Beiber would be extremely expensive. No way Whitley/McCormick would be near enough. I think Urquidy plus 2-3 of Houston’s top 5 prospects (Pena, Lee, Leon, Brown, Whitley) would be in range. Castillo has less value but I still don’t think Whitley/McCormick would be even close. I am assuming that any trade for a SP would include Urquidy, Garcia, or Javier as a significant piece, so one of those plus 1 of Houston’s top 5 prospects probably gets close. Look at what the Twins got for Berrios (two mlb top 30 prospects) as a barometer.
Don't worry.... Click will bring in Joey Wendle. You will barely even miss Correa. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/11/rays-trade-rumors-joey-wendle-kevin-kiermaier-phillies.html
Wendle’s career wRC+ of 103 is equal to Javy Baez’s; he’s also a lefty hitter. Assuming Houston makes a move to bring in a good OF, Wendle would be a fantastic low key addition to Houston’s roster.
https://www.businessinsider.com/mlb-used-two-different-balls-in-2021-2021-11 […] 'Do they know what's going on?' While the league blames COVID-19 for the dual-ball season and says it won't happen again, some of the players reached by Insider entertained more conspiratorial hypotheses. For example: What if MLB sent a disproportionate number of either ball to a specific park or for a specific set of games, putting its thumb on the scale to create more or less scoring? The National League pitcher who replicated Wills' study believes MLB "is more or less incentivized to introduce two baseballs" to try to produce higher- or lower-scoring games. "You know, send a bouncier baseball, lighter baseball — whichever flies more — to a primetime series," he told me, listing off marquee matchups like Yankees-Red Sox and Mets-Phillies. "Then," he suggested, send more dead baseballs to "Texas versus Seattle. Or, you know, Detroit versus Kansas City. No one's going to bat an eye." On the other hand, he speculates, the league could flip that approach around and send high-octane balls to low-profile games and "produce more offense," which might "put more seats in the stands — just continue to bring up fan engagement." Doolittle believes that using two balls could have massive implications for the league's emerging gambling partnerships. "There's a lot of money at stake there ... I can't believe we're talking about this," the veteran said, interrupting himself out of disbelief over what he was about to suggest. "But, you know, like, setting odds and stuff like that. And like, do they know what's going on?" To be clear, there is no evidence to support these theories. Wills — who relies on a nationwide network of ballpark spies to surreptitiously swipe game balls and send them to her for dissection — has collected enough balls to document two distinct varieties, but because MLB uses about 900,000 balls a season, a study like hers can't determine whether either ball was sent disproportionately to a specific team or game. The National League pitcher imagined a good-faith explanation: MLB experimenting with the ball in an earnest search to find the best mix of run-scoring and action on the field to "make the game better." But without team or player consent, such an approach would still rub him the wrong way. If it is an experiment, it may be ongoing: During the annual meeting between the league franchise owners in November, Manfred floated the possibility of changing the ball yet again — proposing using a tackier leather that the league says will allow for better pitcher grip without the "sticky stuff" that provoked crackdowns during the season. "We could be in a position to use a new ball next year," Manfred said. "Maybe it's going to be '23 instead, but we're continuing to work on it." Doolittle is at least familiar with some of the league's prototypes, as he recalls players being invited to test them in previous seasons. Still, he wants more: "I'm not saying [player input] doesn't happen," he said. "But that's the only instance that I know of."
Matthew Boyd non-tendered by the Tigers. He was a pretty hot commodity a couple of trade deadlines ago. Glad we never pulled the trigger on that deal!
Scrubb was DFA and cleared so he was outrighted to make room on the 40 man for Verlander. All 6 of the Astros arb-eligible players were tendered. They will likely announce the Verlander deal tomorrow and not make any other moves before the lockout.
Fully expect 8 articles a day from the Athletic on this dual ball scandal…. And fully expect jomboy and the YouTube warriors to piece together “evidence” of the dual balls with video footage.
Matthew Boyd was officially non-tendered by Detroit. We need to scoop him up on a 2-year prove it deal. Why 2? Let him rehab next year with us, and there's a solid chance the injury keeps him out the whole year. Ensure he gets at least one full season to show off what he's learned and that he's recovered. Keep the base salaries low-ish but not offensive, and throw in incentives based on IP, GS, K, CYA voting, All-Star, All-MLB, and ALCS/WS MVP. Even without Strom I think we'd be a great place for him to rehab and learn if Miller and Murphy are as good as advertised. And he's flashed great stuff in the past.
Agree, but supposedly they really love him, and are super high on him. Could possibly try to settle for something around $2M or so.
Where did you see that Andre Scrubb was designated for assignment? MLB is still showing him on the 40 man roster
