Would you trade Kjerstad for an elite controlled reliever?

[RZNJ]

Just now, RZNJ said:

Mason Miller just threw 3 sliders for strikes to Volpe and then struck him out on a 102.5 mph fastball.   

Struck Soto out on 4 pitches.  The last was 103.3 mph.

[RZNJ]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

Struck Soto out on 4 pitches.  The last was 103.3 mph.

And down goes Judge swinging.  Give me some of that.

[interloper]

Just now, RZNJ said:

And down goes Judge swinging.  Give me some of that.

I just watched that inning. It was delicious. Imagine being Soto and Judge and literally having NO CHANCE at the plate. Incredible. 

[RZNJ]

1 minute ago, interloper said:

I just watched that inning. It was delicious. Imagine being Soto and Judge and literally having NO CHANCE at the plate. Incredible. 

Ha. I’m blacked out.  I’ll check it out on the condensed version later.

[interloper]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

Ha. I’m blacked out.  I’ll check it out on the condensed version later.

It's worth checking out that inning. Dead silent Yankee stadium, Volpe/Soto/Judge all just get steamrolled and look bad doing it. Fantastic. 

[RZNJ]

3 minutes ago, interloper said:

It's worth checking out that inning. Dead silent Yankee stadium, Volpe/Soto/Judge all just get steamrolled and look bad doing it. Fantastic. 

That and an Oriole win would make my night.   We are technically in 1st place by percentage points.

[Just Regular]

20 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Mason Miller just threw 3 sliders for strikes to Volpe and then struck him out on a 102.5 mph fastball.   

He looks fantastic.     Tyler Nevin hit 2nd today for the Yankee Stadium visitors who got the Win.

[RZNJ]

2 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

He looks fantastic.     Tyler Nevin hit 2nd today for the Yankee Stadium visitors who got the Win.

I should point out that Oakland is being careful with him.  His last 3 outings were on the 14th, 17th, and 22nd.   

[Hallas]

Would Kjerstad get us MIller?  He's only got 1 year less of control, and Miller was a decent starter last year.  If he goes back to being a starter and finds success, then even if Kjerstad does decently for them, it's not a great deal for them.

 

I'm not terribly worried about reliever volatility, because with guys like Miller we have a lot of publicly available data that show that he's likely to continue being elite, if for no other reason than, he throws 103, he can throw it in the general vicinity of the strike zone a decently high percentage of the time, and he's proven that hitters can't catch up to it.

[BirdCakes22]

We have Means coming back soon, which means Wells will probably go to the bullpen - or maybe even Irvin. No way I give up Kjerstad for anyone other than a top line starter that we have control over for a long time - like another #1. Kjerstad could be a 40 home run guy. 

[RZNJ]

Here’s an under the radar guy.  Louie Varland.   Just sent down by the Twins.  26 years old.  Averages 95+ on the fastball (mostly as a starter). Last year he relieved in 7 games.

12 IP 

6  hits

1 walk

17 strikeouts

[interloper]

39 minutes ago, BirdCakes22 said:

We have Means coming back soon, which means Wells will probably go to the bullpen - or maybe even Irvin. No way I give up Kjerstad for anyone other than a top line starter that we have control over for a long time - like another #1. Kjerstad could be a 40 home run guy. 

Do we though... 

[Hallas]

Even if you're only buying Miller as a reliever this year, there's always the non-zero chance he goes back to being a starter later on.  He's got another 5 years of control and he wasn't a bad starter last year in 6 starts.

 

But if he keeps doing this he's basically as valuable as a #2 starter.

Edited April 22 by Hallas

[interloper]

1 hour ago, Hallas said:

Would Kjerstad get us MIller?  He's only got 1 year less of control, and Miller was a decent starter last year.  If he goes back to being a starter and finds success, then even if Kjerstad does decently for them, it's not a great deal for them.

 

I'm not terribly worried about reliever volatility, because with guys like Miller we have a lot of publicly available data that show that he's likely to continue being elite, if for no other reason than, he throws 103, he can throw it in the general vicinity of the strike zone a decently high percentage of the time, and he's proven that hitters can't catch up to it.

I don't know why Oakland would trade him right now honestly. That kind of pitcher doesn't grow on trees and so many years of control left. 

[Hallas]

5 minutes ago, interloper said:

I don't know why Oakland would trade him right now honestly. That kind of pitcher doesn't grow on trees and so many years of control left. 

I think they'd trade him but only for multiple prospects.  Which, to be fair to the Orioles, we could give up and only marginally affect our future because of our prospect backlog.  There's always the question of whether that would be worth it.  Would you trade, say, Kjerstad and McDermott together for Miller?  That's a lot to give up.  There aren't a lot of great options though among teams that have great relievers but aren't going to the playoffs.  Clase probably makes more sense but the Indians probably aren't giving him up unless they slump horribly.  Maybe a reunion with Hunter Harvey?  He looks like he's found a pretty good niche in the bullpen over in DC, and he's been unhittable this year.

Edited April 22 by Hallas