They say new threads are good.
My hope here is to discuss this off season moving forward. Lets look at the remaining needs heading into 2023, players who we think make sense for those needs and above all PLEASE no bitching and complaining about the FO and no mention of player that are no longer here.
Catcher.. I think we're OK heading into the season with Wong and McGuire. Contreras is gone, I'm not sure that we want or need Vazquez back and prospects might be better used to fill other needs.
Shortstop...That's the biggie. While he might be an in house solution, I'd rather see Arroyo continue in his current role, I think he should be the last option. Hernandez is another in house solution and while he might be able to handle the job, how good of a defender might he be as an everyday SS? Roughly just 10% of his games started in the big leagues have been at SS. I'm not sure if that speaks to his play there or to his value as a guy who can play all over the field and there is also the hole left in CF to be considered.
First base...Not a priority ATM with Casas looking to be the primary and Dalbec/Hosmer already in place. I would prefer to see another pairing with Casas, but like I said I don't think it's at the top of Chaim's to do list.
Outfield...I've stated elsewhere that I'd like to keep Verdugo and acquire Max Kepler. Yoshida/Verdugo in LF. Hernandez/Kepler in CF, Kepler/Verdugo in RF and RFsnyder as a fifth OF who can cover all 3 positions as well as the right side of the infield.
DH... I'm on record as not being a fan of the full time DH unless you can fill the slot with a bona fide masher. Benches are pretty much limited to 3 positional players plus a catcher. I hate the idea of a guy who carries a bat, but no glove. An outfield as I suggested above along with the flexibility of the rest of your positional players affords the opportunity to rotate players through the DH slot. It gives guys partial days off and allows greater flexibility in daily lineup construction depending on pitching match ups, ball park effects or other considerations.
Bullpen... A great concern going into the off season has seen some attention this off season. The addition of Rodriquez, Martin and Jansen should help solidify the situation out there, more so if Houck remains as a reliever. Another solid arm would be nice, but I think the current pen looks pretty promising.
Rotation...Lots of questions here concerning what sort of contributions we might get from Sale and Paxton. I'm cautiously optimistic, but not expecting either to be the best versions of their past selves. Lots of folks here have shown a desire to land another starter. I think the FO has expressed that they would like to add to the rotation. Some here have also expressed an interest in trading Pivetta to help fill one of the remaining needs. One name that I have seen little mention of is Chris Bassitt. He's entering his age 34 season and reportedly looking for a 4-5 year deal. I really haven't seen much in terms of the $$$ amount that he's looking for other than one report that it might be something in line with Kevin Gausman's AAV of 22-23M. He's been really durable and consistently good since becoming a regular starter. He interests me on a 3 year deal, but it's likely to take at least 4 to get him. Is 4/90 crazy for this guy? Perhaps slightly front loaded in the first 2-3 years?
So those are my thoughts, what say you? Remember we're looking forward here, not back and trying to make sense out of what might make sense.
My hope here is to discuss this off season moving forward. Lets look at the remaining needs heading into 2023, players who we think make sense for those needs and above all PLEASE no bitching and complaining about the FO and no mention of player that are no longer here.
Catcher.. I think we're OK heading into the season with Wong and McGuire. Contreras is gone, I'm not sure that we want or need Vazquez back and prospects might be better used to fill other needs.
Shortstop...That's the biggie. While he might be an in house solution, I'd rather see Arroyo continue in his current role, I think he should be the last option. Hernandez is another in house solution and while he might be able to handle the job, how good of a defender might he be as an everyday SS? Roughly just 10% of his games started in the big leagues have been at SS. I'm not sure if that speaks to his play there or to his value as a guy who can play all over the field and there is also the hole left in CF to be considered.
First base...Not a priority ATM with Casas looking to be the primary and Dalbec/Hosmer already in place. I would prefer to see another pairing with Casas, but like I said I don't think it's at the top of Chaim's to do list.
Outfield...I've stated elsewhere that I'd like to keep Verdugo and acquire Max Kepler. Yoshida/Verdugo in LF. Hernandez/Kepler in CF, Kepler/Verdugo in RF and RFsnyder as a fifth OF who can cover all 3 positions as well as the right side of the infield.
DH... I'm on record as not being a fan of the full time DH unless you can fill the slot with a bona fide masher. Benches are pretty much limited to 3 positional players plus a catcher. I hate the idea of a guy who carries a bat, but no glove. An outfield as I suggested above along with the flexibility of the rest of your positional players affords the opportunity to rotate players through the DH slot. It gives guys partial days off and allows greater flexibility in daily lineup construction depending on pitching match ups, ball park effects or other considerations.
Bullpen... A great concern going into the off season has seen some attention this off season. The addition of Rodriquez, Martin and Jansen should help solidify the situation out there, more so if Houck remains as a reliever. Another solid arm would be nice, but I think the current pen looks pretty promising.
Rotation...Lots of questions here concerning what sort of contributions we might get from Sale and Paxton. I'm cautiously optimistic, but not expecting either to be the best versions of their past selves. Lots of folks here have shown a desire to land another starter. I think the FO has expressed that they would like to add to the rotation. Some here have also expressed an interest in trading Pivetta to help fill one of the remaining needs. One name that I have seen little mention of is Chris Bassitt. He's entering his age 34 season and reportedly looking for a 4-5 year deal. I really haven't seen much in terms of the $$$ amount that he's looking for other than one report that it might be something in line with Kevin Gausman's AAV of 22-23M. He's been really durable and consistently good since becoming a regular starter. He interests me on a 3 year deal, but it's likely to take at least 4 to get him. Is 4/90 crazy for this guy? Perhaps slightly front loaded in the first 2-3 years?
So those are my thoughts, what say you? Remember we're looking forward here, not back and trying to make sense out of what might make sense.