When I left off, I was checking my team and deciding what to do with it. Let’s go into some rules and history from this league and I’ll try to explain what I think I have to do.
The first thing a deep 30 team dynasty has to have is the salary cap, right? If you don’t have that, then there’s really no hard decisions to make. So the first thing I looked at was my cap situation.
Crikey! I’m already over the cap. That means I’m not able to make any trades, do free agency, or add any talent until this situation is rectified. I have three guys that I would like to re-sign from my free agents in Max Muncy, Ryan Pressley, and Jose LeClerc, but I’m unable to do so. There will be no other option but to clear some salaries and make cap room.
Just so you know, the salary cap is around 168 million rounding to the nearest million. Rounding is a good skill, by the way, and kids don’t know how as much as they did back in my day, so get off my lawn. My high dollar guys are Aaron Nola at 27, Alex Bregman at 24, Luis Robert will be expensive soon but for this year is 10, but I don’t like the player or the injury history. Some more arms are Sonny Gray (33 years old and 12), Marcus Stroman at 18, and Nathan Eovaldi who would have to be extended at 18.
To keep Muncy (OBP league) Pressley, and Leclerc would cost me around 28 million. That’s not good when you already are two below the cap. First step was to update a trade block and put Robert, Nola, Gray, Bregman, and Stroman on it. It’s a rule of the league to get below the salary cap so I really don’t have an option but to trade. I first tried to move Gray and Nola as guys who would get me a good prospect/young player return.
I then went to look at my prospects. This league is smart and has a 60 prospect roster limit. I’ve been in one with zero limits and it was really dumb. I also am not that smart, though, and I only recognized four names from the 50 or so guys on my list, and 2 top 100 guys. So my first thought was, yes, I have 2 top 100 guys! Then I went and looked at what that meant. I can’t just let guys walk and expect to win. There’s no starting quality help coming from my farm system. This is bad when you are over the cap, isn’t it? You can’t go on counting on guys like Kevin Alcantara, Ty Madden and Alek Thomas as the foundation of a team. They’re solid but not that type of player that you can count on, like money back guarantee style.
I’m beginning to see why the previous owner left this team.
My final initial step…crap, that’s terrible writing. Final initial stop? Hyperbole much? My next step is a really hard one with my experience. Valuing guys in a 30 team league is much different than the usual 12-14 team leagues that I’ve been a part of. It’s all value vs. contract vs. quality of the player. Is the guy on a good contract? Is he about to get really expensive compared to his value? Who can get the most back in a trade? There’s just so many variables and it’s never in a vacuum. To be honest, it’s been a couple weeks and I’m still figuring it out.
How am I learning to assess value? I looked at the records and official finish from last year. Seems like the Marlins won the league and their roster is obviously loaded. Study up! The other thing I did was print out the MLB stats, team by team, and keep them in my bathroom. My poor family thinks I’m having terrible bowel issues; no, honey, I’m just reading about the Guardians’ bullpen situation. That’s all terribly normal, right? Right?
After I get the values done and try to figure out rosters and all that, my attention turned to the farm system. I’m way behind the curve on this one; I’m not a prospect guy. Luckily, I have Marlins top 10 fantasy baseball prospects and similar articles by our very own Itch are helpful with his top tens. Another thing people do, not all of them but a lot, is they give organizational rankings for their prospects. Love this so, so much, as it’s impossible to know everything with prospects and have like a life and other thoughts and stuff. That could possibly be my age; my brain doesn’t remember things like it used to.
This team was named the Yankees. So, where are the Yankees? A team that cashed in the chips and fell short and then the owner sold the team, leaving me, the new guy, to pick up the pieces. A team that has the skeleton of a good result, but the guts have been rotted out, kinda like the pumpkin my kid brought home, then dropped, then orange guts started leaking on the front porch. That’s my team. It looks like a nicely painted pumpkin, but there’s nothing on the inside to keep it from collapsing.
It’s looking like Kelder has to do the hardest thing: a rebuild in a 30 team dynasty.
I’ve already made some trades which may or may not be good, you can judge that in my next installment.
For sake of ease and reference, here is the roster I inherited. Budget again is $168 million.
C: Tyler Soderstrom .6
Nick Fortes .6
1B Garrett Cooper 18
Darick Hall .6
2B Brendan Rodgers .8
Zach McKinstry 1.2
SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa 8
3B Max Muncy 16
Alex Bregman 20
Brett Baty .65
Jean Segura 6
OF Jurickson Profar 6
Luis Robert 10
Alek Thomas .7
Jo Adell .6
Marcell Ozuna 5
Yonathan Daza .7
Mitch Haniger 11
SP
Aaron Nola 27
Kenta Maeda 5
Sonny Gray 11
Alex Wood 5
Marcus Stroman 18
Nate Eovaldi 10
Jose Suarez 1.2
RP
Camilo Doval 2.4
Ryan Pressly 9
Jose Leclerc 5
Key prospect bench: Alexander Canario, Kevin Alcantara, Ty Madden
