Shake off your tryptophan coma with a few quick bursts of baseball-related action…
- The availability of catcher Omar Narvaez in trade talks can be directly linked to the Mariners’ recent extension with first base prospect Evan White, suggests Greg Johns of MLB.com (link). While that may seem like a logical leap at first glance, White’s forthcoming presence on the club’s major league roster should allow GM Jerry Dipoto to utilize Austin Nola as a backup catcher. Nola, a catcher by trade, was mostly used in combination with Daniel Vogelbach at first last season. Johns also notes that the club’s recent signing of Patrick Wisdom, though minor in nature, gives the club yet another option at first in the event of an injury to White. As explored earlier, the bat-first Narvaez should only look more appealing as a trade target as this offseason progresses; as of Friday, open market catchers Yasmani Grandal, Travis d’Arnaud, Tyler Flowers, and Yan Gomes have all been spoken for.
- Carter Stewart’s foray into the Nippon Professional Baseball ranks is covered in a recent profile from Jim Halley of Baseball America, with several interesting notes on the youngster’s on-and-off-field adjustments in Japan. Beyond the obvious cultural adjustments that a nineteen-year-old American would face in moving to Japan, Matt Skrmetta, a scout with Stewart’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, relays that the right-hander is currently adapting to the league’s more contact-oriented hitters. For those who may not remember, the 6’6 Stewart was originally the 8th overall draft pick of the Braves in 2018, although a longstanding wrist injury led the club to only offer him a signing bonus at less than half of the pick’s $4.98MM slot value. The righty spurned that offer and spent a year pitching in the JuCo ranks before a lack of interest at the top of the 2019 draft led Fukuoka to come calling with an unprecedented long-term deal.
- For the time being, the Padres are penciling in Drew Pomeranz and Kirby Yates as their back-end bullpen options, conveys The Athletic’s Dennis Lin in a recent mailbag. While there were Twitter rumblings this week that Pomeranz’s acquisition only made an offseason trade of Yates more likely, Lin notes that an extension with the 32-year-old Hawaiian is still an entirely plausible scenario. For what it’s worth, Pomeranz and Yates compiled 89.1 innings of a combined 1.41 ERA as relievers last year, potentially setting San Diego out with a thoroughly effective–if pricey–backend. MLBTR projects Yates to receive a $6.5MM award in a final pass through arb, while Pomeranz’s deal included an $8MM signing bonus in advance of a $4MM 2020 salary.
Padres will have one of the best RH and LH back end duo of closers in the game. Now how about at least one if not two SP’s to fit in the No. 1 and 3 slot. Trade some of our suspects oh I mean prospects along with Myers and we’ll be happy campers. Let’s make 2020 a year we obtain at least a wild card with 88 W’s. I also see the Friars in need of one more OF I don’t have much confidence in Naylor, he’s going to be in EP this year brushing up on his D, raising his BA and fine tuning his OF ability if he wants to make the Bigs to stay.
I like it. What you’re saying makes sense. It seems pretty simple to me, but execution is key. Let’s hope Preller is reading this blog. LOL. He needs all the help he can get.
Am I missing something? I was literally just reading about a bajillion comments regarding Carter Stewart on this post and now I can’t find them. Maybe the thread was moderated out because people were getting too heated (so let’s keep it calm and not do that again). All I wanted to say was that Tatis was right when it comes down to the rules, offers and knowledge of offers by every party. What people don’t realize is that is was a media attention game that each of you are paying off for Scott Bora’s now. Bora’s knew the offer was real from the beginning and only did this to bring more attention to his name as a strong player representative and Stewarts name as a good pitcher. His literal argument in arbitration was that whatever Carter Stewart had to pay Boras should count against the Braves 40% and not against the 60% Stewart was due. Boras knew that tactic was going to fail but he also knew the media attention brought towards the situation would be beneficial to both Boras and Stewart. It all started when Stewart didn’t reveal his torn wrist ligaments to the Braves before the draft. From Stewarts point of view, he shouldn’t have to because they were drafting him based on performance and his entire great baseball career started years after he sustained that injury from skateboarding. From the Braves point of view, curveball pitchers use wrist ligaments frequently and the fact that Stewarts are torn means he very likely has limited longevity as a MLB curveball pitcher. The Braves REALLY wanted this guy when they drafted him. The only conspiracy involved in this entire thing was the grievance filed by Boras. He knew he was gonna lose the grievance in arbitration but he also knew people would be sitting here talking about Scott Boras and Carter Stewart well over a year after the grievance as a result. The Braves are a team that want as many young, uber talented LONG LASTING pitchers as possible. Stewart is a young pitcher that wants as much guaranteed money as possible. Scott Boras is an agent that wants as much attention as possible. Mix them all in a pie and this is what we get.
Strasburg really does make them a true contender. If they don’t sign him, the fans should riot. There’s no downside to this, being that SD has plenty of arms on farm if Stras got hurt.
Trade Naylor to Boston so he can be their everyday 1B.
Strasburg, Pomeranz and the Brewers trade don’t make a 70 win team a contender.
It may not bring them to the playoffs but it sure will be an improvement from there 2019 70 W’s. The team gave up on Green in the second half if the new Mgr can keep these guys focused and we get a good SP and another good OF we’ll be in the hunt.
Wild card contention is a big move upwards and that’s what they’re shooting for. More work to do but would anyone be surprised if it flops and a healthy and productive Pimerantz is the number one reliever mentioned on 07/31?
Strasburg, Pomeranz and the Brewers trade coupled with claiming Villar possibly and trading for Marte. That would make them a contender, 3 more moves potentially.
Its been reported they won’t be willing to meet Strasburgs number as it is. Projecting them to add 50 + million more in payroll is unrealistic.
I agree, my final rotation addition projection is either Cole Hamels or someone like Michael Wacha. Then a cheap alternative at 2B like Schoop. or claiming Villar.
Brewers killed the Padres in that trade, set the dad’s back. As a White Sox fan, I can only hope Padres fans feel the same pain Everytime I hear Tatis Jr. when they hear Urias. Likely not, but I still fully believe Urias is going to be a major league solid piece. A very solid piece.
Don’t try talking sense to Padre fans they love to live in fantasy land
Wow you’re trying to compare Urias to Tatis, are you kidding. Its like comparing a VW to a MB. Urias will be a good average 2B who hits around .250 annually, he’s not a SS, sorry doesn’t have the arm. He hit .221 in 2019 and was up and down several times for lack of bat hitting the ball.
Tatis for a full season(hopefully) Mejia catching 70% of games instead of Hedges(can’t hit) will also make a big difference.
Plus….no way Is Preller done adding offense.
amk3510, Adding Strasburg as the Ace would be HUGE. An improved, more experienced Chris Paddack, without an innings limit would be the #2. A healthy Dinelson Lament at #3. Remember, Dinelson was named the 2018 opening day starter before he injured his ulnar collateral ligament. Joey Lucchesi, last years opening day starter would likely be #4, or even #5 depending how Zach Davies works out. Garrett Richards would also be in the mix. I agree the Padres have WORK to do, but an Ace like Stephen Strasburg totally transforms the starting rotation.
Robertoboiler, The Padres didn’t get “killed” in that trade. The Padres got the more proven pitcher, but they will pay more money for him and did sacrifice team control. Regarding, Urias vs. Grisham….give it a year or two. I saw Luis play at Petco, he showed flashes of greatness, certainly true potential, but for you to write his name in the same sentence as Fernando Tatis Jr.? That’s the best laugh I’ve heard ALL DAY.
We don’t need Pomz nor Villar nor Marte we just need a dependable second tier SP who comes in the No. 2 or 3 rotation slot and a good OF who can hit at least .275 with a strong OBP and good D. (lead off hitter is what were missing)
No downside in paying a 31 year-old injury prone pitcher well over $100m and giving up a draft pick to do it?
Who are you talking about:? BTW whatever happened to Adrian? He went down fast in his early to mid 30’s for a 1B.
Ahh, yes. In that Braves trade the Braves basically ate the contracts of A-Gon, Kazmir and McCarthy (McCarthy may have been the only one of those 3 that actually played for the Braves). In exchange the Braves got Charlie Culberson and cash while the Dodgers ate the remaining 2 years off Matt Kemps contract. The Braves just wanted to spend more $ that year to free up payroll for the next year when they were actually going to contend and get Culberson out of the deal as a benefit. I don’t know if you saw my first answer to your question because they moderated it after I edited it even though there was nothing bad in the comment. Anyway, Dodgers traded Adrian to the Braves for Kemp. Adrian demanded the Braves release him so the Braves did. Adrian signs 1 year deal at league minimum with Mets to be there starting first baseman. Adrian is absolutely terrible with the Mets and I believe he got released and will likely never play again. I think Pete Alonso crushing it in the minors didn’t help Adrian’s case much either.
I guess offense doesn’t ?
No downside to signing a 31 year old pitcher who is a major injury risk to a $150M+ deal? Ok
Opps I might have over stated Pom’s four yr deal its closer to $31M not $79M, looks even better now,
I think they need one of the top pitchers as well but I think this is the year Lamet establishes himself as one of the NL’s better pitchers. That would almost eliminate the need to use the rest of their long term money on pitching.
JDGoat, You’re right a healthy Lament drastically improves the rotation. Standing pat, the Padres rotation is already better than it was last season. A healthy Lament, a healthy Richards (thought limited), and Zach Davies should improve the rotation. I am still optimistic that AJ will add a frontline pitcher too.
Its a stretch to say one of the best. We have 26 innings to educate us on Pomeranz’s RP abilities. I believe he can be good but i would not be surprised to see him struggle like he did as a starter for the past several seasons. Giving him that contract was a bit of a stretch
Pmerz is going to be real good for two years then after that ave. at best. However if we get two good yrs out of him it will be worth the risk
4 years for Pomeranz at that money will be as bad a signing as Myers and Hosmer are already recognized….with Manny to come.
Preller gave out that contract based on 26-1/3 innings of work spotted by a sharp manager and a sharp organization….neither of which the Padres have.
The guy keeps giving out outrageous contracts. The fans complain about the older ones, and celebrate the new ones.
LOL
Bingo
Sounds to me like someone is envious of the Friars, eat your heart out when they make the playoffs and your team is watching along with you, LOL
Envious?
Am so sorry for you.
The team hasn’t had a winning season in 10 years. AJ Preller has been there for 5 of them. And with all his can’t miss prospects, he’s still out there signing free agents; and bundling up multiple prospects in hopes of getting a good one back.
Fortunately for you and others, the owner has laid down the gauntlet. One more year of promises not kept, and hopefully he’ll have enough experience to hire a solid GM.
“4 years for Pomeranz at that money will be as bad a signing as Myers and Hosmer are already recognized” – Vandals
Hosmer $144M (8 years)
Myers $80M+ (6 years)
================
$324M
Pomeranz: $34M (4 years)
Vandal’s math:
$34M sunk is as bad as $324M sunk
Hopefully, Vandal isnt’ an engineer or rocket scientist in his day job, or even a carpenter, who at least needs basic math skills.
Everything after that first silly sentence was irrelevant.
This is a really food evaluation about where they should go. I do think tho if they go after Stras’ then likely they would make smaller moves to rearrange their roster. Not quite sure they would sign another high end P
Friars are not going after Stras its over he’s getting $25M to $30M a year for five yrs are you kidding, he’s had some arm problems along the way. Lets go after a good second tier SP make a trade and get it done.
Now, did you not see Pom in Boston? He was horrific!
I agree, Kirby Yates and Drew Pomeranz provide the Padres with a GREAT righty/lefty bullpen combo. As much as I like Francisco Mejia as a potential Catcher of the future, I miss Lefty Brad Hand in the Padres bullpen. Hopefully, Drew will make up for this. GO PADS!
What does this mean for vogelbach?
It means that he’ll be their primary Designated Hitter, like he was this year.
He will have a short leash, though. He needs to get back to where he was in the 1st half of last year
To be fair, it’s not like he didn’t have a short leash last year. The only time period he wasn’t strictly platooned was between the Bruce trade and emergence of Nola. While this was also the only time period he actually struggled, this is more evidence of the very short leash he had than anything else. That is, after all, the definition of “a short leash” (to be given zero freedom to struggle as can be reasonably expected knowing how production doesn’t and can’t fully stabilize to statistical reliability until a player has collected 1000 PA — against each handedness in the case of platoon splits)
He too, will most likely end up in Japan. Not many teams out there looking for a 1-tool DH/1B.
Why would he go to Japan? The M’s probably aren’t about to release him.
Full time DH. He proved to not be as effective with the added stress of being a position player. Hopefully he can regain his recent season pre all star break numbers
“Hamburger” as I call him. He’s never passed one up. Will be the primary DH.
Fat Danny didn’t hit good the first half of the season he hit good the first three weeks when everything went right for the Ms. After that he sucked.
His numbers were so inflated it carried him through the first half. Then after the AS game which was an embarrassment he went his numbers were so bad his short term numbers couldn’t keep his long term numbers decent.
For a few weeks I thought he was going to prove me wrong but then the fat Danny we all knew showed up. Walking away from the plate after 3 pitches and a look of utter confusion. The only time his bat came off his shoulder was in the dug out to put the bat away. Put fat Danny in any deal to get rid of him. There are too many older players that can hit in the low .200s to keep this beer league swinging fat tub of Ks off of our field.
You can debate that Vogelbach might not be a long-term cornerstone player for the M’s. But why resort to petty name calling and insults? Have some class.
He might not be the next Edgar, but that doesn’t make him a bad person. Grow up.
He was the same weight all season, so maybe the bad hitting was caused by something else.
So sorry Jerry I guess I am the first one on the board to call a player a name. Why didn’t you say anything to the guy who called him hamburger because he never passed one up? It was all a joke I am sorry you are so sensitive about fat jokes. Maybe there is a reason for it.
If you can’t take joking about players you are on the wrong site. Are you are a family member or Danny himself?
Have fun disciplining all the guys who says unkind things on this site. I expect to see it or I am going to feel singled out and picked on.
Is 2020 the year the teams go to 26 players? if so who do we add pitching or hitting for the 26th player?
chances are most teams go to 13 of each.
I thought there was a 13 pitcher maximum
i think so, but either way im just assuming the 12-13 split either way is evened out.
I want to see Evan White succeed, I’m genuinely excited to see him handle 1B. The timing of his $24-55MM contract however is really strange to me. The last time the Mariners threw $50MM to a player with zero MLB experience (YK) that didn’t go so well. I understand Kikuchi has a lot of time to prove his worth but you’d think YK’s experience might make the Ms think about seeing Evan White play at least a month or two in the bigs before offering him so much cash. Ms FO does the strangest things!
As with all free agents, media and some front offices go gaga in the off-season when successful players from overseas leagues elect to play in the US. While heralded as impact players, almost all tend to be average ML players at best. Most can’t justify the monies paid out for their salaries and postings.
Tanaka has been decent for the Yankees, although he’s best if he’s taken out before he attempts to go through the opposing teams batting order a third time. Choo made himself into a decent player. His smartest move was hiring Scott Boras as an agent. Ohtani looks like one that could be a genuine superstar, assuming his injuries will not reoccur with any frequency.
I watched Yusei Kikuchi pitch a 2 or 3 times and was stunned at how over-matched he was. Like Choo, his best accomplishment so far was hiring Scott Boras as an agent. The contract he got is crazy – a $50m outlay (including posting) for 3 years, with a player option for a 4th year at $13-14m. And if the Mariners go for the full ride, it’s 7 years / $105m. Sure, things can change, but that’s just an insane contract to give out. The best that can be argued is there is a strong Japanese presence in Seattle that loves baseball, so Kikuchi will generate some interest and ticket sales. But right now this guy looks like a reach to be a #4 starter. He’s already 28 years old. Don’t know how much more upside is realistic.
Shin soo choo belongs nowhere near your foreign player rant. He carved out a 14 year
career with a career 122 WRC+. It’s not his fault the Rangers gave him way too much money later in his career.
Pretty sure a guy who posted 35fWar over his career deserved some sort of hype. He definitely was an impact player earlier on. To this day he still can hit.
If anybody is thinking 26 innings is enough to prove that pomeranz is a dynamic setup reliever knows absolutely nothing about baseball
To be fair, if anyone believes that any number of innings is enough to prove any pitcher not named Mariano Rivera is a dynamic reliever knows absolutely nothing about baseball.
Success out of the bullpen is as fleeting as “love” in middle school.
i dont buy the Pads expect to use Pomz as a RP. that’s too much money for an unproven quantity in the pen. i feel like this is Strahm 2.0.
Of course they do
If they trade Kirby with Myers included for a SP then we’ll know why they paid what they did for Pom. Motives and some new player faces in SD will hopefully bring this team to .500 in 2020. Still need a good SP, good OF and a back up at first base who’s a RH hitter to platoon with Hos.
Another AJ move that makes no sense. All that $$$ for what?? AJ is terrible as a GM.
If AJ makes .500 this coming year and the playoffs the following year everyone will be saying he’s a genius, let’s play this out and see what happens. I agree right now its burn AJ at the stake, if he doesn’t hit .500 in 2020 he’s gone anyway.
Am I missing something? Who would be Seattle’s starting catcher if they trade Narvaez? Tom Murphy?
Jason Variteck
Does that mean Heathcliff Slocumb will be closing in Boston?
LOL…didn’t the Sox get Derick Lowe in that deal too?
You evil, vile individual. How dare you remind me of that trade?
Now, I must remind myself and hold strong to my hopes how Cano-Diaz for Kelenic-Dunn++ continues the direction it has started.
It will be Murphy with Nola as a back up.
There’s this great catcher available… Call AJ Preller and ask for a guy named Austin…. Yeah, Austin, like the city!
[Sarcasm]
If Austin could just hit even .250 he’d be a star C with his D being one of the best in the NL. He will get his GG award this year.
Narvaez is a very bad catcher but can hit. Murphy is a very good catcher and has enough ability at the plate to be the starter. Nola can backup Murphy or sign a veteran backup.
Omar !! Me gusta la lapice de hamburguesa Omar!!!
Keep Narvaez! He is young and knows how to hit. He may never be a defensive wizard but he will hopefully show marginal improvements. If they want a defense first catcher, they should have just kept Zunino.
By keeping Narvaez, you allow Nola to back up 1b and win the job if Evan White shows he’s not quite ready. By not keeping Narvaez, you are relying on Murphy’s small sample size in 2019 to prove legit and also that White is ready to handle the 1b full time. I know they aren’t planning on contending in 2020 but you also don’t want to repeatedly expose young players if they are not ready.
Couldn’t disagree more. Murphy is so much better defensively, calling a game, and leading the staff that ltv he should start.
Narvaez is pretty close to the worst catcher in the game in those categories. Yes, he can hit, but he negates most of that value on the field.
Shutting down the running game and calling a game are the most important traits in a starting catcher – 100%. With that being said, I don’t get why they traded Zunino. I want to see the Mariners stick with a direction at the catcher position. They traded defense for offense and now they want to get back to defense (presumably). Pick one!
Narvaez has a skillset that screams league average hitter which would be a good thing at catcher if his defense wasnt so bad. I thought a Narvaez Murphy split would have been good to start the year with Nola as the backup plan and Raleigh maybe getting a cup of coffee depending on how he progresses. The main reason to trade him is he fits outside the contention window. But if that’s the case they should trade Haniger, Santana, and Smith too.
Maybe I’m misreading the situation but I feel they want to trade Narvaez only because they desperately need pitching. Obviously the C position is much more valuable than say 1B or DH (Vogey) and since they have 2 full time and a PT catcher with a top prospect on the way it’s easy to see why they’d trade a valuable piece to fill a position of need
Pirates could trade SP Chris Archer for Narvaez.
The Mariners would need more than the 1 for 1 given the contract difference and the age difference. Not to mention, Narvaez seems to be on the way up while Archer seems to be on the way down.
Das Limpet?
Yes please! Too bad the Pirates won’t do that
Padres offered too much money to all the wrong players now cant sign a legit pitcher. Should have stuck to collecting draft picks and let the farm fill positions. Paying a 1b 144m and a below average corner outfielder 83 million just terrible moves when rebuilding. Should not have to overpay every FA but when your the GM and its not your money not that big a deal
You have to remember the only way these FA’s come to SD is to get more $$$ than they would with a contender, who wants to play in SD, overpaid FA’s. After almost ten yrs of not even playing .500 ball makes it more difficult to get any FA. That’s what happens when your a last place team almost every year.
Keep Omar, make the DH a rotisserie of Murphy’s right handed bat and Omar’s left handed bat. Trade Voggieroll. Watching another 1 tool ISO power bat swing from their heals and strike out every time players are on base is too much torture for me. Trade him while he has SOME value.
Narvaez and Murphy are ideal in a C platoon time-share. Having both in the lineup every day isn’t ideal. Vogelbach’s K rate is way better than Murphy, and not bad for a hitter with his approach. Second half struggles aside, he was still one of our best hitters.
The M’s aren’t going to get much trade value for Vogelbach. He’s coming off a terrible second half, and few teams are looking for help at DH. He’s showed flashes of talent, and is relatively young and cheap. Most importantly, he just had his first consistent experience in the major leagues last year. He could get better next year.
In a nutshell: there is very little upside in moving him. There is upside in keeping him around. The Ms aren’t going to contend, and there us little risk to letting him play. If he doesn’t get better, they can just reduce his oating time or remove him from the roster. the M’s need more guys like Vogelbach, not less.
Stop ignoring me!!!
Overpaid for Pomeranz for sure. Preller has not improved this team yet. Until then….boycott Petco….down with brown. No more of my money!
OK we get it your not happy but you’re not coming up with any ideas to improve the team besides just saying boycott, fans don’t listen to that they want to see what you suggest to improve the team with options that would actually work. Who cares if they overpaid for Pom if he continues his WHIP and low ERA for two years he’s a steal.
Who cares if they overpay for player. Wil Myers agrees.
Overpaying does not mean he did not improver the team.
Not a real fan of the Pom signing at those years and $$$. I think it has something to do with the three AB minimum per reliever, and the resulting elimination of the LOOGY LHP.. The Padres season was crushed at the outset with the loss of LHP relievers due to injuries. RHP pitching in situations where there should have been a LHP, exasperated the situation. I see this as Preller getting out ahead of this situation for 2020, as well as adding another potential closer. I can argue against either the man he signed, the money, or the years, and so can everyone else, but we’re doing so in a vacuum. Who was the alternative? What would have it cost to sign him? People suggest Pom’s single season as a successful lock down down reliever was a fluke. Well, do you know who else they said that about, for three years? Yates. Yates figured out something, a new pitch, it was legit, and it made him arguably the best MLB closer for 2019. Pom’s velo as a reliever is elite stuff (97+ mph). He’s stuff works out of the bulpen. He’s likely legit.
As far as the Brewers/Padres trade, I see it as a logical decision. It’s not essential to Preller that he obtain exact value for value, but that he provide what the team needs to win in 2020. Most folks here catcalling about how the Brewers won the trade are making those claims based on the fact that they expect Urias to hit in 2020, and hit big. They consider the pitcher’s trade to be even money, or maybe a bit better one way or the other, but generally a waste of time, because the return was not a TOR pitcher.
AJP is looking at the trade as (1) trading from a position of strength, (2) trading a less experienced (2 years service time) soft tossing lefty for a more mature (4 years service) but younger soft tossing RHP, where the Padres have LHP starters a plenty, and (3) trading for a CF who will be either a competent LH hitting platoon with Margot, or perhaps a LH/RHP hitting, improved (offensive) CF replacement for Margot., using an expendable IF as currency.
The question to answer regarding Urias is: Will other available options (Edwards, Miller, Kinsler, Garcia, FA) produce better numbers than Urias’ 2018-2019 stat? If Grisham works out in CF/COF and Preller can find a 2B replacement who exceeds Urias’s performance, he’s improved the 2020 Padres team significantly. That’s an undeniable fact. That’s Preller’s goal. His goal isn’t to “win” every trade, but to build a winning MLB team.
The best answer on all of these questions is “wait and see”. There certainly no legitimate justification for hammering Preller on this trade at this point. The people on this forum are generally hammering Preller no matter what he does, in nearly every post they make about the Padres. These posters aren’t exactly objective. Enthusiastic fans, maybe, but not objective. It’s kind of frustrating to hear their frequent invective about Preller, because they’re not going to make the owners fire Preller. It’s meaningless drivel.
Preller will win with the 2020 Padres team, or he won’t last the season. That’s pretty much a given. So, Preller’s taking his best shot. He’s hired HIS manager, replaced Balsley, and is making risky, high-upside, FA signing and trades. He ain’t half stepping, doing this “GM” thingy. He’s going for it. He’s going bold. He’s betting his career on the results. That deserves a little more consideration than many are giving him here. I don’t like every decision he’s made, but they make “baseball” sense. They are defendable moves.