moonslav59

My faves from those mid 70's teams were Burleson, Tiant & Lee. Of course that OF was hard to not love.

Maybe Harper? 5 years remaining at at about $130M. AAV: $25.4M He's a LHB, but e's turning 34, soon. We'd have to force some salary dumps on PHI, so that would defeat the purpose on PHI's side. Taking KC ($55M /9), Story ($30M/1) and Yoshida ($18M/1) would save them $25M, but almost all back-end. They won't take all three, and BTV calls it as we owe them $60M (Arias is $63M.) Anybody for the 4 for 1 deal? BTV calls this one exactly even: Durbin, Campbell & Yoshida for Harper. Then, we sign Sato. The Rays say no, but BTV says yes to Sogard for Rasmussen & Matz.

I never expected we'd get one either. Didn't stop me from thinking it was a good idea. I still think either will prove to be better than Bregman, who was Brez's first choice.

I wouldn't either and didn't.

So, we need even better pitching?

Sounds like a good plan.

Do you agree that if we can't count on Crawford and Houck because it's been years since they've pitched or done well then the same logic should be applied to the Sale situation at trade time?

No Bill Lee? How about Greg harris- the guy who could throw both handed, although he only faced 2 batters as a lefty. That was cool! I really liked Beckett until I didn't.

Why ask me? Nothings wrong. I wanted Schwarber or Alonso, too.

He'd have to accept, but yes.

Among others, yes. I'm never afraid to admit I was wrong. (Note: it's not a sign of weakness.)

More proof of any lack of reading comprehension.

Like those were the only 2 SSs in MLB?

BINGO I remember asking, if extending Bogey at even $200M/8 would have been worth it. That was 1-2 years before he bolted. (IMO, no way he'd have taken that, so he should have been a goner.)

Therein lies the rub, but when I asked that about Sale, I was lambasted.

I agree. We may need 2 or 3 of the current AAA starters in that role on the big team, this year. Counting Crawford as ML depth, we have 8 guys. Maybe the better question is which 3 should join Crawford as AAA starters in 2027. I kinda felt Paez would be the #9 after Crawford. If we decide to move Houck to the pen permanently, then Crawford would be 7 and Paez or someone else #8. I kinda felt Holobetz might be next in line, but maybe Wehunt or Ziehl are better options. Of course, we can sign some AAAA/AAA starters, too.

No doubt. I once suggested $400M/14.

Sale let up the 3.

A look at the 2027 Outfield and DH Anthony, Rafaela and Abreu could be the best 1-2-3 OF in MLB- when combining O and D. You all know my feelings on Duran, and I saw an $11M arb estimate on him, today: bye-bye Jarren. I'm fine with Yoshida, White and Jones as subs. AAA had Ward, KC and out of options Eaton. Maybe Justin Gonzales rises to near MLB ready by mid season- likely not. DH can be upgraded, but a platoon formed from these guys could do fine: Yoshida, Anthony (Duran in LF) Gasper, Romy, Jones and Sogard. Maybe we sign Suzuki and DH Anthony.

A Look at the 2027 Middle Infielders Arias could be the savior or the next KC. He looks good on D, and I'd like to see him at SS to start the season, but who knows. I'm not a fan of Story's SS defense, and I'm not sure I'd be very happy with him as our 2Bman, but if we get a big bat elsewhere (even SS) I'd be okay with Story and Mead at 2B. I'm very high on Mead but he may best be used as a DH. He was on pace for 34 HRs and 70 XBHs before the injury. Sogard, Seigler, Monasterio, Romy and Cheng are decent depth behind the 3 guys for 2 positions, so we seem okay here. One idea could be to trade Arias plus _____ for a major SS bat like Abrams, de la Cruz but I'm not sure I'd do this for Neto or the one and done Pena.

A Look at the 2027 Corner Infielders Contreras at 1B was a godsend and a major reason we made the playoffs. We even got the Cardinals to pitch in some cash! He's 35, so I'm not sure what we can expect next year, but I'm pretty sure we roll the dice with him. Mead can play 1B, but we need a big upgrade at 2B offense, so I doubt we see him at 1B, unless Willson gets hurt of fall of a cliff. Sogard and Romy make for capable back-ups and Gasper and Casas could surprise. 1B looks pretty solid. Brannon might be added as a Rule 5 protectee. (Justin Gonzales may end up at 1B in a couple years.) Durbin had a near .800 second half of 2026 and plays near GG defense. It's hard to think we should replace a pre-arb guy like him, but if we want a big boost in offense, maybe we look at 3B (Sato?) Sogard and Monasterio are decent ML depth, but we aren't deep here. Story & Cheng are options.

A Look at the 2027 Catchers Rutschman is the best catcher we've had in years, even if he never comes close to his first couple season numbers again. He could bring us a +100 to 150 OPS over what we've seen in recent years from our catchers. After AR, it gets a bit scary, despite Brez's winter moves to build system depth at catcher. All of his adds are not going to be 2027 MLB ready. Wong is likely the best back-up in the system, unless you wants Gasper flubbing things up on defense. Minor league depth: Nate Baez is okay, but not someone you want playing everyday, if needed. Jo Garcia has been a personal favorite of mine, but he may be best used at DH. Tomas Nido? (Hickey is a DH/1B) AA: Ronny Hernandez shows hope as a batter but likely at DH. Ge Rod has gotten some props and seems good on D. Hudson White has some promise. A+ Heyman & Salazar could rise up but not to MLB in 2027 and maybe not 2028 either. A- Primera could be the jewel among the system catchers but is very far away. Jorge Rodriguez is the back-up, along with Musett.

A Look at the Projected 2027 Bullpen The 2026 pen was a major part of the team's run to the playoffs. There were not many major injuries, but near the end we were missing some key pieces and Miller imploded. Here is what the pen might look like next year, not counting any additions: Chapman has had a couple excellent to very nice seasons. At his age maybe we can't expect three, but we have little hope anyone else can do it. Whitlock had an amazing season- not his first. He could maybe become the closer, but we need him as one of the leagues best set-up men, once again. Miller had a very nice run after the trade, but his end of the season performance throws it all in doubt. We have to slot him in our top 4-5 leverage relievers. Slaten can't stay healthy, but he is likely top 5, if he can. Guerrero may have been a fluke, but he's top 5, too. Weissert could move to a top 5 role or drop down to the last pen arm. He's that unpredictable. Moran is out of options and was left off the playoff roster. He might be traded. Oviedo & Houck could start the season in the pen, but they are needed as SP'er depth, too. Depth/Roster bubble: Gamboa, Samaniego, Kelly, Bastardo, Mullins, Olds, Rivera, Song I'd like to see us add someone like Morejon, but the money will be spent elsewhere. It's likely Brez looks for a couple T Guerreros.

A Look at our projected Rotation and SP'er depth Gray will not accept the mutual option, so consider him a FA, who may or may not return. Here is what we have controlled: 1. Crochet: The injury concern is real. We know little about how much he can regain, of how many innings he can give us, but he looks like the plan for replacing Gray. 2. Tolle: We could call him the #1, since he was the number 1 playoff starter. I'm fine with that. He looks like the real deal. 3. Suarez: three straight sub 3.50 ERA seasons- all around 150 IP. He's no innings-eater horse, but he just had his best FIP (3.16) and WHIP (1.187,) so maybe he can step up a notch in production or IP. Maybe... 4. Bennett: may have been a flash as his 4.83 ERA over his last 11 starts. 4.93 over his last 8 starts and 5.93 in his last 3 is worrisome. I still like the chances of him being a plus #4. 5. Bello was all over the map but seemed to conquer the starter yips. He had a real rough start to the season, but came on in the middle and end. His previous 3 seasons were pretty good, so for the most part he's been a reliable #5. He had a 106 ERA+ 2023-2025 (4.02 ERA) He had a 2.98 ERA after May 1st. After his one horrible June start, he had a 2.11 ERA after July 1st. That's a solid 5. Now, the depth: Houck was our ace in 2024. That's not that long ago. He pitched nearly 180 IP that season with a 3.12 ERA. His injury may have already affected his performance as he was nearly unhittable. He had a 2.18 ERA after 16 starts, and the 2.22 FIP showed it was no fluke. In no way am I saying he can or will return to that level, but it's not impossible to come close to that. (He was 4.42 in his last 14 GS.) He's 31. Oviedo has had one long season (2023) with 178 IP, but the 4.31 ERA was nothing special. He missed 2024 with TJS, but from 2022 to 2025, he posted a 3.97 ERA (110 ERA+.) 44 IP in the last 3 seasons is scary. Brez must have saw something: let's see if we can see that hope. He's only 28. Crawford is 31 and has 2 arb years left. He was our IP leader in 2024, again, not that long ago. The 95 ERA+ was underwhelming, but his 113 ERA+ in 2023 made many of us feel he could be a real good one. My guess is, since he has an option left, he may start the season in AAA. In no way can we view the extended depth as a plus, but we do have 4 okay starters in AAA: Paez, Wehunt, Holobetz, Ziehl. I don't see any AA SP'ers that might make the leap to MLB in 2027. (Brown, Futrell & Monegro) All-in-all, our SP'ers should be viewed as top 5-7 in MLB, even without Gray.

I'm thinking we might have to get used to the idea that we will lose Gray and will not likely even try to replace him in kind or even half in kind. They will roll the dice with Crochet and hope Houck, Oviedo and Crawford will be enough depth. I'm not as pumped up about our returning everyday players as I once was, and it is nice that we don't lose anyone (but IKF,) however we lack serious high quality players. We have some really nice WAR players with numbers helped mostly by their defense (Rafaela, Durbin & Abreu,) but our main issue is offense, and while these guys are not net negatives, we have too many 7-8-9 type batters. They might be better than most 7-8-9s but not good enough for the 5 or 6 slots. We have very nice depth at just about every position but Catcher, but by adding AR, the catcher position should not be a major focus for upgrading. Working from best batters to worst, I think we simply have to rely on... Contreras at 1B Anthony in LF/DH Mead at 2B/DH Abreu RF The next tier is ... Rutschman C Rafaela CF (so great on D, and not bad on O, so likely a keeper) I'd say the other players and positions are the ones we should focus on. We might be lucky to get one big add, but maybe two decent to big could occur. We will likely live with 1-2 as is, and since Mead can play 2B, 1B and DH, and Anthony can play corner OF and DH, we have some flex there: LF/DH/2B- Anthony, Mead, Story, Yoshida, Gasper, Romy, Jones, White, Duran, Sogard, Brannon 3B: Durbin, Sogard, Monasterio, SS: Arias/Story, Monasterio, Cheng BTV gives Durbin a 30 value, which seems very high, but great D and 5 years of control does have trade value. Arais has double the BTV value as Durbin, but he offers a low cost solution to a positional problem we've had since Bogey and defensive issues at SS from before Xman. FA solutions could be: 3B/LF/DH Sato OF Suzuki 2B/DH B Lowe I started out high on BLowe but have been talked down a peg or two. Sato might be the best hope, and Suzuki is more proven. No way we get 2 of these three, but it doesn't hurt to dream. If we don't spend much on pitching, maybe we can get one of these three and a second tier addition, but those options are too many to name. If we sign Sato, we could trade Durbin or move him to 2B and DH Mead. If we sign Suzuki, we could DH Anthony and try to trade Yoshida +$14M for what? I guess we could trade Yoshida, Gasper and jones or Romy, but again, for what? If we sign BLowe, Mead would DH and the same trades could be attempted. I think my first choice is now Sato, #2 Suzuki and #3 Lowe.