moonslav59

JH is the main reason I am focusing on trades to improve pitching, at this point in the offseason. That and the bottleneck of talent we have at middle IF and OF.

All correct, and I did not mean to imply they will do as I suggest in this one scenario. They may see the Devers moves to 1B as being years away, but I can't help but think they know his 3B defense is a major liability, as is Casas at 1B. Those two positions are not as important on defense as middle infield and CF/RF and catcher, but if improving the defense is a goal, to me only catcher and corner infield look to be on the agenda. Middle infield may fix itself with a healthy season from Story, alone, but adding Mayer and Campbell to the mix could help as well. An OF of Duran, Rafaela and Abreu with Anthony joining soon is already one of the best defensive OFs in all of MLB, if not THE best. With Teel in the system, maybe a temporary fix at catcher might be the only external move we make to improve our defense. Shifting players around offers a non-external option, and opens up questions that cannot be answered, until we see it happen. Devers may be no better than Casas at 1B, but the plan was to move Casas to DH, anyway, so if Devers looks worse, we simply move him to DH and keep the same exact rotten D at 1B as we already have. No change in D at 1B, but the suggestion assumes whoever we put at 3B (Campbell, Mayer, Meidroth of even Romy/Sogar) would almost surely be better on D than Devers. I simply cannot imagine anyone being worse. Hey, how about Yoshida plus others to STL for Arenado? He is at a $30.5 AAV x 2, but makes $32M x 2. That's $64M for the $54M owed Yoshida. Add Abreu and maybe a little cash, and maybe STL agrees. This would not free up the 3B slot for our bottlenecked middle infield, but our defense would be greatly improved, no matter who plays 1B.

Absolutely nobody thinks Yoshida is even in moderate or mild demand, but there is a chance a GM would take him at $2-5M a year, or at no cost, if the return cancels out all of Yoshida's cost. We could also add cash or take back a more expensive player to create a situation where we are paying the other team to take Yoshida, but we get back a pitcher that can help us. Let's just take the Gausman for Yoshida, Abreu and some cash trade, and even if you think TOR would say no, just think of the idea of such a trade. Instead of trading Yoshida and $15M a year to another team for some long shot single A pitcher, just to add $3M a year to our winter spending budget, this was we pay $3M a year, lose Abreu and get a guy like Gausman in return. TOR saves money and gets 5 years on Abreu, plus whatever Yoshida gives them.It's just a theory, and will likely never happen, but the offseason has begun, and suggestions are all we got.

I did not mention Duran in my 4 trade choices, but certainly he'd bring back a major pitcher- even a better one than Casas would, and maybe the others, too. I don't view Duran like I did Ellsbury, when we let him walk, and I actually think he might even get better (more HRs.) When I look at any of our blue chip trade candidates, one-by-one, I want to keep them all. I also realize we run a great risk that the one we choose to trade might end up being better than all the ones we keep, and we'll regret the trade, alter on, but to me, the biggest risk is on who we choose to trade for. Pitchers get injured, so easily, that will always be a risk, but the way I see it, the bigger risk is not trading for a solid pitcher. Nobody knows anything for sure in baseball, but I feel very confident that we cannot win without at least 2 major additions to our 13 man staff. It might really be 3. I don't see Jh forking over the money needed for the 2-3 pitchers I envision, and the FA market seems to more risky, since the pitchers are older and maybe on the cusp of decline or injury. What makes the choice to trade a blue-chipper a no-brainer, to me, is the point you brought up at the end. No way do I want to part with Duran. (He's probably on the top of my keeper list.) But, the "step down" from Duran to Anthony, who would take his place, is way less than the amount of the step up from Fitts to the ace we get. It also make Fitts the 6th starter, not the 5th and improves our depth or pen. I've repeated my bottleneck points, too often, already, but we just plain can't play everybody, at once. The key is picking the right one(s) to trade, and getting the right one(s) in return.

One way of "making room" for all our top prospects is to avoid bottlenecks by having someone change a position. Changing positions is not "radical." It happens all the way through the minors and into the bigs. It happens at age 17 and 18, in the middle of prime, or at the end of a player's career. Right now, we have 3 major middle infielders (Story, Mayer and Campbell) plus Grissom and maybe DHam, if he can take another step up. Campbell can play OF, but probably not SS, longterm. I'm not sure any can play 3B real well, but the defensive bar is set pretty low by Devers. Let's say we make room for Campbell in the OF. Now, we've added another player to an even bigger bottle neck, as we already have Duran, Rafaela, Abreu, Anthony plus more DH types like Refsnyder & Yoshida. We can talk about trading guys like Abreu and Yoshida, without needing much in return, or how maybe its not worth it, and we should just keep Yoshida. Maybe we trade Rafaela or 2 or 3 from Rafaela, Abreu and Yoshida, so all the kids can play, but we'd kinda have to trade all 3 or some current starter at SS, 2B or OF to get everyone a FT job. I guess we could trade Yoshida and Rafaela and go with LF Duran, CF Campbell, RF Anthony, SS Mayer and 2B Story. (Keep Devers at 3B and Casas at 1B and go with Refsnyder and Abreu at DH, but even handing Yoshida away with 75% of his deal paid off might be hard to do. There simply is not room for everyone. We can hold a top prospect or two back, and gain more control time, but how much longer are we going to keep punting? (Believe me, I know they could easily choose another year or even two.) I'm not sure what the best idea is, and maybe nobody knows, unless they can see into the future, but to me, it's time to put all heads together and make the toughest choice we've made in a long time, and let's hope it's not like trading Betts. I think it is going to come down to choosing to trade one of the these big 4: Anthony, Mayer, Campbell or Casas. I'd prefer we keep Anthony and Campbell, but they might bring back a way better return. I think Abreu is all but gone- maybe DHam, too. They both bat lefty and are right smack in the middle of bottlenecks. Trading them is not going to get anything great in return, and 2 bottlenecks will still remain. It's time to make a big trade. Who we choose to trade might be the biggest mistake we've made, other than trading Betts, since the Babe Ruth fiasco. Who we get in return is equally important, if not more so. Make up your minds and pull the trigger. Call it "radical" or whatever, but keeping everyone while we have such a glaring need on our staff is radically dumb.

I can see how, before the Super Bowls began, the AFL might not be viewed as legit "championships," but I can't see how that can be applied to Green Bay and any other NFL team. Sure, the league was smaller, and the playoff runs were shorter, but that is true for MLB and other major sports. In an unrelated note, people down here, near Houston, are saying the Astros "dynasty" is over. Can't help but laugh.

Career: 66 Throwing Errors (a truly horrific number for 950 games) Yes, 75 Fielding Errors is pretty bad, too, but I still think he's a better gloveman than Casas. Not sure these numbers prove anything., except that Devers should not play 1B 6000+ 3B innings Throwing Es 66 Devers (8270) 48 Chapman (8850) 46 Bregman (8230) 37 Machado (7200) 33 Arenado (9200) 32 Suarez (9090) 28 J Ramirez (8000) Fielding Es 75 Devers 56 Ramirez 54 Suarez 42 Arenado 36 Chapman 29 Machado 27 Bregman We have two of the very worst defensive corner infielders in MLB. 2022-2024 OAA 1B -11 in 1747 innings Casas (-8 DRS) -12 in 1998 Y Gurriel (-1 DRS) -18 in 2480 A Vaughn (-7 DRS) -16 in 2342 J Bell (-15 DRS) -26 in 3210 Guerrero (-4 DRS) OAA 3B -19 in 1661 Burger (-17 DRS) -12 in 1589 Escobar (-15 DRS) -17 in 3617 Devers (-24 DRS) -11 in 2109 Urias (+11 DRS) -10 in 2367 Muncy (+9 DRS) Yes, let's just wait a year or two...maybe 3, when Yoshida's time is up. NOT!

I'm not sure my Packers from the pre Super Bowl era were any worse than the 1967 and 1968 teams. NFL Championships: 13 Green Bay (4 Super Bowls) 9 Chicago (1 SB) 8 NY Giants (4 SBs) 6 KC (4 SBs), NE (6 SBs), Pitt (6 SBs)

It is likely Yoshida will not be traded, this winter, especially with surgery a strong possibility. Even if he comes back and hits .850, it might be hard to move him, at even half price. I get it. I was trying to find a team that might want to unload a high-priced pitcher, but more likely than not, if would not be for a high-priced DH with 3 years left. If we were able to save the other team enough money, maybe they'd bite. The other option is to search for a GM that likes Yoshida at a certain price and just pay the difference- expecting nothing in return but maybe some extra winter budget space. Moving Casas to DH and Devers to 1B cannot happen, unless Yoshida is gone or out for a year. The more likely scenario is just hoping Yoshida does well, going forward and trading Casas. I guess, if you look at our biggest trading chips, Anthony, Campbell, Mayer and Teel might all be worth keeping over Casas. If we are going to trade a blue chipper, one could argue Casas is the odd man out. This would involve having faith in Devers at 1B and someone from Mayer, Campbell and Meidroth playing better D at 3B and hitting near what Casas gave us.

On talk radio, down here in the Houston area, there is talk of trying to find a 1Bman, but I don't think we match up with them for a Casas trade. I'm not sure I want to trade Casas, either, but trading Anthony or Campbell worries me more. The guy I'd like to trade the most is Mayer, but with Story's injury issues, my worry level remains high. I think it is time that Brez and Co. make the tough choice, and the choice needs to be made, very soon- like this winter. I realize all four of our prospects are not even Rule 5 eligible, this year, but holding them back is punting. Nobody likes a 6 year punt.

Yes. When we signed him, I thought he'd play 3B. Then, we signed Pablito. Moving from 3B to 1B should not be as hard as OF>middle IF or vice versa. Be honest, what are the chances Devers at 3B and Casas at 1B will do better on D in 2025 than this: 1B: Devers (Casas, when Devers "rests" at DH) 3B: Campbell or Mayer (Meidroth as AAA depth and Romy as utility depth) I'd say the chances are 80-90% Devers is better on D at 1B than Casas and 90-95% anyone mentioned is better at 3B than Devers on D. If Story stays healthy, we need a spot for Mayer and Campbell. The OF is full (Duran, Anthony, Abreu, Rafaela, Refsnyder) I'm beginning to think we should give Anthony, Mayer and Campbell every chance to win a job. I realize Campbell can play 2B or OF, and we can trade someone like Abreu to make room for him out there, but there is also Grissom looking to win the 2B job. We could end up being bottle-necked at middle IF and OF. We could try to improve our catcher defense, since it was worst in MLB by some accounts, but with Teel on the verge of being ML ready, a one year bridge could be added. Where else do we move to improve defense, other than corner IF?

I wouldn't say it will never happen, but I certainly know most of what any of us suggest ever happens. I try to keep what I suggest seperate from what I think will or might happen. This is on the suggestion side. I just see us as looking for a way to improve our defense without spending a lot of money or hurting the offense. Casas to DH does not hurt hitting Devers to 1B improves defense and does not hurt hitting. Campbell or Mayer at 3B improves the defense and should be no worse than Yoshida did on offense, the last 2 years. I'm pretty confident they can do better. What we get for Yoshida is not what trading him is about. Just get someone to take the largest chunk of his salary and call it a done deal. The next option could be to trade Casas for a really good pitcher. Devers to 1B and the same idea at 3B. DH stays the same- maybe with more of Refsnyder v LHPs.

I cannot imagine Campbell, Mayer or Meidroth being worse at 3B or Devers worse than Casas at 1B.

They have a lot to replace... not just a SP

Hard to be worse than the worst, but I suppose it's possible. Devers is actually a good glove guy. His arm issues would be largely hidden at 1B.

Could any of these guys be part of a return package for Yoshida, so some or most of the money part is offset? Gausman 22x 3, Bassitt 21 x1, Berrios 18.7 x 4, Luis Castillo 21.6 x 3 Rodon 27 x4, Stroman 18.5 x 2, Pablo Lopez 18.4 x 3, Sonny Gray 25 x 2, Darvish 18 x 4 (37 y/o) Javier 12.8 x 3, Taillon 17 x 2, Mitch Keller 15.4 x 4, ERod 20 x 3, Freeland 12.9 x 2, R Ray 23 x 2 Mikolis 18.6 x 1, S Matz 11 x 1, T Anderson 13 x 1, Mahle 11 x 1, Nick Martinez 13 x 1 We'd have to still give some cash, in some instances, and or, we'd have to include other pieces or prospects to make it work for the other team, but it would really help our roster construction without Yoshida on the 26 and 40.

It's because they had added rest days when playing the CWS. LOL

You forgot, "I know Devers and Casas suck on D."

True. I totally agree with your position about using our best RP'ers when the game is most on the line, which may not be the 9th inning. I also think greatly improving our 5-8 slot RP'er would make a big difference. It would also push back our current 5-8 to 9-12 or at least 8-11, where I think some could be very helpful. If all our starters are healthy (yea right!) we could see Criswell or Fitts in the pen, but keeping one in AAA as a SP'er might be the best strategy. This pen needs an upgrade: Hendriks - closer Slaten & Fulmer - set up Whitlock- set up/multi innings 5. Wink 6. Criswell/Fitts 7. Guerrero 8. Penrod (Kelly/I Campbell/Weissert/Booser/Shugart) I would not mind seeing Wink as the #8 and the others in AAA trying to win the rights to be the next promoted. I know there is no way in hell, JH & Brez add 3 quality RP'ers, but adding 2 quality pitchers (SP or RP) would push down who we have now, into better roles. It would make Wink #7 not #5. It would give us a choice from 5-7 guys for the #8 slot.

K Campbell has played 5 games at 3B, which isn't much, but it might be just a week or two before he gets better than Devers on 3B D. I think Mayer could play a better 3B, too.

I'm not disagreeing, but it does seem like some closers do not do well unless it's the 9th inning, and maybe the metrics would show that, too. Jansen seemed to do okay, but Kimbrel's OPS Against: .524 in 9th (2607 PAs) .663 in 8th (302 PAs) .746 in 7th (84 PAs)

Funny, how that works out, sometimes. I still think a team's odds greatly increase with more good SP'ers. Who we think is good in March may not be in October, and vice versa.

Agreed. I don't think we were perfect on pen management, but how many times did we ask someone who said Cora blew the pen call, "Who else did we have to being in?" His options were often bad to ugly.

I was very high on Lugo and Imanaga. I was fine with Wacha, despite the injury risk. I also liked Monty, so nobody is perfect. Several mid range SP'ers came through, this year. We swung and missed on Gio, while others with lower AAVs did better.

It would have helped, if our 5-8 and even 9-12 RP'ers were better or a lot better. Yes, the 1-4 cannot pitch all important innings. I've said, already, I think our 1-4 look okay for next year. I'd like a bonafide closer, but the 1-4 looks decent. Our 5-8 should be our 8-11. We need to add some better RP'ers to make this happen. Adding a closer pushed our #1 to #2 and so on. Our 4 becomes our 5. Add a couple solid #5/6 types, and we're there. We can and should improve on this, and not by giving more IP to our top 4, but by having better 5-8's: High leverage PAs Against: 63 Weissert, 57 Kelly, 52 Anderson, 43 Booser, 25 Keller, 18 Horn, 14 Joely, 9 Shugart, 15+ by scrubs