Revolutionizing the MLB Playoffs
How borrowing a rule from the Mexican winter league would have altered the look of the 2016 playoffs.
While most baseball fans have either transitioned into football/basketball mode or are staring out the window and waiting for spring, I have been soaking up the fun from the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico. After catching an exhibition between the Águilas de Mexicali and Naranjeros de Hermosillo in September (they played in Round Rock, TX, home of the Texas Rangers Triple-A affiliate), I have been hooked on LMP, Mexico’s winter league.
It’s been great starting from scratch, having to learn new (to me) team names and key players. I paid $599 MEX (which translates to $21 US dollars) for a season-long subscription (68 game regular season, plus playoffs and Caribbean Series coverage) and have kept my sports life baseball-centered. In the process, I’ve learned lots of Mexican baseball slang and terminology and observed the subtle differences between the MLB and the LMP.
Aside from rarely cutting to commercials during the internet broadcasts (extra banter during pitching changes and bonus footage of players warming up between innings), playing music from the stadium PA right up until the pitcher reaches back to throw the ball, and an interesting way of seeding playoff teams (points are awarded for placing in the first and second halves of the season that determine which six of the eight teams qualify), there is one rule that really sets LMP apart from it’s North American counterpart:
The Reinforcement Draft.
This is a two round draft taking place the last day of the regular season, in which the top six teams for the final standing get to choose players from the remaining two non-playoff teams for their playoff rosters.
When I first saw tweets coming in detailing who had been picked from the Charros de Jalisco and the Yaquis de Obregón, I couldn’t believe it. Immediately, I thought, “What would this look like if it was adopted by Major League Baseball?”
Of course, this would never happen. With the amount of money franchises invest in players today, there is almost a zero percent chance any owner would voluntarily allow players from their team to compete for another team in the league. There’s probably something to be said for team chemistry as well, and how the negative consequences of adding a new player to a lineup/clubhouse just for the playoffs might manifest themselves.
But think of how great it could be. Imagine giving Mike Trout a chance to get postseason at-bats literally every year. If the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim fail to make the playoffs, boom! He’s hopping on a plane for an October road trip, and then he’s back with the Angels in Spring Training. Suddenly, Angels fans (and really all baseball fans) who didn’t have a rooting interest in the playoffs get to see their hero have a shot at October glory.
The idea is too good not to dream about for just a little bit. So, before doing a mock Reinforcement Draft for the 2016 season, I had to lay some ground rules as the pretend commissioner.
- I decided there had to be some way to order the draft instead of randomizing it (LMP procedures have a team representative basically pull a number out of a hat), so the draft order would go with the best team record to the worst.
- I would keep the draft as a “snake draft”, as LMP does.
- Only position players could be chosen. Even as a pretend commissioner, I knew that the idea of pitchers throwing extra innings for a team they didn’t have a contract with would never ever fly, so in this trial run, starters and relievers were left out. Sorry guys.
- Playoff rosters expand to 27 players, so the draftees aren’t technically taking anyone’s spot (although it opens the door for some teams to add more pitchers with these extra spots).
- Lastly, the draft would take place right after the completion of both Wild Card games. Letting a player get drafted to maybe just play one playoff game doesn’t sound fun at all.
So, without further ado, let’s get to the draft! With the Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants advancing past the Wild Card round, here’s how the order shakes out:
As a guide to the draft, I compiled a list of every position player with above a 3.0 fWAR who wasn’t on a playoff team (including those whose team lost the Wild Card game). While it might not be the most accurate list of potential picks, it provides a raw framework for those who want to play fantasy GM. At 33 players, it seems like more than enough to make 16 picks.
ROUND 1:
1. Chicago Cubs — OF Mike Trout
Did the Cubs really have any needs? Any areas of their lineup that might stand to be strengthened? Probably not. Do you pass on taking the best player in the game right now (and possibly of all time)? No. Instead of close races down the stretch between division leaders for home-field advantage, they’d also be trying to nab Trout with their top pick. This almost seems unfair, and makes me want to rethink the draft seeding. But it’d be fun to see (unless you were an Indians fan).
2. Texas Rangers — 1B Freddie Freeman
The Rangers definitely wouldn’t mind going for an upgrade over current first baseman Mitch Moreland. While it might seem like a close call between Freeman and Paul Goldschmidt, here’s where waiting until the end of the season pays off. Freeman ended the season on a tear, hitting .367/.462/.673 in September and October. Goldy “only” hit .276/.371/.448 during that time. Texas goes with the hot hand.
3. Washington Nationals — OF Adam Eaton
Well, we already know that the Nats liked Eaton, since they just traded Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning, and Reynaldo López to the Chicago White Sox to get him. By drafting Eaton, they can move Trea Turner to short and get Danny Espinosa’s bat to the bench.
4. Cleveland Indians — OF Yoenis Céspedes
Lonnie Chisenhall started six of the seven World Series games and slashed .125/.211/.125 in 19 plate appearances. Imagine how things might’ve changed if they had had Céspedes in right field instead. It would’ve been great to see if Yo could shake his World Series demons (he had only three singles in the Fall Classic last year, despite putting up decent numbers in the first two rounds of the playoffs).
5. Boston Red Sox — 3B Manny Machado
Even though third baseman Brock Holt had a pretty decent postseason (4 for 10 with a double and a solo home run), you wouldn’t blame them for wanting to upgrade from Holt’s .255/.322/.383 hitting line at the onset. Baltimore Orioles fans everywhere shake their heads in disbelief, seeing their star be the first to go to an intradivision team.
6. Los Angeles Dodgers — 2B Robinson Canó
They toy with the idea of upgrading their outfield, but it is a pretty steep drop off in talent with Trout, Eaton, and Céspedes off the board. Even though they have the ageless Chase Utley playing second for them, they flip a coin on Canó and Altuve. While both have similar slugging percentages (.533 and .531, respectively), LA is happy with the edge in home runs the Mariners second baseman provides (39 to 24).
7. Toronto Blue Jays — 2B Brian Dozier
The Blue Jays love long balls, and Dozier hit 42 of them this year. Instead of giving at bats to Devon Travis and Darwin Barney, Dozier provides postseason fireworks for Toronto. It’s hard to imagine an offense with Dozier sandwiched between Josh Donaldson, José Bautista, and Edwin Encarnación not being able to win more than once against the Indians in a four game series.
8. San Francisco Giants — 3B Nolan Arenado
The Giants have a bigger need in the outfield. They had either Gorkys Hernández or Denard Span play center and leadoff for them in every playoff game, but like the Dodgers, fill an infield need first. Taking Arenado makes the left side of the infield impenetrable, but robs us of The Legend of Conor Gillaspie. You win some, you lose some.
ROUND 2:
9. San Francisco Giants — OF Starling Marte
Oh, yeah, I forgot it was a snake draft, so the Giants address their outfield need with the very next pick. Though George Springer has a half fWAR advantage on Marte, Marte’s batting average is 50 points higher and was third in the majors in steals (47). Their OBP and SLG are almost identical, but Marte played a few more games in center, which is where San Francisco would like to plug him in.
10. Toronto Blue Jays — OF George Springer
The best player still on the board is José Altuve, who just can’t get no respect and undoubtedly deserves to be picked ahead of his teammate Springer, but the depth at outfield is weak and is incredibly strong at second. Springer takes over for a corner outfield spot in either Ezeqiuel Carrera or Melvin Upton Jr., and the Blue Jays offense takes it up another notch.
11. Los Angeles Dodgers — OF Charlie Blackmon
While it’s hard to pass on an impact bat like Nelson Cruz, LA is the second NL West team to poach from the Rockies. Blackmon’s home and road splits this year are very similar (his .926 away OPS is only 13 points lower than his Coors Field OPS, and both are higher than Cruz’ OPS this year, though those numbers are certainly dampened by playing half his games at Safeco Field). His defense gives him the edge in this one, though the front office is split on the decision.
12. Boston Red Sox — 1B Miguel Cabrera
Hanley Ramírez had a good season for the BoSox (.286/.361/.505), but not many can top Cabrera’s .316/.393/.563 slash line. Playing at first base, Boston now has two of the most dominant hitters in the last decade and a better chance to send David Ortiz off into the sunset. He is still retiring, right?
13. Cleveland Indians — 1B Joey Votto
Votto finally leaves the Reds but stays in Ohio. While Mike Napoli has had good postseason performances, adding the Canadian OBP Machine to the Tribe makes them more of a threat. While it’s not a intradivision move, there is plenty of emotion here as Redleg fans struggle coming to grips with seeing Votto playing for a World Series championship in a strange uniform.
14. Washington Nationals — 2B José Altuve
With Daniel Murphy more than capable of holding down the regular second base spot, the Nats take Altuve and make another fielding shift, moving Murphy over to first. He played 21 games there this year, and now Dusty Baker can move Ryan Zimmerman to the bench and has one of the most formidable infields in the league.
15. Texas Rangers — OF Ryan Braun
Despite having the best win-loss record in the American League, their outfield is very suspect. Shin-Soo Choo hasn’t been quite what the Rangers had hoped for since he was signed in 2014. His .756 OPS this year was 77 points below his career average. Braun, on the other hand, had his best season since 2012, putting up an OPS of .903.
16. Chicago Cubs — C Gary Sánchez
Theo Epstein decides that the market inefficiency is having four catchers on a playoff roster. In addition to the upstart Willson Contreras, the grizzled vet David Ross, and the is-he-still-really-a-catcher Kyle Schwarber, the Cubs decide that adding Sánchez and his lower than 12 HR/PA rate is a pretty good idea. With few pressing needs, this is a very luxurious pick — a rookie with only 231 major league plate appearances. Sánchez becomes one of the most dangerous bats off the bench in the playoffs.
Alright, so I’ll admit that in terms of fantasy baseball, my draft skills don’t normally lead to championships, so the order of these players might not line up with insiders or experts. However, given these parameters, I believe that most of these would be chosen and given a chance at the postseason.
I suppose the next question is, would this have changed anything? The Cubs won the World Series in spectacular fashion, falling behind 3–1 and then roaring back to win Game 7. Do they lose with Mike Trout and Gary Sánchez (while playing against the Indians plus Votto and Céspedes)? Or do we lose the intrigue as they completely steamroll the competition?
Giving the best team Mike Trout seems a little unfair in retrospect, but if we really wanted to shake things up, we would include pitchers in the draft. It would be interesting to see how many pitchers would be taken with the 16 picks. While the position player moves might shake things up a bit, adding Noah Syndergaard, Chris Sale, or Justin Verlander to any of these teams would really alter the trajectory of a playoff series.
If you have any ideas for changing or improving the adaptation of the LMP procedures or changing my fantasy version of the Reinforcement Draft, be sure to include it in the comments. In the meantime, I’ll be recovering from the Águilas Game 1 loss to the Mayos de Navojoa. Of the two Reinforcement Draft players Mexicali chose, one (Leo Heras) sat on the bench, while the other (Augustín Murillo) started and went 0 for 3. Mike Trout was not available.
UPDATE: Mexicali evened the series last night, edging Navojoa 7–6 in Game 2. Heras did not see any action, and Murillo went 0 for 5 with three strikeouts.
