As underwhelmed as I have been with the off season moves, It felt like a little movement with management on the O'Hearn Trade. I understand their reluctance to trade pieces before the new manager and coaches get a chance to see what they have in person. However, with the downtown stadium being put on the burner, I don't expect the calm to last long. Sherman will need the perception of building a winner to move forward much.
That said, I expect a lot of movement in the roster again this season. They need to know who the long term talent will be to build a winner. That means a lot of movement in the lineup until they find the strength and weaknesses on the team. It makes me wonder how many players on the 40 man roster will be here next year for spring training. 25, maybe 30? Last year the new players got a taste. This year they need to prove they belong.
I haven't been outwardly told that they're going to start being aggressive for the 2024 and beyond roster or anything, but things I have heard indicate that's the case. And I honestly do think it's the right play because of all the young players who have a year or less of experience. See what holes need to be filled before you jump the gun.
But man, that's a great pondering of how many current 40-man players will be on the 2024 roster. Just skimming it, I could see anywhere between 20 and like 27. So yeah, there'll be some turnover, I think.
I expect the biggest changes will come in the pitching dept. Going down the roster list with a quick glance, I see multiple players who will be on a pretty short leash. As you suggested Snider, Keller, and the newest additions to the staff Yarbrough, Lyles will probably be gone even if they are successful. They will be dropped or traded before the deadline. I hope for the best but I expect much the same results this year. If we are lucky, an improvement of 5 - 10 wins..................Maybe.
You’re probably right. There are more than a couple of stopgaps but big league development will be VERY interesting this year. It two of the young starters take steps to match with Singer, things look quite different heading into next season. I’m not saying it will happen, but new coaching staff and instruction certainly can’t hurt that. And I keep going back to what I wrote a couple weeks ago about how many wins just changing out the top of the coaching staff could mean and that gets me a little excited.
Although I am overall ho hum about a downtown stadium, I have to admit it does make me upbeat about the club for the future. If they want the new stadium they are going to have to invest in and show a winning attitude. No one is going to vote for it if this team stays in last place. There are a lot of interesting pieces on this roster, but I'm not convinced they have even half of what they need to be competitive. I could be wrong, but its going to take some of the "being more transactional" moving forward to take this club to where it needs to be. This year needs to be where they begin to show progress.
The general consensus among people who follow the team closely is that they'll need to show something before they can get a vote passed on the stadium. I continue to think that may not be so true. I don't know the number of voters or anything, but I would bet there's a not insignificant number of people who don't care about the team at all but think a downtown stadium would be cool. That said, them showing progress and even making a splash or two certainly wouldn't hurt.
I haven’t read up on it much…so it is entirely possible I’m wrong here. But I do question a little bit how much difference the shift is going to make a difference. If 2 players have to be on each side of the infield….that’s just where the bag is right? So technically, instead of the second baseman 5 feet past the bag on the SS side…he could just be an inch on the 2nd base side to start the pitch. Is that a correct assumption I guess? It will be interesting this year to see how much of a difference it actually makes and how teams find a way around it. Which to be honest, I would expect Quantaro to figure out already from being with Tampa Bay. Lol.
The biggest difference, to me, is the second baseman in short right, which is why I didn't expect the numbers to show that the new rules would make much of a difference for Salvy. Because you're right, they just have to be on the other side of the bag, so yeah, it's a small difference, though I think it'll be interesting to see how teams play it. They just have to be there when the pitch is thrown. They can move after. So that'll be interesting. I wonder if that'll hurt to be moving before the pitch? I really don't know. I guess nobody does!
It was only a few games, but I liked what I saw from Zerpa. Guy just has that fearless dog mentality on the mound. I hope he gets a good shot at the rotation in camp.
Do you think the Yankees could be a trade partner for Taylor? They need another outfielder and could pick up most of his salary.
I like Zerpa. He’s been odd because he hasn’t really shown great success in the minors. I’d be interested to see him get a shot for sure.
Taylor to the Yankees is interesting. They make some sense, but the salary is so small and he’s so good defensively that he makes sense on a lot of teams. I think he’s gone before opening day.
Great piece, David. I have a question on the prospects. Everyone was so thrilled when they got Asa Lacey with th 4th pick. I hear nothing about him, is he a lost cause or is there hope that the new pitching coach can get him going?
Seems like he has the yips, which isn't necessarily a death sentence or anything but I don't think you can count on anything from him. That said, if he figures things out (big, big if), I can see a scenario where he moves really fast.
As underwhelmed as I have been with the off season moves, It felt like a little movement with management on the O'Hearn Trade. I understand their reluctance to trade pieces before the new manager and coaches get a chance to see what they have in person. However, with the downtown stadium being put on the burner, I don't expect the calm to last long. Sherman will need the perception of building a winner to move forward much.
That said, I expect a lot of movement in the roster again this season. They need to know who the long term talent will be to build a winner. That means a lot of movement in the lineup until they find the strength and weaknesses on the team. It makes me wonder how many players on the 40 man roster will be here next year for spring training. 25, maybe 30? Last year the new players got a taste. This year they need to prove they belong.
I haven't been outwardly told that they're going to start being aggressive for the 2024 and beyond roster or anything, but things I have heard indicate that's the case. And I honestly do think it's the right play because of all the young players who have a year or less of experience. See what holes need to be filled before you jump the gun.
But man, that's a great pondering of how many current 40-man players will be on the 2024 roster. Just skimming it, I could see anywhere between 20 and like 27. So yeah, there'll be some turnover, I think.
I expect the biggest changes will come in the pitching dept. Going down the roster list with a quick glance, I see multiple players who will be on a pretty short leash. As you suggested Snider, Keller, and the newest additions to the staff Yarbrough, Lyles will probably be gone even if they are successful. They will be dropped or traded before the deadline. I hope for the best but I expect much the same results this year. If we are lucky, an improvement of 5 - 10 wins..................Maybe.
You’re probably right. There are more than a couple of stopgaps but big league development will be VERY interesting this year. It two of the young starters take steps to match with Singer, things look quite different heading into next season. I’m not saying it will happen, but new coaching staff and instruction certainly can’t hurt that. And I keep going back to what I wrote a couple weeks ago about how many wins just changing out the top of the coaching staff could mean and that gets me a little excited.
Although I am overall ho hum about a downtown stadium, I have to admit it does make me upbeat about the club for the future. If they want the new stadium they are going to have to invest in and show a winning attitude. No one is going to vote for it if this team stays in last place. There are a lot of interesting pieces on this roster, but I'm not convinced they have even half of what they need to be competitive. I could be wrong, but its going to take some of the "being more transactional" moving forward to take this club to where it needs to be. This year needs to be where they begin to show progress.
The general consensus among people who follow the team closely is that they'll need to show something before they can get a vote passed on the stadium. I continue to think that may not be so true. I don't know the number of voters or anything, but I would bet there's a not insignificant number of people who don't care about the team at all but think a downtown stadium would be cool. That said, them showing progress and even making a splash or two certainly wouldn't hurt.
I haven’t read up on it much…so it is entirely possible I’m wrong here. But I do question a little bit how much difference the shift is going to make a difference. If 2 players have to be on each side of the infield….that’s just where the bag is right? So technically, instead of the second baseman 5 feet past the bag on the SS side…he could just be an inch on the 2nd base side to start the pitch. Is that a correct assumption I guess? It will be interesting this year to see how much of a difference it actually makes and how teams find a way around it. Which to be honest, I would expect Quantaro to figure out already from being with Tampa Bay. Lol.
The biggest difference, to me, is the second baseman in short right, which is why I didn't expect the numbers to show that the new rules would make much of a difference for Salvy. Because you're right, they just have to be on the other side of the bag, so yeah, it's a small difference, though I think it'll be interesting to see how teams play it. They just have to be there when the pitch is thrown. They can move after. So that'll be interesting. I wonder if that'll hurt to be moving before the pitch? I really don't know. I guess nobody does!
It was only a few games, but I liked what I saw from Zerpa. Guy just has that fearless dog mentality on the mound. I hope he gets a good shot at the rotation in camp.
Do you think the Yankees could be a trade partner for Taylor? They need another outfielder and could pick up most of his salary.
Great article as usual.
I like Zerpa. He’s been odd because he hasn’t really shown great success in the minors. I’d be interested to see him get a shot for sure.
Taylor to the Yankees is interesting. They make some sense, but the salary is so small and he’s so good defensively that he makes sense on a lot of teams. I think he’s gone before opening day.
Great piece, David. I have a question on the prospects. Everyone was so thrilled when they got Asa Lacey with th 4th pick. I hear nothing about him, is he a lost cause or is there hope that the new pitching coach can get him going?
Seems like he has the yips, which isn't necessarily a death sentence or anything but I don't think you can count on anything from him. That said, if he figures things out (big, big if), I can see a scenario where he moves really fast.