WWND?

[Brewers GM (Marty)]

I know everyone in here at some point has asked themselves: "What would Natty do?". Well, wonder no longer. I'm going to take a guess on what direction I'd take your franchise, and then give the first two moves that I'd do to get there. I'm just going to go in order of appearance on the master.

AL East:

Baltimore Orioles: The first team isn't really a good example. They're obviously contending this year and already have a roster set up to do just that. He's 2.5M over the cap right now, so getting under would be my first priority. The rotation is solid but probably lacking a frontline arm. The bullpen is good, and the offense should be great. There's no big move that I'd make with this team.

Move 1: Cut the farm and get the 800K. If there's 10 MLB AB's or IP collectively in that group, I'll be shocked. It'd be even more shocking if any of those AB/IP are good.

Move 2: Sell Danny Espinosa for 100K to Jack. He looooves guys like Espinosa.


Boston Red Sox: This is another team that already has an obvious direction in mind. It's drastically different from O's, as it's probably 3-4 years away from being a true contender as it stands. He'll have to get to 10 MLB players at some point, but honestly that's not difficult.

Move 1: Consolidate some OF and SS depth in his MILB into pitching. With the attrition rate of MILB pitching and the high risk nature of nearly every pitcher he owns, packaging up Heliot Ramos, Juan Soto, and a guy like Yasel Antuna or Isaac Paredes for combo of Groome/Manning would make some sense for Red Sox even if it might be an overpay. If you're going to overpay, do it from depth. Those pitchers have been posted OTB, although not necessarily for MILB, but this might make an interesting package. Or maybe to Marlins for a Fernando Romero/Mike Soroka package to get a better timeline match for his offense.

Move 2: Use all 100 of his remaining rule 5 picks on pitching at all levels and ceiling. There is so much offense on the cusp of the majors in the system that there's not a ton of value in doing anything but trying to beat variance. I'd also attempt to stock up on guys that are high in the minors but may not have the huge arm/ceilings that will be in the majors soon. First it will help cheaply fill the 10 man minimum, and second people overpay for blah back end SP's early on scale. You don't have to look too far in the processed trades board to see the truth in that statement.


New York Yankees: The Yankees have a full 40 man roster, but talent-wise it's probably not much more than a team that's going to finish better than .500 due to a lack of impact talent. It does have massive depth though, and a lot of cap to burn if he chooses. Plus he's got 500 prospects in the minors, all of which are future HOF's. You know what I'm trying to do with my team/prospects, and I'd do the same here. I'm also going to take some liberties with time and step back a month in the past for one move:

Move 1: Get 1/4-paid Max Scherzer for Sal Romano, Charlie Tilson, Ben Gamel, and Matt Chapman. IDK if psych/zack does this, but 3-4 solid scale players might have done it. Zack probably would have considering his other accepted Scherzer offer. This lands him a legit ace to pair w/ Castillo go with the depth he already has. To step into the present, consider talking to Forbz about MadBum for something similar.

Move 2: Send Dustin May and Ryan Noda to Royals for Greg Holland. Goes against his philosophical grain taking on a salary and whatever he earns IRL in his free agent contract, but it's not like he doesn't have a cheap roster for the next 15 years already set up. He needs another closer, and Holland is a reliable option that also strikes out a bundle.

Bonus move: Sign Justin Smoak to man 1B.


Tampa Bay Rays: They have a deep rotation, a decent offense, and depending on how bullpen jobs shake out he could be OK there as well. I think that he's got no chance of competing with Jeff, so I'd just tear down. Just kidding. This is going to be difficult though.

Move 1: Move Carlos Rodon to Royals for Greg Holland 4M paid and Nick Delmonico. Yes, this is going to be a recurring theme, mostly because there are not really any locks for closer jobs on teams that aren't contending. And there are a few contenders that could use another closer or two. There's not going to be much time left for Rodon to show that he's not a ERA/WHIP destroyer, and to get something of value for him would alleviate that risk. Holland solidifies his pen, and Delmonico looked to have his shit together finally after being a decently regarded prospect back in his Orioles system days. He could get 10 games at 1B to gain eligibility quickly as Abreu starts to DH.

Move 2: Move Joc Pederson to STL for Carl Edwards and Ronald Guzman. Joc seemed to figure something out and Matt could use the offense in the OF. Edwards should be a source of holds to finish off his pen, and Guzman at some point this season should be a Ranger, not that Forbz would hang onto him.


Toronto Blue Jays: This is definitely a team in the middle, but at this point I would probably try to stay there. If an impact talent comes available, I'd make the move, if the opportunity to sell a guy like Manaea, Herrera, or Wong comes available, I'd also consider that. It's not the worst thing to be in the middle of the pack as long as you're heading in the right direction.

Move 1: Trade Sean Manaea to Rangers for Addison Russell. Bill has Segura sitting there forever on that extension and a need for SP's, and Russell isn't going to see time barring injury. It's an upside gamble on both sides with similar players on similar levels of control. Sanders has no close option at SS, and the GOAT SS Jordy Mercer is a 6 so he's not around forever. Sanders also has a lot of young SP's on the way in his MILB that will make their debut next year.

Move 2: The teams in the middle are the hardest. I'd probably hang onto the 13M rather than taking on a salary through FA or trade. I don't think this team is close enough to contend that piling a bunch of prospects into MLB talent is the answer either. I think the best plan would be to hover around and wait on someone to decide to sell off a controlled asset. Outside of 3B no position on this roster should be considered set, so just about anyone who is an improvement and controlled should be considered.

[Brewers GM (Marty)]

AL Central


Cleveland Indians: It's not the direction I'd have gone, but he's stated he's looking to contend. He's got a pile of cash and I'm going to attempt to land two big pieces.

Move 1: Trade Robbie Cano and pay him all the way down for as many cheap controlled players as he can get. For example, send him to Seattle for Devon Travis, Manny Pina, Jordan Montgomery, and Steve Cishek. Seattle gets a big 2B bat and has money left over to find a similar C option to Pina and possibly a savvy SP pickup. Indians get to add 3 players to their MLB roster. This one is completely about adding players he doesn't have to spend 10M apiece to get, not dumping cap.

Move 2: Sign as many players as his budget allows. OK, after the Cano deal I suggest as a possibility I also concede that filling out this roster probably won't allow for 2 big pieces to be added in lieu of filling out the roster with players with pulses.


Chicago White Sox: There's a great offense here as well as a deep bullpen. The rotation is a bit thin behind Nola, Tanaka, and Severino, but it shouldn't be a big issue. This is a team that is obviously looking to contend this year.

Move 1: Move Neil Walker for OF help. Perhaps for something like Kevin Kiermaier from Hemmons. Hemmons doesn't have a bad roster and is missing a 2B. Walker would be solid for him, and Kiermaier would be behind Cutch I'd think in CF. This would allow PHAM!!!! to slide to LF.

Move 2: Keep working waivers to fill out the bullpen. At the very least history has told us that constantly claiming waiver RP's can result in a pile of late round picks.


Detroit Tigers: Here's another roster that looks like he's going to try to contend. There's some great players on the team with Grienke/Springer and some cheaper depth options. There's not much cap available to fill out the holes in this roster through signings, but there are some options in prospect trades.

Move 1: Trade Michael Taylor to White Sox for Neil Walker. I don't think this one could get done straight up, as Sox would have to add a little. This would also be another option for White Sox in terms of adding an OF for Walker. There are several CF options on this roster, and he needs a solid 2B option. Walker fills that role.

Move 2: Here it comes again.....trade Willie Calhoun for a paid Greg Holland. I really didn't intend for this to be a Holland trade article, but so many teams that think they're going to contend lack cap to buy a FA closer and could use one badly. There's OF depth for the Tigers that could make Calhoun a trade piece.

Bonus move I'm writing up as a penalty for suggesting another Holland scenario: Work out a sign and trade with Max for a big FA 3B (doesn't matter which one). The prospects are there for something like this to work from Detroit's side, and Max has 28M in cap. That should be enough to get one, and even the 4th best option in the group is still pretty good.


Minnesota Twins: Yes, I'm skipping myself b/c I hope you find out what the fuck I'm up to soon. Anyhow, Patty is clearly going to attack FA's and doesn't usually make big moves unless a move is obvious. He has Kershaw and Fulmer fronting a pretty thin rotation, but there are candidates to take a step forward. Colome has been in real life trade rumors, and if he gets moved to a situation where he's not closing it makes his pen closer to solid than great. However he's sitting on a bunch of money.

Move 1: The obvious Manny Machado signing. A 15% hometown discount and 58M of available cash make this one a no brainer.

Move 2: Sign Dallas Keuchel. Adding him behind Fulmer/Kershaw would firm up his rotation if it's possible under the budget. If not, I'd still work to sign one of the bigger FA SP's. It also puts less emphasis on Cotton/Guerra/Hoffman all taking steps forward/earning rotation jobs.

[Brewers GM (Marty)]

AL West

Los Angeles Angels: This is a similar situation to Red Sox. The main difference being that he has Rhys Hoskins sitting in his MLB right now. The bad news on that is that it's hard to find a good cheap slugging 1B, and Hoskins just got moved to LF.

Move 1: See what someone might be willing to pay for Brendan Rodgers. He's a top ranked SS prospect that is heading for Coors Field....why trade him? Because someone might massively overpay for him and I'm not personally sold on him. There's depth all over this system, but more top arms are never bad, and you could probably pick up one of those, a replacement SS, and a high ceiling/high risk OF or two.

Move 2: Trade for Greg Holland. J/K. I don't know that there is a 2nd move. I might not even do the first move. He's just got to wait on the farm and make sure he's doing some curating in terms of selling at the right time on guys he considers his depth rather than his core.


Oakland A's: This is a basically full roster, and he's got 18M or so depending on how many of that giant waiver pile he posted earlier this week he wins. Most of that will be bullpen options that may or may not earn holds. If you catch the offense on the wrong week it will be a big problem for anyone, but it could use a player or two that can hit for a high average. The pitching staff is just OK and could use a strong SP to anchor it.

Move 1: Sign DJ LeMahieu. Should be do-able with 18M. He's that high average bat that's out there that is also in the budget.

Move 2: Trade Adam Duvall to the Yankees for Zack Davies and Matt Chapman. In this scenario Yankees are attempting to contend and could use a power hitter like Duvall in the OF. Chapman helps fill in OAK's infield and Davies may not be a frontline guy he'll be an asset for Oakland's rotation.


Seattle Mariners: This is another team that is contending in the AL West. It should be a solid offense with Bellinger, Lindor, and Hosmer. The pitching staff is deep but lacks any impact arms unless Montgomery/Newcomb take big steps forward. There's also a distinct lack of saves unless Bradley takes over at closer in Arizona.

Move 1: Move Cody Bellinger for Madbum and Avisail Garcia. While Hosmer isn't going to match Bellinger's output, he's solid. Forbz could use a 1B, and he's put MadBum OTB. Garcia is just OK, but this would give seattle a RF they could use and also a rotation anchor.

Move 2: Release Paulsen, Hahn, Anderson, Garza, Sanchez, and Romine to free up another ~4M and purchase some saves in FA's.


Texas Rangers: Losing Jimmy Nelson for half a season this year is going to hurt, as will not having Pedroia. It creates a thin rotation behind Carrasco and a thin offense outside of a couple positions. Carrying the offense is going to fall on the broad shoulders of Tyler Saladino once again.

Move 1: Trade Addison Russell for Sean Manaea. I was going to try and not repeat, but I think that this basic structure makes too much sense for both rosters.

Move 2: Trade a decent sized prospect package for Kevin Pillar and/or Maikel Franco. I don't know what Pillar's price is, but moving anyone not named Perez/Peterson is something I would strongly consider.

[Brewers GM (Marty)]

NL East

Atlanta Braves: A surprise in 2017, this team should continue to be solid in 2018. The pitching staff is pretty thin after Britton's injury, and there are dumb rumors of him being brought back as a starter, a position which frankly he sucked at before he moved to closer. That would be disastrous for the Braves pen, and even if he's OK as a SP it leaves the rotation still a bit short.

Move 1: Trade Martin Prado paid this year to St. Louis for Greg Allen. Yes this is giving him away, but with that contract it's what would be necessary. Wood gets a guy to add speed to his lineup if Allen wins the CF job (which he could while moving Zimmer to a corner, or vice versa), and between Smith and Sierra, Cardinals already have 2 similar guys. He could also use a 3B, as even an empty BA like Prado is a step forward for his offense. Plus he can afford the next 2 years of the deal

Move 2: Trade Ryan Zimmerman to Dodgers for Kirby Yates. Frees up another 2M in cap for Braves to fill out gaps in FA's, and if Jake is serious about competing, Zimmerman is a big upgrade over White and Aguilar. If the Padres move Hand, Yates is a candidate to get saves, if not, he's a K/hold machine which is something Wood's pen could use.


Miami Marlins: Kevin is dedicated to a rebuild, and it's going well. However his prospect stash is mostly pitching. I think he can sell off a few more pieces and pick up some bats to go with them.

Move 1: Trade Maikel Franco to Rangers for Anderson Franco, Ryan Cordell, and Bryan Reynolds. Anderson Franco has been a favorite of mine for a while for some reason, and at this point I'm not sure you can justify giving elite talent for a guy that hurts both average and OBP without being a monster HR guy.

Move 2: Trade Fernando Romero and Mike Soroka to Pirates for Michael Chavis, Daulton Varsho, and Nick Pratto. Outside of Arenado, a good chunk of Pirates offense is controlled. Romero and Soroka should contribute soon to help make up for the guys he'll be losing soon on his pitching staff. Chavis, Varsho, and Pratto give Miami good young bats that match up timelines with the arms he's already accumulated in his minors.

New York Mets: His OF is fine, but the infield outside of 1B needs work, as does the rotation and probably the bullpen. He's got 44M to play with, so he should be able to address some of that in FA's. No farm and I'm pretty sure there's few picks to work from. In a weaker AL East I'd try to contend.

Move 1: Trade Adalberto Mejia, Billy McKinney, Taylor Guerreri, and Dan Vogelbach to Cubs for Jon Lester and 12M. Cubs needs to get under cap and this almost gets him under. Lester had a down year and could bounce back, but he's also expensive so the return can't be too extravagant. Plus a lot of cash is going to get soaked up in FA's, and soon the only people with 16M sitting around will be Justin. And he's not making a move for Lester. Anyhow, none of these pieces are guys Jack will miss, but at some point they should be OK MLB'ers.

Move 2: Trade JBJ to White Sox for Joe Ross. This is similar to the other OF to White Sox deals I've proposed. It allows Pham to go to LF. Conforto is CF eligible, and this adds to his rotation. Ross has had a lot of health issues and Dusty didn't seem to like having him around much, but a new manager could change his fortunes.

Bonus move: Sign Moustakas and one good SP. I think that would be in the budget in the mid-30's. He won't be signing a Keuchel in that combo, but 3B should be a priority and getting a good/solid SP to finish the rotation.


Philadelphia Phillies: This is obviously a team in full rebuild. Very similar to the Angels, except without the bad news of a position switch for his only MLB player.

Moves 1 and 2: I think similar to Angels, I just sit on what's going on. If someone wants to overpay for Amed Rosario, I'd be all ears. I see this farm lacking in the OF, so if I could pull back a couple of high ceiling OF prospects and a couple of other solid prospects at positions of need, I'd consider it. But at this point the work is kind of done. How boring.


Washington Nationals: There's a solid skeleton here, but it won't be around for long. I'd be all in for this year with a bunch of expiring/near expiring contracts, minimal farm, and 42M to burn in FA's.

Move 1: Package up Clint Frazier and send him out for Sean Doolittle and Anthony Desclafani. This becomes two players he doesn't have to buy, and should be in the value range for Frazier. I could use a closer or two, and definitely another solid starter. This is probably a rock bottom price to add a very good closer and a guy who can be a mid-rotation arm with years of control. Frazier needs several trades or injuries to contribute this year, and I'm not sold that he's going to be an upper tier player.

Move 2: Sign Justin Turner as a main piece, possibly Zack Cozart, and then I sign as many cheap SP/bullpen options as I can get.

[Brewers GM (Marty)]

NL Central

Chicago Cubs: At first glance this is a roster that is a clear contender. It's got a solid offense, deep pitching staff and bullpen. There are nice pieces on the farm as well to move or call up as needed as well. The financial side of this isn't so rosy. Everyone knows that I'd need to get under the cap, so taking a hit talent-wise is just a reality I'd have to face. That said, I'd still make an attempt to contend while reducing the cap hit.

Move 1: Trade Mike Trout w/ 10M paid to San Diego for Manny Margot, Taijuan Walker, Michel Baez, and Raul Mondesi. Expensive or not, he's still one of the best in the game. Noah has the money and even with Bryant could use the offensive boost to push through the NL West. Margot should be a fine replacement in CF, and Walker becomes a solid addition to the rotation. Baez is a very nice pitching prospect, and Mondesi is a post hype guy who can still be a nice player. Viola, i'm out of cap hell.

Move 2: Trade a couple prospects along the lines of Gavin LaValley to Miami for Ronald Torreyes. He's not a monster, but he should be cheaper than Franco and I might need someone to step in for Sano for a while. If not, then he's solid depth on the infield.

Cincinnati Reds: This team is a clear contender. It's got a lot of depth in the OF, and several prospects on the cusp of helping in 2018. I'd look to leverage this depth and prospects to get myself a good 1B. I do not believe for a second that Dom Smith is the answer at 1B.

Move 1: Trade Gregory Polanco, Brandon Drury, Jon Gray, and Brady Singer to Mariners for Cody Bellinger. Similar to the other Bellinger proposal, M's could use a RF and depth. This is also similar to adding a top 5 pick assuming Singer gets through the college season unscathed. It's selling a little low on Polanco, but he should hold appeal given his extension. I also think Drury could have a bounce back season. Gray instantly becomes the ace of M's staff. These are all depth pieces for Cincy though, and Bellinger at 1B and Gallo at 3B provides some serious thump. As an added bonus, I believe this would get me under cap.

Move 2: I don't know. I might try to find a starter with some prospects that aren't Alex Reyes. I definitely cut Sean Nolin and Alex Wilson to get padding for callups. Sorry, this one is boring.

[Padres GM (Noah)]

u never made it to NLW

[Brewers GM (Marty)]

i'm allowed to amnesty one article for my career