What has or can anyone in the AL do to close what is a pretty large gap between the Astros and the field. nd that is likely increased with Abreu over Yuli. If the Yankees spend 55-60mil a year just bringing back Rizzo and Judge they have not gotten any better. Would they really commit another 40 a year for JV. So they lose in 6 instead of a sweep. Mariners look to be a bit better but they were 16 back and swept as well. Indians are not better, Rays not bettor, Baltimore, and so on. The Phillies signing Trae Turner and another starter would get interesting though.

No he was released so he could pick his destination

yes, the American League does not look very strong outside of the Astros

I say we pay Kate half that amount just to come to a few games next year.

Money better spent than that ridiculous ass number over 3 years.

Farmer1906 said:

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W said:

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yes, the American League does not look very strong outside of the Astros

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You never know. Who saw the Giants winning 107 games? Someone like Seattle & Toronto would emerge and win 100+.

I think it's safe to say we'll be heavy favorites to have a bye for the next 2 years. We'll have an edge in the postseason, but that's always a crap shoot. It doesn't have to be a better team to beat us in the playoffs.

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Agreed.

Every team other than the Rangers, A's, and Angels is spending the off-season trying to figure out how to narrow the gap between us and them. That's what makes the sustained greatness so incredible. When you're the top dog, everyone's figuring out how to try and beat you in a fight. Players get better, teams gel, and you've got to hold them all off to get back and defend your trophy again.

Can I interest you in Mrs Abreu?

Per MLB transaction logs, the #Marlins signed shortstop Alex De Goti to a minor-league deal on Thursday.

Miami native. Belen Jesuit alum.

15th round pick by the Astros in 2016, made a brief MLB debut in 2021 (2 games). Career .255 hitter with a .729 OPS in the minors.

— Jordan McPherson (@J_McPherson1126) December 2, 2022

Thanks to covid, I think he has the honor of having a major league RBI while also having 0 major league service time on a 40 man roster.

that's why the AL doesn't look very strong...

it's going to take an unforeseen / miracle team to break out of the pack

The Forehead Family

Heyman is probably my least favorite baseball reporter there is.

Heyman is worthless in the off-season. I can tweet out that every team is in contact with every free agent just like he can

Deluxe said:

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AggiEE said:

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I like the versatility Contreras provides.

He's an elite hitting catcher that doesn't need to play catcher all the time in the regular season where rest is very important, but WILL likely get most starts at catcher when every game is more critical (playoffs) and we can have the much vaunted LINEUP OF DEATH. His offensive numbers would rank him very high on the Astros which have very strong offensive depth now with Abreu. So he's elite offensively without even taking into consideration that he's a catcher.

I think it's worth getting him here, even if it looks a little costly. Maldy is on the books for one more year. Use this next year as an opportunity to get Contreras some starts at catcher and even try and fit in some with our younger talent for when Maldy is gone.

Sign Brantley for cheap as the LH option on a short term deal. We have a lot of OF depth in the minors, so I don't see a big need to sign for a big OF contract.

The more I look at the Contreras situation the more I like it from a fit standpoint.

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That's where I'm netting out too.

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Maldy started almost every game in the playoffs over Vasquez. What makes you think dusty would catch Contreras over maldy in the playoffs. It's very clear maldy is the guy with how he handles the staff.

MosesHallRAB04 said:

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Deluxe said:

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AggiEE said:

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I like the versatility Contreras provides.

He's an elite hitting catcher that doesn't need to play catcher all the time in the regular season where rest is very important, but WILL likely get most starts at catcher when every game is more critical (playoffs) and we can have the much vaunted LINEUP OF DEATH. His offensive numbers would rank him very high on the Astros which have very strong offensive depth now with Abreu. So he's elite offensively without even taking into consideration that he's a catcher.

I think it's worth getting him here, even if it looks a little costly. Maldy is on the books for one more year. Use this next year as an opportunity to get Contreras some starts at catcher and even try and fit in some with our younger talent for when Maldy is gone.

Sign Brantley for cheap as the LH option on a short term deal. We have a lot of OF depth in the minors, so I don't see a big need to sign for a big OF contract.

The more I look at the Contreras situation the more I like it from a fit standpoint.

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That's where I'm netting out too.

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Maldy started almost every game in the playoffs over Vasquez. What makes you think dusty would catch Contreras over maldy in the playoffs. It's very clear maldy is the guy with how he handles the staff.

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1. It would be a full year of preparation with the staff.
2. We would have a ~4-year commitment with Contreras.
3. The gap between Contreras and Maldy >>>> Vazquez and Maldy
4. Who the hell knows.... its pepaw Dusty.

I guess they're giving up on a Winkler resurgence. He was one of the best hitters in baseball from 20-21. Wong's best season offensively per OPS+ (118 last year) would rank 5th best for Winkler.

MosesHallRAB04 said:

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Maldy started almost every game in the playoffs over Vasquez. What makes you think dusty would catch Contreras over maldy in the playoffs. It's very clear maldy is the guy with how he handles the staff.

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No one on here loves Maldy more than me. The answer to your question is we don't know yet.

Contreras would have a spring + full season to work with our staff. If he makes big strides with his staff handling capabilities and our pitchers trust him, he has a chance to split time with Maldy behind the plate in October. If not, Maldy will still get the bulk of the starts.

We're obviously gonna throw Maldy to the scrap heap if he's healthy, but Contreras can earn a bigger portion of the reps.

Farmer1906 said:

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I guess they're giving up on a Winkler resurgence. He was one of the best hitters in baseball from 20-21. Wong's best season offensively per OPS+ (118 last year) would rank 5th best for Winkler.

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I remember there being a lot of talk from the Mariners side after the DS about how he was lazy and didn't really prepare for games very well. That made him a bad fit for their clubhouse to the point where they didn't really want him around.

Deluxe said:

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MosesHallRAB04 said:

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Maldy started almost every game in the playoffs over Vasquez. What makes you think dusty would catch Contreras over maldy in the playoffs. It's very clear maldy is the guy with how he handles the staff.

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No one on here loves Maldy more than me. The answer to your question is we don't know yet.

Contreras would have a spring + full season to work with our staff. If he makes big strides with his staff handling capabilities and our pitchers trust him, he has a chance to split time with Maldy behind the plate in October. If not, Maldy will still get the bulk of the starts.

We're obviously gonna throw Maldy to the scrap heap if he's healthy, but Contreras can earn a bigger portion of the reps.

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If Maldy is getting the bulk of the starts in the postseason after Contreras is shown to be competent and there are no other injuries, then I am going to lose it.

Yes, I know this is a hypothetical playoff decision about a player not yet on the team, but still. I would lose it.

Farmer1906 said:

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Deluxe said:

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MosesHallRAB04 said:

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Maldy started almost every game in the playoffs over Vasquez. What makes you think dusty would catch Contreras over maldy in the playoffs. It's very clear maldy is the guy with how he handles the staff.

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No one on here loves Maldy more than me. The answer to your question is we don't know yet.

Contreras would have a spring + full season to work with our staff. If he makes big strides with his staff handling capabilities and our pitchers trust him, he has a chance to split time with Maldy behind the plate in October. If not, Maldy will still get the bulk of the starts.

We're obviously gonna throw Maldy to the scrap heap if he's healthy, but Contreras can earn a bigger portion of the reps.

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If Maldy is getting the bulk of the starts in the postseason after Contreras is shown to be competent and there are no other injuries, then I am going to lose it.

Yes, I know this is a hypothetical playoff decision about a player not yet on the team, but still. I would lose it.

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Yeah I think a year of regular work throughout the season would be enough proof we need. Good chance we don't sign JV either, so that's one less pitcher that may be adamant about his catcher.

Last year I saw no issues with Vasquez and pitching, no reason to believe Contreras would be any different. I just think that with the last minute trade deal, it didn't give the new catcher enough time to feel comfortable going into the post season.

One other thing I should note - Contreras has very good numbers against right handed pitching as a right hander. Looks to have almost equal performance regardless of which side the pitcher is throwing from. There's a lot of talk about needing more lefty depth in the lineup, but you really have to evaluate it on a player by player basis.

Farmer1906 said:

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Deluxe said:

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MosesHallRAB04 said:

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Maldy started almost every game in the playoffs over Vasquez. What makes you think dusty would catch Contreras over maldy in the playoffs. It's very clear maldy is the guy with how he handles the staff.

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No one on here loves Maldy more than me. The answer to your question is we don't know yet.

Contreras would have a spring + full season to work with our staff. If he makes big strides with his staff handling capabilities and our pitchers trust him, he has a chance to split time with Maldy behind the plate in October. If not, Maldy will still get the bulk of the starts.

We're obviously gonna throw Maldy to the scrap heap if he's healthy, but Contreras can earn a bigger portion of the reps.

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If Maldy is getting the bulk of the starts in the postseason after Contreras is shown to be competent and there are no other injuries, then I am going to lose it.

Yes, I know this is a hypothetical playoff decision about a player not yet on the team, but still. I would lose it.

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I think this dovetails nicely with the "who catches who" discussion that would take place if we sign Contreras.

Maldy has roughly 2/3 of the regular season games and Contreras 1/3. I'd make sure Contreras has one of our top three guys (Framber, LMJ or Javier), which ensures him a playoff start. I'd also give him Brown, for 2024+ rapport building and because IMO he's most likely to be our 4th starter come playoff time.

Throughout the year, let Contreras sprinkle in a few games with "Maldy's" guys to prep for potential playoff battery.

I'd stick with the same script in the playoffs and take things as they come. If we're reeling off wins, stick with what got us there. If we're losing and Maldy is a black hole, get Contreras behind the plate regardless of pitcher.

Would be a good problem to have come playoff time.

Do we roll with the team leader catcher renowned for his instincts and staff management? Or do we roll with the best offensive catcher in the game?