I think he could play it in a pinch but I don’t think it’s safe to assume he would be a viable everyday CF. He has average speed and a plus arm. He never played CF in the minors or in Toronto; not sure if he played CF in Cuba.
I think the Yankees' goal was to get under so they can either bargain shop (still a lot of unsigned players) or be able to take on more money in a trade. I think their pitching depth can be really good if health breaks in their favor. Health is going to be huge for them. I think the AL is wide open this year. One can argue that the Yankees are probably number one but I can see the deadline being very active this year.
The Blue Jays signed Marcus Semien for 1/18. They may have the best line up in baseball now. Guerrero will play first. Semien will be at 2nd with Bo Bichette at short stop and Cavan Biggio at third. The centerfielder will be George Springer with Lourdes Gurriel in left and Teoscar Hernandez in right. Behind the plate they will have Danny Jansen behind the plate. The DH will likely be Randall Grichuk So which line up is better, Astros or Blue Jays? Would you have rather had Marcus Semien instead or Michael Brantley?
Semien's 2019 seems like a clear one year aberration in an otherwise .700 OPS type of career. If I was looking for a bat, I'd much rather sign a guy like Brantley who can consistently produce when healthy.
Provided Yordan wasn’t a fluke... altuve Brantley Bregman Yordan Correa Tucker Yuli Machete CF du jour I’ll still take the above lineup over anything else, again presuming everybody healthy.
That Jays lineup is very very deep but I still take the Astros (assuming only talking about 2021). But it’s close.
I’d much rather have Michael Brantley than Marcus Semien. Brantley is incredibly consistent as a hitter, whereas Semien has only posted one season in his entire career with an OPS north of .800. Also, since 2014, Michael Brantley has finished six of the last seven seasons with an OPS higher than .800. The only time he didn’t was in 2016, when he only played 11 games due to injury. Furthermore, while the Blue Jays do have a strong lineup, let’s compare it to the Astros’ lineup, shall we: Best hitters: Springer vs. one of Altuve, Bregman or Alvarez. At worst, that’s a push for the Astros. Second-best hitter: Bo Bichette or Lourdes Gurriel vs. one of the three Astros mentioned above. Advantage Astros. Third-best hitter: Bichette or Lourdes Gurriel vs Alvarez. Advantage Astros. Fourth-best hitter: Vlad Jr. vs either Brantley or Correa, advantage Astros right now. Vlad Jr. has breakout potential, but Correa has MVP potential if he puts it all together. Fifth-best hitter: Hernandez or Biggio vs one of Correa or Brantley. Both Astros are better than Biggio, and Hernandez has to prove he can maintain a .900 OPS for 162 games. At worst, this is a push for the Astros. Sixth-best hitter: Biggio vs Kyle Tucker. Push. Seventh-best hitter: Semien vs Yuli Gurriel. Push, unless Semien rediscovers his MVP form from two seasons ago. Eighth-best hitter: Grichuk vs Straw. Big advantage for the Jays. Ninth-best hitter: Jansen vs Maldonado/Castro: Push, and the Astros may have the slight edge. The Blue Jays’ advantage over Straw doesn’t make up for the Astros having the better lineup 1-6.
I could only imagine what that lineup could do if we had signed some huge fa named George Springer. The possibilities... OMG.....
True... but don't close the door on Tucker and this is possibly the first full season of Alvarez. Both still younger than what George was when he finally made his debut.... but both already with some big league success as they start to enter what should be a 6-7 year prime. Bregman/Altuve should have huge years... provided the latter finally saw the psychologist that everybody said he needed. Correa once again the wild card. I'll settle for 2019 without the massages.
I’ll take that over any lineup in the AL. Maybe it’s bias but I feel Grienke, Valdez, McCullers, Javier, Urquidy, maybe JV (if he “intends to pitch in ‘21”) can out pitch Atleast push any AL staff, Yankees (Cole, Kluber, Taillon, ?, ?) included.
We signed a five tool 22 yr old CF for $4 mil...relax. You draft the Springer types..not pay them beyond their prime.
LOL. I mean.... You have to go back real far to realize that I was joking. Like, the second half of 2019. Luhnow trotted out an all star team everyday.
Angels not interested in Bauer anymore... https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/01/angels-not-expected-to-pursue-trevor-bauer.html
We need to acquire one more SP. Would it be non kosher to flip Verlander's expiring for another top tier SP?
That would be impossible without sending multiple top prospects along with him. Which would be a terrible idea. If Houston wants to add SP they’ll have to trade prospects for a guy on a low salary or sign a cheap guy who has major question marks along with his upside.
