Any help for a mediocre manager?

Just looking for thoughts on this team. My usual help J-Pav is in the same division so odds are I am playing for 2nd at best but any observations be appreciated. I have to downgrade a hitter to shore up the staff a little but there is enough in the pitching fa to help. Just who should I downgrade and is this team capable of doing anything positive?
Been playing this a long time but hardly ever post here!!
Thanks Gentlemen!

Get rid of Rizzo, Polcano and Galvis. You need more RH balllark HRs and a better SS. The bullpen needs revamping. Cecil is only a R1/C2. You should replace the two high price relievers with a higher higher rank closer at least C4 and a stronger R2 setup.

That pitching staff seems awfully thin. I know you went with some low hrs and Citizens depresses runners but I think you need a much stronger relief staff to get by with that. You're going to often need relievers coming in by the 5th and your current relief is not going to be able to handle it. I like 3 relievers, costing from around 3 to around 4.5. One of them needs to be a R2; the closer is preferable a C6 (I like Britton a lot). With your starting staff I think I would want two R2 if I could get them and a C6. I might try to get a decent 4th guy. I did see someone win 100 games in Great American last year with a very cheap staff and I don't think he even had great relief but I would be afraid that my pitching staff would just blow up.

In home run parks I like every single player to have a large amount of BP hrs. Here, you want more right-handlers because BP is 1-18 for them and 1-12 for lefties. So I am not crazy about Gordon or Galvis. I would drop Gordon and Galvis and pick up a couple of power guys. Cozart is a 1 at short and has power. Getting a 1 at SS and 2 at 2b or vice-versa is probably advisable given your staff and that would justify getting a non-power SS or 2B--certainly not both. Rizzo is in the wrong park as he is lefty. I actually like Jones--I had not noticed how good a fit he is in a power park.Gutierrez and Goldschmidt are great of course. Gomes does give you cheap power but that on-base is awful. You might see if there is a guy who has more power in the 3 million range like say D'Arnaud. Polanco needs to go too--not enough power.

Here is a team I have in Citizens.http://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1423041

So basically cut Gordon, Rizzo, Polanco, and Galvis. I suspect Donaldson needs to go too. Get power guys at 2b and SS if possible but at least one power guy (because you might need to favor defense instead), get cheaper power guys at RF and 1b, upgrade your bullpen as discussed. Consider upgrading catcher. Get a cheaper 3b with power if you need to cut Donalddon to fund upgrading other positions. I think a 6:3 ration righty-lefty is about right to not get too one-sided but that's matter of judgment.

Lots of different ways to win, these are just my preferences and it's up to you of course whether you think they are valid or you want to do it a different way. Good luck.

Thanks guys for the input. I have addressed the closer and will have no problem filling other relief roles from fa list. I will also check into some other possible hitter moves!

You don't have to get rid of ALL of those guys. But Rizzo has got to go for sure. I would also look to spend a lot on a middle reliever and a little more on a setup guy and less on a closer. With Rizzo alone you can seriously upgrade your pitching. I see no reason why you have to get rid of Donaldson, especially if he is a player you really wanted to use. And if you are going to go cheap at SS, the guy you have is pretty good for the money..

you've got some work to do, but pre season is a great time to do it. I have polanco and 1/3 of the way thru he is hitting a horrible .180/.256, ands that's in a platoon vs righties. if you dump Gordon take a look at c. hernandez. I think he's this years panic. hitting .304/.345 for me after 54 games.
don't give up on beating out jpav yet. he is great but he looks to really be experimenting on his no stars offensive theory. with only 2 players over 5 mil, and none over 6, he might struggle to score runs. one can hope anyways. of course that will probably change after waivers somewhat.

And in any case you've got a cool team name--there's something to be said for that..

Thanks guys. Seeing if I can trade Gordon. Quite a few pitchers parks in the league he would be a nice fit. If I cant trade him I could drop him. The only slugger at 2b remaining is Dozier and have not heard much said about him in this seasons set. C Hernandez is gone. Polanco will go as there are a few RF left in FA as soon as I see what funds I have to work with. As for relief options they are slim as only guys remaining with R2 or 3 are Verrit, Rivero, Kelley, Soco, and Chafin. I will probably stick with Galvis at SS. coolhandlewke you are spot on about J_Pav, no hitter more than 5.85 and only Arrieta as a top dollar guy. He seems to make it work though. Thanks freeman about the name. I usually use that name, if I cant win to save my life at least I have a colorful team name haha

Two problems I see with your current roster is Rizzo and Gordon. For your stadium, Gordon is the worst mix. Citizen Park is probably the park that provides the least value for stolen bases (few singles = few opportunities to steal bases, big homerun numbers for right-handed hitters). As for Rizzo, he has too much defense to be your dh. You're paying almost 1.5M on Rizzo's salary to be an all-star defense, which will be wasted if he is dh.

What you need in my opinion is a very strong lead-off, both vs lhp and rhp. I see your ideal lineup like this

leadoff
Goldschimdt
Another strong hitter
Donaldson
Gutierrez
AJones (not a fan of him, but let's say you keep him)
Hitter with power
Catcher platoon
Galvis

Galvis could be either 2b or ss, which is cool because that provides you with more options.

In my opinion, Gordon's onbase is too scarce (at least vs rhp) to be ideal. So I would cut him either for Kipnis (fulfills the leadoff spot vs rhp) or for a second base or ss that has power (Correa, Travis, Tulowitski, could be Forsythe, who could ful fill the 3rd spot vs lhp and be 8th vs rhp..

If Kipnis is gone, you could go with a dh platoon with strong on-base like, Jaso or Span platooning with Ruf or McKenry...McKenry could also have some catching duty if Gomes gets hurt.

Polanco hardly fits any of the hole you have...not enough power to be an effective 7th hitter and not strong enough hitter to be 3rd...looks like you could take the extra money you save by dumping Rizzo for a (say) Jaso/McKenry platoon for upgrading Polanco. If you get your hand on Forsythe, you could have him hitting 3rd vs lhp and have your upgraded right fielder hit 3rd vs rhp (and conversely have them hit 8th on their weaker side).

Edit: just read your post....Dozier could fit the 7th hole is no other option is available. Also, I guess you know that Gutierrez could play either left field or right field, so it opens more opportunities to find either a lead-off or a 3rd hitter among those available...

Kelley has been good for me, with a 2.62 and 58 innings in 54 games (Wrigley). c. hernandez might still come free, as his owner has neil walker too. not sure whats he's doing with that. a player I was on the fence about but am loving is e. hernandez (kike). he's 9L which screams bad side of a platoon but he's actually even in pa's so far for me. overall he's .339/.393/.622. against righties he's in the .220's but against lefties he's an amazing .444/.521/1.000. you seem to have a decent amount of LH pitching in your league.