C.J. Cron to the Tampa Bay Rays

[Chuck]

I'd be stoked if it was Ryan Yarbrough coming back to us. I mean, Cron projects as being their starting 1B, I doubt we're going to get a bag of shit coming back to us. 

He's not one of their top 10 prospects per BA and other websites, but he's solid. 

Bill (Tampa): Ryan Yarbrough had a strong season after coming over from the Mariners. Does he profile as a back end starter for you or does he look more like an up and down 6th starter or long reliever?

Bill Ballew: There’s no doubt Yarbrough is knocking on the door of the big leagues, where he could contribute as a number four or five starter or as a situational reliever as soon as 2018. Last season he led the International League in strikeouts and placed second in wins and third in innings pitched. Yarbrough uses his 6-foot-5 frame to his advantage by throwing on a downhill plane to generate ground balls with his sinking low 90s fastball. His above-average changeup has outstanding deception, resulting in many of his strikeouts, and he continues to improve the consistency and bite of his slider while staying low in the zone. He’s also really tough on left-handed hitters. Right now his path could go either way but he will remain a starter until the need arises in the Tampa Bay bullpen.

[eaterfan]

Just now, Chuckster70 said:

I'd be stoked if it was Ryan Yarbrough coming back to us. I mean, Cron projects as being their starting 1B, I doubt we're going to get a bag of shit coming back to us. 

I doubt they gave up too much. There are plenty of FAs out there.

[floplag]

25 minutes ago, arch stanton said:

The obvious hole right now is a someone who can handle 1B and left handed pitching when Pujols is DH. Maybe play corner OF too

Headley    
 

[Tyler]

Ouch, can't believe his value was that low.

[mulwin444]

Oh no...we're losing a player who amass 3 WAR in four seasons.

A player who had to be repeatedly sent down due to high-performance

A guy with no speed and one position 

How will we recover?!

[DMVol]

6 minutes ago, Tyler said:

Ouch, can't believe his value was that low.

Dickerson is a better player and got released....Odd offseason.....

[Rico]

Cron will have better numbers than Pujols this year.

[Second Base]

Yeah I can see Cron hitting. .270 with 30 HR in the hitter friendly AL East if he gets every day AB's.

[JarsOfClay]

21 minutes ago, mulwin444 said:

Oh no...we're losing a player who amass 3 WAR in four seasons.

A player who had to be repeatedly sent down due to high-performance

A guy with no speed and one position 

How will we recover?!

And yet he was our best 1B.  

[Ohtaniland]

36 minutes ago, mulwin444 said:

Oh no...we're losing a player who amass 3 WAR in four seasons.

A player who had to be repeatedly sent down due to high-performance

A guy with no speed and one position 

How will we recover?!

 

11 minutes ago, JarsOfClay said:

And yet he was our best 1B.  

Is Albert’s production really worth paying $24.2M more than Cron. 

[Chuck]

1 minute ago, Scotty@AW said:

Yeah I can see Cron hitting. .270 with 30 HR in the hitter friendly AL East if he gets every day AB's.

He could very well duplicate what he's done in Anaheim since he's been up, which is get hot, slump real bad, get sent down... rinse, wash, repeat. 

Cron has been the epitome of inconsistency and at best average IMO. 

Hopefully we'll get something of value though for him since he was a former first rounder and has shown glimpses of above average power and run producing ability. His defense has also improved along the way. 

[JarsOfClay]

2 minutes ago, OHTANILAND said:

Is Albert’s production really worth $24.2M more than Cron. 

Definitely not last year, CJ Cron's numbers across the board were better than Albert's.  I guess Eppler is expecting/praying for a resurrection from Albert.

 

[Blarg]

I'm going to go with Eppler knows more about Pujols capabilities than you do and was confident CJ's production would not be missed.

Edited February 18, 2018 by Blarg

[IheartLA]

1 hour ago, Warfarin said:

This move probably paves the way for Cowart to open with the team.  His ability to play 2B/3B will add more depth for us, and also give us the possibility of another LH in the lineup on various days.

Moreover, it enables us to stay strong defensively.  Having Valbuena cover 3B on off days for Cozart was going to be suboptimal defensively.  Now, with Cowart backing him up, we can ensure we can roll out a strong defensive configuration pretty much every single day.

Valbuena really can't hit left handed pitching. When a LH starter is on the mound we're kind or missing a bat. I think Marte has the best chance unless another signing is made.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

2 hours ago, OHTANILAND said:

Cron is just another 1st Round pick that amounted to nothing. 

JD Martinez was so bad that the Astros DFA him before he went to Detroit.

 

[JarsOfClay]

2 minutes ago, Blarg said:

I'm going to go with Eppler knows more about Pujols capabilities than you do and was confident CJ's production would not be missed.

I agree, Eppler is a very intelligent baseball man and I trust him completely.

I'm not sad to see Cron go, just sad about the 1B situation.

[Second Base]

I just really don't think signing Luis Valbuena was a great move. Sure, his offensive production pretty much mirrors Cron's, but Valbuena only hits against RHP. And while he does play 3B, he doesn't do it particularly well.

So he can be a starting 1B, but not a particularly good one, and only against RHP. And he can fill in at 3B in pinch, but again, only against RHP and probably not for an extended period of time.

He's just an extremely limited player.

[mulwin444]

16 minutes ago, OHTANILAND said:

 

Is Albert’s production really worth paying $24.2M more than Cron. 

Well, since we're not releasing Albert, and CJ has done everything he can to marginalize his existence on the team, it's a non-event.

But I can't wait for 4 more years of hot takes on Alberts performance by you... inciteful stuff like "hey, Ambert is old...and doesn't hit like he did 10 years ago...and he's slow...he's making a lot of money but we keep playing him...WHY???!!!!"

 

You know, shit like that

[Broad Street]

Cowart

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

1 hour ago, Warfarin said:

For now, I suppose that's Marte.  Not exciting in the slightest, but he can at least play both 1B/3B, and does appear to hit LHP a bit better than RHP.  But yeah, not an ideal option overall.

Everyone keeps pushing for a LH batter and that's not Marte. Cowart is twice the fielder that Marte is and can Switch hit, and is better from the left side. His arm would also play well in RF.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

This makes me kind of sad, I wanted Cron to get a chance to play everyday slump or n slump and know that the team wasn't going to sent him down until at least the All Star break. Maybe he wouldn't press so much to succeed and get in a hot streak and stay there the entire season. He has hit 16 HR over the last 3 years with limited playing time. I think he will hit 25+ in the ALE this season.

I wish him well...

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

1 hour ago, floplag said:

Exactly what i proposed a couple weeks ago.  If he has that flexibility it would be nice. 

Not going to get Moustakas, no way, no how.

[arch stanton]

14 minutes ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

Everyone keeps pushing for a LH batter and that's not Marte. Cowart is twice the fielder that Marte is and can Switch hit, and is better from the left side. His arm would also play well in RF.

Valbuena is the LH bat. The need is for someone who can handle LH pitching when Pujols is DH. That's where Marte is better than Cowart but still not ideal

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

I think we now have ~$27M left before the threshold. Maybe we take a run at Cobb or Lynn?

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

2 minutes ago, arch stanton said:

Valbuena is the LH bat. The need is for someone who can handle LH pitching when Pujols is DH. That's where Marte is better than Cowart but still not ideal

That would be Albert. The knock against Cron was he hit RH same as Marte. Cron was better than Marte. Marte hit .173 last year. Cowart can hit better than that and play way better defense.