2016-2017 off season thread.

[Neddy]

**** I like going after Greg Holland now. we have little to lose even if he craps out as long as the deal is for 1+1 type. I thought he had his heart set on going back to KC, but I suppose that is no longer the case for him.

I still want to sign Matt Wieters. I think having A and A* catchers avaible while Barnes can still be our 3rd catcher is a very good idea for the team and its flexibility.
I want Barnes at 2nd base everyday.
I have come to terms that it is highly likely Turner will be our 3nd baseman for the foreseeable future regardless how I worry he maybe a product of PED use.
SVS and Brock should be the leading pieces of a package to bring in Britton from the O's. probably there is a need to send them a prospect and we grab another piece from them to make it happen.

the probable lineup and the bench for 2017 could look like this with my own bias intact.

1. LF L Toles
2. RF R Puig
3. SS L Seager
4. 3B R Turner
5. 1B L Gonzo
6. C S Grandal
7. CF L Joc
8. 2B R Barnes

bench
1. C S Wieters
2. Ut R Kendrick
3. Ut R ****
4. SS R Culberson
5. OF R Thompson

the bench may be a too right handed, but other than that this is a very useful, flexible bunch.

on top of this, if we do end up grabbing Holland and resign Blanton, our pitching staff will be fairly stacked too.

1. L Kershaw
2. R Maeda
3. L Urias
4. R De Leon
5. L Ryu / R McCarthy

06. CL Britton
07. SU Holland
08. SU Wood - L
09. MR Dayton - L
10. MR Blanton
11. MR Stripling
12. MR Baez

I am sure things will change in a hurry, but as of right now this is what I am thinking.

[Neddy]

everyday I am putting up something new, writing down my thoughts as they come unfiltered right here in this forum, but each passing day since the World Series, I am seeing what is more realistic clearer.

1. we gave up Cotton, Montas, and Holmes for Hill and Reddick. I don't think we are going to let them just walk, especially Hill.

2. signing Wieters is a good idea, but Barnes is the next back up catcher.

3. Turner is more likely to be signed back than Jansen. we may need to over pay for a year or two more than what we would like, but there are very little options available to replace him at 3rd both defensively and offensively. for a closer however, there are options in both FA and in trade market.

4. trading for Ian Kinsler is a good idea, and a better idea than Brian Dozier or any other options out there in terms of what we need to pay for.

#5 we may trade some of our excess pitching, but no way we deplete it. in fact we will probably re-stock the AAAA guys once again.

#6 Puig is likely to be traded, and hope it is not for that albatross of a contract that is Braun. but there is a strong chance.

#7. our farm is stacked with yet more lefty batsmen.

#8. many aces are out for sale. Geinke, Verlander, and yes, Sale. I don't wanna take on 172 million for 5 years for a 33 year old Greinke? Verlander had a come back year but he is owed 88 million for the next 4 years. he is also the same age, but comes with a longer sheet of mediocre recent performance than Zach. but neither should be ideal while possibly cheaper. Sale will cost the farm, but we could trade from our strength.

[Neddy]

1. say we bring back Hill, for say, 50 million for 2 years plus a vesting option.

2. No Matt, Austin all the way.

3. Turner is back, and we overpay to keep the best in business and trade for Britton.

4. Kinsler is in the fold.

5. we sign cheap, high risk, high reward guys to redefine medince ball while keeping our own.

6. screw Braun. we don't need him. but we don't have to keep Puig either despite my personal preference to have him.

7. we use some of our lefty outfield prospects to add to the package for....

8. Chris Sale... would be a dream but not happening. I think Puig and prospects to go O's to grab Britton and other parts for possibly another deal or more prospects for the farm. Greinke would be nice but he is more costlier than Verlander.

[Neddy]

the potential 2017 roster sports

pitching staff
01. L SP Kershaw
02. L SP Hill
03. R SP Maeda
04. L SP Urias
05. R SP De Leon

06. R CP Jansen
07. L SU Britton
08. L SU Wood
09. R MR Stripling
10. L MR Dayton
11. R MR Coleman
12. L MR Avilan

AAA/AAAA(the pergatory) will be filled with guys like Ryu, McCarthy, Frias, Hatcher, and others like them.

now the position players...

01. L CF Joc
02. L SS Seager
03. R 2B Kinsler
04. R 3B Turner ( Turner is practically a left handed hitter anyway)
05. L 1B Gonzo
06. L RF Reddick / R SVS
07. S C Grandal
08. L LF Toles / R Kendrick

bench

01. R LF Kendrick ( Platooning with Toles)
02. L OF Ethier ( Primary left handed pinch hitter )
03. R RF SVS ( platooning with Reddick and Gonzo )
04. R Ut ****
05. R C Barnes

if ****'s defense is faultering, or his bat is no longer 2015 like but continuing 2016 campaign, Culberson should get the spot.

[Quake Griffin]

I dont want anymore trades unless it's very little going out.

I dont think Kinsler will cost us that much, plus eating his salary is a pretty big factor...even then I doubtbhe puts us iver the top.

Sale n the other guys will take a chunk of flesh from us and we have too many holes/weaknesses that are trending downwards for me to act like giving up a huge haul for a pitcher is what we need to do.


Red Sox...what Theo started building there is incresible:
Mookie
Jackie
Benitendi
Boegarts
Moncanda

Cubs:
Rizzo
Javy
Russell
Bryant
Schwarber
Contreras

Those 2 teams are set. They drafted and developed it well. Theyre in solid spots to add or make a big deal.

We dont know who our 2B is.
We dont know who our RF or LF is.
Our 1B is old and declining.
Even positive guys like Grandal and Joc have glaring weaknesses.


We need to have that honest talk in our FO and it needs to go like this:
We arent catching the Cubs in one winter.

I'd love our winter if we came away with a couple of quality young prospects mkre so than trying to patch together this team with trades that I don't think will catch the Cubs.

[Neddy]

I dont want anymore trades unless it's very little going out.

I dont think Kinsler will cost us that much, plus eating his salary is a pretty big factor...even then I doubtbhe puts us iver the top.

Sale n the other guys will take a chunk of flesh from us and we have too many holes/weaknesses that are trending downwards for me to act like giving up a huge haul for a pitcher is what we need to do.


Red Sox...what Theo started building there is incresible:
Mookie
Jackie
Benitendi
Boegarts
Moncanda

Cubs:
Rizzo
Javy
Russell
Bryant
Schwarber
Contreras

Those 2 teams are set. They drafted and developed it well. Theyre in solid spots to add or make a big deal.

We dont know who our 2B is.
We dont know who our RF or LF is.
Our 1B is old and declining.
Even positive guys like Grandal and Joc have glaring weaknesses.


We need to have that honest talk in our FO and it needs to go like this:
We arent catching the Cubs in one winter.

I'd love our winter if we came away with a couple of quality young prospects mkre so than trying to patch together this team with trades that I don't think will catch the Cubs.

well it is competing for 2017 that makes things tricky, but if you are talking about building from within for the long run, I have to say things look very bright for us... it is just that that particular future is about 2 to 3 years away.

in terms of youth movement, we already have

SS: Seager
CF : Joc
LF : Toles

now for what is coming for sure

C: Barnes
1B : Bellinger.
RF : Verdugo

for the possible relocation of positions...

3B : Calhoun. he was a hot corner before we tried to convert him to a middle infield, now after years of learning the middle infield, he should be able to handle the glove even better.

our pitching prospects have already produced Urias, De Leon is around the corner. you know the rest.

I don't think we are doing that badly at all, and our draft picks are still getting stock piled, and future picks have yet to show what they can do.

[Neddy]

^ also, Quake, you may have replied when i was still writing a draft of trading for Sale, which as I was posting consecutive posts I had a change of heart, coming into a better sense of reality. yeah had we committed ourselves to trade for Chris Sale, we probably be out of most of the top prospects to make it happen. guys like Bellinger, Verdugo, De Leon would be gone for sure.

[Ranma]

Sale n the other guys will take a chunk of flesh from us and we have too many holes/weaknesses that are trending downwards for me to act like giving up a huge haul for a pitcher is what we need to do.

^ also, Quake, you may have replied when i was still writing a draft of trading for Sale, which as I was posting consecutive posts I had a change of heart, coming into a better sense of reality. yeah had we committed ourselves to trade for Chris Sale, we probably be out of most of the top prospects to make it happen. guys like Bellinger, Verdugo, De Leon would be gone for sure.

I actually agree with Quake about not really making trades this winter unless little is going out. As I've said before, we may have plenty of depth in the minors but in terms of top-shelf quality, we're lacking since the elevation of both Urias and De Leon. Between the 2 pitching prospects, only Urias is seen as having elite potential. Bellinger is now the top rated prospect in our system but he's maybe a couple of years away. Verdugo and Calhoun are prospects I view more as trade assets than long-term investments, so I'm inclined to trade them at a high point in their respective value.

Having said that, I would make the exception of giving up a lot in quantity for Chris Sale based on my discussion with Quake last year. I wasn't even that aware of his accomplishments before Quake pointed them out and I've since been onboard in coveting him. The concern I have is with his high-stress delivery in terms of long-term health. I would look into giving up De Leon, Verdugo, Wood, and others without giving up Bellinger, but that seems unrealistic since the asking price would be Urias, which is a non-starter for me.

While we have Seager, Urias, Pederson, and Toles, we're already counting heavily on most of them. We need to infuse our farm with more elite potential talent, which is why I've wanted and continue to advocate swinging for the fences with our early draft picks. Yadier Alvarez is the only other prospect in our system with elite potential but we're years away from seeing him maybe realize it.

This further supports my case for pursuing Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. He may not be elite but he's a very good prospect who is not that far away from helping a major-league ballclub. We certainly have some solid-to-good prospects in the system with the likes of Yusniel Diaz, Jordan Sheffield, Mitchell White, Gavin Lux, and Walker Buehler, but none of them are currently projected to have All-Star potential as of yet, although, I'm really intrigued with White and think he could make fast progression in elevating his prospect profile.

[Neddy]

well if I was to rate each team's youth,
Cubs
C : Contreras ------B
2B : Baez -----------A
SS: Russell ---------A-
3B : Bryant --------A+
LF : Schwarrber ---A

us
C : Barnes ----------C+
1B : Bellinger ------B+
SS : Seager ---------A+
LF : Toles ---------- C+
OF : Verdugo -------A-

so yeah they do have the upper hand in terms of position players, but when it comes to pitching, Urias, De Leon, Alvarez, and the rest of them are definitely in consideration for the best in business.

[Ranma]

Yeah, we certainly have them beat in pitching prospects. I actually have Bellinger rated higher, so I'd probably give Verdugo a B grade. In fact, Bellinger is currently rated as the top Dodger prospect by MLB Pipeline with Verdugo 3rd behind De Leon. MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects rankings currently has Bellinger 31st overall and De Leon right behind him at 32nd while Verdugo is 45th.

[Neddy]

Yeah, we certainly have them beat in pitching prospects. I actually have Bellinger rated higher, so I'd probably give Verdugo a B grade. In fact, Bellinger is currently rated as the top Dodger prospect by MLB Pipeline with Verdugo 3rd behind De Leon. MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects rankings currently has Bellinger 31st overall and De Leon right behind him at 32nd while Verdugo is 45th.

yes, but Bellinger has always been what he is now, and never deviated from it.

Verdugo came on the radar of the scouts for being a mid 90 fastball throwing lefty pitcher who converted himself to an everyday player just because he insisted on it after he got drafted. Alex has far more tools and he has yet to even realize 70% of his talent.

Clay's son may be the better player right now by a bit, but the ceiling Alex has is twice that of young Bellinger. that doesn't mean Verdugo's success is guaranteed either, as we have seen with Puig. but I believe Alex is coachable unlike the younger version of Yasiel.

[Quake Griffin]

Us having them beat in pitching prospects seems more by design.

I checked once but I cant remember for sure....but Theo hasn't drafted an arm in the 5 years that he's been there. I'm not sure what he's done on the international market (aside fromSoler) but the tank went for all position players (Bryant, Schwarber, Almora). The Samardzija trade was for another position player (Russell).

To me he has seemed pretty deliberate in trying to draft and develop elite bats and signing/dealing for the arms.

Lester (signing)
Arrieta (trade)
Kendricks (drafted before Theo got there)
Lackey (signing).

This could potentially have been our flaw in year's past. We take arms in the 1st round like nobody's business.

Back to the subject...
We are a good team that can compete (not dominate) next year.
It seems counterintuitive but that's exactly why I don't want to trade so much. We are almost where we need to be.

Kershaw
Urias
McCarthy
Delly
Maeda

Thats 5 I can live with. Then theres Kazmir, Strip, Wood, and Stewart as options and relief in case we need to skip the young ones to control their innings.

Now we need quality position players developing and I dont want any going out. More importantly, an elite one to pair with Seager imo. Not sure why Ranma is sour on Verdugo. Kid is toolsy and a pretty good athlete. I know he had auestions about him before the draft but so far so good right?

But generally, I'm more interested in Gourriel, Otani, our drafts, our depth etc etc. Even my guy Sale scares me as I fear we'll hit the Tommy John Surgery Jackpot the minute he gets here.

_____________
Just want to throw this out there. Miller and Chapman got nice hauls for the Yankees. Kimbrel and Giles beforecthe season too. Would I deal Kenley for an elite position player prospect?

Yes....and I'd have a glass of Jameson afterwards to celebrate my work.

I rambled a little but whatever. I'm under the weather and a little boozy. Great combo.

[AGAVE]

Ok, I'm going to give this a shot.
SALE
After reading some, he will be 30 yo in 2018.
Looks like the 18/19 years are team optons. If we can acquire that controllable contract, and given his age, plus the value of his contract, acquire him along with talent coming back with him for talent surrendered...
I'd say do it.
Greinke kinda messed up our plans by being a money whore and chasing that dream.
As much as I 'LIKE' Greinke, by going for the same talent level at many years younger, I can see this as basically the only pitcher worth moving farm players for.
I was really hoping that we could have waited it out for JF.
With some talent/prospects of worth in return, might start talks.
Jansen & Hill seems to me our most important re-signs.
I'm still willing to platoon at some positions until someone shows taking one over.
Again, I think we can obtain some FA position players of worth if we have to give away too much.
Just a thought....

[Ranma]

yes, but Bellinger has always been what he is now, and never deviated from it.

Verdugo came on the radar of the scouts for being a mid 90 fastball throwing lefty pitcher who converted himself to an everyday player just because he insisted on it after he got drafted. Alex has far more tools and he has yet to even realize 70% of his talent.

Clay's son may be the better player right now by a bit, but the ceiling Alex has is twice that of young Bellinger. that doesn't mean Verdugo's success is guaranteed either, as we have seen with Puig. but I believe Alex is coachable unlike the younger version of Yasiel.

Not sure why Ranma is sour on Verdugo. Kid is toolsy and a pretty good athlete. I know he had auestions about him before the draft but so far so good right?

I actually have a different take from Neddy with regards to the comparison between Verdugo and Bellinger, but first and to address Quake's point about me being sour on Verdugo, I concede that I've never been that high on him. As you mentioned, he had early questions about his attitude when he was drafted. As Neddy noted, there was a split among teams as to whether he was a better pitching or position prospect with most teams' preference for him to pitch. He has certainly made good progress proving himself as a hitter with a strong arm for RF. There was even a point where he was getting compared to Joc Pederson as a possible CFer but that has since died down.

I actually consider Verdugo to be the more advanced prospect compared to Bellinger right now. Verdugo doesn't really have Joc's power but he's supposed to be the better batter with a good eye at the plate. I don't really see much upside left in Verdugo, personally. Of course, he could prove me wrong but I don't see him ever becoming anything more than a solid, well-rounded corner OFer, which is why I consider him more valuable as a trade asset than long-term player for the Dodgers' organization.

Bellinger, on the other hand, came onto the scene as a high-average batter with a good glove for 1B while also possessing the versatility to play OF. He surprised by starting to hit for power earlier than expected and yielding a bigger power surge than initially projected. He's still trying to put everything together as a high-average, big-power hitter without sacrificing the athleticism that enables his defensive prowess. The impressive thing is that Bellinger could still use more weight to his frame as he continues to physically mature as a 6'4", 210-lb. 21-year-old, whereas that does not really apply to Verdugo who is 6'0" and 205 lbs. despite being a year younger at 20.

I actually think Bellinger has the higher ceiling and more untapped upside left to develop, but it looks like I'm in the minority on this board, which is fine, as I always appreciate both of your insights. Oh, as a side note, I mentioned in the Prospects thread that Chad Moriyama also views Calhoun as eventual trade bait for an AL team given his lack of defense. This is why I'd give him a B- grade. If you can't field a position, you're limiting your worth to an NL team.

[Ranma]

Ok, I'm going to give this a shot.
SALE
After reading some, he will be 30 yo in 2018.
Looks like the 18/19 years are team optons. If we can acquire that controllable contract, and given his age, plus the value of his contract, acquire him along with talent coming back with him for talent surrendered...
I'd say do it.
Greinke kinda messed up our plans by being a money whore and chasing that dream.
As much as I 'LIKE' Greinke, by going for the same talent level at many years younger, I can see this as basically the only pitcher worth moving farm players for.
I was really hoping that we could have waited it out for JF.
With some talent/prospects of worth in return, might start talks.
Jansen & Hill seems to me our most important re-signs.
I'm still willing to platoon at some positions until someone shows taking one over.
Again, I think we can obtain some FA position players of worth if we have to give away too much.
Just a thought....

Yeah, that is pretty much why I'd make a trade for Sale if the opportunity presents itself. There just isn't going to be much of any worthwhile options available in free agency unless Shohei Otani gets posted, but that is unlikely to happen this offseason. However, I don't see us getting extra talent in return given, as you said, that he is currently under a team-friendly contract. It's going to be hard enough to fend off the White Sox's pursuit of Urias in a trade for him, so I don't really see us getting more than Sale himself.

Also, it doesn't sound like Kazmir opted out of his contract, which he was supposed to decide today whether to exercise that option. I'm taking silence on the news wire and Twitter to mean that he decided to stick with it, so it gives us the option to pursue trading him this offseason after teams miss out on their FA targets in an already barren market for pitching. We'll probably have to eat some salary, though.

[Neddy]

there won't be anything of value coming along with Sale if we pull that trigger. what makes a trade asset valueable, Sale has it all.

* tremendous talent... check
* young enough to have long prime left.... check
* on a controllable, cheap contract... check

he will demand 3 prospects, perhaps 4 and two of them will have to be elite, and extras either a MLB ready, low ceiling player or a very low minors kid with a higher ceiling. that would mean as of now, De Leon, Bellinger, Willie + filler type of a deal. they will probably ask for Urias first, DeLeon, and Verdugo or Bellinger then once we turn them down they will counter with non-Julio but more prospects in the package deal. and we have no leveage as we are not taking on much contract.

if and only if, we opt to eat some major money to get Sale, that's a different story. if we take on Shield's money in its entirety, I bet we can grab both Shields and Sale for De Leon, Stewart, and Willie. if we give up better talents in this deal packaged around De Leon, I bet we might actually get some low level prospects back too.

problem is, as the fear has always been there, Chris Sale's mechanics is absolute crap. his elbow may go out any time... and the other guy who never gets hurt, doesn't help at all. Shields' prime is long gone and we will need to either eat his money and release him like we did with Carl Crawford or find a bullpen role similar to what Blanton has done for us this year.

with that Risk-benefit in mind, which is imo high and high, one could argue this is the way to maximize Kershaw's prime years, but having De Leon, Bellinger, Verdugo grow also has a tremendous upsides.

I like Willie. I like his compact, powerful swing. his glove is the issue I understand, and I would like our FO to try him back where he used to play, at the hot corner.

and being taller and bigger does have its advantages of being physically stronger with leverages, but in baseball, it also inscreases the strike zone much larger. taller hitters with great power usually comes with huge holes in their swing and Ks very often. guys like Adamn Dunn and Dave Kingman comes to mind. Cespedez is only 5-10. big old dudes with strong arms can be power hitters, big fattys with great lower half can too, but what makes the power hitter be power hitter the most, along with the mass of the bat, is the speed of his bat. the faster the bat speed, lighter the bat one can use and still maintain the amount of force. as players lose their bat speed, those who start using lighter bats become "contact" hitters as they may be able to bring up the bat speed but loses the total amount of force, or do the opposite and start swinging bigger, heavier bats and try to overcompensate their slower bat speed with more mass, thus ending up guessing on many pitches and locations, becoming 20+ HR guy while batting miserable .200-ish mendoza line. if a shorter guy, has enough strength and good mechanism to handle a major league average sized bat or maybe even bigger, and generate an elite bat speed, he will be a no doubt, be called a power hitter.

[Neddy]

Us having them beat in pitching prospects seems more by design.

I checked once but I cant remember for sure....but Theo hasn't drafted an arm in the 5 years that he's been there. I'm not sure what he's done on the international market (aside fromSoler) but the tank went for all position players (Bryant, Schwarber, Almora). The Samardzija trade was for another position player (Russell).

To me he has seemed pretty deliberate in trying to draft and develop elite bats and signing/dealing for the arms.

Lester (signing)
Arrieta (trade)
Kendricks (drafted before Theo got there)
Lackey (signing).

This could potentially have been our flaw in year's past. We take arms in the 1st round like nobody's business.

Back to the subject...
We are a good team that can compete (not dominate) next year.
It seems counterintuitive but that's exactly why I don't want to trade so much. We are almost where we need to be.

Kershaw
Urias
McCarthy
Delly
Maeda

Thats 5 I can live with. Then theres Kazmir, Strip, Wood, and Stewart as options and relief in case we need to skip the young ones to control their innings.

Now we need quality position players developing and I dont want any going out. More importantly, an elite one to pair with Seager imo. Not sure why Ranma is sour on Verdugo. Kid is toolsy and a pretty good athlete. I know he had auestions about him before the draft but so far so good right?

But generally, I'm more interested in Gourriel, Otani, our drafts, our depth etc etc. Even my guy Sale scares me as I fear we'll hit the Tommy John Surgery Jackpot the minute he gets here.

_____________
Just want to throw this out there. Miller and Chapman got nice hauls for the Yankees. Kimbrel and Giles beforecthe season too. Would I deal Kenley for an elite position player prospect?

Yes....and I'd have a glass of Jameson afterwards to celebrate my work.

I rambled a little but whatever. I'm under the weather and a little boozy. Great combo.

yeah you are correct and it is by design. Theo strongly believes in farming your own bats and buying your arms as you go. it obviously has its strength, I think that growing arms is more unpredictable, and require a lot more pile of young arms to see which one can come out on top. then there are injury concerns. position players, especially the high draft picks, seem more predictable and projectable faster whether a kid has it or not, thus in a short run it can turn a franchise around quicker through its rebuilding process.
but that's Chicago, it won't fly in LA to lose, can you imagine if Andrew and Farhan opted to tank their first 3 seasons for draft picks? they would have been fired a long time ago and we will be seeing the smirky face of Ned Colletti again...
besides, drafting pitching has been this franchise's mantra from the day 1 when Branch Rickey basically started what is now the farm system for every major league ball club. but to draft pitchers, especially out of high school level, you need not just decent scouts, but masters at their crafts like Mike Brito and even they miss more often than hit.... I think Ranma and I had this discussion about the merits of Logan White and his list of failures, including Zach Lee, Josh Lindblom, Chris Withrow, Prestine Mattingly, Chris Reed, all those first rounders or very high picks with hype that never became anything...

PS- I've been watching a few games of Josh Lindblom in Lotte Giants uniform in last couple of years, and man he has been getting hit hard... so is Allen Webster the former dodger, playing for SamSung Lions. getting crushed... hard to imagine now what the heck we saw in them to think they were major league caliber pitchers when they are barely hanging on to their jobs overseas... but still like watching them and always root for them when I do see them playing.

[Neddy]

btw, it looks more and more like Ranma is right about Kazmir not opting out. this is potentially a big news.

not because it is good, but for Kazmir not to opt out in this thin of a starting pitcher market, it may mean his injury is serious and even this piss poor market won't get him more than what he's got. his thoracic spine inflammation could potentially lead to calcifying arthritis and potentially have his spine fuse. I have a patient with ankylosing spondylitis and it is very difficult to have him positioned well in the dental chair. hpoe that is not what's in his future.

assuming I am worried about nothing, and he does come back, I wonder if we will still have the money to sign Hill back. Kazmir is getting about 18 million each for the next 2 years.

[Quake Griffin]

btw, it looks more and more like Ranma is right about Kazmir not opting out. this is potentially a big news.

not because it is good, but for Kazmir not to opt out in this thin of a starting pitcher market, it may mean his injury is serious and even this piss poor market won't get him more than what he's got. his thoracic spine inflammation could potentially lead to calcifying arthritis and potentially have his spine fuse. I have a patient with ankylosing spondylitis and it is very difficult to have him positioned well in the dental chair. hpoe that is not what's in his future.

assuming I am worried about nothing, and he does come back, I wonder if we will still have the money to sign Hill back. Kazmir is getting about 18 million each for the next 2 years.

Just got the notification. It's official. He needs to be dealt.

Either him or McCarthy need to go and I like McCarthy.

Eat half and get a prospect for the farm.

[Neddy]

btw, it looks more and more like Ranma is right about Kazmir not opting out. this is potentially a big news.

not because it is good, but for Kazmir not to opt out in this thin of a starting pitcher market, it may mean his injury is serious and even this piss poor market won't get him more than what he's got. his thoracic spine inflammation could potentially lead to calcifying arthritis and potentially have his spine fuse. I have a patient with ankylosing spondylitis and it is very difficult to have him positioned well in the dental chair. hpoe that is not what's in his future.

assuming I am worried about nothing, and he does come back, I wonder if we will still have the money to sign Hill back. Kazmir is getting about 18 million each for the next 2 years.

Just got the notification. It's official. He needs to be dealt.

Either him or McCarthy need to go and I like McCarthy.

Eat half and get a prospect for the farm.

in terms of what the market can give us in return, McCarthy is going to be the better bait, but yes I do agree for the team, McCarthy is the better one to hang on to, because 1) elbow injury is predictable and 2) we can use a right handed pitcher who can be #2, #3 type of a guy for our rotation.

but it seems our ownership maybe tired of losing money on their investment. I don't know. hard to say.