Does Mountcastle have any trade value?

[ArtVanDelay]

31 minutes ago, HakunaSakata said:

Giants  - Lamonte Wade has been awesome this season for the Giants. He has an OBP over .400! There's no chance the Giants would see Mountcastle as an upgrade. They also aren't in a position to trade a MLB ready SP. 

Twins - The Twins won't view Mountcastle as a significant enough upgrade over a\their platoon of Gallo/Kirilloff to give up anything of consequence. They're also not that deep at SP with Maeda on the IL.  

Marlins - This is the only team (of the three) that makes sense as a potential trade partner. That assumes Rogers isn't terrible when he returns to the rotation.  Realistically the only one of their SPs we might be able to get for Mountcastle is Braxton Garrett.  I'd be fine with that trade. Garrett had one horrific start on May 3rd (11 runs!), but has otherwise been very good. I think I'd prefer him to Trevor Rogers at this point. 

Despite OH's love of Jorge Mateo I think he has little or no trade value right now. 

We aren’t getting a good SP with 6 years of control for Ryan Mountcastle.  Not even close to being close.  Mountcastle has little to no value. 

[Baltimorecuse]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

You said that I could read Mountcastle's mind.  I replied that I didn't have that power.

I'm not doubting your ability to read the mind of someone you've never met.

Heck, you can probably guess what I'm thinking right now. 

I'm not a magician.  Reading people is a science.  I need more clues.  I learned the science from a person who top law firms hired to read jurors.  My mentor NEVER claimed any magic powers.  

[Explosivo]

Vertigo is quite strange.

[Can_of_corn]

46 minutes ago, Baltimorecuse said:

I'm not a magician.  Reading people is a science.  I need more clues.  I learned the science from a person who top law firms hired to read jurors.  My mentor NEVER claimed any magic powers.  

I guess you couldn't read my mind since I never called anything magic.

That's a pure construct of your imagination.

[Baltimorecuse]

33 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I guess you couldn't read my mind since I never called anything magic.

That's a pure construct of your imagination.

[Baltimorecuse]

Everything is a construct of a person's mind.  

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

Marcus Aurelius

Edited June 14, 2023 by Baltimorecuse

[Moose Milligan]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/37849067/orioles-place-1b-ryan-mountcastle-il-vertigo
 

What an unlucky dude. On and off the field. 

[EddeeEddee]

Right now Mountcastle has trade value as part of a package.  He could be the extra piece that gets a trade done.  But straight up?  No, not until he improves.

[FlipTheBird]

2 hours ago, Explosivo said:

Good point but a long way to August. Perhaps Eduardo Rodriguez would be a better target. Or Cease but Cease’s year has definitely not been his last.

It’s possible someone drops off for sure, but the rest of my statement remains the same: none of those teams would want anything to do with Ryan Mountcastle.

[EddeeEddee]

6 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

Last year, OPACY was more favorable to righties vs lefties.

This year, it’s decimating RHH, at least so far.

It's not decimating Hays or Urias.

[FlipTheBird]

2 hours ago, EddeeEddee said:

It's not decimating Hays or Urias.

I’d contend they’re very different hitters than Mountcastle, but it’s still moot because dating back to Opening Day last year his slugging percentage is still markedly higher in Camden Yards than it is on the road. The guy’s problem isn’t the wall.

[e16bball]

17 hours ago, FlipTheBird said:

I’d contend they’re very different hitters than Mountcastle, but it’s still moot because dating back to Opening Day last year his slugging percentage is still markedly higher in Camden Yards than it is on the road. The guy’s problem isn’t the wall.

That’s a little misleading, though, because the difference in the home/road SLG split isn’t related to hitting for more power at home — it’s related to hitting for a better average. Specifically, he’s hit a lot more singles at home. 

Home: .268 BA, .439 SLG, .171 ISO, 8.57 XBH%, .304 BABIP

Away: .216 BA, .398 SLG, .182 ISO, 9.95 XBH%, .272 BABIP

The XBH production is greater on the road, even though he’s making a lot more outs. Maybe something about the wall or OPACY is turning him into a better singles hitter at home (I’m skeptical), but it definitely appears it might be robbing him of a bit of power. 

The other thing I’d say is that I think the change in his approach is hurting him across the board (home and away). I don’t think these guys flip the switch and activate a different approach depending on whether they’re playing that particular evening — “yesterday was my OPACY approach, but today we’re in Boston, so let’s unleash the Fenway approach.” I think he’s now trying to focus on driving the ball on a line to right-center substantially more than he did prior to the wall, which I don’t think is a coincidence. I think he’s made that his overall approach consistently (both home and away), and I think that’s hurting him (and contributing heavily to the “bad luck”).

[Frobby]

Mountcastle is a better hitter than he’s shown so far this year, and people should expect he’ll finish with a better slash line than he has now.  He’s a hot and cold guy and will probably have a hot spell at some point, assuming he makes a full recovery from his vertigo.  

That said, his already poor plate discipline has gotten even worse, from 41.0% O-swing% last year to 44.3% this year.  His walk rate has dropped from 7.1% to 4.6%.  He’s his own worst enemy, and I don’t think fixing that problem has been a priority for him at all, based on some comments he’s made.   His philosophy runs counter to the team’s philosophy and I don’t think he’s a long term piece for us even if he eventually heats up and produces closer to his typical numbers.   

I doubt he’d bring much in a trade now, but I’d look for a chance to move him in the offseason. 

 

[NCRaven]

Mountcastle's statcast numbers have always been outstanding with the exception of walk rates.  There's no reason that he won't continue to hit the ball hard and often.  I think he's a classic change of scenery candidate and when other GM's look at his underlying numbers, some will see value.  As others have pointed out, he's a player that we wouldn't trade for today, but was of great value when we were rebuilding.  A team in a similar situation to where we were, or in need of right-handed power in their lineup, could definitely want Mountcastle as part of a deal - maybe not the only part, but an important part of a trade.

[FlipTheBird]

5 hours ago, NCRaven said:

Mountcastle's statcast numbers have always been outstanding with the exception of walk rates.  There's no reason that he won't continue to hit the ball hard and often.  I think he's a classic change of scenery candidate and when other GM's look at his underlying numbers, some will see value.  As others have pointed out, he's a player that we wouldn't trade for today, but was of great value when we were rebuilding.  A team in a similar situation to where we were, or in need of right-handed power in their lineup, could definitely want Mountcastle as part of a deal - maybe not the only part, but an important part of a trade.

Part of the reason Mountcastle was important to us when we were rebuilding was because he was 23-years-old and full of potential.

Now he's 1,500 at bats into his Major League career and has kind of established what he is. And he's not bad - he's just not exceptional, either. While his average will improve - as others have noted, his BABIP has been a bit unlucky - he's taking fewer walks than ever before and is a pretty standard swing-and-miss guy with a firm ceiling. And he's nothing to write home about defensively, so he gets no bonus points there. Dude is legitimately incapable of being the centerpiece of any kind of important trade.