LookinUp

Not sure I saw this in time to vote (vacation). I trust Elias on the arms, especially since we kicked in cash, but I also really value two great arms at the back of a bullpen. I fear our bullpen will need that extra arm at some point.

I sometimes get ribbed for being too supportive of what the Elias regime does (I usually give them the benefit of the doubt, but Odor is bothering me), but one of the things that makes OH better is your ability to look at a nice stat line by an 18 year old and evaluate whether it’s a really interesting profile for the future not. Some of the other analysts tend to be a little fanboyish, so while I’m always interested in good results at low levels or over small samples, I don’t know what I don’t know. Even with the depth of this farm now, it’s most interesting for me to know what guys have to work on than it is to know what’s in the box score. Kjerstad needing to elevate the ball more is a perfect example. I feel like I get that perspective here more than anywhere else. I also suspect the Os value critical evaluations of themselves less than uncritical evaluations, so maybe the lack of credentials is a feather in your cap!

Well, continued success would increase his value.

My downvote is to ESPN, not you. If it offends you, I’ll happily undo it.

So are guys like Mancini and Lopez. Either way, Elias seems focused on getting more arms.

You don’t know much about the FCL guys, I assume, but the two from Tampa and the two known from Minn are quality for sure. Will they develop is anyone’s guess, but they’re quality guys to work with.

And part of his plan seems to be to draft bats, so he needs to trade for arms. He just picked up 6 arms in exchange for one. That’s not a coincidence. It’s his plan.

For the record, I don’t think Lopez will stop being good. I think the Twins got a good arm there.

Fair point. I just think we should get some information on the 4 guys we got back before we lose our minds. I don’t love this trade. I just don’t know how to grade it, yet. One person speculated it’s a future cost cutting trade. I would obviously be unhappy if that was the motivation. I just doubt that’s true.

Voted I like it. I love the upside of the return, but would have loved to keep that bat during this surprise run. Mancini is not a fielder, so I don’t like what he does to roster flexibility, so I think he had to go.

I want to know more about Rojas. That stat line is impressive.

Nope. But it’s a fact, not an opinion, that he has a much better understanding of the 5 players in this deal than any of us.

I see 4 guys who miss bats. Two SP candidates.

Do people think Elias is stupid? Do you think he was forced to trade Lopez? Do you think he didn’t want to make this deal? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, please explain.

Probably a more current, bullish assessment of what we got back. The Os will get their side out in time. I doubt they traded him just to trade him. Have some faith.

I think Akin is higher risk because he doesn’t have the pure arm talent that Lopez does.

So 1) you’re mad about Mancini, but 2) you’re happy they got young pitching. Ok, that’s the trade off part of the trade I’d guess. Re: help from within, I’d also hope it comes soon re: Stowers, but also by September re: Westburg, Hall and Henderson. I want them getting real reps this year rather than having to initiate that transition next year.

So you’re not mad about Mancini? You’re mad Stowers wasn’t the one immediately promoted? Am I getting that right? If so, I’d give this 2 days to shake out. Tomorrow’s roster will be interesting, IMO.

All of the questions about the bullpen are true, but Lopez in particular does have a trait that should do well for a while. He throws very hard. 100 mph will play. Especially with decent secondaries. I don’t know how good he will be every year, but I think he will be pretty good for a while.

I agree, but he also makes sense as a long term guy because he’s LH. Could go either way.

I think there’s a non-zero chance that Elias has a Hays or Santander approach to the deadline, and that Hays gets the better return so he’s the one traded. I also think there’s a non-zero chance that Elias is purposely planning a LH heavy lineup to maximize results, which also means Hays is traded instead of Santander. Stowers is a good defender. Maybe not on Hays’ level, but he’s a logical fit to play LF while we wait for Cowser’s early 2023 arrival.

It’s kind of self-contradictory to say the guy who built the team that got better faster than anticipated shouldn’t be trusted in his plans for organizational development. That said, I understand some hand wringing around the trade deadline. It’s natural, especially with a player who has gone through what Mancini has gone through, and a team that has been legit fun to watch for the first time in years.

Given the timing of the Young signing, it really feels like McLean had an over slot agreement that the Os backed off of because of the physical. He is betting on himself to get more money next year, while the Os chose the contingency plan over his perceived risk. This seems like the exact reason you make contingency plan draft picks. It’s a compliment to Elias’s approach, not a “bad look.”