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scroll to topBy Mark Polishuk | at
Click here to read the transcript of tonight’s live baseball chat
MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com
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I agree with Mark. The Tigers’ Scott Harris is doing the right thing by waiting to make a big splash in free agency. There are so few quality position players both in Detroit and the upper minors that it makes sense to let the farm catch up.
Hopefully the new hitting instructors will get some of the guys back on track.
Oh, and don’t think the Tigers are definitely going to lose 85 games. Their pitching staff is seriously underrated. All we really need is a couple players to have big offensive seasons, and it’s possible we could contend for a playoff spot.
Waiting. Explains why Ilitch hired him. “WAIT SO I CAN POCKET EVEN MORE MONEY”
Nah. That’s not it. They need to give playing time to some up and comers. No sense in filling the batting lineup via free agency. Those kids won’t get to play. Plus, why not let the chips fall where they may and maybe get a good draft pick to extend their future window of contention?
But, as I said, I don’t believe they will be as bad as most people think.
Didn’t know Bally Sports was in trouble. It seems logical as the networks they bought it from weren’t exactly prospering.
Add this to the 2 franchises up for sale that aren’t coming close to the asking price – one is no longer for sale, the other unable to unload the property.
This reckless spending on MLB salaries with the 10-12 year contracts is totally out of hand. $200-350m contracts are now normal, and hardly the big ones anymore.
As usual the large markets will survive it and prosper. Not so much the rest of the franchises.
True, all the sudden people jumped off the Tiger bandwagon because some of their prospects under performed and their pitching all got hurt. They could bounce back and be a decent team next year.
My only caution to that type of thinking though is Baez isn’t that good and neither is Meadows. So relying on a bunch of rookies/second year players to shoulder the offensive load is a recipe for disaster.
It’s great he took 2 Rangers questions. The first one was decent – Texas was 9 games below their Pythag win loss expectations of 77 wins. They can only go up from here and hope to get more from the bullpen non-roster invites and their prospects in left field, plus Jung and Garver the full year and no shift for Seager. It’s also great how they have pitchers with low walks, low WHIP, and high strikeouts (3 of the starters came off a 5+ K/BB ratio season). Even in a 20th percentile scenario, the team should at least be above .500. I’d say 85 plus or minus 2 wins sounds right at the moment, but I don’t like the inefficient spending last offseason on 2 shortstops and getting 3 free agent starters, overpaying Perez, and trading for one in Odorizzi while not doing anything (yet) for left field or signing Chafin/Hand/Moore/Knebel. Overpaid: Semien, Gray, and Eovaldi in that order
Still, I am not complaining as a fan that the owners want to keep the farm system fully intact and are just spending money. I do dislike giving up a draft pick for Eovaldi, but the 3 straight 5 K/BB ratio seasons fascinate me. I’d love a trade for Kepler and a Minnesota reliever or maybe one with Arizona for some spare middle infielder. I just wonder what people think about the second part of the second question of who the left fielder may be. Reynolds/Kepler/McCarthy/Happ/Yelich and cash/Bryant and cash are the main ones that come to mind. Any others? It’s going to be fun with Houston 1st and a good fight for 2nd if they fill that gap.
Say what you want about injuries, but deGrom has had 5 straight seasons with a strikeout to walk ratio above 5 and back to back of 12+. He is at 5.3 for his career, 0.05 behind the all time leader, Chris Sale.
I really like the talent position that Texas paid their way into, but I wouldn’t get your hopes too high about those OF options getting acquired.
-Reynolds requires a King’s Ransom
-Kepler isn’t pushed out of the picture in Minnesota and has an affordable team option for ’24 (and an AAV that is Luxury tax friendly)
-McCarthy has 6 years of team control and produced above average results in less than a full season of reps (currently being paid league minimum)
-Happ is plausible, but more likely if Chicago is out of it by mid-season
-Yelich is unlikely due to the amount of the Brewers payroll that they’d have to commit to paying him to play on another team
-Bryant for the same reason as Yelich, but also adding that their FO is enamored with him
I’d be keeping my eye out for lesser known and established LHH guys and/or “unique” or more questionable offensive profiles like Dominic Fletcher in the AZ system (that wouldn’t necessarily require a massive haul in order to facilitate) for a better active roster fit over guys like Bubba Thompson.
Dominic Fletcher!!??
LOL no thanks!
I’m dreaming bigger than a
5’9″ pinecone crub…..
The point
Your head
If an organization wants to avoid dealing MLB talent and high-tier prospects, they have have to set their sights on a lower return. Dominic Fletcher could have been any name of a 4th OF with warts on the overall profile, because they’re more cost effective moves (I just happened to give a specific name). Established and/or projectable guys don’t come cheap.
What’s your problem with Dominic Fletcher for that matter? There are way worse 4th OF options than a LHB that more than capably defends all 3 OF spots and has a solid opposite field, line drive approach, plus has 6 years of team control and a league minimum salary to boot.
Fletcher’s not likely to come cheap either, but would definitely be cheaper than most all of those listed prior and makes some sense for the DBacks to deal from a position of surplus (although he is part of the near term depth).
I’d recommend managing your expectations quite a bit, and some research on other players outside of the Texas system certainly wouldn’t do you any harm; lest you start calling Mookie Betts a “pinecone crub” because he’s also 5’9″ (I can’t even imagine what you call Altuve).
Height doesn’t make a good baseball player (although it certainly helps), and lack of height doesn’t make a bad baseball player. I thought we all understood this at this point.
You do realize that was a different person responding to you, right? He may not be a Rangers fan, but who knows? I’d take Fletcher at this point. I don’t get why Leody Tavares gets a spot over Bubba Thompson, when Thompson has elite baserunning (49/52 last year) and Leody has almost never hit at any level. With new baserunning, I am fine with Garcia and Thompson. It’s just that Leody should be traded for an outfielder before his value tanks further.
I’m aware that it wasn’t you that I was replying to that time deGrom, I just find it obnoxious when folks latch onto one data point to justify a preconception on players that they have little to no familiarity with; especially when something with as little effect on the overall profile as height is the primary data point considered.
I threw Fletcher out as a name that would be a cheaper, logical option (or a profile), while Jorge is a little too concerned with his “dreaming” to bother with things like logic.
That’s the annoying thing about fans of individual franchises that keep no bearing on the state of the game, they don’t know what they want to see at all but they’re more than happy to be vocal about what they don’t want to see; which leads to the further b****ing and moaning about trade rip-offs, because they have no idea how to view talent in other systems (again, not referring to you here deGrom).
If I had to guess on why Tavares would be ahead of Thompson, it’s probably just getting the better glove in CF most frequently (and Tavares also has premier sprint speed and bats from both sides, while being roughly the same age).
If that Minnesota reliever is Emilio Pagan you’ve got yourself a deal. Any of the others and no thank you
This is far worse. Nobody gives up 2 top 100 prospects and a former top 100 for 1 year of a below-average reliever. If you said for Kiriloff, that would at least be sane.
I replied to the original post where you hadn’t specified a return for Kepler + relief help. Maybe an early round pick from last years draft and someone on the fringe of needing rule 5 protection next year. At least one being a pitcher. No idea what Rangers system looks like
Tigers starters were actually pretty good in the 2nd half of 2022. They ranked 13th in ERA, which is pretty good when you consider that they were all pretty much replacements.
Cubs starters posted an era under 3 in the second half… and none of them have starting jobs now
How does a former MLB player get in touch to do a Chat? A friend of mine may be interested. Thanks.