The Modern Day MoneyBall

Written by Murray Brown

Watching“Moneyball” the other day, and I wondered what a team today based around the same philosophy as the 2002 Oakland Athletics, so I decided I would take a crack at assembling a 25 man roster with a budget of $41 million(same as the 2002 Athletics).

Before I get into everything, some of the stipulations I had were I couldn’t just put a team together of young studs still on cheap deals, because where is the fun in that? Also in 2002 the highest paid player in Oakland was David Justice at $7 million per season, so that was my max budget I set per player. The team I assembled does have some young studs but as you read further into the piece I will explain why I chose them as my selections while also keeping track of my team budget. Now let's get into the team!

Catchers:

Alex Avila =$4.25 million

Chris Iannetta = MILB Deal

Now this tandem obviously isn’t the sexiest to look at, also probably wouldn’t be in the top 15 of production. But Avila is a guy who brings in a career 14% walk rate, and a .350 on base. Yes I know his average in 2019 was .207 and his career .235 average is far from great but the point is he gets on base at a career .350 clip. Defensively he wont kill you but he won't really carry you, his career DRSis -1 but combining his 2018/2019 seasons he had a DRSof +13. You don’t need him to have crazy DRSal all you need is for him to be average.

Chris Iannetta brings to the team a career 13.5% walk rate, and has shown glimpses of productivity of his career, he isn’t going to put together a breakout season as a 37 year old but he could be a solid back up on a cheap deal. The main issue with Iannetta is his defense, which throughout his career has never been good or even decent. He carries a career DRSof -72, which is awful, but the plan would be to platoon the 2 and hope for the best out of the situation.

First-base:

Greg Bird = MILB deal

Yes…..i said Greg Bird. Now here me out, I know he has huge injury problems, and hasn’t shown the ability to make enough contact, but he has a little bit of power potential , and he has a good eye with an almost 11% walk rate but that also comes with a 27% strikeout rate for his career. But honestly what's the risk? A first baseman who has shown the ability to hit for power in the past, if he avoids injuries he could be a decent/average (mostly average) player on the team.

Second Base:

Cesar Hernandez= $6.25 million

Since 2016 Cesar Hernandez has posted a walk rate above 10%, besides in 2019 where his walk rate would drop to 6.7%,he would put together a slash line of .270/.333/.408. Hernandez has the ability to bring on base abilities to a team as well as hit for a bit of average, and not completely kill you in the field.

Shortstop:

Paul Dejong= $4.33 million

Dejong brings an above average bat, and if he continues his strides he made on defense (which was elite in 2019) he could be an absolute star for the team on a cheap deal. He has shown the ability to hit 25-30 home-runs, and around the baseball industry it's believed that he still hasn’t had his “big breakout” yet. So he could be a very interesting middle of the order bat.

Third-base:

Matt Chapman= $623k

Now this was one of the picks I talked about in the beginning that I could get flack for. But when you look at the numbers between him,and Eric Chavez (Oakland 3B 2002) they both possess similar abilities to be an above average bat, and for Chapman, one of the if not the best glove among third baseman in all of the MLB.

Outfield:

Brandon Nimmo

Max Kepler

Domingo Santana

Outfield payroll= $12.92 million

Carrying along the tradition of guys who walk a lot, enter Brandon Nimmo who if he can put up similar numbers to his career .254/.387/.440 with his 130 wRC+ could be a star in the outfield as well as an amazing top of the lineup guy. Max Kepler is coming off a breakout season where he mashed 36 homers on route to a .520 slugging percentage, and a 121 wRC+. The potential is still there for him to possibly improve in the homer department, possibly being able to hit 40. He also is an above average glove in the field which is key considering this team doesn’t necessarily have the best defenders. In the last outfield spot we have Domingo Santana, who although has major strikeout issues considering his career strikeout% is 32%, has surprisingly been able to produce at an above average level. Still only 27, the potential is still there for him to replicate a season like he had in 2017 where he hit 30 homers, and stole 15, although I wouldn’t bank on those numbers, he could easily put up 20-25 homers, while swiping you 7-10 bags. But like many others on this team he will not be someone you lean on to make a great play, in 2019 his DRSof -16 is ugly to look at.

For bench spots I have Ian Happ, Jose Martinez, and Thairo Estrada. Ian Happ has tons of power potential while being able to play multiple positions throughout the infield, and outfield. Jose Martinez yes he is a bad defender, no he is an awful defender, but he could be a nice guy to have in your DH slot that has shown the ability to hit close to .300, and play outfielder say twice a week if needed. Estrada is just a utility infield player, won't kill you with the bat, or in the field.

Our total payroll so far is up to$28.92 million (with 2 MILB deals) which leaves us with $12.07 million left for our pitching.

Starting Rotation:

Luis Castillo = $557k

Shane Bieber = $559k

Marco Gonzalez= $1 million(oncurrent deal)

Dakota Hudson= $559k

Felix Hernandez= MILB deal

Now the reason I chose both Luis Castillo, and Shane Bieber for this is the fact that the 2002 Oakland team had two young studs, in Barry Zito (24), and Tim Hudson(26). Zito threw 230 innings with a sub 3 ERA in 2002 for Oakland, and Tim Hudson was nothing short of amazing as well, putting together a 2.98 ERA in 238 innings. Bieber, and Castillo have huge potential in this rotation, and personally I think they mimic the Zito/Hudson combination in a way. The last 3 spots of Marco Gonzalez, Dakota Hudson, and King Felix don’t make a ton of eyes pop out, but with Marco Gonzalez who is still on his previous$1 million contract prior to his extension so I thought he would be a bargain as a middle of the rotation guy. Dakota Hudson, and Felix Hernandez I put for 1 reason, and 1 reason only, innings eaters. Although they won't be the old fashion 200+ innings eater, I have plans for them with my bullpen, which you as the reader will now see, and possibly dislike

Bullpen:

Long relievers

Robbie Erlin= MILB deal

Colin McHugh= $600k

Banking on Bieber, and Castillo to give me at least 5-6 innings every outing, Erlin, and McHugh would come in relief of Dakota Hudson, and Felix Hernandez given that Felix is probably the least trustworthy of the two. Erlin is a lefty that could be used for match up purposes as well as being able to go multiple innings, McHugh has show the ability to go multiple innings, or air it all out for 1 inning. and be untouchable like he was in 2017 when he had an ERA of 1.99 through 72 innings.

AJ Minter= $575K

Emilio Pagan= $561.5k

Giovanny Gallegos= $555k

Jose Alvarado= $570k

Jordan Hicks=$555k

Seth Lugo= $2 million

Now to tally it all up the rotations payroll of$2.67 million with 1 MILB deal. The bullpens payroll of $4.81 million, adding that together tallies up to $7.48 million. Combined with the $28.92 million for our batters, gives us $36.4 million which is under the $41 million I had set in the beginning of the piece. Now barring any of my math being wrong, we are under the budget of the 2002 Oakland Athletics,