Noah Oppenheimer of MMB Nation conducted an email interview with KC Royals GM Luke Cuthrell, discussing a variety of topics, including a surprise trade by the Royals, plans for the future of the franchise, and thoughts on the future and progression of the MMB League.
Hey Luke, thanks for joining us on MMB Nation. When did you get into OOTP and how long have you been a MMB GM for?
I first played iOOTP10 on my phone and then purchased OOTP11 for my laptop the following year. I enjoyed the offline play for a few years until I got curious about online leagues earlier this year. I visited the OOTP forums a couple times a week looking for a league that I thought would fit what I was looking for, which was a modern-day, fully involved, realistic league. I first joined a league run by Stephen who is our Boston Red Sox GM here in MMB. It was a good experience but the 7-day sims made it hard to really feel involved with my team, and I felt that it was not the best fit for me. I actually joined MMB sometime in March during the league’s offseason as the Washington Nationals. I switched to the Kansas City Royals shortly after that position became available. It’s been great to see how far the league has come since that time.
As you mentioned, the active of the league has skyrocketed since last season. How do you fell about the progression of the league? What changes need to be made going forward?
I think Max has us trending in the right direction. A 1-day sim requires dedicated GM’s and an even more dedicated commissioner to keep everyone focused and interested. We have a great group of GM’s who take a lot of that burden on themselves to keep up interest, such as MMB Nation and the weekly talk-show. I think we are heading in the right direction as far as setting a precedent as to what is required to be a GM in this league. As with any start-up business, league, or group there will be growing pains and some trial-and-error while trying to determine what is best for the whole. The group of GM’s that was here last year was enough to get the league started and now changes are being made to ensure the league will continue to grow, instead of plateauing and tailing off. We have a lot to look forward to with this league, short-term and long-term. The upcoming trade deadline with 20+ active GM’s will be insane. I imagine everyone gathering to watch the live broadcasts of the playoff games will be extremely entertaining, and then all the wheeling’s and dealing’s of the off-season with many more engaged GM’s will make this one of the best leagues out there as far as being an interactive and experience.
I’m glad to hear that you’re excited about the future. Now let’s move on to discussion your team, the Kansas City Royals. You just recently made a move which shocked the MMB, acquiring Paul Goldschmidt from the D-Backs. What was you’re thought process in doing so?
When Mike(D-backs GM) first placed Goldschmidt on the block, I began to discuss with him different scenarios that would result in us making a deal. This wasn’t a typical want vs need deal nor was it a sign that I wanted to be a buyer, it simply was an MVP caliber player on the block that I thought would significantly improve our team. Billy Butler is a guy who has talent but has really struggled this year, and is owed $8 mil this season with a $12 mil team option for next year. Goldschmidt has a great team-friendly contract that will allow more flexibility to improve other areas of the ball club. Obviously 2013 was a huge season for Paul, I don’t expect that from him every year, that’s probably his ceiling, but his floor is much higher than most of the players on the roster. As far as the prospects I gave up, I know there has been some rumblings that too much was given up, but there will be no clear “winner” of the trade for quite a while, if there ever is. My scouts differed quite a bit from OSA scouts about Starling and Ventura. I had even changed Starling’s position to LF due to Desmond Henry’s remarkable development at the plate and in CF. Ventura, according to my scout, graded out to a fringe starter, someone I may have ended up placing at closer in the future. So while every trade is critiqued and analyzed, this deal solidified my team with 3 well above average bats to compete in a division that has seen 3 aces dealt away in a matter of months (Sale, Scherzer, Peavy). I can go on but this probably sums it up best, it is said in a draft sometimes you need to just take the best player available, instead of trying to “hit home runs” (pun intended) drafting for need. I believe I took probably the best position player to be available all season, and dipped into my surplus of young OF’s and SP’s to do so.
As you said you play in one of the worst divisions in MMB. However the Tigers, after what has been a disappointing start, are about to get superstar Miguel Cabrera back off the DL. How much of a threat are the Tigers with Miggy on their roster?
The Tigers are the class of the AL Central, and getting a player of Cabrera’s caliber will only help them and their chances of defending the World Series title. Steve and the Tigers have the pitching staff to compete with teams like Toronto, LA and Seattle. If you look at where they are really struggling, it’s at scoring runs and HR’s. Adding Miggy to that lineup will produce more runs and add the protection guys like Prince Field and V-Mart have lacked this season. Even without Miggy, the Tigers will still win the Central, barring a tremendous run by 1 of the other teams. Steve is in an enviable position, I know he just wrote an article about Cabrera possibly returning sooner rather than later, but he has no reason to rush him back. Chicago is playing well as of late but I don’t see them sustaining that success through the stretch run. Once Steve finds a couple solid, OBP guys to solidify his middle infield and gets Miggy back he will have a fun team to watch, and if his pitching staff stays healthy he should have a good shot to repeat.
So you’re counting out a chance of your team winning the division?
Obviously it’s still early, but the week of the Trade Deadline is usually when teams will realistically decide how the rest of the season will go. With us being 7 1/2 games back at the end of June, it’s going to take quite a run to get us back into contention. I’m not saying we will sell off the team if we aren’t in the wild card hunt by July 31st, but the focus will shift to getting younger players more experience and preparing for next year. We have a few pieces that could be on the move in the next month, Billy Butler was mentioned earlier and we have a few veteran arms that could be of use to contending teams.
So you are saying that you plan to sell off pieces after trading multiple prospects for Goldschmidt? What message does that send to the team?
Well like I explained earlier, the Goldschmidt deal was not a sign that I was a buyer and that we’re going all-in this season. I traded a couple “overrated” prospects where I had positional depth to upgrade my team for now and the future. I think it’s clear if you look at some of the expiring contracts I have that if I wasn’t a clear cut contender it would be detrimental to the team to not shop around some of the players.
That’s a good explanation. Now, let’s turn out focus to next off-season. What’s you’re plan for you’re second winter in KC?
It’s still a little early to have a complete plan in place, a lot of it will hinge on what happens throughout the rest of this season. But the pitching staff is one area that I would like to improve, whether it be through trade or free agency.
I totally understand what you’re saying. Let’s move away from your team now. Some trades have already started to go down in the MMB.Outside of the trade you made, which team do you think has came away a winner in their dealings so far?
I’m going to keep it in division with this one. I think Chicago has done a great job in acquiring depth and talent at multiple positions through the Chris Sale and Jake Peavy trades. With those young pieces and the money available to pick up a couple big names in free agency, Jess has set himself up nicely for the next couple years.
Do you see any other big names moving before the deadline? If so, who?
James Shields, I hope. We’d like to get him moved. I think David Price will easily be the biggest name out there. The AL East is getting tougher and I think Tampa will put him out there. The way Carlos Gonzalez is playing I think Richie may shop him around. I think most of the biggest names may have already been moved but like the Goldschmidt deal there could always be a big deal that quietly sneaks up.
Okay…good insight there. Finally, do you have any bold predictions for the rest of the year?
I’ll go out on a little bit of a limb here and predict Detroit will once again represent the American League in the World Series.
Well, that wraps up our interview. Thanks for joining us on MMB Nation, it was a pleasure talking with you.
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Special Note From The Author:
I just want to say, it is simple to describe these interviews: lots of fun. I’m pretty sure that Luke had a good time too. If you enjoy these interviews, please go ahead and contact me about doing one yourself!
MMB Nation 