It's the absolute truth whether you believe it or not Those awards are voted on by writers and the players. Over half the time it's a popularity contest. Or they go to guys who make flashy plays MLB organizations give zero thought to those awards when evaluating players
And that is a routine ground ball that he leaves his feet for, jumps up and slings the ball to 1B where the 1B saves his ass. He was a master of turning mundane plays into spectacular looking plays.
sure they don't. it's literally never mentioned when looking at a player. a recognition with a ton of history just never gets any mention. yeah and it's actually voted by the managers and coaches
While I agree with the sentiment of that last statement, that description is quite ludicrous. A middle of the road defensive shortstop? Sure. But your point is well taken, these things are given out like candy and undeservably so in a lot of situations, I think they are better at handing out the awards lately. Back in the day it was a comical farce.
Updated amounts I would offer each free agent target: C: Contreras $70M/4yrs Narvaez $40M/3yrs Vazquez $18M/2yrs Sanchez $18M/2yrs Barnhart $8M/1yr Alfaro $6M/1yr Zunino $6M/1yr Chirinos $1.75M/1yr Minor League deal OF: Nimmo $70/4yrs Benintendi $64M/4yrs Bell $54M/3yrs Conforto $34M/2yrs Profar $34M/3yrs Haniger $22M/2yrs Bellinger $16M/1yr Brantley $12M/1yr Gallo $9M/1yr Peralta $7M/1yr Belt $6M/1yr Grossman $2M/1yr Minor League deal Duvall $2M/1yr Minor League deal UT (would be signed with the understanding they’d only be given 100-200 pa barring injury) Frazier $7M/1yr Duffy $4M/1yr Gurriel $4M/1yr Diaz $3M/1yr Villar $1.75M/1yr Minor League deal I would be pretty thrilled if Houston signed one player from each of those groups at or below the prices I have listed, obviously the higher up on the list the better.
20 was a short year. He's played a full season 3 out 5 years. It's a factor but the medicals would resolve much of it.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I'm surprised there hasn't been any conversation about re-signing Vasquez as an option instead of spending a ton of Contreras. He didn't tear the cover off the ball in his short time in Houston, but it was a small sample size and he still showed he's a solid defensive catcher and a better offensive option at the plate than Maldy. Even with his poor hitting in Houston, for the season he was 30 points ahead of Maldy in terms of OPS+, and he's clearly superior defensively than Contreras. I know Contreras is a much better overall player because of his bat, but you lose a pick and you block the progression of your young prospects by giving him the longer deal. Whereas if you give Vasquez something like the amount listed above, he comes at half the price in terms of AAV and for fewer years—that's a much better transitional solution between Maldy and Diaz/Lee. And then they could use the money leftover for a Benitendi type or for extensions for the stars who are going to need them in a couple of years. If they whiff on Contreras, I really hope they'll consider Vasquez as an option. If it was up to me, I might consider that route anyway.
Joel Sherman on which big free agent is going to go first at the start of the winter meetings. Sherman followed by saying that Verlander would be his first selection as well and wondered if the ace will ultimately remain with the Astros. "I was going to say Verlander also as far as the first guy who signs," Sherman said. "I kind of again wonder if it's all a fake-out -- he's doing a tour and then he's just going to re-sign in Houston because I think that's where he's happy and comfortable." https://www.mlb.com/news/justin-verlander-rumors?partnerID=mlbapp-android_article-share
Benintendi is a bad CF, but has great defensive numbers in LF. Benintendi is a known quantity and a desirable LHB. $15M/year for a guy in his prime. I think he'll actually end up getting more, but if that deal was there, I would absolutely sign him for that.
I know a lot of people like Leon but he's not as much upside as people think. I think Barber, Melton, and Gilbert are their next legit of bats. Probably 2 years away. Ideal would be a 3 year deal so there's overlap due to risk of injury, failure, etc. Most decent free agents are looking at 4 years. So it's not a perfect fit. Trade market could make more sense or a short term deal for a kiermaier...
In fairness to Dusty more than half of Dubon's starts were in CF which was very unsettled. They view Chas as more of a corner guy and Meyers was just as bad or worse. My hope is that this season is more like he should be used.
Outside the box here... A good buy low guy might be Trent Grisham... lefty bat and elite defensive centerfielder on par with Siri. Hit an awful .184 this past year but usually a .250 hitter who draws walks. He's a guy I would give up a prospect or two that isn't likely to play for us and let him compete for job. Worst case is he plays 4th outfielder with some pop...
Vasquez said during the season that he intended to find a starting job somewhere, so that's why I think people have dismissed him.
As an example I would do Hunter Brown for Grisham and Jackson Merrill who is probably their best prospect and likely blocked outside a dh role... could be an Altuve replacement down the line. Doubt they do that though... they aren't desperate for pitching at the moment and Tatis is glass...
If anything it's Leon's floor and average outcome that people are missing the boat on. The dude hit .228 at AAA; that does not portend good things. If he somehow got his BA into the .250 range at the ML level then he'd be a solid starting OF'er with upside. Up to .270 he's probably an all-star.
I love love love Martin Maldonado. But for us to try to squeeze one more year out of him in lieu of signing a solid hitting catcher in the prime of his career who is not far removed from Maldonado as a defensive catcher and game caller, that's short sighted on our part. Vazquez could be our catcher for the next 4-5 years easily