caulfield12

Sosa pre-steroids…Kenny Williams…Kurt Brown over Bonds. Beckham. Brian Anderson. Viciedo. Josh Fields. Eloy Jimenez.

https://www.justbaseball.com/mlb/kopech-edman-trade-won-dodgers-world-series/ It’s pretty easy to go with the Dodgers with three former MVP’s and the current best player on the planet…and the amount of money invested across that pitching staff, albeit Glasnow Kershaw May all injured. One argument is simply that the AL was weaker due to the AL Central issue of two teams that normally don’t make postseason without playing the worst team in baseball history a disproportionate number of times. Stanton Soto Judge are also not guys who can easily change their approaches just to make contact…especially Stanton and Judge. LA always fought you every single at-bat, and had more of a cohesive team approach…seemingly.

The Black Widow

Most assuredmy they are part of going from 12th to last in fWAR though in the span of 2-3 seasons.

That would make sense if he's throwing more cutters than true sliders....then even moreso for a sweeper, which he doesn't throw yet.

The last real significant contributors on the position player side to come from basically nowhere are Narvaez, McCann and Yermin. The rest were first or second round draft picks (Sheets, who probably carries negligible overall value statistically.) Romy for the Red Sox, I guess…if you want to count him.

The issue is we constantly replace major league talent from the 2019-21 rosters with less than replacement value and keep getting worse instead of better. Fedde Kopech Crochet and Robert were transformed into just a negative asset so far. The next time we turn out a stud SS or 2B will be the first time since Tim Anderson and Ray Durham.

https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/316381/ https://www.truebluela.com/2023/8/8/23823149/dodgers-hyun-seok-jang-south-korea-international-bonus-pool The Dodgers are not the only team that takes risks. This LHP prep kid from Korea we traded them intl bonus money to sign might never make the majors…or he could be another Nomo Park Urias, or anything in between. But you never know unless you’re actually willing to spend money like the Guardians do in Latin America. You don’t need the Rangers or Padres scouting budgets to pull this off. You can always operate like the Brewers or Rays if you want. It just takes organizational vision and commitment.

Vargas was a negligible risk. They already had Rojas Lux Muncy and then added Ki ke and Edman. Zero need for a non productive player without plus tools…except walking. Half the GM’s in baseball would take a flier since failure would be expected and success a massive feather in your cap. Like when the Sox traded Borchard for Matt Thornton after Cooper spotted a quick fix. The low A infielders were never more than lottery tickets for a team that buys 25-30 per season…neither of those guys have plus tools across the board.

"Since coming to Los Angeles, no hitter has gotten a hit off his cutter anywhere in the strike zone, or even in the “shadow” area just around the strike zone. Those cutters have led to extra strikes and the count leverage to let that fastball rip above the zone, his bread and butter as a reliever." Clearly two differentiated pitches...but that's where charting gets more complicated. Cutter sweeper slider. All with different spin and drop rates.

See cutter vs. slider argument above highlighted in The Athletic. Clearly a pretty significant change in his repertoire that happened quite quickly. Everyone could see his slider was a pitch he was struggling to throw consistently with the Sox.

"The July 29 trade that moved Michael Kopech from the Chicago White Sox to the Dodgers was like going from the outhouse to the penthouse for the flame-throwing reliever. Kopech went from turmoil on a 100-game losing team to fighting for a pennant and possibly becoming a high-leverage closer." Bonus points for that description, lol.

What changed besides the team? In order to find the right balance with the fastball, Kopech had to find the right breaking ball. It wasn’t necessarily the slider he’d been throwing in Chicago. He’s switched over to a cutter that’s three miles per hour slower and has four fewer inches of drop than the slider. That lack of movement is the point. “The cutter is a pitch that I can just rip a little bit more, like a fastball, stay through it easier,” Kopech told Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. “I can throw it more in the strike zone with less action, rather than trying to turn over a slider. I can find a place for both, but that cutter is playing for me well in the zone.” Since coming to Los Angeles, no hitter has gotten a hit off his cutter anywhere in the strike zone, or even in the “shadow” area just around the strike zone. Those cutters have led to extra strikes and the count leverage to let that fastball rip above the zone, his bread and butter as a reliever. https://dodgersnation.com/how-did-the-dodgers-fix-michael-kopech/2024/09/13/

How about 10 of the 18 batters he faced in those five Sox appearances were below 100 ops+????? Brooks Lee 64 Heim 72 Foscue -52 K Hayes 61 Kepler twice 91 Wallner and Seager were the only two exceptional hitters he faced...Semien exactly at 100.

Isn't five consecutive appearances also SSS?

Better defense behind him in the out field and SS 2B 1B? Higher quality catcher in Smith to work with? More confidence/conviction behind his pitches? The flyball pitcher can be aided by the marine layer/fall night air in So Cal...especially late season in non day games.

You're quickly going to run out of starting pitchers after Burnes, Fried, Snell (most wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole, look at his average IP/start, Greg) and Flaherty... Manaea 3/$66 million Buehler 2/$50 million Eovaldi 2/$50 million Wacha (will leave Royals) 2/$44 million Severino 2/$40 million Kikuchi 2/$40 million Scherzer 1/$25 million (only a contender, in all likelihood) Sugano (JAPAN) 2/$36 million Pivetta 2/$36 million Nick Martinez 2/$32 million Verlander 1/$20 (only a contender, in all likelihood) Bieber 1/$15 (coming off a major injury) Good luck with that Greg...you have to pick two guys who are costing twice as much as Eric Fedde, and hit on both of them. Japanese pitchers are notoriously volatile (we don't even scout the Pacific Rim), Martinez was mostly a reliever and spot starter for Cincy, Bieber's coming off almost an entire year off...but that's where you are shopping, and we all know JR won't approve even ONE "semi-expensive" legit veteran starting pitcher, let alone two.

The Atlanta Braves traded Jorge Soler to the Los Angeles Angels on October 31. Trading Soler means the Braves are not responsible for his $16 million salary in 2025. FanSided's Zachary Rotman noted that the trade for Soler could clear up enough money for the Braves to sign Willy Adames of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Braves traded Soler for Griffin Canning. "On the other hand, though, the Braves cleared a ton of money with this move. Since the Angels didn't force the Braves to eat any of the contract, all they had to send away to get Soler was Canning," wrote Rotman. "Assuming the Braves do non-tender Canning, they'll open up $32 million to spend. Soler was set to make $16 million in 2025 and 2026." Spotrac projects Adames to sign a six-year, $152 million deal in free agency. He is the marquee shortstop available and the Braves will likely be in on him, along with the Los Angeles Dodgers. https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/atlanta-braves/news/braves-trade-jorge-soler-opens-door-sign-willy-adames-brewers-mlb-news/ff77efa7eea70481f83ddfd1 The other choices for the Dodgers at SS are Edman, Rojas (better as utility guy), HaSeong Kim (coming off surgery on his shoulder)...or Betts, although they seem settled on moving him back to the outfield for now. Can't imagine they'd consider Javier Baez for ANY amount at this point. For ATL, looks like another version of the Bummer trade...dump someone (or multiple guys in case of Soroka/Lopez) they no longer wanted on the roster (Soler in this case, already have Ozuna at DH), non-tender Canning and reallocate that money more efficiently.

Well, theoretically he'd replace Sheets...or be a platoon bat depending on splits, but the Angels are on the hook for $32 million of the remaining deal. There has to be money going to LAA, except these trades are usually the opposite, where money is going TO Atlanta instead, as they are quite careful with their budgets (typically) as part of a corporate entity.

Benintendi the first 3-4 months...before the managerial change.

Let's not forget ripping on the guys who are likely comprising 2/3rds of his 2025 roster probably isn't the best approach when Grifol already tried that approach and it only served to unify the players against him.

Part of the Astros' makeup draft after the Aiken year with Bregman at 2, Kyle Tucker at 5 and Cameron at 37 before going to Detroit for Verlander...son of Mike.

Almost the kind of move you'd expect for Davis Martin if the Sox weren't cutting payroll and trying to foist Fletcher on fans as an everyday OF option.

Trades....Robert was the major Cuban signing after Abreu.

No no no Tobias Myers. 2.2 fWAR in partial season…top 3 playoff starter for Brewers. See 2022. 15.92 era in Charlotte. 1-15 in total that year across AAA stops. https://www.mlb.com/news/tobias-myers-becoming-brewers-breakout-rookie-in-2024 https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/203989/