Elf Division: The Titans Lost Their Shortstop, Their Ace and $55 Million. The Leaves Didn't Notice.
mesn-preseason-desk · 2026-10-26
Bruno Holgate is the best player the Minas Tirith Titans have left, and that sentence carries a lot of weight. Over the winter the Titans traded their everyday shortstop, watched their top starter sign elsewhere, and cut payroll from $147 million to $92 million. Holgate, a 75-rated left fielder earning $502,000, is the main reason to keep watching. OOTP projects the Titans third at 77-85 and gives the division to the Moria Miners. MESN picks Minas Tirith first anyway, on the strength of the Tea Leaves and the Dwarven Runes. The Runes glowed for eleven minutes over the Titans' defensive charts. The Predictor Monkey had the top two in this division exactly right last spring and has the Titans last on its own board this year. It was outvoted.
Minas Tirith Titans (MESN #1, OOTP #3)
Mirthal Sil-Gal hit .283 with 24 home runs and 6.3 WAR at shortstop. He was traded to the Rivendell Royals for Gandaudur Tyriand, a 32-year-old shortstop who hit .241 with 1.7 WAR and arrives at $15 million, plus pitching prospect Skalug Hammerscarer. Molg Bloodcrawler (184.3 innings, 2.83 ERA) signed with the Bree Cheese, and Mukpug Tombhammer (157.7 innings) signed with the Numenor Kings. That is roughly 340 innings out of a rotation that posted a 4.06 ERA with both of them in it. The projected top of the new rotation is Borun of the Forest, a 26-year-old acquired from the Dagorlad Disaster who threw no big-league innings last year. Fieryat Earora, rated 67, remains the best arm on the staff. Marmaduc Muddyfoot (66) is back behind the plate. The Tea Leaves read only the final sixty games of last season and do not track transactions. This year they settled into a long, thin shape that the handlers logged as "a shortstop." It is presumably Sil-Gal.
Old Forest Merry Fellows (MESN #2, OOTP #2)
The defending division champions cut payroll from $234 million to $111 million and rebuilt the outfield in the process. Iver Tussle (29 home runs) was traded to the Dagorlad Disaster, and shortstop Filvendor Soame (2.0 WAR) was traded to the WeMadeIt Crashlanders. The return:
- Teryani Ipyllasc from the Crashlanders (.267, 17 HR, 3.5 WAR) - Gringamor Gwill (24 HR) and starter Dratsnuk Demoneater (191 innings, 3.72 ERA) from Dagorlad - Adonis Erashev (.255, 20 HR) from Moria, in a March 24 deal inside the division
The core is still the best in the Elf: Belegond Lucier (79) at third, Snaglut Baldivía (78) atop the rotation, and Pandora Baecker, rated 80, anchoring the bullpen. Tusdar "Reaper" Aelorothi remains the club's largest contract at $28 million, which is a great deal of money for a 57-rated reliever. Tom Bombadil returns after 41 years in the Old Forest dugout. The monkey had the Merry Fellows first last spring and watched them win the division at 92-70. This year it pawed their logo first again and has been sitting on it since.
Mirkwood Sylvan (MESN #3, OOTP #4)
Mirkwood has three straight last-place finishes, the latest at 64-98, and the offseason subtracted more than it added. Griffo Baggins (136.3 innings, 3.89 ERA) signed with the Isengard Raiders. Nearly everyone else who left was a spare part. The arrivals are promotions and modest free agents: 21-year-old Creenan the Smasher up from the system, and Kimvia Gamadriel from the Dunharrow Devils, who opens the season on the 60-day injured list. The lineup still runs through DeForest *Hamrh, a catcher with 22 years of experience and the highest-rated player on the roster at 80. Dejahlla Nightmeadow (67) plays beside him at short. The payroll goes elsewhere: Sarklla Moonranger earns $19 million as a 46-rated starter. OOTP projects 72-90, which would count as progress. The monkey had Mirkwood third last spring while they finished fourth. It has now promoted them to second on its own board, which is the most optimism anyone in this building has shown Mirkwood since 2050.
Moria Miners (MESN #4, OOTP #1)
Moria traded its best starter, Halpaeril Moonsbreath (186 innings, 3.73 ERA, 4.5 WAR), to the Numenor Kings for outfielder Fomige Rubyeye (.219 in 122 plate appearances) and 23-year-old Darron Oathworker. Rubyeye always orders the same meal after a long road trip and will now have to find a new usual somewhere under a mountain. The in-division swap followed: Erashev to Old Forest for Trai "Stormy" the Cow-catcher (3.13 ERA over 74.7 innings). Payroll fell from $143 million to $77 million. The bullpen is the strength, with Bertie Dryadtrembler, rated 75, at the back of it. Mun-cheol Chabel (67) and Snokpug Moonkiller (62) handle the infield corners. Fili Brandybuck, rated 186, is the highest-rated manager in the division. OOTP projects the Miners to allow 693 runs, the fewest in the Elf, on the way to 84-78. That opens a three-spot gap with MESN. The Tea Leaves were weighted toward the back half of a 70-92 season. They sank to the bottom of the cup and lay flat for the full reading, which the handlers record as a refusal.
Team to beat: Minas Tirith Titans. They kept their best hitter, their best starter and their catcher, and Cedrick Elesserio has seven seasons running the club.
Sleeper: Mirkwood Sylvan. *Hamrh and Nightmeadow give them a real lineup spine, and even OOTP has them eight wins better than last year.
Over/under: Moria at OOTP's 84 wins. MESN takes the under on a club that traded 4.5 WAR of rotation and shed $66 million.