Sim's Done... And a note on Rule 5 Drafts

Game Date:  Jan 3, 2028

Signings:
Highland: SP Kevin Kepner (Brooklyn), 2 yrs/$24.7m
Highland: RF Raul Ortega (Maui), 2 yrs/$31.1m

Retirements:
With the flip of the calendar page, there were the customary wave of retirements.  Among the players who retired are:

• 2B/SS Timothy Mendiola, played 15 years with Houston, Saskatoon and Maui, .283, 100 HR, .770 OPS, 305 SB
• SP Timothy Conroy.  Perhaps the oldest Rule 5 selection ever (age 35), taken by Brooklyn in 2025 to fill an emergency hole in the rotation.  It didn't work out, as he went 7-17 with a 5.70 ERA.
• 3B George Labarre, played 15 years, all but one with Hickory.  .282, 335 HR, 1133 RBI, .828 OPS.  Holds franchise record for games, at-bats, hits, runs, total bases, triples, RBI and stolen bases.  Second in franchise history in home runs and doubles. 
• SS Jeff Wardlaw.  Played 15 years, all but two with Brooklyn.  .247, 300 HR, 1025 RBI.
• SP Fernando Estrada.  Pitched 17 years with several teams.  205-149, 3.59, 2479K, 1.21 WHIP
• LF Rufus Murray.  Played 15 years, all with the Saskatoon/Barstow/Brick franchise.  .308, 351 HR, 1299 RBI, .913 OPS, 303 SB.  Franchise leader in games, at-bats, runs, hits, total bases, singles, doubles, home runs, RBI and walks.  Two time winner of the Outstanding Batter award (2016, 2018). (Why do I feel like I just wrote his Hall of Fame plaque?)
• RP Timothy Regis.  Played 12 years with various franchises.  655 games, 29-36, 43 SV, 4.98 ERA
• SP Joseph Macaluso.  Played 17 years, with a seven year stretch at the start of his career with Seattle.  196-157, 4.02, 2523K, 1.32 WHIP.
• 2B Miguel Rodriguez.  Played seven years with the New York/Philadelphia franchise.  .285, .731 OPS, 53 SB
• CF Luis Ramon.  Played 10 years, most with Saskatoon/Barstow/Brick.  1054 games, .285, .781 OPS,  88 HR192 SB
• 2B Fransisco Perez.  Played 10 years.  1007 games, .278, .737 OPS, 62 HR.
• 1B Lindsay Walker.  Played 11 years with River Cities/Monck's Corner and Maui.  .311, 178 HR, .865 OPS.  Winner of Outstanding Newcomer Award for 2017.
• RP Fei-hsien Bao.  Played 8 seasons with Seattle, Atlanta and London.  368 games, 20-18, 5 SV, 5.27 ERA, 1.51 WHIP.
• RP Luis Gonzalez.  Played 7 seasons with Seattle, Shackamaxon and Ohio.  244 games, 8-5, 4.67 ERA, 1.57 WHIP.
• LF Maximo Rodriguez.  Played 9 seasons with Saskatoon/Barstow and Maui.  1016 games, .294, .828 OPS, 68 HR, 77 SB.
• C Daryl Smith.  Played 4 seasons with Hickory. 263 games, .273, .789 OPS. 
• LF Jimmy Kratz.  Played 2 seasons with Monck's Corner.  99 games.
• CF Luis Soto.  Played 5 seasons with New York and Seattle.  347 games. 

A note about Rule 5 Drafts.

Rule 5 drafts work slightly differently in OOTP than they do in the real world.  This is indicated in the game manual.  The main difference between the real world and OOTP is that, if you do not want to keep the drafted player on your roster, you can return him to his original team.  That does not exist in OOTP.  In OOTP, you *have* to keep the player on your roster.  As such, there is no trading for his "full rights" (such as the right to send him to the minors).  I made an exception for one team with this sim, but please be aware of this for future reference.

Next sim:  Monday night