jacksonianmarch

Kimmi, Jeter won it in reputation. There were some years where his defense was solid, but most of the time he was below average. I think he had a solid UZR in 2009 interestingly enough. And he held his own early in his career. But most of the time he was a liability

So Harvey gave up 3ER through 6IP in game 1 without his fastball. With all the extra rest and babying BS, he hasn't had it all. This is his first start on regular rest in awhile and he's turning the best lineup in baseball (by BA) look silly. And this is his first yr back from TJS. He is a top tier ace at a young age who should be even better next year. If you have the option to get him, you do it.

Zimmerman costs you a pick

He was an average to above average defensive SS, which is saying something after how bad he was a year ago

The voters seem to like guys who have a track record. And they also like guys who hit for some reason. My guess is Xander wins it, although he definitely isn't worthy

Price is the gem of the market. Yes, he's had October struggles. But look at how Toronto used him in the playoffs. The guy was around the 250IP mark for the year when Gibbons throws him out there expecting an 8IP performance. In all 3 starts in the postseason, he allowed runs in the 7th. Through 3 starts, he'd allowed 6 runs in his first 6 innings of his 3 starts total. That's a pretty sweet 3.00ERA. What it comes down to is that if you're gonna ride him like a horse April through Sept, you're going to need to watch him after 6IP in October. And that shouldn't even be a question. In the playoffs, your starter could be throwing a perfect game, and you should have someone warming in the 6th

He two hit a Mets lineup that isn't exactly a world beater. Cueto is gonna get a big deal. And I think whatever team gives him that will be regretting it, possibly in year 1.

The advanced metrics aren't close. Fan graphs defensive rating of 14 for Didi and a UZR/150 of 8 while Xander's defensive rating was 8 and UZR/150 was less than 1. Didi also edges Escobar in those metrics

Gregorius was a dumpster fire for April. Since then, he was gold glove worthy

Armchair GM is what makes this site work. What fun is it to just blindly believe and not question. This isn't the Catholic Church. This is baseball

Right now, the only guys in your rotation that I think should be there are Miley and ERod. ERod has the stuff and flashed the potential. Miley is a consistent average pitcher who gives you innings. Other than that, the rest are either too hurt or too inconsistent to be given a spot out of the spring. Maybe you fill the top 2 spots in the rotation, put ERod and Miley as the 3 and 4 and have the rest battle it out for the 5th spot.

Gomes, Boras bought an insurance policy for Harvey on his arm. This is going to allow Harvey to play out the final three years of arbitration and cash in. Boras isn't dumb. If Harvey hits the market in 3 years, he will get huge money

Kimmi, how many pitchers do the sox need? Be realistic and take off your Ben Cherington issued rosy glasses, remove the pink hat, and put down the purplesaurus rex

I get that they have chips. But they're already dealing from a position of not really having a rotation that resembles anything akin to a playoff rotation. When you've got a hole to fix that is immense, you're dealing from a position of weakness. It'd be one thing if u needed a pitcher. But really, you need three

There is definitely a youth movement afoot in the big leagues. And for the most part, the youth movement is taking place on teams that have been down for a long time. That being said, looking at the WS and just focusing on the youth is rather naïve. The Mets aren't anywhere without a 32 yr old Daniel Murphy and a 32 yr old Yoenis Cespedes. Unless you are the Dodgers or the Yankees to some degree, nowadays you must build your core through your farm and supplement with veterans on the FA market or in the trade market. The days of just buying everyone and expecting it to work are over. Everyone has money now. No big league club is a feeder team to a larger market club anymore

19 yr old played well in SI against much older competition while showing contact chops and obp skills.

I don't know how anyone can convince themselves that the sox are in a position of strength in a Harvey deal. The Mets are in need of "now" players. They are in the WS this yr and if they flip a pitcher, they should reload enough to make up for the loss of Cespedes. If they cannot get a guy to replace Cespedes, then the Mets will just keep Harvey and have a ridiculous rotation again next yr. If the sox don't go for a starter on the FA market (as Henry had stated 2 years ago) then they basically have to deal for an ace. There will be plenty of teams looking. The Mets wouldn't be a fit if they aren't willing to unload Betts. Maybe you go for Gray, but trusting anyone out of Oakland and a guy that slight might be a fools errand.

If you are getting Harvey, you are going to have to give them a now OFer to replace Cespedes plus prospects. I think Betts and Devers or Betts and Owens for Harvey would solve the problem for both sides. The Mets get much needed offense in CF and the sox get a true ace who is another year removed from TJS. The sox are one of the rare teams to have 2 young CFers on their roster. Both can man the position defensively. Bradley may or may not hit over a full year. Betts has sky high value and looks like a perennial AS. That being said, the price to get a Harvey is going to be incredibly high.

It is time for an updated minor league notes section. And it starts with probably our most interesting prospect and someone who will be in the top 50 nationally, Domingo Acevedo. He is a 21 yr old RHP who stands 6'7". He topped out this yr at 103mph and sits easily around 96-99. He throws a plus slider and changeup with good command. Repeatability of the delivery and health is the only major concern. He was the NYP pitcher of the yr, throwing up a 1.69ERA with 54K and only 16BB in 49.2IP. The sky is the limit here. http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/see-domingo-acevedo-whiffs-pair-arizona-fall-league/

Kimmi, you are talking as if you are a Ben Cherington stooge. Seriously, get a new script. Ben did not have the right philosophy. His philosophy was schizophrenic when it came to long term contracts. He wouldn't give one to a Boston proven ace with playoff chops but he was willing to give one to an oft injured prima donna who was switching positions to something he has never played before? He isn't willing to go long for a starting pitcher, but he is willing to go long on an ever expanding 3b who was a fluke October away from not even getting a qualifying offer? Ben may have said some things about long term deals, but he spent like a drunken sailor in other areas that are going to hamstring your team for years to come. And the funny thing is, you had a better, younger and cheaper player already in the system at the position (Holt, Shaw, Bradley). Theo is different. He developed the team from the ground up. But he also knew when to throw his hat into the ring and go all in. Hence why he has Lester under contract and Boston doesn't. Yes, he had some failed moves like Edwin Jackson, but he also masterfully dealt a peaking Jeff Samardzija for his cornerstone SS of the future and also made the shrewd move to get Arrieta away from the O's. He waited to strike on the FA market until his team was right on the cusp. Cherington shot his wad early and for the wrong players. Hence why he is without a job and why Theo looks to be building a balanced team ready for multiple playoff berths in the future. Dombrowski is there to turn your team into a winner and fast. And to do that, he will need to move some young pieces and may need to take on a rough contract or two. You know, the exact thing Theo did to get Beckett. Sometimes your prospects turn into Casey Fossum and sometimes they don't.

I could see him in Seattle

Meh, I have been reading about all these kids in depth and I really, really like what happened this year. That being said, you don't want to sell when the value is low, you want to deal when it is highest. And some guys might never get higher. Heathcott and Sanchez are helium guys right now. I'd definitely listen if someone wanted them, mostly because we have redundancy at their position. Williams will be back next yr and our top prospect in the system is an OFer. Mateo is also a helium guy as his 80+ steals, good D an representative BA and OBP as a kid in long season suggests. Could he go higher? Maybe? Could he follow the Culver's of the world and stagnate next yr? Absolutely. SS is a position of strength in this system after a decade of futility forcing us to keep employing Jeter in that role and not moving him off of it. Didi is 25 and had a 3+ WAR season. The last time we saw that from a Yankee SS was 2009. And the kid is only going to get better. You have Avelino, Estrada, Garcia who actually look like top prospects all occupying SS and then you have our sup pick from last yr in Holder (who I hated btw, but the thought remains). If Mateo gets us a front line, young starter, you do it. If he gets us an impact bat then you do it. It's all about maximizing return. I also agree with you that our upper levels are devoid of a big name front line potential starter. Mostly because he is in the Yankee rotation right now in Severino. That being said, we have a lot of youth in our rotation. Warren was our second best starter to Severino this year. And that is saying something with 26 yr olds Tanaka and Pineda and 25 yr old Eovaldi in the mix. I like Lail and I like Davis. Lail is more of a sinker/slider guy who gets by on command and movement. Davis has the arm to be a top of the rotation starter, he just hasn't put it together. Both of them are future big leaguers so long as they stay healthy. But below the AAA and AA surface lies a few guys who need to be kept on the radar. Campos and German are both coming back from TJS. Campos looked like s*** this yr, but it was his first action coming off the knife. German will be in the same boat next yr. Kaprielian and Acevedo are front line potential starters and both will be in the long season leagues next yr. And I think there is a decent chance Kap is in the upper levels or even the bigs come the end of 2016. And that doesn't even account for the multitude of strong armed guys like Encinas who are coming off injuries or poor seasons who have the stuff to move forward. I liked the Degano and Finley selections as well and think Chance Adams has a "chance" to be a good starter as they convert him coming into 2016. Either way man, the system put a mushroom stamp on Keith Law and the other pundits who hated on the system. A pair of early 20 yr olds came in and dominated in their debut season and they are just the beginning. The 3 yrs of above average play without decimating the farm is about to prove smart as these awful contracts come off the books. I like the way things are pointing in the Bronx

Mateo isn't untouchable IMO, but I don't deal him for a fill in. The kid can play. Kaprielian is turning into a great draft pick as his velo has been steadily held in the 94-96 range. He already had the off speed stuff and the command, it was just the velocity he was lacking. Now he has it. I think he starts in Tampa next year and ends up in AA or AAA. By holding pat for a few years in terms of dealing top prospects, we have accumulated some really solid talent. Acevedo might be our best pitching prospect since Hughes. His ceiling is as high as it gets. Plus command, a wipeout slider and change up. He used to sit low 90s and in his last few weeks at SI, he was sitting high 90s and topping out at 101mph.

I disagree entirely. Lester's trade was reasonable when you consider what Cespedes has turned into. But dealing Cespedes for Porcello was a tough move in retrospect. The high dollar contract for a guy who hadn't thrown a pitch in a sox jersey was dumb. Dealing Lackey for a pile of crap was dumb. Going out and signing a chronically injured malcontent to change positions and pay him $90 mil was dumb. I was all over the Panda move. The guy has declined since getting into the league and has inflated physically as well. 5 years was as stupid as could be.

The sox had their core. Just like they did in 2004 with Theo. It was the additions to the core that put them over the top. His managerial selection for that team was top notch. Farrell may not be what you want now, but he was exactly what was needed after Valentine's garbage in 2012