MLB Off Season 2018 - 2019
 

What or who is on your club's wish list here in the off season?

Geography has me following the O's who are taking the "burn it all down" approach that has become so popular (With the exception of continuing to take it in the shorts with Chris Davis' contract).

Coming off the historical season they started right in dumping everything that wasn't young and cheap (*Exception - Chris Davis) and acknowledge the coming rebuild. GM and Manager gone as well.

Ownership reigns were handed over to the sons so there appears to be some acceptance of the more modern process, analytics and international signing possibility. They've got a young GM in Mike Elias who is saying the right things and appears to have the right background to manage the rebuild. At least a couple more 100 loss seasons are completely reasonable but the fan base is seeing some changes. Selection of a new manager is next on the agenda along with building up the scouting department to get good from Summer League on up the chain.


Boston on the other hand appears to be holding what they have and most likely focusing on strengthening their roster. Cora has extended through 2021 so we will see if lightening in a bottle can happen again. League MVP and WS MVP are back in Betts and Pearce. The question as always in the AL East is who has the deepest pockets between the Yanks and Sox.

Winter meetings are coming soon. Hopefully they don't mess around too much with the game.

Altanta made some moves today, bringing back Brian McCann for what will likely be his swan song and giving Josh Donaldson a chance to see if he can stay healthy and MVP-caliber productive again. An extra arm for their rotation, and they are likely the favorites to win the division again, no matter what steps Washington and Philadelphia take.

So far, I haven't seen much from the Nats. They seem to be stuck waiting for the Bryce Harper drama to play out, since that drives whatever payroll flexibility they have to sign other players.

I have no idea what to expect from the Orioles. It's a nice fantasy to hope for something like the "Why Not?!" 1989 season, but it seems like given the new management focus, they probably want to lose, to rack up some more draft picks. I can't imagine what it would be like to play for a team whose leadership not only doesn't expect much from you, but would probably prefer if you didn't exceed expectations.

A few promising directions from the Cubs, and a few real bummers.

UP: Happy to see they have made a change in their Pitching Coach, as early runs allowed & (massively) blown saves were an issue. A handful of the bullpen remain, like Edwards Jr., and Hendricks is staying in the rotation. While many of the regulars around the diamond are still on-board...

DOWN: Sorry to see they dealt Tommy La Stella to the Angels. He never had a regular daily spot, but was literally a guy you could call with 10 seconds notice as a pinch-hitter, against anyone, and get a solid .290 effort, home or road. Such a solid, focused player. If you need a guy to get on base to extend your chances late in the game, this is your call. He's gonna be missed.