Sydnor

There are 7.888 billion people in the world and he is one of 780 people that play in the bigs. Maybe you think there’s another 250 in the minors that are better than he is. The percent of people on his level is so low that I would have to throw an e-8 into it. Whatever you might think of whether he should be on this team, he is, in fact, good at baseball. I wish I could be as good at what I do as Jorge Mateo is at baseball.

Zach Showalter also in the deal.

I’m sure everyone will love this part of the trade.

I don’t know whether it is true intel, but JP has known Verlander for a long time, going back to his days as a writer for the Detroit Free Press in the mid-2000s. I tend to think JP wouldn’t bring it up unless he knows something. He’s also always struck me as less of a rumor monger than guys like Heyman, and he’s not always wrong like Nightengale.

I like Civale, but he gets injured a lot. I’m also not convinced that Cleveland will trade him because Allen, Bibee, and Williams are all on innings limits, Bieber is likely some for the year, and McKenzie might be done for the year. Despite the years of control, it would sort of feel Scott Feldman like to me. I hope we do better.

To your point, I’ve heard Adley call Stowers his best friend or “one of his best friends.” I don’t think he’s sulking because Kyle is in Norfolk.

I am so happy for Santander. The longest tenured Oriole. He deserves this.

I do know how to search Google! I cited the 4 most widely respected rankings because you made a statement that appeared to be false. You said plenty of others disagree. You resort to that condescending nonsense rather than supporting your statement. That’s fine. I won’t engage further.

Keith Law is The Athletic. MLB.com is Pipeline. If you have some to share, by all means, do so.

Latest rankings: Keith Law - Ortiz 36; Norby honorable mention Kiley McDaniel - Ortiz 71; Norby 92 (Westburg 66) Fangraphs - Ortiz 51 (50 FV); Norby unranked (45 FV) Pipeline - Ortiz 61; Norby 64 Pipeline is the only national ranking that rates Ortiz in a similar range to Norby.

I gave a deeper look at why I think it makes sense yesterday. Also, it’s 6 years of Cabrera.

Keep your expectations low. It’s easier for the to be exceeded that way.

Same.

Command is correct.

This was discussed earlier.

I posted this in the Delmarva thread, but I’ll add it here since DeLeon has his own thread now.

What if you use Cabrera as a spot starter and bullpen arm this year (where *hopefully* the walks aren’t as much of an issue), and have him in the rotation next year? Then you could go get another more established starter, and *hopefully* have a long term solution in the rotation.

The walks are definitely an issue, but you have to look past that the surface numbers. His expected ERA is a 3.94, and his xFIP is 4.18. The expected batting averages on his pitches are .196 on the changeup, .204 on the 4 seam, .236 on the curve, .208 on the slider, and .316 on the sinker. Everything is above average except the walk rate, which is poor, and the barrel rate, which is below average. I understand you’d like more help this year, but I don’t see Elias giving up a lot for a rental. Cabrera wouldn’t be FA eligible until 2029, and he would have the potential to help down the stretch and would probably be the second most talented pitcher in the MLB rotation next year (the team would have to help hIm get to that talent by improving his control and command). I also know you like rankings, so before Cabrera graduated, he was ranked 44 in the top 100 by Kiley McDaniel and 33 in the top 100 by Keith Law. I don’t think it will happen, but I do think it would be a creative trade that could benefit the organization this year, with the potential for Cabrera to become a mid to top of the rotation starter in the future.

De Leon followed up his debut with 5 shutout innings on Tuesday giving up no hits and one walk while striking out 8. Have you evaluated him or heard anything about him @Tony-OH?

I have no idea how to grade the draft at this point, so I voted B+. If I gave them an A, I feel like my expectations would be too high. My favorite pick was Lord. I watched some video and think absent his rough end to the season, he goes higher. I actually like him better than Baumeister (don’t dislike Baumeister). For me, Lord is easily the most exciting pitcher the Elias regime has drafted. I don’t really have a least favorite selection.

Bowden, who I don’t think knows anything and generally dislike, proposed Westburg to the Marlins for Edward Cabrera, and I actually think it make sense. Cabrera definitely has some untapped potential, with good fastball velocity, an above average changeup, a lot of red on his savant page, and a lot of years of control. I doubt it will ever happen though. https://theathletic.com/4725542/2023/07/27/mlb-trade-deadline-scenarios/?source=user_shared_article https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/edward-cabrera-665795