TALKING ALL THINGS K-ZOO
It’s never easy to take over someone else’s team at any time but especially so close to the start of spring training. The team is always set up with a different aim and it’s sometimes difficult to piece together the direction the team was expected to go in. The Badgers barely missed a wildcard playoff spot last season so the logical first thoughts would be that perhaps they can close that gap with a few small tweaks but the closer you look, the further away those thoughts get.
The team is ageing, many of the 40-man are in their 30’s and some are closer to their 40’s. There are outfielders everywhere you look but few infielders. You have to go right down to Double-A before you find a catcher younger than 30 and again the only players the coaches can recommend to promote are outfielders. The top prospect’s list shows 19 out of 20 are position players and 11 of those 19 are outfielders. One of the few bright spots is that as things stand around $74 million is due to come off the payroll at the end of 2026 with another $26 million in arbitration & team option commitments meaning that Kalamazoo have the ability to shed $100 million and become major players in the free agent market next winter. That really means that there is a lot of players now playing for a new contract going forward into 2027 and given the ages of some of them the chances must be slim. Let’s have a look at some of the problem areas.
Personnel
My early intentions were to allow all the team managers & coaches the same year’s grace, to show me that they are the right fit. 2026 was looking like a complete write-off already before the next problem raised i’s head. More and more of the targets I was hoping to sign to booster the strength in depth were telling me through their agents that they were not interested to joining Kalamazoo because they felt that they would clash personalities with manager Juan Gómez who the franchise had newly acquired from Neo Tokyo. A hard choice had to be made and as the club geared up for spring training I called a meeting of all of the managers in the organisation. I already felt that the minors had been handled shoddily with players held back needlessly, unbalanced rosters and a general devil care less malaise. I didn’t hold back with my criticisms and in the closed confines of my office harsh words were traded. My plan going forward was to let Juan Gómez manage SS-A Ketchikan while their current manager, Scott Dickerson, would be promoted to Double-A Hamilton. Hamilton’s manager, Arnie Clay would be promoted to the Badgers manager after three successful seasons with the Industrialists. Dickerson threw a spike into that by flatly refusing to go anywhere and after a heated row was told to clear his desk immediately. For the time being Clay would swap roles with Triple-A manager Pedro Suárez, Gomez would head for SS-A and we would approach a few candidates who would interview alongside Clay for the now vacant Badgers managers role. With Gomez now no longer in charge of the Badgers we were able to at least offer contracts to the players who had flatly refused to talk to us.
Catchers
24-yr-old Tomás Cisneros was invited to camp as the best of an otherwise aging bunch, 35-yr-old Jeff Richard is slated to be one of the catching duo due to his outstanding defence but several contracts were offered to free agent catchers.
Outfield
Not really a problem other than our cup runth over. Scott Wiggins, Ruben Jimenez and Jose Guillen are slated to be the starting trio but Badgers will have six other OF in camp trying to unseat them or win an outfield backup slot.
Infield
To be fair to someone who likes defence this is a shambles. Many contracts have been offered and it is hoped that the majority of the infield will come from free agency or we are in trouble.
Rotation
The five pitchers that won 67 games for Badgers last year will start as favourites to retain their jobs but others will be challenging them in the first few weeks of camp
Bullpen
A plethora of relievers will be in camp attempting to win a spot with everyone’s job up for grabs. Expect several to be tried in the closer, setup & stopper roles
Conclusions
2026 whatever happens will most likely be a year of change for Kalamazoo. The on-field success of the Badgers will largely depend on the franchise’s ability to sign a number of the few remaining free agents that offer value. Most contracts offered will be one-year deals to tide the squad over until the rebuilding starts in earnest in 2027 with most of the big earners gone. In the meantime the organisation will spend 2026 restructuring and rebuilding the farm attempting to get more bona fide prospects into and through the system, attempting to balance the rosters and look to the future success.