HandsomeQuack

He's got sneaky pop

Obviously anyone should be available for the right price. But I don't think any arm worth trading him for is going to be available, so in a sense he is untouchable for those who may want to touch him.

The PBP was Geoff Arnold, and yes I agree the conversation was too much. They meant well but it was awkward and probably inappropriate for them to speculate about his mental health for multiple minutes.

Spankees

Holy cow what a gift

Based on the radar, looks like we should be getting started soon

I can see it, my only thing is that I want to ride the Hicks hot hand. He has slowed down a bit but still has 5 BB in his last 23 PA. He's a guy that really seems to lean into the everyday role. I would call up Cowser once Hicks plays himself out the everyday role, which could be soon.

Hey, the assignment was position players!

C Rutschman S C McCann/whoever 1B O'Hearn L 1B Mounty R (platoon starter) 2B Westburg R SS Mateo R 3B/SS Henderson L 3B Urias R OF Hicks S OF Mullins S OF Hays R OF Santander S If we are talking the literal best team right now, Cowser gets the last spot. But since he has no path to consistent PT at the moment, I am fine with McKenna in the last spot. So my only change is activating Mounty and trading Frazier for a bucket of balls.

I meant Westburg at 2B, realized it too late

If a one-game playoff vs a RHP were taking place today, I would rather see Urias at 3B and Gunnar at 2B. But Frazier getting some work vs RHP is fine, and Urias can come in later for defense/LH reliever.

I've been checking in on this thread now and then an I don't understand what is going on. The pitching staff has room for improvement and could be bolstered at the deadline. Better pitchers = higher chances of winning playoff games. The playoffs are hard because the teams are good. Mediocre players can shine and good players can wilt under the bright lights and SSSs of October baseball. Who disagrees with any of that? The question was what would be a reasonable package for Snell and Hader. Complaining ad nauseum about the shortcomings of the current staff is completely pointless, even by weekday mid-afternoon message board standards. Both Snell and Hader could be good gets, in my opinion, depending on the cost. I wouldn't want to trade a Piece (capital "P") for a two-month rental but Norby, Prieto, etc. should all be on the table.

Full lineup: Cedric Mullins CF Adley Rutschman C Anthony Santander RF Ryan O’Hearn 1B Austin Hays LF Gunnar Henderson SS Aaron Hicks DH Jordan Westburg 3B Adam Frazier 2B

Wahoowa? Now we really have to hit this guy! But yeah, the bench tonight is four lefties. No reason for Gunnar to sit.

FWIW, the book I'm looking at currently has Jung +150, Yoshida +250, Gunnar +450, Brown +1400. If I had to guess the eventual winner, I would still pick Jung, but the last month for him (bad) and Gunnar (good) has opened things back up. I don't know how Yoshida is still that high, there honestly might be a little value on Gunnar.

No, I was not suggesting that E-Rod is worthy of "the farm," nor did I meant to suggest that you were saying that he is. My two paragraphs were unrelated to each other. I see, that would be pretty reasonable. It's hard to project any of those guys having long-term roles at this point (particularly Prieto and Norby), so it is less about losing their value to the team and more about evaluating the opportunity cost of trading them for E-Rod versus for someone else. Not saying I would be "banging the drum" for that deal but I would give ME the benefit of the doubt if he did it.

What would you personally give up for E-Rod? Let's assume he pitches to around a 3.15 ERA for the next month (in line with his current FIP). I assume "give up the farm" means one of a) trading Holliday, Cowser, or Grayson, or b) giving up a package of 3+ Top 100-ish guys. But there is no one on the market that is worthy of that return.

Scherzer could be a decent get, but I don't think the team will want to be on the hook for his $43MM player option next season. With his age and relative decline this season I wouldn't put him much ahead of the other guys we have discussed.

Bemore, I want a #1 too! I would love a McClanahan, Cole etc. But those guys aren't for sale. If Miami made Luzardo available (under control through 2026), I would 100% support the Orioles putting together a package for him. But I haven't heard a single TOR name that has even a remote chance of being available, so I am not sure why you are banging on about the Orioles getting one. I also haven't heard any rumors about Miami wanting to make another pitcher-for-hitter swap. On the other hand, the second tier guys will a) actually exist on the trade market, b) be reasonable for the Orioles to acquire, and c) bolster a rotation that still feels like four or five question marks plus Gibson. Getting Snell, Giolito, or someone like that would be a big boost for the rotation, even if they are not number 1 arms. I agree with you that E-Rod would be a good get, but he belongs in the Giolito tier, with Bieber being a tier below IMO. Yes, E-Rod has been great this year, but he is a 30-year-old who has a track record well beyond the 11 starts he has made this year.

Bieber's K rate has gone from 33% to 25% to 18% over three seasons. That is really, really bad for a guy in his 20s. E-Rod has had a very good season but was very average the last two years. All the Miami guys are under team control for a number of seasons, so I doubt they are going to part with any of them. All that is to say that outside of Ohtani, the market is going to be made of Snells, Giolitos, etc., as well as the guys listed above, and the team will have to work within that. There aren't going to be any TOR arms available, so they will be well served to kick the tires on the 2s and 3s that do become available.

Who is an example of a #1 that is going to be available?

I agree, he has the potential to be a very good superutility. A 2B/SS/CF that can also pinch run. I hope they try him in that role and he embraces it.

That's fair enough, but Mateo's career slash against LHP is .236/.283/.379. Given his horrific output this year, I am inclined to chalk up his positive lefty splits as random noise. Not to mention the development aspect of playing Gunnar vs LHP.

In the DD moves hall of fame: signing Yovani Gallardo and sacrificing the 14th pick in the process. He made 23 starts and posted -0.1 WAR.

This is a joke