Box office receipts say fans are optimistic in San Juan this season but it wasn’t long ago pessimism prevailed. While player comings and goings have given fickle fans a roller coaster ride, a more sober view could reveal the Coqui may be about the same as last year.
The team had hoped to splurge in free agency but wound up more or less breaking even. Alexander O’Neal (.305, 28 HR) in at DH and Richie Norman (.299, 25 HR) out is pretty much an even swap, even if O’Neal is more likely to repeat those numbers. On paper bringing in starting pitcher Domingo Rodriguez to replace the traded Hollywood Hernandez may seem a lesser move but Hernandez is 47-41 in his career and Rodriguez 45-42 so the Coqui are comfortable with the exchange; particularly with the net of 2nd and 6th round picks coming in the Hernandez deal.
However, the team’s biggest concern is failing to bring in another slugger; particularly with a gaping hole in right field. After a year in which San Juan was merely pesky on offense, the goal was to find a legitimate 3rd and 4th hitter. O’Neal will replace Norman in the 3rd spot but the team still has reservations about the streaky Dean Walden, who finished at .309, 21 HRs but mixed his torrid streaks with slumps that at one point got so bad he was benched. The 24-year old's strong finish gave the team confidence he could adjust to whatever weakness opposing pitchers had found but the team would still prefer more power in the cleanup spot.
Bringing in catcher Jesus Negrete is the one clear gain, although it is primarily an offensive upgrade and, even at that, per at bat, Darwin Boyer had more home run power last season with a knack for his 16 dingers coming with men on base.
The Coqui’s one hope for improvement comes from the weakest link last year – the bullpen – and the team made no changes there. While deep in promising prospects, none have as yet emerged. San Juan did hire a former standout pitching coach, Keiji Hagi, as bench coach and brought in a trainer, Greg Royal, who is much better at keeping arms healthy; the amount of injuries being the main factor Katsumi Mirua was let go.
The infield defense should once again be superb if not tops in the league which should keep the starting pitching among the better staffs in the league. Duane Higgins is back at first, Shigekazu Shimizu is an All-Leather consideration at second, 40-year old Jose Rivera is still superb at short and Bob Vollmer is a glove upgrade at third, where the Coqui got little of anything from the disappointing Richard Kelly last year. If the pitching staff can keep the ball on the ground, it should be a solid unit. Ace To-Wai Zhou(13-7, 2.91) has yet to put it together for a full season but did lead the Imperial League in strikeouts (220); Rodriguez, Atilio Gaivo (12-7, 3.73) and Felix Romano (9-13, 3.96, with the team’s only no-hitter) are solid options; and the hope is hometown favorite Alfredo Velazquez (134-85, 3.14 in his career) will bounce back from injuries the past two seasons. If not, the once-steady Dave Parkinson remains on the roster although he struggled with the deep ball last year.
While the infield defense is strong, if the team feels the need for an extra bat in right, the outfield corners could be below average defensively and PRTC Park has a lot of gaps to hit to. Leadoff hitter Flint Butler (.290, 27-33 in SBs) will hold down left field again but Ed Lee (.313, .501 slugging pct. in AAA), a DH most of his minor league career, and the soft hitting Michael Drew (.280) are currently the only options in right.