Even if he only becomes this guy in the majors 30% of the time, the possibility of having that much team control over the LHH power bat they desperately need is very enticing. I'd hate to see him traded for anything less than a young, #1 starter.
I suppose it depends on the cost, then. Bellinger makes more sense, but he's the type of guy Ross will give starts to even if he's hitting .150 in mid-July. One of the young OFers is going to be ready by then. I don't know, this seems like exactly the wrong time to take flyers on grizzled veterans. Either make the big upgrade or fill internally. Edit: I know Bellinger is still young, but in his case he's just been so bad.
Dude is above a 1.300 OPS over his last 20 games. I understand he can't come up, but this guy doesn't need to prove anymore at Iowa. He's gonna win RoY next year.
No matter who you'd like the targets to be, consolidation should top the to-do list this offseason. Starting pitching depth and OF prospects are strengths. The IF and the top of the rotation are weaknesses. Stroman Steele Thompson Sampson Hendricks Wesneski Assad Kilian Mills Alzolay are all guys who could feasibly start a game next season, and that doesn't include most of the Iowa rotation. Canario Davis PCA Hill Perlaza Nwogu Pinango Cassie will all be at Tennessee or Iowa in 2023. It makes a lot of sense, packaging some of these guys to upgrade in the aforementioned areas of need.
Is Varsho worth blocking the torrent of OF coming up? Offensively he's basically Wisdom, though obviously he has real defensive value. I'd hate to give up a chunk of the farm and block our top prospects for a .310 OBP in CF. I understand the inclination to skip the SS market, but improving the IF via FA makes a lot of sense when you look at the farm.
Who is closing out the season strong? A couple of hitters: Perlaza (last 220 PAs) .283/.373/.628 .426 wOBA Nwogu (160 PAs) .289/.358/.611 .422 wOBA I really like that, for both of these guys, the #s aren't propped up by Avg and BABIP. There's real SLG there. On the other end is Pinango (236 PAs) .223/.275/.318 .274 wOBA
This is spot on. In addition to this plan, you could look to turn Thompson or, more likely, Steele into an TOR upgrade via trade. Add prospects from the coming OF logjam at both Tennessee (PCA/Cassie/Nwogu/Pinango) and Iowa (Davis/Perlaza/Canario/Hill) next season Steele/Davis/Nwogu/Made for Nola? Steele/Davis/Wicks/Hernandez for Ohtani? (Was looking at Gallen but he's probably unaffordable after this run) Rodon Nola Stroman Thompson Hendricks
I just don't want some Ortega-type taking away PAs from Mervis, and I'd rather see $ spent on the rotation than on Josh Bell if we have a solid chance getting 80% of his production from within. I like the idea of an OF/1B to provide some insurance, though.
On mlbtv they came back early before the top of the 3rd and Ross was putting on the headset. He was saying, sarcastically, "Well, at least the pace is good. Jesus Christ. I almost went out there myself "
I think this is where a good portion of the schism lies. Contreras has a 132 wRC+, which, for catchers, is #1 in the NL and #2 in MLB behind Alejandro Kirk. If you are #1 in the league, that's elite, right?