Balta1701

If I was an alternate GM, after this messed up year, opt outs, surgeries, people having the virus and having unknown heart damage, no experience against other teams in the minors and no video on people, I would be very unlikely to think about a deal for a DeGrom quality starter for any package of Kopech, Vaughn, and Dunning. Are there any Verlander or Greinke types on high dollar contracts that some team would be motivated to move? I can’t think of any but might be forgetting someone. Anyway, moral of this story is that if you want any extra top of the rotation starters any time soon, they probably have to be named Kopech, Cease, or Dunning. (Or Lopez but seems unlikely). Unless you’re willing to talk about Robert.

That was in reference to Mazara, not Moncada.

Honestly, yes you do, because you don't know how long it will last, but you know with a good amount of certainty that rest and working privately when he has energy to do so is better than forcing him out into a big league ballgame where he has to focus for hours on end.

Worth remembering that he probably went 3.5 months this year without being able to work with the normal team trainers.

There's only one motivation I could come up with for people to lie and keep this under wraps - if you're worried about long term, physical damage, or the threat of it costing you money. If you have an agent who is telling you "If you admit you had this, other teams will be more hesitant to sign you because they'll worry about physical or cardiac damage", you are going to lie up and down and left and right if you're on the way to signing another contract, which Mazara is. If he doesn't admit it, then teams can't ask him about it, and if they do he can sue them. Which, btw, makes me wonder why on Earth anyone who is already a projected top 100 NFL Draft pick would do anything other than sit out this year if their college team insists on playing.

Yea, "Strep Throat". Sure.

Also worth noting that at least Fangraphs and DRS really like the White Sox's defense this year. We currently have the highest DRS in the league, and are ok in the UZR version also. Good defense helps ground ball pitchers.

On the other hand, Yasmani Grandal's performance being far down compared to his usual performance argues that even if McCann's performance doesn't stay at "best player in the league" level, giving Grandal some more time off and using McCann more is likely to provide a solid benefit overall.

As young as our current bullpen is outside of Colome, a veteran with closing experience next offseason wouldn't be a bad thing to pay fair price for, even if you are hoping to move one of the other guys into that spot eventually.

The one guy on this team I want to see running a lot now that he's back is Madrigal.

We're never going to be players for a Top of the Rotation free agent starter anyway, not at the prices those require. We're not paying $200 million for a starting pitcher, and that's still $125 million less than Cole got. Next year we need some depth.

The Nats aren't mad any more.

Next game hopefully.

I think this season really messed with things also. I think Marte looks like the highest dollar player who moved, and he has only an option next year, so teams really weren't adding payroll for next year at all.

RR will accidentally call that guy in from the bullpen one day.

If he can be another arm as a long man (2-3 innings) that would be extremely useful since we have 3 starters leaving games early right now and since Renteria refuses to use Detweiler in that role.

I mean it's not training wheels, it's a guy who is coming off TJS whose arm isn't built up yet. Try to get him there by the end of the season.

Completely the right call.

Detweiler also kinda ran over Renteria's dog.

If he's on the playoff roster then it would be intelligent to get him into a game.

If Dunning earns the #3 spot, then I have zero problem with that, and Cease could be available in the bullpen for that game.

You'll notice...Cease pitched in order for Cease to get into trouble.

If Rodon can come in and give 2-3 innings out of the bullpen, that's a big assist with the rookies in the rotation. Cease is in trouble in the 3rd? Let Rodon have the next shot.

You're not getting a starter that you'll have more confidence in than Cease or Dunning without giving up something significant. I won't be mad if they go and grab a cheap reliever somewhere, but not a lot of those seem to be available, and that doesn't solve the "Cease walks too many people to pitch in the playoffs" problem.

Or we could trade a ton for a guy, one of our guys gets sick, and now we're wondering why we paid a high price for a player during this season.