Ray

Graham Spraker looked really good in the Fall Stars game today. 1 IP, 0H, 0BB, 2K. 95 mph 4-seam with a 90 mph slider. Got the save.

Any interest in signing Schwarber to replace Semien's offensive production? He doesn't necessarily fit, but it could be a relatively cheap way to get an impact bat. We can then sign a guy like Eduardo Escobar to play 3B everyday and just roll with Biggio at 2B where he played best. Imagine this lineup: 1. Springer, CF 2. Bichette, SS 3. Guerrero, 1B 4. Teoscar, RF 5. Schwarber, DH 6. Gurriel, LF 7. Jansen/Kirk/Moreno, C 8. Escobar, 3B 9. Biggio, 2B Pretty deep and balanced lineup. Could probably still spend a significant amount of money on a starter in this scenario.

Gabriel Moreno gonna out-WAR Adley Rutschman in 2022. Calling it right now.

Multiple reporters are saying that the free agent market this year is going to be a lot more competitive than in recent years. Yankees/Dodgers/Red Sox always make some sort of splash, but on top of that, you have the Padres, Giants, Braves, Phillies, Mets looking to make big moves. I think the key differentiator is teams that have been rebuilding forever will also be looking to spend after a lot of years of tanking. Tigers, Marlins, & Rangers come to mind. It's gonna drive up the prices for a lot of middle tier free agents.

Not many top-tier prospects on our lists anymore (beyond Moreno), but it's still a deep list. Leonardo Jimenez is #10, and he posted a .523 OBP in A-ball this year. Tiedemann sounds really exciting with his velo bump. There's also some other really intriguing guys that didn't cut it that could pop soon: Adam Kloffenstein (I still believe), Sem Robberse, Irv Carter, Samad Taylor, Victor Mesia, Zach Logue, Trent Palmer.

I’d be happy to sign Matz to a 3/$36M deal. That already gives us a solid rotation of Berrios, Manoah, Ryu, and Matz. And then you could trade for a top end starter if you don’t want to pay the premium for a guy like Ray or Gausman. I think there’s more untapped potential there with Matz. He made some tremendous progress with Walker already. If you can further that relationship, he might end up getting better.

No QO for - Steven Matz - Jon Gray - Carlos Rodon - Anthony DeSclafani - Clayton Kershaw - Kevin Gausman (already received one in the past) - Max Scherzer (already received one in the past) - Marcus Stroman (already received one in the past) That’s a pretty good list of starters to choose from without compensation attached.

Moreno through 5 games in the AFL: .474/.577/.789 Crazy start. I say just move him to 3B right now.

That's probably a fair statement, but it's still nice to have a GM that inherently believes in player development at the major league level and doesn't have a quick trigger finger. They went through the growing pains with guys like Toescar and Gurriel at the major league level, and now they've matured to become core pieces of the team (granted, they could afford to give playing time to those guys during the rebuild).

Anthopoulos himself has said in interviews that he grew and learned a lot from Zaidi/Friedman about sustainable winning. He's not the same guy he was with us. He's clearly a very talented GM, but you could argue he was still developing as an executive while with us and hit his stride with Atlanta. I think his strengths lie with putting finishing touches/adding to a good core, but I don't think he's a great builder the same way Shapiro/Atkins are. He neglected investing in important infrastructure like player development & facilities and instead focused exclusively on the major league roster. It's no surprise that our prospect pool started thriving as soon as Shapiro/Atkins came into the helm. The current regime has poured a TON of $$ into R&D, player development, strength & conditioning, mental skills, nutrition, facilities, all of which not only help younger players flourish, but are attractive to free agents as well. You could argue a guy like Biggio might've never made the majors with AA's system, whereas now he's at least a useful utility guy. I will respect AA for always giving it 110% though. He was relentless in his pursuit to make the team better. And clearly he's adjusted his philosophy, because he doesn't trade away that many prospects now. I'm less bullish on his actual drafting with Atlanta, albeit that may be more of a Dana Brown problem.

More Gabby Moreno praise from the latest BA Arizona Fall League preview podcast Another quote: "Every review we got back from (indicating Moreno) to be an all-star, perennial all-star, or even better than that. I could not fathom the things that coming out of scouts. One of the quotes from the scout I got was it's not a question of whether Moreno is going to be All-Star, it's the amount of All-Star games he's going to make by the time he hits 30" Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/baseball-america/id201539011?i=1000538479418 (starts at 20:30)

f*** the Trop, but it is absolutely mind boggling how good this Rays team is on a -checks notes- $70M payroll. Just unbelievably, disgustingly good. I hate em’, but I gotta respect them.

Hopefully at least one person can get on for Soto.

I beg Maddon to bring Raisel in for the 2 inning save

They just promoted him to President of Baseball Ops & extended him until 2026 in January 2021. I don't think he's going anywhere, but I could see a total purge happening in the coaching staff (even though the fundamental issue with the Padres is it's roster).

And Garret Whitlock (by far and away the Red Sox best reliever) just got pulled from the game due to an injury too.

Well, that could effectively end Coles Cy Young chances.

Lol which broadcast and which inning? Might actually watch it on MLB TV. I always love it when other teams announcers gush about us.

Bisons had themselves a day. They won 20-3 against Rochester. Kevin Smith: 5-for-7 Otto Lopez: 4-for-6 Cavan: 3-for-5 with a grand slam Gregory Polanco: 2-for-3 with a homer.

Is Vlad gonna break an arb1 record? Kind of depends on the CBA I would guess, but he’s gonna get at least $10M is my guess.

Nick Anderson's velo is WAY down.

I hope people appreciate that Alek Manoah is dominating the best hitting team in the league while pitching all of 35 innings in his minor league career. What an insane story.

This has been a very cathartic experience thus far.

Great 1st inning by Manoah!