Will never forget Berkman’s 8th inning grand slam in the 18th inning W over ATL in the 04 playoffs. Berkman was a monster in the postseason across his career. What a shame he’s off the ballot after just one year.
Dang! That’s crazy. Literally 40% less than what he’s likely to be worth. Would have LOVED him in Houston at that price.
Don’t think they were ever really interested Makes it a lot easier to move top cheap OF in deal for Realmuto
No way he was worth 40% more at 4 years (70 million). 30 years old, one time 2015 all-star trending down. I'll pass at 4 years. I'd rather give a chance to Straw in centerfield in the next four years and keep Springer, JV or Cole with the savings. If the Astros are spending 12 million over the next for years on a player currently outside the organization he needs to be JT or a good pitcher otherwise save it for later. I'd like to know what the belief is inside the organization on Straw's ceiling. I know he has no power but his elite speed and ability to get on in the minors at 40% of the time has to be luring.
Pollock makes less AAV than Reddick. That's interesting. I don't see Pollock being a huge upgrade for the Dodgers. They traded away Puig who was a better player the last 3 years. To me the concern is that the Dodgers can now trade Joc Peterson or Verdugo in a package with one of their high level catching prospects to land Realmuto. Looks like you can pencil in the Dodgers for another World Series appearance.
These contracts are crazy good for the owners. It's amazing what a few years can do. Everybody is being smart and ending up with bargains compared to years past.
AJ Pollock puts the Dodgers in the World Series? Lol. Could argue Puig has been better the last few years. They’ve done very little outside of retaining Kershaw and adding a bullpen arm (Joe Kelly). Right now I’d say the Cubs, Brewers, Cardinals, Nationals, Mets & most likely the Phillies w/ Harper and more money to spend are all on the level or above the Dodgers on paper.
Vegas disagrees with you. I've seen Dodgers at +750 to win the World Series. The closest other teams I've seen in the NL were Cubs at +1000 and one place had Nationals +950. Dodgers were in the World Series last year. They will replace Machado with Seager. They lost Grandal but I would say after landing Pollock the Dodgers are probably the favorites to get Realmuto. Their rotation is solid with Kershaw, Buehler, Ryu, Hill, and Strickland/Maeda. The NL West is also weaker with The Dbacks losing Goldschmidt and Corbin, the Giants have yet to make a significant move, and the Rockies lost Ottavino and Lemahieu while only adding Murphy.
Pollock is a stud. The ONLY question mark is his health. Over 637 career games, he's been worth 17.2 fWAR. That's ~4 fWAR per 150 games. He's an elite CF defender with 20/20 capability and a low strikeout rate. The only way that deal doesn't work out for LA is if he suffers a serious (but not career-ending) injury either this year or next. Players like Straw rarely pan out into more than bench players. He is in Billy Hamilton/Terrance Gore mold. He certainly has value but saying you'd rather have Straw than Pollock is crazy. The good thing is that these cheap free agent deals may make it more realistic that Keuchel returns and Springer extends. I still expect Cole, Correa, and Bregman to get paid elsewhere.
