For the love of God, please stop, already! You're like a broken record. People repeatedly tell you that we didn't have the resources to add a top arm, and yet still you persist with that narrative. "I wanted a big move". And what is your obsession with Tanner Roark? You whine about Jordan Lyles, but think Tanner Roark is a "needle mover"? You think he's that much better than Lyles? Here's a comparison of the two, 2017-2019 K:BB ratio: Roark 2.76:1 (420 K: 152 BB) Lyles 2.74:1 (233 K:85 BB) FIP Roark 4.20 Lyles 4.76 WHIP Roark 1.335 Lyles 1.451 BB/9 IP Roark 2.9 Lyles 3.1 Roark is only slightly better than Lyles in these metrics. This year, Roark has been marginally above league average as a pitcher. His ERA+ is 107, but below league average (99) the last three years. His WHIP this year is pretty bad, 1.423. He's giving up 9.7 hits and 3.1 BB per 9 innings pitched. And last year, he led the National League with 15 losses. The Nationals were were 13-18 in his 31 appearances, and 69-62 when he did not take the mound. And it didn't cost the A's much? They sent their second round pick from 2018, Jameson Hannah, to Cincy. #50 overall. Hannah's going to be a pretty good player, I think. He's from Flower Mound, the city I live in, and there was a good deal of buzz around his possibly being a first round draft pick. He's a young, toolsy outfielder with outstanding speed. The A's will only have to pay about $1.1 million for the remainder of the season, as the Reds also sent $2.1 M in cash. But giving up a 21 year old second rounder is a pretty steep price for what will, essentially, be a two month rental. His 2018 salary is $10 million. I don't see the A's coughing up the kind of money he'll be looking for. Roark wasn't going to be a difference maker for the Brewers.
Yelich entered the day with a 6.4 WAR according to Baseball-Reference.com, and that's not updated for tonight, when he went 2 for 5 with a triple, home run, and 6 RBI. He'll be at a 6.5-6.6 tonight, with 4-5 games left. A few good games, and he'll push close to 7. 110 runs scored, 181 hits, 34 doubles, 7 triples, 33 home runs, 104 RBI, 21 SB, .321 AVG, slash of .390/.583/.973 157 OPS + that's hardly average from a #2 hitter in the lineup. Driving in 100 + from the two slot is nuts. He has 327 total bases, one behind Baez. And hitting is down this year. Only 7 guys in the entire National League at over .300.