moonslav59

Are the Astros the new 2019 Red Sox? Sports talk shows are going nutty, here. Bregman is all but gone. Tucker and Framber may be dealt. No farm left to save them. An owner that wants to keep the budget tighter than what is needed to stay relevant. Check, check, check.

More money seems to work more often than not. (maybe one more year than anyone else at the same AAV.)

You are really claiming you never said SEA is "unlikely to trade a SP'er?" I'm not saying you never back-tracked or hinted they might relent , afterwards.

How about we offer more $$$?

I've tried dumping Yoshida off on STL as part of their Arenado dump trade wish, but I doubt they go for it. How about this: Trade Cespedes, Bleis and Fitts for Arenado and $7M x 3 years. (COL pays $5M x 2, already.) That puts his cost at $20M in 2025, $15M in '26 and $8M in '27. (AAV of $18.5 x 3 yrs) That's still a bad contract, but our corner IF improves, greatly. Sign: Jack Flaherty $130M/5 (no comp pick lost) and Jeff Hoffman $50M/4 (Maybe Elias Diaz, if we don't trust Narvaez.) We get a comp pick for not re-signing Pivetta and signing Flaherty, instead. SP: Crochet, Flaherty, Houck, Bello, Giolito (Crawford, Criswell, Priester, Dobbins) RP: Chapman, Hoffman, Hendriks, Slaten, Whitlock, Crawford, Winckowski, Wilson (Criswell & AAA SP'ers, Guerrero, Penrod, Kelly, Weissert, I campbell, Mata, Booser, Shugart) 1. Duran LF/CF 2. Devers 1B/DH 3. Story SS 4. Casas DH/1B 5. Campbell 2B 6. Anthony RF/CF 7. Abreu RF/Refsnyder LF 8. Arenado 3B 9. Wong-Narvaez (Diaz?) Utility: Rafaela, DHam, Grissom, Yoshida (IL) (Mayer, Romy, Gasper, Sogard, Eaton, Zavala)

Agreed. Houck: 106> 178 IP Crawford: 129>184 IP I don't think 146 to 182 is a big ask. BTW, 182 would have placed you 15th in IP in 2024. Only 9 pitchers got over 190 and 4 between 200 and 209. (None over 210.) 175 IP placed you in the top 30, this season.

Are we done trading high end prospects, for a while? (I'll guess yes.) Can we expect one sizeable FA signing? (I would think so, but with this ownership group, who knows?) Maybe Castillo or Lopez might be acquired, using Casas and or Abreu and others not named Duran, Anthony or Campbell. Maybe we sign Burnes, Manaea, Pivetta or Flaherty. Maybe we sign Bregman or trade for Arenado and finally make a serious effort to improve our corner IF defense. Maybe we do some sort of combination of both: add another quality SPer and 3B who knows how to play 3B. Burnes and Arenado or Lopez and Bregman would be the top end moves and is likely a pipedream. Pivetta and Arenado might be possible, but a lot depends on how Devers takes the call to move to 1B/DH. In terms of keeping the offense strong, keeping Casas while adding a 3Bman would be best, but then Yoshida gets crowded out (traded) or moves to LF (Duran to CF.) C: Wong- Narvaez 1B: Devers-Casas DH: Casas-Devers (Refsnyder-Yoshida) 2B: Campbell (DHam-Grissom) SS: Story, Romy (Mayer) 3B: Bregman or Arenado (Devers) LF: Yoshida- Refsnyder (Duran) CF: Duran-Rafaela RF: Anthony- Abreo (if not traded) Of course, trading/benching/DH'ing Yoshida greatly improves our OF D: LF: Duran v R/ Refsnyder v L CF: Anthony v R/Duran v L (Rafaela) RF: Abreu v R/ Anthony v L

I'd like to have both "risks" on our roster.

I think the idea is he can pitch more innings in 2025 than 2024, but we will likely still limit his pitch counts and innings, like we did with Houck & Crawford.

I'd rather have given up Mayer plus a lesser prospect or two than Teel & Monty.

They did convert him from the pen to the rotation, but that is concerning. 2024 was the first season, including college, where he pitched over 65 innings.

Well said. If there is one thing we have a lot of, it's pitchers in the minors who show a little promise- like ERod. (Just not a lot or promise.) Two steps ahead: Perales One step: Dobbins, Priester, Fitts and maybe Guerrero, Early, Tolle & Sandlin About even with Wikelman and ERod: Penrod, Gambrell, Mata, I Coffey, Rogers Monegro, Paez, Mullins, Wehunt, Dean, Valera, Ingrassia, D Reyes, Clarke, Neely, Tygart

Just needing to be better than Bello, Giolito and Crawford is not a high bar to set. If he's good, he's our #1. If he's pretty good, he's our #2, behind Houck. Now, if we sign Burnes, he might have to try.

Plus, we already had an ERod. Been there: done that!

I really need to go back and find posts where you said SEA is not looking to trade a SP'er?

SEA is seeking a RHd 1Bman, so Casas is becoming a switch hitter to accommodate their needs. What a team player!

You insisted the Mariners were not looking to trade Castillo. I know you are not the GM.

I did mention to you, several times, that a Castillo trade could save you enough money to spend on a younger SP'er while also filling another need with whatever you get back, in return.

So this is how we look, as of now... SP: Crochet, Houck, Bello, Giolito, Crawford (Criswell, Priester, Fitts, Dobbins, Gambrell) RP: Chapman, Hendriks, Slaten, Whitlock, Winckowski, Guerrero, Wilson, Fulmer (Penrod, Bernardino, Kelly, Weissert, Booser, I Campbell, Mata, Shugart) C: Wong, Narvaez (Gasper, Zavala) 1B: Casas (Jordan) 2B: DHam-Grissom (Campbell) SS: Story, Romy (Mayer) 3B: Devers (Eaton) LF: Duran, Refsnyder CF: Rafaela (Jh Garcia) RF: Abreu (Anthony) DH: Yoshida (Hickey) (Anthony and Campbell could win FT positions.) The weak points: 1. Closer 2. SP 3. RHB (Campbell?) 4. Catcher 5. More pen help

We seem a lot closer to respectability than a couple days (hours) ago,

His last 3 starts: 1 ER total in 12 IP 18 Ks and 1 BB

These are trades you want made?

Sounds like the defensive catcher we need. Apparently, he walks a lot, so he's not a total loss on offense, ERod had some hopes, but this looks like a good deal. EValdez was DFA'd to make room. He may end up being traded, but maybe not. The roster is taking shape, although some parts are still lumpy, as in Chapman as our closer and the lack of a big RHB.

It can never happen. According to our resident Mariners fan, none of our players are better than any Mariner players, at any position, so we have nothing to offer as an upgrade.

Good article. I have my fears about injury, but this guy can sure pitch. 2 years is not a lot of time for what we gave up, but maybe he'll like Boston and sign an extension, to hedge against injuries.