moonslav59

The wild thing is that only Gray and Suarez remain from the original starting 5, and one could argue Houck, Sandoval, Crawford or Oviedo might have been, if healthy.

I had higher hoped for Holobetz, YRod and Phillips before this season began, but since Priester has been out all year, it seems very TBD. Drohan has done pretty good in 9 GS, too, so Durbin, Seigler and Monasterio have much to prove. It's hard to imagine Perales doing as well as Bennett, but Bennett's sample size is actually smaller than Drohan's. (Yes, different trades, but we are making some conclusions already.) Think of all the other pitchers traded by Brez- some ranked higher than Harrison, Drohan & Priester were: 4 Perales 8 Clarke 10 Fajardo 12 Sandlin (DRohan was #18 when traded with 11 pitching prospects ahead of him.) 20 Travieso Harrison was once ranked pretty highly with SFG but dropped heavily, Priester was once ranked pretty highly, too. However, Fitts & Wikelman were once ranked 8th, Dobbins 11th, Elmer Rodriguez 18th and Luis Guerrero 23rd, too. Brez also traded (best rankings)... 9 Chris Murphy 19 Bazardo 28 Hoppe 33 Aita We know why we don't hear talk about trading away that pitcher "depth." Some were more highly regarded as the ones we did trade away.

I usually avoid the game threads but felt a 10-0 game would be on the tame side.

Trout would be the absolute worst addition. We don't need high-priced IL cling-ons. Those who want Bichette makes me cringe.

Yes, of course. The Suarez signing as well. I'd say the book is closed on the Sale trade. (Ziehl is all we have from Grissom.)

.430 High Leverage in 2026, although .788 Late & Close.

We are tied for the last WC slot with 2 other teams (SEA & MIN.) We have 1 less loss than both and just one more than TEX and 2 more than CLE. Hell, we are only 6 losses behind the Yanks. (9 behind TBR.) With that 10-0 win, we just passed the CWS for the second best run diff in the AL (+37.)

I don't see a team-controlled player trade happening at the deadline that will not be a gross overpay. Winter trades are often overpays, too, but usually not to the same extreme or as prevalent. I think Early is in play as a sell now trade, despite the injury, but the issue is that it would likely be for a rental. I agree. We should sell, but I'm not sold on selling Chapman. Gray, yes. Chapman is here for 2027. If Brez makes 3 major success deals next winter, we should be in business.

3 hit 4 K shut out!

Anybody else notice how the bottom 4 batters on the Rays are at .650 or lower?

Career: .781 OPS .671 Late & Close .570 High Leverage

They ended up getting Yoshida one more shot at the cycle... OH WELL!

You win some- you lose some, and the final score on those two trades is still TBD. Brez also traded away a slew of pitchers and pitching prospects that nobody mentions (yet?) He's added a ton of pitchers and pitching prospects, too. Some feel he has focused too much on pitching and not hitting. I'm not sure we'd have added Gray, Suarez, Bennett and Oviedo has we kept Harrison, Drohan and Priester.

Nice to see Gamboa helping the pen out, here. Who was that poster all upset about the Coulombe DFA?

When Narvaez homers, they should check the water supply in the clubhouse.

Being a switch hitter is also a plus, if he can keep up this .750+ v R & L.

and for all the Harrisons, Priesters and Drohans we trade away, there are the Bennetts, Tolles and Riveras we add.

65 pitches in 20 PAs Against is about his season norm.

Not hearing much from the high K crowd on Bennett.

Yank him and save his pitches for later in the season.

Agreed, Trading for a SS/2B and catcher should be easier, too. We may need to replace Gray, too.

The time to do this is winter not the deadline. To get controlled players at the deadline is near double pay. I don't trust JH to spend in the future to make up for no new farm infusions, so I'm against the all-in approach, even if we win every game up to the deadline. If we do very well, I'd be okay with a significant buy, but not Arias or Eyanson. Maybe Early, Witherspoon, Gonzales & Phillips, at most. MAYBE!

Some real scorching hits by these guys, too! LOL

I admit I was never a big fan of Duran. Of course, I loved his 2024 season, but even then, I wanted to trade him. The reasons: 1. Inconsistent- always tweaking his stance, approach and more. (Not just on offense) 2. Attitude issues that go way back, and not just the missed TOR series during covid and his non PC tirades at fans. 3. His mental blunders on the basepaths and in the field. His steep decline has just made it worse.

Bennett, Tolle & Early: 229.1 IP 184 Hits 68 BBs & 218 Ks 3.06 ERA