ABL 2109-2110 Hot Stove Preview

[Huckleberry]

Monday, November 25, 2109
Santo Domingo
by Odin Locks

As is the norm, we are publishing our offseason preview for the Americas Baseball League, but this year we have been beaten to the punch as several major trades took place before the offseason began. Several clubs raised concerns over the implications of this activity and we have learned from multiple sources that future years will not see such early activity as the WBA office will not allow player trade movement until the WBA Championship Series is over.

The major trades have been covered as the Santo Domingo Palmchats began their rebuilding process and shipped several major names around the globe. So we will focus in this preview edition on available names on the free agent market.

The major names are starting pitchers as the position player depth is fairly weak this offseason. The two major names are Kipchoge Kemboi and Andy Stone, Stone having been the center of late season drama between Melbourne, Mumbai, and Stone's agent Scott Boras V. Several sources confirm that Stone indicated he would be willing to negotiate if traded but as soon as the trade was finalized his story changed. Of relievers, the ageless Falco Venema appears to be the top prize this hot stove season.

On the other side of the field Toshikuni Hashimoto is the pick of the litter but there are rumors that he may be in a personal state of upheaval after his agent declined a $38M over 2 years extension offer that blocked a trade just before the offseason began. After him it's a little thin but there are definite starting caliber players available as a final piece toward a 2110 playoff run.

2110 Predicted Standings (as of 11/25/2109):

NORTH AMERICAN DIVISION

Team W L PCT GB Northwest Emeralds 87 69 0.558 - Mexico City Aztecs 83 73 0.532 4 Los Angeles Stars 82 74 0.526 5 Carolina Flight 67 89 0.429 20 Ottawa Whiskey Jacks 54 102 0.346 33 LATIN AMERICAN DIVISION Team W L PCT GB Sao Paulo Toucans 98 58 0.628 - Buenos Aires Dolphins 93 63 0.596 5 Rio de Janeiro Jaguars 86 70 0.551 12 Puerto Rico Coqui 70 86 0.449 28 Santo Domingo Palmchats 60 96 0.385 38

[Bob_Meteors]

Interesting article!! Hard to believe BA loses the division by 5... but I guess Zam really helps.

player depth is fairly week this offseason. The two major names are Kipchoge Kemboi and Andy Stone, Stone having been the center of late season drama between

*weak*

[philip-whiskeyjacks]

Fifty-four games for the Whiskey Jacks.  We think not. 

- Pierre Gastineau and Philip Hubbard, owner and GM


Huck, thanks for the article.

[CaseyBlakeDeWitt]

Holy moly. I definitely felt better than last year, but 98 wins sounds high to me. Guess full seasons of Romano/Bailey/Luo/Masyagin, plus the addition of Zamorov will all help pretty significantly though