Don't get me wrong, I love Cliff Lee. That's just a scary contract for any pitcher. When you factor in age, declining velocity and the inherent injury risks of any pitcher there are enough red flags to make me wary. I'd trade for him if the cost was a few B level guys. I'm thinking the Phillies would be looking for a bigger package than what the Mets got for Dickey, d'Arnaud + Syndergaard + C level guy in Becerra and moving Sanchez/Gose for him would be a non-starter IMO.
That's a hell of a lot for a rental (who is coming off a very serious injury) and a platoon bat. If AA is giving up Nolin I;d prefer to get a pitcher with control, like Norris, Iwakuma, Miley, EJax, etc
I've read that as well. Very good chance we are seeing 3-4 year old scouting reports from Lawrie's time with the Brewers.
The fact remains that only those within the Jays' organization has recently seen Lawrie's footwork at 2B outside of the few games he played at 2B during his April rehab stint. Scouting reports from outside the organization are most definitely flawed because of this and are either rehashing old reports or making broad claims based on skill-set and play at the hot corner.
IMO Lawrie's range, hands and arm all play very well at 2B, as you alluded to the only real question mark is his footwork. It'll take reps to get that part of his game down but, it shouldn't be an insurmountable hurdle.
Just a thought, De Aza was 5th on the list and Hawkins was 10th. IMO it seems likely that the votes for these two in the top 10 were due to ranking mistakes or incomplete polls.
They were better by the time he came up but a lot of scouts didn't think he'd stick at 3rd and didn't like what they saw before he got to Toronto. Also AA is on record this year saying, and I'm paraphrasing, the club isn't sure if Brett's D is better at 2B or 3B and that he can play both positions.
IMO Headley makes a ton of sense if Lawrie can play a decent 2B, moving Lawrie for Headley would be a circular manoeuvre.
Baseball reference is higher on him than Fangraphs. He's still a borderline top 10 SS on a decent contract. It's going to cost quite a bit to land him.
Lopes + Norris + Pillar for Ramirez, who says no first?
Ultimately, I think the White Sox are looking for a truly elite prospect and not a package of upside guys like in my hypothetical trade.
Sorry, I didn't mean buying low on Castro as in pennies on the dollar. Just significantly less than at any other point in his career. I'm sure the Cubs are still high on him and would still want a haul, just a smaller one than a t this point last season.
MLBTR reported today that the Cubs are ready to sell. They'd have a few names I'd be interested in including;
Starlin Castro
Edwin Jackson
Matt Garza
Alfonso Soriano
Carlos Villanueva
Scott Feldman
E-Jax and Castro would be my two big buy-low targets.
You'd have to be completely sold on Taveras as a star going forward to make that deal. You have to love the tool-set but, I'm not convinced enough to pull the theoretical trigger.
Ya, that's an awesome clip. I imagine it has more to do with the brand new New Yankee Stadium vs the limitations of the antiquated Rogers Centre than the Rogers broadcast. If it's possible hopefully we'll see it soon though! That's an awesome slow-mo!