Let's assume Correa, Verlander, greinke are gone. Where do we spend that money? It's got to be pitching right. They will plug Pena in at short.
https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-predictions-offseason-2021-22 1. Carlos Correa will sign with the Tigers. Maybe it’s naive to connect Correa to his old skipper A.J. Hinch, as there will certainly be opportunities -- lucrative ones -- involving teams that are more clearly aiming to contend in 2022 (and have better weather). But this could evolve similarly to Manny Machado’s free agency, when a then-26-year-old Machado’s biggest payday came with a Padres club that had lost 96 games the previous season and was itching to start turning the corner. The Tigers still have growing pains ahead of them, but they began to show serious signs of life in 2021, and the 27-year-old Correa is young enough to be an impact player throughout their next contention window. 3. The Giants will sign Max Scherzer AND Justin Verlander. San Francisco could bring back Kris Bryant, and re-signing Brandon Belt would make sense, too. Starting pitching, though, will be Farhan Zaidi’s top priority. And given the organizational preference for shorter-term deals (as well as the organizational embrace of old dudes), either Scherzer or Verlander would be a great fit. The Giants have the rotation space and the resources to outbid the field for both. 4. Trevor Story will sign with the Astros. Houston probably won’t meet Correa’s asking price, but this would be a fine -- and likely less costly -- consolation prize. Story is a good teammate, a good defender and a good candidate to bounce back from an underwhelming (by his standards) 2021. While he does come with more swing and miss than Correa, any concern about the Coors Field effect would be dissipated by him taking aim at the Crawford Boxes in the Astros’ power-prone park. There seems to be a narrative about Story potentially joining his hometown Rangers, but, last we checked, Houston is in Texas, too. Close enough.
Any article that touts MMP as hitter friendly is immediately to be ignored. When you pay a Rockie player, you pay to get his road numbers. A .241/.310/.442 is not something I'm spending any significant money on.
Minute Maid is very much a HR park for right handed pull hitters, but that’s not the same as being “a hitter’s park”. I think it’s very pitcher-friendly despite what people say. I also really don’t want to sign a QOFA, I want that comp pick(s). Story could bounce back, or he could not, but regardless, if Correa nets us a comp pick I REALLY don’t want to lose it. I really wish Bryant (ineligible for the QO) was a serviceable SS- If so, he could play there for a year while Pena or someone gets ready, and then move to 1B after Gurriel’s contract ends.
Pena doesn't need more time to get ready. He will be 25 years old by the end of next season. Maybe I am in the minority, but Pena is a guy we need to actively be trying to find a spot in the lineup for, not actively trying to find a way to keep him out of the lineup.
hmm. Interesting. Part of me thinks Strom was a magician. Look what he didn’t with Cole. Turned him into a stud. He had the stuff be when he came here he went to another level. McCullers on the other hand. There is no denying LMJ is a competitive beast. But something about his delivery over strains his arm. One would think Strom would see that and try to rebuild. I don’t know.
In one of his interviews he said McCullers was the last guy that was “his” and everyone else left who came up through the organization basically came up with the two guys under him.
It isn’t over. Teams don’t lose draft picks if they sign their own free agents that reject the qualifying offer. It’s simply a procedural move to ensure the Astros get a draft pick if Correa signs somewhere else. The only time a team shouldn’t offer it is if the player isn’t worth the value of the one-year contract.
