Miguel Castro traded to Mets for LHP Kevin Smith and SS Victor Gonzalez

[ArtVanDelay]

9 minutes ago, interloper said:

Yeah, good one. I guess it really depends how close you are to competing. The Mets at least got a guy with some years of control. Would I give up Lowther for Castro? Tough one man. Is Castro for real or not? 

If Lowther can become Ryan Yarbrough then we’d regret it.  Then again, we don’t exactly develop pitching quite as well as the Rays.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, hoosiers said:

Why would the Mets care that Castro might "get expensive" because he is pitching well?  Castro is a very solid bp piece.

The Os dealt Castro before he might get expensive, before he might continue to get better or before he levels off.

Kevin Smith is a pretty solid return for Castro IMO.  Some further improvement needed to be a back end SP, but it is something within reach.  Hopefully, our analytics and development guys can add value to Smith.

I am a bit surprised we couldn't deal Fry.  It would have been nice to move Cobb to save $ for next year though that is still a possibilitiy.

Time for our next generation of RP to step up - Tate, Zimmerman, Harvey and others.

Didn't you hear, Mets are going to have new ownership.  The new guy totally isn't going to be the richest individual to own a team.  I hear that he isn't richer than the corporation that owns the Blue Jays.

[Sports Guy]

3 minutes ago, survivedc said:

No he wasn’t a potential non tender guy. He would have commanded at most 4mil. 

Exactly.  The talk has been that we could see a record number of non tenders this year.  Spending 2.5-4M on a reliever with control issues who isn’t anything close to a lockdown reliever, is not likely something the Os would be excited about.  

They have a lot of young pitching they need to see.  They have several arms that could see time next year that will be making the league minimum.

Teams are losing a lot of money this year and this is the type of player they don’t want to pay for.

[interloper]

3 minutes ago, hoosiers said:

Why would the Mets care that Castro might "get expensive" because he is pitching well?  Castro is a very solid bp piece.

The Os dealt Castro before he might get expensive, before he might continue to get better or before he levels off.

Kevin Smith is a pretty solid return for Castro IMO.  Some further improvement needed to be a back end SP, but it is something within reach.  Hopefully, our analytics and development guys can add value to Smith.

I am a bit surprised we couldn't deal Fry.  It would have been nice to move Cobb to save $ for next year though that is still a possibilitiy.

Time for our next generation of RP to step up - Tate, Zimmerman, Harvey and others.

There's always the winter meetings, haha. Fry is pitching out of his mind right now. 

[pdiddy]

25 minutes ago, interloper said:

Bummer to lose Castro who seemed like we finally fixed a little bit. Throwing 99 with a 13.8 k rate. That doesn't grow on trees.

BUT, we get a 23 year old lefty SP candidate with a good pedigree? Yes, please. It's a bittersweet trade for me as I like Castro, but you have to make that trade all day. 

Plus PTBNL or cash.

Agree with this on both points.  Good trade but Castro was my bullpen pet cat, so I hate to see him go.

[interloper]

Well now I want more trades. Trades are fun.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, interloper said:

Well now I want more trades. Trades are fun.

Unless Dan is buying.

[interloper]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

Unless Dan is buying.

I enjoyed my wrong opinions about those in the moment. But yeah there's nothing fun about Parra.

[weams]

 

[Roll Tide]

46 minutes ago, Richmond Bird 9 said:

Per MLB Castro to the Mets....Did not say what was coming back.

Smith....Close to ready starter ....MLB.com has him at #12

 

Quote

Smith bounced between the starting rotation and bullpen during his three years at Georgia and spent most of his junior year pitching in relief. Seeing untapped potential in the 6-foot-5 left-hander as starter, the Mets made Smith their seventh-round pick in the 2018 Draft and signed him for $222,300. The Mets deployed Smith as full-time starter in his first full season and watched him blossom in the role, pitching well in the Class A Advanced Florida State League before moving up to Double-A in mid-July. Among Mets farmhands who tossed at least 100 innings, Smith ranked first in strikeouts (130), strikeout rate (27.2 percent) and strikeout-to-walk rate (19 percent) and finished second in ERA (3.15). 

Smith may not have the type of power stuff typically associated with a 6-foot-5 frame, he does know how to be effective with his three-pitch mix and masks everything he throws with natural deception. He pitches with average velocity, typically sitting in the low 90s, but his heater plays at a higher effective velocity because he gets good extension to the plate and throws it with a high spin rate that nets him whiffs inside the zone. His late-biting slider gives him a second swing-and-miss offering, and he's made strides in developing a quality changeup since entering the pro ranks. Smith's long backside arm action and extension make him difficult to time, let alone square up, and he was particularly effective against left-handed hitters (.207/.271/.233) with his fastball-slider combo in 2019.

That righties fared better (.268/.330/.385) against Smith underscores the importance of him developing a better changeup. Though he could carve out a role as a No. 4 or 5 starter in the big leagues with a more consistent third pitch and improved command, Smith’s size, angle and stuff also give him a solid floor value as a bullpen asset.

 

[wildcard]

18 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Take this with a grain of salt since I just pulled video and watch about four innings of work from him in one start. 

He's a tall, lanky left-hander with an 88-91 (off video radar) fastball, a decent slider and straight change (83-84). He's a low ceiling strike thrower who doesn't look like he has the swing and miss stuff at the major league level. His slider is his best pitch and has more horizontal movement than depth. Not sure how that will play at the major league level.

I'd have him behind Zac Lowther and Alex Wells in the Orioles prospect  rankings judging by what I saw. Probably behind Zimmerman after the improvements in velocity that we saw from Zimmerman this spring.

Sounds like the PTBNL must be a good one.

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, interloper said:

I enjoyed my wrong opinions about those in the moment. But yeah there's nothing fun about Parra.

I have to admit I enjoy going back and reading my rants when someone bumps one.

Pretty hard to be wrong when you default position is against anyone Dan buys during the season.

I think the only one I liked was the Miller move.

The Parra thread, I was in rare form that thread.  I was pretty pissed.

[wildcard]

I think we probably see Hanhold or Gonzalez as the call from Bowie.

[survivedc]

 

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

I have to admit I enjoy going back and reading my rants when someone bumps one.

Pretty hard to be wrong when you default position is against anyone Dan buys during the season.

I think the only one I liked was the Miller move.

The Parra thread, I was in rare form that thread.  I was pretty pissed.

One of the most frustrating trades I’ve ever seen. Led to an intense dislike for Parra for the Nats last year.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, wildcard said:

I think we probably see Hanhold or Gonzalez as the call from Bowie.

The PA person needs to break out the Hootie when that happens.