7Mo

Do you think Elias has turned down an offer for prospects?

Sorry to hear. Hope this year is better for you.

The key to it is whether there are 2 or more claimants. It's possible, in my view, that Elias knows he has 2 or more and this puts a deadline on offers. But, as Luke has pointed out, it's risky. If only one claims, they get him. Period. But I think there's 2, at least.

The holiday spirit hasn't hit you yet, eh?

Going back to your comment about rich guys buying teams as toys, have you checked what Jerry Jones was worth when he bought the Cowboys and what he's worth now?

My mistake. Placed on waivers.

And maybe the offer was inconsequential enough that it made sense to keep him hoping his value would go up. Obviously this hasn't worked out great. But I'm struggling to see where Elias is at fault rather than the market is saying Villar has no trade value.

So you think Elias decided in July to DFA him today? And what did he refuse in July?

What was offered in July?

As Luke pointed out, if 2 or more teams claim him, they'd have to trade to get him.

And you can conclude that having no idea what, if anything was offered at the deadline? And you know he won't be traded between now and Monday night?

Well now we have a deadline to see what teams will offer.

Do you honestly fault Elias for Villar not being traded? I mean, instead of the idea that other teams aren't willing to give value for him?

It's clearly not a slam dunk but I like the "all in" much more than a half way approach, talking in general, not specific to Villar. And I don't think Villar is done. I still think he gets traded before Monday night.

Right. The equivalent of announcing "last call".

And he's cheap in comparison. Lots of teams might like that.

I think you've got it figured out. In Urias, the Brewers are acquiring a versatile defender and a potential alternative for underperforming shortstop Orlando Arcia, who is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter and whose status will be clearer following Monday’s tender deadline. If the Brewers opt to keep Arcia, he would have to compete for the job with Urias, who can also play second and third base. Second is occupied in Milwaukee by hitting star Keston Hiura, but third base is a question mark, with arbitration-eligible Travis Shaw in a situation similar to Arcia's as Monday’s tender deadline approaches. https://www.mlb.com/news/padres-get-trent-grisham-from-brewers-for-luis-urias

Andrew Lee?

I'm hoping Sterling Sharp is high on the list. He seems like a guy who can fit both ideas, help a little now but also have some long term upside.

And a Maryland guy born in LaPlata, not that that's a big factor.

He certainly posted big numbers and I'm not fluent in comparing leagues but it's obvious that the PCL is a huge hitters league. I don't know anything about this guy other than the numbers. But yesterday Luke said this, which would cause me to question a few things: "Remember that .900 OPS in the PCL is equivalent to .740 in the Eastern League due to hitting environment. It's still good, but not crazy." Rojas had an OPS of .938 with 31 home runs. Taylor Ward, another third baseman on the same team had arguably better numbers. Thanks for the post and it's an interesting name to take a look at.

Thanks for the detail in the explanation. Appreciate it.

Thanks. Agree or disagree with the following: That same National League scout, familiar with the Pac-12, believes Torkelson could be a better hitter, with demonstrably more power, than Andrew Vaughn, the right-handed masher who last year played for Cal and who was snagged by the White Sox with the 2019 draft’s third overall pick.

Do you have an opinion as to whether Torkelson could be an adequate left or right fielder?

Colleges will typically have a "pro day" in the fall where scouts come on campus to see a workout. And the college coaches might have numerous conversations with pro scouts about what they've seen in practice. It would be unusual IMO for a guy like Torkelson to "only" work at first base given the number of practices that go into a college year. Guys typically get moved around a lot so the staff knows who they have flexibility with and who they don't if they need to move guys unexpectedly. Outside of that, because of the timing, I think it'd be unusual for a college player to work out in the spring leading up to the draft but they might have in the fall or winter preceding.