Bunt Ritual

Trading a players like Eloy and Vaughn for the sake of "lineup balance" seems incredibly shortsighted.

I dunno, if this org wants to trade Vaughn, I'd hope they'd aim higher than mid rotation starter

Well, I'm sure the Grandal for McCann swap that some people wanted would totally go through now.

If Scherzer is the goal, then it makes sense not offer Rodon the QO. We'll see if they execute, but it's not like Rodon makes or breaks the rotation.

so the list of possible suspects is Jake Arrieta, Corey Kluber and Max Scherzer. ?

I get it, but I just feel like those resources can be better utilized to address actual needs.

I feel like this board is collectively psyching itself into thinking handing Scherzer 35 mil a year is like a top priority. I would love to have him, but it would make filling 2B and RF with competent players much more difficult. and, to me, 2B and RF are far bigger priorities than SP. I also don't think there's any chance that he signs with anyone besides the Dodgers.

Bust. Trade him for a PBTL or cash.

Excactly. You can just rotate them through DH/LF/RF/1B as necessary. It doesn't need to be an either/or thing.

McCutchen is fine if we get some like Semien at 2B. Stick him in the bottom third of the order and let him walk ~80 times and hit 20-25 bombs.

I mean, he would have the arm to gun down base stealers.

I mean, I think he gets non-tendered next year if he doesn't improve. Otherwise, he's a lefty bat making the league minimum and they brought Narron specifically to work with him. Don't get me wrong, he sucks, but I don't see them cutting bait yet.

I'd be shocked if Collins isn't the backup again next year. Pitchers seemed to like throwing to him (for whatever reason) and it seems like he's Jerry Narron's pet project. Assuming no changes in CBA regarding arbitration, this is also his last year before he becomes arb eligible.

The Braves should really sign all 3 of those guys and trade Acuna Jr. to us for Dallas Keuchel. That's the conclusion I'm coming away with from this thread.

I'm guessing the reason why called a lot of fastballs this series is because very few of our pitchers could get a breaking ball over for a strike.

The Cubs and Rangers got legitimate prospects back. Seeing as Adolofo turns 25 in a little over a month and was carrying like a 35% K-rate in AA, I can see why teams don't want him.

I wonder if we're going to see more of this going forward seeing as Cleveland is in sell mode.

Man, I'd be furious if Toronto sold right now if I was a Jays fan. Especially since Semien seems to love Toronto and is open to an extension there.

I don't know. I guess Seattle put together a pretty good package, but the Pirates are really into Marcano.

God, when he's on, he might have some of the best stuff in the league.

That's beside the point. I grew up in Yankee country, and there was definitely a vocal part of that fanbase who never thought he was that good.

Moncada seems to have become the new Robinson Cano, in that people will endlessly debate about how good he is. Those types of debates have a tendency to get irrational and nonsensical. For example, someone on The Athletic's fantasy baseball podcast said Moncada would have a bad year because he released that single over the offseason. It's shame because the dude has worked his butt off. The fact that he was able to still play last year as a COVID long hauler is a feat in itself.

25 mil for a 5 WAR player is dirt cheap.

ngl, I forgot Dave Shoenfield even existed.

There was a period where WE would kill for a player like this. Even if he settles with 25 HR power, you basically have Anthony Rendon. I feel like his bad 2018 still sticks with people. Even in 2019, people were expecting the wheels to fall off at any moment.