2038 saw a lot of change in Palm Springs. First came the hiring of first year GM Rob Sullivan who came in and saw to the exit of several veteran players. Sullivan wanted to create financial flexibility that would lead to a dramatic turnover of the roster.

Gone are the expensive veterans who put together a 113 loss season, replaced by a group of rookies and young players who have talent but had yet to establish themselves as starters in the league. Joining them is a six player haul from the free agent market with a mix of veterans and younger players Codgers management hopes take the next step in their development. In addition, four trades that brought in more young players to add to the roster. In all, the active roster will have 17-21 new faces on the opening day from the start of the 2038 campaign.

The infield will have new starters at every position except first base where Vincente Gallardo will return. Gallardo signed as an International Free Agent in 2028 and is now one of the longest tenured Codger along with pitcher Brendon Cardenas. He will be joined by a cast of young players looking to establish themselves as regulars. Shortstop Vasil Albers was acquired in a trade with New Orleans for a 3rd round draft pick. Second basemen Manuel Jimenez was the Codgers biggest free agent signing coming from the World Independent League and infielders Moos Ippel and Kazuma Nii were part of the compensation package that saw infielder Eric Nelson traded to the Scottish Claymores. Joining them will be Benjamin Gentileschi, a home grown talent signed as an International Free Agent in 2029. That is five new faces, none over the age of 27 joining the 28 year old Gallardo.

Bringing in another catcher was a top priority for Sullivan who inked Nolan McMahon to a 2 year, $6MM deal in free agency to compete with last years tandem of Jason Etheridge and Masaki Sato. Catcher is a position the organization feels needs more attention and will be addressed in the draft if the right talent in there.

Heading into Spring Training the outfield is a wide open competition. Sullivan brought in five new outfielders to compete with holdovers Leland Brace, Jose Reyes, Rodrigo Gutierrez and Matthieu Sicco, none of which are promised a job. Brace and Sicco are rookies who got a taste of the big leagues last season. leftfielder Adam Barnes, Guillermo Dieguez were brought to the Codgers via trade. Freddy Martinez and Juan Mendoza were signed as free agents. Of the group, Mendoza is the only one being penciled in as a starter as he shifts to leftfield from center.

The starting rotation will see as many as five new starting pitchers on Opening Day as Sullivan jettisoned nearly the entire starting staff after last season with 24 year old Ramon Morales being the only hold over. There are nine starting pitchers who will compete for the five starting slots. Takashi Yamamoto, the Codgers first round pick and fourth overall in the 2035 draft will be given an opportunity in Spring Training to earn a spot. He held his own in a late season callup last year. Lefthanded veteran Hisashi Ishii was signed as a free agent to bring a veteran presence to the rotation. Brant Haines, Isaac Kennedy, Tsugiharu Kamimura, Nathan Comyn and Brendon Cardenas along with Angel Reyna who pitched out of the bullpen last season will round out the competition.

The bullpen is young with Ricardo Pineda the most senior member at age 27. He is joined by 25 year old John Vazquez, Shigochiyo Yamaguchi (23), Timothy O’Slattery (22), Yoshiaga Nakashima (23), and Steve Murdock (23) along with whichever starting pitcher candidates that do not make the rotation.

“The plan heading into the offseason was to field a younger team with upside in hopes of finding long term pieces as our young core in the minors matures,” said Sullivan. “We said goodbye to a number of veterans, guys who were on their second and third contracts and wanted to be on a team that can compete for a title, in an effort to build a foundation of solid talent to build on. We head into Spring Training with a lot of questions but we are optimistic these moves put us on a path to success. Jimenez and Mendoza are the only two players we made significant financial commitments to, the rest of the players we brought in are young and under team control or on short term “prove it” deals. There are opportunities abound for these players, this is their chance to prove they can start in this league. They also give us a window to allow our young core in the minors to develop and for us to continue to add players to that young core,” added Sullivan.

While this amount of changeover on a roster brings hope and optimism the reality is a team full of unproven players. The Palm Springs fan base will need to be patient while management rebuilds the organization but it will be a fun ride to watch this new group of players try to establish themselves are winning major league players.