moonslav59

It's encouraging to see you say "rarely and not "never." I do think Contreras and Gray are consequential, but you were speaking about signings. I'm not happy, either, but I do think we improved by a significant amount- maybe just not significant enough. Add Paredes and we'll be a top 4-5 team- 6th at worst and probably not top 3.

Hey, we filled one of those identified slots, twice over! That's already better than our trend! LOL. They probably think Contreras fills the other need and would have argued Gray filled the first need, had we not signed Suarez. If we can add Paredes, I'll be fine with the winter moves as a whole. If we add Baty, Shaw, Tovar or better (Donovan is close) instead of Paredes, I'll be okay. I'm hoping the unexpected gains in the rotation can outweigh the shortcomings in the big bat area need. Maybe we wait until the deadline to deal from rotation depth, but that is almost always for prospects. Let's do it NOW!

Possible 3B/2B (SS) trade options? Paredes HOU Donovan STL Hoerner or Shaw CHC Baty or Vientos NYM Tovar COL Lewis MN Chisholm NYY, G Torres DET, K Clemens MN, Muncy LAD, Bohm PHI Not likely available: KMarte AZ, Keaschall MN, Stott PHI, Machado SDP, Riley ATL Am I missing anyone?

Most of the best remaining FAs are SP'er, which is the last thing we need. Here is who is left and their ranking on MLBTRs FA list: 6. Framber SP who threw a ball at his catcher in 2025. 15. Gallen SP who struggled badly in 2025. 20. E Suarez 3B/1B/DH maybe in the Sox sights. 24, Bassitt SP about to turn 37. 27. Giolito SP may have health concerns. 33. Nick Martinez SP/RP may go to the Yanks. 35. Littell SP is seeking multi-year deal. 38. Verlander SP turns 43 soon. 48. Scherzer is 41 years old. Honorable mentions not signed: M Andujar, Buehler, Hoskins, Kopech, S Marte, Mony, Ozuna, Justin Wilson.

I'd prefer we have his slot open and the $12M x 2 off the books ($10.3 x 2 AAV) Add his AAV to what we have left to spend and stay below line 3 might be enough to sign Suarez or trade for Paredes without having to give back salary.

If that makes you feel better, good for you. You have a lot of faith in majority opinions or the perception of it.

All teams have some sort of methodology for assigning value to players. Some are obviously better than others (or luckier.) I'm hopeful our evaluation system is good. I do think Gray is worth more than the $21M we are paying him. I like the Suarez deal better than the Breggie deal. Positionally, we are still in a bind, but there is something to the notion that value is value, no matter where it is. If Suarez was replacing a guy with Suarez value as our 5th starter, then I'd be sayin Whoa! I'm also think we now use our SP'er deoth to add a 3B/2B and fix that need anyway. That would make the Suarez over Breggie choice more sensible. (I think it mase sense, anyway.)

The re was word we wanted Hicks, but I doubt we demanded him. Even wanting him seems misguided.

In 249 innings at 1B, a very small sample size, Devers was +2 DRS and -1 OAA, so maybe off to an average start, apparently with very little practice, until midseason 2025. Casas in 1982 innings at 1B: -11 DRS and -14 OAA.

If we don't trade an OF'er, all the more reason to try 2B again.

Even if he's bad but not horrible at 2B, but can hit ..775+, he'd be a big help. We'd have DHam for late inning defense and Romy as the back-up to KC, Mayer and Masa at DH (platoon with Masa or Mayer?)

He hasn't had an OPS over .744 since 2023. While .744 is not horrible, his 2B defense is, so I'd prefer Romy/DHam at 2B and using the $12M on Paredes. It's kind of amazing that he won a batting title in 2023 with a .739 OPS. He only walked 24 times and hit just 4 HRs, that year. Only 39 of his 200 hits were for extra bases. No thanks, even at $4M/1.

I hope we don't need to call Romero up. If we do, it means we have big troubles. (I left our K Campbell on the depth chart above Romero, too. If we are calling up Romero over KC, that is not necessarily a good thing.)

Comfort among the sheep.

Makes no sense, once again. It's like you are speaking Spanish.

To me, through all the Brez bashing, I'm surprised this is not discussed more. We heard the FO talk about the need for a #2 SP'er behind Crochet. We know we had that big need along with at least 2 more major needs: a big bat and a 3B/2Bman. Maybe 3 needs if you count 1B, but the big bat need should fill the 1B or 2B/3B need, so it was essentially 3 big needs. Instead of filling these three needs with one player, he filled one need with 2 players (Suarez & Gray) and maybe half or three-quarters filled another need (Contreras as the "big bat" or 1Bman.) So, at best we added 3 big pieces and filled just 2 of 3 big needs. At worst, we filled 1.5 of 3 big needs while adding 3 significant players. Now, there is still time a resources (mostly trade capital) to add a 3B/2Bman. The chance to add a big bat is probably too remote to even consider. In theory, adding a significant player to play 3B/2B would fill 2.5 or 3 of the 3 biggest needs with a nice added boost to the rotation, which by attrition could help the pen. (Crawford/Harrison/Sandoval/Oviedo to the pen?) Instead, I hear Brez blew this and blew that, even from posters who didn't want Breggie at that cost. (And Breggie does not fill the big bat need, anyway, IMO.)

Thank you for admitting that serious flaw in your logic.

I did not assign the "mistake" on Cora, Brez, Bloom, JH or any one person. I mentioned it went back years. I don't know why nobody tried. (Maybe they did.) I think they should have tried, if they didn't. I don't know if they tried or not. Maybe they never even talked about it, but I find that ahrd to believe. I have my opinions on what should be done. I readily admit I do not have all the information and facts that GMs and managers have, so I don't assign blame based on just assumptions and my own personal opinions. I do not know why that is so hard to comprehend. I could venture a guess that it is the way you think, so you assume everyone thinks like you do. Everything is black and white and blame needs to be fully assigned in neat little boxes with all but 0.5% given to the idea that maybe my opinion is wrong or bases on faulty assumptions. I know I have faulty assumptions. Maybe that's what's you can't conceive. I'm about to give up even trying to debate this or anything else with you. I think not at least having Devers try a 1Bman's mitt over several years was a mistake. I just won't call it Bloom's mistake, Cora's mistake, Brez's mistake (although we do know he tried.) or whoever. Maybe it's 33% to all three. I don't really care, but I'm not putting 99.5% blame on the one guy who actually tried to get Devers to play where he was needed- Mr. 12%.

I do speak fluent Perch. Does that count?

To me, even if he does great at AAA, it will take injuries or horrific play by DHam or Sogard to open up a chance for Romero in MLB in 2026. Eaton, too. I don't see Romy sucking to that level, so I left him out. Nothing against Romero, but he's way down on the depth charts.

To say disobeying your bosses request is less than 1% of the problem is even worse than calling it just "absurd." Then, on top of refusing, he publicly calls out his boss by essentially saying he's not doing his job well. It doesn't matter if he's right or wrong on that opinion: no boss will tolerate that. It's more than absurd to think they should and that it's 99.5% the bosses fault for not giving into an insubordinate employee. I'm an English teacher and can't even think of a more fitting word than absurd.

You make no sense and misstate my position once again. I do not call something I disagree with Cora on a "mistake" That's another lie or a total lack of an ability to understand what words mean. I'm not sure what's worse. I'd say "strawman" again, but you cant comprehend the concept of what that even means.

I suggested it might be a reason. Unlike you I did not pretend to be all-knowing. Of course, Cora might think Devers would have sucked at 1B. Afterall, he did suck at 3B, it's not a big leap. Sucking at 1B, as in dropping clean throws could be worse than having him at 3B. Not knowing doesn't mean I have to pick a lane, assign it as truth and base everything on an assumption.

It is absurd to not even acknowledge there is some merit to the idea of Devers at 1B. 100% absurd and stubbornness, I might add. You so easily pretend to know what everyone is thinking and what their motives are- from fellow poster s to what Cora was thinking when he wouldn't talk to Devers. I have never pretended to know why he didn't. That's the difference you never see. I have no idea if Cora thought Devers would be better than Casas at 1B, and even if he did, he might not have wanted to make 2 or 3 moves to do it. It might have had nothing to do with hurting Dever's fragile ego. I'm claiming we don't know. You convince yourself on what Cora's motivations were and now say he should be fired, if it was not about what he felt was best for the team on the field. Somehow, you come up with 1/2 a percent that it could be true, and place "99.5% on #12." Your disdain for Brez is so obvious, but then you pout and cry unfair overalaysis when confronted with it. The whole #12 thing in itself is "telling." You thin k it was wrong to move Devers to 1B. That's fine, but assigning blame based on your personal idea of what was right on the actual move to the point where a player's can be insubordinate, because he's right is very much absurd. Then, you look at the Breggie negotiations where your position was that Bregiie was not worth the contract the Cubs gave him, but somehow the bottom line on what you think was right or wrong is discarded, and it's still #12's fault something happened that you wanted to happen- no overpay on Breggie. Brez can never win with you, whether he's right or wrong. He's a bumbling #12 and always will be, and yes it's totally absurd. Glad you "love it." I just wish you'd own it.

The biggest mistake was waiting until May 2nd to try and get Devers to put on a 1Bman's mitt. Either they were fine with Toro, or they were too afraid to ask Devers to practice 1B in ST'ing. If they had any balz, they'd have had Cora go talk to Devers the day after the Breggie signing and ask him to start working out at 1B- "just in case." Devers could cry "broken-Bloom-promise" all he wanted, but this should have been foreseen and dealt with before the year started.