CanOfCorn

Was there ever audio of Moose confirming that he had at least one multi-year deal that he turned down? Or any further proof other than a tweet by Jon Heyman? Just curious... Also...this was a great signing then and is proving to be one of the most significant signings we've had. Imagine where we'd be if Stearns wasn't able to lock down Grandal and Moose with Attanasio opening up his check-book a bit wider to make it happen.

This is actually pretty close to what I think might happen. I think KC might want a lower-level prospect with a higher ceiling/lower floor but this is a good starting point. I also disagree with many people thinking that offer is too low for Thor. I think that's pretty spot-on! I was texting a friend of mine earlier today and told him we should start the offer with Burnes, Hiura, Ray and Woodruff. If they say no, throw in Carmona or Rodriguez to seal the deal. That is likely three top 150 MLB prospects along with a solid, mid-rotation, MLB-ready starter in Woodruff. The Mets are more likely to want some talent that is ML-ready. I think that offer is plenty good enough to get Thor from the Mets. No other team can match that. Merrifield I would think an offer including Phillps and Dubon would be about what they're looking for. If they want Santana, I say give them Santana over Phillips then and maybe you can keep Dubon and throw in a couple low-level guys like Carmona or Rodriguez as mentioned above. Either way, I think these are both moves that keep the eye on the prize. Stearns basically created a 5-year window with the moves he made this offseason. This would keep that window very much in tact. You would have Merrifield thru 2022 and Thor thru 2021 and we'd have plenty of excess in MLB SPs to trade in the offseason to refill some of the void in our prospect pool. Davies, Suter, and Woodrufff (if not already traded) would immediately become expendable. At least two of them should be traded. You'd still have plenty of MLB-ready SPs on the roster. Our rotation depth would look like: Syndergaard (thru 2021) Nelson (thru 2020) Anderson (thru 2020) Guerra (thru 2022..but he's already 30) Peralta (thru TBD but at least thru 2023) Chacin thru 2019, then Ortiz should be ready in 2020 I don't see how we'd be giving up too much and I don't see how anyone wouldn't consider us legitimate World Series contenders for the next 4 years. If the prize is a World Series and clearly our window is 5 years with the Yelich/Cain deals, this makes the most sense. Also keep in mind that we wouldn't be paying Syndergaard $20 million until probably the last year of arbitration for him. That's an absolute steal and it allows us to maintain some financial flexibility. Think of how bad off we'd be if we made a deal for Cobb or Darvish. Syndergaard isn't Cobb or Darvish. This kid is an absolute beast and he's only 25 years old! We'd have plenty of $$ left to spend on Free Agents over the next few years to fill in a void that the now missing prospects would've filled. Do it, Stearns!!

Certainly you're not remembering Tyler Thornburg for Travis Shaw, Mauricio Dubon, Josh Pennington, and Yeison Coca...

Everyone seems so down on McHugh. Sure, he's not the ace that everyone really wants but lets be realistic at this point...we're not getting Archer and we probably shouldn't want him. If we make another big trade for a guy like Archer our Farm system would be completely depleated. McHugh would raise the floor on our rotation and he certainly has a higher ceiling than Chacin/Suter/Woodruff. He doesn't walk a lot of batters, he throws strikes, He has a good shot at having a better year than Davies even. If Houston calls and asks for Aguilar and a Top 15-20 prospect, I make that deal in a second if I'm Stearns. With the offense we have along with the continued success of our bullpen, a rotation of... Nelson Anderson McHugh Davies Chacin/Woodruff/Suter ...certainly is playoff-caliber and can make a run at the pennant! You don't NEED an ace to get to the WS. You need about a 3.5-3.8 rotation ERA and that rotation certainly has the ability to hit that mark.

"Hey, don't forget about me! I know I look like a 15-year-old, but I won 17 games with a 3.9 ERA, and I'm only 25!" - Zach Davies Haha whoops!

Stearns should call up Cobb's agent and offer him 3 years, $45 million with incentives. Get this deal done! A rotation of Anderson/Davies/Chacin/Miley/Guerra,Suter isn't going to cut it. I'm very surprised the Brewers couldn't jump on Arrieta at $25 million/year for only 3 years. That seems like a perfect deal. What we didn't want is to have to sign him for 5+ years. Cobb at $15 million/year, while still a risk, has a lot of upside and certainly doesn't buckle us down for future deals. We can't afford to make a big trade at the deadline for a TOR starter. We need to raise the floor on this rotation with Cobb. There's no way he doesn't accept that offer after seeing Arrieta and Lynn both sign for FAR less than expected overall. If Nelson comes back close to form, a rotation of Nelson/Anderson/Cobb/DAVIES/Chacin,Miley,Guerra,Woodruff by July is very workable when you consider we will have a top 5 offense and defense in the NL this year.

Has HH19 said anything about this? He had said there was a trade lined up with an AL team... My suspicion is that any trades or FA moves with regards to a Starting Pitcher would be completely on hold until Darvish signs. Why would a team make a trade before they know what other teams may be interested in their SP once Darvish signs with someone? Also, would we really be dead set on Darvish AND also make a trade for a starter? Seems like we'd be directly impeding the progress of a guy like Woodruff (unless he's also included in said trade). I'm curious what HH19 has to say about the developments. I haven't kept up with all the forum topics so I may have missed a comment in another thread.

Phillips profiles as a PERFECT 4th OF. He plays all 3 OF positions well above average and is a left-handed bat off the bench. Gives us two lefties and two righties to work with. Broxton and Santana could very well be packaged together. Or Broxton going in the 'smaller' deal for a 2B.

Santana for Meija in a HEARTBEAT. Hard to see that happening. The problem with Walker is he's going to get 3 years from someone. That's absurd. We can't make that deal. I honestly don't think Walker is an option. With Harrison we have ultimate flexibility and we can get rid of him or trade him after this year or next when Huira/Dubon are ready.

Harrison is not overrated and the key to all our acquisitions this off-season is defensive flexibility. Neil Walker can barely play 2B. Harrison is a beast at all IF positions (minus SS) and can play corner OF. We also only have to commit to one year to him and I promise you we won't be getting rid of any decent prospects on our list to acquire him. Send them Bickford and a life-time supply of synthetic urine.

My guess is the second, smaller trade will be a trade for Josh Harrison.

Don't forget Fullmer

Gotta do everything possible to keep Burns. Trade Woodruff or Ortiz but keep Burns.

Salazar is a solid #2 pitcher. The problem with him is durability. He's only pitched > 140 innings once and it was in 2015. What about Manea as a possible option? He'd fit in well considering he's a lefty, too. Young guy with tons of upside and has team control thru 2022.

Seems like teams are waiting for Darvish to pick his team to trade any starters away. That would/could leverage a better offer. The remaining top FAs after Darvish all have draft pick compensation tied to them as well. More teams will be looking at the trade market. I expect Darvish to make a decision by the end of the weekend (likely tomorrow).