Chito

https://www.audacy.com/670thescore/sports/chicago-cubs/jameson-taillon-cubs-relievers-could-be-on-move-at-trade-deadline Right-hander Jameson Taillon has been garnering a lot of attention in recent days. The Yankees, Red Sox and Orioles have all expressed interest in the 32-year-old Taillon, sources said.

it's going to be both really exciting and super frustrating to watch Grayson this year. to be expected, i guess.

Just a ridiculous K from Grayson there. Had 2 strikes, threw two fastballs at 97 just barely low. Then an insane changeup to get Triolo looking.

It was a hard grounder up the middle. Went off Holliday's glove as he was diving; never really had a play.

I just hope Eric Patterson is part of the return.

The only thread I've ever started was right after the trade was officially announced. I titled it "At Last," which was understandably changed soon after.

From Keith Law's AFL scouting piece (he didn't mention any O's players): Victor Victor Mesa signed with the Marlins last October for $5.25 million, and right now that appears to be money down the tubes, as he hit just .235/.274/.263 this year. He looks atrocious at the plate, and shows no above-average tools other than his arm. I saw him do nothing but strike out or ground out, and he doesn't even pretend to run out ground balls. Reports I had on him from his workout last fall appear to have been wildly optimistic -- if he's a plus runner, he left it at home before heading to Arizona -- and I had him way too high on my Marlins list at No. 2.

Kay seems like a safe bet to be a mid-rotation starter. Probably would be by now if not for Tommy John a few years ago. Woods-Richardson is a higher upside guy who's a few years away. I guess it's good value for him. Surprised a serious contender didn't beat this offer though.

The average vertical movement on the BP f/x scale is 9. Blake Snell is at 11. Verlander is still getting it done at 11.15(!) Means is at 10.99. Bundy 10.75. Both near the top in that category.

Yep. Just found Sarris pointing someone to the BP Pitch f/x leaderboard.

He did write this just after the part I posted: The all-time top 50 four-seamers by ride average 90 mph. Among four-seamers that average more than 94 mph, Buehler actually has the 11th-highest ride of the era.

Seems like it's just another way to say "perceived rise." Linked to spin rate. Here's what Sarris wrote in a piece about Walker Buehler: There’s another advanced concept that’s at play here. “Ride,” or the way that a backspun fastball can counteract gravity and appear higher at the plate than a batter expects, is something that Buehler has used to guide his development. Spin contributes to movement, and Buehler has the 12th-highest spin rate among starting pitchers in baseball this year. More spin on a four seamer generally means more ride. Buehler has more ride than the average pitcher, but only the 116th-highest ride since we started tracking these things in the early 2000s. So why doesn’t he have more ride? “Over 94, the ride matters less because it’s firm enough to not be perceived any different,” Buehler told me. “The guys that throw invisiballs throw 90-92, the ride helps them play so much further.”

Eno Sarris wrote about Means in a column on pitchers off to surprising starts: John Means I’ve got a comp for you: Marco Estrada. That comp has its ups and downs, but it captures Means’ arsenal best. In today’s game, Means’ 92 mph fastball is below-average, but it has really good ride and jumps on the hitter — only four pitchers have more ride, and one of them is Estrada. His fastball and changeup have a 12 mph velo gap, and Estrada’s have a 12 mph velo gap. And just like Estrada struggled to find a good breaking ball, Means has been looking for his own third pitch. The curve rates really poorly in all dimensions, so the slider has to be the key. So far, it’s doing just well enough with a slightly below-average whiff rate, but there are reasons to be worried. Nobody’s really swinging at it (39 percent swing rate, 48 percent is average), and so he may have to come into the zone more with it — which would be a bad idea if it’s not a great pitch. Just as Marco Estrada has had some good stretches — even in good hitter’s parks — Means may have the ability to rock hitters back and forth with that fastball and change. But for continued success (or an ERA better than Estrada’s career 4.29 number), Means will need to find more.

Markakis is #18 on Keith Law's top 50 FA list. Jones didn't make the cut. Here's what he had to say about Nick: "Not to rain on anyone's parade here, but after a huge start to his season, in the second half Markakis kind of turned back into a pumpkin... He hit .258/.332/.369 after the All-Star break, which looks a lot like his previous five years: .277/.348/.380 overall, never slugging .400 in any of those seasons. He's a below-average regular in right field, and at 35 this year is far more likely to decline than improve. A one-year deal for $6 million-$8 million might be a bit rich given the lack of power, but there is some value in his durability: He has played in 155 or more games in six straight years and 11 of 12."

Not sure why they made the change.

I just don't see it being much better. I've seen it reported that the Cardinals were the closest, and their offer was built around Jedd Gyorko and two young pitchers. Maybe Flaherty was one of them? I know we liked Hicks. Anyway, Manny had a .730ish OPS at the deadline last year, was red hot for a while, then bad in September. Hard to tell what he might've brought in December, but I don't think it would have been appreciably better than what we got today.

We should probably use this version:

Manny did us a huge favor with his first half. I think his OPS is over 200 percentage points higher than this time last year.

Yeah. I'm glad we got him. From MLB.com: Kremer's best pitch is a fastball that sits at 91-94 mph, touches 96 and plays better than its velocity thanks to some armside run. He backs up his heater with a big-breaking curveball that he can land for strikes or get hitters to chase out of the zone. He has made improvements with his slider and changeup, which has helped fuel his success in 2018. He's also locating his pitches better this year, enhancing Kremer's chances of remaining a starter. He has demonstrated a consistent ability to miss bats that also could make him useful as a late-inning reliever. He didn't start pitching full-time until he got to junior college and was young for his draft class, so he has more room to develop than the typical pitcher in his third year in pro ball.