Saturday, March 4, 2023

For Sale By Owner

Catherine Trammell - Contributing Reporter


Overall Cobbfather is a fantastic league will little turnover from season to season., the owners are GREAT and the commish, even though he owns a team in Canada; does an awesome job too. That said, we still have two franchises for sale this year. 

  • New Orleans (NL - South) SOLD!

    • Defending Cobbfather World Series Champsions! Do we need to say anything more? 

    • This one hits home a little more than the other franchises that have been for sale over the years, as this one just happens to also be the editor of this wonderful (in my opinion at least) blog. Minihouston's only baseball experience was T-ball when he was little and being a fantasy baseball owner on the internet before he came across Cobbfather and purchased a team that was in shambles. Just before S52 the blog posted an article about his experience as a first time owner and the struggles of understanding the system (i.e. the game itself) while rebuilding a team, feel free to scroll back to it for some history behind the current team. Since winning the division and setting a franchise best in Wins in S51, the New Orleans Old Fashioneds (NOOFs as they've become known) have settled into being a favorite in the NL. Unlike how he found it, minihouston leaves the franchise near it's peak, primed for any owner to come in and reap the rewards; even if it's tearing the team completely a part to rebuild the team the way they want; though that would be a shame in this writer's eyes. Since he joined, the NL South has been a big spending, hitter friendly division with current teams located in Santa Fe, San Juan, and Austin. The team's position players are relatively young while the pitchers are mostly 'experienced', but they have combined to win four straight division titles. late injuries to to 2-time Cy Young starting pitcher William Thompson, his backup Danys Solis and 40 HR / 30 SB star 3B Josh Hunt made the playoffs an uphill battle but they succeeded and won the World Series.  

      If rumors are true, it's his distaste for Canada that got minihouston in trouble with the law, forcing him to sell the franchise. It all started with either a comment about Canadian bacon not actually being bacon or something about a Full Mountie or maybe it was an Old King Clancy in public. But enough trimming around the fat, let's review the team that is for sale. 

    • We'll look further at their current roster in a bit but let's look at the competition.  Santa Fe has had it's owner since S28, who won 14 division titles in 17 seasons between S34-S50. He typically builds his franchises on BIG budgets, often times spending north of $130M on his roster. But this year they finished down in the standings and have limited their big spending; rumors say there is potential for a full rebuild about to happen. Then there's San Juan who came on the same year as minihouston and seemed to be caught in a rut of 2nd place division finishes 8 of the 10 seasons he's been in the league with one playoff appearance. Their payroll typically sits around the $125M mark. Lastly there's Austin, who purchased the team in S40 and has seen a string of 4th place finishes since the NOOFs moved out of it. They've become a $100M+ payroll team as of late. 
    • Your biggest immediate competition in the NL will be: Hartford Rising Stars (North), Chicago Gunslingers (North), Oklahoma City Barons (West), Pittsburgh Yinzers (East), and Buffalo Bison (East)
    • Last season Records
      • ML: 114-48 (won division) - Last pick of the first round in S55 draft
        • Tied franchise record set in S51 for most wins.
      • AAA: 90-54 (1st)
      • AA: 89-55 (2nd)
      • A+: 72-72 (4th)
      • A-: 79-65 (3rd)
      • R: 36-40 (3rd)
    • Primed to continue their run atop the NL South, the team sits at a pivotal point ready for someone who can make a quick decision if they want to sell off parts to build their team their own way or continue pushing ahead. The trade market in Cobbfather might be slightly different than what many are used to in other leagues; but plenty of people who are willing to trade. 
      • (ages are listed as of the upcoming season)
      • Guaranteed Salary beyond S54
        • Last season's payroll: $127M
        • S55: $74.9M
        • S56: $53.3M
        • S57: $21M
        • S58: $0M
      • Arbitration Class
        • Javier Quevedo (28 yr old - 2B) - Arb2
          • S54 MVP Candidate, S51, 53, 54 All-Star. S51 Silver Slugger
          • S54 Stats: 127 R, 24 HR, 64 RBI, 47 SB, .295 AVG
        • Josh Hunt (27 yr old - 3B) - Arb2
          • S54 Stats: 106 R, 41 HR, 100 RBI, 35 SB, .278 AVG
            • Small injury last game of the year that keeps him out of the Bye week and the NLDS. 
        • Juancito Martin (29 yr old - LF) - Arb2
          • S53 Co-MVP. S51, 52, 53, 54 All-Star. S51, 54 Silver Slugger, S54 Gold Glove
          • S54 Stats: 120 R, 26 HR, 116 RBI, 26 SB, .319 AVG
        • Douglas Laxton (28 yr old - RF) - Arb2
          • S50 RotY, S51, 53, 54 All-Star. S51, S52, 53, 54 Silver Slugger. 
          • S54 Stats: 109 R, 37 HR, 118 RBI, 8 SB, .298 AVG
          • Carries a slight injury concern
        • Miguel Park (28 yr old - P) - Arb2
          • LR and Spot Starter
          • S54 Stats: 50 Appearances, 109 IP, 3.63 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 6 of 6 saves.
          • Carries some trade value if you want to move on from his contract.
        • William Martin (28 yr old - SuA) - Arb2
          • S54 Stats: 38 Appearances, 49 IP, 2.19 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 3 of 3 saves
          • Valuable SuA - AI favored Hig and Houston over Martin.
        • Gregorio Cordero (26 yr old - C) - Arb1
          • Best full-time Pitch Calling C in the league
          • S51 RotY. S53, 54 All-Star. S54 Silver Slugger
          • S54 Stats: 103 R, 46 HR, 131 RBI, 4 SB, .324 AVG
            • Career year
          • Carries a slight injury concern
        • Gabriel Martinez (29 yr old - C) - Arb1?
          • Backup and to give rest to Cordero
          • Eventual backup replacement is last season's diamond in the rough, Willie Pena in A+. 
      • Contract Renewals
        • Patrick Lanning (25 yr old - SS)
          • S54 Rule 5 - defensive SS / rest for Quevedo
        • Danys Solis (25 yr old - SP)
          • Upcoming Middle of the rotation starter, was a spot starter as the team typically ran a 4 man rotation until Thompson's injury (see below).
          • S54 Stats: 35 Appearances, 20 starts, 14-6, 130 IP, 2.48 ERA, 1.02 WHIP
        • David Corbin (26 yr old - RP)
          • Promoted for bullpen depth as a SuB upon Thompson's injury.
      • Existing Contracts (listed by length of contract)
        • James Kondou (30 yr old - 1B) - expires after S55 - 1/$5.6M remains
          • S52 All Star
          • Now fills a backup roll, and struggled last season as a pitch hitter
          • Was a .285ish avg, 20 HR, 30 SB guy the prior 4 seasons.
        • Keith Halter (32 yr old - 1B) - expires after S56 - 2/$19M remains
          • Power hitter routinely in MVP polls
          • Co-MVP in S53. S44 RotY. S44, 46, 47, 50, 51, 52, 53 All Star. S50, 53 Gold Glove
            • S54 All-Star Snub due to being traded in season. Snubbed from MVP voting due to trade as well.
          • S54 Stats: 120 R, 50 HR, 141 RBI, 30 SB, .308 AVG
        • Edgardo Boscan (31 yr old - P) - expires after S55 - 1/$6.25M remains
          • S47 RotY
          • Traded for Boscan for SP depth and Spot Starter, a team can never have enough pitching, especially with the Thompson injury.
          • S54 Stats: 30 Appearances, 12 starts, 10-5, 111 IP, 2.90 ERA, 1.26 WHIP
        • Yao-Hsun Higashioka (30 yr old - RP) - expires after S55 - 1/$6.8M remains
          • Solid SuA that has been the bullpen ace. 
          • S50, 53 All Star. 
            • Snubbed S54
          • S54 Stats: 75 Appearances, 119 IP, 2.19 ERA, 0.98 WHIP
        • Max Hernandez (29 yr old - SS) - expires after S56 - 2/$10M remains
          • Was lined up to be a S54 All-Star up until an injury a few days before
          • S54 Stats: 41 R, 12 HR, 69 RBI, 7 SB, .245 AVG
        • Bennie Swann (35 yr old - SP) - expires after S56 - 2/$11.6M remains
          • Has been in discussion for a few Cy Young awards since joining the NOOFs, including this season. 
          • S54 All-Star
          • S54 Stats: 36 starts, 22-5, 227 IP, 2.34 ERA, 1.01 WHIP
        • Louis Combs (35 yr old - SP) - expires after S56 - 2/$27M remains
          • S47 No-hitter. S49, 50, 52, 54 All-Star
          • Has been in discussion for a couple of Cy Young awards since joining the NOOFs. Was close to being on the list for S54 until the last few games.
          • S54 Stats: 33 starts, 17-5, 207 IP, 2.95 ERA, 1.23 WHIP
        • Yan Ozuna (28 yr old - CF) - expires after S57 - 3/$22.5M remains
          • S52 CF Gold Glove
          • S54 Stats: 74 R, 19 HR, 82 RBI, 15 SB, .278 AVG
        • William Thompson (37 yr old - SP) - expires after S57 - 3/$22.5M remains.
          • S43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 51, 52, 53, 54 All-Star. S52 & S53 Cy Young winner. 
            • Was on the S54 Cy Young discussion a few games after his injury.
          • He will start the season on the DL as he had a 235 day injury (He was 94 health and team had 20 train / 20 med) occur during game #127. He's on the 60 day and hopes are he regains some of his old self, but he dropped from 81 to 74 OAV and is aging. The trade for Thompson and follow up contract extension are looking worse and worse for the former owner.  Minihouston apologizes for sticking you with a bad contract, but at least it's only one and he leaves you plenty of other upside.
          • S54 Stats: 1.04 WHIP, 2.91 ERA, and a 12-6 record through 30 starts.
        • Ronnie Andrews (33 yr old - Closer) - expires after S57 - 3/$18.75M remains.
          • S46, 47, 49, 51, 53, 54 All-Star. S49, 51, 53 Fireman of the Year
            • Was nearly the S53 Cy Young winner as well as an RP.
          • S54 Stats: 48 Appearances, 38 of 44 saves, 2.68 ERA, 1.08 WHIP
      • Upcoming Free Agents
        • Rico Bonilla (38 yr old - SP) - aging SP - wants 2/$15.5M extension
          • S54 All-Star. With Solis replacing the Thompson injury in the rotation, this will leave a gap unless Boscan is pushed back to starting. Budget restraints might be too much to take on a FA starter, given their going rate in Cobbfather these days. 
          • Aged well, worst case will be a Type B FA; depending on his drop could be a Type A. 
        • Troy Houston (35 yr old - RP) - wants 2/$9.2M extension
          • Was a major part of the team's bullpen this year but he's been slowly dropping in ratings and at 35 I'd expect that to speed up this off-season. and into next year. 
        • Deven Aceves (29 yr old - SS) - wants 2/$5.2M extension
          • Was a great glove off the bench and giving starters rest, but prospects Macias and Jarvis could be much cheaper options for that. 
        • Jose Pena (30 yr old - DH) - In minors
          • Was demoted after the trade for Halter.
        • Nefi Brogna (29 yr old - SS) - wants 3/$15.6M extension
          • Was a great glove off the bench and decent versus lefties; even spot started while Hernandez was injured. But the initial plan was to have Jarvis/Macias replace him as a defensive backup. 
        • Vic Chavez (29 yr old - C/DH) - wants to test free agency. 
          • No longer hah a place on the team with Martinez serving as backup catcher and Kondou as the pitch hitter/1B rest/DH when visiting the AL. 
      • Prospects
        • Ernesto Johnson (LF) - AAA -With current lineup he's trade bait or injury backup / pitch hitter. Should be a .290ish hitter with 25-30 HR if given full time at bats but with All-stars at the COF and 1B, hard to fit him in. Minihouston didn't find much trade interest in him. 
        • Brooks Jarvis (SS) - AAA - Defensive gem - was planned to replace Brogna/Aceves
        • Yoervis Macias (SS) - AAA - Defensive gem - was planned to replace Brogna/Aceves
        • Mat Pritchett (RP) - AAA 
        • Anthony Cunningham (1B) - AA - Solid potential but has weak eye
        • Willie Pena (C) - A+ - DiTR - Could rest Cordero down the road once G.Martinez gets pricey for his role. 
        • Tracy Adkins (SP) - A- - DiTR 
  • Monterrey Stoics (AL - South)

    • Has finished no worse than 2nd place since S44 and won the division 5 of the last 6 seasons; excluding this years 3rd place finish. They even won it all in S50. But 3rd place makes it sound worse than it really was. Monterrey was in, and winning the Wildcard hunt up until the last game of the season that saw them lose Wildcard 2 in the tiebreaker. It's going to take a veteran owner to take over this team as it's a tough division. Houston (106-56) took home the top spot in the AL and won the division by 15 games. They are fresh off a rebuild and have a solid young core. Huntington (91-71) took home 2nd place (by 3 games ahead of Monterrey) but they too are coming off a rebuild. Not sure if it's official, but Wei-Yin Wan has taken over as best player in Cobbfather and should be for the next 10 +/- years. Huntington also has a solid young ace to lead their rotation. And that leaves Mexico City (62-100) who has just started to rebuild themselves last season. Unlike New Orleans, this team doesn't have as clear as a direction forward; a rebuild wouldn't be out of the question. Their bats were top 10 this season, but unfortunately their pitching fell bottom 15. With not a lot of pitching available in FA, some tough decisions will need to be made. 

    • Last season Records
      • ML: 88-74 (3rd) - Mid 20s pick in S55 draft
        • Tied franchise record set in S51 for most wins.
      • AAA: 76-68 (4th)
      • AA: 78-66 (2nd)
      • A+: 86-58 (2nd)
      • A-: 75-69 (3rd)
      • R: 58-18 (1st)
        • Don't get excited, they were lead by 2 ML contracted players.
    • Salaries
      • (ages are listed as of the upcoming season)
      • Guaranteed Salary beyond S54
        • Last season's payroll: $81.3M
        • S55: $47.9M
        • S56: $36M
        • S57: $11.6M
        • S58: $5.6M
      • Arbitration Class
        • Derek Shaw (30 yr old - CF) - Arb1
          • S54 Stats: 91 R, 17 HR, 80 RBI, 18 SB, .250 AVG
        • Dayan Flores (26 yr old - SS) - Arb2
          • S54 Stats: 60 R. 16 HR, 69 RBI, 0 SB, .288 AVG
          • Plus defender at SS
        • Eswalin Uribe (28 yr old - C) - Arb2
          • S54 Stats: 49 R, 19 HR, 49 RBI, 0 SB, .289 AVG
            • 346 ABs
        • Paco Garces (26 yr old - RF) - Arb2
          • Awards: S53 All-Star
          • S54 Stats: 123 R, 29 HR, 88 RBI, 20 SB, .273 AVG
        • Willie Golub (29 yr old - 1B) - Arb3
          • S54 Stats: .258 career hitter, not much power or speed. 
          • Plus defender at 1B.
        • Engel Ortiz (27 yr old - RP) - Arb2
          • Most of this year was AAA, previou 3 years he was an SuB on the ML squad. Career 1.37 WHIP, 4.98 ERA.
        • Mike Abbott (30 yr old - RP) - Arb2
          • S54 Stats: 79 appearances, 5-2, 4/7 saves, 1.34 WHIP, 3.27 ERA
        • Richard Allen (31 yr old - RP) - Arb3
          • S54 Stats: 65 appearances, 0-3, 6/7 saves, 1.51 WHIP, 5.05 ERA
      • Contract Renewals
        • Dan Phillips (26 yr old - 3B)
          • S54 Stats: 92 R, 10 HR, 55 RBI, 14 SB, .288 AVG
        • David Andrus (24 yr old - C/DH)
          • Awards: S53 RoTY
          • S54 Stats: 89 R, 36 HR, 120 RBI, 0 SB, .319 AVG
        • Ezequiel Manto (33 yr old - SS)
          • Defensive bench role player
        • Lance Gilmartin (30 yr old - C)
          • Backup defensive Catcher
        • Kevin Duran (25 yr old - RP) 
          • S54 Stats:  77 appearances, 3-1, 6/9 saves, 1.48 WHIP, 4.12 ERA
        • Delino McCartin (24 yr old - P) 
          • S54 Stats: 50 appearances, 3-1, 3/3 saves, 1.22 WHIP, 4.12 ERA
        • Ron Hill (28 yr old - P) 
          • S54 Stats: 38 appearances, 22 starts, 8-12, 2/2 saves, 1.59 WHIP, 5.73 ERA
      • Existing Contracts (listed by length of contract)
        • Bubba Alexander (31 yr old - SS) - expires after S55 - 1/$6.8M remains
          • Awards: S51 All-Star
          • S54 Stats: 58 R, 10 HR, 46 RBI, 12 SB, .249 AVG
        • Max Blankenship (33 yr old - RP) - expires after S56 - 2/$9.2M remains
          • S54 Stats: 67 appearances, 5-8, 16/19 saves, 1.20 WHIP, 2.91 ERA
        • Mike Lobstein (33 yr old - SP) - expires after S56 - 2/$12M remains
          • S54 Stats: 32 starts, 11-10, 145 K, 1.34 WHIP, 3.92 ERA
        • Yovani Parraz (38 yr old - SP) - expires after S56 - 2/$13.6M remains
          • Awards: S48 All-Star, S48 GG P
          • S54 Stats: 32 starts, 15-10, 149 K, 1.42 WHIP, 4.94 ERA
        • Santiago Cora (33 yr old - SP) - expires after S56 - 2/$14M remains
          • Awards: S57, 53 All-Star
          • S54 Stats: 33 starts, 18-10, 136 K, 1.25 WHIP, 3.96 ERA
        • Davey Perez (29 yr old - SP) - expires after S57 - 3/$18M remains
          • S54 Stats: 37 appearances, 23 starts, 7-7, 1/1 saves, 102 K, 1.42 WHIP, 4.62 ERA
            • Was acquired this season down the home stretch
        • Alex Perez (30 yr old - DH) - expires after S58 - 4/$22.4M remains
          • Awards: S52, 53 Silver Slugger DH
          • S54 Stats: 92 R, 43 HR, 121 RBI, 1 SB, .262 AVG
      • Upcoming Free Agents
        • Ubaldo Beltre (37 yr old - LF) - He's on the tail end of his career and likely looses enough power in the offseason that warrants 
        • Dane Castilla (34 yr old - LF) - His numbers dropped last year, but just a few seasons ago he was a near 50 HR hitter with a .250ish average. But be careful of those strikeouts. 
        • Bob Stewart (34 yr old - 2B) - Lucky to reach 20 HR on a .230 average and doesn't walk much...might want to think about letting him walk out of the stadium and not come back. 
        • Derrick Lintz (29 yr old - P) - Lintz has been used in every scenario but never all that successful as seen by his career 5.38 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. 
      • Prospects
        • Player (Pos) - League-Description
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