jay87shot

Since all 4 young guys can play center I think you let give Chourio some time in LF and CF. Long term we could have 3/4 potential gold glove caliber players maybe even this year depending on how well Chourio plays.

It's all about the stuff, he gets ground balls and has the heater to strikeout guys. As a reliever I would guess he gets 3/30+ so an extra year to be a starter isn't to crazy. I read a report that they might piggyback him with another guy or maybe move him to the bullpen when Robbie Ray comes back. Essential they are going to limit his workload as much as possible. They could have a crazy good rotation at the end of the year with Webb, Ray, Hicks, Harrison, among others and prospects or everyone could be hurt or hit an innings limit.

Can anyone speculate why the offseason is going so slow? We are half way through January and it seems like only 1/2 the free agents have signed and there have only been a handful of meaningful trades. Is everyone being cheap or are the players just holding out for more.

I am fine with Paxton, my guess is he gets 10-12 million for a year. I would rather get a 1 year bat like Belt for a few million more (or Turner/Martinez/Hoskins for 5-10 more). If we bring in a starter at this point my guess is it would be someone like Spencer Turnbull on a cheaper deal. If we trade Burnes/Adames I could see us using that money on a FA pitcher.

We should move Yelich to 1B or trade him and have a 4 man OF of Frelick, Chourio, Weimer, and Mitchell. However since we aren't going to move Yeli, we should really trade one for a mlb ready 3B/SP.

I think think the league needs to implement a few things. 1)Put in a salary floor and cap. I don't care if you start then at like 50 and 300 million as long as you compress the difference and by like 2028 make it like 110+ and 350. The mlb really needs to curb teams going on like 4/5 year rebuilds. It kind of makes it hard to be a fan and go to games when your team starts a full rebuild, having a respectable salary floor would force teams to keep some vets/fan favorites no matter what. 2)Fix the arbitration and contract length problems. The idea that it takes essentially 4ish years for superstars to make a reasonable salary is ridiculous. Then superstar who hit free agency get 10-12 year deals that pay them 40 million when they can hardly run (end of contract)is worse. A team like the Brewers can't compete in terms of years on free agent contracts with the big market teams. Especially if those deals are paying a guy into their 40's. If the league went to the players association with a way to get younger players paid better in return for a 6-7 year cap on contract length, smaller market teams could stand to keep more than 1 player long term (especially with a salary floor around 100). Essentially small teams can't have more than a couple devent veteran players (15+ million) contacts where as big teams have like 10 or so similar players. 3) Figure out the TV revenue disparaty. The league may be moving toward this but the Dodgers make over $300 million and the Brewers make about $30 (off the top of my head). Some disparity is needed but the gaps again need to be closed better. I agree with the idea that you can't just make everything equal. However there needs to be things in place that don't allow a team to pay 1 player more than multiple teams spend in a year and allow smaller markets to stay competetive without constant rebuilds.

I can't see us giving up our high end prospects, maybe Quero because he is blocked by Contreras. I kind of like Edward Cabrera or Trevor Rogers as low value options. Cabrera just needs some control and he could be an ace and Rogers has injuries that have derailed him since a strong 2021. I thought an Adames trade for one of the pitchers would work but if they are selling that doesn't make sense. Maybe Weimer/Mitchell for Cabrera and they send Jazz back to the IF. Probably a couple mid-lower level prospects for Rogers at best.

What would reasonable expectations for Churio, Weimer, Frelick, Mitchell, Turang, Gasser, Uribe, and other be? Obviously we know those guys ceilings but would hoping each of those guys hits .240-.260 (.280 for Frelick) be reasonable. I am sure with the defense and baserunning of all of those guys that would be like 3 WAR seasons. Maybe one of the group plays at a little higher level. If Gasser can be around a 4 ERA pitcher i would be happy, Uribe basically needs to keep his BB% around 10% and his stuff will be enough to have a good year.

I think we could trade a bunch of guys and still be ok. Late innings=Williams, Payamps, Uribe, Megill?, Peguaro? Middle Relief=Megill, Peguaro, Milner, Clarke, Viera Multi-Inning=Wilson, Ross (not buying the starter stuff), Small Depth=Hudson, Andrews, Junk, Baukauskas, Myers, Thompson, non-roster invitees (i am sure i am missing someone. For me that is 10 mlb relievers, we should probably trade 2-3 people since our org. seems to always have 1-2 back an forth guys. Peguero and Wilson seem like the guys to me if no one will overpay for Devin. I haven't heard any thing but maybe Hoby would be a good sell high candidate. Between Hudson, Small, and Andrews maybe add another lefty we can find a lefty and maybe get a solid piece for Hoby.

I am not high on Peraza, I would much rather get on of Lomabard/Arias instead. I wrote this before but I could see there being a 3 team deal here if the Yanks want to get rid of an OF prospect like Periera. Yanks Burnes, Mariners get Periera, we get Hampton, Lombard/Arias, 3B Locklear, P Berroa It would potentially dilute the top end talent we could get but Hampton will likely be a solid #3 starter, Lombard/Arias have giant ceilings, Locklear is a solid 3B/1B prospect to pair with Wilken/Black (1 DH's or Black to 2B), and Berroa has closer stuff.

Last year would have been the time to get him, his trade value/return is probably higher than past year with a year less control. I wonder if we tried to trade Lauer/Houser + more for him last year or not. Anyway I am sure the asking price would be like Black, Gasser/Rodriguez, and Lara which would be to much for me.

I don't think Imagana will be bad by any means but I doubt he will be Kodai Senga good. He actually reminds me of Justin Steele which will be interesting having similar guys go 1/2, unless they sign someone else.

Great article, is there a way to adjust the spin on modern high end pitching machine to mimic this. My knowledge on top end pitching machines isn't up to date. I would guess some of the way to fix this is going to be approach and the hitting coaches working with batters before a game when we face a pitcher with flat heaters. Anyone who watched a bunch of games that I've talked to all mentioned that the team hit way to many pop-ups. Good to know and be able to explain part of the reason.

I think a big part of it has been identifying quality second tier college pitching and then adding to/improving those pitchers repertoire. I would hate to see the batting end of that because my guess is we are extremely low on the bats we have drafted/developed.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/rockies-rumors-outfielder-left-handed.html Would Garrett Mitchell be a decent option for Colorado. I could see him thriving in Col. and we could find some interesting things in there system. Mitchell for 1B/C Hunter Goodman and LHP Joe Rock. Maybe a little light.

Agree, It could also be that a package we like for Burnes or Adames (or others) has a mlb ready 1B or 3B and Black moved to 1B.

Hopefully he plays well enough to be ready to earn big league spot in 2025. I would make sure to get him some 1B reps this year, if Black can handle a switch to 1B would be in line. Only 5 HR in over 200 pa's if a bit disappointing but the overall results were great. Hopefully he can keep the strikeouts done as he climbs the ladder, if so I would love a mid-season AAA promotion with the chance at a September callup (especially if 1B/3B struggle this year).

The Angels could go 1B Schanuel, 2B Rengifo, SS Neto, 3B Rendon and that would make Drury expendable. However all those guys have experience/injury issues and they don't have a DH option (unless Trout plays there a bunch). With how bad the Angles roster is they should trade him but my guess is they won't. I agree that Peguero or Wilson would be a fair trade. I would try Zamora and a second piece but that seems a bit light.

Love the slightly bigger prospects, not that it really matters. If chosing between the better power or contact prospect I will go power. To me looking at the overall athleticism of how smooth and effortless a super young prospect plays is the top trait.

OK here is my last point and I am done with this subject. No way is she a key member in training Paul Goldschmidt or those other mlb players. Is she in the room learning maybe but a 24 year old woman with minimal experience isn't fine tuning veterans swings or pitching mechanics.

What was her role at driveline and the AFL? All I see from driveline is that she trained, was an intern, and coached u14-16 girls baseball team. I agree you don't need to be a great player to be a good coach. However to be a coach in a major league organization you should be qualified. I don't see anything about a degree in kinesiology or related field. If passion is all it takes to join a big league club their are likely hundreds if not thousands of more qualified women who played baseball/softball and have degrees or have been around the game longer.

My bad for not knowing what driveline does. My point still stands, that video is cringy for someone getting hired to train mlb prospects even if it was 6 years ago. Maybe her job will be way different than what I am imagining but it seems like she is coaching not doing analytics or scouting.

I am sure she knows Sabermetrics and this is a low ranking job but just watching this video makes me cringe that she is going to help develop Yophery, Pratt, and other young developmental players.

I still expect the Cubs to sign a quality bat and starter. I am going to guess Hoskins/Chapman and Imagana/Snell. I don't think they will be much better unless they get a couple bullpen arms as well. The Cards improved their rotation and still have a high potential offense, The Pirates are young and get O'Neil Cruz back. Gonzalez, Perez, Rowdy don't move the needle much but I doubt they are worse. Something has to give hopefully not us.

I do feel like the Reds have gotten well better than 5 games. Don't forget McClain, Strand, Elly, Benson, Marte played less than 100 games. There is some regression from some that could be assumed but some of those young guys will be better or at least defensively not play out of position. They also got 52 starts from starters with ERA'S over 6. With a rotation of Greene, Montas, Martinez, Lodolo, Abbott, Ashcraft, Williamson and young high ceiling starters like Phillips, Lowder, and Petty not to far away. Not to mention a bunch of quality bullpen arms even though none are elite after Diaz maybe.