harmony

Only in hindsight.😊

I hope you're right but there are no sure-things.

I have not seen Andrew Benintendi play in person but I witnessed the pure left-handed swing of Dustin Ackley coming up.

I question San Francisco's need for third baseman with baseball's worst WAR over the past two seasons. This year the Giants finished in the middle of the pack in third-base WAR despite only two months of returning third baseman Eduardo Nunez, who posted a 2016 fWAR of 2.7.

Andrew Benintendi is a great prospect but he is not a sure-thing. That $56 million investment would carry risks. We need to separate the questions of what the Giants would need and what the Red Sox would be willing to offer.

Most Pablo Sandoval trade rumors are laughable.

At Over the Monster, jaaaaasper, who rarely agrees with me, opened the commentary with a similar hypothetical involving Yoan Moncada.

That was my point. A vague reference to undisclosed "discussions" is not particularly enlightening. The San Francisco front office, like most front offices, has probably discussed scores of players this offseason.

Yep. But Evan Drellich and the Boston Herald attracted many hits by reporting that an unlikely trade was "discussed."

Perhaps the Giants discussed whom the Red Sox would need to add to Andrew Benintendi to complete a Pablo Sandoval trade.

This Seattle fan is not buying in yet on 23-year-old Mariner first baseman Dan Vogelbach, who is the M's comp to 23-year-old first baseman Sam Travis. I hope each has a successful career but at this point I remain skeptical.

My initial reaction to the Seattle-Arizona trade was negative because, like many fans, I highly value my team's current players. But, like many fans, I have accepted the trade and hope for the best. The key for the Mariners may be the development of outfielder Mitch Haniger, whose profile reminds me of Jason Bay at a similar age.

Projected WAR might be more appropriate in calculating trade value.

I suspect the White Sox would prefer quality over quantity (and could get a higher-quality offer for Todd Frazier and David Robertson). Think of the return commanded last offseason by Craig Kimbrel, who was coming off a 1.5 fWAR season with two years and $25 million (or three years and $37 million) remaining on his contract. David Robertson is coming off a 1.0 fWAR season with two years and $25 million remaining on his contract. Steamer projects Robertson with a 2017 WAR of 1.2, the same WAR posted this year by Kimbrel. The market for top-tier relievers has not tanked in the past year and the inclusion of Todd Frazier pushes the price up further.

The prorated 2017 Steamer projections for Jason Castro, Sandy Leon, Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez are similar: JC 95 G, 1.1 WAR SL 90 G, 1.1 WAR BS 10 G, 0.1 WAR CV 44 G, 0.6 WAR According to many, WAR does not capture pitch-framing, which would give Castro the edge. I might choose to spread my risk across the three Red Sox catchers, but head-to-head I would likely choose Castro.

To be precise, the Red Sox added Rick Porcello and Justin Masterson four days after trading for Wade Miley in December 2014.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/jason-castro-is-a-step-in-the-right-direction-for-the-twins/#more-237637

Jason Castro was among baseball's best pitch framers this year: http://www.statcorner.com/CatcherReport.php ... and has been valued at $32.7 million over the past three seasons (after being valued at $32.2 million in 2013 alone): http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=8722&position=C#value Castro would likely be the Opening Day catcher for the Red Sox in 2017.

Blake Swihart has not played since June 4 after a lower left leg injury sidelined him for the second year in a row. Swihart is not without health concerns.

Blake Swihart and Henry Owens could be considered "human lottery tickets" as well.

And (reportedly) Kate Upton responds: Scroll down.

This Seattle fan is embarrassed he had forgotten about Steve Cishek's surgery: http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/mlb/seattle-mariners/mariners-insider-blog/article108851012.html http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/mariners-announce-surgical-updates-for-taijuan-walker-steve-cishek-and-tony-zych/

With Seattle reportedly in the market for a lefthanded reliever, I doubt the Mariners would trade six years of southpaw Ariel Miranda for one year of Clay Buchholz (much less add in Steve Cishek for a shortstop likely to be non-tendered by either team).

I don't see DH candidates of Nelson Cruz's caliber signing $28 million over two years. As noted, over the past three seasons Cruz has posted an OPS+ of 147 while David Ortiz posted an OPS+ of 148 over the same period. Cruz has been a righthand-hitting David Ortiz with some ability to play the field. My proposal is not realistic because Cruz is revered by Seattle fans, front office and teammates, especially dear friend Robinson Cano. I offered the proposal -- with all its moving parts -- as a brainteaser as we enter the Hot Stove season.

Would the Red Sox be interested in Nelson Cruz as a designated hitter? Over the past three seasons Cruz has posted a .286/.354/.549/.903 line with 127 home runs, 306 RBI and an OPS+ of 147. OK, I'm half joking, but consider this proposal: DH/OF Nelson Cruz (2 years, $28 million) OF Seth Smith (1 year, $7 million) RP Steve Cishek (1 year, $6 million) SP/RP Ariel Miranda (6 years) for OF Jackie Bradley (4 arbitration years) OF Chris Young (1 year, $6.5 million) SP Clay Buchholz (1 year, $13.5 million) SS Deven Marrero (nontender candidate) Smith would replace Bradley's lefthanded bat in an outfield with Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi. Brock Holt and/or Blake Swihart could serve as the fourth outfielder. Steamer projects Smith with a 2017 fWAR of 1.5 in 133 games while projecting Young with 0.5 fWAR in 120 games. This year Craig Kimbrel at 1.2 fWAR was the only Red Sox reliever to exceed Steve Cishek's fWAR of 0.9. Miranda, whom Steamer projects with 1.0 fWAR in 19 games, could be the lefthanded ace out of the bullpen while providing rotation depth. Steamer projects Buchholz with 1.7 fWAR in 23 games. Let me take cover before you fire off your responses.