Let's Play GM: AL East

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

Let's play GM, the purpose of this series of threads is to see if you can be a better GM than the pros. What we're going to do is take a look at each team in every division and try to make them better. For example if a team is a basement dweller try to set them up for the future, or if a team is in a pennent race try to make moves that put them over the top.

Rules are simple, one team per post to make it easier to reply to. Make sure your moves make sense, saying you're going to trade Juan Pierre for Albert Pujols straight up or you're going to sign the All-Star team when you have the payroll of the Marlins won't fly. Also you don't have to do each team in the division.

The next division we're going to do is the AL East. I've been having problems posting this thread so I'll leave out the links and pictures for now.

The teams: New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Pick one and start.

 

[Dr. Stinger A. Zoidberg]

Well, obviously, I'm going to pick the Yankees. As the GM, I need relievers and some bench players. I would probably go out and try to pick up either Kevin Gregg from Toronto, or possibly Kerry Wood from Cleveland. Both those pitcher's ERA's are fairly high, (4., and 6.) but they both play for teams that don't have much defense, so it really isnt a bad thing to get one of them. To get them, I would trade away some AA or AAA guys, possibly people like Kei Igawa, or Tim Redding.

For the bench, I would go out and try to pursue Ty Wigginton. A solid power hitter, who can come off the bench, DH, or play 1st base if I want to give Teixeira a day off. While he's been playing almost every day for Baltimore, he could easily adjust to being used late in games, for coming off the bench as a pinch-hitter, or being used as a defensive replacement.

Thats all the Yankees really need right now.

 

[Stormtrooper]

I, too, will select the New York Yankees, and make the team with the best record in baseball somehow better.

First, I would shop around and see what I could get for top catching prospect Jesus Montero. A lot of people project him to not be a catcher in the majors, because of his poor defense, and if he can't catch, then he will be without a position on the Yankees when he is MLB ready next year. Thankfully, the Yankees have such an overabundance of catching prospects (including Austin Romine, who the Yankees think more of then Montero, even) that trading Montero won't affect the Yankees whatsoever. The main thing I would try and get for Montero would be a top-level starting pitcher. Because Montero is such a highly regarded prospect, I would only consider someone who has had success in the American League, thus enhancing the new pitchers chances of success in the AL East. Therefore I may be stuck with Montero until the Off-Season. Come the Off-Season, I would look again to see what is available, and try to get a top of the line starter then.

Secondly, I would try and get a decent middle reliever. Not another teams closer, but a solid veteran guy for the bullpen. This is where the Yankees money comes into play. I would be able to trade very little (or even nothing) for so-so middle reliever with a terrible contract. This guy would then take Chan Ho Park's place in the bullpen, because Park has been nothing short of terrible all year long. If the veteran guy I trade for doesn't pan out, then I just call up a kid from the minors to fill Parks role.

Honestly, I wouldn't even think about getting another bat for the bench. The kids currently on the Yankee roster have been solid thus far, and seem to not be grumbling about playing time. If the Yankees were to pick up a veteran starting player like Wiggington for the bench, he would likely want to play more then he will. Ramiro Pena and Kevin Russo have been solid when they are called upon, and the lone veteran off the bench Marcus Thames has been very good. Francisco Cervelli, whom has seen more time then originally expected, has been great, so I don't see any need to add another player, especially when Nick Johnson will be back before September, adding another veteran bat for the bench.

That would be all you can really do with the Yankees. They are pretty set for not only now, but the foreseeable future as well.

 

[BooCocky]

The Rays have a load of talent in the majors and in the minors, there biggest priorities are locking up players like Longoria and Price long term. I know they aren't going to e able to sign Crawford, so they should have shopped him when they have the opportunity. You need to capitalize on his ability. I'm sure he would have gotten you a lot in return. He's a good leadoff hitter, solid outfielder and can steal bags? Who the fuck doesn't want that? With their payroll there isn't much they can do. They just can't make bad moves. They're built for the future, maybe if the price is right they could add another pitcher, someone like Roy Oswalt. I know his contract is huge but Houston really wants to shop him. So they might make it easy. Add one of your best minor league pitchers, an average minor league player and pitcher in your rotation and you might have a deal.

So, to make them better i'd find a pitcher, and i'd be willing to unload some top prospects to get what i want for one last run. That's all i can think of because Price, Longoria, and Zobrist are under contract for years.

 

[Megatron]

Ugh, I lost everything that I had wanted the Orioles to do, so here's a recap.

-Shop Ty Wigginton and Miguel Tejada as they're both having solid seasons and you could likely get 2 prospects for each.
-Keep the OF of Markakis, Jones, and Pie as it is. Luke Scott can be placed as the DH.
-Lugo/Izturis continue to split SS, Matt Wieters is your future star (at least they hope), Rhyne Hughes will be your 1B, Brian Roberts will return next season to be your 2B, and then you look in the minors for another 3B.
-Their starting pitching is horrible, so the prospects that they trade Tejada/Wigginton for should be for 2-3 starters and a reliever. Brad Bergsen and Brian Matusz are still young and you hope they can hit their stride soon, while you shop around Milwood and Jeremy Guthrie and see if you can even get 1 A or AA prospect, which I think they should just take.
-Their bullpen isn't much greater then their starting but they do have 3 guys who have over 30 appearances and an ERA under 3.50, which should be a plus. Right now they just have to plug some other guys in there and hope someone breaks out. It's not like they're going anywhere within the next 3-4 years.

It'll be a long time for the Orioles to turn the corner, but if they wanna become less of a joke they HAVE to plan for the future and trade away veterans that are on their last years of contracts for some prospects. Hire a manager that wants to be here for the long haul and cares about his players (like a Bobby Cox). Again, it'll be a long stretch of futility for the Orioles, but this is the first steps, imo.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

The Red Sox right now are a mess, and I'm not even going to attempt to come up with a plan for them right now. I have no idea what they're going to do between now and September 1st, and I don't even know of a viable solution. Chances are they'll stand pat and maybe bring in a bullpen arm or two, basically thinking that the guys we're getting back from the DL are going to be like getting players at the deadline. So, I'm going to skip ahead to the offseason and pretend I got hired for the Red Sox after Theo has another falling out with ownership and leaves for good with his gorilla suit.

The roster:

C
Victor Martinez, Jason Varitek, Kevin Cash

Two guys who are horrible defensively and a fringe player. And to be honest, I don't see any of them coming back next year. The only future V-Mart really has here is at DH. Recognizing his value as a fill-in catcher, first baseman, DH, and the fact that he can obtain a high OPS, provide an over .300 average, and hit somewhere between 20-30 HRs as a DH where he's not putting so much stress on his body. I also know that because Mauer got a huge deal, he's going to want one. After much thought and consideration, I offer him arbitration, knowing he won't accept, and I can get my draft picks from whoever signs him, and let him walk.

In the meantime, I force Varitek into retirement and hire him as Terry Francona's bench coach. Kevin Cash is gone. I call up Mark Wagner and install him as the backup catcher and trade SP Michael Bowden and a fringe prospect to Colorado for Chris Iannetta, or to Texas for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Two guys who can learn a lot and realize some of their potential working with the new bench coach, Jason Varitek.

Corner Infield/DH
Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Beltre, David Ortiz, Ryan Shealy, Mike Lowell

Youkilis is entrenched at 1B. Shealy I keep on as a backup, because he's solid and won't cost much. There's also the fact that the 1B FAs for the most part are still fringe starters and most likely won't accept a backup role. Mike Lowell is taken around the back of the barn and shot.

As far as Adrian Beltre goes, his agent is Scott Boras and I don't really want to deal with him, especially where Beltre is coming off his best season in quite some time. Given Beltre's history of shutting down once getting paid, I let him walk.

From here, I take a leap of faith. I move Youkilis to 3B. I'm not taking David Ortiz back, because he'll want his $12.5 M option picked up, which quite frankly, especially with him getting up there in age, I don't think he's worth, especially where it takes him a while to get hot. I want to wash my hands clean of the steroid fiasco as it is. I let him walk. I'm taking a Bill Belichick type approach to putting the roster together. If that means letting popular players go, well, that's too bad, there's a reason why I'm in charge. From here, I sign Adam Dunn to a 4/$52M deal and have him DH. Do I care that he K's a lot? Hell no. I'd rather have a guy strike out than hit into a double play, and he puts up two things that I'm looking for in a DH: A lot of home runs and a high OPS.

From here, I sign Adam Laroche to a one year deal for around $5-6M and have him play 1B. I also give him a mutual option for the next year. I think he'd have a lot of fun playing at Fenway and would be a damn good doubles hitter playing pepper with the Monster.

Middle Infield
Dustin Pedroia, Marco Scutaro, Bill Hall, Eric Patterson, Jed Lowrie

We have Dustin Pedroia and Marco Scutaro at 2B and SS. I like Scutaro, but I see him as more of a bench player, and a guy who can be a supersub. There are rumblings that the Florida Marlins may not be able to afford Hanley Ramirez. This is where I swoop in and take him back.

My farm system is very strong. I have a young cuban shortstop who has a lot of potential in Jose Iglesias. I have a guy who has a lot of potential as a 2B in Jed Lowrie. I also offer OF Jacoby Ellsbury and SP Kyle Weiland. They're getting rid of Uggla, so Lowrie fits right in at 2B. Iglesias is compared to Orlando Cabrera. Ellsbury wants out, the team hates him, and I feel he's overrated, but he's a big name that the Marlins can sell the fans on. I feel alright letting them go. Hanley has so much potential, and for the Marlins, this is pretty much something they'll have a hard time refusing. I throw in one more fringe prospect if it helps sweeten the deal.

As far as Hall and Patterson go, I let Hall walk. I offer Patterson a minor league deal. If he doesn't accept, he's gone.

Revamped C/IF/DH:
Catcher:
Saltalamacchia/Iannetta and Mark Wagner

First Base/DH:
Adam LaRoche, Adam Dunn, Ryan Shealy

Second Base:
Dustin Pedroia

Shortstop:
Hanley Ramirez

Third Base:
Kevin Youkilis

Supersub:
Marco Scutaro

Outfield
Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Cameron, JD Drew, Daniel Nava, Darnell McDonald

At this point, Ellsbury is gone. I never liked Mike Cameron. He's old and can't even play defense anymore. Plus, I can't have two guys who strike out a lot in the lineup, so I eat the remaining $7.5 million on his deal and release him. That leaves Drew, Nava, and McDonald. I like JD and Nava's a damn good fourth OF who is cheap, so I keep him. I let McDonald go.

So now I have two vacancies in my outfield. It comes to my attention that the Yankees are targeting Carl Crawford and it just so happens that I have a vacancy in my LF and leadoff spot. So, I offer Crawford 5/75, which he accepts. It's a lot of money, but Crawford is a damn good talent and would be a tremendous leadoff hitter. At centerfield, I go with one of my outfield prospects in either Ryan Kalish or Josh Reddick. Whoever does well in Spring Training gets the job. I also sign Rick Ankiel to a minor league deal to push Kalish, Reddick, and Nava.

New Outfield:
Corner Outfield:
Carl Crawford, JD Drew, Daniel Nava

CF:
Ryan Kalish/Josh Reddick

PROJECTED LINEUP:
LF Crawford
2B Pedroia
SS Ramirez
DH Dunn
3B Youkilis
RF Drew
1B LaRoche
C Saltalamacchia/Iannetta
CF Kalish/Reddick

Starting Pitcher:
Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield

I curse Theo Epstein for the huge contracts for Daisuke Matsuzaka, John Lackey, and Josh Beckett. Nonetheless, one of them has to go and it's Daisuke, because he's beyond worthless to me. I take whatever I can get for him and eat salary if I must.

Tim Wakefield retires. I need a fifth starter, and I don't think any of the guys I have in the minors can handle the majors just yet. I buy low on a bounce-back candidate on a one year deal, and Justin Duchscherer is my main target.

Rotation:
Jon Lester
Clay Buchholz
Josh Beckett
John Lackey
Justin Duchscherer/Aaron Harang/Jake Westbrook

Bullpen:
Oh my god what a mess. First things first, Daniel Bard is my closer. Which means, I'm trading Papelbon for prospects. Hideki Okajima appears to be done, so I let him go. I keep Ramon Ramirez, hoping this is just a bad year for him. I hate Manny Delcarmen, so I look to trade him as well. Dustin Richardson stays.

So, this is how I would revamp the Red Sox heading into next season. This was supposed to be a quick post and I spent way too much time on this.