Official 2016 MLB season thread

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Logan

Looks like Bruce to the Mets in a deal built around Nimmo. I'm not a huge Bruce fan but that works for me as long as the lower level guys joining him aren't high end.

Bruce isn't very exciting, but I'm not very high on Nimmo. I'm more interested in who the 2 low level guys are.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Dodgers sell the farm to get Josh Reddick and Rich Hill from the A's.

Nice return on those two by the A's.

It blows my mind that the best prospect return this trade deadline has been for 2 relievers (Champman and Miller).

[cartman]

Evidently there is some medical issue holding up the Jay Bruce deal.

In another trade/injury deal, the Marlins shipped P Colin Rea back to San Diego, when he got hurt after only pitching 3 1/3 innings in his first appearance after the trade. The Padres shipped back Luis Castillo who was part of the original trade.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Dodgers sell the farm to get Josh Reddick and Rich Hill from the A's.

1 top 100 player?

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Bruce isn't very exciting, but I'm not very high on Nimmo. I'm more interested in who the 2 low level guys are.

That was my take on it as well. I don't think Nimmo's bat will ever be anything special, and he's not quite strong enough defensively (or fast enough) to make up for that.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Bruce isn't very exciting, but I'm not very high on Nimmo. I'm more interested in who the 2 low level guys are.

I'd rather have a better defensive player that has a bat rather than another bad fielding corner OF type. Esp since some teams like Nimmo...

[JPhillips]

Bruce will OPS .800 and his defense isn't nearly as bad as advertised. Having Hamilton in center has really screwed up his ratings.

[Logan]

Looks like Beltran to Texas in a deal surrounding Tate, #4 overall from 2015.

[JPhillips]

Jesus H, what is it with everyone giving the Yankees great returns?

And the Bruce trade is in limbo due to bad medical for one of the prospects.

[cartman]

Tate is far from a sure fire prospect. He was getting lit up in A Ball.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by cartman

Tate is far from a sure fire prospect. He was getting lit up in A Ball.

That jumped out at me too. A bit of a concern for a college kid, I'd think.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Logan

That jumped out at me too. A bit of a concern for a college kid, I'd think.

Watch the Yankees straighten him out and in 5 years he starts a string of consecutive Cy Young wins.

[MrBug708]

Dodgers trade Mike Bolsinger for Jesse Chavez

[cartman]

Rangers get Lucroy, for a couple of prospects: Lewis Brinson and Luis Ortiz. Ortiz was probably their top pitching prospect.

[MrBug708]

Giants land Matt Moore

[stevew]

Didn't realize Jesse Chavez was still a thing

[Butter]

Reds getting Dilson Herrera instead of Nimmo from Mets now, along with minor league pitcher Max Wotell for Bruce.

Herrera is a 2B who has spent the last 2 seasons at either AAA or on Mets, is only 22 and is under team control until 2022. He OPS'd .690 in 169 big league PA's the last 2 seasons.

He is OPSing .790 with 13 homers in almost 400 PAs for Las Vegas of the PCL this year. People seem pretty thrilled on the Reds side that they were able to get him instead of Nimmo.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by stevew

Didn't realize Jesse Chavez was still a thing

Dodgers were out of options on Bolsinger

[JPhillips]

I like Herrera better than Nimmo, but I'm not sure what the Reds are going to do with all these middle infielders.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Reds getting Dilson Herrera instead of Nimmo from Mets now, along with minor league pitcher Max Wotell for Bruce.

Herrera is a 2B who has spent the last 2 seasons at either AAA or on Mets, is only 22 and is under team control until 2022. He OPS'd .690 in 169 big league PA's the last 2 seasons.

He is OPSing .790 with 13 homers in almost 400 PAs for Las Vegas of the PCL this year. People seem pretty thrilled on the Reds side that they were able to get him instead of Nimmo.

Nimmo is the better prospect. He has the potential to an average bat and average Centerfielder. Herrera is a 2b with average tools and zero potential to play the left side.

I'm not the biggest Nimmo fan but I'd rather give up Herrera.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I like Herrera better than Nimmo, but I'm not sure what the Reds are going to do with all these middle infielders.

Just another deal for a Red that I'm less than impressed with. Just don't see a can't miss anywhere in the deals they've had the last couple of years and they had a ton of talent they've traded away.

[ISiddiqui]

Also note that PCL is traditionally a VERY high-offense league. .790 OPS in the PCL may be equivalent of .690 OPS in other minor leagues.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Nimmo is the better prospect. He has the potential to an average bat and average Centerfielder. Herrera is a 2b with average tools and zero potential to play the left side.

I'm not the biggest Nimmo fan but I'd rather give up Herrera.

I feel the opposite only because of the position. They've had him penciled in to start at 2B next season for about a year and a half now. Don't think either have high end potential but I'd rather have the IF than the OF. Just happy it's not both as originally reported. Hopefully they move Nimmo in the offseason.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Logan

I feel the opposite only because of the position. They've had him penciled in to start at 2B next season for about a year and a half now. Don't think either have high end potential but I'd rather have the IF than the OF. Just happy it's not both as originally reported. Hopefully they move Nimmo in the offseason.

If he could play the left side at all, even in a utility role, I'd like him more. 2b only guys need a better bat or glove than Herrera has to really be anything of value. An average CFer with an average bat is a much better player than most 2b only types.

I think the reason the Mets have backed off on him being the next 2b is the scouting reports never quite matched his production in AA and early on in AAA. Lately the two have started to align more and it's really hard to find a roster spot for guys like Herrera.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Atocep

If he could play the left side at all, even in a utility role, I'd like him more. 2b only guys need a better bat or glove than Herrera has to really be anything of value. An average CFer with an average bat is a much better player than most 2b only types.

I think the reason the Mets have backed off on him being the next 2b is the scouting reports never quite matched his production in AA and early on in AAA. Lately the two have started to align more and it's really hard to find a roster spot for guys like Herrera.

Yeah I don't necessarily disagree. Either way, I'm fine moving either of them for a solid bat like Bruce. I hope Nimmo develops more to what you see in him.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Woof. Giants trade away Matt Duffy and a pair of prospects for post-TJ surgry Matt Moore. Hard to argue with the move logically - the organization is strong with infield depth and the starting pitching has been ridiculously poor on the back end - but man is it tough to watch a homegrown, out-of-nowhere-to-Rookie-of-the-Year-runner-up, slick glove youngster go.

Sounds like Matt Duffy will start at SS for the Rays.

[Suicane75]

Kind of weird that the Angels gave up on Hector Santiago so quickly. Especially to get Ricky Nolasco. Could be a sneaky nice trade for the Twins.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

Kind of weird that the Angels gave up on Hector Santiago so quickly. Especially to get Ricky Nolasco. Could be a sneaky nice trade for the Twins.

Yeah this one tripped me out too. Maybe the Angels really like Meyer, the prospect they got.

[stevew]

really seems like the pirates severely overpaid to dump Liriano. Ramirez and McGuire were two of our top 10 prospects last season.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by stevew

really seems like the pirates severely overpaid to dump Liriano. Ramirez and McGuire were two of our top 10 prospects last season.

I'm really disappointed with this one. Feels like the Pirates gave up the best three pieces in this deal. I get the payroll dump part of it, but Both of these guys are low floor prospects. Ramirez is a little more forgivable, because they will have a 40-man roster crunch coming and they have a couple other OF prospects that are comparable or better, but McGuire just turned 21 and is holding his own in AA, with MLB-ready defensive catching. If he'd have gone to college and been drafted this year, he'd be in low A ball right now.

Liriano had been inconsistent this year, but if they found someone to take Charlie Morton last off season, someone would've done the same or swapped out a lesser bad contract for him this off season and we could've used the two prospects for a better SP.

I guess we will see what happens with the saved money, but Liriano was on a pretty fair dealing it is hard to see how any of the SP deals make us better short or long term. It wouldn't surprise me to see him do well being matched back up with Russell Martin.

I liked the Melancon deal and Bastardo and cash for Niese seems like a decent swap. I'm dreading to see who the two PTBNL are for Nova.

[Atocep]

Reese is a local kid and my son's idol as a player so we've been following his career. He's been to camps run by his high school coach and trains in the organization that trained him. The stories of his catching are legendary around here.

[Chief Rum]

While the Jays Pirates deal was a little confusing, I actually think the Buccs did well getting Hutchison at least. I felt like he was a solid pitcher trapped on a team.with too many rotation options.

[Bobble]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Reese is a local kid and my son's idol as a player so we've been following his career. He's been to camps run by his high school coach and trains in the organization that trained him. The stories of his catching are legendary around here.

Reese McGuire is on my OOTP team and doing very well. So, obviously, that's a steal for the Jays. #realityblurs

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by Bobble

Reese McGuire is on my OOTP team and doing very well. So, obviously, that's a steal for the Jays. #realityblurs

I've always thought Marlon Byrd is way better than he actually is because of the CFBL.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Bobble

Reese McGuire is on my OOTP team and doing very well. So, obviously, that's a steal for the Jays. #realityblurs

I'm glad I'm not the only one who looks at these trades that take place and know the prospects from my OOTP leagues.

[Logan]

I thought Bastardo was going to be a perfect addition for the Mets this year. His BB and K numbers have worsened a bit, but he's just giving up a lot more hits. Haven't looked into velocity and such but he was a huge disappointment to me.

[BishopMVP]

After scaring me with the preseason Kimbrel and early July trade for Pomeranz Dombrowski stayed away from dealing any more top prospects and actually pulled off a couple nice minor trades for decent relievers. Assuming the rumors of E-Rod+Benintendi + like Kopech & Devers are true, it'd be hard to say a Chris Sale (or Jose Quintana) deal wouldn't make us better, but I really don't think the upgrade from E-Rod to Sale for the next 2 months would be worth more than the upgrade to Benintendi in LF should be.

The pitching has been poor for awhile now, but at a certain point either guys like Price, E-Rod, Kimbrel start pitching like they did last year or they don't. Heck, even Clay Buchholz looked good the other night after adjusting an arm slot that had fallen while working through injuries the past year. Even though it's Ortiz's last season at a certain point you need to stop pushing chips in, because with the core of Betts/Bogaerts/Bradley Jr. + hopefully Benintendi in LF, Moncada/Devers at 3B, and Swihart at C if he improves defensively with more AAA time this team is set up to have a multi year run.

[Logan]

I can't believe I'm the first one to post this...Chicago must have been really scary...but Duffy going 8 innings, 1 hit, 16 Ks on 8/1/16 is pretty damn cool.

[Johnny93g]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

While the Jays Pirates deal was a little confusing, I actually think the Buccs did well getting Hutchison at least. I felt like he was a solid pitcher trapped on a team.with too many rotation options.

So frustrating!! Hutch has alot of talent and great stuff, but he loses it in games. He has bad innings, misses high way to often, and it seems he just loses concentration

Jays management absolutely gave up on him. I don't know if he can put it together, but the talent is there...

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

For those that aren't obsessive stat junkies, just wanted to point out that since he was called-up earlier this year, M's reliever Edwin Diaz has racked up 44 K's in 21 2/3 innings - a rate of 18.28 per 9. Who knows how long that rate will hold up (not to mention his elbow & shoulder), but he's striking out batters at a higher rate than basically anyone in history. Higher than Chapman, higher than Kimbrel.

Jeff Sullivan has a good write-up on Diaz today at Fangraphs accompanied by some gifs of his pitches:

Edwin Diaz

[Easy Mac]

So is Bryce Harper now just a slightly stronger Jason Heyward?

[ISiddiqui]

Jay-Hey wishes. While they have both are having down years, Harper is still hitting very well (his 'down year' is a 118 OPS+, I mean he still has a .378 OBP) while Heyward is hitting abysmally (74 OPS+).

Though Heyward's defense has been fantastic (so he's got a 1.4 WAR even though he's been hitting like crap).

[dawgfan]

Just as Harper's BABIP last year was unsustainably high, it's almost certainly abnormally low this season due to bad luck. He's not hitting as many line drives this season which could be a factor, but I hesitate to put too much stock in those figures as the categorization for them can be spotty. I'd guess if we had batted ball velocity and trajectory info we'd be able to parse this better, but at a broad glance it appears to be mostly bad luck following a season of good luck.

[cartman]

Mark Teixeira is retiring at the end of the season at age 36. Looks like his body just won't let him continue.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Jeff Sullivan has a good write-up on Diaz today at Fangraphs accompanied by some gifs of his pitches:

Edwin Diaz

I love Jeff Sullivan.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

I love Jeff Sullivan.

Jeff is great. I'm glad for him that he's gone national and has a real paying gig, but I do miss him running Lookout Landing and being M's-focused for so long (though having spent time myself helping to run an SBNation site, I can't even begin to imagine the amount of work he did running that site and writing every fucking day for it for years)

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Jeff is great. I'm glad for him that he's gone national and has a real paying gig, but I do miss him running Lookout Landing and being M's-focused for so long (though having spent time myself helping to run an SBNation site, I can't even begin to imagine the amount of work he did running that site and writing every fucking day for it for years)

Yup, I can echo all of this (though I've never worked with SBNation, so I don't know the back end). Grant Brisbee is my favorite currently, and I'm not sure how he can keep doing it.

[cartman]

ARod is retiring. Last game will be on Friday against Tampa Bay, and they will give him an unconditional release.

[claphamsa]

read the ESPN article...are they still paying him as a player? is the whole instructor thing to remove his salary from the CAP?

[claphamsa]

nvm, they updated, he still get his 27M as a player.