turnin' two

Hahaha! Liam, sorry if I spelled your name wrong at all! Its just that I am a dufus (but I don't think I did ). Also you're a beast. Thanks in advance for saving those World Series games with ease! Fosters all around! Also sorry if I wasn't exuberant enough in wanting you here. I was just protecting myself, I've had my heart broken before.

What? for deGrom maybe, if they throw in Conforto.

He gave us years of bad defense in those 29 games! ?

I can see how the Brewers would be attracted to a backend of Heuer-Williams-Hader. That would be pretty devastating.

And I would add, that while the Brewers don't appear good enough on paper to compete with the Dodgers or Padres, you never know. Especially when you have players like Woodruff and Corbin who could make a dangerous 1-2 and Williams and Hader in the backend. They even have Yelich who can carry an offense. They are really one pitcher stepping up away from being really dangerous.

That isn't what he was saying. He was saying you could get deGrom like production at 20% of the cost in Burnes. For the record, this is not me equating Burnes to deGrom.

Just with Woodruff and Burnes in the rotation and Williams and Hader in the pen, that may be enough to give the Brewers a bit of an edge over the other teams in the NL central. I don't get why they would trade any of those guys for less than a king's ransom.

Yeah. Loved that. Thanks for sharing it. Makes me want to hold onto Heuer even more.

The problem is that Moustakas' contract is terrible. It was ridiculously backloaded and goes 14-16-18-20 for the next 4 years, starting with this upcoming season. So, I assume the Reds would still have to kick in quite a bit of money to make that palatable.

Right?

Hey! They should shoot for the moon. The dude almost had 5 hits last season! Edit *** this is true. He was 4/39 with 1 double.

My main concern with La Stella is that he has never had more than 360 PA in a season. He has hit more than 6 HR once. He has hit more than 15 doubles once. And while he hasn't been bad against LHP, he has 249 career ABs against lefties. In 7 seasons. I know he has a lot of versatility, which is a huge plus. He walks a bit, which is good. Obviously I have no idea wh at he will cost, he may be pretty cheap. What are people thinking? 4 million? I haven't looked into any deeper stats, and I know he is a bit of a favorite around here, but can someone sell me on him. Can we expect a season more like 2019 as opposed to 2018? Why? Other than the walks, he looks similar to a less versatile version of Leury. If you normalize their careers by 162 games (which neither guy ever plays), their number (aside from walks) are pretty close. 19 2b, 4 3b, 9 HR 15 SB 21 BB for Leury (.257/.293/.360) and 22 2b, 1 3b, 9 HR 2 SB and 44 BB for La Stella (.274/.349/.405) . It obviously isn't a perfect comp, and I don't mean it to be one, but he seems like an odd guy to be the board favorite. If you could, please help me understand why he is that favorite.

Yeah, this is where it is for me. Colome has been really good, and was really good for the Sox. Hendriks is the safer to be better in the future.

I think they spent quite a bit last offseason, but maybe my memory is wrong.

I don't get this at all. He has never been anything but good in his career. Now, it is often more exciting than you'd like, and he isn't as flashy, but Colome produces. He has a sub-3 ERA in 8 seasons. The guy isn't a joke. He puts too many guys on base for comfort, but he is a good reliever and has been a good closer.

Hahaha. So true. Especially if it is a game in June to the Cubs in a year where the Sox win the World Series with Hendriks pitching immaculately.

Yeah, I suppose so, and I didn't get out the TVM calculator, but it seems like it would be silly to cut him loose and still pay him, especially because even if he is just a guy, he'd still need to be replaced.

Lol. This contract is so weird. Really, he would have to be completely terrible to decline the option for the deferment savings right? Even if Bummer (or someone else) has replaced him as closer, you'd think he would still have some value in the middle/late innings unless his arm falls off.

So now that the food guys were right about Hendriks, and the Sox have locked up their closer and solidified the pen, I think they have 2 main needs, a backend starter and a DH. I think there are a lot of options for the DH that would work, guys like LaStella (who has fans here), Adam Duvall, Jake Lamb, CJ Cron, Mitch Moreland, Jed Gyorko. All those guys kind of fit the bill. I don't think the team is looking at anyone long term for this spot, and obviously are probably looking for someone on the cheap. I think of all the choices though, my favorite, and the one that I hope the Sox pursue, is Eddie Rosario. He is a LH power bat, that will likely give an OPS around .800. I think he is the best bet to give you reliable production out of all the guys I mentioned, and more than a lot of trade options. I have no idea what his contract would look like, I would have guessed cheap after being non tendered, but maybe the Schwarber deal is a rough benchmark? I think having a guy you can expect to hit 25 hrs, 25 doubles and hit .270 hitting what 5-6-7, would be pretty great. I think he is the next guy I would target. Obviously Vaughn is a huge factor here as well, and maybe the Sox think he is ready, I just have no idea and I don't want to assume he is ready after the weirdness of last year. Anyway, who do you want to DH?

Forget it, already covered.

I only eat hot dogs at the ball park. Every where else just lacks that certain something. Portillos burgers are great.

Wow. Was just looking at his numbers and 7 BBs??? Holy smokes! I would love to have that guy. That's pretty great. He has been reasonably good each of the last 3 seasons, but was at a different level last year. Even if he is the guy from the previous 2 years, that is certainly helpful, but the ever present question, is what is his cost? The 2018/19 version of him is really good as your 4 starter. The 2020 version gives you an unreal rotation. I don't follow the M's enough to know if that was real or the result of any significant change though. Figuring out a price on him would be complicated. I don't love Seager, if you need to take his on (hopefully part) of his deal. but it wouldn't be the end of the world. He'd be a competent backup for Moncada if he needs a day here and there, and could hopefully give you something as a DH, at least to buy time for Vaughn. Over his last 2 seasons, (166 games) he has a .788 OPS and an OPS + of 115. 31 2B, 32 HR, 76 BB, 119 K. If he could give you that, I think you take it happily. I don't think I'd love or hate him being in the trade. Again, depending on of course what the cost is. I think there could be some value to Seager, and if taking him on lowers the price, it could be worth exploring.

This is it, right, there isn't really anyone that makes perfect sense for him. On paper, and with another owner, the Sox are probably the best fit. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. With Scherzer possibly gone after next season, they could keep a great rotation, and to some degree counter the punch the Mets just threw.

I'm having a bit of difficulty envisioning too much of a market for Bauer. I would think Carrasco takes the Mets out. Phillies? Braves? Marlins? Don't think so. The Nats make big moves, and he may fit, but they already have a super expensive rotation. But maybe. You can pretty much remove any NL Central team (Cards maybe? Haven't heard anything but maybe?). The NL West? Can't see Colorado being a fit. SD? I think they've made their rotation upgrades. Dodgers? They seem to be looking in other directions. Giants? That's a possibility. Arizona? I doubt it. Yanks? Haven't heard much, and I believe Bauer and Cole hate each other.Boston? He doesn't make a ton of sense for them. Rays? Yeah right. Baltimore? Ha! Toronto, seems to be a fit, but they seem more focused on Springer. Oakland? No way. Seattle? He doesn't seem to fit their timeline. Texas? Again, they will make big moves, but he doesn't seem to fit their timeline. Houston? I can see a fit, but who knows if they are ready to spend like that, and he was really critical of them so maybe some sour grapes as well. The Angels look like a good fit, but they've been gun-shy and have some really big contracts already. I think you can rule out the entire AL Central (except maybe the Sox, for the sake of this post anyways). So as potential suitors I would say he has: Nats, Cards, Giants, Angels, Jays and maybe for pretend, the Sox. Now, I may be completely off, and who knows if these teams are really interested, and maybe the Yanks, BoSox or Dodgers really are interested, and that would change everything. Of those, I don't even think the Nats are really in play. I'd guess the Giants are probably the best chance for a big payday. Then the Jays. The Angels make sense, but who knows. I guess what I'm driving at is, I don't think Bauer has a huge payday in front of him, and maybe the Sox could have a bit of a bargain available if they are sharp and willing.

Not buying it until I hear what Ehren Wasserman has to say.