Mildly surprised, not at all shocked. Straw provides basically everything he does, and most importantly he's cheaper and controlled long term. We're checking under the couch cushions at this point. Always liked the guy. Loved his defense obviously, but he's never been a remotely reliable hitter. The occasional dinger and a bunch of poor AB's in between them. Straw may not be the elite glove man Marisnick is, but his ability to put together consistent competitive AB's, elite speed and infield flexibility makes him a significantly more valuable player overall.
Taylor, 24, was originally drafted by the Pirates in the 2nd round of the 2013 draft out of high school in California. The Mets acquired him as the PTBNL in a trade involving Ike Davis in 2014. A left-hander, Taylor went 2-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 40 appearances (all in relief) across three levels; most of his time last year was split between High-A and AA. Corona, 19 (he'll turn 20 on March 21), is an outfielder from Venezuela who made his pro debut last season. In 63 games, he slashed .301/.398/.470 with five home runs and 29 RBI. All five of his homers came in the Gulf Coast League, where he spent the most time last year.
Taylor will have to go straight to the 40 man, and is coming off a great season at AAA. So I'm guessing they expect him to be in our pen this season, or at least be given a prime look. Corona is a low level guy, but he's coming off an awesome season for a 19 year old in rookie ball.
I'm shocked the Astros got Kenedy Corona for Marisnick. He has a long way to go but there is a lot of upside there. He throws well, he runs well, he is still growing, he takes good routes on the ball and has good instincts as a hitter with room to develop extra base power. Sure there is a good chance he stalls at some point, but usually teams do not want to trade someone with that upside for someone like Marisnick.
FWIW The Astros and Twins have had talks about Byron Buxton. No I don't know what that would mean hypothetically for guys like Tucker, Reddick and Brantley.
Thanks for everything, Jake. Sad to see him go, but he’ll get a great reception whenever he returns to MMP. Now back to the NL East you go. Shrewd moves are nothing new. It’s all part of the bigger picture. Like stated above, hopefully this move provides flexibility elsewhere, a la extending Springer. At the end of the day, Jake was too expensive of a commodity given the rest of the team. Straw is likely to out produce Jake and will be a lot cheaper. We can’t afford to give 4/5th OFs 6million...not with a roster like ours, at least. If anything, I think we can read between the lines and see that Reddick isn’t getting moved any time soon. I highly doubt we would’ve dealt Jake if there was a possibility of trading Reddick. Prospect cost has to be gargantuan.
Buxton is available! Wow, that’s surprising, I thought he was their cornerstone piece. Buxton’s defense is surreal, his bat is weak though, but it is all intriguing. thanks for the info, I had not heard.
It is speculation but getting Buxton in center and then moving someone like Brantley would open up money for Springer I suppose. I really don't know. I have no clue how serious the discussions are or have been. I am just passing along what I was told and posted it mostly because it is interesting for a number of reasons..... Correa and Buxton together..... possible other moves...... moving Springer to a corner spot? Hypothetically an outfield defense of Springer/Buxton and Tucker could be great.
I haven't heard anything specific other than they privately would love to get out from him because of payroll.
Alll great possibilities. But there's also the possibility that its insurance if they can't work out an extension with Springer this off-season... or if Springer is set on testing free agency.