NALB - 2023 Offseason/Preseason

K. Fields
2023-07-27T15:46:41-04:00
Baseball

Here were some notable roster moves prior to the 2023 NALB season.

The Brooklyn Knights had the following offseason/preseason activity:

Two NALB legends announced their retirements on October 25, 2022—3B Hooks Goetz and 2B Flavio Marquez.

Assistant general manager Allen Humphreys decided to join the St. Rock Mudcats as their new general manager. The Knights replaced him with Orlondo Corvalán.

The Knights extended the contracts of 5 players through salary arbitration: Norman Forbes, Kent von Kantzow, Armando Alfaro, Chase Combs, and Ramone Alconer.

3B John Ruben and RP Stokley McGruder filed for free agency.

2B Bryan Inge was selected in the Rule 5 Draft by the Key West Corals. They later released him and he returned to the Knights organization.

Traded 24-year old minor league RHP Tim Menard to Dayton in exchange for 24-year old SS Don Hartz and 25-year old CF Beagan Cajar.

The Knights swapped 19-year old minor league RHP Mário López, 19-year old minor league RHP Teófilo Martínez, 25-year old minor league 1B Jamie Gentle, 25-year old minor league LHP Daniel Gutérrez, 25-year old minor league 2B Tommy Lesher, and 25-year old minor league 3B Vinny Warrilow to the Sky Chiefs getting 24-year old RF Dick Gosden and 23-year old minor league RHP Ginton Venereo in return.

Former Brooklyn catcher Ted Pollet was elected to the Hall of Fame with 89.6% of the vote.

Signed 31-year old free agent 3B Dave Crayton to a 1-year, $600,000 minor league contract with majors option.

Amateur free agent CF Rufo Rivas inked a deal with the Knights. The 16-year old Puerto Rican signed a minor league contract with an $860,000 signing bonus.

Notable offseason free agent signings:

3B Pete Chavez signed a 2-year, $19.2 million contract with the Stade Maples.

RF Manuel Montaya offered his big bat to the free agent market. In the end, he decided to re-sign with the Luisville Beasts. His new contract is worth $58 million over 5 years.

1B Jorge Morales is moving from Las Vegas to Nashville. The Firecats 3-year $10,960,000 offer convinced him to sign.

After spending the first 12 years of his career in Richmond, living legend Tony Rodarte has become a mercenary bat for hire. This season, the 40-year old will play for the Nashville Firecats. His new contract is for 3-years and $10.32 million.

LF Luís Vergel found a new home in Washington. The Allies swayed him with a $12.8 million deal over 4 years.

1B/3B John Ruben left the Knights to join the Luck. Las Vegas gave him $8,040,000 for 3 years.

Ximien Palmeiro was the top closer in this year's free agent market. After weighing his options, he elected to return to Key West. The Corals value relief pitching probably more than any other team and had no problems giving him $12.72 million for 3 years.

RP Júlio Guillén found it tough to pass up Key West's offer to join the league's best bullpen. He will earn $11.04 million over 3 years.

The Corals weren't done adding top-notch arms to their bullpen. They rounded out their relief staff with free agent Matt Genge. His contract is worth $9.6 million over 3 years.

Veteran SP Tyler Stivers will be back in Stade. The Maples offered him a 2-year deal worth $12.6 million.

The Dayton Grizzlies took a big gamble on shortstop Carlos Cardenas. The 37-year old has a history of injuries and will need to stay healthy in order to earn his $13.4 million, 2-year contract.

CF Terry Bannatyne declared free agency and landed a sizable 4-year, $20.4 million contract with the Firecats.

As one of the few coveted starters in this free agent class, David Bracy was in demand. He was happy to ink a 4-year, $28.8 million deal with the Allies.

Veteran 3B Lariel Gómez is going to St. Rock. The 36-year old joined the Mudcats after they offered him $11.8 million over 2-years.

Notable offseason trades:

The St. Rock Mudcats traded 30-year old 1B Toru Kobayashi (retaining 40%) to the Dayton Grizzlies, getting 20-year old minor league CF LLemuel Zachery, 24-year old minor league RF Alberto Fonticoba, 22-year old minor league C Jon Rupp, and 23-year old minor league LF Mercutio Averill in return.

The Richmond Slam traded 22-year old minor league 2B Francisco Segura and 19-year old minor league RHP Dongdo-pa Duan to the Dunedin Otters, getting 28-year old 3B Derk McParland in return.

The Nashville Firecats traded 31-year old LF Sancho Malclonado (retaining 100%) to the Cornfield Axemen, getting 22-year old LF Ambrosio Sánchez and 19-year old minor league RHP Tim Andrade in return.

The Luisville Beasts traded 21-year old minor league LHP José Scharf and 23-year old minor league RHP Jeff Ayliffe to the Key West Corals, getting 28-year old RHP Tim Sanders (retaining 95%) in return.