Much attention has been paid to the Keeper Roster of the Lake Merced Goutfish this off-season, and for good reason considering the talent level and cap space the club is projected to enter Draft Day with. But with multiple clubs entering a full rebuild with virtually empty Keeper Rosters, the top of the Free Agent Market figures to be as competitive as ever.
The Goutfish are currently projected to have $188 available for seven players, a $26.86 cap space/opening ratio that leads the RDBL by more than $11.
While their overall spending power far exceeds other clubs, The Mission Viejo Maulers and St. Joseph Jokers could bring substantially more overall cap space into Draft Day while the Maltese Falcons, Meinert Hops and Mt. Diablo Devils, with potential moves of Bryce Harper (3/$50), Mike Trout (2/$71) and J.T. Realmuto (3/$30) wouldn't be far behind.
The Maulers have stripped down their Keeper List with Yasmani Grandal and Jose Ramirez recently dealt. The club currently holds a projected $231 of cap space for 14 players though they seem far from done dealing this Winter.
The Jokers hold the rights to Giancarlo Stanton (2/$43) and Anthony Rizzo (2/$40), though both are coming off of down seasons and candidates to be dropped. If GM Rick Steen moves on from both, the club would hold a projected $203 in cap space even after their Tuesday addition of Kyle Seager and Alex Colome.
The Falcons are another club cashing in assets. Already with $156 in projected cap space, GM Gary Falzon and Assistant GM Erik Nielsen have discussed deals surrounding Bryce Harper (3/$50) in a move that would push a third club over the $200 cap space number.
The Hops face a decision on Mike Trout (2/$71) would already holds the RDBL-record for Auction Salary and would then mark the highest Keeper contract if retained. The potential activation of Andrew Vaughn could make Trout's contract easier to swallow for GM Garrett Shelley but it sounds like the decision will go down to the wire. If Trout is released, the Hops project to have $206 available.
The Devils round out the group of strong potential spenders. Already with $186 projected, that number could grow if they either trade or release catcher J.T. Realmuto (3/$30). A move of Realmuto would push their projected cap space to $216 as another major player for the top of the Free Agent Class.
All told, it's easy to look at the Goutfish roster and slot in Gerrit Cole or Shane Bieber at the top of the rotation. While that's likely, Atkinson should be ready for a bidding war with a number of clubs with equally deep pockets.
Around the RDBL
- The Burlingame Blue Ducks lost a potential keeper on Monday as long-time outfielder Shin-Soo Choo signed a one-year deal to return to Korea. This is a homecoming for the 38-year-old Choo, a South Korea native who played in the majors with the Mariners, Reds, Indians and Rangers from 2005-20. His greatest long-term success came in Cleveland, where the on-base machine batted .292/.383/.463 with 83 home runs and 85 stolen bases in 2,932 plate appearances. But Choo was also an above-average performer in Cincinnati and Texas, evidenced in part by the one-time All-Star’s lifetime .275/.377/.447 line with 218 HRs, 157 steals and 35.4 fWAR over 7,157 trips to the plate.
With Choo out the door, the Ducks are a strong candidate to add an outfielder through a deal this off-season as the club is currently staring at just Kyle Schwarber and Whit Merrifield as options.
- Devils first baseman Rhys Hoskins (3/$36), who underwent Tommy John surgery last October, said that he has been “medically cleared” for all spring training activities, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. It’s not certain whether Hoskins will be in the Phillies’ lineup on Opening Day – that will depend on how many reps he gets this spring – but it’s not “out of the picture,” he stated. After a somewhat disappointing 2019, the 27-year-old slugger enjoyed a major rebound last season, when he slashed .245/.384/.503 (140 wRC+) with 10 home runs in 185 plate appearances and remains a candidate to either be dealt or return to the Devils.
- Yankees pitching prospect and potential early round selection Clarke Schmidt has been shut down due to a common extensor strain in his right elbow, manager Aaron Boone told The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler (Twitter links) and other reporters. This appears to be the only issue with Schmidt’s elbow, as an MRI didn’t reveal any ligament damage.
Boone said Schmidt will be kept out of action for three to four weeks, thus putting Schmidt out of consideration for the Opening Day roster as he’ll need more time to get ramped up. The Yankees will surely be as careful as possible with Schmidt, one of their top prospects and a young arm who was seen as a potential contributor to the pitching staff as early as this season. The Athletic’s Keith Law ranks the right-hander as the 48th-best prospect in the sport, and Schmidt also features in top-100 prospect rankings from Baseball America (64th), Fangraphs (75th), MLB Pipeline (83rd) and Baseball Prospectus (96th). Schmidt has been linked to the Mission Viejo Maulers who now hold two first round selections following their trade of Jose Ramirez Monday night.
- A pair of Peninsula Division prospects are facing challenges to their potential spots on the big league roster as both Michael Chavis (Fringe) and Nico Hoerner (Falcons) will need to impress this Spring to earn starting spots according to the respective clubs.
Comments