The 2026 FBBL Season Preview: Extensions, Explosions, and One Manager's Financial Ruin

The offseason is almost over, sluggers. The trades have been made, the extensions have been signed, and somewhere out there, Jojo is staring at a spreadsheet wondering where it all went wrong.

Welcome to the 2026 Freddy Beach Baseball League season preview — where we break down every keeper list, roast every decision, and try to figure out if the defending champion can actually defend anything with Aaron Judge eating 62% of his auction budget.

Let's get into it.

💸 The Budget Breakdown: Rich, Poor, and Completely Cooked

Before we get to the players, let's talk money. Because in a $260 auction draft, how much you have left to spend is everything.

Manager	Team	Budget Remaining
Dew	chicksDigtheLongball	$242
Beetle	The Beetle Bunch	$236
Joe/Bruce	BaseOnBalls	$211
Zach	Bro Bichette	$213
Doug	Bronx Bombers	$208
Neate	Welcome to the Jungle	$209
G	Air Yordan / Raleigh Caps	$220
Turg	Staff Infection	$124
Ads	Handsy McNasty	$155
Forgy	Ricky Vaughn	$172
Walks	BaseOnBalls	$227
Jojo	JOBU	$97 🔥

🤯 The Elephant in the Room: JOJO IS BROKE

Let's not bury the lede here. Jordy (JOBU) has done something truly remarkable. In a league where $260 is meant to build an entire roster, Jojo has managed to spend $121 on three players before the draft even starts.

Ronald Acuña Jr. — $52
Paul Skenes — $33 (5-year extension, by the way)
Jackson Chourio — $36 (2-year extension)

That leaves $97 to fill the remaining roster spots at auction. Ninety. Seven. Dollars.

Now look — Acuña, Skenes, and Chourio are legitimate superstars. Nobody is disputing that. But locking in Skenes for FIVE years at $33 and Chourio for two years at $36 while also keeping a $52 Acuña is the financial equivalent of buying a Ferrari, a boat, and a vacation home in the same week and then being surprised when you can't afford groceries.

Good luck at the auction table, Jojo. Hope the waiver wire is kind to you. 🙏

👑 The Defending Champ: Big Judge Energy

After his miraculous worst-to-first run in 2025, Turg (Staff Infection) returns as your defending FBBL champion. And in a move that is very on-brand for a man who once tried to trade minor leaguers for top-10 players, Turg locked in Aaron Judge at $76 for two more years.

To be clear: Aaron Judge is great. Aaron Judge at $76 is a conversation. That's 61% of his remaining $124 budget tied up in one player. The good news? He's also got Julio Rodríguez ($27), James Wood ($16, 3-year extension), and Tarik Skubal ($16) rounding things out. That's actually a respectable core.

But let's be real — Turg goes into the draft with $124 to build around Judge. One injury to the big man and we're right back to Dumpster Fire territory. The redemption arc could become a cautionary tale very, very quickly.

💰 Beetle's War Chest: Dangerous

Say what you want about Benny, but the man knows how to construct a keeper list. The Beetle Bunch enters the 2026 draft with a lean, cheap group of keepers and an absolutely massive $236 war chest.

His headliner? Roman Anthony at $5. The Red Sox phenom is one of the most exciting young hitters in baseball, and Benny is getting him for the cost of a fast food combo meal. With $236 to spend at auction, Beetle can essentially buy whoever he wants on draft day.

Runner-up in 2025. Loaded budget in 2026. Do NOT sleep on Benny. 😤

🤝 The Offseason Trades: Let's Talk Business

A handful of trades went down before the draft, and they're worth examining:

Chapman to Dew (+$2) — The commish picking up Aroldis Chapman for a cool $2 adjustment. You love to see it. At $242 remaining, Dew, your humble commish, is sitting pretty with Kwan, Arozarena, Joe Ryan, and Rasmussen as a rock-solid keeper foundation. Cheap, controllable, and flexible. Textbook offseason management, if I do say so myself. 😎

Rooker to Zach (+$10, from Ads) — Brent Rooker heads to Bro Bichette on a 2-year extension at $11. Zach needed a power bat and he got one. Ads, on the other hand, got $10 back and now has $155 to play with alongside a murderer's row that includes Tatis ($30), Crochet ($21 on a 4-year deal that looks like a steal), deGrom ($8), and Yamamoto ($44). Respect the Yams. 🍠

Yesavage to Ads (+$5) — Trey Yesavage, the Blue Jays' young arm, slides to Ads for $1. Combined with the Rooker trade proceeds, Ads essentially reshuffled and upgraded. Not bad, Adam.

Buxton & Perdomo to Doug (+$4) — Byron Buxton and Geraldo Perdomo slide into the Bronx Bombers' keeper list from Forgy's squad. Doug now has a solid, cost-controlled roster with Buxton ($3), Schlittler ($2), Kirby ($15), Woo ($16), and Perdomo ($1), with $208 to spend. A quiet, professional offseason from Doug. Very Doug.

Webb to G (+$5) — Logan Webb ($12) heads to Air Yordan / Raleigh Caps (whatever G is calling himself this year). Between Raleigh ($7), Duran ($12, 1-year extension), Sánchez ($5), Webb ($12), and Garcia ($1), G has a pitching-heavy, defense-first keeper core. Whether that translates to wins is... another matter. 👀

🔒 The Extensions: Genius or Gamble?

Some managers made long-term commitments this offseason. Let's grade them:

Ads — Crochet, 4 years @ $21 ✅ STEAL. One of the best pitchers in baseball locked in at a fraction of his value. This looks like a genius move for years to come.
Jojo — Skenes, 5 years @ $33 ✅ / 😬 The price is right. The length is… ambitious. Five years is a long time. Paul Skenes is great. But five years? In this economy? In this league? Bold.
Jojo — Chourio, 2 years @ $36 ✅ Fine value, but when combined with everything else Jojo is holding? It's a lot.
Turg — Judge, 2 years @ $76 ✅ The price hurts, but Judge at any price is Judge.
Ads — Wood, 3 years @ $16 ✅ James Wood on a 3-year deal for $16 is an absolute bargain. The kid is going to be a star.
Joe/Bruce — Merrill, 2 years @ $11 ✅ Smart, cheap. Jackson Merrill emerging as one of the better young outfielders in the game. Good value.
Zach — Rooker, 2 years @ $11 ✅ Solid.
Zach — Caminero, 3 years @ $16 ✅ Junior Caminero has monster potential. Three years at $16 could age beautifully.
G — Duran, 1 year @ $12 ✅ Short commitment, proven performer. No complaints.

📋 Rule Change on the Docket: The Keeper Cutoff Proposal

Before we get too deep into draft prep, there's some league business that deserves your attention. Forgy (Garrett) — apparently not content with just dominating the standings — has put on his Commissioner's Hat and proposed a rule change that could reshape the entire keeper landscape going forward. The proposal: only players who appeared on a manager's roster prior to August 17th of the current season would be eligible to be kept the following year. The idea has real merit. Right now, a team that gets eliminated in August has nothing to do but shop the waiver wire and load up on cheap lottery tickets for next season, while a playoff-bound team getting blown out in the first round can do the exact same thing — snagging high-upside prospects at rock-bottom prices just before keeper declarations. Garrett's cutoff would level the playing field, ensuring that keepers are built through in-season management rather than a late-season scavenger hunt. It's a smart proposal, honestly — which is suspicious coming from G. Start thinking about it, managers, because it's going to be on the table at the offseason meeting. 🤔

🔮 The Bold Predictions

Beetle runs away with the regular season. $236 plus Roman Anthony plus no real weaknesses. The machine is back.
Jojo finishes last. There, I said it. $97 at auction is not enough. Acuña will get hurt. Chourio will slump for a month. The arithmetic doesn't work.
Walks sneaks into the playoffs. Neto, Pivetta, Pasquantino — all bought down to bargain prices with $227 left to work with. Flying under the radar.
Turg defends. Just kidding. Nobody defends in this league. He finishes 7th and blames his pitching staff.
The commish wins. $242, Kwan, Arozarena, Joe Ryan, and Rasmussen. The value is undeniable. Don't @ me.

See you at G's on Saturday. May your sleepers emerge, your closers hold leads, and your auction bids never go uncontested at $1.

Good luck, Managers! ⚾🍀