davell

You fret because it's damn near an impossibility that our top 4 combine for 120 starts again next year.

Why is Caleb Smith listed here? He's 24 and in AA.

As Raw said in the game thread yesterday, we've got Starlin, Javy, Soler, and Coghlan for 2 spots next year. That's 2 trades on the horizon of varying impact. Will they both be for pitching? Minor league depth?(hopefully not) Could a bat be dealt for? Obviously we can(and will) endlessly speculate on it. It's a good position to be in at least. I think we'll probably go the depth route, after heading some comments and speculation from some of the beat guys. But that doesn't mean picking up 3 Hammels. If we don't sign a TOR type in FA, I fully expect we'll trade for 1. As for the rest of the depth? I'd be fine with a Chacin/Norris type of thing. Bosio is awesome and I don't want us spending 25-30 mill on 3 average guys, when we can resurrect another corpse or two for much cheaper. Even if it takes a strength in numbers approach of handing out minor league deals.

Wood is OK, but they don't seem to like him as a starter. Cahill is a flash in the pan and a reliever. Edwards is a reliever. Johnson kinda sucks. Duane Underwood was last seen striking out 5.9 per 9 in A+. Cahill has been a starter until this year. He's a perfectly reasonable number 6 or 7. If you don't think Edwards can start then sign the always available aging veteran #5 in addition to the "replace Hammel's production" guy. Cahill is NOT a perfectly fine 6th SP. His stuff is much better out of the pen.(5MPH) Hes a pen guy now.

Yep. I'm still stuck on trying to trade Castro to LA for Cotton and De Leon. Do that plus acquiring a front-line pitcher and starting pitching is pretty set. Then sign Heyward and win a whole bunch of games. You should probably quit trying on that one. 1) They've got Seager at SS 2) They've got Hernandez, Perlaza, and want Kendrick back at 2B 3) They wouldn't include DeLeon for Hamels when going after him. Seager is an awful shortstop, by stats and scouting. He's going to be moving to 3B sooner as opposed to later. But if that trade isn't the one that will happen, then I'd like to find something similar with a team that has depth in the upper levels. They like him there, believe it or not. Can't believe I forgot Edwin.

Wada and Turner were expected to be on that list. Is Wood going to get a contract? I asked that in Transactions. No idea, it's a close call.

What was our initial depth heading into this year? Lester, Arrieta, Hammel, Hendricks, Wood, then what? Was it Wada, Turner, Doubront, Beeler?

Yep. I'm still stuck on trying to trade Castro to LA for Cotton and De Leon. Do that plus acquiring a front-line pitcher and starting pitching is pretty set. Then sign Heyward and win a whole bunch of games. You should probably quit trying on that one. 1) They've got Seager at SS 2) They've got Hernandez, Perlaza, and want Kendrick back at 2B 3) They wouldn't include DeLeon for Hamels when going after him.

I suggested him at 4/64 a week ago or so, but he's losing velo and has tired out over the 2nd half. I'm thinking I was very high on that number.

Yep. We've got some flexibility for sure.

Too much. He's going to be expensive. My guess is he'll get 2/20 somewhere. If so, we'd have to be trading for SP's or using him as our everyday CF most likely, to fit him inside the budget.

he has graded out below average at SS all but two years and is grading out well below average at 2B so far http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2015&month=0&season1=2015&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=21,a you're probably looking at his defensive WAR number, which includes a positional adjustment so he's getting credit in his overall value for being a middle infielder. that's why that number is positive (and why rizzo has a hard time not being negative) Ah crap, you nailed it. I figured there were still plenty of SS that'd be negative. I knew about the position stuff and that Rizzo basically had no shot at being positive. But didnt realize that SS was propped up enough to where below average guys were still positive.

I'm not a huge defensive metric guy, but I don't think I'd consider Starlin below average. What are you looking at to say that about him. On Fangraphs he looks to be slightly above average to me. As for trading him, there's no way we get something elite. But I'm definitely thinking we'd get something useful anyway.

All right, here's the question for Kyle at this point:(and no idea how he'll answer, but looking forward to it) Now that we're 1/4 in playoff appearances and set up the way we are....Isn't it at least LIKELY that the tanking/rebuild/ The Plan winds up paying better dividends than if we had gone about things more like the White Sox have, in consistently adding incrementally? I'm asking it this way partially because you've already said making it this year helps out a ton for their long term outlook. But also knowing you don't give teams "large windows" as a general rule.(which is a decent argument that unfortunately props up the original stance somewhat). Still, it seems a bit disingenuous, as our competition shouldn't receive that nod either and it kind of seems as if they do, by not giving us any benefit to it, it indirectly gives them what you're not giving us. (Reds/Brewers are lost causes currently) So I guess a true 2nd question is this: Predict how many playoff appearances for the 3 teams over the next 3 seasons.....As admittedly, going past that is not worth discussing.... As the guy asking, I'll give mine as well. Cubs-2, Cards-2, and Pirates-1.

Eaton is a solid player. I doubt Thompson winds up more than a 4th OF. The WS are in their "Junior Lake has a serious chance!" phase.

It's way too early for projections, but I'd be extremely surprised if we're not favored to win the division next year.

I think Cahill is a lock, or extremely close to one anyway. And I'd say Hunter and Rosscup are extremely close to not having a shot.

Theo has talked about the baseball ops budget including the draft, IFA's, and ML payroll(pretty sure he said FO salaries too). The only thing that could potentially be accounted for elsewhere is the overage tax. And that's just my speculation.

If Armenteros is actually going to cost Moncada type money, I'd love to add him. But that money would be better spent on the ML roster. That said, if he DOES cost that much, it'll surely open up an arm or two, that the Dodgers will pass on. As Alvarez and Armenteros alone could conceivably cost the Dodgers 100 mill alone(with penalties) by themselves.

He definitely has a punchable face, but he pails in comparison to [expletive] Trueblood and Leming.

Haren has 52.1IP, 55H, 28R, 25ER, 12BB, 41K. All in all, he pitched like a back end guy should.

Surely some gold came out of that from the Reds announcers?

There's so many moving parts right now, that I've got no clue who we'll trade. But we certainly have the ability to trade for multiple good controllable SP's, if that's what we want to do. If we keep Dexter, I'm starting to think that's the route we'll be forced to take.

From Kiley's chat today..... Kiley McDaniel: So he’s a 16 year old Cuban named Lazaro Armenteros that defected. He’s about to start open workouts and I’ve talked to some scouts that saw him in int’l tourneys and one guy that saw him working out for smaller groups of scouts in the Caribbean recently. He’s a built 6’2/205 with some projection, 65-70 speed, at least plus raw power and at least a plus arm, with the grades varying a bit on each of those grades given the incomplete looks and an age where things are still improving, but the lowest I’m hearing so far on those tools is 60. It’s a CF/RF fit, though he’s played some 1B/3B. You can see why Yasiel Puig is a common name mentioned as a similar player. He’s more physically developed that almost all the recent big July 2 names you’d ask me to compare him to and the guys I talked to said he isn’t a tools goof with no feel, he’s actually got some instincts. You can try to triangulate this and you end up in the Yoan Moncada type territory ($31.5M bonus from BOS that came with $31.5M penalty and two-year sanctions on signings over $300K) pretty quickly. Hard to say for sure if it’ll be above or below that, but everyone I’ve talked to said it will be huge money. Way too early to know a team to project, but I’ve said many times that all the top Cubans this period will be tied to the Dodgers by default since they have limitless amounts of money and are going over during this period…which was a direct result of passing on Moncada late last period to instead go over for more than just one player. There’s a number of other Cubans that would be $5M+ types and would be pool-eligible once they get cleared to sign…so the Dodgers may finally find their financial limits in this market, but not without getting plenty of talent first. Also a bit on Martinez and Diaz... 12:33 Comment From Wrenzie Who has more ceiling between Yusniel Diaz or Eddy Julio Martinez? Kiley McDaniel: Martinez. I have Eddy (20 years old) as a 65 runner with a 55 arm and 50 raw power that profiles as an everyday CF that could be above average depending on if the bat is a 45 or a 55. I have Yusniel (19) as a 60 runner with a 55 arm and 40 raw power that can be an everyday guy if he hits enough (50 or 55).

I want Cahill and Richard back next year. They're one year deal types and my guess is both can still be had very cheaply. But they're both pen guys moving forward, in my opinion. The stuff spiked and they surely have more value this way.