LookinUp

Yes it will. I wonder if he'll choose comfort or quality. If it's comfort, he'll go home I'd wager. To me, if I had a golden arm like that guy does, I'd find the smartest pitching organization in the world and take whatever deal they offer me. He could be the best closer in baseball in a year if things suddenly clicked. Hell, he was a starter. Imagine if he figured out command/control enough to be a starter? I'm not saying it's likely. I'm saying that his arm raises his odds above most other guys.

I love my prospects. I didn't even love the Hernaiz trade and we had like 5 guys ahead of him. That said, it's part of what good pipelines do. The fact that we just got a AAA/ML arm with upside for someone that came from our INTERNATIONAL PIPELINE, to me, is a massive news story unto itself. From your lips to god's ears, brother. I'm not predicting Gagne, but this group definitely gets the benefit of the doubt with guys like this. My guess is he'll end up a solid middle reliever for at least a major part of 1 season for us. Anything more is gravy.

Ha. If there's one thing I've learned reading this message board over the years is people hate process. It freaks them out. It can be a rebuild. Labor strife. Ownership changes. Free agent negotiations. Trade negotiations. Stadium lease negotiations. Basically anything that involves a negotiation is often met with people getting angry at the greedy people involved on either side. It's like there's no awareness whatsoever that negotiations are part of a process which is usually motivated by some kind of deadline. 95% of the public stuff that is released before the deadlines are part of the process, and usually meaningless. I'm not saying negotiations don't go south. I'm just saying that people freak out over the wrong headlines.

There was some talk in various threads about the huge hold-ups to a sale being: 1. Peter passing away 2. The MASN O's/Nats deal 3. The stadium lease Two of the three were basically solved, or at least found a steady state for #2, in the last few weeks. I feel like there was a 4th issue that was also solved, but I can't remember. Either way, at this point it seems like JA has this tee'd up and ready for a sale when the time comes.

Considering we're at 92 pages, we're 6 days to the xmas/New Year's week and the Sox are waiting for Yamamoto to sign, I'd definitely take the over.

I dug the girlfriend and respect that she didn't treat a team video like a night at the Oscars. He seems a little quirky, but is probably just a really great dude. I have good friends like him.

That John Stephens write up is something else. Something tells me he wouldn't even make an affiliate with this regime. My how times, and data, have changed.

This is a blockbuster, folks.

Yeah, with leadership like they have, they're liable to be stubborn and get no deal or do the opposite and take a bad deal for them. It's totally unpredictable.

I'd wager it's very significant to our internal rankings. We're now a player development org. We want youth and tools to work with.

Quick bat, but his leg kick is just so weird to me. It's almost mechanical. Then he whips the bat through at 1,000 mph. lol

It’s their age that sets them apart. All 3 are very young for their level. That’s a sign.

Threads like this are always fun to look back on. I was mostly talking about DL Hall. In hindsight, his stuff wasn't great at the end of 2022 and that foreshadowed an unhealthy start to 2023. I still have hope that the guy gets past his health issues and pitches through the things he needs to work on. I don't rule out a Blake Snell like career for him, even though most do at this point.

Happened on a Friday. A lot of us aren't even around on Fridays/weekends. I think it's helpful, personally because Wacha is a guy I wanted. Of course, I just posted a link in the offseason thread.

@Frobby's buddy...Dude, I just won a million dollars! @Frobby ...cool, but have you seen the taxes on this stuff yet? Oh man, they're paying it out over 20 years? Have you even considered the time value of money? And the family issues? Everyone will think you're rich. You'll never go to a bar or restaurant and not be expected to pay the bill again. And all for what, a few bucks after taxes? I'd rather we just find the next Hayden Penn, but with a better baseball name. @Frobby's buddy...But did you hear about the Josh Liranzo kid? What a stud. @FrobbyDon't even get me started man.

I wonder where Wacha will be pitching in August. This is the type of move I'd make if I were a rebuilding team that wanted to supplement my system via the trade deadline.

I just wonder what some of these guys turn into under this player development system. Probably a bunch of studs.

Has to be big performance incentives, right?

I’m shocked, SHOCKED, that all of the message board - and a certain podcaster - hand wringing was much ado about nothing. Reminds me of most sports labor battles where people lament millionaires and billionaires, when all that’s happening is interests negotiating the best deal they can for the side they’re paid to negotiate for.

The Yankees weren't very good last year. I think part of that is because they didn't have a good mix of guys who could hit and play great defense. Obviously, injuries were a big part too. I only mention this because I think Elias has been deliberate in his attempts to build around athletic guys. We don't have a lot of statues in this organization. And would Cease really want a below average outfield behind him? This is my attempt to make this about Cease.

Is it really? Is it wrong to consider the value of adding a #3 or better starter for 2 years (and 180 innings each) as being more valuable than the difference between good and average defense in left field over a maximum of 6 years? I say maximum because of course some other + LFer could show up in the intervening period? Unless I'm getting this wrong, you're essentially hung up on a larger trade over something like 4 outs per year. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/outs_above_average?type=Fielder&startYear=2023&endYear=2023&split=yes&team=&range=year&min=q&pos=7&roles=&viz=hide

I don't think you're wrong, but I think it's easier on a message board to say that we need to make trades than it is to actually do it without trading away our most elite assets. The problem, as we all know, isn't that Elias refuses to get fleeced in a trade (that's not a problem, IMO), it's that we are not in the market to sign free agents (and don't quite have in-house options ready). So we're left in a position where, if a trade is our only option, you're looking at giving up Mayo or Basallo for guys that aren't elite, and one or more of them plus a significant package for guys that are. Hays, Santander, Mateo, Urias, Mountcastle, Norby, Westburg and Ortiz just aren't netting the TOR guy we all want. So, if we're looking at a trade, we're still looking at over paying, but for a #4 starter instead of a #1/2 starter.