I think what got your proposal labeled as insane isn't just the cost, but the players that you're wanting in return. India has nice bat and a little control left, but just as we hope to address the middle infield defense you're tossing another bad defender into the mix. Add to that the young, controlled pitching that you're proposing that Chaim moves for 2 months of a Jack Flaherty who's not quite Jack Flaherty these days.
He had a bad injury last year and he was hitting very well this year before slumping this summer…my guess is his bat will be good going forward, but the defense is a serious problem and perhaps that is related to the calf too…but I wouldn’t pay much at all in trade loot to take on that project. He’s the type of guy who might be an interesting “buy low” candidate for a team that doesn’t have a glut of middle infielders aiming for MLB arrival in 2024-25.
If most of India's trade value is tied to his years of control, then he is less valuable to the Sox because we have MiLB players ready to fill 2B soon, and India might even block them.
While I love the idea of trying to buy low on top prospects that came up and didn't set MLB on fire - like Vargas, I can't picture LAD going for that. While not the be all / end all, but just as a reference point, BTV gives Vargas a value of 25.6 while Duvall (.6) and Hernandez (-3.5) combine for a -2.9 value.
I don't know, he looks about on pace to reach most of the offensive numbers that he had 2 years ago when he was ROY despite a 6-7 week rough patch. I'm not as stat savvy as many others here are, but 99 is basically league average right? For the uninformed, is wrc+ position specific or based on all players?
wRC+ adjusts for park and league, but not for position. Same with OPS+.
Praise Bloom. Kiké seems like a good dude, and he had a great year in 2021, but it wasn't happening for him this season and we need the roster spot.
I think you're probably right.
If he's worth about another win over the rest of the season and owed less than 2 mill, then that value of 6.3 seems spot on. The site doesn't take into account what putting a team like the Reds on the map (filling up a ballpark for the stretch drive and big time tv rating boosts) for once can bring or what a lack of viable upgrades the market has out there. I would absolutely bet the over on what Paxton can bring in this case.
Finally admitting what many suspected....he doesn't really have *a* plan.
I was uncomfortable with trading Verdugo because 1.) it makes Duvall our right fielder for the stretch run this season, and 2.) leaves the cupboard bare for '24. I didn't realize till this morning that Verdugo, like Duvall, is only signed through this season.
Unlike Duvall, I do believe that Verdugo is under team control through next season.
Not sure where you're getting this informaton, but, uh, it isn't true. A quick google of Verdugo's contract situation or a look at any of the baseball reference/fangraphs websites is usually good for checking this stuff.
I messed up.
Yeah, you better apologize!
I recall quite a bit of "he's buying, he's selling he's building, he's trying to compete this year. He has to pick a lane" as recently as recently.
Potential? Sure. In his 1st 2 starts in AA Wikelman pitched 6 scoreless innings in one game & 6 hitless innings in another.
I think these can all be true at the same time, right? Looking at the Sox present roster and what is in the pipeline, the acquisition of a good starting pitcher with term would constitute buying, building and competing this year all at the same time, just as an example. One could include selling too - I mean, this isn't realistic, but I'd give Bloom like 7-D chess props if he moved James Paxton for AJ Smith Shawver and then moved AJ Smith Shawver and Nick Yorke to Chicago for Dylan Cease while moving Miguel Bleis to LAA for Patrick Sandoval, just as an example of something that would constitute buying, selling, building and trying to compete this year all at once.
Gonzalez's stuff is good to great. His issue is that he walks too many people. IMO he needs to control the strike zone better or he's going to end up as a potentially volatile reliever with electric stuff, which wouldn't be a bad result.
Relying on a 21 y/o to be a top of the rotation Major League starter within 12 months when they've pitched 2 games at AA would be silly regardless of how amazing their stuff looks.
I'm with you on this goal. The Zach Efflin decision last winter looms large as he would have filled this spot perfectly (and he's exceeded my expectations this year by a lot).
Not positive you actually meant to say this, but if you did, it’s nicely poetic, thumbs up.
I'd do this in a cocaine heartbeat, and I want to extend Verdugo.
I forget which thread it was where I riffed on it, but a Dylan Carlson to BOS, Alex Verdugo to MIL swap makes sense to me. Carlson seems like someone the Cards would deal, and they probably don't want to see him figure it out within the division. He fits our criteria of a RF who can play CF, and allows us to hedge a little bit if Duran were to suddenly regress.
FWIW, two years ago, Brayan Bello didn't project to be a top half of the rotation starter. Here's what SoxProspects said about him in February 2021 (he was ranked #22 in the system at the time): "Has the early makings of a three-pitch mix that makes him a potential number four or five starter. Has a lot of development remaining and a wide variation of potential outcomes. Fastball/changeup combination could profile in a bullpen role if slider and command don't develop. Not imposing physically, but still has projection and has the type of athleticism you look for."
You're trading a potential star for an ok pitcher. Sandoval is a 4th or 5th starter. He doesn't have elite stuff. He doesn't strike people out. He's ok.
I think it's safe to say there's no one in the system who will be a top of the rotation pitcher in 2024. Anytime after that, though, I wouldn't be surprised at all, & there are lots of options.
Wikelman and Perales seem like possible breakout candidates, but after losing three arms in last year's Rule 5, I think we're probably likely to trade someone from the Bastardo/Blalock/Drohan/Fernandez/Murphy/Walter set, though, right? Especially if we're looking at Nick Robertson on next year's 40?
Edited down on the posts, but that was exactly why I was asking someone that I know follows the minors really closely, basically to see if anyone had made that "Bello leap" at that point. Reasonably speaking, we'd all be thrilled with a Bello outcome (to this point) for Gonzalez, and while understanding that prospects aren't the same and growth isn't linear, I was trying to use Bello as a "best case" scenario for figuring out the timeline. If we think Gonzalez is now where Bello was at that point in 2021, then you'd be looking at maybe a half season of "back half" of the rotation pitching in 2024 before having a chance to be where Bello is now in 2025, as what I'll call the "best case while still realistic" scenario (of course AA could adjust to Gonzalez and he could never put up an ERA below 5.00 there or he could exceed Bello by next May, but just for reasonable projections I was looking to Bello's ascension).
I think so. Trading Walter makes a ton of sense to me. Fernandez has been bad for the last month so not sure what his current value is. Wouldn't trade him right now. Same with Drohan.
