Deluxe said:

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Prosperdick said:

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Tell Vazquez that he will get plenty of action behind the dish this year as well as DH/1B (when Jose needs a break) and when Maldy walks after this year he becomes the starter full-time.

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There has to be a way to make it work for Vazquez. And we should be willing to do what it takes to accommodate him. He represents a seamless transition to a savvy, playoff-tested veteran who can guide our young pitchers through 2025.

Contreras is almost solely about getting his bat. Vazquez obviously doesn't hit like Contreras but he hits well and adds way more value behind the plate. He's significantly cheaper too.

I'm back to being greedy again. I want to allocate JV's $40 million on:

Vazquez $10
Reynolds $7
Brantley $10
Cueto $13 (to backfill the pitcher we have to trade Pittsburgh)

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The thing is, saving money on JV means we shouldn't give up the farm for someone like Reynolds

I am not as concerned about CF or OF in general because we have minor league depth there and Chas is good enough with the rest of our lineup

Gonna be a huge haul for someone like Reynolds or Murphy and I just don't see them being worth what it would cost when we now have a ton of cash to deploy on free agents

Vazquez is fine, but he's not a great hitter. Outside of the juiced ball in '19 season, he's got no power or speed. He doesn't draw walks much and slaps hits the other way. Bat control seems to be his best offensive quality. He's an upgrade over Maldonado, but I don't want to commit any serious money or years to him. I wouldn't be mad if we punted the position 1 more year down if nothing comes to fruition. That way we at least have the option for have a young guy blossom. Maybe the trade options would be better? Jansen in TOR or Varsho who's been mentioned a few times.

Any clue what the asking price is on Reynolds??

Longhorn Nation said:

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Any clue what the asking price is on Reynolds??

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A ton

IMO Reynolds is the hitter version of Cole post-2017 season. Elite talent that has the potential to explode in the right situation.

I obviously agree that we shouldn't give up multiple top-end future assets on a whim. I just think Reynolds is a guy worthy of that investment. He makes our lineup seven deep of absolute studs and is controlled through 2025.

Deluxe said:

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IMO Reynolds is the pitcher version of Cole post-2017 season. Elite talent that has the potential to explode in the right situation.

I obviously agree that we shouldn't give up multiple top-end future assets on a whim. I just think Reynolds is a guy worthy of that investment. He makes our lineup seven deep of absolute studs and is controlled through 2025.

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We gave up Musgrove, Colin Moran, Michael Feliz, and Jason Martin in that trade. 2 MLB ready talents and 2 prospects. I'd do that again.

Deluxe said:

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IMO Reynolds is the hitter version of Cole post-2017 season. Elite talent that has the potential to explode in the right situation.

I obviously agree that we shouldn't give up multiple top-end future assets on a whim. I just think Reynolds is a guy worthy of that investment. He makes our lineup seven deep of absolute studs and is controlled through 2025.

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Who would you be willing to part with though?

Bonnettecj1 said:

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We gave up Musgrove, Colin Moran, Michael Feliz, and Jason Martin in that trade. 2 MLB ready talents and 2 prospects. I'd do that again.

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I would too. The Pirates have probably wised up though. Reynolds will be more expensive.

AggiEE said:

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Deluxe said:

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IMO Reynolds is the hitter version of Cole post-2017 season. Elite talent that has the potential to explode in the right situation.

I obviously agree that we shouldn't give up multiple top-end future assets on a whim. I just think Reynolds is a guy worthy of that investment. He makes our lineup seven deep of absolute studs and is controlled through 2025.

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Who would you be willing to part with though?

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Probably starts with :

Chas/Meyers
SP (Urquidy ?)
And then 1-2 prospects - Whitley would be a good one.

Bonnettecj1 said:

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Deluxe said:

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IMO Reynolds is the pitcher version of Cole post-2017 season. Elite talent that has the potential to explode in the right situation.

I obviously agree that we shouldn't give up multiple top-end future assets on a whim. I just think Reynolds is a guy worthy of that investment. He makes our lineup seven deep of absolute studs and is controlled through 2025.

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We gave up Musgrove, Colin Moran, Michael Feliz, and Jason Martin in that trade. 2 MLB ready talents and 2 prospects. I'd do that again.

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I don't think that's the best comp. Cole was declining. He just finished 2017 with an ERA north of 4. The velo was good and the hype was there, but he never put it together in PIT besides one flash in 2015. Reynolds is much more established as an elite CFer with more years of control. The package its going to take from us would be massive.

Deluxe said:

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Bonnettecj1 said:

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We gave up Musgrove, Colin Moran, Michael Feliz, and Jason Martin in that trade. 2 MLB ready talents and 2 prospects. I'd do that again.

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I would too. The Pirates have probably wised up though. Reynolds will be more expensive.

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What would it take to land him?

Urquidy +?

Yankees remain in on free agent SP Carlos Rodón https://t.co/CK0B4l3nNT

— NBC Sports EDGE Baseball (@NBCSEdgeBB) December 7, 2022

AggiEE said:

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Deluxe said:

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IMO Reynolds is the hitter version of Cole post-2017 season. Elite talent that has the potential to explode in the right situation.

I obviously agree that we shouldn't give up multiple top-end future assets on a whim. I just think Reynolds is a guy worthy of that investment. He makes our lineup seven deep of absolute studs and is controlled through 2025.

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Who would you be willing to part with though?

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There's been plenty of discussion on what it would take on previous pages. If they demand H Brown or Javier (which they might), it's obviously not going to happen.

If they're open to other ideas, I think the package starts with Urquidy, Chas and Leon. Then dangle Melton and/or Santos on top of that.

We'd backfill Urquidy's rotation spot with a free agent pitcher. Adding Reynolds negates losing Chas and Leon's utility in the organization diminishes given that Reynolds/Tucker will be occupying 2/3 of our OF for three more years.

Deluxe said:

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AggiEE said:

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Deluxe said:

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IMO Reynolds is the hitter version of Cole post-2017 season. Elite talent that has the potential to explode in the right situation.

I obviously agree that we shouldn't give up multiple top-end future assets on a whim. I just think Reynolds is a guy worthy of that investment. He makes our lineup seven deep of absolute studs and is controlled through 2025.

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Who would you be willing to part with though?

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There's been plenty of discussion on what it would take on previous pages. If they demand H Brown or Javier (which they might), it's obviously not going to happen.

If they're open to other ideas, I think the package starts with Urquidy, Chas and Leon. Then dangle Melton and/or Santos on top of that.

We'd backfill Urquidy's rotation spot with a free agent pitcher. Adding Reynolds negates losing Chas and Leon's utility in the organization diminishes given that Reynolds/Tucker will be occupying 2/3 of our OF for three more years.

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If all it takes is Urquidy, Leon, Chas/Meyers, it may be worth it if we can sign another SP

I just think that's not going to be enough

I wish we would take a shot on Masataka Yoshida, but we are hardly ever in the market for Japanese born players.

agproducer said:

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The more I think about it, the more I don't want Reynolds. I'd rather roll the dice and hold on to Leon. He's young and is supposed to be a 5 tool player. He's about a year or two away, but I think he is a chip that the Astros need to hold on to.

Also, I don't want to give up a SP for a bat that --- in this lineup --- would likely hit 7th in the order.

And, I was a proponent for trading for Reynolds at the deadline. I think he's a good player, but I think we've likely already seen his ceiling. I think Leon could be a superstar.

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Leon will be 25 early next year. He hasn't progressed much at the plate since arriving at AAA a few years ago and hasn't done much in fall/winter ball either. Strikes out alot. It's not impossible that he could be a big league contributor, but his stock is trending down. Gilbert is a much much better OF prospect at this point.

If anything, I'm concerned that Leon wouldn't have much trade value to the Pirates anymore in a Reynolds swap.

agproducer said:

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Also, I don't want to give up a SP for a bat that --- in this lineup --- would likely hit 7th in the order.
.

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Bingo

This isn't talked about enough

The Cubs are in agreement on a contract with free agent pitcher Jameson Taillon on a 4 year, $68 million deal sources tell @JeffPassan and me.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) December 7, 2022

AggiEE said:

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If all it takes is Urquidy, Leon, Chas/Meyers, it may be worth it if we can sign another SP

I just think that's not going to be enough

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Right. Like I said in my post, it would take a couple more top 15 prospects to get over the hump. My guess right now is that the Pirates would demand Gilbert. If they called and said Gilbert, Urquidy, Chas and Leon for Reynolds, I'd have to think about it. Guessing you'd say no and that's cool. I think our difference is in how good we think Reynolds is/will be.

Ag_07 said:

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Still not sure how that GM 6 homer was only measured at only 450 ft.

I don't buy a lot of the statcast distances.

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What they need to do (but never will) is get some of the top sluggers in a big parking lot and recreate a mound and have all the equipment there and check the accuracy of the equipment with real-time measurements where you can actually see where the ball lands.

wasn't this announced yesterday?

Athletics To Sign Aledmys Diaz https://t.co/SzUC280iEd pic.twitter.com/mvgYZMrxsv

— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) December 7, 2022

O/U on how many games he misses?

Since he'll be expected to play more often, a lot

Willson Contreras and #STLCards now in agreement on 5-year deal, source confirms, as first reported by @Ken_Rosenthal. @MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 7, 2022

Five years... wow

Diaz got 2/$14. Geeeeez

Catcher Willson Contreras and the St. Louis Cardinals are in agreement on a five-year, $87.5 million contract, a source familiar with the deal tells ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 7, 2022