professa

What about a guy like Everth Cabrera who we could get on a cheap deal? I know he has a sketchy past, but I think he would be great insurance for 2B, and could be a nice piece off the bench. Another guy to consider (if ATL would pay for a lot of his contact) is Chris Johnson. Maybe flip Viciedo for him? He mashes LHP, and would be great to give conor or LaRoche a break. Just putting some ideas out there

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 18, 2014 -> 03:43 PM) FanGraphs looks at Duke http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs...ew-miller-lite/ Everyone concerned about the Duke contract should read this.

The LHRP market is not very deep, so this is what it's going to cost. 5 million a year on average won't prevent us from making other moves, so the amount is not an issue.

Sox definitely checked in on what has lead to Duke's success...No way they hand out a multiyear contract without evidence of a change mechanically in his delivery, in his repertoire, or his mentality. I think his is a great signing. Since moving to the pen in 2012, his FIP from that point on is 2.81, even if you include the seasons when his era is 6+ and 8+.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Nov 2, 2014 -> 02:00 PM) Nori actually has some reverse splits working for him, he's actually been a beast against LHP. He could use a platoon partner vs RHP. Whoa thanks for pointing that out. Then we actually do not want him anywhere near Robin Ventura, as Aoki is destined to get misused.

Honestly, he would fine for a platoon as long as we get another big time hitter in the DH role. He's a type of player though that needs to be spelled against LH. Whether that means keeping Viciedo to platoon with him or sign a guy like Gomes, I'm not sure. Rick will figure it out.

Sign Pablo Sandoval 5/90 Sign Adam LaRoche 2/24 Sign Emilio Bonifacio 2/10 Sign Jonny Gomes 1/5 Sign Edinson Volquez 3/24 Sign Joe Thatcher 2/8 Sign K-Rod 2/14 (MLBTR Projected Salary) Trade Tank for reliever or specs Lineup 1. Eaton CF 2. Alexei SS 3. Abreu 1B/DH 4. Sandoval 3B 5. LaRoche 1B/DH 6. Garcia RF 7. Gillaspie/Gomes LF platoon 8. Flowers C 9. Micah/Semien/Sanchez Rotation 1. Sale 2. Volquez 3. Quintana 4. Danks 5. Noesi/Rodon Pen Cl K Rod SU Petricka SU Putnam MR Thatcher MR Guerra MR Webb MR Trade

Chris Sale started out in the pen mostly because there wasn't a spot for him in the rotation. We were also competing, and putting Sale in the starting rotation during a playoff race would not have been ideal for his development. That made sense. Starting Rodon in the bullpen in 2015 makes zero sense, especially when Rodon is (1) arguably the second best pitcher on the team (without even throwing a ML pitch), and (2) there is room in the rotation. No need to waste his service time throwing 3 innings a week doing something he has never done before. Either let him develop in AAA as a starter or start him with the big club in the rotation.

Avi Garcia's numbers translated to 550 ABs: 26 HRs 99 RBIs 51 BBs .793 OPS

If we're giving them Flowers and Gillaspie, they better be giving us Castro and +++ back. Flowers actually has a higher fWAR than Castro this year, but not as much upside. I'd rather part with a prospect than Gillaspie although Houston might be interested in him because of how abysmal Dominguez has been this year.

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Sep 10, 2014 -> 04:04 PM) Vmart will sign with tigers and Jackson for danks is worse. Jackson is not as bad as Danks. Look at the FIP.

I love the idea of getting Ethier, but I don't think LA would want to take on Danks in return...I'd think LA would rather scoop up a starting pitcher of better quality in the free agent market...Ethier still has 3 yrs at ~17 per...I'd take him if they ate 10 million per year and stick him in left. Offseason Moves Trade Andre Ethier and 10 mil per year for Josh Phegley Trade John Danks for Edwin Jackson Sign Victor Martinez 4/60 Sign K Rod 2/12 Sign Andrew Miller 3/21 Sign Justin Masterson 1/8 Lineup (RH/LH) 1. Eaton CF 2. Ramirez SS 3. Abreu 1B 4. Martinez DH 5. Garcia RF 6. Ethier/Viciedo LF 7. Gillaspie/Semien 3B 8. Sanchez, Johnson, ect. 9. Flowers Rotation 1. Sale 2. Masterson 3. Quintana 4. Jackson 5. Noesi Pen CL Rodriguez SU Miller SU Petricka MR Putnam MR Guerra MR Webb MR Spring Training Surprise Once Rodon comes up, you can throw masterson, jackson, or noesi in the pen. All have good enough stuff to be able to do a decent job in there.

Why would you trade someone from our area of weakness (pitching) for an area that is somewhat a strength (hitting) when you can address offensive needs through free agency without giving up a prospect? We have plenty of $$ to sufficiently address both areas.

Trade danks for edwin jackson and throw in some cash. Jackson's FIP is 4.33 this season and 3.79 last so he's better than the numbers say. Then take a flier on a guy like Josh Beckett, Justin Masterson, or a Colby Lewis. Heck I would even be ok with Jake returning for a season. Noesi is serviceable, but not someone you want on a contending team. Nowadays, an era over 4.00 is poor, especially if he is not going to give you 200 IP. Flip him for a reliever or something, while he still has value.

My dream offseason Sign V-Mart to a 4 year $60 million deal Sign Russell Martin to a 3 year $33 million deal Sign Brandon McCarthy to a 3 year $30 million deal (Love his advanced numbers) Sign Emilio Bonifacio to a 2 year $10 million deal as a super sub Sign a couple of relievers ($8 million) We have around $44 million committed to next year. Throw in another $10 million for Viciedo, Flowers, Noesi, and Nate Jones arbitration contracts. Add the above signings and the payroll is just over $100 million 1. Eaton CF 2. Martin C 3. Abreu IB 4. Martinez DH 5. Garcia RF 6. Ramirez SS 7. Gillaspie 3B 8. Viciedo LF 9. Johnson/Semien/Sanchez ect. 1. Sale 2. McCarthy 3. Quintana 4. Rodon/Noesi 5. Danks

Sign Brandon McCarthy 3yrs 30 million Sign Jonny Gomes 2 yrs 14 million Acquire/sign Gerardo Parra (if non tendered) 1 yr 5 million w/ club option Sign Michael Cuddyer 2 yr 20 million RH relief pitcher LH relief pitcher vs. RHP 1. Eaton CF 2. Parra LF 3. Cuddyer DH 4. Abreu 1B 5. Avi Garcia RF 6. Conor Gillaspie 3B 7. Alexei Ramirez SS 8. Marcus Semien/Micah Johnson 2B 9. Tyler Flowers C vs LHP 1. Eaton CF 2. Alexei SS 3.Cuddyer DH/LF 4. Abreu 1B 5. Avi Garcia 6. Jonny Gomes LF/DH 7. Beckham 3B 8. Semien/Micah 2B 9. Flowers C Rotation 1. Sale 2. Quintana 3. McCarthy 4. Danks 5. Noesi/Erik Johnson/Rodon Like the idea of Beckham platooning with Conor. Like LF platoon too.McCarthy would be a nice add. Also, does anyone think the Halos would do a Danks-CJ Wilson swap straight up? CJ has struggled this year, but I think he has more upside than Danks. We could try and sell the fact that Danks is younger and a little cheaper. Just a thought.

Being shopped by the D-Bags (http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/07/diamondbacks-shopping-gerardo-parra.html). I wouldn't be opposed to a Parra/Viciedo platoon. Parra is a career .286 hitter against RHP and last year hit about .300 with a .820 OPS. Plus Plus defense. Could probably switch over to LF once Avi comes back. Tank is best served as a platoon guy until he can show that he can be consistent. 1. Eaton 2. Parra 3. Abreu 4. Dunn 5. Avisail 6. Gillaspie 7. Alexei 8. Beckham 9. Flo

If Conor Gillaspie doesn't get injured and lets say, plays 100 games instead of his current 81, his fWAR is 2.3 as opposed to 1.9. Puts him 11th (instead of 13th) among MLB 3rd basemen and 6th in the AL. The last WSox 3rd bagger to be in the top 10 was Gordon Beckham in 2009 when he was 7th. Joe Crede racked up a 4.0 WAR in 2006 to place him 3rd among 3rd baseman. In other words... Hang on to this kid. He should not be traded and in fact, should be resigned to a team friendly extension, give him what Mark Teahen got (3 yrs ~15-17 million IIRC). Matt Davidson is not the future at 3rd base. Conor Gillaspie is. Matt Davidson is Mark Reynolds with less power. Who cares if he doesn't hit home runs? I'd much rather go with a perennial .290-300/.350/.440 line which is what Gillaspie will probably give you in a typical year with a 15% K rate than take a risk and probably get ~ .220/.300/.440 line at best with Davidson, to go along with at least a 25% K rate. Who cares that Conor doesn't hit home runs? Make up for it in another area. Worst case scenario Gillaspie is a platoon 3rd baseman or is a 1B/3B/LF/RF guy off your bench. Those guys are valuable and stick around a long time.

"AJ Pierzynski is the smartest baserunner in the American League" --Ken Harrelson

I'm a big Ranger fan so I'll give you guys a little scouting report on him based on what I've seen the past three seasons: The guy is a pro, a really great leader and was pretty much the captain of the team after we traded callahan to tampa even tho richie didn't wear the C. Highly respected in the room. On the ice, he is really slowing down and that was evident in the playoffs, especially the last two rounds. He can play the point on the powerplay and is still pretty creative. Your probably gonna get 50 points out of him, maybe even 60+ with the players he'll be playing with. I caution Q to not use him more than 15 min a night. The last couple games of the finals he was playing on the 4th line because he simply could not keep up with the pace. It'll be interesting to see how he does in the faster, more physical west. But for 2 million, you're definitely getting an asset and a quality human being. Best of luck, Brad.

What we're really lacking is a true #3 hitter in our lineup (even tho conor is doing a great job) and a #2/#3 starter RH starter. Unfortunately, there really aren't any true #3 hitters hitting FA unless you're gonna spend crazy money. I think getting a guy like Markakis or Zobrist would be smart on a 3 year deal ~ 36 million until we figure out if Hawkins/Avisail can become that guy. Also, getting a vet right hander like Haren or Peavy on a 1-2 yr pact would be ideal. Resign Dunn for a year too ~8 million. Lineup 1. Eaton CF 2. Semien/Micah/Sanchez 2B 3. Markakis/Zobrist LF 4. Abreu 1B 5. Dunn DH 6. Avisail RF 7. Conor 3B 8. Alexei SS 9. Flowers/Nieto Rotation 1. Sale 2. Peavy/Haren 3. Quintana 4. Danks 5. Rodon/Johnson

In general, where would #44 rank in terms of our top 10 prospects? top 5?

I don't see us signing a pitcher, I see us signing a guy like Colby Rasmus next offseason (Something to the tune of 5/85 would seem like market value). Future lineup: LF Adam Eaton 2nd Marcus Semien RF Avisail Garcia 1B Jose Abreu CF Colby Rasmus DH Dayan Viciedo 3B Matt Davidson C Free Agent SS Tim Anderson Rotation Sale Quintana 3rd overall pick Johnson Beck/Some free agent/prospect

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Dec 30, 2013 -> 11:10 PM) I don't think the small sample size of spring training is completely determinative unless it's a very extreme difference. Do you think Davidson will put up a .736 OPS against right handers over a full year next year? But if they were to make Davidson the starter out of spring training they may as well send Keppinger plus $7.5 million to who'll ever take him. He would literally have no purpose on the team at that point. That's not fair. Conor is left handed, so a better question to ask is if Davidson can put up a .736 ops against lefties. And I think he can. Conor could be an effective bench player. I'd keep him. Cheap and controllable.

I think we're pretty much done except for trading away one of keppinger/de aza/viciedo. I think we stick with flowers phegley. Flowers, if he plays to his potential, can produce to at least a .235/.325/425 with 20 HRs and 60 RBI. I say give the kid another year see if he can do it. I say we trade Kepp and send cash for a low level spec. Gives us 1. Eaton Bench Rotation Pen 2. Ramirez 1. De Aza 1.Sale CL: Nate Jones 3. Garcia 2. Garcia 2.Quintana SU: Lindstrom 4. Abreu 3. Gillaspie 3.Johnson Su: Belasario 5. Dunn 4.Phegley/the other guy we picked up 4.Danks MR: Downs 6. Viciedo 5.Rienzo/Paulino MR: Daniel Webb 7. Davidson MR: Petricka 8. Flowers 9. Beckham Can go with another bench guy or reliever...our bench does look pretty versatile little pop, speed, and some decent gloves.