Grant77

So unless I'm missing something, he's had a bone bruise, a PED suspension, and a single shoulder injury. That isn't enough of a reason to send a promising young starter to the bullpen in my opinion. We're not talking about multiple nagging injuries or anything.

Lee Smith and Harold Baines make the Hall. I somewhat agree with the former, but disagree on the latter.

Nincompoop

Would you go so far as to say that he is a True Cardinal™?

Something along the lines of Luis Ortiz and Jean Carmona.

I was really disappointed when Paulino didn't get any opportunities as a starter at the end of 2018. His pitch mix is perfect for a starting pitcher and is wasted in the bullpen.

I don't see much of interest on the major league roster, but I would take Leake at 2/28 if they threw in a suitable prospect. Braden Bishop would give us some nice depth if we moved Pillar.

J.P. Crawford apparently.

I think Happ will be a better pitcher than Keuchel at a shorter term and lower salary.

Please no...

I like the trade for the Mets. When considering the cash and bad contracts, they get Cano at a fairly palatable salary. Kelenic and Dunn seems light for Diaz, considering the recent prices for relievers. I do, however, question the direction in which the Mets are going. I don't think they will be competitive in the NL East with the Braves and Phils also loading up.

This needs more thanks.

Kenshin Kawakami?

Tulo would refuse the assignment and we would have to release him along with all of his salary.

This is the second consecutive year in which the Rays have made a highly questionable non-tender. Part of this is a league wide trend, but part of it is just the Rays strategy in my opinion.

If the benefits were that great, I would think that more players would just go make up some fake symptoms for a psychiatrist. ADHD is just a nebulous classification that groups together people with the same self diagnosed symptoms. Studies have shown that people can get a prescription for just about any mental ailment if they say the right things.

I don't recall an overly negative reaction to the Happ signing. I liked that move, but I was admittedly critical of the Smoak extension.

I wonder if all of this mediocre high level pitching depth points to using an opener more often this season.

I don't understand the impetus for this trade. I'm not convinced that Gurriel Jr. is a good shortstop and we're pretty thin at that position now. Diaz was a solid performer at league minimum and they were obviously desperate to get rid of him. Very strange.

I think the smart move with Drury is to give him a month at third and reassess from there. His value is very low right now, but that could change with a hot opening month.

All of the available projections on fangraphs have him with a minimum of 2 WAR, a mark he has reached for 4 consecutive seasons. Anyhow, I think we have moved past the days where most GM's don't value defense. A win in the field is as valuable as a win at the plate.

Who would you be looking to get for Pillar? He projects for 2+ WAR, so we should be able to extract some reasonable value.

I would kill myself before I disgrace myself with such a disgusting piece of clothing.

Here's my fairly detailed plan for the offseason, using some reasonable trade scenarios and MLBTR salary and arbitration predictions. Sportsnet had the payroll sitting between 120 and 130 million. Hopefully this generates as much positive discussion as in past years. Trades: - Kevin Pillar (5.3) and Ryan Tepera (1.7) to Colorado for Jon Gray (3.2) - Kendrys Morales (12) and 8 million to Kansas City for Glenn Sparkman - Marcus Stroman (7.3) to Los Angeles for Joc Pederson (4.3) - Luke Maile (min) to Tampa Bay for a prospect Signings: - Yusei Kikuchi (6/50 including posting fee) - Trevor Cahill (2/22) - Garrett Richards (2/10) - Adam Jones (1/8) - Aaron Loup (1/3) - Tyler Clippard (1/3) Roster: C- Jansen (min) 1B- Smoak (8) 2B- Travis (2.4) 3B- Drury (1.4) SS- Diaz (min) LF- McKinney (min) CF- Grichuk (4.8) RF- Pederson (4.3) DH- Hernandez (min) BN- Martin (20) BN- Gurriel Jr.(1.9) BN- Tulowitzki (20) BN- Jones (8) SP- Cahill (11) SP- Gray (3.2) SP- Borucki (min) SP- Kikuchi (8.3) SP- Sanchez (3.8) RP- Giles (6.6) RP- Loup (3) RP- Clippard (3) RP- Mayza (min) RP- Barnes (min) RP- Biagini (1.0) RP- Gaviglio (min) Dead money- 8 million (Morales), 5 million (Richards) Total:123.7 million +8 min salary. In a nutshell, my strategy is to bring in some interesting long term pieces without taking on any onerous salary committments or dealing from our prospect pool. After 2019, we're going to have one of the top young cores in baseball and some serious financial flexibility. The goal should be to not mess that up. Regarding the trades: You never know with the Rockies, but it seems obvious that they should move Blackmon to a corner. Pillar is a nice fit for them, considering how barren the FA market is at that position. If we have to add a prospect to him and Tepera then so be it. I think Jon Gray can have success here. I'm ready to move on from Stroman and get what we can for him. The Dodgers will likely be looking to move a LH hitter and their values seem fairly comparable. Pederson would add a desperately needed lefty power bat to our lineup and cover for Grichuk moving to CF. Regarding the signings: I like what I see from Kikuchi and I think he could be a good mid-rotation starter. The MLBTR salary projection is pretty reasonable and I think he fits better into our competitive window than a guy like Keuchel or Happ. I really wanted Cahill last offseason and I still think he is a good fit here. There are injury questions of course, but he could be a stabilizing force for a reasonable cost. This is a good time to take a gamble on a guy like Garrett Richards. We have a lot of financial flexibility, but we're not going to play at the top end of the free agent market. Ten million for prime Garrett Richards in 2020 would be a steal. Jones, Loup, and Clippard are basically placeholders for any free agent that fits the mould. We'll need a good RH bat to spell McKinney and Pederson and we'll need some RP depth. Nobody can predict the FA bargains, so I'm not going to try. Overall, I think this plan would leave us with solid rotation depth. I don't want any of SRF, Pannone, or Gaviglio in the rotation to start the season, as they will be needed for depth. I also think the offense would be improved with Pederson and Vlad Jr. I contemplated dealing Martin, but for the mentorship he can provide Jansen, it's just not worth it to save 2 or 3 million. We could keep Morales and continue to use Teoscar in the corners, but I think he's awful and don't see any improvement on the horizon. We should take what relief we can get for Kendrys. Thoughts?