Laika

I hate almost all of these guys.

I wouldn’t know lol. Never really done it.

If I had a deeper rotation I would do it. I thought about it for a while but if Kopech develops into a viable SP he’s going to be huge in fantasy and an anchor for my team. I’m out. Also, I want to actually hold onto a prospect for once.

Ross Atkins today: "If teams had another month of information on [Nate Pearson] - his time with us in Vancouver - he would've gone 1-1." Anyone else want to hop on the hype train that I started immediately after seeing his mechanics?

I don't think a trade is necessarily coming. There are a lot of players in the OF/DH/1B mix with bust potential and/or options and/or big injury risks.

I thought Robinson Chirinos was relatively young. Turns out he'll be 34 this year lol.

Hmmmmmmm interesting. I feel like one of you will regret that trade but I’m not sure who! (Billy Hamilton is 27; he’s one swing coach whisper from being a bananas fantasy player)

Yeah after looking at the stats, if I needed to plug a CF hole I'd be all over Taylor. He's probably a guy who is never that good because of the strikeouts but if he develops there is extreme upside. Edit - if I was a rebuilding club or a middle of the pack club.

Ahem, that’s Michael A. Taylor to you

Pitch clocks are stupid. Pitchers need rest between pitches, tuned to their own bodies, in order to maintain health.

Another negative: I found a female Jays fan on Twitter who said something like "why not just sign Jose". Like three people replied that Granderson is better. Then she replied to her own tweet and said "zomg the mansplaining" and then "I officially don't miss baseball anymore" So I had to see that on Twitter and to be honest that's a pretty big negative.

Furiously masturbating to this signing right now in my bed while I eat sour patch kids. Aledmys Diaz, Yangervis Solarte, and Curtis Granderson is a dream offseason so far. All aboard the Saber Train! ... next stop, nearly competing for a Wild Card spot.

Should I trade Kopech for Kimbrel? What does the crowd think

I prefer a Desmond Jennings comp

Jesus Christ, you already own nearly every one dimensional hacker in baseball. I don't think you need another. Seriously... Healy, Mancini, Duvall, Reynolds, Gattis, Schebler. It's like guys selling their soul to scrape 30 dingers is your fetish.

Guys available for picks or prospects. Some decent veterans and existent younger guys. Hunter Pence Howie Kendrick Wei-Yin Chen Matt Adams Hunter Dozier Sal Romano Would also be pretty open to moving these keepers: Corey Dickerson Michael Brantley Jose Martinez Kendall Graveman Matt Andriese Adam Wainwright Could deal a bunch of the above at once. My main targets would be 2B, SS, SP upgrades. Neil Walker or Orlando Arcia could move if I'm upgrading in the MIF.

To the people who don't think Joe Biagini is worth discussing at length in January - I question how much you even really like baseball.

Well you can upgrade on the #5 SP and push him to the pen... ... sending him to AAA is just downgrading the MLB team.

I don't see how sending him to AAA makes any sense. I mean they'll stretch him out in spring training and let team health when camp breaks dictate his role but I can't see them sending their ~7th best arm to AAA.

Isn't this what they did with him last year anyway (Biagini)?

hahaha

Very divisive. Biagini might be the 6th or 7th best arm on the 25 man roster right now. He's a pretty important factor for 2018. I think some of you are falling victim to ERA bias.

Zeuch hasn't pitched above A+ and his numbers in 2017 weren't even impressive.

Don't look at the stats. You'll obviously remember that Biagini was fantastic as a reliever in 2016. He had a bag of pitches too. People thought he could probably start. You'll also clearly remember that he ended up being awful in 2017 as a starter. Look at the depth chart. The first four SP are clear: Stroman, Sanchez, Estrada, Happ. The bullpen is not clear: Osuna, Barnes, Dermody, Tepera, Loup, Leone, Carlos Ramirez. Gross - Sure there are a few intriguing arms but after Osuna every name there could conceivably be replacement level. Immediate minor league options for the rotation include: Borucki, Guerrieri, Pannone. Decent but not well developed. Immediate options for the bullpen: Greene, Reid-Foley (possible SP later), Rios, Rowley, Mayza, Girodo. Shittier rotation options: Harris, McGuire. It doesn't seem like Zeuch or Romano are realistic options in 2018. Clearly a #5 SP would be sweet. Clearly a good bullpen arm would be sweet. There is need on both sides. Toronto's pen is projected 24/30 and their rotation is 16/30. Look at the stats. Biagini started 18 games in 2017 and relieved in 26. He contributed 1.4 fWAR in 2017 in 119.2 innings, compared to 1.2 in 67.2 relief innings in 2016. He had a 5.34 ERA in 2017; 5.73 as a SP and 4.26 as a reliever. He had a 4.27 FIP in 2017; 4.36 as a SP and 4.01 as a reliever. xFIP was 4.23 as SP vs 3.79 as a reliever. He had a 10.6 K-BB% in 2017; 10.2% as a SP and 11.9% as a reliever. He had a HR/9 of 1.13 in 2017 compared to just 0.40 in 2016. He had a 1.23 mark as a SP and 0.85 as a reliever. Discussion and Conclusion The evidence against Biagini as a starter amounts to a small sample HR/FB and ERA blip. When we look at K and BB rates and DIPS, he was a relatively effective starter. He also wasn't that much better as a reliever. His 2016 relief performance didn't really pass the sniff-test anyway; nobody should have assumed he was a top-flight reliever based on that one season. A DIPS mark in the low-mid 4's equates to an average or better SP in the AL East, if the player can reliably accumulate innings. See these examples: http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=2717&position=P http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=12917&position=P http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=14107&position=P There's not enough information to give up on Biagini as a starter. He still has enough intriguing characteristics to give him the chance: he seems durable, he has four pitches, his velocity transitioned fine as a SP (sitting 92/93). The team would benefit tremendously from the SP depth so players like Pannone, Borucki, and Guerrieri can get some AAA innings. The rotation would be set and the brass could focus on RP additions. Players like Greene and Reid-Foley could be given legitimate RP tryouts in spring training. Also, any "boost" Biagini would give the bullpen is probably not as significant as some might think/assume.