moonslav59

MLBTR projected $70M/4, so it's about what was expected. Wade Davis is the only other top 10 FA to sign, and he got more total money than projected, too.

Hosmer to anyone but the Sox is reason to rejoice!

Agreed. Finally, a good haul.

At $80M/5, I guess we can dispell the rumors of owner collusion to drive salaries down.

No and no. Salazar makes $5M this year and has 2 arbs. JBJ makes $6.1M and has 2 arb years left. I don't make the trade without JD. With JD, I'm on the fence. I'd prefer something like JBJ, Johnson, Marrero & Hembree for Salazar and Meritt or Anderson.

I don't really want to trade JBJ for Salazar, but if we get JD, it's a close call. DH: JD CF: JBJ Bench: HRam or Moreland vs LF: JD CF: Beni DH: HRam HRam is probably a better hitter than JBJ, so we don't lose the full value of JBJ by trading him. Yes, we lose on D, but gaining in the rotation is major value added.

Well, JBJ's stock fell after last year, too.

Yes, Theo and Ben built the farm up nicely, but as of right now, we have 0 in the top 80 according to BA and 1 in the top 75 by ESPN. Recent grads will carry us for a while, but when their prices get higher, we'll need some fresh and inexpensive young players on the roster. How many of our prospects will give us significant value between 2 and 4 years from now? This is what is concerning to some of us.

There's been rumors for years. They have a couple fine young pitchers that have done well when called on to start. As starters... Ryan Merrit 3-0 1.82 in 5 career starts Mike Clevinger 12-7 3.66 in 31 starts

Most of our best talent was or is in single A. That makes it hard to judge. Groome, Mata, Brannen and Houck can rise in the rankings with a good year. Ockimey is a bit of a wild card. Chavis could rise with a second strong year in a row. Travis, Shawarayn and Beeks are older and maybe topped out.

True. Zero in BA. 1 in the top 75 on this ranking (the pessimist's view).

Yes. For example, I'm a huge JBJ fan, but I have suggested trading him, if we sign JD. I'd like to keep him and JD, but there are advantages to trading him for someone like Salazar. Now, if someone dislikes Salazar, I can understand how they feel like I am undervaluing JBJ, but I don't see it that way. I think Salazar is one hell of a pitcher. (The injury concerns are valid, however.)

Yeah, the losers in the Darvish competition might join in or raise their offer for Arrieta. Boras will wait it out.

Zero in the top 80.

I don't see all 130 signing. Some may retire. I don't think many big names will be unsigned on opening day.

So, we have 3 in the top 101?

It's kind of the same situation when someone suggests trading one of our players. Several times, we hear, "Why are you giving up on so-and-so?" To me, if your suggested trade is for a good player, the suggested trade actually shows you value that player highly. You have to give to receive. Theo knows that. DD knows that.

If we can find a "taker" who is not up against a roster crunch or players out of options crunch, I'd like to see us trade 2 of these guys for one better player, preferably with an option left: Out of options Marrero Brentz Swihart Johnson Hembree (the best of the group and probably worth keeping) While Holt has options, if a team wanted him + Johnson for a better SP'er or 2Bman than Marco, I'd do it.

What if Moustakas ends up signing a pillow contract for $15M or settling on $39M/3? I'd have much rather had him at that price than Moreland.

I'm not so sure. There are many reports of players having multiple offers, but I think everyone is waiting for the first shoe to drop and the market price, to some extent, will be set (or reset). I can see Darvish and Cain signing soon, followed quickly by Hosmer and Arrieta. This will squeeze DD into needing to force the JD signing issue (maybe). I'm seeing Moustakas and Morrison ending up settling on numbers way below expectations, and it makes me wonder, if we should swoop in on some "bargains" and leave JD & BorA$$ hanging in the wind.

I used to check MLBTR 3-4 times a day. Now, I sometimes skip days.

It's a pile of decent back-ups. None can be projected as plus starters. They are place holders for Pedey. Marco Hernandez: He seems like he has the "inside edge" on the opening day starter's job, but certainly is not a lock. He only has 84 innings at 2B at the ML level. He's played less than 10% of his innings at 2B in the minors. One would think a capable SS would be fine, defensively, at 2B, but his defensive metrics in those 84 innings are horrible (-28.7 UZR/150 and -2 DRS). His bat appears to project better than any of the competition. .284 BA/ .328 OBP in 116 ML PAs and .292/.324 in 427 PAs at AAA. Brock Holt: I've always felt 2B was the only position Brock was a plus on defense, and the metrics back that position up: +7.1 UZR/150 and + 5 DRS in 746 innings at 2B. For a long time Brock kept his OPS over .700 (just barely) vs LHPs and RHPs. That's very good...for a sub. The concussion messed him up badly, but there is hope he can return to 2014-2016 form of .274 BA/.335 OBP/.381 SLG/.716. OPS. If he can give us +7 UZR and a .715 OPS, he'd be near a plus compared to the rest of the league's 2Bmen. The league 2B OPS has been between .700 and .750 since 2014. The +7 UZR/150 would make Holt a clear average (at worst) 2Bman. That's the optimist view. We all know how bad he can look as well. Deven Marrero: He's out of options, so he may make the 25 man roster, if only to keep depth in the system. He's pretty much all glove and no bat, but he's really be quite decent vs LHPs, fueled by a .430 SLG%. His OPS vs LHPs is .710, but it is .487 vs RHPs. Some sort of platoon might work out for Deven. His UZR/150 at 2B (9.0) is almost as good as Pedey's (10.9). Tzu-Wei Lin: He is largely an unknown who put up a .709 OPS in just 66 PAs last year. In 44 innings at 2B, last year, he pout up an amazing +30.7 UZR/150 (+1 DRS). His .602 OPS at AAA (154 PAs) and .580 OPS at AA (411 PAs) makes one wonder about his chances at winning the 2B jon, let alone a 25 man roster spot, especially with so many out-of-options bubble players. Esteban Quiroz: Another largely unknown talent. He put up very good numbers in the Mexican League by never having a BA below .293 or an OPS below .845. He's the wild card in the group. Many consider the Mexican League to be similar to AAA, so maybe this kid has a real shot. In 2016, he hit .335/.449/.522/.971! Blake Swihart & Michael Chavis: I don't see them as options at 2B. Maybe someone from this group can rise and shine, but picking which one to give the first shot might not be easy. ST'ing will probably decide who starts and who makes the 25 man roster, but others might get a chance, if the first choice stumbles out of the gate. Hoiw long Pedey is out, and the threat of him never returning, is a dark cloud over our team. Having one of these guys come through would go a long way towards improving our odds at winning the division. I'm hopeful but not really optimistic.

He's not even an upgrade. He's one more added to the pile.

The trade rumors were not just Swihart for Hamels.

Agreed, but it does seem we have a pretty good track record with our top 100 (non pitching) prospects succeeding.