So, we’re down the road a bit since our first installment of the Rebuild Chronicles and trying our best to stay the course on our rebuild rules.
We strayed a bit on the “no multi-year free agent contract” rule when Alfredo Gonzales and Roberto Rivera (two young, highly-rated Mexican league pitchers) showed up in free agency: we offered what we thought were a couple of big multi-year contracts to both of them.
Those offers, it turned out, were laughable in the face of what other teams must have proposed. And given that they’re both asking for $20 to $30 million a year for 6 years now, we’ve come back to our senses and bowed out of the bidding.
Instead, we looked at some cheap veterans who’ve fallen on hard times: José Guillén, an outfielder who was a star for the Claymores in the late 20s; Dave Yarbrough, an outfielder who can’t field a lick but still has nice contact and eye skill ratings; and Jack Speed, a third baseman who put in some good years for San Juan.
We signed all 3 to minor league contracts that will convert to inexpensive major league pacts if they make the major league roster within the first month of the season. If they’re not promoted, they can re-enter free agency.
Guillen and Yarbrough have performed well in Spring Training so far and stand excellent chances of making the Scottish. Guillén is slashing .370/.471/.704 with 6 doubles, a homer and 7 RBI, while Yarbrough is slashing .286/.375/.357 with a double and 2 RBIs.
Speed isn’t hitting at that level, but has drawn a bunch of walks and may also find a path onto the roster. He’s slashing .235/.500/.294, with 4 hits and 8 walks in 13 games.
No, they won’t keep that up, but they may perform well enough to help the Scottish win a few games along the line.
Yes - we’re serious about not tanking: if we can do little things like this to improve the team that don’t violate the principles of the rebuild, we’ll do them. We need to at least keep our Fan Interest (still holding at 85) in a respectable range to keep a healthy revenue stream.
Speaking of doing little things to improve the team: our free agent third baseman Michael Manley ($2.5 million for 1 year) is hitting well this Spring: .457/.500/.571 with 4 doubles, 5 runs and 2 RBIs in 18 games.
We trimmed the Spring Training roster back to 35 (from 42) after the third ST sim, and think we may actually have a couple of tough choices to make before opening day.
Meanwhile, we have our scout methodically working his way through the draft pool to figure out who we might be interested in taking.
Weekly reminder to self: Don’t trade draft picks.
We’ll check back in on opening day to see how the major league roster finally shakes out.