Headlines

  • Ben Joyce Undergoes Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery
  • Dodgers Promote Dalton Rushing, Designate Austin Barnes For Assignment
  • Major League Baseball Rules That Permanent Ineligibility Ends At Death
  • Rangers Place Corey Seager On Injured List
  • Cubs Promote Moises Ballesteros
  • Evan Longoria To Sign One-Day Contract, Retire As Member Of Rays
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2025
    • Free Agent Contest Leaderboard
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

NL Notes: Straily, Marlins, Padres, Nationals/Wieters

By Jeff Todd | January 20, 2017 at 11:33pm CDT

Parting with righty Dan Straily wasn’t particularly easy for the Reds, who surely valued the cheap innings he might have provided, but as GM Dick Williams explains and MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports, the team finally found an offer it couldn’t say no to from the Marlins. Per Williams, the team “identified some of [the acquired prospects] as guys we were absolutely targeting,” informing Miami “that we wouldn’t go forward if we couldn’t get access to those guys.” While the Fish initially declined, says Williams, they steadily upped their offer over a span of several months. While the team wasn’t keen to give up Straily, Williams says it “just couldn’t pass on” the chance to add “impact talent” in the form of right-handers Luis Castillo and Austin Brice along with outfielder Isaiah White.

Here are a few more notes out of the National League:

  • The Marlins’ stockpiling of arms this winter — including, most recently, the acquisition of Straily — may result in atypical pitcher usage patterns, president of baseball operations Michael Hill says (via Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, on Twitter). Miami may look to rely heavily on what it considers to be a deep pen, Hill suggested. “There may be situations where the starter is out in the fourth or the fifth, and a bridge guy takes you to the sixth, and you’ve got a setup man in the seventh and the eighth, and a closer in the ninth,” he explained, dubbing the expected approach “non-traditional.”
  • Another team that has already added a few hurlers, the Padres, could still be in the market for more, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com (via Twitter). It’s not considered a major need, though, as the club intends to open up the team’s five rotation spots to as many as nine possible competitors this spring.
  • It has long been debated whether the Nationals will (and should) pursue free-agent catcher Matt Wieters, whose market has seemingly languished. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post updates the situation from the Nats’ perspective, noting that there may be some truth to the chatter that the front office hasn’t yet been given the green light to spend more heavily. But while there may be some posturing at play, it also seems that the team just isn’t all that interested in Wieters. Janes writes that “the Nationals have never been particularly high on Wieters internally … and harbor concerns about his defense and his health.”
Share 0 Retweet 8 Send via email0

Cincinnati Reds Miami Marlins San Diego Padres Washington Nationals Matt Wieters

Tigers Notes: Kinsler, Zimmermann, Center Field, Gose
Main
5 Key Stories: 1/14/17 – 1/20/17
View Comments (40)
Post a Comment

40 Comments

  1. CubsFanForLife

    8 years ago

    Could Miami have the SP depth to use a 3 man, 3 inning rotation with a deep bullpen of long relievers?

    1
    Reply
    • CubsFanForLife

      8 years ago

      Or maybe not 3 innings, but something of a similar variance.

      Reply
      • Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA

        8 years ago

        No because you’d think you’d want Chen to opt out of that contract so it doesn’t get ugly. They gave Volquez major money. They also want Conely to grow. Beyond those three they’ll probably be ok playing variations.

        Reply
        • AndThisGameBelongsToMySanDiegoPadres

          8 years ago

          Chen will opt out if and only if you don’t want him to.

          Reply
      • davidcoonce74

        8 years ago

        LaRussa tried this in 1993 – the three inning rotation. It was a real different kind of pitching staff – he had a bunch of mediocre old guys throuout the staff. Welch,,, Darling, Gossage, I think Bobby Witt was still around, Rick Honeycutt was in his last season. The thing is, though, even that experiment only lasted a couple weeks. It seemed like a good idea on paper but in practice it was a failure.

        Reply
        • CubsFanForLife

          8 years ago

          MLBDepthCharts currently has Adam Conley and Justin Nicolino in AAA, so I guess that’s a potential option for a 5 man rotation, but I really wouldn’t feel good about this five-man rotation pitching past the 5th inning. Why did it fail? I feel like intuitively if you had a bunch of more mediocre guys, limiting them to long relief would boost their effectiveness.

          Reply
        • davidcoonce74

          8 years ago

          I think that was the plan. The problem came when the starters got lit up early and Larussa had to get into his 4-man bullpen early.

          Reply
  2. Chefno2

    8 years ago

    Straily SIERA 4.67, FIP 4.88, xFIP 5.02. That does not bode well going forward and giving up three prospects for that is atrocious.

    1
    Reply
    • plem24

      8 years ago

      I love it for my Reds. They sold high on a guy they pluck for free and again shows that the fish are the worst run team in baseball. What they see is clearly that 4 years of control at barely more than the minimum must be repeatable. I hope it is, maybe strailey figured out how to only give up solo bombs and when guys get on, he throws sinkers. Doubt it

      Reply
    • stymeedone

      8 years ago

      Yeah, but they were Marlins Prospects, and their system is weaker than weak.

      1
      Reply
    • myaccount

      8 years ago

      I doubt he gives up 31 HR again. That was some bad luck. Not saying he’s great but I think he can be a fine 5 at Marlins Park.

      Reply
  3. 66TheNumberOfTheBest

    8 years ago

    The one inning reliever needs to go the way of the lumberjack hitter.

    Why waste a roster spot on a guy who can only give you one inning a game if you can get a guy who can give you 3 innings a game?

    I’m not saying get rid of the closer or the set up guy, but why have a “middle” reliever when you can have a couple long guys?

    Reply
    • Chefno2

      8 years ago

      some guys are only effective in short bursts. I’d rather a guy who can go one inning and be absolutely dominant, than a 2-3 inning guy who will have you biting your nails every time he is out there.

      1
      Reply
      • davidcoonce74

        8 years ago

        Most relievers regress significantly after their first inning of work. That’s the reason why they are relievers in the first place. Teams don’t really carry long relievers anymore, preferring specialists.

        2
        Reply
        • marmaduke

          8 years ago

          Strange, but true. A 7th inning guy. 8th… There aren’t a whole lot of pitchers who, if needed, will “eat up some innings” anymore, for times like when the starter doesn’t have his stuff working.

          Reply
        • Dock_Elvis

          8 years ago

          We didnt used to have 5 inning starters though. Our long men have morphed into LOOGYs and ROOGYS. The day I was born Dennis Leonard and Jim Palmer faced off in Baltimore…both went 9.

          Id be a fan of taking a guy and making him into a 8-9th inning guy with less usage…more like the old days. I thought for awhile that a Tim Lincecum could be effective this way.

          It used to be a starting pitchers game…he took the ball and he wasnt expected to come out. Then guys like Rollie Fingers or Bruce Sutter could go 3

          Reply
        • jrwhite21

          8 years ago

          Maybe that’s a factor in the spike of TJS

          Reply
        • tim815

          8 years ago

          In minor league ball, in the day, the SP would go seven or eight. Now, especially at the lower levels, they go five or six. Maybe fewer.

          And relievers tend to go balls out for fifteen or twenty pitches. Then sit out a day or two.

          To make significant MLB changes, train your guys on the way up to do what they’re going to do in MLB.

          Minors feed the majors.

          Reply
        • tim815

          8 years ago

          And Sutter (I was a Cubs fan then, as well) would be great through July, but once his innings got too many, he’d run into a rough patch.

          Relievers tend to hit a rather legitimate wall at 60 or 70 innings.

          Therefore, if you want your starters to go only four or five innings, your bullpen has to be ready to go 12-15 outs a night, for 162 games. Likely with a cap of 60 per on most of them.

          I hope you have some depth in Triple-A.

          Reply
    • mytribe 3

      8 years ago

      There probably is a statistical study somewhere that shows most relievers best inning is their first inning, and then the longer they are in the game the more likely they are to give up runs. i guess the next question is, when was that study done and is it outdated now?

      1
      Reply
    • teufelshunde4

      8 years ago

      1 IP guys can go 2 or 3 days in a row.. If you pitched every guy 2 or 3 IP out of pen every game you would be caught short handed many times during a 162 game season. Due to the required rest needed to maintain health and prevent overuse. Postseason is a different ball game.

      I think teams will be trying to develop those 2 and 3 IP guys more going forward in general. If a team can find 2 of the HeLp type relievers it would be interesting to see how they handle them.

      2
      Reply
      • Dock_Elvis

        8 years ago

        Have to account for all those bullpen warmups as well.

        1
        Reply
        • hojostache

          8 years ago

          The “side” days would need to change to accommodate 2-3in guys. Baseball is one of the few sports left that still does things “bc that’s how it’s been done.” I think pitchers pitch too much in between appearances. There are a lot of performance metrics, but not as much on alt training regimens.

          Bartolo Colon is a great example of a guy who has minimized his off day pitching. He is a different kind of guy for a few reasons, but he has lasted.

          Reply
        • Dock_Elvis

          8 years ago

          I always find it hard to use guys like Colon as comps…just because the freak nature of their career…always guys in every generation like that. Clearly what we’re seeing is a bad mix of physiology and the love of the radar gun in youth sports. I believe kids throw too much…too much specialization and too many tournament weekend players. We’re also seeing guys make it farther than they ever would have in the past, and doing it with much more attention. It wasnt too long ago that prospects weren’t on the radar until they were about to impact the mlb roster. How many guys blew out there arms, and we generally didnt know about it.

          Reply
    • stymeedone

      8 years ago

      The “long” guys are seldom usable the next day or two. One inning guys may be able to pitch consecutive days, or every other day. Too many long relievers makes the bullpen difficult to manage. There just aren’t many Andrew Millers.

      1
      Reply
      • Dock_Elvis

        8 years ago

        Miller is a converted starter. Id suggest if these types of pitchers are valuable….teams convert starters earlier.

        Reply
    • gorav114

      8 years ago

      I think a lot of relievers can be most effective when pitching only one inning. A guy like Tommy Hunter as a starter sits around low 90’s but out of the pen touches 95 so the short burst of power can allow him to be used to his strengths. Seemingly most relievers, like Tommy Hunter, are failed starters that may not have that 3rd pitch that most starters rely on. The current CBA not recently being changed to 26-27 man roster really limits flexibility. It also limits managers being creative on platoons. So often we see a young guy with options get sent down after a decent start simply because the team needs to use the now vacated roster spot to keep the pen fresh. I’m not a huge fan of regular platoons but i love a team getting an edge over another team because of a manager astute enough to deploy the right platoon with the right players in the right spots. Similar in my mind, at least strategically, to managing a dh-less lineup. IMO, managing the sport itself would change drastically with just one additional roster spot added, even if it is not considered a permanent spot (like only used for transitioning players on/off the roster without having to DFA to make room opposed to just stashing a rule 5 guy).

      Reply
      • mytribe 3

        8 years ago

        I believe MLB continues to drop the ball by not allowing a 26 and 27 man roster, with criteria. The 26th man has to be at least 34-35 years old. The 27th man has to be at least 38-39 years old.
        This would allow teams to keep popular veterans around for their one or two remaining skill sets.

        I recall Todd Hollandsworth had a pretty good arm and it would have been neat to see him come into the game in the ninth inning to throw out a runner trying to score the tying or winning run on a sac fly. Instead Hollandsworth was forced into early retirement because his other skill sets were not up to par with his throwing arm.

        Kenny Lofton still had his legs even when he retired, He too would have been a treat to see playing and stealing a base late in a close game.

        Jim Thome led the Cleveland Indians in the second half of his final season in OPS. The next season he should have had a spot on the roster as a pinch hitter, but the Indians could not afford a 1-25 spot, but they easily could have used a 27th veteran exception and Thome could have thrilled fans for another year or two with his pinch hitting skills.

        Reply
  4. Chefno2

    8 years ago

    Wieters will play the majority of 2017 as a 31 year old. His catching days are over, and teams view him as purely a DH at this point which is why he hasn’t been signed. Any team that signs him will deploy him at DH then occasionally put him at C if necessary. That TJ injury really ruined his potential massive payday.

    Reply
    • stymeedone

      8 years ago

      I disagree. Whoever signs Wieters will play him at C, where he is still competent. His bat is below average for a DH, average to above as a C.

      2
      Reply
  5. mytribe 3

    8 years ago

    Quoting “Miami may look to rely heavily on what it considers to be a deep pen, Hill suggested. “There may be situations where the starter is out in the fourth or the fifth, and a bridge guy takes you to the sixth, and you’ve got a setup man in the seventh and the eighth, and a closer in the ninth,” he explained, dubbing the expected approach “non-traditional.”” End Quote.

    Or, Hill could have just said, “What Cleveland Indians Manager Terry Francona did with Andrew Miller last season and in the playoffs we’re going to also do next season”.

    1
    Reply
    • pgmitchell

      8 years ago

      Burnout te bullpen by August …

      Reply
      • IACub

        8 years ago

        By May

        Reply
        • babyk79

          8 years ago

          I can’t believe the bullpen players would buy into that, if they are uses multiple innings their effectiveness will go down and their perceived value might tank via their numbers costing them in future FA

          2
          Reply
        • mytribe 3

          8 years ago

          As long as relievers coming into a game in the fourth or fifth inning is not an every game scenario, the bullpen kind of does love it because it magnifies their importance.

          If a team has 3 of 5 starters who pretty much can get to the seventh or eighth inning every start, the team can overuse the pen in the other two games as long as they are also calling up spot starters and relievers from the minors when necessary.
          Two starters going deep into games is cutting it thin however.

          If a team has three starters who can go deep each time they start, then having games when the relievers come in early is manageable.

          I really liked what the Cubs did, they went to a six man starting rotation in late July until the end of the regular season.

          Reply
    • stymeedone

      8 years ago

      That will be interesting since they don’t have an Andrew Miller.

      Reply
      • mytribe 3

        8 years ago

        Andrew Miller by committee maybe? Their talking about taking a pitcher out in the 4th or 5th inning, The first time Francona did that with Miller, Miller was surprised, but the ploy worked as Miller plowed through the heart of the line-up.

        Reply
  6. AC_Slater123 2

    8 years ago

    As an O’s fan, I’d be surprised if he gets anywhere near 3/40. He’s just not that good on the field. Great mind and a great teammate, but no doubt he and Boris thinks he’s top 3 catcher in the league and it’s just not the case anymore. O’s wouldn’t even give QO this year.

    Reply
    • lesterdnightfly

      8 years ago

      Sure, Boris might think he’s a top-3 catcher, but what do Natasha and Meester Beeg think?

      2
      Reply
      • mike156

        8 years ago

        I knew that was coming…

        Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

  • Top Stories
  • Recent

Ben Joyce Undergoes Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

Dodgers Promote Dalton Rushing, Designate Austin Barnes For Assignment

Major League Baseball Rules That Permanent Ineligibility Ends At Death

Rangers Place Corey Seager On Injured List

Cubs Promote Moises Ballesteros

Evan Longoria To Sign One-Day Contract, Retire As Member Of Rays

Diamondbacks To Promote Jordan Lawlar

Rockies Fire Bud Black

Cubs Promote Cade Horton

Rafael Devers Unwilling To Play First Base

Pirates Fire Manager Derek Shelton

Mariners Claim Leody Taveras

Rangers Hire Bret Boone As Hitting Coach

A.J. Minter To Undergo Season-Ending Lat Surgery

Blue Jays Sign Spencer Turnbull

Blue Jays Sign José Ureña

Ross Stripling Retires

Rangers Place Leody Taveras On Outright Waivers

Triston Casas Likely To Miss Entire 2025 Season Due To Knee Surgery

Orioles Recall Coby Mayo

White Sox Claim Vinny Capra

Poll: American League Playoff Outlook

Twins Option Simeon Woods Richardson, Likely To Promote Zebby Matthews

Tony Kemp Announces Retirement

Dodgers Notes: Rushing, Sasaki, Snell, Glasnow

The Opener: Astros, Rangers, Bochy, Twins, Dodgers

MLB Mailbag: Cubs, Astros, Yankees, Mets

MLBTR Podcast: Devers Drama, Managerial Firings, And Jordan Lawlar

The Marlins Could Face Another Rotation Dilemma

Giants, Drew Ellis Agree To Minor League Contract

ad: 300x250_5_side_mlb

MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

Latest Rumors & News

Latest Rumors & News

  • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
  • Nolan Arenado Rumors
  • Dylan Cease Rumors
  • Luis Robert Rumors
  • Marcus Stroman Rumors

 

Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

MLBTR Features

MLBTR Features

  • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
  • Front Office Originals
  • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
  • MLBTR Podcast
  • 2024-25 Offseason Outlook Series
  • 2025 Arbitration Projections
  • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
  • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
  • Contract Tracker
  • Transaction Tracker
  • Extension Tracker
  • Agency Database
  • MLBTR On Twitter
  • MLBTR On Facebook
  • Team Facebook Pages
  • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

Rumors By Team

  • Angels Rumors
  • Astros Rumors
  • Athletics Rumors
  • Blue Jays Rumors
  • Braves Rumors
  • Brewers Rumors
  • Cardinals Rumors
  • Cubs Rumors
  • Diamondbacks Rumors
  • Dodgers Rumors
  • Giants Rumors
  • Guardians Rumors
  • Mariners Rumors
  • Marlins Rumors
  • Mets Rumors
  • Nationals Rumors
  • Orioles Rumors
  • Padres Rumors
  • Phillies Rumors
  • Pirates Rumors
  • Rangers Rumors
  • Rays Rumors
  • Red Sox Rumors
  • Reds Rumors
  • Rockies Rumors
  • Royals Rumors
  • Tigers Rumors
  • Twins Rumors
  • White Sox Rumors
  • Yankees Rumors

ad: 160x600_MLB

Navigation

  • Sitemap
  • Archives
  • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

MLBTR INFO

  • Advertise
  • About
  • Commenting Policy
  • Privacy Policy

Connect

  • Contact Us
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feed

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top

Register

Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version