Hot Stove

[navamind]

Still think Cole would be a good pickup for the Yankees and help solve their pitching woes.

they don't have any pitching woes

 

[navamind]

Wade Davis to Colorado, 3/$52M

I'd be a bit iffy on a guy that throws curveballs going to Coors Field.

 

[tducey]

I like Davis and everything but that seems like a bit of an overpayment for him.

 

[JohnU]

Can somebody refresh me about Wil Middlebrooks.
Wasn't he supposed to be the 'franchise' 3B for the Red Sox a few years ago?
I see he's fighting for a roster spot now with the Phils.

 

[navamind]

Can somebody refresh me about Wil Middlebrooks.
Wasn't he supposed to be the 'franchise' 3B for the Red Sox a few years ago?
I see he's fighting for a roster spot now with the Phils.

kind of, but I thought there were some reasons to be pessimistic about him. He showed some pretty lackluster plate discipline throughout professional baseball. Even in the minors, he was striking out 4-5 times for every walk he drew. His defense was a huge disappointment though, I remember him being touted as a plus defender and him being below average in Boston.

Middlebrooks did show better plate discipline (or at least he walked more, 9.1% walk rate) with the Round Rock Express last year, but I'm not sure how much stock you can put into that improvement considering it was the PCL.

 

[Cyder]

they don't have any pitching woes

People keep talking about the Yanks pitching but it wasn't pitching that blew the Houston series. They can probably use a depth guy but Severino, Tanaka and Gray are a solid 1,2 & 3. They have C.C. and Montgomery as the 4 & 5, Chance Adams will probably go into Spring with a shot at the rotation and maybe Chad Green gets a shot as a starter. Personally I don't want Cole, he hasn't been good the last couple of years.

 

[navamind]

Yanks as a team were third in the AL in ERA+. The rotation was top 10 in FIP, xFIP, ERA and WAR. Yeah, I don't see how the pitching was a problem. Depth could be an issue, but not many teams have reliable pitchers outside their top 4-5 anyway.

 

[navamind]

People keep talking about the Yanks pitching but it wasn't pitching that blew the Houston series. They can probably use a depth guy but Severino, Tanaka and Gray are a solid 1,2 & 3. They have C.C. and Montgomery as the 4 & 5, Chance Adams will probably go into Spring with a shot at the rotation and maybe Chad Green gets a shot as a starter. Personally I don't want Cole, he hasn't been good the last couple of years.

yeah, I do feel like Cole's reputation exceeds his actual performance. I think he's more of a mid-rotation guy than a frontline starter, kinda like Gray. Cole does do a good job keeping balls in the park, though PNC Park isn't exactly a bandbox.

Montgomery looks pretty solid to me.

 

[Cyder]

yeah, I do feel like Cole's reputation exceeds his actual performance. I think he's more of a mid-rotation guy than a frontline starter, kinda like Gray. Cole does do a good job keeping balls in the park, though PNC Park isn't exactly a bandbox.

Montgomery looks pretty solid to me.

I agree with what you said about Gray. Plus, with Gray he is usually at the top of the league in unearned runs so IMO opinion his ERA is lower than it should be. The guy works at a snail's pace so the D is flat footed and god forbid he pitches his way out of an issue caused by an error. I'd like the Yanks to stand pat but they have so many prospects they can't protect them all so I can see them trading some. Plus, they have so many outfielders I'm not sure what they'll do with Frazier.
If I were the Mets I'd try to get Gardner for nothing. They need another outfielder. Conforto is coming off injury, Cespedis misses a lot of games, Legares can't hit and also misses games plus they need a lead off guy. The Yanks would probably let him go for next to nothing to save the 13 mil.

 

[Cyder]

Yanks as a team were third in the AL in ERA+. The rotation was top 10 in FIP, xFIP, ERA and WAR. Yeah, I don't see how the pitching was a problem. Depth could be an issue, but not many teams have reliable pitchers outside their top 4-5 anyway.

I think having Green come in at the first sign of trouble as early as the 5th innings (As well as Betances before he fell apart) helped keep those ERA's down.

 

[Bolts]

We know you're gonna sign with the Royals Hosmer, just do it already.

 

[navamind]

We know you're gonna sign with the Royals Hosmer, just do it already.

You act like this would be a bad thing for the Padres.

 

[Bolts]

You act like this would be a bad thing for the Padres.

I'm just sick of waiting, been weeks since the Padres were making offers. On one hand I want them to sign him because I think he'd help the team and it would be nice for them to actually get a "top" FA. On the other hand they have Myers at 1B and Hosmer has been inconsistent throughout his career, unless he's gonna be the 2017 Hosmer or better for the next 3-4 years it might not be worth it. I'd much rather they get Machado next season if the Padres want an expensive FA but know there's almost no shot he would sign with them.

 

[navamind]

I'm just sick of waiting, been weeks since the Padres were making offers. On one hand I want them to sign him because I think he'd help the team and it would be nice for them to get a "top" FA. On the other hand they have Myers at 1B and Hosmer has been inconsistent throughout his career, unless he's gonna be the 2017 Hosmer or better for the next 3-4 years it might not be worth it. I'd much rather they get Machado next season if the Padres want an expensive FA but know there's almost no shot he would sign with them.

Hosmer's been wildly inconsistent throughout his career. He's had three 3+ WAR seasons (2013, 2015, 2017) and three seasons of being replacement level (or worse, -1.7 in 2012). There might be some upside given his age/prospect pedigree, but he doesn't seem to be open to trying to alter his approach. You would think a guy with his "power potential" would try to hit the ball into the dirt less, he has a career ground ball rate of 53.4% and it was 55.6% last year.

that's not to say he can't be productive, but $147M over 7 years seems like an awful lot for a guy that's been either above average/good or plain bad.

 

[navamind]

Steamer does project him to have a 122 wRC+ and 2.6 WAR in 2018

 

[Bolts]

Hosmer's been wildly inconsistent throughout his career. He's had three 3+ WAR seasons (2013, 2015, 2017) and three seasons of being replacement level (or worse, -1.7 in 2012). There might be some upside given his age/prospect pedigree, but he doesn't seem to be open to trying to alter his approach. You would think a guy with his "power potential" would try to hit the ball into the dirt less, he has a career ground ball rate of 53.4% and it was 55.6% last year.

that's not to say he can't be productive, but $147M over 7 years seems like an awful lot for a guy that's been either above average/good or plain bad.

You don't wanna pay 20mil or more per year to someone who takes every other season off. If he could elevate the ball more that'd be great, but he likes his approach the way it's always been. The Padres will suck in 2018 with or without Hosmer, their pitching from the farm system won't start really showing up and producing until 2019/2020. In that sense saving the money for later when the window to contend is open would be a good idea, but this could be the closest any young top FA will get to signing with SD over the next 3-5 years. I guess in the end I'd say it's best for the Padres to pass on Hosmer.