Arenado, Harper, Rendon, Gregorius) and spend the rest of his money acquiring more picks and prospects. As with most rebuilding teams, I would trade away a pen arm or two, but I'd keep most of them for a quick turnaround on this rebuild. This team could be very good in 2020 with some graduations and a few impact signings these next few offseasons.

New York Mets

Jack's hitting isn't stellar, but it's mostly fine. The pitching could be fine, but it's definitely too risky for a competitive team. Luckily, Jack has money. Enter Max Scherzer or Justin Verlander, two aces whose costs will be repressed by their ages. It would be really nifty to get them on a 3 or 4 year contract. Jack is in perfect position to push his chips into the table right now, without much future money commitments or long-term team cornerstones. I would make sure to get one of them (or Kershaw or Cole) and spend any remaining cap space to add a corner outfielder.

Philadelphia Phillies

I think this team is gonna have the most fun offseason out of anyone. The glow-up already started with trading for Corey Seager and Eddie Rosario. I would take advantage of a weak division and go for the jugular. This team needs pitching, so I would sign one of the big four (Scherzer, Kershaw, Verlander, Cole) AND trade for someone like Carlos Carrasco. There should be enough cap space to add a few mid-tier outfield bats like Corey Dickerson or Nick Markakis. I would also trade for a catcher and first baseman. In addition, I'd go for 1-2 short-term elite relief pitchers and trust the farm or in-season trading could do the rest. It's a lot to do in one offseason, but it shouldn't do too much damage to the long-term health of this franchise. Especially in a division with no great teams, there's no reason in pulling a Justin or Sanders and waiting around for everyone to get called up. Ahhh I'm excited now.

Washington Nationals

The only team that could turn the excitement up to 11. I think there's too much to do with this team after the postseason to expect to compete in 2019. This farm has really not been strong in a while, but things are looking up there after recent deals. Shipping off Brandon Crawford to a team like Sanders makes a lot of sense, as does moving Kyle Seager. Eat money on Miller and get what you can there. The biggest haul should be on Trevor Bauer, who seems to be moved inevitably. These trades plus the FA losses will make the team pretty decrepit, but it will make the farm decent and clear pretty much all cap for future seasons. Bryan should invest most of the rest of his 2019 money in prospects or picks, while maybe signing a few short-term deals to improve draft position.

[White Sox GM (Michael)]

The NL Central is characterized by a few familiar dynasties, including two past champions, but the division is by no means decided in the immediate future.

Cincinnati Reds

The Cody-led Reds have found themselves in Wild Card contention this season, but the best is arguably yet to come for this team. With virtually no imminent FA and a strong farm, the Reds should be a contender for, at the very least, 2019. The two things he could add are a high-average bat and another #2-type SP. This team is loaded with power, so I would try to ship off, say, Justin Upton for a similar contract, similar talent SP, and then sign a guy like Corey Dickerson or Michael Brantley. Beyond that, there's not much work to do. If Cody wants to go hard before Paxton, Treinen, and others hit FA, he has the prospect wealth to trade from, but it'd mostly be to go from a WC-level team to a team that can more seriously challenge the Pirates or Cubs at the top of the division.

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs have a great team. ODC is used to this by now. However, Chris Sale feels mighty lonely. I get the feeling that the Cubs want to continue to operate on a low-ish budget, and I understand that, but this team should acquire two pitchers. I say go for an ace on a short-term deal (Zack Greinke, Carlos Carrasco) by dipping into the prospect pool, and add someone like Masahiro Tanaka in free agency. That should still leave some cap space for 1-2 decent corner outfield options to flank Trout. With only one year left of Sale and two left of Trout, now is the time to invest fully in the MLB squad.

Milwaukee Brewers

The league's most mediocre franchise historically finally has a leader ready to give the team some direction. Russi still has a lot left to trade or keep on the MLB team, and his farm is already strong. My first step would be to dump Davis' deal and recuperate $5M. That would leave the Brew Crew with at least $60M to play with. I think what I'd do is take on other team's bad 1-2 year deals and try to cop some prospects with them. Teams will be dying to clear up cap space, so Russi will probably get some decent players and prospects just by being a salary slut. This will improve not only the farm, but also his draft position. These are always the types of guys you can sell midseason if they're having good seasons, too (a good example would be someone trading for Matt Kemp before he rebounded this season). Maybe that's overcomplicating things, though. A simple buildup of the farm by cash-for-prospect swaps could work, but this other way could be a sneakier addition of value in several different ways.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The 2019 Pirates are going to be bringing back a lot of talent, but they're seeing several of their stars (especially Arenado and Verlander) hit free agency. Even with the losses, this team won't need to do much to have a full squad. Priority #1 has to be getting Nolan Arenado back. I think this means the Myers extension shouldn't be picked up, or at least he should be should traded before free agency. Beyond that, the pitching staff is so sick that JV doesn't need to be replaced. However, this team should probably get a new 2B, maybe by shipping off two good relievers. Assuming nothing drastic would happen otherwise, the Pirates would be favorites in this division for 2019.

St. Louis Cardinals

Aww yea. This is like the Phillies, except with a weaker farm and stronger MLB team. With probably under $50M committed to next year's team, this should be a prime FA player. This team could be really good with some good SP, so I wouldn't mess around, which would mean going for Scherzer primarily, and also someone like Darvish who will probably go under market value to balance out the Scherzer craziness. I'd also not blame this team for not wanting to infuse so much money in pitching (at least in the Darvish-type pitcher), which could mean trading a few risky SP arms for a stable short-term contract SP. It probably doesn't cost much in prospects to add a top 40 SP who's in his late 20s and nearing FA. If there's money left over, I'd add an outfielder to pair with Trout and Acuna. This team probably needs a third baseman, which are always weirdly hard to find in this league, so maybe spend your money there and trade for an OF. I'm tired, you get the idea. Add some top-flight pitching to pair with Stro, an OF, and a 3B, and this team could be nuts next season.

[White Sox GM (Michael)]

The NL West has been a division of haves and have-nots, but no team should be complacent this offseason.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The D-Backs were an average team this season and are now slated to lose three of their best hitters (Rendon, Gregorius, McCutchen). Still, what remains is a handful of productive bats and a deep (if unstable) rotation behind deGrom. Given that deGrom and Dellin are both expiring after the season, I think it makes sense to sorta go for it in 2019. Not like NL pennant frontrunner, but Wild Card contender. Hemmons will already have some cap space, but I think he should clear a lot more by 1. Releasing Hanley and 2. Trading off guys like Bailey, Chatwood, and Santana with prospects to dump their salaries. Given the exceedingly deep farm here, it should be too hard to ship off those pitchers, and Hemmons has a million anyway. With roughly $50M to spend, a lot of it should be spent acquiring high-priced FAs to be (guys like Nelson Cruz). Without giving up much in prospects to dump salary or acquire players, there's upside to this route for Hemmons - no long-term money commitment. This gives flexibility to re-evaluate after next season and see if Arizona needs a retool or should go for it again.

Colorado Rockies

The Rockies franchise still doesn't have a lot of assets, but it does have money. Money and a good amount of picks. It's pretty clear that the 2019 draft is immensely important to the Rockies, and the offseason is when money is valued most and picks are valued least. I think this team should be patient until right before free agency time, and then start giving out small loans for mid-to-late-round picks. Sure, add a few first and second rounders, but too many of those deals will tank this team's $80M in free cap space kinda quickly. Same idea with buying prospects - Colorado can pay up big for some top 100 guys, but the value is more in finding post-hype prospects or year 2-3 players who have struggled in the big leagues so far. Acquire some MLB players! Some will hit and be good trade bait. Save like $20M for IFA. The breakdown doesn't really matter, but this team can't do nothing.

Los Angeles Dodgers

One of ODC's surprise teams that faded in the second half, the Dodgers are building their way back to decency. That being said, the team is in danger of reaching a no-mans land, where the franchise peaks as a .500 squad. I think the MLB team should stay pat for 2019, adding some sneaky good players (Mikolas was a great pick-up). However, this team could really use a farm infusion. Buying prospects is fine, but teams overrate their own prospects, and there isn't much on the MLB team the Dodgers should trade that will net a big return (maybe Merrifield or Clevinger). I think that using their available cap to acquire 2019 picks makes the most sense. A strong draft (with a focus on college players) will leave this team with a better chance of building on the successes of this past season.

San Diego Padres

The Pads are a pretty strong team all-around, with a clear emphasis on pitching. With a lot of cap space and almost everyone returning, this team could exclusively add through FA. I think the focuses should be an outfielder that will raise triple-slash numbers (Dickerson, Brantley, Markakis) and a pitcher that isn't so damn risky (I think Verlander is a good fit here). Is Verlander excessive? Maybe, but there's underperformance here given the talent in the rotation. Someone like CC would be a lower-cost option with the same idea in mind. If that's too pricey overall, I would add the hitter by trading from the Urias/Alcantara/Glasnow pile of pitchers. I also think Jake Lamb is pointless on this team and could be used to grab a closer or something. A lot of this boils down to using up money in free agency and reconfiguring the MLB team by taking away from strengths.

San Francisco Giants

The NL West leader is losing more impact players than anyone to free agency this offseason, but they have enough depth to still field a full, decent team. However, the losses to the rotation are gonna hurt, and there will also be holes at 2B and in the outfield. I think a one-year retool is in order here - trading impending FA like Semien, and moving guys like Hamels and Nunez (while paying down for the season) to free up future cap space and hopefully add some close to MLB prospects or scale players. The pen is probably also deeper than it needs to be and could be used to add some SP depth. That probably leaves enough cash to sign a decent SP and then some (bring back Alex Wood maybe), but I think it's impossible to replicate this team in 2019 without extreme detriment to future seasons. A solid Giants squad with cap space going into 2020 would be dangerous yet again in the NL West.