This is a project where 30 people got together to act as the GMs of the 30 MLB teams with the idea of conducting the offseason in one week. This is what happened in this simulation, not a prediction of what will happen in real life.
By Brian Mullen
My team for the third straight year was the Houston Astros. I decided against attempting to resign any of the club’s free agents, however I kept all my arbitration eligible players. I traded reliever Will Harris to the Blue Jays for outfielder Dalton Pompey, and as a result of that transaction was able to deal Evan Gattis to the Orioles straight up for Ubaldo Jiminez, thus solidifying my starting rotation.
With all the relatively young talent in the infield and outfield, I didn’t see the need to shake up too much of the starting 9. Altuve, Correa, Bregman, Springer, Tucker etc. should be Astros fixtures for a long time. Losing Jason Castro to free agency caused a need for a catcher, so after a failed bid to sign free agent closer Kenley Jansen I channeled my remaining cash at signing a quality catcher and found my man in Wilson Ramos, who would be a fine addition to the real Houston squad. He would be a great fit to help take a quality pitching staff to the next level.
| Player | Salary in Millions |
|---|---|
| Dallas Keuchel | 18.5 |
| Collin McHugh | 3 |
| Brad Peacock | 1.75 |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | 13.5 |
| Lance McCullers | 0.525 |
| Kevin Chapman | 0.52 |
| Luke Gregerson | 6.25 |
| Ken Giles | 0.55 |
| Tony Sipp | 6 |
| Mike Fiers | 1.8 |
| Joe Musgrove | 0.55 |
| Michael Feliz | 0.5082 |
| Wilson Ramos | 24 |
| Max Stassi | 0.55 |
| Marwin Gonzalez | 5 |
| Jose Altuve | 4.68 |
| Carlos Correa | 0.5259 |
| Alex Bregman | 0.625 |
| Yulieski Gurriel | 14 |
| Jon Singleton | 2 |
| A.J.Reed | 0.675 |
| Preston Tucker | 0.5129 |
| George Springer | 3 |
| Jake Marisnick | 1.75 |
| Dalton Pompey | 0.6 |
| Total | 111.372 |
CLUB DECLINED ARBITRATION
None
STILL ON THE BOOKS FROM PREVIOUS SEASONS
None
BUYOUT *
Pat Neshek 500,000
OTHER PLAYERS IN SYSTEM NOT ON 25 MAN ROSTER
PITCHERS
David Paulino
Brady Rodgers
Jandel Gustave
Eury DeLaRosa
Francis Martes
Cy Sneed
Forrest Whitley
James Hoyt
Danny Reynolds
Nick Hernandez
Albert Abreu
Kyle Smith
Michael Freeman
Aaron West
Adrian Houser
Franklin Perez
Riley Ferrell
Brendan McCurry
Ian Hardman
Dustin Hunt
Trent Thornton
Akeem Bostick
Mike Hauschild
Juan Minaya
Chris Devenski
POSITION PLAYERS
Nolan Fontana
Teoscar Hernandez
Alfredo Gonzalez
Kyle Tucker
Andrew Aplin
Nestor Muriel
Chase McDonald
Tyler White
Jason Martin
Nick Tanielu
J.D.Davis
Jonathan Arauz
Jon Kemmer
Gilberto Celestino
Garrett Stubbs
Anibal Sierra
Colin Moran
Ramon Laureano
Mott Hyde
Miguelangel Sierra
Bobby Boyd
Ronnie Dawson
Stephen Wrenn
Jake Rogers
Abraham Toro-Hernandez
Danny Worth
Derek Fisher
Tony Kemp
Daz Cameron
I’m not sure I agree that Ubaldo Jimenez solidifies the rotation. While he has had his spurts in the past he has been nothing if not inconsistent. For 13.5 million I’m not sure I wouldn’t have preferred to take a shot at the Ivan Nova class of available pitchers instead.
It’s fun to see the list of young hitters this team has.
I would have kept Gattis at catcher and looked for an upgrade in SP, even if I had to go the trade route to get it. I think that big amount of money spent on Ramos could have been used for the rotation.
Ubaldo Jimenez for Evan Gattis was a mistake. I’m the guy who traded Freddie Freeman, which most people hated, but I don’t think I’m in the minority on that one. This team you built is fighting for a Wild Card and isn’t very improved from its 2016 model.
As with other comments, I think trading for Ubaldo is a big mistake. He definitely is not of the “solidifying the rotation” type pitcher.
Ditto with everyone else on the trade, but I want to go a bit further. I keep an eye on the Astros and from last November I wanted them to sign Bartolo Colon. Two reasons: One it keeps him away from the Mets, whom I knew would resign him. Two, it gives this young staff leadership, which it lacks. I also believe the manager underperformed, but I’m a Mets fan, how can I knock any manager?
This team has talent throughout their system, but their pitching let them down this year. I will up the ante this year and request two solid veteran pitchers. I’d go after one of the White Sox lefties, Quintana or Sale, add either Bartolo Colon or Ervin Santana, and get a solid bullpen piece, like Sergio Romo if I don’t land one of the big named closers. But, I’d get at least one solid reliever. This team has too much talent everywhere to keep waiting.