luismatos4prez

That is probably just sugarcoating the real reasons for firing, right? It seems ludicrous that the 3B coach's salary is significant enough to merit ownership mandates.

I'd give the situation a solid B. Means, Cobb, Akin, and Kremer are 4 ML caliber starters, which is more than we've had since 2016. Lots of reasons to be optimistic about Baumann, Hall, Rodriguez, Smith, etc. in the next few years too. But an A is too good for this group. The Reds had Trevor Bauer, Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, and Tyler Mahle throwing gem after gem this year with some solid pitching prospects in the minors. Are they an A++?

Agreed. Ruiz isn't good enough though, so I'd move Alberto to 3B and sign Schoop (or someone similar) to play 2B.

What's wrong with Schoop? Strong defender and a lot of power. He has his warts but he's a good ballpayer. Fair enough about Profar. What about Villar? The other infielders I'm seeing are too good (LeMahieu) or too bad (Hechavarria) to make sense.

I'd hope they could sign Mancini to a ~2M guarantee with easy to reach PA incentives to get him back over 5M if he is healthy and playing. Hays, Mullins, and Santander is my opening day OF next year. Mountcastle and Mancini at 1B/DH. Stewart on the bench. McKenna and Diaz at AAA to start. I would trade Nunez, DFA Ruiz, and sign another major league infielder. Bring Schoop or Villar back or Jurickson Profar maybe. Move Alberto to 3B. CF Mullins 1B Mountcastle RF Santander DH Mancini 2B Schoop C Severino SS Iglesias 3B Alberto LF Hays That's a ML lineup and a very strong defensive team. Of course, getting Schoop or Profar isn't likely but I'm having fun over here. And is a 60M ML payroll really too much to ask?

Are there any shortstops left on that island that aren't Orioles yet?

Melewski made a good point today. Schoop at age 16 hit 239/.320/.291 in the DSL and he has a ML slugging percentage of .450 a decade later.

Not an impressive debut. Zimmermann's command was bad. I hope he settles down for his next appearance. Smith is a good prospect, but he only pitched 30 innings in AA last year and that was the highest he's gotten in the minors. Zimmermann, Akin, and Kremer all logged at least 150 innings between AA and AAA before this year. Plus, 40 man roster considerations are always a factor. Zimmermann and Kremer both needed to be added this winter anyway to avoid getting picked in the Rule 5 draft. Smith does not till next winter.

Awesome! They'll just move Santander to the 45 day DL if they bring up Zimmerman. Not that there's any shortage of DFA candidates.

I think a slightly above average bat is a more valuable commodity than you're implying. There are teams that would love to have an above average bat at DH or coming off the bench. Especially if he's 26 and has years of team control in case he pulls a JD Martinez. I predict he'll be traded for a Cadyn Grenier type prospect this offseason but I'll eat my words if he's non-tendered.

At the time, he had hit poorly in his first cups of coffee. He's put up a 106 OPS+ in 1000 PAs since then and is only 26. He has value.

Nunez is really the odd man out next year. What does an Arb1, no glove, slightly above average hitter fetch on the trade market? Maybe a Cadyn Grenier or even a Zac Lowther type

Anecdotally, I've spent some time around ultra-wealthy individuals. "I can relax. I've got enough." is not a mentality I ever observed in any of them.

I'd play at Norfolk instead of giving up milions of dollars. I'm not convinced he's a AAA-caliber hitter at this point, but he wouldn't have to feel the guilt of hurting the ML team on the field. Plus, there's always a chance someone's finger slips and he accidentally gets claimed by another team.

Right fielder has to throw to third base while left fielder doesn't have to throw to first base so your right fielder should have the stronger arm. Stewart's never played first base and Mountcastle has played it a bunch. I think that's all it is.

An option I haven't seen discussed is they could ask him to accept an outright assignment. He still gets his money and isn't taking up a roster spot.

With Hays, McKenna, and Mullins fighting for time in CF and Diaz, Santander, Mountcastle, and Stewart fighting for time in LF/RF it seems very unlikely that Elias would spend any of his low budget on a Jose Iglesias type center fielder. He only got Iglesias because the SS options in the organization were so dreadful. If Mike's going to get some free agents, they should be starting pitchers or infielders.

Chris Davis did hobble into the record books, just for different reasons. Hitless streaks, strikeouts looking, lowest Contact %, lowest WAR, etc. I'm sure some records were set.

I see 8 candidates for being added: Diaz, Lowther, Baumann, Zimmermann, Mattson, Pop, Bannon, Wells Wells wasn't added to the 60 man roster this year so he's the only one who's questionable to get on the 40 man. The rest I'd guess are added assuming Pop is healthy as he says. There are a lot of expendables guys on the 40 man roster right now: Davis, Wojo, Eshelman, Velazquez, Fulmer, Holaday, Carroll, Kline, Urias, Hess, Wynns I doubt any of the above would be claimed if they went on waivers. Martin, Valdez, Lopez, and Valaika aren't part of the future and don't have a lot of value but they're useful players during the rebuild so I'd keep them for now.

I'm getting a Luke Scott vibe from DJ Stewart. Good plate discipline and extremely streaky. I like Mullins' game a lot. I think he'll have a career as a second-division starting outfielder like David Lough or Craig Gentry

Good point by Roch. Stewart, Mountcastle, Hays, Mullins, Diaz, McKenna, and Santander is too much even if you assume injuries and scuffling. Plenty of teams need outfielders. Most notably the Indians. Send one of them over there for an infielder or a pitcher.

Not a good crop of 3B Free Agents this winter. Only Justin Turner is a real ML third baseman and he'll be too expensive. There are guys like Eric Sogard who would be cheap, but they aren't real upgrades over Rio. Rylan Bannon will be in the mix next summer, too. I like the idea of bringing in Stroman, but we all know what the likelihood of that is.

Subtraction by addition.

Shades of DD pulling Gonzo and Lew Ford from the brink of obscurity. Valdez is pitching very well and I like his demeanor on the mound. He's a passionate guy out there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvQEGOMHMa0&ab_channel=TURULECOSRD

Agreed. They aren't very good, but they're trying real hard which is nice to see. I'd rather suck with a bunch of Rio Ruiz and Pat Valaika types than a bunch of Jay Payton and Derrek Lee types like we used to.