Sounds like they meant all 3. Perhaps the Rays want at least one MLB or opening day ready player (Musgrove would be my guess).
Who says no to that? i bet it was the other way around, lunhow says no when asked to include those 3. Better deals could be had near the deadline.
Think you hit it perfectly. I'd assume TAM leaked it--they have more to gain. Everyone knows the Astros are pro-active in looking for a TOR arm. TAM sends a message turning down that type of offer, but I think most GMs see through these leaks. They probably already know this based on discussions with both clubs.
Paulino has made his debut and Martes is a AA pitcher and arguably opening day ready. If the report is accurate, it is pretty surprising to me from both sides. It would either mean Tampa doesn't regard those players nearly as well as the public scouting world does or they simply aren't interested in trading Archer (who could blame them).
Not going to pretend I know enough about either player. But lets just say that was a perfectly fair deal and Rays took it. Does that mean Martes/Tucker/Musgrove was actually fair for Quintana? I was putting Quintana a little above Archer, am I wrong?
Paulino was an injury call-up. Martes is at AA... arguably opening day ready is not opening day ready. Neither is projected to be on the Astros opening day roster. A Sale-like deal, which involved Moncanda, is probably what the Rays are looking for.... or yeah, they just don't have plans on trading Archer.
Paulino is as ready as Moncada. They aren't projected to be on our opening day roster, but Paulino probably would be for some other teams with Martes an expected early season call up.
Depends on which side of the argument you are on. MLB contending teams don't like OTJ training. Both those guys likely need MLB hitters to learn a lot and will likely only get that chance as injury replacements for the Astros (I.e. Best time to break in rookie is when team needs ).
Paulino has a vastly lower ceiling. Both guys are still essentially prospects. So is Moncada, but he's one of the best overall. That's apparently what it will take to get club controlled pitching.
Well I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery Sidenote: Rangers are smart to build 4 bullpens in preparation for our lineup lighting them up.
LULZ! ranger officials are now engaging orange juice company, Simply Orange, for a deal on naming rights.
As Jose Bautista's market continues to be almost non-existent, could he start to make more and more sense for us? The biggest issue would be the loss of our first round pick next year, but maybe we can sign him so cheap, so the contract potential value outweighs the cost (of money and the forfeiture of the pick)? I've read almost no chatter about him, or interest from other teams. Could we sign him as low as 3/$36M (with incentives to boost it up $5-$6M), and maybe even a 4th year team option if we want more flexibility and value? I think he's a great patience/power guy. His low batting average is not a huge concern, as he takes so many walks, and typically has a high OBP. His main thing is staying healthy, but if he does, you have a powerful RF who is entrenched in the middle of your order. Against righties: Altuve - 2B Bregman - 3B Correa - SS Bautista - RF Springer - CF Beltran - DH Gurriel - 1B (Reed would get a little more seasoning in the minors in my hypothetical, or traded in the package to get Archer or Quintana) McCann/Gattis - C Reddick - LF We could rotate Bautista/Beltran/Gattis in the DH role to keep them all fresh and producing throughout the marathon of a season. I don't know, I'm just spit ballin' here, but that would be one nice, balanced, deep, and powerful lineup, 1-9. My early offseason bold prediction was that we would sign Joey Bats and Wilson Ramos. Ramos' injury definitely increased his risk, but I still feel that the Rays nabbed him on a great value contract. But if this offseason nets us Joey Bats and McCann, I wouldn't complain at all. And oh by the way, how much more intense and fun would our in-state rivalry be?
Bautista makes some sense. As much as the focus was on adding LHB, but having another RHB in the OF (where Reddick should always sit against LHP, and perhaps Aoki, though I suspect last year was mostly a fluke for him). The problem is, who goes? Jake would seem most logical, but we'd be going from 3 CFs to 1, and having no speed on the bench. No way we just cut lose Aoki who is really the only other candidate. If we hadn't claimed him, we'd probably be after him (or maybe have stayed in more on EE).
Bautista is 36, had a major power falloff, a big K rate increase, and career low BA. On top of that, he's a defensive liability at this point. He just feels like a guy that's on the edge of being downright terrible, which I imagine is creating this very thin market for him. Aoki basically had the same WAR as him last year. Eventually he will have to settle on something, but I imagine the team that chooses to take that flyer will be willing to pony up more than I would be comfortable giving him. On top of that, him, Beltran, and Reddick feel redundant. Being a lefty does nothing for me, him being a guy that dominates LHP would intrigue me more as a pair with Reddick
Interesting points, but I personally feel that we should now be at the stage of our roster construction that we should not let a guy like Marisnick or even Aoki stop us from adding even more talent to our roster. I understand that Marisnick has value, and I am not looking to dump him by any means, but I am just saying that I would not let a "roster crunch" stop me from signing Joey Bats or EE. In fact, we should be looking for upgrades, which presumes other players getting cut, traded, or demoted. For example, a bold position that I was hoping the front office to take was to add another quality LH RP, and simply cut Sipp (maybe give him spring training to prove himself worthy or not, and if he looks like the same of last year, cut him before Opening Day). A sunk cost of around $12M (over the next 2 years) is a tough pill to swallow for a low-to-middle payroll team like us, but to me it would have been a sign to our players and fans that we are not effing around. And that we want to only have guys that produce and help us win. And if that means we have to eat a little money to do it, then that's what we are going to do. Maybe 3-4 years ago, we could hold onto a guy like Sipp and "hope" he regains form, and then maybe flip him. I guess my mindset is to stop "hoping" and to start producing (obviously way easier said than done). Of course we are still in early January, so adding another lefty in the bullpen is still possible, and I have read that that is a target of our front office, but I would be pleasantly surprised to see that slightly more aggressive tone.
Well, I admit he doesn't come without risk, but there is still value and potential there, even at 36. Even last year, in his down year, the dude OPS was .817, which is 2 points higher than Springer's .815. And I already mentioned his low BA, but that it is offset with his plate discipline. His OBP last year, again in a down year for him, was .366, which would have ranked 2nd on our team last year. And if his defense continues to be terrible, we can get creative and have options. For example, we could simply swap him and Beltran, where Bautista could be our main DH, and Beltran, Springer, and Reddick as our outfield alignment. Or move Bautista to 1B, and have Gurriel play LF.
