Before we get to game 2, how about that finish to game 1!!! WOW! Bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, nobody on, down 3-2, Conforto and Frazier go back to back bombs to win it! So awesome.
Game 2:
RHP Jeff Brigham vs Vargas
Lineups yet to be announced.
#LGM...How about a 14-3 finish to get to .500! I know, crazy talk, but let's get crazy.
McNeil - 2B
Conforto - LF
Smith - 1B
Nimmo - RF
Jackson - CF
Reyes - 3B
Nido - C
Vargas- P
Weird season for Confordo, but he did hit 25 HR, and still has 15 games left. If he and Nimmo can stay healthy, if McNeil is legit - and get a bat or two - they can make some noise next year.
Honestly, how stupid does ownership have to be to not identify that with basically two additions we could be a WS contender? (Machado/Closer) While most of the team is young we aren't rebuilding. This certainly isnt an old team. Wheeler and deGrom are shaping up to be Schilling and Randy Johnson next year. Oh yeah, and we have a third 26 year old ace for shits and giggles as well. Some hitters have emerged now so its not like Mets fans can claim one big bat wont save us. It actually will... Add the final pieces. I actually believe Sandy would have correctly assessed this roster and realized this as well and we would have had a situation similar to 2015 when he went after a bat aggressively. Unfortunately, I have no idea who will be running things or what the hell we are going to do.
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and hit his first HR. Cool little game amidst all the Wright stuff. Conforto is red hot lately.
Weird season for Confordo, but he did hit 25 HR, and still has 15 games left. If he and Nimmo can stay healthy, if McNeil is legit - and get a bat or two - they can make some noise next year.
Everything basically happened with the youngsters we wanted to it just took longer than expected. Rosario has been much better over the last 6-8 weeks and might even finish the year close to league average offensively. Conforto has basically been an all star caliber hitter over the second half (somewhat expected with the shoulder issue earlier). Every year I predict a player will come out of nowhere. That was McNeil this year. Even Bruce, Frazier, and Smith seem to be finishing strong. We got buried in June because too many of the youngsters were still struggling and Cespedes, Frazier, Bruce, Thor, and Familia were all on the DL. It was an absolute disaster. Even with Cespedes out, we've been playing around .500 baseball outside of that month.
Machado makes sense on several levels.
Yet, Mgmt will pass on him without much of an effort, and try to sell everyone that they tried really hard.
Machado is the kind of guy who you offer an A-Rod type contract (without the "bidding against yourself" part that TEX did).
But Wilpon will be a pussy, as usual...
Both have talent but I would really like to see Mets develop these young hitters. Conforto, Nimmo, Rosario, McNeil, Alonsothats s good core. And then of course there is the Plaw Dawg.
This is an 85 win team that went through a dreadful 8-29 slide that was caused by injuries, the Harvey fiasco, an inexperienced manager and a dreadful FO that threw gas on the fire. And has anyone noticed that they have played much better after trading their vets at the deadline?
Red Sox have 100 wins and a 10 game lead with 15 to play - they've pretty much locked up best record in baseball.
Not sure the Mets will break any hearts this weekend even if they sweep.
I actually sold my tickets for Saturday when it was clear deGrom wasn't going to pitch.
Sunday though, deGrom vs Sale, that's a prime time (though 1pm game) big boy matchup of Cy Young leaders.
Might try and go to that one.
Both have talent but I would really like to see Mets develop these young hitters. Conforto, Nimmo, Rosario, McNeil, Alonsothats s good core. And then of course there is the Plaw Dawg.
This is an 85 win team that went through a dreadful 8-29 slide that was caused by injuries, the Harvey fiasco, an inexperienced manager and a dreadful FO that threw gas on the fire. And has anyone noticed that they have played much better after trading their vets at the deadline?
If they go .500 just in May and June they are 80-66, 2 games out of first place and 1 game back from the wild card. Just .500. And the addition of Cespedes would play a big role in that, just as the addition of Alonso would, and if McNeil was up for those couple of months. I think it's fair to say that with substantially the same group, with health and getting the guys playing that should be playing instead of re-treads like A-Gon, this team is a contender. That said, I agree, they need one more legit bat, and I think that guy should be Machado, but they won't get him...so the bat should be Wilson Ramos, IMO.
And if that's not inspiring then you have to consider that they will get Alonso at some point, they will have a Rosario who has now blossomed and may continue to do so, they have McNeil now, they have Nimmo...just keep the guys that have helped this team in the lineup and they will win games.
c - Plawecki
1b - Alonso
2b - Gimenez/Rosario
ss - Gimenez/Rosario
3b - McNeil
rf - Conforto
cf - Nimmo
lf - Cespedes
c - Plawecki
1b - Alonso
2b - Gimenez/Rosario
ss - Gimenez/Rosario
3b - McNeil
rf - Conforto
cf - Nimmo
lf - Cespedes
Ira,
Cespedes is expected (at minimum) to miss half of the season. I've heard off the record they don't expect him back until August (the earliest).
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next season could be -
c - Plawecki
1b - Alonso
2b - Gimenez/Rosario
ss - Gimenez/Rosario
3b - McNeil
rf - Conforto
cf - Nimmo
lf - Cespedes
Ira,
Cespedes is expected (at minimum) to miss half of the season. I've heard off the record they don't expect him back until August (the earliest).
Yeah, you're not gonna see much of Cespedes next year if at all. Maybe if they are in contention he may make a miracle recovery by August, only to get hurt again. Plawecki is a backup, Wilson Ramos would be an excellent addition, but they still need more to really contend.
So. The past month. It was all just. A charade?
ira you read that wrong. Ricco said MINIMUM is 8-10 months but then they decided to let Cespedes have 2 months off between procedures. Nobody ever said 8-10 months.
If he retires, best case, the Mets save his entire contract and can cancel the insurance. I doubt that happens.
If he gets declared medically unfit to play and is in a Prince Fielder situation, it at least provides cost certainty and Jeff can no longer legitimately claim Wright's situation doesn't provide that and count his entire contract in payroll, and should or could in theory, reinvest the 75% they don't pay of his contract (once insurance kicks in) minus the premiums back into payroll
If there is a settlement, same as above, the net should or could be reinvested.
Other than that I have some slight melancholy lamenting the lost career of a homegrown Met who was on the path to greatness, but only slight because it's been coming for a few years.
That would put his return at early June, but after assistant general manager John Ricco said at a press conference at Citi Field today that the Mets after getting another two opinions would acquiesce and that Cespedes would have two surgeries months apart, that could push his return next year to sometime in August.
The diagnosis on Cespedes was calcifications around each Achilles tendon and bone spurs on each heel. He will undergo two surgeries staggered by up to three months, which accounts for the possible August return.
And Cespedes being Cespedes, it could be even later. If youre the Mets, you might not even expect to see Cespedes at all next year. Actually, that's good news because it eliminates the "will he or won't he play?" scenario.
Regarding the initial 8-10 and that was before they decided to go 2 months between
"Its possible it will be longer than that, but it probably wont be shorter than that, assistant general manager John Ricco said at a news conference with Cespedes before the Mets 6-4 victory over the Padres at Citi Field.
If he retires, best case, the Mets save his entire contract and can cancel the insurance. I doubt that happens.
If he gets declared medically unfit to play and is in a Prince Fielder situation, it at least provides cost certainty and Jeff can no longer legitimately claim Wright's situation doesn't provide that and count his entire contract in payroll, and should or could in theory, reinvest the 75% they don't pay of his contract (once insurance kicks in) minus the premiums back into payroll
If there is a settlement, same as above, the net should or could be reinvested.
Other than that I have some slight melancholy lamenting the lost career of a homegrown Met who was on the path to greatness, but only slight because it's been coming for a few years.
He's 100% not "retiring" so you can cross that option off
Clearly there was some form of negotiating going on behind the scenes the last month with Wright. Clearly he and the Mets weren't on the same page. We don't need to be rocket scientists to guess that in all likelihood Wright has tried to be as classy as possible while the Mets as overly concerned with money. Character is destiny.
I guess ante up on one of the "closers" because none of the in-house guys look like that to me
Sign Morton (yup another SP)
1b- Gonzalez to open the season, Alonso once they are done playing games
2b- McNeil
SS Rosario
LF Gonzalez
CF Nimmo
RF Conforto
C Grandal or Ramos + Plawecki
Rotation
DeGrom, Thor, Morton, Wheeler, Matz
I expect far less than the off-season I just proposed.
#1 Marwin Gonzalez 2017 was every bit as good offensively as McNeil this year, 2nd half this year again so if you like McNeil you should like Gonzalez
#2 Despite your disagreement with me yesterday Grandal is a significant upgrade over Plawecki overall and Plawecki would take the awful Mesorado ab's
#3 What exactly do you expect? Go look at the available FA, beyond dreaming of Machado/Harper it's a pretty crappy list in terms of middle of the order bats. Best way to go is fill in the gaps with upgrades and then go outside the box and add someone like Morton. The Mets every single game would have a good SP (something very few if any teams could say). The beauty of Marwin Gonzalez is he also can fill in for a struggling Alonso, McNeil or Rosario and allows you do "add" another bat in another spot in-season if need be,
I really like the versatility he brings, especially at 1st and 3rd as we figure out Alonso and eventually move on from Frazier.
I really like the versatility he brings, especially at 1st and 3rd as we figure out Alonso and eventually move on from Frazier.
I really think he's an incredibly good fit. We have injury prone players and ?? at positions where he can fill-in and he's legit a very good bat. He's not a star and won't be paid like one. But the fact he can play all over the field and hit means he's perfect for a team that has an older Todd Frazier, an injury prone Nimmo/Lagares, ?? at 1b, and 2 "unproven" players in the middle infield (
Trading away Gimenez, Vientos, Kelenic, Mauricio, Newton, Szapucki, SWR, Peterson, etc, for non-super star players would be a mistake. Super star players, sure, but that's not how it usually works.
I'd trade other guys though like Dunn, Kay, Cecchini, heck I'd even possibly try and capitalize on the year Alonso has had and deal him. So many scouts question his D, and the Mets keep adding these DH types who wind up being their best hitters.
1) lets the team know if they are contender or pretenders mid season. They have some assets to dump and do a quick rebuild if its the latter. And if they are a contender it allowed the kids to climb up the prospect ladders and become even more valuable.
Apparently neither did Bruce, Reed, Duda, Walker, Familia... lol
As we saw this year, there are cheap veteran rentals very available at the deadline now. Moreso than a few years ago when the club was ascending in 2014/2015. An 80-85 win team can pretty easily add a couple pieces in July to make a run at the WC.
The only slight adjustment I'd make is a preference towards trading for younger players more on the ascent at C or OF (ideally CF) a la Yelich/Ozuna last year vs. closer to 30 year old FA's trying to get their last big contract. But who knows if any such players will be available. And yes to get you have to give, I'd be open to packaging 1 or 2 of the guys in the top 12 if it were for the right player. I likely wouldn't trade Gimenez or Alonso and it would take a lot to deal Vientos or Kelenic, but I'd be open to discussing the rest.
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But if you added Morton and a closer that team would look pretty solid and definitely an upgrade from where we are at now. The problem is what happens in June when 3-4 guys are out the lineup again(McNeil, Conforto, Nimmo, etc all have big injury histories). Youre then putting huge pressure on a youngster like Alonso to come through and a vet like Ramos to carry you maybe... sounds like 2018 all over again but maybe Im just getting jaded. Lol.
I expect far less than the off-season I just proposed.
#1 Marwin Gonzalez 2017 was every bit as good offensively as McNeil this year, 2nd half this year again so if you like McNeil you should like Gonzalez
#2 Despite your disagreement with me yesterday Grandal is a significant upgrade over Plawecki overall and Plawecki would take the awful Mesorado ab's
#3 What exactly do you expect? Go look at the available FA, beyond dreaming of Machado/Harper it's a pretty crappy list in terms of middle of the order bats. Best way to go is fill in the gaps with upgrades and then go outside the box and add someone like Morton. The Mets every single game would have a good SP (something very few if any teams could say). The beauty of Marwin Gonzalez is he also can fill in for a struggling Alonso, McNeil or Rosario and allows you do "add" another bat in another spot in-season if need be,
1.) major difference between McNeil and Gonzalez is McNeil has killed it all year at every level and we only have one sample to base anything off of in the majors. Gonzalez has a massive sample. I mean, come on, I like the guy as an add too but you cant possibly tell me hes a wRC+ 140s guy going forward. Hes 31 and a career league average bat. Great year last and nice second half this year but as good as hes been over the second half he was equally atrocious over the first. I think at best you might be able to say hes another streaky guy that has his ups and downs but if he was a wRC+ 140s guy heading into next year he would be getting a massive payday. Dont get me wrong. Not shitting on him. I like him as a glue guy and love his versatility.
2.). I never argued or disagreed Grandal wasnt a huge upgrade over Plawecki. Overall, factoring defense, its substantial. I questioned if his bat would offer a substantial enough upgrade to the lineup going forward with obviously Cespedes out all of or most of next year. Thats a major difference.
3.). I agree with you here. Its not going to be easy. Im hoping theres possible a trade target out there or somebody comes available we arent seeing yet. I think if your ownership you have to acknowledge that Wright and Cespedes havent worked and we need something or somebody to stabilize the middle of the lineup better moving forward and you also HAVE to give Thor, DeGrom, and Wheeler a shot next year. I also dont think your plan was a bad one at all. Technically though, we had Familia, Cespedes, etc. heading into 2018. Does that team look any better on paper than the one we thought we had going into this season? Things can fall a part quick so I question if thats going to be enough. If we had some health luck for once it might be.
I'd do both, and that's where the frustration should come in as fans. the Mets should be able to add Morton, and fix the bullpen and add a bat.
this is not Oakland or Tampa or Pittsburgh. It's NY and the Mets should be able to (not necessarily saying just spend like drunken sailors because you can), but they should be able to add whatever players they need to fill holes. if, and big if, they expect to contend.
If they feel like they're not going to contend, stay small, be conservative, but 100% have a plan to get to contention.
that's where I've been frustrated in the past, the Mets settle on players instead of going all in, or the Mets dumpster dive, or wait out the market, just target a player(s) and make it happen.
Fans have shown when this team succeeds they'll draw fans with any team in baseball.
Abreu is a good player but I'm not sure I'd trade Alonso straight up for him at this point. Alonso's prime years are coming up and he'll be cost controlled. I think 3B or CF are where we need to make an impact upgrade from outside the organization (in addition to A LOT of bullpen help).
I don't think anyone is naive enough to believe the Mets would spend to bring in Harper/Machado, or that they'd even want to come here in the first place. But they can't do what they did in the first half of Sandy's tenure when they literally sat out entire offseasons. They also can't do what they did in the 2nd half of Sandy's tenure where they made bad moves in the offseason like Cuddyer/Bruce but that's another story.
If that means Machado/Harper the Mets should do it. Of course I know they won't.
I'm not saying be the Yankees, but I remember before the 2009 season, my father, a diehard Yankees fan and I, talking about free agency. He told me, watch, the Yankees will sign CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Mark Teixeira. I said no f-ing way the Yankees sign all 3. One maybe two possible, not all 3.
What did the Yankees do? They filled holes and signed all 3.
I don't want the Mets to do that per se, but part of the benefits of being a supposed big market teams are a) you can compete for the high $$$ free agents and b) if you go after one and it doesn't work out or doesn't work out the whole length of the contract it shouldn't cripple you as a franchise.
the Mets have so many low dollar contracts right now, they should be taking advantage of it and adding the best free agents to augment their home grown core.
they're not doing that. Vargas, Bruce and Frazier are examples of "half-assing" it. Swarzak is half-assing it. AJ Ramos was stupid and half-assing it.
Cespedes was a calculated risk that I'm fine with and the insurance should help.
The Mets want to fix shit, sign Harper, Kimbrel and Morton.
LOVE Senzel. I can't think of a realistic offer that we could make for him that wouldn't gut us though.
with the caveat that prospect for prospect trades rarely happen, how would you feel about Kelenic for Senzel? Or are thinking more along the lines of Matz for Senzel? Either is interesting but with gimenez rosario, mcneil alonso not sure where they see him in that mix. Reds have him listed as an OF so I guess that would be an option?
I wouldnt think a prospect for prospect deal would be desired by either club, to be honest. I think reds would want Wheeler, if they can extend him. We would want Senzel. No clue if either side would make that deal - I would.
But Id push those talks hard. Starting yesterday. Lay the groundwork, get it done. Who knows, you talk the reds into believing theyre ready enough and maybe they buy the bullshit. And decide to keep Senzel but arent patient enough for India. You get an India for a Matz/Flores/Dom package and you laugh your ass off while getting the commish office on the line...
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Nick Senzel
with the caveat that prospect for prospect trades rarely happen, how would you feel about Kelenic for Senzel? Or are thinking more along the lines of Matz for Senzel? Either is interesting but with gimenez rosario, mcneil alonso not sure where they see him in that mix. Reds have him listed as an OF so I guess that would be an option?
I think that they would ask for at least for something like Giminez and Kelenic or Kay for Senzel. He's a top 10 prospect in baseball who's already raked at AA and AAA. He's MLB ready.
I'd seriously consider offering Giminez and Kelenic/Kay for him but not sure if Reds would even go for it. He could be our 3B for the next decade plus.
I wouldnt think a prospect for prospect deal would be desired by either club, to be honest. I think reds would want Wheeler, if they can extend him. We would want Senzel. No clue if either side would make that deal - I would.
But Id push those talks hard. Starting yesterday. Lay the groundwork, get it done. Who knows, you talk the reds into believing theyre ready enough and maybe they buy the bullshit. And decide to keep Senzel but arent patient enough for India. You get an India for a Matz/Flores/Dom package and you laugh your ass off while getting the commish office on the line...
I like the idea of controlling a young 3B to grow with Alonso, Gimenez, and the rest of our young lineup but its fristrating because by the time these guys are all peaking and in their primes the rotation will be long gone. Cant we ever have both units peaking at once? :(
If that means Machado/Harper the Mets should do it. Of course I know they won't.
I'm not saying be the Yankees, but I remember before the 2009 season, my father, a diehard Yankees fan and I, talking about free agency. He told me, watch, the Yankees will sign CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Mark Teixeira. I said no f-ing way the Yankees sign all 3. One maybe two possible, not all 3.
What did the Yankees do? They filled holes and signed all 3.
I don't want the Mets to do that per se, but part of the benefits of being a supposed big market teams are a) you can compete for the high $$$ free agents and b) if you go after one and it doesn't work out or doesn't work out the whole length of the contract it shouldn't cripple you as a franchise.
the Mets have so many low dollar contracts right now, they should be taking advantage of it and adding the best free agents to augment their home grown core.
they're not doing that. Vargas, Bruce and Frazier are examples of "half-assing" it. Swarzak is half-assing it. AJ Ramos was stupid and half-assing it.
Cespedes was a calculated risk that I'm fine with and the insurance should help.
The Mets want to fix shit, sign Harper, Kimbrel and Morton.
I agree with almost all of this, other than to say I can understand passing on giving Harper the mega contract he will likely cost. Completely agree about the guys they half-assed it with needlessly, but I'd probably focus on the tier between those 2 categories of half ass and mega contracts. Recent offseason examples like Cain, Yelich, Ozuna, Chapman, Zobrist etc. All star level players who are well rounded and well paid, but don't require $100-200m.
A swap for Melancon seems like an absolute no brained for both sides and even almost fits dollar wise to the penny
Wouldnt like it, but King Felix swaps can even see. He seems cooked, but you can always hope for a CC type rebirth for one year or a move to the pen clicks. Unlikely.
Bruce plus salary (Vargas, Lagares, etc?) for Jordan Zimmerman flyer
Bruce plus for Pradowould be a really interesting option for Mets. Not sure how to make it fit for Marlins? Throw in a bunch of C prospect arms, Dom etc? Have to throw in cash regardless.
A swap for Melancon seems like an absolute no brained for both sides and even almost fits dollar wise to the penny
Wouldnt like it, but King Felix swaps can even see. He seems cooked, but you can always hope for a CC type rebirth for one year or a move to the pen clicks. Unlikely.
Bruce plus salary (Vargas, Lagares, etc?) for Jordan Zimmerman flyer
Bruce plus for Pradowould be a really interesting option for Mets. Not sure how to make it fit for Marlins? Throw in a bunch of C prospect arms, Dom etc? Have to throw in cash regardless.
I'd be thrilled to get Prado for bench or Zimmerman for depth for Bruce. THRILLED. Those are the exact types of deals the Mets should be angling for around him. No issues with Melancon either, just can't be all they do in the BP.
Mets need a 3B for the future. Period. End of story. Rosario (and maybe eventually Vientos ) are the fallbacks as of today. Senzel fills that. Its a great fit for both clubs. Dont mean it happens. But it could and should (at least in my meaningless humble opinion)
Lastly, the timing is perfect for the Mets. Senzel stock wont be lower unless he gets 300ABs and fails miserably in his debut.
Free agents "only" cost $$$. So to me if your core is strong (which is where it has to start) you can supplement with free agents.
I'd have a limit to how high I'd go on Harper. $400M (on a 10 year deal like I've heard rumored is not in my plans - I'd do that for Trout, but not Harper), but 10 years $330M with an opt out after 5, I'd do something like that. If that or something in that area doesn't get it done, in no way would I feel like The Met are being cheap.
Harper and Machado are young proven super stars. those players make sense to over-spend for IMO.
Instead of adding Bruce, Frazier, and Swarzak for $33M, add one Harper for $33M and I bet your team is better with filling in the other two roles with lesser cost players.
Bruce, Vargas for Zimmerman and maybe some cash. Done
Wheeler for Senzel. Done
Give or take a couple bucks, thats virtually salary neutral.
Sign Douche Harper for all I care with some of Wrights savings
Rosario
Nimmo
Harper
Alonso
Conforto
McNeil
Senzel
Plaw
I like that balance. A lot
And it cost about $15mm more than current salary
Its young
Its fun
Kept farm 100% intact
McNeil is fine at 2nd, but a problem if Alanso is next to him instead ofDom lol
Reality is, or expectTion/hope is Rosario is at 3B one day. He seems to move to his left incredibly well, to his right meh. Gimenez is much more natural
Real world. With young guys, never count on anything. Some will surprise to the upside, some to the downside. Some will be inconsistent have a five year plan, but be ready to make changes day to day.
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Brothers Victor Victor Mesa and Victor Mesa Jr. have now been declared free agents by #MLB.
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I personally dont like Wheeeler, made that known openly around here. So if you can move him at what I assume is peak value and get what I consider an amazing talent at a low in Senzel I dont view that as punting for 2019. Personally. I really, REALLY like the balance of that lineup thrown up above.
DeGrom/Thor as a 1-2 in the playoffs, with a good offense and good defense. I like my chances A LOT better in 2019. And love my chances moving past that as well. Just an opinion.
If 2019 went the direction of 18 and 17. Sure, youve always got that option I dont exactly put wheeler in the same school, yet alone the same class as DeGrom. But certainly, if next years sucks balls, move him too
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Then it sounds like your punting on 2019 and focusing more on 2021, 2022 and fielding all offers for guys whos contracts are close to expiring. Not sure thats a bad plan long term... not sure how fans would feel about it.
I personally dont like Wheeeler, made that known openly around here. So if you can move him at what I assume is peak value and get what I consider an amazing talent at a low in Senzel I dont view that as punting for 2019. Personally. I really, REALLY like the balance of that lineup thrown up above.
DeGrom/Thor as a 1-2 in the playoffs, with a good offense and good defense. I like my chances A LOT better in 2019. And love my chances moving past that as well. Just an opinion.
Unless you dont love his attitude, I dont know whats not to like with Wheeler. This isnt a fluke. He has legitimately arrived. Hes an ace. I also credit him for all the work he put in over the last few years battling back from injury, rebuilding his delivery.... my God the guy was injecting himself in the stomach all offseason with shots to build up strength wasnt he?? He may be entitled a bit but he also appears to love being a Met. Id reward a guy like that rather than look to get rid of him. I do like Senzel though. Id like to get him without offering Wheelz.
What's wrong with Gregory Guerrero? LOL.
I wouldnt think a prospect for prospect deal would be desired by either club, to be honest. I think reds would want Wheeler, if they can extend him. We would want Senzel. No clue if either side would make that deal - I would.
But Id push those talks hard. Starting yesterday. Lay the groundwork, get it done. Who knows, you talk the reds into believing theyre ready enough and maybe they buy the bullshit. And decide to keep Senzel but arent patient enough for India. You get an India for a Matz/Flores/Dom package and you laugh your ass off while getting the commish office on the line...
Why won't Senzel help in 2019? He finished in AAA where he had an .887 OPS and a 149 wRC+
Suarez might be the most underrated player in baseball. He is a legit stud 3B and they signed him to a ridiculously team friendly extension that will pay him well below market value. If they get some pitching help that team will be very dangerous in the near future.
Suarez might be the most underrated player in baseball. He is a legit stud 3B and they signed him to a ridiculously team friendly extension that will pay him well below market value. If they get some pitching help that team will be very dangerous in the near future.
They need SP. we have it
We need a future 3b. They have it
Oh. And the Reds really want Wheeler ;)
Free agents "only" cost $$$. So to me if your core is strong (which is where it has to start) you can supplement with free agents.
I'd have a limit to how high I'd go on Harper. $400M (on a 10 year deal like I've heard rumored is not in my plans - I'd do that for Trout, but not Harper), but 10 years $330M with an opt out after 5, I'd do something like that. If that or something in that area doesn't get it done, in no way would I feel like The Met are being cheap.
Harper and Machado are young proven super stars. those players make sense to over-spend for IMO.
Instead of adding Bruce, Frazier, and Swarzak for $33M, add one Harper for $33M and I bet your team is better with filling in the other two roles with lesser cost players.
I get it - all things equal I'd prefer the FA route but they aren't, especially this year where there are really 2 good position player FA (who likely won't want to come here) and then a bunch of meh. Grandal is intriguing and I'd be on board with adding him via FA.
I thought Cain was a worthy risk via FA last year over giving up assets for Yelich/Ozuna despite his age but there's not really a comparable FA option out there this year. Definitely not at an open position of need like CF. Maybe AJ Pollock. That's where I see it more likely that the type of upgrade they need may need to come via trade. I'd be intrigued with a creative move along the lines of Shecky's idea with the Reds as well. I just don't think Harper or Machado are realistic, but who knows lightning struck with Beltran.
If Yelich were available this offseason instead of last (he's not) and he could be had for say Kelenic or Mauricio and 1 of our 4 main pitching prospects and a few other lesser pieces, I think we'd have to consider it. I don't know if anyone as good as Yelich will be available this year but I'd have my ears open to look for really good young players whose careers are still ascending anywhere they are avail. They are generally rarely available.
what if we throw in another top prospect ready to break into the big leagues, OF Dom Smith? ;)
If Yelich were available this offseason instead of last (he's not) and he could be had for say Kelenic or Mauricio and 1 of our 4 main pitching prospects and a few other lesser pieces, I think we'd have to consider it. I don't know if anyone as good as Yelich will be available this year but I'd have my ears open to look for really good young players whose careers are still ascending anywhere they are avail. They are generally rarely available.
It's silly (no disrespect) to compare any Marlins deal to anything a normal team would do. Everyone was trashing the Marlins returns (Ozuna deal was laughable given his contract). That being said Brinson at the time = Gimenez EASILY if not more highly thought of and Harrison was roughly in the Alonso range.
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good as Wheeler has been, 6 years of Senzel blows away walk year Zack Wheeler. The Mets make that deal without thinking twice.
what if we throw in another top prospect ready to break into the big leagues, OF Dom Smith? ;)
I know you're kidding but Gimenez/Alonso don't even fit the Reds roster so it's extremely hard to see a trade beyond as I said a blockbuster involving Thor.
He's not. Senzel for Zack Wheeler is laughable in the Mets favor. A bad team trading a top 15 prospect for 1 year of Zack Wheeler? c'mon. It's absurd.
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Hinting to real discussions. Could be wrong.
He's not. Senzel for Zack Wheeler is laughable in the Mets favor. A bad team trading a top 15 prospect for 1 year of Zack Wheeler? c'mon. It's absurd.
No it would involve other players obviously... not commenting on it further though... Obviously I have no idea.
yeah I could see a deal done contingent upon Wheeler signing an extension and a prospect thrown in.
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Despite his amazing contract and supposedly half of MLB trying to deal for him, Milwaukee didn't pay an astronomical price for him. I'm by no means an expert, but other than Brinson (whose prospect star was already fading somewhat) the only notable player they got back is Monte Harrison who is generally ranked between 50-100 on most lists. He's a 23 year old OF in AA who posted a .715 OPS this year.
If Yelich were available this offseason instead of last (he's not) and he could be had for say Kelenic or Mauricio and 1 of our 4 main pitching prospects and a few other lesser pieces, I think we'd have to consider it. I don't know if anyone as good as Yelich will be available this year but I'd have my ears open to look for really good young players whose careers are still ascending anywhere they are avail. They are generally rarely available.
It's silly (no disrespect) to compare any Marlins deal to anything a normal team would do. Everyone was trashing the Marlins returns (Ozuna deal was laughable given his contract). That being said Brinson at the time = Gimenez EASILY if not more highly thought of and Harrison was roughly in the Alonso range.
Respectfully I don't think it's accurate to say everyone trashed it. See below for Law's review last year, as the headline indicates he was positive on it for the Marlins. By a quick search Sickels was positive about it as well, so I don't think it was such an outlier opinion, but I'm half going by memory.
Not disagreeing that Brinson/Harrisson values may have been closer to Gimenez/Alonso. I'd imagine different orgs could have different thoughts on preference especially considering their individual positional depth. Some writers prefer Kelenic to Alonso/Gimenez so I'm not going to begin to guess how anyone who matters would value anyone specificly. My general point is simply that more often than not the expectation in all sports that any great player is going to demand a haul of the top 3 or 4 assets the other team has and yet more often than not teams seem able to hang on to the few guys they truly value most. The Karlsson trade for Ottawa is a very recent example of that. Even the Sale trade that's the gold standard quoted whenever an opposing fanbase brings up Degrom. Forgetting the Kopech injury, Moncada hasn't exactly lit the world on fire. So for someone like Yelich I would be willing to pay a fair price if the other team is shopping that player even if it means giving up 1 of our top handful of prospects. My own personal preference would be to steer clear of Gimenez or Alonso, but depending on who we are talking about trading for I'd even consider dealing them.
Law: Marlins finally get it right with prospects in Yelich trade - ( New Window )