It's as if there are only so many $20 million + contracts to players over 30 that a team can carry at one time on a 25-man roster, especially when nearly all of them end up to be obstacles by the end of the deal (or sometimes much sooner). Even JD Martinez starts to look more like the next Richie Sexson or Jason Bay with stakes this high.
I'll try to wait for the next move (or for the other shoe to drop), but for now, letting Carlos Santana walk and replacing him with one from the pack of 1B seemingly coming off a career year is not a good look for the Indians. They need to be working to extend their window of contention and market themselves to a perpetually pessimistic fan base, so this isn't the time to go cheap. They can still come out ahead if they use the $44M difference between the Santana/Alonso contracts to upgrade in right field (such as bringing Jay Bruce back).
What’s your guess on how much of the 68 million SF would be expected to pick up for the next 3 years? 20 mil?
I would say yes, 3/21 seems about right in a vacuum, but maybe Cashman can get them to take more if he includes prospects.
Nice work if you can get it! How does a reliever live up to that in the rarified air of Colorado?
I don't think he will. He showed cracks last year and he's 32, but that seems like the "proven closer" market rate. I actually thought he'd get 4 years.
I don't like that commitment, but at least they gave it to Davis instead of Holland.
Yeah, Inimagine the Rockies are hoping they’re a 2017 playoff team addressing an area of weakness with an eye toward a deeper playoff run next season. Their bullpen ERA was 20th in baseball last year (although, to be fair, it was a cover your eyes 30th in ‘15 & ‘16). And lest you think it’s just because they play in the stratosphere, in their 2007 World Series run they managed to sport the 10th best bullpen ERA.
As we all know repeating as a WC team is not that easy. BP arms are a great trading chip for when things go wrong
Who is really in the NL playoff hunt, though? Chicago is clearly the best team in the Central, the Nationals are alone in the East. The Dodgers and Diamondbacks will be duking it out in the West. So that leaves the Rockies trying to fend off the Pirates and Cardinals, I guess?
I think the Giants and Brewers should also be on the WC contender side of the ledger. The Brewers were in first place at the All Star break last year, and neither they or the Giants are in full-on tanking youth movement mode like the Reds and most of the NL East. I don't know that the Rockies are a lock for the post-season just yet.
Well, I didn't argue they are a lock. I argued that they shouldn't be making moves with the driving force being to set themselves up to sell at the deadline. They should be making moves that help them get back to the playoffs.
Maikel Franco is too young for them to be giving up on. There's no reason why he can't take a big step forward.
One of the chief objectives (according to the Blue Jay FO) of the off season was to acquire an adequate middle IF to augment their current incumbents - Tulowitzki and Travis - who are not particularly good and hurt all the time.
Well, yeah ... but he is going to the WS champions ... so there's a trade-off.
Cashman is playing this correctly. And really, let's look at this. Is Gerrit Cole better than Jordan Montgomery (which is who he would be replacing)? Who is Gerrit Cole better than in Houston's starting five? He will probably be bumping Brad Peacock, but frankly I would rather have Peacock.
I think teams are not as down on Cole as you are, hence the asking price reports. Though, his numbers don't offer as much hope as his stuff does.
I am not necessarily down on Cole. I just don't know that he is an improvement over the guys already on both the Yankees and Astros staffs, then you factor in the prospect package.
But as a #3 or a #4 on top staffs with two years of control left, he's very similar to Sonny Gray. Both fit in any rotation, as you say, but how many top prospects is two years of control worth?
I'm game as long as that top starter is definitely better than Montgomery. That isn't the case with the Cole's and Corbin's of the world.
