Jim French Stepstool

My thought is that your ranking seems pretty accurate when limited to the deadline vacuum. Now do one on roster improvements from early April until now.

Thanks!!!

Or you could sell Cortes (who it appears had little interest from others) and, by doing that, get Miller w/o having to spend more. It doesn't necessarily mean that was the only way to acquire Miller. But doing it in the most efficient manner possible is important.

Can Peguero & Hudson be dealt from DFA limbo, since they aren't on the ML roster? I thought there was a rule to that effect (perhaps the 40-man plays into it).

For whatever it's worth (Aldi's bargain aisle?), here's my condensed synopsis: Unlike what some on here are probably thinking, Arnold & his staff didn't spend the day with their feet on their desks sucking on Clark Bars. They had a clear vision of who they had interest in & what they were willing to trade to get it, probably felt all along the prices for what was available were too high, and were proven correct. Miller has had an OK career but has been very good in 2025. He hasn't pitched since 7/5 so when he's ready to return from the IL (expected to be shortly) he should be rested, something the team probably finds very appealing given the BP workload. I can't wait for Sophia to tell everyone he's a former all-star. The Lockridge deal certainly has the 'why him?' look about it since he's an OF. Nothing impressive at the MLB level, but when you look at his AAA numbers (184 games) there's a BA just under .300, an OBP just below .400 and despite little power an OPS of almost .800. The 'why him' is answered by the apparent fact that Cortes just didn't appeal to anyone. Given what's ahead of him in the INF (and how we drafted) I'm OK with Quintana going. On a scale of 1-10 with one being never trading prospects & ten being Preller, I think we generally need to be around a 3.5 given the financial restraints. I think we were a little more conservative than that this time around, yet we rolled the dice w/Yoph Rodriguez earlier in the season & came out looking pretty good, and IMO overpaid for Jansen. So I think the accusations of prospect-hugging are more than anything a convenient b****ing point when folks get frustrated. At the end of the day we need to be smarter than most other organizations, and more often than not we seem to be. I'd have liked someone like Castro or even IKF, but they've earned our trust.

OMG!!!!!😆. Post of the year quality.

That's the thing. I've never criticized not picking up this or that player, unless I know what the cost would've been. And you never do know. If I did & deemed it worth it then maybe I'd bring out the pitchfork. And comparing the price some other team paid by looking at the prospect ranking & comparing it with our prospects' ranking is pretty futile.

MOVE THE NEEDLE!!!!!

Can't both be true?🙂

If the goal is to 'match' what the Dodgers, Pads & Mets do on deadline day, I'd have told you two months ago you'd be disappointed. I'd like to see the team improve too. But what happens today is often the work of people who don't have to worry about selling off the farm because they can write checks to FAs in January. Or SD, and there's a reason why you don't see other teams doing what they do. Eventually Preller might create his own mini-national debt.

He's good until the bills, financial & otherwise, come due.

The idea there is that Kiner-Falefa is an experienced SS, can also play 3B & gives you flexibility. You can make late-game moves on a more quality-based basis because he's a better option than Monasterio. And with the bat, despite the #s I think he's better than the Ortiz we're watching right now. Also I suspect he wouldn't cost much. I'd prefer Castro, but have no idea what that would take.

But does having Turang at SS & Collins at 2B COST you a win or three & cancel out Kwan? Turang can play short, but shoving him there two-thirds into the season & expecting him to maintain the defense Ortiz has given us, plus Collins being a total coin flip at 2B? If that's the alternative I'd rather stick with Ortiz, try to strengthen the depth some more (maybe IKF?) & PH for Ortiz when needed.

Similar size, but I suspect they receive much more TV-radio money even with the proximity to LA, no? I also recall reading something about the area around the ballpark being largely team-owned and much of that development pouring cash into the ball club. Taking out the loan to meet payroll is.........interesting.

If you're Preller, when this all catches up to you I think what you do is look at the other teams in MLB that aren't happy with their GM, then move to whichever one of those has the largest market. If it's done judiciously, with very few mistakes & w/o major injuries cropping up his style can actually be effective at a place that has money to spend. But it can be a house of cards, too.

If Preller was the GM for a market like Milwaukees', that's exactly what he'd do. Screw the future. Of course I don't see how he'd ever want a job in a market this size.

This won't be a sexy move if it were made, but since the Pirates seem to be willing to unload I'd like to check in on Kiner-Falefa. He would be an upgrade over Monasterio & he can actually play SS. Whenever Ortiz isn't out there---whether it's sitting a few days, being PH for, or whatever---it seems pretty apparent they don't want to shift Turang there in-season, Seigler is not a SS, and even though they put him there late today neither is Durbin.

Murphy mentioned it in the postgame presser. No he didn't bench him but he didn't let it pass w/o comment either.

Shaw playing 2B in '18 was in the era of the drastic shifting, so it was much easier to play him there when his range wasn't nearly as big of a factor. Potentially I think it could be quite a downgrade defensively, yes. You'd be replacing a platinum glove winning 2B with someone who hasn't played there all season, and IMO no matter how Turang performs at SS it would be hard to match the level Ortiz is playing at. Yes, they value versatility. But they greatly value run prevention too, and it's gotten them to something like a 97-win pace. It would be kind of like robbing Peter to pay Paul, and I just don't see them doing that. Certainly can't defend Ortiz on the offensive end though. He seemed to be finding it, then lost it again just as quickly.

This. IMO there's no way they play musical chairs like that, two-thirds of the way into a contending season. Yet it continues to be proposed. I'd acknowledge it could happen in an off-season, but even then I'd think Durbin to 2B & Turang to SS is much more likely. To me Collins profiles as a much, much better OFer than a 2B.

Ten for his last twenty-seven. Starting to get comfortable with full-season ball.

Ashby's stuff is undeniably good. The command sometimes comes & goes. I agree about preferring him in the pen. Hall, IMO, isn't all that far behind Ashby. But again---consistency.

One thing I love about Murphys' pressers is how he has a knack for pointing out good performances that aren't always noticed. Three very good ABs tonite between Durbin & Seigler. Seigler seemed a little miffed that he didn't go home in the 2nd inning on the ground ball, but probably made the correct decision. Grown-man stuff by Priester getting through 5.2 innings w/o caving. If anyone had told me he'd display that kind of resolve after seeing his first 3-4 outings after being picked up I wouldn't have believed it. Just so much growth. A perfect snapshot & camera angle after the Vaughn HR. The swing, the contact, the fans behind the 3rd base dugout getting excited. And in the background, a certain someone reaching to make a phone call.

I wasn't as over-the-moon as some people were about Haase, but he was a good backup & a good soldier. His being DFA'd WAS harsh. It can be a harsh business sometimes. As long as he isn't wearing an opponents' uni, he's one of those guys you wish all the best to. I believe, as others have said, that Jansen is an upgrade. What it probably boils down to, is we have no idea if Contreras takes one too many on the hand, aggravates it on a slide or a swing or something, and we need to look to someone else to catch every day, or half the time, or whatever. In that case Jansen getting regular ABs & innings is probably preferable to Haase. I guess that's why we (IMO) overpaid a little w/Areinamo. It's a residual effect of Quero missing over a full season of development.

Yelich hit a couple balls hard yesterday, maybe his elevator of a season is heading back upward? Haven't followed all their games closely but looking at the results, ebbs & flows it seems like CHI's bullpen hasn't exactly been lights out lately.