Non Soto

[Centerfield]

So let's say Soto goes elsewhere. We'll need an impact bat for the OF.



Where do we turn?



Teoscar Hernandez

33 HR. .840 OPS. in 2024. Has posted OPS of .741 (2023), .807 (2022), and .870 (2021). Plays RF. Will be 32 years old. MLB Trade Rumors prediction: $60M, 3 years.



Anthony Santander

44 HR. .814 OPS. His OBP has been low (.308 last year which is basically his career average). Has hit 44, 28 and 33 HRs the last few years, but is consistently below .800 in OPS due to a low OBP. Bad fielder. 30 years old. MLB TR Prediction: 4 years, $80M.



Tyler O'Neill

31 HR, .847 OPS. He had a nice breakout year in 2021 in St. Louis, with 34 HR and a .912 OPS. 2022 and 2023 he was pretty bad, and wasn't healthy. Also battled injury this year as well. Could be a chance to get some bang for the buck. Will be 30 years old in 2025.



Others:

Jesse Winker

Michael Conforto

Joc Pederson

[Benjamin Grimm]

I was hoping the Mets would sign Hernandez last year, when he was among several DH candidates for the role that eventually (and belatedly) went to J.D. Martinez. He'd be nice as part of a consolation package, should it come to that.



While it would be nice to see Conforto come back, he hasn't been the player he used to be, and if they do get him, it should be for a supporting role. I don't really see it happening.

[Centerfield]

Conforto is an interesting option. He had a .759 OPS last year in his first full healthy year after his injury. Hit 20 HRs in 438 ABs. I was thinking Conforto could be a good fit as part of a platoon. But his splits were reverse. .724 OPS against righties. .886 OPS against LHP. It could be just a fluke as he had regular splits in 2023.



Some of his struggles might be the ballpark. SF is huge. His home OPS was .632, while it was .852 away from SF. He's still young. He'll be 32 in 2025.

[Edgy MD]

I guess I won't have a good idea how much they will try and target or how aggressively until whether we know if they lose out on Soto and we know if they lose out on Alonso.



I like Teoscar better than Santander, and O'Neil is intriguing.



Also hard to gauge how committed they are to Starling Marte. Or McNeil.



A very complicated offseason. They may end up going the hardest at Soto just to clean up some of the ambiguity. If they don't get him, it'll take so many moves to approach a similar upgrade.

[Centerfield]

Couple of updates on other options.



In addition to Cody Bellinger, the Cubs could be looking to move Seiya Suzuki. Suzuki doesn't have Soto's power, but he's put up mid .800's OPS in two straight years. .283/.366/.482 with 21 HR in 2024. Put up nearly identical numbers in 2023. He also stole 16 bases. Not a great defender. Will likely cost prospects as his contract is pretty reasonable.



https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10146143-mlb-rumors-cubs-determined-to-trade-cody-bellinger-or-seiya-suzuki-amid-2024-fahttps://bleacherreport.com/articles/10146143-mlb-rumors-cubs-determined-to-trade-cody-bellinger-or-seiya-suzuki-amid-2024-fa



Reports are that the Dodgers may be close to re-signing Teoscar Hernandez.



https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-dodgers-finalizing-details-to-re-sign-teoscar-hernandezhttps://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-dodgers-finalizing-details-to-re-sign-teoscar-hernandez

[Benjamin Grimm]

I thought this was a new thread and expected bad news when I opened it.

[Centerfield]

It IS bad news. Why would anyone want to trade Seiya Suzuki? It's awful!

[Lefty Specialist]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I thought this was a new thread and expected bad news when I opened it.

Yeah, my heart stopped for a second.

[Benjamin Grimm]

=Centerfield post_id=180426 time=1733533132 user_id=65]
It IS bad news. Why would anyone want to trade Seiya Suzuki? It's awful!

[Centerfield]

LOL IMAGINE NOT HAVING JUAN SOTO

[MFS62]

Spread the money around



A first baseman to replace Pete (Walker may take a short tern contract)



A platoon dh (Joc Pedersen?)



A starter (Evoldi)



A reliever - he'll find some.



Later