The Padres are terrible at developing pitching in the minors so it makes since they're trying to get someone out of the Astros to do it better.
You are grossly over hyping the Owner of the Pirates. This guy is not the smartest. I know alot of peeps in Pittsburgh and they all say this dude needs to go and there GM isn't much better. Js
There is money available, but I don't think that Crane is going to give Tucker the length and total contract commitment that Tucker would require.
The problem with trading for Reynolds is that the Pirates don't want to trade him and don't have to. The only way they will is if a team blows them away with an offer that makes them better for 2023 (or at least 2024) and the next few years and also is significantly more than his worth. They will not include other prospects because the Astros don't have any players other than Javier or Pena that is valuable enough to get them. For ONLY Reynolds the Pirates MIGHT take Brown, Gilbert, Y Diaz, and Murray. But even that is likely to not win in a bidding war with other teams. Reynolds has huge value and other teams are actively trying to get him. That means the Pirates have no need to accept a salary dump in the deal. It also means they only need to accept the very best high ceiling high floor prospects that are ready for MLB or will be ready very soon. Reynolds is not worth what it would take to get him eventhough he would instantly make the team historically good offensively. And any deal that has them including top prospects or taking back salary, players with less than 4+ years of control, or prospects that don't have all star level upside and projection is simply fantasy.
Verlander was undervalued at the deadline, but the reality was that his contract was what scared some off. Also, he wanted to be a Chicago Cub and one of the biggest mistakes the Cubs front office made was not completing that deal. Verlander did not want to approve the Astros deal until it was certain that the Cubs were out. The Astros did give up a really good prospect and two solid secondary prospects, but remember that the Tigers also paid a decent amount of Verlander's salary as well.
I think you have an unrealistic perception of the Pirates organization. I don't know you but I would be shocked if the worst GM in baseball is still significantly better than you or me. Teams have been actively offering deals to get him for well over a year. If it's so easy and they will just give Reynolds away for a box of Cracker Jack's why is he still a Pirate?
People thought verlander was washed in 2017 is the biggest factor. Go look at his splits. 4.60 ERA for March and April 4.42 May 4.39 June He finally showed an ounce of life in July and then started turning it around in August which is why he had any trade value at all. You sort of had to take a gamble though. The first half of 2017 Verlander stunk.
That ain’t saying much. The way they botched the Nolan Arrenado trade and then proceeded to sign Kris Bryant to a head scratching deal was nothing short of baseball malpractice
I have asked Goldstein about this before, about whether there are "fans" that would be better GM's than some existing GM's once a couple years ago. What he basically told me is that 25-35 years ago there were some GM's that really were incompetent because they worked their way up the organization and had seniority but really were not sophisticated enough. Now, that is extremely rare because there is so much information and ways to measure success and failure. As for fans, Goldstein said that there ARE some fans that are better at either player evaluations or hypothetical trades or even roster building. However, that is only like 20% of their job, and that being a good GM is more about hiring the right people in the industry to work for you at all levels, to know how to get everyone to work together living in different locations, know when to delegate and not delegate, etc. So ultimately, no, a fan off the street wouldn't be better at that because they are not in the culture or know what to do or not do..... which is why I said I didn't have a problem with Crane handling free agency, but we need a GM for the other 95% of the things a GM does.
A lot of times that 20% is made by ownership.... a lot of these contracts you see are pushed by ownership.
not really and its actually an over pat by us. They get the overall players they would be looking for. And no the Owner isn't smart. U should check out there peeps sometime. They all hate the dude. Makes dump mistakes and gets nearly nothing for talent.
Maybe the deal is an overpay but it's not what the Pirates want or will accept. Meyers is an unheralded guy who toiled years as a non prospect, had a good 1/2 season then got hurt and had a terrible season. That does not shout "future star" Maton is a FA after this season and was 50/50 to make the playoff roster last year before. There is no world where the Pirates take on salary to unload Reynolds and he is of no use to them. Garcia is a good piece. A solid #3 starter that will be a valuable player on any team. Does not have CY Young contending upside but also a very high floor Leon has lost a ton of value thus year because of his strikeouts. He now projects as a 4th OF/utility player rather than a starter, much less an all star. Whitley has had terrible year after terrible year and can't stay healthy. Now he must remain on the 40 man roster too which gives him zero slack. He is a terrible risk and very likely a bust. Clifford is a talented bat first (only?) prospect who could be a great run producer but at the lowest value and easiest to fill position- DH. Solid 4th or 5th piece of a deal but not anything special. Perez still has potential but must be on a 40 man roster, still is in AA, and has trouble staying healthy. The biggest issue is that most of the players the Pirates are getting have question marks and therefore very low floors And non of them are likely all stars. If Pittsburgh trades Reynolds they will get a package of players who project to be all stars and have very few if any questions.
