Poor Casey Lawrence, at 36 he still toils in the minors with a 5.95 ERA. He must really love the game or perhaps hope he will someday be a major league coach.
I don't know the guy at all, so I'm just guessing, but I would assume the coaching thing is spot on. So often, these older players in the minors are there as coaches as much as they are players.
My Christmas Miracle is still that they sign Kim for 3rd, work out a trade for Suzuki from the Cubs (this is a miracle we're talking about here, remember), and can leverage our new Asia-friendly roster to get Sasaki in.
I still think signing Kim makes sense, though. Pick him up, get Garcia the off-season working on outfield spots and make him our new super-utility player, move Massey to left (or move him if they aren't confident he can do that--though I'd really rather he stuck around), pick up a starter (or two if they can work a trade for Marsh or one of the other SPs), then find guys that can turn Wiemer around and make the India trade look like an absolute murder for our side. This is also getting into Christmas Miracle territory now, so I might as well say those new coaches also turn Melendez around and get his swing figured out. Boom, WS time! Baby Jesus is throwing everyone high fives!
I'm all good with the ideas on paper. The problem is what Kim might want. I don't know where his "demands" are now, but earlier in the offseason, I thought I was hearing about a different player. He's solid, very good even, but a guy who has topped out at a 110 wRC+ without a real carrying tool offensively scares me on a long-term deal. Then add in that he's coming off a major injury.
But hey, if your dream comes true, I'm planning to live stream from a parade in November.
Sign Profar. Most reasonable FA with a decent chance of being good. 3 year 45 million contract doesn't kill you.
My annual rant about how Nolan Ryan was the biggest freak athlete to ever play the game. 1973, his last start of the year in a year when he starts 39 games and throws 326 innings, he is going for the all time single season KO record. He throws 11 IP gives up 10 hits, 7 walks and 16KOs. That has to be 160 pitches at a bare minimum, probably in the 200+ range. He goes on to pitch 20 more years, still throwing 95+ well into mid forties. Pitching Ninja did an overlay with Nolan and Ben Joyce throwing 105+ mph. Nolan was clearly faster. Dude threw 106 mph or better for 20 years and faster than 95% of the league for 27 years.
I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I want NOTHING to do with Profar. He's a bad defender, doesn't run well and is going to be paid based on a career year by a ton at age 31. The contract doesn't kill you because it's not exorbitant, but I wouldn't give him more than a year and he's going to get more than that. The hardest of passes.
Maybe he made some changes and it's sustainable, but it's a fair amount to bet on for a guy who nearly doubled his career fWAR in one season.
I wonder if emphasis on velocity and spin is due to pirchers ability to come back from injuries like rotator cuff without suffering loss of stuff __ witness Cole Ragans and now Kris Bubic.
Rotator cuff injuries are actually still potential career killers. The lack of fear of elbow injuries could contribute. They know they might need a year off and then they’ll be okay. But shoulder injuries still are brutal.
True dat. I know medicine has advanced in the last 40 years, but I'll never forget how a rotator cuff injury essentially ended Steve Busby's career (and he tried to come back). And that was during a time when there were successful TJ surgery's (after all TJ played in the 70's).
Poor Casey Lawrence, at 36 he still toils in the minors with a 5.95 ERA. He must really love the game or perhaps hope he will someday be a major league coach.
I don't know the guy at all, so I'm just guessing, but I would assume the coaching thing is spot on. So often, these older players in the minors are there as coaches as much as they are players.
My Christmas Miracle is still that they sign Kim for 3rd, work out a trade for Suzuki from the Cubs (this is a miracle we're talking about here, remember), and can leverage our new Asia-friendly roster to get Sasaki in.
I still think signing Kim makes sense, though. Pick him up, get Garcia the off-season working on outfield spots and make him our new super-utility player, move Massey to left (or move him if they aren't confident he can do that--though I'd really rather he stuck around), pick up a starter (or two if they can work a trade for Marsh or one of the other SPs), then find guys that can turn Wiemer around and make the India trade look like an absolute murder for our side. This is also getting into Christmas Miracle territory now, so I might as well say those new coaches also turn Melendez around and get his swing figured out. Boom, WS time! Baby Jesus is throwing everyone high fives!
I'm all good with the ideas on paper. The problem is what Kim might want. I don't know where his "demands" are now, but earlier in the offseason, I thought I was hearing about a different player. He's solid, very good even, but a guy who has topped out at a 110 wRC+ without a real carrying tool offensively scares me on a long-term deal. Then add in that he's coming off a major injury.
But hey, if your dream comes true, I'm planning to live stream from a parade in November.
Sign Profar. Most reasonable FA with a decent chance of being good. 3 year 45 million contract doesn't kill you.
My annual rant about how Nolan Ryan was the biggest freak athlete to ever play the game. 1973, his last start of the year in a year when he starts 39 games and throws 326 innings, he is going for the all time single season KO record. He throws 11 IP gives up 10 hits, 7 walks and 16KOs. That has to be 160 pitches at a bare minimum, probably in the 200+ range. He goes on to pitch 20 more years, still throwing 95+ well into mid forties. Pitching Ninja did an overlay with Nolan and Ben Joyce throwing 105+ mph. Nolan was clearly faster. Dude threw 106 mph or better for 20 years and faster than 95% of the league for 27 years.
I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I want NOTHING to do with Profar. He's a bad defender, doesn't run well and is going to be paid based on a career year by a ton at age 31. The contract doesn't kill you because it's not exorbitant, but I wouldn't give him more than a year and he's going to get more than that. The hardest of passes.
Maybe he made some changes and it's sustainable, but it's a fair amount to bet on for a guy who nearly doubled his career fWAR in one season.
Why is t a Melendez on your list. Spend the cash and get Santander
Melendez isn't on the list because he doesn't have trade value. These are players other teams would want.
Santander would be fine. That's a contract teams are going to regret at the end, but most free agent contracts are like that.
I wonder if emphasis on velocity and spin is due to pirchers ability to come back from injuries like rotator cuff without suffering loss of stuff __ witness Cole Ragans and now Kris Bubic.
Rotator cuff injuries are actually still potential career killers. The lack of fear of elbow injuries could contribute. They know they might need a year off and then they’ll be okay. But shoulder injuries still are brutal.
True dat. I know medicine has advanced in the last 40 years, but I'll never forget how a rotator cuff injury essentially ended Steve Busby's career (and he tried to come back). And that was during a time when there were successful TJ surgery's (after all TJ played in the 70's).