AnythingO's

For me more this would do nicely:

Kjerstad. Cowser, because Hyde won't give him regular PT as well as his off speed issues, will struggle and get sent down. HK will come up hot and his bat will cement his position in the regular lineup. One of O'Hearn, Santa, or Mounty will stumble and free up the ABs.

Didn't they rework his swing to get to his power? I don't think Cowser has settled into what player he will become yet, high average vs power. He still as a great eye to draw walks but can he hit heat and offspeed?

Agreed, but if you hold him until end of August you preserve the ROY for 2025 and potential pick as well as gaining the extra year of control. By then DR will be in control and "could" make extending JH a signature move with a 8-9 year contract. I can dream.

While I agree that JH is not fully baked, sending him down because he isn't ready to face MLB lefties is weak because he won't face them in AAA either, hence my paper mache comment. I think he needs more AAA seasoning defensively at 2B and just more PAs to get him rolling before coming up to stay. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets the Gunner treatment this year to preserve ROY status next year.

My thoughts exactly, ME wasn't going to allow JH to shred the paper mache excuse for sending him down.

But that would imply "COLLUSION" which we have been ASSURED was NEVER a thing, lol. I think a certain other SP looking for a 2-yr contract AND a guarantee of SP may also "say" me too!! FTR I don't care about Bauer OR his personal life choices, you play with fire you are likely to get burned. IF, and it's a BIG IF, he could be put on a NO INTERVIEW, NO SOCIAL MEDIA exposure (no pun), etc restriction legally, I would be OK with a MLB minimum contract (with performance clauses (no pun) to see if he can still get MLB hitters out. The second he mouths off, acts out, causes trouble in the clubhouse, any other reservation thinkable, his ass is gone, as in don't let the door hit you in the A$$. He will NEVER be a redemption case that could be a marketable story unless he can exercise a level of self control he has never demonstrated before.

I agree re: the infield rotation but keep Mateo as backup SS and CF so no 5th OF is needed. Move Urias and O'Hearn, Hicks is gone already. Lets you keep both Kjerstad and Cowser in a similar 4-man OF rotation

You can trade my Westy when you can pry him from my cold, dead hands. Mayo needs to replace Mounty-O'Hearn ABs. Why do we still believe Mounty can overcome his lack of selectivity on low ad away? Why do we believe O'Hearn has found it at 30 yrs old when he faded in second half? Santa can play 1B respectably. Mayo needs to learn.

OK, I'm a HK homer, but before today CC had 4 SO in 8 ABs to go with those 2 HRs. Today he was 1 for 3 with another HR and SO so 5 SO in 11 ABs but 3 HRs for 6 RBIs and to his credit also 3 BBs. So SSS alert. I believe he is selling SOs for power which undercuts his batting eye and the bat to ball skills he was drafted for. My fear is, since we re-worked his swing to get to his power, he won't be that high average, OBP guy we drafted. I don't think he has "settled into" who he will be in MLB. I still think his 26.8% SO rate at AAA is evidence he hasn't found himself yet. IMHO they should put him in LF in AAA (mot CF) until he adjusts to the way the fly balls curve there vs CF and let him figure out who he is going to be as a hitter. I fear off speed and quality heat at MLB level will expose him badly. I don't want that. HK IMHO has similar bat to ball skills as CC but isn't interested in OBP (walks), he would prefer to put a bat on it and he likes his odds. Similar to Mountcastle in a way, but HK won't expand the strike zone. He was at 20.5% SO at AAA, which seems like a significant difference to CC. Folks knock HK's speed but Fangraphs and Savant have him equal or faster than Cowser. As RZNJ observed, he is putting good swings on balls that are hittable. HK's bat will play at MLB level now and his defense will be MLB average or better in RF. Stowers is a bigger threat to HK making the 26 roster. Both HK and CC could be "held back" for a few months to gain another year of control based on Stowers play now that he is healthy.

Nah, they probably figure they can include Burdick with Cease and that would get them Mayo over Kjerstad, plus several other throwins like Westburg and Beavers and Povich,

Wow, Cowser at 170 by Zips and unranked by Fangraphs. Kjerstad 86 by Zips but 24 by Fangraphs. Fabian above both. Then there is Ortiz unranked at either SS or 2B by Zips. That's a lot to chew on vs our general opinion of our prospects.

You are correct and the delta between the "Salaries" column and the "Payroll" column reflect that. Most years it is about $20M but in 2019 and 2022 there were deltas of $42M and $38M respectively that have no explanation. I speculated the 2019 was a result of restructuring the Davis contract and needing to put money into an escrow account but have no idea what the 2022 increase was about.

I don't think this will change anyone's mind but the Forbes data is all we really have to go on. The 2023 Revenue, Payroll, and Operating Income data are not out yet. What this tell me is that if you combine Payroll and Operating Income (profit) you arrive at about $150 M as the break even point, meaning zero profit. These umbers don't account for the MASN profit but that should be low due to increased rights fees. With increased Revenue from 2021 to 2022 the Payroll increased but the overall breakeven point remained largely the same. Year Revenue Salaries Payroll (incl Expenses) Revenue - Payrl/Exps Operating Income Operating Cost 2014 245 110 122 123 31.4 91.6 2015 239 118.9 137 102 8.8 93.2 2016 253 147.7 162 91 -2.1 93.1 2017 252 164.3 183 69 -26 95 2018 251 143 161 90 -6.5 96.5 2019 256 61.1 103 153 57 96 2020 115 23.9 43 72 -23 95 2021 251 45.7 66 185 83 102 2022 264 44.88 83 181 67 114 2023 71.06

MIA needs offense at 1B and DH so O'Hearn could work, their OF has some guys for CF and 1 COF, nobody that hit very well last season but fairly young so Stowers makes some sense, and they have a rookie at SS who might benefit from Urias as a backup middle IF capable of playing all 3 positions. Probably too much for Scott so include Trevor Rogers and add Seth Johnson.