Buehler wanted to leave LA and move to a team where he could be a front of a rotation guy, not a back of the rotation guy. He told the FO this at the beginning of Free Agency and out of respect for his legacy with the team, they didn’t QO so it wouldn’t effect his signing options. It’s similar to how the team didn’t give Clayton Kershaw the QOnwhen he was considering going to Texas.
Dodger, I’m not sure which CK year you are referring but I’ll note that he signed for 5 mil in ‘24. Way way under QO so that might be a reason why they didn’t offer them. If you mean 22 or 23, I think even those years he signed for less than QO.
Even WB – had his market not materialized, and he would have elected to accept, way over.
I wasn’t in the convo and don’t read the LA papers about what may have been said by FO but $$’s and business sense might play into those decisions as opposed to just wanting to do a legacy a favor.
Who has a bad thing to say about Mark Whiten? He helped make a pretty mediocre Cardinal team fun to watch. He only had a couple of skills, but those skills were amazing. The dude could absolutely demolish a baseball from either side of the plate, and he could throw lasers from right field. He had plenty of flaws, but he fit right in on that team.
The Cardinals should trade Donovan. I know every Cardinal fan is going to hate this idea, including me. I love Brendan Donovan. But this is the very definition of selling high. Trade him now while he still has defensive versatility, offensive upside, and an affordable salary. This deadline represents the peak of his value. They need to do the smart thing and move him for a player who can help when they are really ready to contend. For me, contention does not mean a borderline .500 team who MIGHT sneak into the playoffs with a late season hot streak. Contention means a legitimate 90 win roster. That’s not this team, and probably not next year’s team. Emotion should not overrule logic. The Cardinals have suffered for sentimentality for long enough. It’s time to be cold blooded and do what’s best.
What are the “underlying metrics” that are ok for Max Muncy? He has been terrible this season in all aspects of the game. 17% of the season is in the books and he struck out 32xs, 0 home runs and four RBIs, in 91abs. Which metric should I be looking at?
Still is in the 67th percentile of exit velocity and the 77th percentile of barrel rate. He is still making hard contact half of the time (50% hard hit rate). He also has the 6th largest gap between his xwOBA and wOBA among batters with at least 75 plate appearances. That’s not to say he’s all of a sudden going to become a mid-.800’s OPS hitter like he has been for most of his Dodgers career, but should be better than an OPS hovering around .500.
Buehler wanted to leave LA and move to a team where he could be a front of a rotation guy, not a back of the rotation guy. He told the FO this at the beginning of Free Agency and out of respect for his legacy with the team, they didn’t QO so it wouldn’t effect his signing options. It’s similar to how the team didn’t give Clayton Kershaw the QOnwhen he was considering going to Texas.
Dodger, I’m not sure which CK year you are referring but I’ll note that he signed for 5 mil in ‘24. Way way under QO so that might be a reason why they didn’t offer them. If you mean 22 or 23, I think even those years he signed for less than QO.
Even WB – had his market not materialized, and he would have elected to accept, way over.
I wasn’t in the convo and don’t read the LA papers about what may have been said by FO but $$’s and business sense might play into those decisions as opposed to just wanting to do a legacy a favor.
There is at least some data to support it.
Who has a bad thing to say about Mark Whiten? He helped make a pretty mediocre Cardinal team fun to watch. He only had a couple of skills, but those skills were amazing. The dude could absolutely demolish a baseball from either side of the plate, and he could throw lasers from right field. He had plenty of flaws, but he fit right in on that team.
Long live “Hard Hitten”” Mark Whiten.
Don – Probably best not to ask Red Sox fans what they have to say about him. LOL
The Cardinals should trade Donovan. I know every Cardinal fan is going to hate this idea, including me. I love Brendan Donovan. But this is the very definition of selling high. Trade him now while he still has defensive versatility, offensive upside, and an affordable salary. This deadline represents the peak of his value. They need to do the smart thing and move him for a player who can help when they are really ready to contend. For me, contention does not mean a borderline .500 team who MIGHT sneak into the playoffs with a late season hot streak. Contention means a legitimate 90 win roster. That’s not this team, and probably not next year’s team. Emotion should not overrule logic. The Cardinals have suffered for sentimentality for long enough. It’s time to be cold blooded and do what’s best.
What are the “underlying metrics” that are ok for Max Muncy? He has been terrible this season in all aspects of the game. 17% of the season is in the books and he struck out 32xs, 0 home runs and four RBIs, in 91abs. Which metric should I be looking at?
Still is in the 67th percentile of exit velocity and the 77th percentile of barrel rate. He is still making hard contact half of the time (50% hard hit rate). He also has the 6th largest gap between his xwOBA and wOBA among batters with at least 75 plate appearances. That’s not to say he’s all of a sudden going to become a mid-.800’s OPS hitter like he has been for most of his Dodgers career, but should be better than an OPS hovering around .500.