MiddleCoastBias

I agree with you that I think it'll be great to see his bat in the lineup and I think it plays at the major league level, and I do think stretching him out at 2B in the off-season is a great idea to see if that's how we can fit him into the lineup. Where I have issue is the "can’t believe 2nd base is that much more difficult than 3rd base." The footwork, glovework, and quick hands/body are definitely different from anything he may have done at 3B. It's no longer fielding something and throwing to someone right in front of you; turning the DP and flipping around *smoothly* to throw to 1B requires totally different body control. I want to see if he can develop that, but turning DPs is a huge portion of the 2B defensive requirements, especially when we have ground ball pitchers like Keuchel that will rely on it for outs.

Kudos to you for what you have been able to find and the information you've provided on these guys. This is great insight into some guys that most folks aren't able to get otherwise, appreciate the work you've done on this.

Hopefully he can do something to condition everyone's hamstrings better than whatever was done last year. I know injuries are injuries, but the rate at which the team injured (and RE-injured) a hamstring seemed way above norm.

And while we're at it, remind people that Stroman will never play here either. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/11/marcus-stroman-tony-la-russa-white-sox.html

Oh, it's definitely out there it you want to look for it. It's just that there are fewer posters sharing every "nugget of wisdom" the foodies et al drop.

But none of those guys were expected to keep their legs under them and play up to the defensive demands of shortstop. Sure, Baez can move to 2B in a few years if they replace him with a younger SS, but you still can't rely on burying his aging legs at DH when he will never be the hitter Pujols or Miggy are/were.

I'm still holding out hope we bring in Rich Hill as one of our last signings to complement the total innings we get out of Kopech/Keuchel/ReyLo.

If nothing happens before the lockout, this board is going to be a hellscape of negativity for two solid months while there's a freeze on any possible moves that might be coming after the new CBA (trades, Schwarber, etc)

Tough to commit dollars to a utility guy first when we're still trying to get a judge on the landscape of what the available big ticket FAs want and what we can fit in our budget. I'm sure they're in touch with his camp talking numbers to see what he's looking for and then will see if they can fit that in after having a better idea of our other signings. Wouldn't want a $5M locked into Leury prevent us from getting someone to fill RF/2B/SP and fill Leury's spot with Romy on the cheap.

I know folks like to fall back on the "biggest offer wins", but what if this is one of those situations where Matz saw what St. Louis offered as an organization (chance at winning, clubhouse identity, etc) and decided "you know what, I've seen enough of the Mets and want to move on, so a matching or close offer isn't worth discussing." Cohen may feel jilted, but could be Matz wasn't going to seriously consider coming back after seeing what else was out there.

With *this* move, I'd like to see a package that adds more pieces to help us in the future, and then our "win now" moves are big FAs. We can achieve both our goals through different mechanisms.

I just like hearing that there's competition, and from teams with talent and money to spend. Stoke the flames!

Blackhawks bringing back aging vets for a reunion tour.

I won't believe it until Hector Gomez says so.

Curious, where was Maldonado in throwing out runners? I was under the impression that he was strong/elite in this category and expected to see him here. Actually, for how the broadcasts played up his defensive specialist role throughout the playoffs, kind of expected to see him topping all of these defensive metrics.

If you want talk about Conforto, that's over in the Semien thread.

Feel like we should be focusing our energy on attracting coaches and personnel that can turn guys like guys like mid-season Joc and Soler into the post season producers they turned into. And also the oft-repeated issues with our ground ball launch angle philosophy. Status quo with the staff is frustrating, blah.

Actual thought - let's just sign the Braves hitting coach(es) that can turn scrap into gold. We tend to get in this rut of trying to find the players that we can turn around. Why don't we spend more energy getting the *coaches and personnel* that can actually turn the player into something.

Agreed that we're going to be down relievers and will need to replace that production somewhere, but wouldn't it make more sense to move Kimbrel's $16M and use it to sign more guys like Tepera at reduced cost? Have to imagine we can get a replacement to what Kimbrel actually did for us (not what he did on the Cubs or what we HOPE he can) for far less. Expecting him to bounce back at $16M seems like a far greater gamble than signing a couple $5M-$7M guys and getting better production. With how finicky relievers are year to year, use that money on other pen pieces and get the same production at minimum, and possibly even better production than Kimbrel at a lower premium.

Knee jerk reaction, voted Semien. Dingers, baby. But this team also doesn't seem to have a playoff identity (and was one of the reasons I thought they brought Keuchel in), so I do agree Scherzer would be a better *playoff* acquisition. Fun thought experiment, good poll.

I'm pretty sure LaRussa finished this quote with something like "as I always have done, that's how I operate" the other day and Sullivan just took the juicy part and let others make it into a story. LaRussa said this after the game and the context sure sounded like he makes the judgment whether he has the team under his control or on his side or whatever, and that it's not a physical straw poll of the players. Sounds like posturing and that he'll be back next year unless someone in the clubhouse vocally stands up and says we don't want you here.

One year of a gamble on Rodon with a QO may be worth it, rather than a 3- or 4-year gamble he may be looking for with a longer contract. I'm for a QO but won't be upset if someone else signs him to a multi-year deal.

Pitchers and catchers report in 124 days. What we do between now and then is all that matters now.

First moves: Pick up Kimbrel's option; promptly trade him Decline Cesar's option QO to Rodon Sign Marcus Semien for 2B

Infield single, just like I told you all.