redline248 said:

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Can't believe a righteous former Dodger would agrees to play for a bunch cheaters.

What's the book on him? High K/inning guy, looks like.

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Maybe it is an inside job to get someone in the dugout and throw at them during batting practice now

Interesting to look at how our 2021 staff is shaping up with the Stanek/Baez acquisitions and the potential to add one more hand (no pun intended) to our late inning menu of options. We're really developing a nice stable IMO.

I like the Baez pickup simply because it allows us to get more creative with roles for guys that we used in the back end last year (ie Taylor, Paredes, and Raley). Adding another hand (no pun intended) would really give us some nice flexibility.

Starting rotation seems pretty set (Framber, LMJ, Greinke, Urquidy, Javier) but all of those guys will almost certainly miss starts. It will be interesting to see how we use Stanek. Will we use him as an opener for any of those five? Or will we reserve him for down the road when we need fill in starts? Do we groom, say, James or Perez as openers too?

Assuming we're able to add another back of the bullpen hand (no pun intended) to go along with Baez, I'm excited to see how we deploy Paredes this year. He was a starter in the minor leagues, so I think it's possible he could end up back in an extended role (ie a game where Stanek starts and Paredes pitches innings 2-6).

It's also fun to think that of the pitchers listed below, 6-7 won't be on the big league roster to start the season. We'll have the luxury of keeping guys fresh over the 162 and grooming them in the minors for specialty roles.

SP: Framber, LMJ, Greinke, Urquidy, Javier (potential JV return in September)
Pen: Stanek, Solomon, Scrubb, Whitley, Abreu, Garcia, James, Perez, Raley, Paredes, J Smith, Taylor, Baez, Pressly, another late inning hand (no pun intended)

Anyway, I like where our staff is headed.

Ag_07 said:

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Deluxe said:

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Do we groom, say, James or Perez as openers too?

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Lol. He's not a good starter and not a good reliever. Opener is probably his last chance to find a role that fits.

CFTXAG10 said:

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Glad this is actually happening, because "soon" has been going on for 12 months now.

Deluxe said:

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Ag_07 said:

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Deluxe said:

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Do we groom, say, James or Perez as openers too?

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Lol. He's not a good starter and not a good reliever. Opener is probably his last chance to find a role that fits.

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you do realize that an opener STARTS the game right...whish he is not good at. Id like to see him be a piece dealt for someone

James has great stuff. High 90s FB and a great change up in the 80s to work off the FB. When he's been effective in the past he used them well. His biggest issue is what's between his ears.

Mathguy64 said:

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James has great stuff. High 90s FB and a great change up in the 80s to work off the FB. When he's been effective in the past he used them well. His biggest issue is what's between his ears.

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The quality of his stuff is directly proportional to his ability to control it. He gets the first 2 outs of an inning, then he can't control where it's going. Either that, or he gets to his second inning, and it's nowhere near the zone. I swear, last year, you could set your watch by it. Framber needs to hook him up with whoever he went to see before last year.

Bingo.

If James could ever harness control he'd be great. At this point....BIG if

Lonestar_Ag09 said:

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Deluxe said:

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Ag_07 said:

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Deluxe said:

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Do we groom, say, James or Perez as openers too?

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Lol. He's not a good starter and not a good reliever. Opener is probably his last chance to find a role that fits.

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you do realize that an opener STARTS the game right...whish he is not good at. Id like to see him be a piece dealt for someone

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Yes, I do realize that.

For some reason... I feel you the pun was actually intended...

I figured another 2 year for Brantley would make sense and then have Leon take his place

You deserve a hand for figuring that out

I might have been born yesterday, but I was up all night.

Farmer1906 said:

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Sounds like the Mets are close to adding a hand (pun intended) to the back of their bullpen

Farmer1906 said:

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Gotta Hand it to the Mets.

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Haha nice

The Mets are Handling their offseason smoothly and greasing lots of palms. The really have their fingers on the pulse of the FA market.

Being reported the LeMahieu will sign with the Yankees for 6 years $90MM. That should give Springer something to think about.

Interesting....

Mathguy64 said:

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Being reported the LeMahieu will sign with the Yankees for 6 years $90MM. That should give Springer something to think about.

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You're paying for years 32-39(bday in the middle of the season) which isn't ideal for them, but the payment isn't ridiculous.

He seems to have hit his prime at 30 in NY so it makes sense to expect him to play well as he ages. It also makes some sense that something fishy is going on the NY.

Years 35-38/39 will be interesting to say the least. I wonder just how front loaded this contract is.

So the low hanging fruit would be Springer to the Blue Jays?

So if the Jays were willing to give DJ 19.5, Springer probably still eyeing 20+, right?

Quote:

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George Springer: The Mets seemed like a good spot for Springer for most of the winter. That may have changed with the recent blockbuster trade between New York and Cleveland that sent star shortstop Francisco Lindor and starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco to the Big Apple. The Mets reportedly are looking to steer clear of the $210 million luxury tax threshold for 2021, so suddenly the math of accommodating Springer doesn't work. Still, the buzz around Springer's prospects remains positive. He's going to get paid.

Prediction: Blue Jays. The smoke-to-fire ratio around Toronto in the rumor mill has been heavily tilted toward the former. For all we've read about the Jays' supposed aggressiveness, their winter haul at the moment consists of re-signing starter Robbie Ray to a one-year, $8 million contract. That's going to change and Toronto's need for a Springer-level outfielder is acute. -- Doolittle

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From ESPN.

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Marcell Ozuna: There has been surprisingly little buzz on Ozuna, even though he had the third-highest wOBA in 2020 behind only Juan Soto and Freddie Freeman. Ozuna is kind of caught in no-man's land, as it's to his advantage to wait and see if the National League adopts the designated hitter in order to get more teams potentially involved in his bidding. On the other hand, if that ruling comes weeks down the road -- or not at all -- teams may eventually spend their money on somebody else.
A return to the Braves still makes sense, given his importance to the lineup. And while he did spend more time at DH than left field in 2020, the idea that he's a "DH only" has been overstated. He's passable in left field. The Braves are about $48 million below their 2020 payroll, so there might be room in the budget, plus they have significant salaries coming off the books after 2021 (although some of that will have to go to Freeman, eligible for free agency after the season). The Astros are another possible fit if they're willing to play him in left field (Yordan Alvarez is locked in at DH), but with half the American League in "rebuilding" mode or small-market clubs like the Rays and A's, Ozuna really needs the NL side of things to open up for him.

Prediction: Astros. The Astros need an outfielder and a bat to replace Springer (and Michael Brantley) and have money to spend. They can live with Ozuna's defense -- he was actually plus-1 defensive run saved in 2019 with the Cardinals -- and while they whiffed on signing Liam Hendriks or Blake Treinen, that leaves more cash to spend on Ozuna. -- David Schoenfield

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Same article.

I could live with him as a Blue Jay. I like watching them as a fun young team like 2017 Astros

Marvin said:

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Quote:

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Marcell Ozuna: There has been surprisingly little buzz on Ozuna, even though he had the third-highest wOBA in 2020 behind only Juan Soto and Freddie Freeman. Ozuna is kind of caught in no-man's land, as it's to his advantage to wait and see if the National League adopts the designated hitter in order to get more teams potentially involved in his bidding. On the other hand, if that ruling comes weeks down the road -- or not at all -- teams may eventually spend their money on somebody else.
A return to the Braves still makes sense, given his importance to the lineup. And while he did spend more time at DH than left field in 2020, the idea that he's a "DH only" has been overstated. He's passable in left field. The Braves are about $48 million below their 2020 payroll, so there might be room in the budget, plus they have significant salaries coming off the books after 2021 (although some of that will have to go to Freeman, eligible for free agency after the season). The Astros are another possible fit if they're willing to play him in left field (Yordan Alvarez is locked in at DH), but with half the American League in "rebuilding" mode or small-market clubs like the Rays and A's, Ozuna really needs the NL side of things to open up for him.

Prediction: Astros. The Astros need an outfielder and a bat to replace Springer (and Michael Brantley) and have money to spend. They can live with Ozuna's defense -- he was actually plus-1 defensive run saved in 2019 with the Cardinals -- and while they whiffed on signing Liam Hendriks or Blake Treinen, that leaves more cash to spend on Ozuna. -- David Schoenfield

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Same article.

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I actually like Ozuna. Think he was overshadowed by Freeman and Acuna Jr. A little weary about an outfield with him AND Brantley (maybe its one or the other). Imagining a lineup that has Ozuna and Alavarez mashing in it sounds pretty damn fun.

Every dollar the Yankees spend on right handed hitting and not on pitching is a positive