Morton doesn’t have a ton of surplus value. Javier would be a pretty big overpay. Bryan Abreu and a throw-in 3rd tier pitching prospect (Dubin?) would be fair IMO.
Have you watched Raley this year? His control has been awful. Weak contact hits are mainly bad luck. Although getting the ball up in the zone contributes to some of those blopper type hits.
That is probably what the Twins' asking price is, and it isn't necessarily absurd, but that is an easy pass for me. I still target Scherzer as my priority, I don't believe the reports that we've been eliminated from the sweepstakes. When the reports initially said he has a strong preference for the West Coast, that was quickly back-tracked with "not necessarily just the West Coast, but wants to go to a team that can win." We fit that bill, and if we trade for him, we are obviously willing to pay him a market value extension. Question to the group; would a 3 year/$100m deal get it done? I think that is totally worth it for Scherzer, even at his age. Then the question becomes; what is the acquisition cost? I'd do one of Framber (looks more human post-sticky stuff)/Urquidy/Garcia, Chaz McCormick, and Whitley for Scherzer, ONLY if we can sign him to the aforementioned extension. If Scherzer is not a realistic option, my only other Plan B would be re-acquire CFM, as the acquisition cost would be low, and we can hope to recreate that playoff magic.
Is Mad Max that bad at Geography? We're NOT on the East Coast and we don't have no stinkin' income or wealth taxes.
Yes. The criteria you set was throwing strikes. Raley throws more strikes than Taylor. A lot more. Taylor is a better pitcher than Raley because he has better stuff. Taylor excels when he throws strikes. Raley does not, but needs to throw strikes to get swings on his secondary stuff. Taylor would likely be a better pitcher if he had the control/courage Raley does with throwing strikes to RHBs.
We're back to not paying Scherzer AND Washington for the extention. One or the other or split it between them. Without it, he won't approve a deal so he'll want all, or at least the lion's share of value.
A few random trade-related thoughts, let me know what y'all think: 1. This is the time to sell high on Chaz McCormick. I like him, and I think he could be a ball player, but with Straw improving and contributing to the team in a few ways, our OF of Brantley/Yordan, Straw, and Tucker is set for a few years. Finding a capable OF is a lot easier than finding a stud SP or bullpen arm. So if including him in a package gets a big deal done, you don't hesitate. 2. I wonder if other teams value Korey Lee way more than our own front office does. We clearly value game-managing and defense more than most, as we are seemingly very happy with Maldonado (as us fans would like an offensive upgrade like Wilson Ramos). So although Korey Lee looks the part of a catching prospect stud, maybe our front office finds more value in using him as a centerpiece in a major trade. For example, let's say the Nationals demand Korey Lee in a Scherzer trade. We might be ok with it ultimately, but let's say we play hardball and say, "we'd hate to lose Lee, but if you add Hudson to the mix, we will begrudgingly add Lee to the package." I am not eager to trade Lee in the least, but I am trying to gauge how our front office, along with other front offices are valuing him. 3. With 2 strong bullpen additions, do we really have to do anything more? Of course Scherzer would be amazing, but as fans, myself included, I feel like we may be setting ourselves up for disappointment. Do we think this team, as currently constructed, can make a deep run in the playoffs? I think so, as we already have one of the best records in the league, and we did this with a shaky, inconsistent bullpen. Add Graveman, Yimi, and potentially Baez, and I think we go into any playoff series liking our odds. I do think our odds change considerably if the Dodgers land Scherzer though.
1. Agree. Seems like McCormick or Meyers would be prime trade chips. And I think if a team views McCormick as a very likely everyday player or values him like a fringe Top 100 prospect, Houston would be more than willing to let him go, with Meyers, Dawson, and Siri down in AAA ready to fill in as 4th OF. If Houston acquires a position player it seems very likely Straw or McCormick would be a part of the deal. 2. Disagree. Lee was drafted based on Houston’s analytics methods and he’s proven them right. My guess is they value him more than most other teams would. Add in that his timeline jibes with Maldy and Castro’s contracts and I think it is pretty unlikely Lee is traded. 3. Agree. There are no weaknesses on the current roster. Any changes would be upgrading from an average player to a star level player (ie Bryant vs McCormick/Straw or Scherzer vs Garcia/Urquidy).
Whats the prospect cost for buxton? I dont see Scherzer but i anticipate a splash. Id love having buxton fill cf and hes under control thru next year as well i believe.
I don't think they are trading Buxton. They have another year with him under control. I don't know what he asking for but the Twin's offer has been kind of low. Like half of what Springer makes. If we could get him, I would gladly offer any of our outfield prospects for him including Straw and Chaz assuming he would take a contract for 15 million a year.
That's all part of it too. It's jockeying to get him, but also part of it is blocking someone you may face in the playoffs from getting him.
I agree that this is the perfect time to sell high on Chaz (no disrespect). My only untouchables would be Lee and Leon. Would hate to lose Pena, Hunter Brown, or Alex Santos, but for the right package, sure. I think Whitley still has some value. We managed to trade post-meltdown Appel for Giles, who was serviceable for a while, despite being a punchline now.
I'd have the same concerns as I have for Correa. He can't stay on the field for a full season. But the buzz is that it shouldn't affect his value. Why not? He's only had 2 1/2 years worth of PA in 7 years and even allowing for 2020, that's a bad number over an extended amount of time. Right now, he's sitting on 110 PA in 2021 and he's only had one season where he had 300 PA. It's not like you're going after Trout who has been injured this season, but has a history devoid of major injuries before this season.
If the Astros could get Buxton, it would be quite a full circle. Buxton is a wizard centerfielder. The guy is as gifted a CF as there has ever been in the league, with the stipulation that he hasn't been healthy for much of his career. But from the sounds of things the lingering injuries he's suffered should not prevent him from maximizing his value per the talent he has. We got to see a sample of his Superman skills early on, before another injury... I think Minnesota is kind of shell shocked with Buxton, as they've had their expectations of this all-world CF come crashing back to earth too many times because of injuries. Perhaps a change of scenery is what Buxton needs? But how can you blame these weird injuries on anything but bad luck...
I don't see a rotation upgrade happening because of the limited top of the rotation guys available, and I have zero interest in bringing someone in like Michael Pineda just to save Garcia some innings. I'd rather let Solomon have a couple starts. I say add more to the pen. Make it as nasty as possible so you have a couple really good guys to put out a fire if a starter gets in trouble. Then have 3 hammers to go 7th, 8th, and 9th to shutdown games.
Appel and 4 other guys: Velasquez, Obertholtzer, Eshelman, and H. Arauz. My point is only that while Whitley may have some value, much like Appel, I think it'd be optimistic to think he could be the centerpiece of a trade that brought back someone special.
What type of Contract are folk expecting that Carlos Correa is going to get in the open market? I remembered hearing early on in his career that Correa was on pace to become the first 500 million dollar contract. But his injuries and very good, but not phenomenal offensive numbers have tampered down those expectations. I'd figure he's going to be getting 7 years 225 - 235 million.
