Sydnor

She lived with him in Norfolk. My wife saw them at the Cavalier (a hotel at the end of the boardwalk in VA beach).

Extremely happy for Ortiz. He was my favorite prospect in Norfolk last year. I still think that he’ll have a better career than Westburg. Unfortunate that he had to do it to us.

The point is, that if we extend Gunnar for 12 years and $300 million (I just made up a contract with easy math), he isn’t going to make $25 million next season. He’s going to make something like $2 million because it’s a pre-arbitration year. Then he’ll makes something like $7 million in 2026 $12 million in 2027, and $18 million in 2028. A mid market deal for a player (like 3 years for $45 million or 4 years for $56 million) should not impact the team’s ability to pay those salaries in those years. Extensions are about security. Teams don’t just hand exponentially more to players than they would make in those years when they structure the extension. “The Arb game” has nothing to do with this. It is about how extensions are structured and how a shorter term mid-market deal shouldn’t prevent them from paying those types of salaries in the early years of an extension (i.e., the first 3-4 years of an extension). If you don’t believe me, use the Internet and look up what Fernando Tatis Jr. has been paid in the early years of his extension or what Witt Jr. will make. Burnes is a completely different discussion, but again I don’t believe the team has any interest in extending him. The Lunhow/Elias/Mejdal Astros provide a decent blueprint to what I think they’ll do with respect to pitching.

I am not making the case to keep Santander here, although I think there is merit to it if the FO believes that his production is likely to continue in combination with his clubhouse presence and leadership, but a Santander extension (or a similar signing) should have no impact on the ability to extend Henderson, Rutschman, or Holliday. If you assume a 3-4 year deal in the $15 million per year range, those years are cost controlled for Holliday and Henderson, so the salaries wouldn’t be astronomical in those years of the extension. Adley would be a bit higher, but he still has 3 years of arbitration, so his salaries would also be lower at the beginning of an extension. I don’t know if I’m being clear, but what I’m trying to say is the team should be able to accommodate a mid-level signing (Santander or otherwise if they think it makes sense) in addition to an extension or extensions of those players because those players will be paid lower salaries at the beginning of those deals, when the mid-level salary is on the book. With respect to Burnes, I believe that it would have an impact, but I don’t see a scenario where Burnes stays in Baltimore unless he signs an extremely under-market deal, which I do not believe he will. Based off what Houston did, I do not believe that the front office believes a 7-10 year investment in pitching is a wise choice. I could also be very wrong about that, but it is my opinion until proven otherwise.

They’re also not playing the worst team in the International League anymore.

I am certain that this will be met with a healthy dose of who cares, but Tony Kemp is a good dude.

Westburg also has an OPS below .650.

For what it’s worth Kiley McDaniel is very high on Etzel, higher than I ever saw any prospect evaluator on someone like Toby Welk. He ranked Etzel 11th in the system, graded him as a 45 FV, and predicted him as the above 40 FV breakout this year. I’m sure his thoughts were shared elsewhere on the board, but I’ll share them again here for simplicity: On the other hand, Etzel was completely unknown to most teams before he broke out in the MLB Draft League in 2022 after playing at a Texas junior college. He turned down the low-six-figure interest that clubs mustered because of his short track record and went to Southern Miss but had just an OK spring and eventually went in the 10th round of the 2023 draft (ranked 230thon my final rankings). Things clicked in pro ball, and in 30 games up to High-A, Etzel hit .323/.455/.510 with 12 extra-base hits, 21 stolen bases and a near-even strikeout-to-walk ratio with underling metrics to match. He'll be 22 years old as the minor league season begins and might go from 10th-rounder to a real prospect in Double-A in under a year. https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/39444467/2024-mlb-prospect-rankings-american-league-team-list I have only seen video, but Etzel is a very interesting guy. Hopefully, he will be an exciting follow this year. The first three games are definitely a good start.

Same.

Fastball sits around 96. Can get it up to around 100 when he needs to. 87-89 mph slider that is plus. Also throws a curve. He had a problem with walks when he was younger, but he has cleaned that up a bit, but it can still be a problem. He was a second round pick out of high school with a lot of arm strength, and the Pirates have done a pretty nice job developing him.

My counter argument here would be that the team is very different now. They were platooning Frazier at second. So Mateo would start at SS, Gunnar at 3rd, and Westburg at 2nd (Urias had a heel injury last August IIRC). When Mayo arrives, you don’t need to platoon him against left handed pitchers. They might initially platoon Holliday a bit, but if they do, I would imagine that it won’t happen for a long period provided that he hits as projected. Moreover, I would think that Urias would be the platoon partner. I could be wrong, but the idea of using Mateo in the outfield seems to be a way to justify keeping him to be the 26th man on the roster, and I would expect him to be used in that manner barring injury issues.

Mayo would be my starting third baseman on opening day, but I think they’re initially going to give Westburg some run.

I know what Baseball Savant is, but thanks for the screenshot. The way Holliday has been deployed so far, it appears he is starting at 2nd on opening day. He is not blocked by anyone. Mayo is not blocked by Mateo. How many plate appearances do you think Mateo will get this year? I would guess that unless he plays like he did last April, he will get between 125 and 200. Would you be comfortable with Mayo getting 125 to 200 plate appearances in the big leagues or would you want him playing everyday at Norfolk? You’ll find no bigger fan of Coby Mayo than me. I don’t want him in that role. If you tell me that Mayo is going to start at 3rd, Holliday at 2nd, and that Westburg moves to a utility role, with Urias inheriting the 26th man on the roster role, that is fine. I’m not sure Urias’ skill set makes sense in the 26th man on the roster role, but I’d be fine with it. The point is, he is not blocking anyone because he is playing a very small role on the team this year.

@forphase1 Given that my post appears to have confused you, please explain to me who Mateo is blocking as the 2nd utility infielder, fifth outfielder, and pinch runner?