Getting ahead of myself, if Jac does what he needs to get called up but does not have the ability to play a passable RF, how do you see the 1B/DH rotation working out?
Maybe another way to look at it, how many times a week would the Royals want to put him in the outfield so we could see him, Vinnie, and Salvy in the lineup most days?
I don’t think they’d call him up unless he’s playing every day or at least against all righties (I don’t think he’s a platoon player long-term, but you can justify sitting a guy a quarter of the time, I think). So if he can’t play the outfield, my guess is it means Salvy is catching a lot more than they’d like. Which, if Cags forces his way to the roster, they’d probably take that tradeoff.
I’m not sure Duvall would have been an upgrade anyway. I’m not sure Marte is at this stage in his career, but I think I’d look at that if they threw in Baty.
I think Marte is an upgrade on Renfroe, but the cost is kind of nuts there, so they'd have to either eat a fair amount or, yeah, throw in someone else. Baty is having a good spring and does have options. Plus, Alonso is only guaranteed to be there this year. I'm not sure they won't just keep him around thinking about next year now. The whole trade idea was when they might have done something long-term with Bregman or Alonso.
For whatever reason , if they are not going to give Loftin a shot, regardless of how he’s performing, they need to trade him or release him. Horrible message to the young players if you are performing but not advancing because you got on the wrong side of a coach
I don’t think he’s on the wrong side of anyone. He simply hasn’t hit the ball hard enough and I appreciate 13 batted balls or whatever in Arizona not being enough to change opinions.
And how many AB’s were Melendez (.206), Frazier (.202) and Renfroe (.229) given to finally get above .200 after spending a big part of the first half with a 1 as the first number in that average?
I don’t know. Baseball Reference would be a great resource for that. I’m not saying they don’t have some questionable hitters. I’m just saying that Nick Loftin is a weird one to be upset about.
I'm starting to believe in MJ and the new stance. I agree with what you wrote. He's starting to look comfortable and is hitting pitches in locations where he struggled previously, and hitting them hard. With a radical swing change, it's not at all surprising that it took a few games. TBH, I expected him to struggle more.
One of the biggest things to watch is when a guy makes a major change and struggles. Now, it was only a couple games, but it’s always a good thing when they don’t revert back in those situations.
Yes exactly. He stuck with it after looking pretty feeble the first few games, and the swing is just so much cleaner, quieter, and reproducible than before. And he's not just getting lucky with bloops and seeing eye grounders although his double yesterday was a gift. Multiple HR, a triple and some hard hit outs as well. I'm not pronouncing him fixed and a perennial all star or anything, but it looks as good as you could reasonably expect.
Just when I stopped obsessing on acquiring an OF, they bring me back in.
I am sure it is an unpopular opinion, but I hope they can figure out a fair deal for Marte. Yes the health is a gamble but the chance at last years .269/.327/.388 (.310/.384/.460 v lefties) would be a welcome improvement and he is reportedly a good vet in the clubhouse. I think Mets were asking for a reliever and supposedly eating some of the contract- but what do you think a fair trade would be? And what about a slightly reckless trade?
It all depends on how much salary they’d eat. He’s due A LOT. I’m fine with a reckless trade but not for a player closer to 40 than 30 who is a liability defensively. Make a reckless trade for a difference maker, not a guy like Marte.
He would maybe be worth $8-10 as a FA? I am thinking something that equates to that.
No bad 1 year deals right (except maybe $3 for Duvall). The news that Duvall turned the royals down is just, bleak. Grichuk, Hays, Kepler, Winker and Bader all could have been had on one year deals, and while none close to ideal at least the royals would have had some options out there. Is noone else concerned that Renfroe is the foregone conclusion in RF on everyones opening day projections? I dont think a deal that equates to 10 million for one year is reckless, just slightly reckless. Time to get a little crazy, because the current plan for the outfield is weak. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead
I don’t know that he gets that much. If a team sees him as a DH, he had a lesser year than JD Martinez on his own team who can’t find a job. McCutchen got $5 million.
I don’t think it’s bleak that Duvall turned down the Royals. He wanted more money than they offered and they didn’t think he was worth more, so it didn’t get done. I don’t think anyone wanted to go into 2025 with the outfield they have right now, but as I’ve written so often, they set boundaries with players and those boundaries ended up costing them players. Right or wrong, that was their plan. We’ll see how it goes. My guess is they’re picking someone up at some point between now and July 31.
As I wrote, they’re clearly still looking and trades happen toward the end of spring all the time. So either they make that move in the next couple of weeks or they don’t. Not much we can do about it either way.
Gee, Jac hit another monster homer today that went 444 feet and the crack of the bat told me it was gone! He is hitting 0.444 with 3 dingers (2 of which were monster homers) and only one strikeout. Put the kid at DH and now you have five hitters at the top of the order and give Salvy and Vinnie some protection!!!
I am beyond excited for Cags and today was AWESOME. He’s also faced the equivalent of AA pitching in his 14 plate appearances and they aren’t putting him at DH to start his career. He’ll be in AA to start the season and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he’s up before July.
Getting ahead of myself, if Jac does what he needs to get called up but does not have the ability to play a passable RF, how do you see the 1B/DH rotation working out?
Maybe another way to look at it, how many times a week would the Royals want to put him in the outfield so we could see him, Vinnie, and Salvy in the lineup most days?
I don’t think they’d call him up unless he’s playing every day or at least against all righties (I don’t think he’s a platoon player long-term, but you can justify sitting a guy a quarter of the time, I think). So if he can’t play the outfield, my guess is it means Salvy is catching a lot more than they’d like. Which, if Cags forces his way to the roster, they’d probably take that tradeoff.
I’m not sure Duvall would have been an upgrade anyway. I’m not sure Marte is at this stage in his career, but I think I’d look at that if they threw in Baty.
I think Marte is an upgrade on Renfroe, but the cost is kind of nuts there, so they'd have to either eat a fair amount or, yeah, throw in someone else. Baty is having a good spring and does have options. Plus, Alonso is only guaranteed to be there this year. I'm not sure they won't just keep him around thinking about next year now. The whole trade idea was when they might have done something long-term with Bregman or Alonso.
For whatever reason , if they are not going to give Loftin a shot, regardless of how he’s performing, they need to trade him or release him. Horrible message to the young players if you are performing but not advancing because you got on the wrong side of a coach
I don’t think he’s on the wrong side of anyone. He simply hasn’t hit the ball hard enough and I appreciate 13 batted balls or whatever in Arizona not being enough to change opinions.
But yet we regularly trot out 2-3 guys in the starting lineup hitting .200
Ironically the only player on the roster last year with a sub-.200 average in more than 50 PA was Nick Loftin.
And how many AB’s were Melendez (.206), Frazier (.202) and Renfroe (.229) given to finally get above .200 after spending a big part of the first half with a 1 as the first number in that average?
I don’t know. Baseball Reference would be a great resource for that. I’m not saying they don’t have some questionable hitters. I’m just saying that Nick Loftin is a weird one to be upset about.
I'm starting to believe in MJ and the new stance. I agree with what you wrote. He's starting to look comfortable and is hitting pitches in locations where he struggled previously, and hitting them hard. With a radical swing change, it's not at all surprising that it took a few games. TBH, I expected him to struggle more.
One of the biggest things to watch is when a guy makes a major change and struggles. Now, it was only a couple games, but it’s always a good thing when they don’t revert back in those situations.
Yes exactly. He stuck with it after looking pretty feeble the first few games, and the swing is just so much cleaner, quieter, and reproducible than before. And he's not just getting lucky with bloops and seeing eye grounders although his double yesterday was a gift. Multiple HR, a triple and some hard hit outs as well. I'm not pronouncing him fixed and a perennial all star or anything, but it looks as good as you could reasonably expect.
He has always hit the ball hard, so if he can just make contact, things should be smooth for him. Big ask but we’ll see.
Good stuff, David. I can hardly wait for roster decision time, the start of the season and the Moose ceremony.
Just when I stopped obsessing on acquiring an OF, they bring me back in.
I am sure it is an unpopular opinion, but I hope they can figure out a fair deal for Marte. Yes the health is a gamble but the chance at last years .269/.327/.388 (.310/.384/.460 v lefties) would be a welcome improvement and he is reportedly a good vet in the clubhouse. I think Mets were asking for a reliever and supposedly eating some of the contract- but what do you think a fair trade would be? And what about a slightly reckless trade?
It all depends on how much salary they’d eat. He’s due A LOT. I’m fine with a reckless trade but not for a player closer to 40 than 30 who is a liability defensively. Make a reckless trade for a difference maker, not a guy like Marte.
He would maybe be worth $8-10 as a FA? I am thinking something that equates to that.
No bad 1 year deals right (except maybe $3 for Duvall). The news that Duvall turned the royals down is just, bleak. Grichuk, Hays, Kepler, Winker and Bader all could have been had on one year deals, and while none close to ideal at least the royals would have had some options out there. Is noone else concerned that Renfroe is the foregone conclusion in RF on everyones opening day projections? I dont think a deal that equates to 10 million for one year is reckless, just slightly reckless. Time to get a little crazy, because the current plan for the outfield is weak. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead
I don’t know that he gets that much. If a team sees him as a DH, he had a lesser year than JD Martinez on his own team who can’t find a job. McCutchen got $5 million.
I don’t think it’s bleak that Duvall turned down the Royals. He wanted more money than they offered and they didn’t think he was worth more, so it didn’t get done. I don’t think anyone wanted to go into 2025 with the outfield they have right now, but as I’ve written so often, they set boundaries with players and those boundaries ended up costing them players. Right or wrong, that was their plan. We’ll see how it goes. My guess is they’re picking someone up at some point between now and July 31.
its a looong time until July 31st
As I wrote, they’re clearly still looking and trades happen toward the end of spring all the time. So either they make that move in the next couple of weeks or they don’t. Not much we can do about it either way.
Gee, Jac hit another monster homer today that went 444 feet and the crack of the bat told me it was gone! He is hitting 0.444 with 3 dingers (2 of which were monster homers) and only one strikeout. Put the kid at DH and now you have five hitters at the top of the order and give Salvy and Vinnie some protection!!!
I am beyond excited for Cags and today was AWESOME. He’s also faced the equivalent of AA pitching in his 14 plate appearances and they aren’t putting him at DH to start his career. He’ll be in AA to start the season and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he’s up before July.