Pickles

If Grayson had been in the OD rotation he'd have been shut down by the all-star break? I concede you'd probably get an extra win or two out of it. So what was stopping the Rays from signing "affordable free agent talent" when they were so bad, but not tanking, because they were just bad?

Beyond promoting Rutchsman, what are those easy fixes?

By that definition are we tanking?

Yeah, DD didn't inherit a terrible farm system.

After the last two series, bullpen help is much welcomed.

All 80 innings they'd get out of him this year? Funny, I thought the point of having prospects was to develop them in the best players they can be, not rush them to the MLs to prove how terrific the farm system was before you got here to the detriment of the franchise.

Is Angelos going to give him the money to sign two HOF FA pitchers in their prime? If he does, I'd say, yeah.

And the four assets you mention there, combined for less than half a win at the ML level so far this year.

Elias hasn't even been here for three years.

Something has been going on in San Francisco for a decade + now that defies logic. I mean, it's just a really bad comparison on multiple levels for many reasons. Most of which have been hashed out here. Like I said, let's revisit this in three years. I bet it looks radically different. And no amount of money can prop up an aging core indefinitely.

So by that definition Elias isn't tanking. Good. I agree. Well, except he is improving the ML product too.

That will preclude calling him up to the Majors for a while.

The thing is, those guys aren't undervalued. Those are mostly the 5 big inherited contracts Zaidi took over. They're just living up to their salaries, all at the same time, in ways none of them have in a few years. This is no sustainable.

Let's revisit this in three years. I bet the view is radically different then.

Somebody mentioned Jack Cust. Like yeah, that could happen. That's in the realm of possibility. We cut Stewart, and he catches on somewhere and has 3-4 year run as a valuable DH. I'm pretty sure that isn't happening, but it might. The thing is, he may field like Cust but he doesn't hit like him. Cust was just a better hitter. Even in the minors, DJ only really ever hit enough to make you think you could carry the rest of him in half a season at 25 in AAA and a season at 23 at AA. This is what a rebuild is though. We're learning things. Some of it is good. I'm really happy in what I've learned about Mullins this year for instance. Some of it not so good. And as the OP states, from what I've learned about Stewart, I'm pretty much done with him.

I definitely think he's deserved looks. And again there are always teams in a rebuild situation who would give a guy like him some. Rightfully so. And I don't think he needs to be cut tomorrow or anything either. But he's not a winning player. And I feel pretty confident in that judgement, though I'm hardly infallible.

Memory is a faulty thing. I remember watching that game live, specifically to get a look at Stewart, who I had defended a bit as he worked his way through the system. I remember it being a "debut" for Stewart. Looks like he had just returned from an extended absence, and it was his eighth appearance on the year. As you pointed out he had been a September call-up the year before. I think looking at the game logs has jogged my memory. So he took the beaner, and was out for ten days, and returned Aug 16, which was in Boston. Which jogs the memory. I believe he almost killed himself chasing a foulball over near Pesky's pole his first game back.

If by creative you mean lucky, yeah, that will help. It's also why trading Dylan Bundy to get prospects, just to go out and sign a FA pitcher 12 months later because goddamn it I can just taste that 67th win, doesn't make a lot of sense. Because you're almost certainly going to have pay more for a worse pitcher.

Don't forget to mention pitching in the most difficult environment in professional baseball. The O's are going to have to radically overpay to get FA pitchers- of all tiers except the very bottom.

Was that his first game up that year then? Remember, the explanation that he wasn't used to playing in double-tiered stadiums?

Ok, I guess.

Of course. Don't forget: Stewart isn't just a bad hitter; he's deeply negative in the field and on the bases. So you can find good teams with 550 OPS utility infielders. Or .625 OPS backup catchers. But those guys are still better than Stewart. My point remains: In a healthier organization, Stewart doesn't see as much ML time as he has in this one.

You know, man, there's a lot of things in this world I'd change if I could. Serenity now, man. I don't know what else to tell you.

Were you ok with the Bundy trade? And if so, what's the difference between just not trading Bundy and taking a flier with a similar FA?

There's no easy or quick fix. They're largely following their only path back to contention. It's not guaranteed to be successful either.