What the GM said: We feel like we have a lot of talent on this roster. We do need to add a few pieces, but we really just need to keep the players we have on the field.
Flight Log reaction: This is true. The team was in contention for a playoff spot almost every day during the 2057 season. That was able to happen despite the fact that they paid over $40 million for a combined 82 games from Robert Menzies and Tadataka Yoshikawa. There are reports that the team is sending trainer Jorge Luna to some trainings and conferences during the offseason to help him learn new techniques to help keep players healthy. Charlotte’s combined position player WAR was one of the highest totals in the league in 2057 and should be higher if the players expected to start the majority of the games are actually on the field most of the time. Their pitching rWAR was below league average. There were some injuries, most notably Stephen Best but we will discuss the pitching in more detail a little later in the article.
What the GM said: We have a high payroll, meaning that we have limited cap space. We need to work within those constraints as we move toward next season. While that does mean that we won’t be signing a bunch of high profile free agents, it doesn’t mean that we won’t be making moves to improve our team.
Flight Log reaction: This is also true.The acquisitions of Banger Dan and Dallas Dixon during the 2057 season have a lot to do with this, especially considering that the Flyers signed Dan to a 4 year extension and Dixon opted out of the year of being paid $7.8 million to move directly into the portion of the contract in which he gets paid $12.8 million. They also spent a combined $9.8 million to bring back John Rasmussen III and Manny Toledo. Stephen Best will spend at least half of the season on the IL and is making $6.2 million. The highest price player they have brought in from outside the organization is Carl Vincent who will make $7.2 million in 2058. All of the other players they have brought in so far will make under $3 million each in the upcoming season.
What the GM said: We need to make some changes on the pitching side. We’ve already brought in a couple of new starters to help provide some more balance to our rotation that was completely right handed last season. We spent a large chunk of last year working to bring in pitchers to help strengthen our bullpen. While we finished stronger than we started, the relief corps is an area where we are absolutely trying to create some healthy competition and make it easier for our starters to do their jobs without worrying about what happens when they are removed from the game.
Flight Log reaction: The team had some odd things happen from a pitching perspective in 2057. Multiple pitchers went through stretches of more than 10 consecutive starts without earning a win. What makes that even more fascinating, is that Charlotte starters had the second most quality starts in the Johnson League and the third most in the entire BBA. White quality starts aren’t an amazing stat, they do indicate that the starting rotation put their team in a position to have a chance to win at a high rate. When your pitcher has allowed 3 or fewer earned runs through 6 innings more often than almost any team in the league, that is a good thing. There were also several instances in which the starter had a quality start going through 6 innings but then allowed more runs in the 7th or 8th trying to push deeper into the game. Perhaps some of those could have been avoided if the bullpen had done a better job at holding leads. The Flyers bullpen was tied for the second fewest holds and the 4th fewest saves in the JL. At one point in the middle part of the season, the Charlotte bullpen had the 14th best ERA in the JL, out of 16 teams. The front office released players, switched players’ roles, traded for players, claimed players off of waivers, and brought up minor leaguers in an attempt to help make the bullpen less troublesome. Players like Neil Davies, Pete Benoit, and Bryan Longstaff all came in and pitched well enough to help improve things at least somewhat. The bullpen ERA ended the season ranked 10th in the JL. Some of those players will reprise their roles in 2057. Others may not. The team has acquired several new pitchers to compete for spots in the bullpen, including Chris Lacey, Walt Quero, Djordje Stanovcic, Jerry Stout, and Andrew Mclean. Josh Clark may be given a look as a potential starter again, but he is still an option in the bullpen if needed. With the addition of Carl Vincent and Tokugawa Yamahita presumably to join the rotation, players like Patrick Rasmussen and Leon Davis will likely also be competing for spots in the bullpen. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the team add another pitcher in the upcoming Rule 5 draft either. It’s clear that the team is trying to create a competitive environment on the pitching side of things. Time will tell how successful this strategy will be.
What the GM said: We did end up having to part ways with a few guys who played really well for us last year. With Hollis O’Hara and Rich Dares in particular moving on, we will have to find ways to fill the voids left by their absence.
Flight Log reaction: This is something we will be watching closely. Both of the catchers who were on the big league roster prior to September in 2057 are gone. It seems clear that Jeremy Tucker will be given a chance to make the roster in 2058, but it remains to be seen if he will be the primary starter. There are some possible cheaper options available in free agency that the team might target. It’s also possible that 2057 draftee Lawrence Stewart will be given a chance to see what he can do. He was fantastic offensively in AA after the draft. As for the backup infield position that Dares leaves behind, the first obvious answer is that Andy Bishop will be the primary backup at second and short to start the season. He is a better defender at second than short, and the team would rather not need him to be a long term starter at short if Menzies were to miss extended time again. They may feel inclined to make a move there if it looks like that could be an issue. As of this moment, I believe the top candidate to backup first and third is Tom Bates. However, if Toledo were to head to the IL for an extended period of time, I think it’s likely that the Flyers would try to move Yoshikawa to first to allow some of the other capable outfielders to get more playing time.