Maybe Swihart beats out Leon. That would create another slot. If not, we have 3 slots for 6+ players (Hernandez takes Pedey's slot until he returns, then another squeeze happens):
Brentz (hard to think of him as the only lock for the bench)
Swihart (no options)
Marrero (no options)
Holt (~$2M arb)
Lin
Quiroz
Travis
IMO, Travis won't make the 25 man roster. Swihart & Marrero are out of options and Brentz will be the 4th OF'er.
When Pedey comes back, Hernandez will be squeezing someone. Then, there's 2 million dollar man Holt to deal with.
Although a .365+ OBP is not always transferable to MLB, I think there is hope. He is still raw, so maybe late 2019 is the earliest we could hope for.
(I realize Chavis offers a better hope, but I think Ockimey has more upside than Travis.)
Anybody have any high hopes for 22 year old Ockimey making a splash in late 2018 or 2019?
Josh has 32 HRs in 859 ABs over the last 2 years.
If we sign JD, is signing a 1 year 1Bman a better idea than locking up Santana or Hosmer to 4+ years?i
Abreu is projected to make $17M in arb this year. He may make over $20M the following year. Two years of team control. That's about $38M/2.
Santana might make $48M/3 or $60M/4.
I'd rather keep JBJ as well, but Salazar could be a gem. I'd say he is better than "good".
From 2015-2017 Salazar places....in the AL (400+ IP):
3rd in K/9 (10.6)
12th in WAR (7.8) despite finishing 33rd in IP (a concern area)
10th in xFIP (3.50)
14th in ERA- (89)
17th in ERA (3.79)
15th in WHIP (1.25)
One could argue that being in the top 15 in the AL makes you an "ace".
Well, looking at the Chapman trade in hindsight makes it look a little better than at the time.
I realize the Cubs were very desperate, and your point is well taken, but a full year of a GG, 30+ HR SS or 3Bman has immense value.
I don't see Abreu as a significant upgrade over Santana.
I suppose we could sign JD and trade JBJ for prospects to flip to the CWS for Abreu, but I'd still rather just sign Santana or maybe even Morrison.