KC is coming out of a rebuild and both Melendez and Pasquantino are core parts of their lineup along with Witt. I too had pipe dreams of adding Melendez but once I saw them bring him up to catch that ship sailed. The price for any of those 3 guys would be insane, similar to what Houston might’ve asked for Correa, Bregman, or Springer back in 2014-2015.
I also like Reynolds a lot. I think he could be the missing piece in 2023 to transition away from Brantley. But is the cost Worth it? For this World Series run, I think another bat is needed and corner OF/INF makes the most sense. Especially if Brantley isn't 100% the rest of the season. But for 2024+ I think OF is not a priority. Tucker is set. Meyers is rapidly establishing himself Yordan has shown he can play LF. It may be beneficial to limit him to 60-81 games per year but he is definitely a player. Leon and Barber are both very highly rated and have potential to be stars and the next round of players to extend "the window" and golden era There is not enough OF playing time to go around. If Reynolds was to be brought in then we would never know what they could be.
The more I think about it, the more I want any bat that is brought in to be a rental if he's an OF. I want the 2023 OF to be some combination of: Yordan, Meyers, Tucker, and Leon. And Barber mixed in for 2024.
Leon has a 29% k rate in AAA and has only been a little better than average hitter for that level. Sure he still has a lot of potential but at this point he would project to be a very poor MLB hitter if he were the opening day LF next season. Acquiring a proven hitter who can play 1B/LF who is under control for next season leaves them with only one open lineup spot that they can use to sift thru all their upper level hitter prospects to hopefully find one who can stick. We don’t want to enter next season with 2 big questions in the lineup since we can be pretty certain Maldy will be using up the 9 hole.
I am willing to make Leon the centerpiece of a Reynolds deal for that reason. He would then take over LF from Brantley full time next year with Meyers in CF.
For now I highly doubt Pittsburgh would accept a trade with Leon as the main prospect. Reynolds is a bonafide star CF with superstar potential and 3 more seasons of control left. If they trade him they will be looking for a huge prospect package that likely includes at least one MLB Top 50 prospect along with 1-2 other Top 100 types. In Houston’s case I doubt they could even be in the conversation unless they started with a package of Brown AND Leon and likely 2 other good prospects like Barber and Diaz. Pittsburgh can see Leon strikes out a bunch just like we can.
Yes a 29% K rate in AAA is not ideal. However the organization loves him, he has absolute SUPERSTAR talent and several things give me hope. 1) He has improved his K rate each month this year April = 32% May = 30% June = 29% He has not struck out in 13 PA yet this month. 2) Jeremy Pena struck out 26% last season and has been a star. That is only a 15 K difference over 500 PA With his current improvements Leon could end up 26-27% which would be essentially equivalent to Pena last year. 3) There is still half a season left to continue improvements. I'm not saying Leon is the next Mike Trout. I'm not even saying he's the next Raul Mondesi. What I'm saying is he looks to be an exciting player that I am looking forward to see playing in an Astros uniform and I HOPE he becomes a star. But if he is traded away or another OF is brought in we will never know.
My proposal was Garcia and Leon as the co-headliners. If Pittsburgh thinks they are close to playoff contention, Garcia can give them an instant contributor in the rotation. We are stacked and I am willing to part with one of them, plus, as I said Garcia doesn’t have quite the stamina that the others do and can be on a shorter leash (see: the Yankees game). Verlander, Valdez, Javier, McCullers, Urquidy, and Odorizzi are all starting options, with more guys in AAA if needed. My offer would be Luis Garcia, Pedro Leon, Corey Julks, and Brandon Bielak for Bryan Reynolds.
That makes sense although I still think that package would fall short. Swap Barber and Solomon for Julks and Bielak and I think they’d be interested assuming they really like Garcia and value him on par with an MLB Top 50 prospect.
I think that's light. I think, at a minimum, you'd be looking at replacing Bielak with Brown to not get them to hang up the phone on you. I still don't think they'd do that deal- but they might at Garcia, Brown, Leon and Julks. My guess is Barber not Julks and you are zeroing in on a package they might take- if they move him.
I would be fine with this offer ( eventhough I would think Teoscar Hernandez with Leon). I don't think the Pirates take it though. They will have many other teams making offers and while Garcia is a great headliner I think Julks and Bielak aren't attractive to them. Bielak is replacement level at best and has already burned 3 years towards arbitration. Julks could be ok but nothing in his scouting ( what they will consider) tools scream STAR and he is getting a late start at age 26. I would say better prospects and 1 more if they want a chance. Maybe: Garcia, Leon, Joe Perez, E.Valdez, and Solomon.
It just occurred to me that Joe Perez is from Miami. The Marlins are flat out stacked at pitching but always short on hitting. Do you think they would do: Joe Perez, Shay Whitcomb, and Taylor Jones for Garrett Cooper? Jones gives them a reasonable replacement for Cooper and Perez and Whitcomb are high upside reasonably ranked prospects that could be MLB contributors
Still think Josh Bell is the Ticket Item in any deal. Chaffin is another one to watch. For some reason I think We will make a trade with the Orioles
I think that package is reasonable although I think you’d probably have to swap Whitcomb for a better prospect, somebody like Julks, Valdez, Dirden, or Abreu. Perez’s value is down since he has been hurt so much.
Agree which is why I want Benintendi and his OBP that would be second highest on this squad. Should be cheaper as a rental and gives you options to decide what to do with Brantley, Leon, etc. next year. We need solid veteran OF depth going into the playoffs. I don’t want to rely on guys like McCormick, Dubon, etc as 4th OF, pinch hitters, injury replacements etc.
I am not a Benintendi fan and feel a run producer type of bat would benefit this team more than a table setter type. Other than that I agree with everything you just said.
Marlins have won 6 games in a row and are only 3 games out from a wild card spot. Barring a significant collapse in the next 2 weeks they will be buyers. Not a team I would want to face in a 3 game series with Alcantara and Lopez....
How much would you want Reynolds? If it takes Garcia, Urquidy, Solomon and McCormick, would that be too much?
And this is the thing so many don’t seem to have a great grasp on The following teams are more than 6 games out of a playoff spot with more than half the season left to play Tigers Royals Angels A’s Nats Pirates Cubs Reds Rockies That’s it. Now yes more might join these by the end of the month, but it’s also possible that everyone else still feels like they have some kind of a chance at the deadline. As I’ve said before, even Baltimore is only 6 back, have won 3 in a row and their next 6 games are against the Angels and Cubs, two of the worst teams in baseball This is probably the most unpredictable trade deadline we have seen in years. Contreras and Bell are the only two individuals that I would currently feel certain that will get moved. Contreras picking up the injury last night might scare the Cubs into moving him sooner rather than at the deadline, assuming he comes back in the next couple of days and looks ok
