G54377

I sneakily think the Angels will be the worst team in baseball this year, but man Burnes was dealing.

Mullins is probably the most important guy for us to be "himself" aside from the obvious young dudes. Seems like as he goes our team goes.

Baumann at least has some upside compared to the other bottom level bullpen guys (Baker, Vespi, etc.)

To an extent I understand what Rendon meant, but his effort and production really doesn't jive when you compare it directly to the timing of his huge contract.

Lol as we say this he dives for an out. He had a very public quote in the offseason that baseball is not really his priority in life.

You can truly tell anytime Rendon is involved in a play or an AB, he does not care.

Our best lineup on opening day has Holliday in it, so that's my answer.

I think you have to start with him at 2B and he can take any lumps necessary on the go like Gunnar did (early) last year. By the end of the year, I'd move to see a top of the order of Holliday - Adley - Gunnar, or in some order anyway.

Side note, remember when we took Matt Hobgood the pick before Wheeler in the 2009 draft?

Great to see Holliday and Cowser getting hits off of elite SP's.

Could Westburg ultimately get most of his future starts at LF? Camden Yards is a bit different than other ballparks, doesn't make it easy.

I like having Mountcastle's RH bat against lefties. When he's on, he's our best bet to carry the offense against a lefty. 849 career OPS against LH and 1052(!) last year. That's 1052 even with all the injury/vertigo stuff.

I'd like to keep Urias around if possible because he's perfect for the utility infielder role. We'd be wasting the younger guy's time keeping them on the bench not getting AB's. Ideally Westburg/Gunnar/Holliday all start, with Urias as utility infielder and Mateo as super utility (starting at SS occasionally against LH) and pinch runner. One of O'Hearn/Cowser/Kjerstad will need to go at some point soon. Cowser and Kjerstad would mostly be wasting time in AAA. Unfortunately O'Hearn has little to no trade value, because he'd be the one to part with.

Ohearn will probably be given all the chance to prove last year wasn't a fluke, and Kjerstad would take over his spot at DH otherwise. Cowser is the biggest mystery. Perhaps he starts out rotating as the 4th OF and DH? Something's gotta give.

I mean even if Irvin is just what he was with the A's and gets you 180 innings of about 4 ERA ball that's still an upgrade and replacement for Gibson. If either Means or Bradish makes their way back Irvin is a decent 5th starter at least.

As much as I thought signing a FA would work, we may just have to hold firm with what we got unless we get another injury. In the season we can make a trade if it came to it. The only guy that may make sense is Lorenzen since he has bullpen experience. In the case that literally everyone is healthy.

What about Michael Bourn?

Lorenzen was an effective bullpen guy before he recently switched to starting. If we get lucky and Means/Bradish are healthy, he can go there and still provide value. Not sure that's going to be the case with anyone else we'd sign.

It certainly isn't exciting, but if we aren't making a trade and aren't paying for Snell/Montgomery who is still out there?

I don't think Lorenzen is a particularly great pitcher, but he's a guy that has experience in several different roles. Given our budget, he may be the best option left (if Ryu is headed back to Korea).

So why is NYY giving up on him?

Lefty bullpen project? His minor league numbers look good. Was one a 1st rounder, so the talent I would think is there.

Burnes Rodriguez Kremer Ryu Wells/Irvin To start the season that is perfectly acceptable until we get Means and/or Bradish back. If Means is looking at the end of April to be back, you probably only need 3 starts from Wells/Irvin to get there.

We don't need to entertain Bauer right now, there are plenty of better pitchers with no baggage still out there. Not even guys who will cost a ton.

I'd trade Westburg in a package to get Luzardo for sure. 3 seasons of his arm is a lot of value. It really depends on what else would need to be in that trade package. Since we already sent off Ortiz, the depth becomes thinner pretty quickly. It would probably mean Holliday is on the ML roster to start the season, which is obviously fine. Would something like Westburg, Beavers, Povich, + get it done? Or we would rather do Cowser, Norby, Povich, +?