2014 Offseason Plans Thread Pt2

[DT LUNA]

I'd rather another bat than Tanaka... Then we could trade Moreland for a back of rotation starter

What kind of starter do you think you would get for Moreland? And by the way, Moreland may just be the bat you want.

 

[jta4437]

What kind of starter do you think you would get for Moreland? And by the way, Moreland may just be the bat you want.

Not a good one by himself

 

[jta4437]

That's an interesting read from which I learned that Tanaka has pitched a lot more than he ideally would have by now. The main concern seems to be how well he will hold up, which is always a concern with every pitcher, though perhaps more so for a pitcher who has pitched as much as Tanaka has at only 25 years old.

Personally, I'm more interested in what he is realistically more likely to accomplish over the next one to three years than I am over the entire seven years that he is pretty certain to sign for with some team. Not at all clear to me how the short-term potential benefit v. long-term potential risk that accompanies Tanaka is so different, from that same tradeoff associated with, say, Fielder and Choo.

The long-term outlook for the franchise lies mostly with the farm system. Key FAs can certainly fill holes in the short-term.

I'm all about adding a year thats not likely to pan out, but you're advocating 3-4 years, thats stupid business right there, if that's the case you don't offer more than 5

 

[TDs3nOut]

I'm all about adding a year thats not likely to pan out, but you're advocating 3-4 years, thats stupid business right there, if that's the case you don't offer more than 5

LOL I'm not "advocating 3-4 years" that don't pan out; rather, I'm prepared to acknowledge that that -- or even worse -- is always a possibility, and not just with Tanaka, but also with guys like Fielder and Choo.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

My humblest of apologizes sir.

All good it happens. It's the interweb.

 

[Nightcrawler]

What kind of starter do you think you would get for Moreland? And by the way, Moreland may just be the bat you want.

Masterson with a few middle tier prospects thrown in.... Sign morales, trade for masterson and we might be World Series favorites.

 

[DT LUNA]

Masterson with a few middle tier prospects thrown in.... Sign morales, trade for masterson and we might be World Series favorites.

I pass

 

[jta4437]

Masterson with a few middle tier prospects thrown in.... Sign morales, trade for masterson and we might be World Series favorites.

Cleveland wants to be a contender you don't do that by trading middle of the rotation starters before the season starts, especially since Ubaldo is more than likely not coming back and Kazmir a hefty contributor from last year already gone

 

[jta4437]

LOL I'm not "advocating 3-4 years" that don't pan out; rather, I'm prepared to acknowledge that that -- or even worse -- is always a possibility, and not just with Tanaka, but also with guys like Fielder and Choo.

Why would you even be prepared to acknowledge that? I'm glad you're not the GM we'd be in the Tom Hicks' era all over again

 

[ESPN Refugee]

Texas Rangers sign Shin-Soo Choo to $130 million deal: Quick reactions | Dallas Morning News

 

[jta4437]

With those big names still in limbo, we rank the top 10 rotations in MLB.

1. Detroit Tigers

Rick Porcello could not have been more ill-suited for the Tigers over the last two seasons, because he needs the support of his defense and Detroit had little to offer. Now that the Tigers have upgraded at shortstop, with Jose Iglesias, and at third base (with Nick Castellanos taking over for Miguel Cabrera) and first (where Cabrera will be stationed), Porcello's ability to generate ground balls should be better exploited.

Remember, Porcello turns 25 years old on Friday and already has 149 starts in the big leagues; numerous evaluators believe he's headed for a strong season, at the back end of a rotation that includes the Cy Young Award winners from 2011 (Justin Verlander) and 2013 (Max Scherzer), as well as the highly underrated Anibal Sanchez. This group completely dominated the Red Sox in the postseason, after leading the majors in a whole lot of categories during the regular season, including ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts (more than 100 more than the second-place team) and strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The trade of Doug Fister surprised a lot of executives because the right-hander had been such an effective part of the rotation, but Drew Smyly appears more than ready to take over Fister's spot and give the Tigers a left-handed presence in their rotation.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

With Tanaka now available in free agency and David Price being dangled by the Tampa Bay Rays, the Dodgers may well add another star to their rotation before the start of spring training. They already have the reigning Best Pitcher On The Planet, in Clayton Kershaw -- who already has two Cy Young Awards and a second-place finish -- as well as Zack Greinke, who ranked fourth in ERA after the All-Star break.

Hyun-Jin Ryu is a strong No. 3, posting an ERA+ of 119 in his first 30 starts in the big leagues, and in the final two spots in their rotation, the Dodgers' current plans are for Dan Haren, Josh Beckett, Chad Billingsley and Stephen Fife to carry the load, one way or another. But as we've seen with the Dodgers, plans can change quickly.

3. Washington Nationals

A lot went wrong for Washington last season, from the erratic offense to their bullpen issues. But the Nationals' failure to contend for the NL East title can't be blamed on the rotation, which finished the year with the seventh-best ERA in the majors -- and now they've added Doug Fister as their No. 4 starter, and he should thrive in the NL, where his overall athleticism will play well.

The general perception of Stephen Strasburg was that he had a down year, but he allowed only 6.7 hits per nine innings, the fourth-best in the NL, and his ratio of strikeouts per nine innings also ranked fourth; only five pitchers allowed a lower OPS to opponents than Strasburg's .588.

Jordan Zimmermann, 27, was good enough to be part of the early Cy Young conversation, and after finishing the year with a 3.25 ERA in 213 1/3 innings, he seems destined to climb into the highest tier or starting pitchers. Gio Gonzalez had a 3.36 ERA in 32 starts. Ross Detwiler figures to be the frontrunner for the No. 5 spot in the rotation.

4. St. Louis Cardinals

Throughout the 2013 season, questions hovered over the St. Louis rotation, about whether Chris Carpenter and Jaime Garcia would be able to pitch or Jake Westbrook would be able to bounce back or whether the young starters would hold up over the long season. But through all of that, the Cardinals finished second in the majors in starters' ERA, with Adam Wainwright leading the way.

Michael Wacha has only nine regular season starts in the big leagues, but showed enough last October -- when he had a 2.64 ERA in five starts, including a pivotal outing against the Pirates -- that many evaluators are convinced he is already a star. The Cardinals' handling of Shelby Miller in the postseason created something of a mystery among rivals about how the team truly feels about the right-hander, but Miller's strong performance for most of the regular season cannot be dismissed; he had a 3.06 ERA in 31 starts, after all.

Joe Kelly saved the Cardinals in the late season with a series of excellent outings, and presumably, he'll be back in the rotation, and Lance Lynn continues to be the plow horse of the group, having compiled 377 2/3 innings and 33 victories the last two seasons.

5. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates' finished fifth in the majors in starters' ERA last season, benefitting from two of the better comeback stories of 2013, in Francisco Liriano and Charlie Morton; Liriano allowed only nine homers in 26 starts, and Morton surrendered just six homers in 20 starts.

The Pirates have spent a lot of weeks waiting to hear from A.J. Burnett about whether he wants to pitch in 2014, and the numbers say he would be worth the wait: Although Burnett was bypassed in an important playoff game at year's end, he gave Pittsburgh 30 starts and 191 innings that were an important part of what was a pretty good rotation. Gerrit Cole demonstrated that he is a star in the making, walking just 28 hitters in his first 117 1/3 innings in the majors while allowing just seven homers.

Wandy Rodriguez has long-term concerns about his elbow, Jeff Locke will need to recover from a late-season slump, and Edinson Volquez will try to win a starting job. But it's worth remembering that no matter who the Pirates run out in their rotation, they will be supported by one of the better defenses in the majors, while working in one of the best pitchers' parks. The Pirates' starters allowed by far the fewest total bases in 2014.

6. Oakland Athletics

The Athletics finished 2013 ranked second in the AL in ERA, but a lot of that production belonged to Bartolo Colon, who has moved on after finishing second to Anibal Sanchez in ERA last summer. The Athletics signed left-hander Scott Kazmir to a two-year, $22 million, with the hope that he can fill in for Colon; other teams passed on Kazmir because of his medical history. Jarrod Parker and Sonny Gray will likely lead the Oakland rotation, along with A.J. Griffin and Dan Straily. The Athletics' dream is that Gray and Straily develop into upper-tier starters.

7. Texas Rangers

It's the part of the Rangers that doesn't get as much notice as it should, because of the history of offense in the home park. But Texas finished fourth in the AL in ERA last season, largely because Yu Darvish is among the best starters in the majors now; his 277 strikeouts last season were easily the most in 2013. Derek Holland threw 213 innings and actually had one more quality start (22) than Darvish, and Martin Perez helped the Rangers stay in the race late in the season.

The Rangers don't yet know what's possible for Matt Harrison, who was limited by injury to just two starts in 2014, or for Colby Lewis, who signed a minor league deal. Alexi Ogando was effective, when healthy, but was able to make only 18 starts among his 23 appearances.

8. Atlanta Braves

The winter has been filled with angst for Braves' fans over Atlanta's lack of a bona fide ace. But while the Braves might not have a Cy Young candidate, they do have depth, and even after the since-departed Tim Hudson went down with a season-ending injury in July, Atlanta's rotation -- comprised of Mike Minor, Kris Medlen, Julio Teheran and others -- performed well.

Brandon Beachy should be in better position to be a factor as he nears the two-year anniversary of his elbow surgery. Alex Wood showed a lot of promise in his first season in the big leagues, which included 11 starts.

9. Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati rotation generated one of the best performances of any team in 2013, finishing third in ERA -- but once again, the Reds' starters will be at the center of intrigue in spring training because of the ongoing question about how to best utilize Aroldis Chapman.

Former Manager Dusty Baker was never in favor of the idea of using Chapman as a starter, and Chapman himself has said he wants to continue being a reliever. But part of the split between Baker and the front office was over Chapman and his role, and Baker is now gone, while his replacement, Bryan Price, has advocated using Chapman in the rotation. It's worth noting, however, that on the Reds' own website, Chapman is listed as the closer.

The Reds are hoping for the return of Johnny Cueto, to head a rotation that also includes Mat Latos, the ever-improving Homer Bailey, Mike Leake and Tony Cingrani. But stayed tuned to see if new manager Bryan Price affects change in Chapman's status.

10. Tampa Bay Rays (for now)

We're going to put them in the list for now, because they still have David Price listed in their rotation as of today. But friends say there was a reason why Price overreacted to criticism after his Game 2 playoff start in Boston in October, in calling reporters nerds: Price was emotional because he knew he may have pitched his last game for the Rays -- and some rival executives believe he'll be moved before the start of spring training.

Even if the left-hander is dealt, Tampa Bay will have a really good rotation, headed by the unflappable Alex Cobb, left-hander Matt Moore (who seemed to figure stuff out in 2013) and the talented Chris Archer, and the Rays always seem to be able to generate young pitching in their minor league system.

But Price is their most experienced and most accomplished starter, and if he's dealt, well, the Rays just won't be the same.

Honorable mentions: The Miami Marlins, headed by Jose Fernandez; the Boston Red Sox, with Clay Buchholz's looming as a pivotal X factor; the Seattle Mariners, if they happen to be the team to land Masahiro Tanaka.

 

[Broseidon]

I'd rather another bat than Tanaka... Then we could trade Moreland for a back of rotation starter

I think we have internal options for #5 starter. Tepesch(e) mode, Ogando, Lewis, Kirkman

I hope we give Mitch a chance to be, at least platoon, DH. I wouldn't trade him bc his trade value is probably low, and he'd be a valuable bench piece if nothing else.

 

[Broseidon]

Didn't expect to see Cincy in the top 10

 

[jta4437]

So that's the #1 Lineup and #7 rotation, and I expect us to have a top 10 bullpen as well

Maybe defense, I don't see why it wouldn't though

1B is the only place where we would be bad, medicore/average in LF & RF

 

[Broseidon]

So that's the #1 Lineup and #7 rotation, and I expect us to have a top 10 bullpen as well

Maybe defense, I don't see why it wouldn't though

1B is the only place where we would be bad, medicore/average in LF & RF

I know you're referencing Busters piece, but do you think we have the #1 lineup?

 

[Justinkm83]

Rangers owner Bob Simpson is happy to leave the baseball decisions to his staff, Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas writes. Simpson doesn't want to be a general manager like Cowboys counterpart Jerry Jones. "I don't and for the reasons everyone else wishes he wasn't," says Simpson. "I like Jerry, but we've got great people, so leave it to them." Simpson also notes that, with the signing of Shin-Soo Choo, the Rangers' projected payroll is between $130MM and $135MM for 2014.


Simpson with a shot at JJ. I love it.

 

[Justinkm83]

I know you're referencing Busters piece, but do you think we have the #1 lineup?

I don't. I know you weren't asking me. I thought I'd answer anyways.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Rangers owner Bob Simpson is happy to leave the baseball decisions to his staff, Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas writes. Simpson doesn't want to be a general manager like Cowboys counterpart Jerry Jones. "I don't and for the reasons everyone else wishes he wasn't," says Simpson. "I like Jerry, but we've got great people, so leave it to them." Simpson also notes that, with the signing of Shin-Soo Choo, the Rangers' projected payroll is between $130MM and $135MM for 2014.


Simpson with a shot at JJ. I love it.

Be interesting what that idiot of a GM has up his sleeve for a QB if Romo is not able to play next year.

 

[Justinkm83]

Be interesting what that idiot of a GM has up his sleeve for a QB if Romo is not able to play next year.

Hopefully Aaron Murray. I say that because I think we could get him later in the draft because of the injury. I don't think we will use one of our first 2 picks.

 

[TheRangerDude]

I don't. I know you weren't asking me. I thought I'd answer anyways.

Yeah, I am with you on this. I don't put to much stock into any sort of off season or preseason rankings. History has proven these type of rankings are wrong far more often than they are correct. It's kind of fun when you see your team ranked near the top of them but it really doesn't mean to much imo.