moonslav59

Agreed. I'm kinda surprised we even asked about him.

It's beyond obvious.

You may disagree, but you honestly need me to tell you why I think they will pay something? He'll be 32 in April. He makes $31M x 6 years. He's played about 2 season's worth of games in the last 3 years. Do the math for yourself. Sure, he might get $31M x 6 as a free agent, but TEX wants something back for him, right? I know how much you love BTV, but my guess is they have him at negative value and if they want something good back for him, they will either pay some cash of take on someone like Hicks. Maybe the Dodger trade a bag of balls for him- straight up... okay.

Damn!

What's the difference between TEX giving the team $20M or taking back Hicks?

That's what I am most afraid of, and why I want the best possible first bat, now.

They may not, but they will.

I disagree. Count KMarte as making up for the 850 PAs by Devers and Bregman, which is a rosy view, but then we have Mayer/Romy instead of DHam/Romy on offense and Casas, instead of Casas, some bums and then Lowe. Some more PAs by Anthony and no major injuries, and maybe we get to even. We weren't a top contender in 2025 and were at or near a top 10 offense. We should set our sights on staying even? I'm not sure Gray and Oviedo make up for Gio & Buehler, but let's call that even. No Wilson, Bernardino and others. Let's stretch again and cal that even. When is staying even a winning strategy? In a general sense, we can look at the roster and say, "Hey this team is pretty young and we should see some noticeable progressions. We can see more PAs from Anthony, Abreu and maybe Masa, but we know someone will get hurt. We should expect it and plan for it. We were not one big player away from a ring in 2025, and now we are supposed to strive for brining back the same or in kind players? Then, what if Duran drops even more from his '24 season? What of Story gets hurt or declines? What of 2025 was Rafaela's peak offensive season? What if Narvaez, Anthony and others have a "sophomore slump?" What if Casas is the next Dalbec? Are any of these wonderings way off base? We need to plan on major improvements with an emphasis on the plural. We need bold no status quo.

I agree on Marte, and if Duran or Campbell are part of the trade, the net AAV add is only about $12M. (Rafaela, instead, bring it to $13M or so.) This is probably the only way we get two big bats without going way over the tax line. Marte and 2 big FA bats would likely put us over the second tax line, even if it's Polanco, Suarez & KMarte. (Who plays 3B, if Suarez is at 1B?)

That's how I see it: open a slot for Mayer or mayer/Romy at 2B or 3B or trade him.

They can and will give cash, so no difference. Taking Hicks then DFA'ing him is the same thing.

By the end of the season, Lowe had sort of fixed the major problem at 1B, Romy was playing near FT at 2B and doing better than KC/DHam and others before, Bregman was back at 3B, although he slumped over the last 25 games, and Masa came to life late. Those season numbers are a bit deceiving. One could argue we won more without Devers to counter my point, but IMO, we have a lot to do to build up to just get to even. IMO, we need to boost up from 2025.

Agreed, but it won't change the offense.

I would not make the trade I mentioned.

When Masa or Hicks are included, it's almost always for a very high priced player and usually one that is overpaid. We could just ask for cash back, instead. They could just cut Hicks and it would be the same as cash.

He has been pretty damn good for 4 years, but the injuries kept those WAR numbers down, except for 2024. fWAR per 162 4.1 '22 2.6 '23 0.4 '24 2.9 '25 I think he's an option, because he might take a 1-2 year deal at half the money Bregisheete gets.

I think TEX would have to pay some salary or take Yoshida and or Hicks to help balance the cost. I don't think we should do this trade.

How about not including Wong, and HOU can sign Caratini?

Yes: sign Caratini for 1 year as a bridge to Yanek..

I don't ha ve any issues with Narvaez.

That's two or three times he's mentioned this mystery great arm we have. If it's not Valera, it will be Fajardo or Phillips. (Witherspoon?)

Caratini.

Mayer might be part of the KMarte trade or be dealt as part of a package for a #2SP.

Good laydown, Hugh. I'd be fine with Alonso plus Polanco or Suarez. Polanco pushes Mayer/Romy to 3B and Suarez plays 3B but can move to 1B, if Casas flounders. (Mayer 3B and Romy 2B) Duran plus for Marte, along with Alonso and Suarez would cost about as much as Alonso & Bregman. (Marte adds about $12M and Suarez $18-22M.)

Last winter was a great sign that things were changing. The Devers trade and Breggie opt-out kinda threw us right back to square one. The loss of Gio mattering was a bit of a surprise, but it is what it is. There is no reason to think we won't be movers and shakers this winter, but with these guys, there has to be doubts as well. I keep coming back to this, and of course we lost some deadwood, some at a high cost, but we need to replace this in kind just to look the same as 2025 on paper. I don't think anyone can say we were top competitors in '25, so we should improve on what we are replacing. 495 PAs Bregman (.821) Plus defense and clubhouse guy. 334 PAs Devers (.905) 15 HRs was on pace for 30+ 209 PAs Refsnyder (.838) Helped us greatly vs LHPs 119 PAs N Lowe (.790) Solidified the 1B position for over a month. That's over 1100 PAs and 43 HRs (23% of HRs in 18.5% of team PAs) Yes, we also lost Toto (.659 in 284 and will not see Campbell at .664 for 263 PAs, again, but these numbers of bad numbers "lost" are way less than the good ones lost.) Yes, we lost Buehler, Newcomb, Houck, Murphy and others as well as Gio (145 IP) Bernardino (52) and Wilson (48). The latter 3 were top 10 in IP. (Buehler was 4th.) For argument's sake, let's say Gray and Oviedo match what Gio & Co did, and our pen doesn't miss a beat, despite some significant losses, breaking even with winter moves on offense & defense is not a winning strategy. We need to put together an improved team on the field. I'm fine with thinking more PAs from Anthony, Mayer, Casas and maybe Abreu, Romy, Masa and perhaps better seasons by others can help, but I strongly condemn this as a major portion of the plan to improve. It should only be the gravy added to the meat. Bringing Bregman back or subbing Bichette for him is fine, but it's just a sideways move. We'd still need a significant plus somewhere. If we end up trading Duran, that's another 696 PAs at .774 to replace in kind or better. If the plan is to play Mayer full time or platoon with Romy and not add more than "Bregishette" then 1B or DH are the only slots left to make great improvements to. Suarez or Polanco aren't improvements over Bregishette, but they look to be better than Mayer, so maybe that is a way to go: Bregman (3B) or Bichette (2B) plus Polanco (2B) or Suarez (3B/1B w Mayer at 3B) Or, we trade Mayer plus for a #2 SP. Of course, Alonso checks many boxes, and maybe we slide Casas to DH or trade him, once he shows higher value, but we need something big to happen. Probably 2-3 big things.