I completely agree that Chas has earned a starting spot on this team. But that spot is not CF. That spot is LF and backup to the CF.
he has definitely earned CF. He has earned it by playing the position well and having a knack for the big play. Our left fielder is Yordan, a top 5 hitter in MLB. If you want to make a starter a full time DH, Altuve is the better option for that.
I agree that at this point in his career Altuve is better at DH than 2B. I feel that Yordan has played himself out of the majority of playing time in LF. His bat is simply too important and he is too fragile. I keep picturing Aledmys Diaz straining an oblique trying to make a play in LF last year. Yordan needs to DH 75-80% of the time. Chas has a TERRIBLE arm. Out of 54 players who have made 50+ throws from CF this year, Chas is 48th in arm strength (Jake is 40th). Keeping runners from scoring on fly balls or from second, or taking extra bases is too important to just give up out of respect for someone's history. His defense is a plus and his arm doesn't hurt as much in left. Not improving CF out of respect for Chas' history is a making Bagwell the DH in the 2005 World Series type of mistake. But even there, Chas hasn't earned that kind of respect.
Not sure about this year but doesn't he have better stats when he's in the LF vs being a DH in general? I heard someone say even if you're a good hitter, some players struggle if they're a DH because all you do is sit and then bat when it's your turn. While if you're playing a position, you're being active through out the game. Maybe that applies to Yordan as well
I know he prefers LF, but no longer has a huge variance in production like he did previously. 2023: 162 ops+ as LF, 158 as DH. But playing LF at least doubles the injury risk.
I would be content with Stroman as our only deadline addition. I have no interest in adding any single inning relief pitchers nor any bats other than our own injured players.
Chas shouldn't be the center fielder. He is an excellent left fielder defensively and offensively. Yordan should DH mostly. Diaz should be the catcher. Julks should be traded and Meyers would be winning a gold glove if he played 145 games in center. Might do it anyways depending on how much he plays from here on. The pitching staff is what needs fixing. I still think they shouldtade for Lance Lynn and now I believe pick up Kenyan Middleton from them in the same trade.
Chas arm hasn’t really hurt us any worse than Meyer’s crap arm. His glove has helped us. His bat is really helping us. If Yordan wants to play LF, we should let him. Yordan is a decent defender with a plus arm in left. Its not like the bagwell situation in 2005 at all. Yordan and Chas are competent defensively, it’s not like the Maldy situation either. it should look like this…. 1. Altuve DH 2. Dubon 2B 3. Yordan LF 4. Tucker RF 5. Chas CF 6. Bregman 3B 7. Abreu 1B 8. Diaz C 9. Pena SS switch abreu and chas in the order if you wish. This is the 80% lineup we need to run with.
Alvarez is probably the best left fielder in the game. Why do you insist on moving him off his position?
Pretty sure none of Alvarez’s injuries have come in LF. I know it looked like he died after the collision with Pena but he turned out ok. Think he missed 1 game from that.
Astros get: SP Marcus Stroman RP Mark Leiter Jr OF Cody Bellinger Cubs get: CF Jake Meyers RHP Spencer Arrighetti OF Jacob Melton RHP Forrest Whitley
sorry this is a terrible take. I guess there are still jake holdouts out there. Meyers is not a starter. He lost the job and he had all the leniency a manager could give and had the inside track the whole time. He still lost the job. The Meyers experiment should be over. Chas’s defense is fine. While Jake can run around out there, he has had a few klutzy plays and his arm isnt any better than Chas’s arm. Maybe minimally better if you rely 100% on things like baseball savant, which I don’t. The Meyers experiment should be done now. He’s not Gary Pettis or Michael Bourn in CF. He’s not THAT elite. It’s not like he’s Jim Edmonds out there.
And for the record, if Jake somehow really turns it around at the plate, I would be ok with him starting. However, we already have a guy with a great OPS+ and playing a very good CF as well. If Jake somehow started raking for more than just a few days between long slumps, I would love to have him starting. That being said, I think Yordan should be in left. So, since Meyers hasn’t done that yet, the CF spot should belong to Chas.
I'd do that trade with Meyers but not with McCormick. Bellinger hasn't been very good in CF this year and is a rental. And honestly I don't want him on my team after the comments he made post-scandal. I'd stick with McCormick in center and try to get just Stroman. Should be cheaper for just the one pitcher.
This is why I want Belly because this team will show how much an @#$@#$@# Dodgers organization is compared to the Astros.
Meyers is an above average CF with close to league average offense. That is fine as an every day player. Sure it would be nice to upgrade, but he's not a glaring hole (like Maldy). That lineup gives you 7 quality hitters (assuming Abreu is indeed back to his usual self) and 2 close to average ones. I'm happy with that. That said, adding a bat should come at the expense of Jake & Julks playing time (with quite possibly one being traded away). Biggest problem is the bat market isn't as deep as the pitching market. Bellinger is by far the best realistic option. Salvador Perez would be great, but supposedly KC isn't going to trade him. Maybe the Cardinals would consider trading Goldschmidt, but probably fits better with other teams. I'd like to see us target a guy like Paul DeJong to help shore up the bench (at a very low cost).
