We have some AA/AAA prospects who are expected to be more or less regular contributors someday. Casas, Downs, Duran?
We have some AAA lottery tickets with potential upside: Cordero (on a 1 year deal). Arauz?
We have some low minor guys who are legit prospects, but far off: Mayer, Yorke, Jordan.
What we don't have (at this point) is the expanded Sept. roster to get these guys MLB experience. And it's notable that in 2021, we had pretty much nothing but suck from the AA/AAA crowd (with the exception of Wong who was rarely played.) We had our best emergency contributions from the likes of Iglesias and Shaw.
Oddly, our 2022 roster may likely have need for speed (Duran), a 4th OF (Duran/Cordero), a 2B/IF utility guy (Downs/Arauz), and, depending on how hitty/slumpy some are, power off the bench (Casas/Cordero). Especially if Dalbec slumps.
So, the question is, if you're Bloom, do you start keeping guys in AAA till they're absolutely ready for sure (ready to bite the bullet if there are significant MLB adjustment pains), or do you start burning options and trying to fit them in as role players and injury replacements? If the second, do you try to load up the opening-day roster with Rule 5 guys and utility players?
I may not have phrased the questions well, but essentially, how do you start getting these guys exposed to ML pitching?
Or at least more ready to deal with it when they arrive?
We have some AAA lottery tickets with potential upside: Cordero (on a 1 year deal). Arauz?
We have some low minor guys who are legit prospects, but far off: Mayer, Yorke, Jordan.
What we don't have (at this point) is the expanded Sept. roster to get these guys MLB experience. And it's notable that in 2021, we had pretty much nothing but suck from the AA/AAA crowd (with the exception of Wong who was rarely played.) We had our best emergency contributions from the likes of Iglesias and Shaw.
Oddly, our 2022 roster may likely have need for speed (Duran), a 4th OF (Duran/Cordero), a 2B/IF utility guy (Downs/Arauz), and, depending on how hitty/slumpy some are, power off the bench (Casas/Cordero). Especially if Dalbec slumps.
So, the question is, if you're Bloom, do you start keeping guys in AAA till they're absolutely ready for sure (ready to bite the bullet if there are significant MLB adjustment pains), or do you start burning options and trying to fit them in as role players and injury replacements? If the second, do you try to load up the opening-day roster with Rule 5 guys and utility players?
I may not have phrased the questions well, but essentially, how do you start getting these guys exposed to ML pitching?
Or at least more ready to deal with it when they arrive?