Burlington Ice Storm
74.9M(81M) Estimated Opening Day Payroll
OFFSEASON MOVES: LEFT FA: 2B Travis Hardtke- average at best, 3B Rolando Johnson- never really developed in Burlington, SP Andres Amaral- solid performer overwhelmed in his role with Burlington, RP Miguel Arrojo- bad S15 cost him his job and now his roster spot, LF Hal Taylor- all that is left might be the HOF, RP Frank Figueroa- Solid reliever in his career, should latch on somewhere, ADDED FA ADD: RP Babe Rose- should get a shot to be featured in Burlington, SP Wascar Martin- seemed to exceed expectations in Memphis, can't see that here. RULE 5 CF Oswaldo Jacquez- here for his glove not his bat
SUMMARY: The Ice Storm is returning the main parts of their offense again. They would still probably like to add another strong bat, but even if they sit on what they have they have a solid team to lineup the batting order. On the defensive side they added Jacquez who could be a great late inning defensive sub for Stroud and Silva. The Rotation again might be the weak point; Adding Martin will be an upgrade over Amaral and injects fresh blood into the rotation which struggled in S15. The Pen adds a good arm in Rose and should be able to handle the workload better than the few RPs Burlington let go. The team again might teeter close to .500 with the starting pitching throwing away to many games.
Durham Bulls
62.2M(71M) Estimated Opening Day Payroll
OFFSEASON MOVES: TRADED: CF Felix Kim- Defensively solid offensively challenged LEFT FA: SP Graham Green-age has caught up to him, might still have 1 season left to give. RP Derrick Fisher- his days were over last season, LR Carter Warden- as a long reliever he could still get some looks, RELEASED: DH Juan Henriquez- hit 35 Hrs and 115RBI and nobody is calling, DH Julio Franco- Light hitting catcher still might find a home. SP Alex Amaral- overwhelmed in the ML for 5 seasons. ADDED: FA SIGNING: SP Pedro Espinosa – still can pitch and will be the team veteran if not the ace, SP Jimmie Eusebio- Should provide a stable force in a weak pitching staff. RULE 5: UTIL David Caballero- Average at everything, OF Matty Cela- Power hitter with good speed poor base running, 2B Jose Duran- Slightly above average projected hitter and runner. 3B Happy Jensen- power hitting slugger SUMMARY: William Stewart was a good pick up last season and filled a need in offense. Where he ripped for 123RBI, but Superstar Theodore Grace took a step back and didn't perform. The Bulls will still need one more bat to allow the offense to get rolling and put ducks on the pond for Grace. The starting pitching staff is vastly improved with the 2 FA additions, but Nunez and Reidling are still going to be trying for the fans. The pen is stable and shouldn't cause too many fires, but don't expect them to save a lot of clutch games either. Overall better than last season, but the process is still very far off.
Chicago Wolves
63.9M(66M) Estimated Opening Day Payroll
OFFSEASON MOVES: FA LEFT: RP Kris Aspromonte- could be a solid Right hand Specialist, RF Tony Jacquez- Still a solid RF option
SUMMARY: The Wolves have a lot of young Talent to work with and their lineup should be very good yet again. They didn't look to bring in a starting CF'er until prospects were ready though and that surprises me because it leaves a large hole up the middle of the field. The Starting pitching returns from last season another year old and better. CL Orlando Martinez took home the hardware last season as Fireman of the year, given the right opportunity; I can't see why that won't happen again. Bottom Line is this team is quickly becoming a force, with minor tweaks and adds they could be challenging for the World Series.
Washington D.C. old school warriors
75.7M (80M) Estimated Opening Day Payroll
OFFSEASON MOVES: FA LOSS: SP Theo Gibson- his career has been long enough time to shoot this horse, 2B Charles McEnroe, LF Paulie Duran- he played long enough, LR- Wilson Marshall- surprisingly has had no success as a long reliever. RELEASED: SS Kennie Ramirez- not good enough for SS, can't hit enough for anywhere else, RP Alex Colon- highly effective for 1 batter every 3 games, 2B Benji Lugo- average 2B, 1B Einar Lopez- light hitting 1B, ADDED: FA ADD: 1B Dmitri Miller- has the bat to give your lineup pop. LR Sherm Taylor- still useful in long relief. PROMOTED: RP John Cheng- When he finds the plate he will be effective for at least 10 pitches
SUMMARY: Replacing Theo Gibson with Sherm Taylor is a great start to the off season. They added a solid bat in Miller as well. Both moves could be key to solidifying the Warriors back into relevance for S16. Pitching should be beyond ordinary with Perry, Ritz and Dunn this season. The Pen should also provide stability in the close games. The one thing Washington might lack is depth outside their starts the team gets thin very quickly around the diamond. If they avoid injuries to key players they should thrive.
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