Luckily, corner OF help is probably the easiest thing to acquire midseason. If a Lukes/Schneider platoon disappoints, and if none of Schreck/Loperfido/Clase step up, then there should be options for 2-3 WAR LF available at the deadline without breaking the bank.
BTW a lot of people owe Jonn an apology. He was tarred and feathered for saying he wanted to fire Santander into the sun, even though he's owed like 4 times what he'd get if he hit the market this offseason.
I don't think the Santander injury really matters. He sucks.
DH - Springer
CF - Varsho
RF - Barger
LF - Lukes/Schneider platoon
And Straw is still around. Schreck/Clase/Loperfido.
If people underperform or injuries come up they might have to make a trade, but this looks mostly fine going into the season.
I think the notable personnel changes from last year's playoffs are:
- Cease and Ponce replacing Bassitt and Scherzer
- Okamoto replacing Bichette
- Rogers replacing Dominguez
The team looks pretty similar overall to the team that played game 7 last year. Probably about the same total projected WAR.
The key is that this year's team looks a lot better and deeper than the team that went into spring training last year. If they play as expected I expect them to be very aggressive at the deadline.
26M in CBT hit per year for both, only Cease's deal goes two years longer. Much rather have Cease even with the extra two years of term. He's been a lot more durable, and it's a lot easier to dream on a CY caliber season for him than it is for Suarez sitting 91.
I was thinking that when I was looking at his page. Even in his prime he was sitting 94, and I remember him having electric stuff. I would have guessed he was throwing like 98-100
I know you guys are talking about bats, as it relates to Tucker. But at least next year's FA SP pool looks deep: Skubal, Peralta, Sale, Wodruff, Pivetta, Luzardo, Gausman, Imanaga, King, Imai, Bubic, Bieber is one of the deepest SP pools in awhile
Looking at the HoF voting, I kind of feel like K-Rod deserves more of a push:
6th all-time in saves
11th all-time in reliever WPA and 13th in RA-9 WAR (worse in WAR because his ERA was a lot better than his FIP)
12th all-time time in reliever Ks
single-season saves record (62)
played a major role on a world series winning team
I think all things considered he's right there with Jansen, Kimbrel, and Chapman and I think 2-3 of those guys eventually get in.
Apparently Arizona is only paying him 5M in 2026 and 6m in 2027 so I kind of get it. Cheap dice roll on a guy who projects as league average as a hedge against Lawlar not being ready to contribute.