RealGM

Figured this would be a good thread.

This is a good source.

Needs: Corner IF or OF LH bat.

Possible needs: As injuries arise, SP depth and anywhere in the field may be an issue. The minor league system is probably improving, but short-term help isn't really there. Gindl is alright but not much beyond that.

I'll start with this: Twirl may get his undies in a bundle, but what about Kendrys Morales? I'm not 100% advocating the move as I'm not really into giving up another draft pick, but it fits in the Melvin "after the frenzy" recent strategy of free agency.

He's a switch hitter but is much better from the left side of the plate. He might OPS .850 or better in the NL Central from that side. Let Reynolds play 2 games/week at 1B against lefties and spell A-Ram once a week. Could continue into next year assuming they bring back A-Ram.

I think something like that unfortunately hinges on ridding themselves of Weeks' cash, which is not possible at this point. Seems like Mark's payroll is stretched to the brink.

I feel if Weeks doesn't show he can at least be a platoon or bench bat, that he'll be cut or given away for a bag of balls near the deadline. I'm not a Gennett guy, but no reason to waste a roster spot on a short-side of the platoon Weeks at 2B. Let Bianchi/Herrera/pickup do that and suck with other position flexibility.

They'll have to probably figure out long-term 2B at some point, but so far Gennett hasn't sucked enough to ruin things, but he's been pretty damn pedestrian. If Gennett's slap hits don't find gaps and he drops to .270/.290 with no power, they may have to give Weeks one more long leash to see if he can find something in the tank.

Yeah, we need a capable backup OF in the worst way. (I guess not "the worst" when we're sitting at 14-5, but you know what I mean) I'd support bringing in Kendrys Morales. I'd also support straight up cutting Lyle Overbay.

I don't think we need to worry about starting pitching at all this year. Unless two guys out of Gallardo, Lohse, Garza, and Estrada are somehow lost for the season. Thornburg would be "next man up" and I think Nelson or Fiers could fill in for a month or so and give you a decent chance to win their respective starts.

But definitely need another OF. And maybe keep Schafer in the minors after he gets healthy. He's brought practically nothing to the table.

As much as I want him to succeed, they need to give Wang back. They're going to need a CF with Logan hurting and Carlos probably going on suspension soon.

Depends on how long the suspension for Gomez is. I can't imagine it would be longer than 3 games? Let Herrera play there and call up Gindl during the suspension, even though he looks uninspiring thus far. The emergency CF situation would be a bit scary, then, but it would be at worst for a few innings. Either that or call up whatever garbage CF they have in the minors right now. I'd agree with opening a roster spot by letting Wang go if the alternatives at CF/swing OF guy in free agency would be any better at this point.

What is their plan with Wang? Do they have to keep him on the major league roster all season in order to keep him on the team?

Pretty much. Which means they have to make it 'til September 1st as they can just use the expanded rosters at that point. You almost hope he pulls a hammy, because I'm assuming they can keep him on the DL?

Honestly I don't know what purpose Overbay serves at this point. Reynolds has proven himself to be legit on D, he does strike out a bit but he hits a bunch of homers.
As for Weeks, its great that hes a good locker room guy and everything, I just don't think thats really the best use of a roster spot anymore. Unfortunately we probably can't unload him to a team at this point (maybe if we pay the majority of his salary, but even thats a stretch) so we're probably forced to cut him.

A Bianchi/Scoots platoon seems to be our best option for 2nd right now, but considering Bianchi is also being used to spell Rami at third on occasion it might be risky.

Honestly had I known Reynolds was gonna be as good as hes been I would have been even more pissed about letting Fat Juan go and keeping Overbay.

I'm not sure what the solution is, but we have 3 guys taking up roster spots that don't amount to jack **** right now and only 1 of those may have any hope of being something in the future either. (Wang)

humanrefutation wrote:What is their plan with Wang? Do they have to keep him on the major league roster all season in order to keep him on the team?

He has to be active for 90 days. We could stash him on the DL after that though. (Or i guess theoretically at any point if we need the roster spot, but still have to get 90 days in total on the active roster)

Overbay will serve his purpose even though I'm not a huge fan. I'd have preferred Juan, but they need a LH (or other option) platoon guy with Reynolds. He is a fairly neutral RH/LH split guy, but he's due for a 1 for 35 string with 20 Ks. That's his nature. Now, that's OK, because I've been advocating to bring him in cheap since Fielder left and they had Gamel/A-Ram/Hart injuries, but that's how he plays.

Here is Reynolds' March/April of 2013: .301 AVG, .368 OBP, .651 SLG in 23 games. 8 homers. The MLB Tonight guys were all stroking him for "changing his approach" and he was cut 3 months later. He SLUGGED .098 in July's 60 plate appearances.

So, we're going to need somebody else at 1B as insurance. I'd love a good platoon, and that is why I wanted Fat Juan, but I'll take Overbay there, I guess.

Kerb Hohl wrote:Overbay will serve his purpose even though I'm not a huge fan. I'd have preferred Juan, but they need a LH (or other option) platoon guy with Reynolds. He is a fairly neutral RH/LH split guy, but he's due for a 1 for 35 string with 20 Ks. That's his nature. Now, that's OK, because I've been advocating to bring him in cheap since Fielder left and they had Gamel/A-Ram/Hart injuries, but that's how he plays.

Here is Reynolds' March/April of 2013: .301 AVG, .368 OBP, .651 SLG in 23 games. 8 homers. The MLB Tonight guys were all stroking him for "changing his approach" and he was cut 3 months later. He SLUGGED .098 in July's 60 plate appearances.

So, we're going to need somebody else at 1B as insurance. I'd love a good platoon, and that is why I wanted Fat Juan, but I'll take Overbay there, I guess.

Well i guess that makes sense. Plus its not like hes Yuni so thats always a positive. It wouldn't even be a big deal if we didn't already have 2 other roster spots taken up by guys not likely to contribute. Honestly even if Reynolds does have a horrible regression, we're still better off in that spot than we were last year.

I like going with Reynolds because his average season will probably be 2-3 good months and 2-3 bad ones averaging out to a slightly below average 1B, or slightly plus-hitting 3B.

However, if you catch that lucky year left in his career where his timing is on almost all year, you're talking about an All Star player that strikes out too much and probably isn't a great 3B but a passable 1B.

You take the risk that nobody signs Morales until after the draft and if he's still available then you sign him.

Does you want Thornburg to become our closer next year or a SP?

SP >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> any reliever

trwi7 wrote:You take the risk that nobody signs Morales until after the draft and if he's still available then you sign him.

Yep, it would be a huge mistake to sign him now.

trwi7 wrote:You take the risk that nobody signs Morales until after the draft and if he's still available then you sign him.

I'm assuming we'd lose that bidding war but fair enough. Probably too close to the draft now but that would be why he's devalued currently.

mlloyd10 wrote:Does you want Thornburg to become our closer next year or a SP?

trwi7 wrote:SP >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> any reliever

Moreover, his role right now is arguably more important. He's coming in when we need our best reliever to make outs...not arbitrarily in the 9th and we're up by 3 or less.

Kohl Is A Mome wrote:

humanrefutation wrote:What is their plan with Wang? Do they have to keep him on the major league roster all season in order to keep him on the team?

He has to be active for 90 days. We could stash him on the DL after that though. (Or i guess theoretically at any point if we need the roster spot, but still have to get 90 days in total on the active roster)

Ah. Well, that's not too terrible.

With the state of our current pitching staff - i.e. **** awesome - I'm perfectly content with letting Francisco go. He was a butcher. He was only picked up on a minor league contract by an American League team. Yes, the allure of his bat was enticing BUT we need defense. Reynolds has been a revelation at 1B. If he needs to sit, we'll gladly take Overbay's 'D' and any hits as butter.

humanrefutation wrote:

Kohl Is A Mome wrote:

humanrefutation wrote:What is their plan with Wang? Do they have to keep him on the major league roster all season in order to keep him on the team?

He has to be active for 90 days. We could stash him on the DL after that though. (Or i guess theoretically at any point if we need the roster spot, but still have to get 90 days in total on the active roster)

Ah. Well, that's not too terrible.

Yeah if all goes well I wouldn't be surprised to see him have some mysterious injury out of nowhere that throws him on the DL before the allstar break. That 90 day mark comes right at or just before July if i'm understanding the rules/calender correctly.