The Giants are nearing a decision point with catcher Joey Bart, who is now out of options and seems unlikely to crack the club’s Opening Day roster. Patrick Bailey is set to be the primary backstop after a strong season last year and the club signed Tom Murphy in the offseason to back him up. They also have Blake Sabol on the 40-man and can now option him to the minors. He was a Rule 5 pick last year and had to stay up due to the restrictions of that status, but they have now fully secured his rights and can send him down to act as a depth piece.
A spring injury could always clear a path for Bart but he otherwise seems poised to be squeezed off the roster in the next month or so. It’s something that Bart is aware of and he spoke to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle about it. “I try not to look out too far ahead,” Bart said. “I can only control what I can control, otherwise you can go off too many places mentally and that wouldn’t put me in the position to be my best. I’m just going to get after it and have fun and have a good spring.”
The second overall pick in the 2018 draft, Bart has hit just .219/.288/.335 in his first 503 major league plate appearances, striking out in 35.4% of them. His work at Triple-A hasn’t been outstanding either, having slashed .274/.357/.434 at that level over the past three years. That line looks decent at first glance but it all came in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, where it actually comes in below average, 97 wRC+. His 28.3% strikeout rate at that level is also on the high side.
Slusser notes that Bart showed up to camp this year in excellent condition, with caveats that “best shape of his life” narratives are common at this part of the calendar. Whether any other clubs buy into his altered physique or not, he could garner interest in spite of his uninspiring results thus far. He was still considered a top 100 prospect in the league as recently as two years ago and catching tends to always be in demand. Slusser speaks to an unnamed scout and executive who each suggest there would be interest from other clubs.
Last month, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco took a look at some clubs who could make sense as a landing spot, listing the Brewers, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Pirates and Rays. Milwaukee has since agreed to terms with Gary Sánchez while Pittsburgh added Yasmani Grandal, but the other three remain plausible fits. Bart’s recent struggles will likely lead to a modest return but the Giants have a few weeks to try to line something up.
Turning to the rotation, Slusser also relays that Keaton Winn is dealing with some elbow soreness. MRIs didn’t reveal any structural damage but manager Bob Melvin says they are “trying to formulate some opinions on where we go.”
Winn also dealt with some elbow soreness last spring and missed about a month of the summer, going on the injured list in the minors while on optional assignment. The fact that no structural damage can be found is perhaps a good sign, but any little issue with a starting pitcher figures to be magnified given the general flimsiness of the club’s starting rotation.
Both Alex Cobb and Robbie Ray are set to start the season on the injured list, rehabbing from hip surgery and elbow surgery, respectively. That leaves the club with a rotation headlined by Logan Webb but little certainty beyond that. Jordan Hicks will be attempting to transition from the bullpen to the rotation, a role in which he has yet to prove himself. Youngsters like Winn, Kyle Harrison and Tristan Beck are the likeliest to fill out the rotation but none of that group has even a year of big league experience.
If Winn’s elbow issue requires him to miss any time, that could force the Giants to turn to depth pieces, with Slusser highlighting non-roster invitees Spencer Howard and Daulton Jefferies as a couple of possibilities. The former has a career ERA of 7.20 while the latter has hardly pitched recently due to thoracic outlet surgery in June 2022 and then Tommy John surgery in September of that same year. If the Giants decide to bolster their rotation mix with an external addition, the free agent market still features Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Michael Lorenzen and others.
Turning to the long-term picture, Slusser also notes that prospect Bryce Eldridge will just be a first baseman for now. He was drafted last year, 16th overall, as a two-way player but it seems he’ll be putting pitching aside for the time being. “We haven’t ruled anything out there, but this year the focus is first base,” general manager Pete Putila says. “We’re super excited about the bat and we want him to get as many plate appearances as possible.”
After the draft last summer, Eldridge got into 16 Complex League games and 15 Single-A games. He hit .294/.400/.505 in 130 plate appearances but didn’t pitch. Prospect evaluators are generally more keen on his abilities as a hitter and it seems the Giants are as well. Listed at 6’7″ and 223 pounds, he played right field last year but will now be moving to first, which is where some evaluators expect him to wind up in the future.
77 OPS+ from Bailey is a “strong season?” Buster Posey is much missed lol
I think there’s some disconnect on Bailey because initially after his callup he was looking like an instant franchise catcher
A future hall of famer is “much missed”? You my friend are brilliant. Future hofers are ALWAYS missed. But a guy who was the 2nd best defensive catcher is good to have because I’m pretty sure 2nd in GG vote has “strong season” written all over it. lol
strong defensive season absolutely!
That, and the wear and tear of a longer season seemed to slow his bat. But a switch-hitting catcher is valuable. I’ll bet with the extra pounds and muscle he’s put on, Baily’s bat will be considerably better this season.
He hit decently well until he lost a total of 13 pounds over the season and wore down. He will get better as he gains experience, I don’t think that’s a huge leap. Also he grades out as potentially the best defensive catcher in baseball so take it easy pal.
He did lead mlb in errors by a catcher (13) and passed balls (8) in only 76 games. What excuse do you give him for that? Most all his errors were bad throws to 2b and 3b also.
and most of his throws were also on point..many where Estrada and Craw literally didn’t have to move thier glove to tag the base runner..
Catcher is probably the one position on the field where defense takes precedent over hitting. Citing a catcher’s hitting stats, while ignoring the defense, indicates a lack of understanding about certain elements of the game.
Yeah this guy is over here talking about catcher like it’s first base. Ridiculous.
Lmao you guys realize this is the major leagues, right? Players are expected to contribute offensively.
He can’t hold up for a whole season? That’s a good sign! /s
Your post is the laughable one. Like it’s so simplistic as that. Every position has its own equation for the ratio of offense/defense that constitutes a strong contribution. Clearly you just don’t get it.
You’ll never guess which team finished dead last in catcher fielding percentage in 2023
Fielding percentage? The 1980s called and they want their stat back.
Great defender + .644 OPS is good enough for this team, I guess.
It’s your move, Giants. You’ve been trying to spend money for a couple years now. Why not offer Monty or Snell 6/175M and see what happens?
I thumbed you up, but to answer your question, I think it’s because the Giants feel like neither of those guys move the needle enough to justify a contract of that length or the bump in the payroll.
Two reasons. They are at their break even payroll of low $160’s.
6/175 for one of those two reduces their future flexibility in a position player superstar chase. Pitching is also their farm strength.
They probably do have an offer at both their table..
Montgomery is a #3 starter, bro. I like him and he’s had big games, but a #3 starter is more appropriately 3/54m.
180 innings of ERA+ 120 or so ball is a high quality starter. Not an ace, but a godsend to most rotations.
Sure, but it’s clear his asking price exceeds that value. Otherwise he would’ve been signed by now.
Monty is #17 in fWAR over the past three years. That’s a heck of a lot higher than a #3.
That player is worth what somebody will pay. Period.
Having a need, and salary space, is just not enough of a reason to make a deal that has a good potential to become an albatross.
If only Arte Moreno understood this….
Moreno has an even bigger problem of overspending on his offense while ignoring his actual needs of pitching.
Because the rotation won’t be the issue this year. We do have depth the rotation will be fine. That money is better spent on other players on other offseason. I’m happy with what we have done.
I’ve pointed this out and I’ll do it again (and I’m sure I’m not the only one)…the last time the Giants paid balance tax were seasons 2015-2017. They were 16 games UNDER 500 in those seasons. One WC appearance in 2016. 2-3 that post season. So ownership might be gun shy. Evans/Sabean failed to spend wisely. And last years Zaidi signings missed as well (4 already gone). But about $45 mill comes off books after 2024. So, if taxed this year it should be a one off. Alonso/Soto could change that but we all know how that has ended up. My belief is become more attractive to those 2 by spending on Chapman/Snell. Bellinger scares me. Go over tax threshold (or trade $ and lower the tax). So yeah, long story short. Spend, get taxed a little, get better.
The $45 mill is high, like me apparently. Conforto ($18 mil), Cobb ($10 mil) Davis ($6.9 mil), Slater ($4mil) and Bart ($.77 mil) total $39.67 mil. Feel free to check. So theoretically they could go over by that much and stay below tax line in 2025. Per Slotrac, they’re currently $40mil below tax threshold. It appears Chapman plus Snell would total $50 to $60mil. I just picked 2 of the 4. So they’d exceed threshold by $20 mil or less. Penalty would be at 20%, so around $4 mil. Not bad imo.
They keep telling us they are a break even org, Claude.
2020 – un pro rata with Buster included – $160ish
2021 – $160 ish
2022 – $160 ish
2023- $190 ish. Like all teams, they got $30m for whatever it was that MLB sold.
2024 – $160 ish
I’m choosing to accept the reality.
I see no reason to sign Chapman at any price. Davis is good and his glove clearly was better last season (almost GG) until the last 6 weeks. Schmitt can handle D at 3b or SS.
If the Giants are going to spend, sign a solid #2 starter (Monty?) or trade for one. Then add another RH bat in the OF.
Hayes & Arrenado in the NL & Riley behind them please Davis is nowhere near GG at any point of any season
Chapman for the right price would be a great signing. Just can’t overpay
Johnson said tax would be doable for 1 maybe 2 years before his careless break even comment. Fopp, we all know they’ll easily break even no matter the outlay. To me, “break even” was an attempt to caution us regarding his “1 maybe 2 years” quote. Kind of a preemptive message to agents (yes the Borises out there). Don’t want agents thinking there are no limits imo. Long story short Fopp, they are not done spending. Stay tuned.
I don’t agree Claude. I’d heard him roll out the break even mantra prior to that. My memory also has the luxury tax comment with the clear proviso of “one year” and “right player”. Ohtani,
Yamamoto …… right player.
Snell or Chapman ……. Yeah. Nah. Can’t see it. I’m putting my money on done.
Maybthe best crystal ball win !
He was not nearly a GG 3B and he was barely above replacement player overall. Nice guy. But He isn’t an everyday major leaguer.
I predict :
Snell @ 3/100
Bellinger @ 7/175
SFG
I don’t think it’s the money, or the CBT that’s keeping them from signing those guys. I think it’s the commitment in years, and I can’t blame them for that.
I agree Jean
At this point, I would like to see any two of the four. But both pitchers and Chapman or Belli could possibly mean WS and not a WC !!
Don’t even start with “and next year we’ll have all this money to sign Soto/Alonzo” crap. Same thing every year. Delusional
May not end well but they are perfect fits for one of them.
I’d like to see Bart traded to a team where he could blossom or at least become a solid backup. He’s taken everything in stride and a trade to the Marlins, Rays, Tigers or White Sox could work for everyone.
I’ve got to think that if Bart could be a competent backup, the Giants would be using him as such. But they’ve chosen to go with more experienced, second-string vets to compete for that role.
I guess that at this point, Bart needs to either blow away the competition to earn a roster spot (like Blake Sabol did last year), or he walks for nothing. But his value is so low that at this point, the Giants might not lose much be letting him walk if he fails to put it together this Spring.
It was always a horrific draft pick. Never draft a catcher that high, and especially not one who doesn’t even bring average offensive or defensive skills. Better off grabbing a defense only guy later. Pittsburgh finding this out with the Davis kid. I wouldn’t have drafted the kid in Baltimore either.
They hit with Buster, they probably figured they can strike lightning twice.
Adley Rustschman is a bona fide stud.
Rustschman is but I agree about drafting a catcher that high being a gamble. If it pans out if can pay dividends for a decade but it’s a crap shoot, all draft picks are but catchers can have a lot go wrong with their body very quick and even if talented they have to be game managers. Its like drafting a QB, you have to have everything else in place already, only in MLB you are looking ahead two or three years and hoping everything is in place at that point as you expect it to be. I would rather draft lower in most cases, posey was an exception as even in college you could tell he had it all together and was going to make an impact in less than 2 seasons of MiLB play
Well, part of the issue was in that draft there was 3 “consensus top players” according to pretty much every scout & prospect outlet. Casey Mize went #1 and then there was Joey Bart & Alec Bohm. Bohm has really developed into a solid player with Philly. But there was major concerns with him because every scout said he was a bad defensive 3rd baseman. And that he would likely shift to 1st base or DH. But that he had questionable power and was more a doubles hitter. With Buster getting older, they wanted to probably sure up the future there instead of drafting a corner infielder with poor defensive skills and questionable power. Hindsight is 20/20 but you can definitely see where their thinking was coming from.
jumps, Boehm is solid, but certainly nothing more than that. He’s been only league average with the bat. Not being a good defensive player is why he’s accumulated only 0.8 bWAR for his 2+ years.
jumps — And Bohm turned out to be exactly as advertised.
Yeah, that’s kind of my point. I’m defending SF taking Bart at the time. They had an aging Buster Posey and while a bat-first C, Bart had less obvious warts than Bohm. Those two and Mize were the top 3 prospects according to most experts in that draft. Bohm is certainly the better ML player than both of those guys. But guys like Hoerner & India are arguable better. This was all a reply to Verry Barry’s post about it being a horrible selection from the moment the pick was made. Given the scouting reports at the time, I would’ve probably taken Bart too.
Adley is calling your line rn
Very Barry, It absolutely was not a “horrific pick”. And saying to “never draft a catcher that high” is also pretty dumb. First off, no team drafts by position. They always draft who they think has the best chance at developing their raw tools.
Second, the 2018 draft was not a talented one. The best pick in the draft was Nico Hoerner taken 24th overall. Jonathan India, taken 5th, was the best pick in the top 10. Only 3 guys in the top 10 have a career WAR of 2 or more.
The draft is a crapshoot. Luck plays a huge role in trying to project which kids are possibly going to be even league average.
The 2018 draft is really known as being a barren draft class. Even on the outset, Mize was the only player considered to be a possible “franchise” player. And there were still concerns about him.
I think you could argue that Bohm may be the best player so far just because of his improvement lined up with and has helped the Phillies make 2 deep runs into the postseason. He wasn’t solely responsible for that, but he’s perform well on a playoff stage that neither India or Hoerner have yet. I think Nico is the better player in a vacuum. India I would have 3rd on the list. But that’s just my opinion.
I based my rankings on their bWAR. As I said in a previous response to you, Bohm’s bad D has limited his bWAR to 0.8 for his 3+ years. In all fairness though I posted the previous comment before I checked Fangraphs. They have his WAR significantly higher at 3.7. Still not great for his service time, but respectable.
2008. 5th overall pick. Buster Posey
Yeah cause that Adley fella really didn’t work out either.
Bart was a beast in college some guys just don’t develop the way you hope
Jumps I agree it was a pretty bare class. I think India and Bohm both could make an argument so far as the best player out of the class, but I think Bo Naylor may be in the conversation too, other than that I don’t think there is a single starter from that class in 2028.
At this point I think Bart is too old to cut down on his Ks and improve his defense enough to blossom.
100%, go to Japan/Korea become a 1B/DH like Ruf & Thames did. Hit some strong power numbers against inferior pitching. Translate it into a modest 2-3 year deal, when you return in 4-5 years. The only real way to see if he has anything to salvage is to give him a lot of PT. No team out there is going to give him a starting role, at least right now.
Sign Cody & trade the last mistakes,
(Bart & Conforto) for any middle infield depth offered. Sign Snell and win the offseason.
Would you settle for Chapman and Lorenzen?
Nope, but being a fan and not an owner, might have to.
FanDan — Those would be TWO terrible signings.
They got as much out of Bart as the A’s got out of Kyler Murray
At least Bart actually showed up to steal money vs Kyler.
I’ll never understand why folks make “steal money” comments.
Because they’re stupid
So far this offseason, there’s been a lot of faith put into the idea that Harrison, Winn, and Beck can pitch at the MLB level. All of them are relatively untested, and in my mind, the Giants rotation is still very much Webb + ???? That’s a problem, and it’s getting kind of late to address it. The rotation will have more depth when they get Cobb and Ray onto the roster, but that could be awhile…potentially long enough to get buried in the NL West.
Agree with your take. Zaidi seems way too confident in the young arms keeping the Giants afloat until those two get back and then on top of it who’s to say neither of them face regression? I still strongly believe they should get either Snell or Montgomery and just aim for an absolute powerhouse of a rotation down the stretch and potentially into the playoffs
Don’t agree. Winn, Beck and Harrison showed they have great potential to be productive MLB starters. 2 of them are just missing the name recognition that Giant fans covet.
I don’t discount the rookies coming up, but look at this being Cobb & even potentially Ray’s last year. Either now or next year they need another TOR arm.
They are backing that Ray will stay. They love their clubhouse. Apparently that’s what got Solar to the West.
I think they are much higher on the rookies than the rest of us. Have cleared the decks so they can pitch.
And if we look at Ray’s career, we see that he’s VERY up and down. What will he be like coming off the TJ?
90% of pitchers are up and down.
According to the man himself, like a man with a new arm.
Ya maybe they expect both Black & Whisenhunt to be able to make it up.
Would be nice to see a youthful rotation again.
Zaidi has mentioned those 2 and another one when talking about new rookies getting a shot at it. Think it was Birdsong. Might have been the Ray acquisition presser.
Ok. 2024 Rookie SP Try-out year.
2025 could look like:
Webb
Ray
Hicks / Black
Harrison
Birdsong / Whisenhunt
Let’s hope at least two pan out …
Beck and Winn are in there as well. Plenty of yearlings in the stable according to Farhan. I’m looking forward to seeing how they run. Been a while since the exciting days of a youthful Lincecum, Cain and Bumgarner.
I saw an article discussing betting line over/under for wins for next season, the line for the Giants is 81.5
Three rookie pitchers in the starting order does not bode well for wins, I think the under is a very safe bet
Definitely a lot of uncertainty there. I’m not surprised the Giants stayed away from Snell and Montgomery but a shorter term guy like Clevinger or Lorenzen make a lot of sense just to stabilize the rotation a bit.
Awful additions if they were to sign them; one is a clubhouse cancer (and a #4), the other is a #5 at best.
It’s not too late if they act soon. To be serious about the WS, sign both pitchers and Chapman. Or Belli. Get 3 of Boras’ Four!! The let’s get after it! Trophy
This
I can’t imagine the thought process here – might be able to understand if we were in full rebuild mode – even then you would grab a couple of veteran arms on the cheap just to have something.
The franchise is in a bad spot from a performance perspective – I mean they have a top 1/3 payroll, at best a .500 team, and the farm is in the bottom third.
The one thing they have is a real estate empire plus a top 10 rich ass owner – there are no all stars in the farm system coming to the rescue – the current roster is mediocre – and were going to roll with 4/5 rookie rotation – just doesn’t add up
Either sell off everything and slash payroll to $70.m for a few seasons or fix what you can with the only commodity you have – $$$
I have a feeling the Giants only drafted Bart because his last name is the same as the San Francisco Bay Area metro system
Same as Nola coming from New Orleans, LA.
Bay Area Rapid Transit = BART
They should’ve signed Monty or Snell already. I still think bellinger would be a good move too that way they can solidify the outfield with him and JHL for several years while they figure out of Matos or come one else can stick. As far as third base goes they’re going to have to reckon with the notion that Luciano may end up there and if so they better sign HSK next season or get their prayers answered by Frazier just shocking the world and being incredible.
MLBTR predicted 12 years/$264M for Bellinger. The fact that ST has started, and he’s still unsigned, suggests they’re in the ballpark with those numbers. While the 2023 Bellinger would be a big upgrade, looking at the 2021-22 Bellinger makes me think that that many years, and that much money is too big a risk to take.
Asking price too high for Belli. He needs to come back down to earth some. Come on, Boras!
I wish the Pirates would have made a move on Bart over Grandal honestly. Grandal has a much lower ceiling and about the same floor as Bart.
I kind of agree with you. I get the thinking about pairing a veteran with Davis, but I would rather have seen someone who could push him.
They screwed Bart over rushed him up in 2020 to be the starter just to make him the backup 2021 and never give him a true shot
Yes they did. Numerous opportunities given. He just couldn’t make contact with the ball.
They didn’t really have much of a choice once Posey opted out. They were competing for a playoff spot, and the only other options were Chadwick Tromp and Tyer Heineman. Bart and Tromp were fairly equal with the bat, and far better than Heineman.
Honestly I preferred Tromp
I think that if the SF Giants would sign Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery. One of those signings might help keep Robbie Ray from optinng out his contract. Think about it. A rotation of Webb,Ray, Harrison,Snell/Montgomery and another rookie for the next 3-4 years would be a good rotation. This is of course my opinion.
Yup. Especially if the Hicks project works out and slots into your “rookie” spot.
I had forgotten about Hicks moving from relief pitcher into the starting rotation
I don’t think guys make opt-out decisions based on the competitive aspects of the team. They opt-out if they can increase their guaranteed money.
Bart will catch on somewhere. Coaches love pedigree and always think they have the magic key to unlocking potential.
“Best shape of his life”, people aren’t saying Joey Bart is Pablo Sandoval. The issue is he has bad pitch recognition. He even struggled with it in AAA. Honestly, what this screams to me is a guy who needs to go to Japan or Korea for a couple years. He could do the Darin Ruf/Eric Thames tour. Make some money there and fest on lesser pitching. Then maybe in 2-3 years he could come back in a C/1B/DH role and maybe get a 3/$15M deal from a team. Some teams may take a flyer on him but no one will probably trade for him and give the Giants what they want and/or the playing time he needs to try and develop. It seems like he was asked to perform almost immediately.
Winn going down hurts. This rotation is a possible time bomb waiting to happen. The Giants are probably why Snell or Monty hasn’t panicked and signed with someone yet. It’s unrealistic to expect 30 starts from Hicks and no Ray/Cobb until mid-season thins the herd. Lastly, I think Harrison has real upside, I saw his ML debut and he has the stuff. But guys who pitch from his arm slot, they scare the daylights out of me. It just seems like he’s one pitch away from a major elbow/shoulder injury. I hope not cause he has really good stuff and looks to be a fun one to watch. But this rotation is being held together by paper clips & duct tape at the moment. There’s a real chance they could finish 4th or even 5th if some Colorado guys overperform.
Sorry to see Winn has elbow soreness. Coincidentally, Boras just notified Zaidi that Snell’s and Montgomery’s prices just went up.
If snells price is in the 300mm range with all the FAs coming next season I’d get Wisenhunt a bus ticket right now and tell Boras the jig is up and his boys won’t have a job till the ASG
Would rather have prime Barry Bonds
Just your reminder that Buster Posey is SAWFT
3 rings soft? MVP soft? RoY soft? Batting title soft? Silver sluggers soft? Hall of fame soft?
No, Buster Posey is SAWFT
Clearly you’re just trying to troll. posting a-hole stuff like a jerk just to try and get a rise out of Giants’ fans. Yawn.
That said. I went to San Jose in 2009 when it was the Giants’ high-A affiliate, to see Posey in his first full season after he was drafted. Posey took a pitch to the head. It was ugly. He suffered a concussion, and was out for a couple weeks. I was there by myself, so I listened to a couple fans talk about how they were hoping it wasn’t going have a lasting effect, since a lot of guys have trouble digging in after something like that.
Posey didn’t let it affect him. He went on to post a .967 OPS in SJ. And that’s just like the broken leg and torn ligaments in 2011, didn’t affect him, in 2012 when he posted an MLB best 171 OPS+ You wish in your wildest dreams that you were as soft as Posey.
SAWFT
Yeah, and up is down, got it.
If the Giants traded Stripling for a guy who isn’t even in AA they can get something for Bart.
Bart to the Red Sox for Bobby Dalbec. At this point neither player is going to contribute anything meaningful to their current teams but could maybe contribute to a new team
Feels a little early to be pulling the plug on Eldridge as a two-way guy, no?
yeah he hasn’t even had the opportunity to pitch in any minor league games yet.
They want to make sure Eldridge’s bat continues to develop. Their thinking is probably that he needs (at least for now) to stay focused.
The Giants will move on from Bart & he will be picked up on a minor league deal with Atlanta and rake allowing Ozuna to walk next offseason & Bart will become the DH
Yes. And then you wake up.
I still wonder, if Posey had known Bart would only be a AAAA player, would he have played another season before retiring?
I really don’t understand these fans who on the one hand complain about the SF farm system not developing stars, but then whine about them not spending tons of cash on risky veterans who will block the developing players. Makes no sense. I’d much rather have a blend of youth and a few vets, which is exactly what we have. If we followed all these “sign Chapman, Snell, Belli” etc peep, we’d have never had Craw, Belt, Madbum, Timmy or heck, even Willie Mays!
100%. They need to play to develop.
To me chapman is a non starter. Do not want him. Between Luciano Frazier and Schmitt one of them needs to stick at 3B and the other at SS with one off the bench.
Melvin likes young pitchers and his shown an inclination to use them in the past.
Sign Snell or Montgomery AND Chapman, then package Davis, Conforto and Bart in a trade for a mid-level prospect or two and stay barely under the luxury tax threshold. Thanks, Farhan!
Easy!
Can Panda still catch?