smg58

Does Familia count?

Not sure if he counts as an ex-Met, but Scott Kazmir is throwing for teams this week.

I'm just worried that this will wind up becoming the longest thread in the history of the CPF. In Lowrie's defense, he has been unlucky to an unforeseeable degree. (I mean, it's not like he was chasing wild boars or anything.) But bmfc is right that he was never needed, and the Mets were lucky that he wound up not taking time away from McNeil.

=Gwreck post_id=31428 time=1581383472 user_id=56] Playoff expansion. DH expansion. Banning shifts. Putting runners on second base in extra innings. Why do you hate baseball, Rob Manfred?

I think he led the Mets in WAR in 2014. That glove with even a .700 OPS was a huge asset. But that season was the outlier offensively (and defensively too, but he was still elite for a while). And then there were the injuries that just didn't stop. I was super bullish on him for a long time.

It's a small but fair concern -- unless something comes up in the physical that makes it a big concern. At any rate, the physical did pop up a big concern with the other piece the Red Sox got.

=smg58 post_id=29569 time=1578775962 user_id=62]The Red Sox might be concerned that they can't compete with the Yankees in the last year they'll have Betts, in which case trading Betts makes some sense. But they won't take their time rebuilding, so they probably don't really want prospects unless they will graduate this year. And I'm guessing they'd want established major leaguers under control for at least three years; trading one year of Betts for two years of Thor, one of which they'd be punting, doesn't sound like a fit to me.

The proposed idea of waiting five years to relinquish control never made much sense, so I always figured we didn't really know what was going on. And we still don't.

With Smith lacking options, Adams won't displace him. But a 26-man roster could conceivably fit an extra lefty power bat, especially if Smith gets regular ABs against righties.

If a team had an opening for a lefty first baseman who can fake it in the outfield, they could have had Adams on a minor league deal. That tells me nobody is going to trade for Smith, or at least give up value in return. Might as well keep him.

An easy guy to root for, always came across as very likable, and he helped bring the World Series to Queens. No negatives from me. Good luck to him.

It's not close. McNeil had a higher OPS+ than Arenado the last two seasons (which basically means if you factor in ballpark, McNeil's been the better hitter), and he appears to be a pretty good defensive third baseman too. So, no. If you had that kind of money to throw around, you could have gotten a second ace starter or a #2 instead of a #5 or #6. I suggested Cano and prospects earlier, which was half-serious -- if Brodie said they have to take Cano and they returned his call, I'd be as surprised as anybody -- but I can't think of any other scenario where the Mets get Arenado, don't take on more money than they appear willing to spend, and unequivocally improve the team.

=Centerfield post_id=30819 time=1580425236 user_id=65] I'm sure it makes sense on some level, but if Chicago were willing to pay $35M/year for a third baseman, wouldn't they be better off just paying their own?

A poorly trained cheetah would be much more entertaining. Especially if the Yankees are on the field.

So who exactly wants this?

Don't you mean J. D. Davis? Or perhaps Alonso, if we still have Dom Smith?

And that's exactly the kind of selling point we should be going with.

Edgy MD wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: Who is currently projected to be in the Mets outfield? Nimmo and Conforto. And maybe Cespedes. Who's the left fielder if it's not Cespedes? Davis? Or McNeil?I'm thinking it's Davis in left and McNeil at third base? If Smitty is still around (I haven't missed anything, have I?), then I think Smith and Davis are the two-headed leftfielder until Céspedestrian proves otherwise. I was wondering how far I'd have to scroll down before somebody remembered we still have Dom Smith. As for Marte? It's not clear at all he's still a better fielder than Nimmo, and a healthy Nimmo is a better hitter. Now he'd be an upgrade defensively compared to Smith/Davis, but not offensively. (And there is a reasonable chance that Smith and/or Davis will improve defensively with more experience. Smith was less awful in left last year compared to 2018, despite mostly playing first in spring and in AAA.) Maybe Marte's glove would be worth a few runs. But at what expense? Ignoring the cost in players, we'd probably be taking on the full $11M he's owed. In a vacuum that's not a bad price. But for that money, would you rather have Marte instead of Smith/Davis, or Ryu or Bumgarner or Wheeler instead of Porcello/Wacha?

He seems like a good guy who knows his stuff. How he handles the bright light in his face remains to be seen, but I don't think they could have done better under the circumstances.

McNeil had a higher OPS+ than Arenado each of the last two seasons. That's a non-starter. Brandon Nimmo has a higher career OPS+ than Arenado. Can we please stop mentioning him in every rumor? But if they'd take Cano, they could have any prospects they'd like.

=seawolf17 post_id=30235 time=1579628563 user_id=91] =G-Fafif post_id=30230 time=1579625993 user_id=55] Braves sign formerly Felix Hernandez to a minor league contract.

To be fair, I would have voted for Jeter. But the litany of Yankee-fan friends asking "Who was the asshole?" on Facebook is highly entertaining.

An interesting but overlooked trade: the Rays acquired 1B/OF Jose Martinez and OF Randy Arozarena for St. Louis in exchange for pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore (with a few smaller pieces exchanged as well). The Cardinals sacrifice significant major-league outfield depth for a prospect, which is curious for a contender -- but it makes more sense if they work a deal out for Arenado. The Rays get two solid right-handed bats. Arozarena could have been a sneaky option in centerfield, with a decent power/speed combination and a pretty high ceiling.

Donaldson bet on himself last offseason and won. The Braves got a division title and a draft pick for their one-year investment, but now they have to choose between a very expensive trade and taking a huge downgrade at the position.

=G-Fafif post_id=29714 time=1579050151 user_id=55] Josh Donaldson brings his rain to the Twin Cities.