SP Trade Market

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, CaptainRedbeard said:

Depends on the starting pitcher, your other starting pitchers you aren’t trading, and your payroll. JD Martinez will be 37 next year and will probably want something like $15M after getting $10M last year coming off a down year. Mountcastle is due 3 years of arbitration salaries and can play 1B.

Martinez is also by far the best “still good but old enough to sign a 1-2 year deal” option. Once he’s picked up, there’s Belt (who is speculated to retire) and then the far less inspiring Pham, Heyward and Carlos Santana. Mountcastle projects to be a better player in 2024 than those last 3, notwithstanding the difference in salary and years of control. 

You could always sign Votto.  The O's have a history of being the final stop for HoF players.

[Aristotelian]

47 minutes ago, CaptainRedbeard said:

And the free agent market for hitters is truly atrocious. Here’s the full list of hitters with as much or more fWAR in 2024 than Hays at 2.2:

Ohtani 9.0

Chapman 3.5

Candelario 3.3

Belt 2.3

Heyward 2.2

Kiermaier 2.2

JD Martinez 2.2

And not much inspiring between that and Mountcastle at 1.7: Mitch Garver, Lourdes Guerriel, Adam Duvall, Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Pham, Carlos Santana, Michael Taylor.

Basically, a lot of old players on the precipice of decline you could hope to squeeze a little more out of, or mediocre/flawed age 30ish guys who will get paid a lot considering the weakness of this market. 

The Texas series was the first time I saw much of Garver. I was surprised I didn't know much about him despite him putting up an impressive .870 OPS, including .845 vs RHP (.875 in '21 and .995 in '19). Note that his 2.1 fWAR was accumulated in only 87 games. Great nugget for the Rangers.  We'd probably prefer our DH to be a lefty but that is pretty impressive.