THE Official 2019-2020 Hot Stove Thread

[beatlesrule]

The Blue Jays and Red Sox are discussing a deal that would send veteran starter David Price to Toronto, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. While Rosenthal is quick to note that an official move isn’t close yet, it’s nonetheless notable that Price is in play for a Blue Jays team that has made abundantly clear its desire to upgrade the starting rotation.

[Billy_Ball]

 

[Pancake Bear]

Hopefully behind closed doors that ‘can add’ more pitching is ‘need to add’. Realistically, if they’re serious about contending, they need one more solid arm. 

[Hubs]

2 hours ago, Second Base said:

Oh. So everything is going to go the Angels way from now on. That's great to hear Hubs. Thanks for sharing!

A little optimism never hurt anyone. You’re always painting a very rosy picture of the Angels prospects but as far as the team itself... there are always surprises, misfortunes, luck (good and bad). We don’t know what they are going to do, but we can choose to have faith. 
 

 

[Hubs]

4 minutes ago, Pancake Bear said:

Hopefully behind closed doors that ‘can add’ more pitching is ‘need to add’. Realistically, if they’re serious about contending, they need one more solid arm. 

Solid, but not necessarily Ryu or a frontline trade item. I’d rather take a chance on two guys on two year deals rebounding. 

[Second Base]

8 minutes ago, Hubs said:

A little optimism never hurt anyone. You’re always painting a very rosy picture of the Angels prospects but as far as the team itself... there are always surprises, misfortunes, luck (good and bad). We don’t know what they are going to do, but we can choose to have faith. 
 

 

I love the optimism. 

[Hubs]

2 minutes ago, Second Base said:

I love the optimism. 

Everyone has their favorite guys on the team and the guys they can’t stand. I just think your being a bit low on Upton and Simmons in particular, and always think Pujols is gonna be worse. 

[Pancake Bear]

5 minutes ago, Hubs said:

Everyone has their favorite guys on the team and the guys they can’t stand. I just think your being a bit low on Upton and Simmons in particular, and always think Pujols is gonna be worse. 

I think Pujols is gonna be benched. If he isn’t and other people are healthy, we deserve to lose. 

[tdawg87]

I think Upton is going to go right back to where he left off in 2018. I mean, he was still on pace for 30 HR in 2019. He just had a lot of bad luck, as indicated by his career low BABIP of .261. That normalizes and he's back to a .250/.340/.460 slash line.

 

[CanadianHalo]

Ha Gubi getting called out

[tdawg87]

Lol Gubi.

Although he isn't wrong there.

[Second Base]

I'll include all of you @Hubs @tdawg87 and @Pancake Bear since I'm talking to all three of you.

1. I do believe Upton is still the same hitter he always was. Still very talented. However, I have my doubts he will remain healthy. He's having issues with his knees, and they opted against surgery and in favor of rest. If he was 10 years younger, then sure, I think this could work out fine. But I think this damage is cumulative. I don't think Upton is going to have a healthy lower half and that saps a hitters ability to drive the ball, or in Upton's case, chase down for balls in LF. 

2. Simmons I think will be fine. The offensive track record of shortstops beyond the are of 30 isn't exactly extensive or sterling, so the offense may not be quite as good, but still pretty solid I think.

3. Pujols absolutely should be benched. Those AB's would be better served going to Thaiss. The more reps he gets, the sooner the will be productive. The power is already there, the other parts of his game are certainly able to translate at some point. And if not Thaiss, then it really should be La Stella getting those at bats. But I've yet to see a manager with the balls to bench Pujols. I hope that would be Maddon, but somehow, I get the feeling he will be a lot like Scioscia in his preference toward veterans.

I think you're going to see a steady diet of Pujols, and I think your going to see his offense continue to decline. 

[Lou]

53 minutes ago, Second Base said:

I love the optimism. 

much better than the pessimism

[Brandon]

23 hours ago, Ochocinco! said:

I still want some of his crack

Gnar.

I never thought of you as a rim job guy.

[Second Base]

40 minutes ago, Lou said:

much better than the pessimism

Yeah, and I'm trying to find that balance between the two. I'm optimistic about Canning, Heaney, Sandoval, Fletcher, Thaiss, Trout, Adell and Marsh. 

I'm pessimistic about Upton, Pujols and Goodwin. 

I'm pretty neutral on Simmons, Ohtani, Teheran, Bundy and the bullpen.

And I don't know what to think regarding Maddon and Callaway. I think they're better than anyone from last year and will be at least as good as Scioscia and Black, who were the probably the best combo we've ever had, which isn't saying much, but those two were good. I just don't know how to quantify the value coaches like them bring. Maybe it's worth 10 wins, maybe it's worth nothing. Who knows?

[Pancake Bear]

Until proven otherwise:

La Stella >>>> Thaiss

[Second Base]

7 minutes ago, Pancake Bear said:

Until proven otherwise:

La Stella >>>> Thaiss

No doubt in my mind. I'm not arguing otherwise. La Stella isn't a good defensive 1B, but the idea is, if his bat plays up like it did last year, the glove at 1B may not matter much.

But I would very much argue in favor of Thaiss over Pujols. The production would be fairly comparable right now, with Thaiss  having more power and better defense, but eventually, if he's playing everyday (he's not, this is just hypothetical), by June or July, I think you'd see the gap between Thaiss and Pujols continue to widen until it's obvious Thaiss is the starter and Pujols is more there in an advisory role and bench bat.

Again, won't happen for many reasons, chief among them is that no manager is willing to bench Pujols yet, and secondary, La Stella needs everyday at bats if he hits like he did last year.

Edited December 23, 2019 by Second Base

[Pancake Bear]

I think if La Stella and Fletcher come into Spring Training like they’ve been, you’ll either see La Stella at 1B or one of them in RF. 

Ausmus stated before last season Pujols has to earn at bats. They might not bench him for Thaiss, but I can’t see La Stella benched or platooning with Fletcher so Albert can play every day unless La Stella doesn’t show up next year. La Stella was a freaking All Star last year for goodness sake. 

[Second Base]

7 minutes ago, Pancake Bear said:

I think if La Stella and Fletcher come into Spring Training like they’ve been, you’ll either see La Stella at 1B or one of them in RF. 

Ausmus stated before last season Pujols has to earn at bats. They might not bench him for Thaiss, but I can’t see La Stella benched or platooning with Fletcher so Albert can play every day unless La Stella doesn’t show up next year. La Stella was a freaking All Star last year for goodness sake. 

Agreed. But we have no idea how Albert Pujols would take to being benched. I mean he's a legend. He's got a legacy. Guys like that have a hard time accepting truth sometimes.

[Lou]

1 hour ago, Second Base said:

Yeah, and I'm trying to find that balance between the two. I'm optimistic about Canning, Heaney, Sandoval, Fletcher, Thaiss, Trout, Adell and Marsh. 

I'm pessimistic about Upton, Pujols and Goodwin. 

I'm pretty neutral on Simmons, Ohtani, Teheran, Bundy and the bullpen.

seems as though you have forgotten about one major piece of the puzzle

[AngelsLakersFan]

57 minutes ago, Second Base said:

La Stella needs everyday at bats if he hits like he did last year.

Isn't Madd0n the guy who kept La Stella on the bench his entire career?

[beatlesrule]

LOL at benching Pujols. 29 million reasons why he will be starting and playing mostly everyday.

[beatlesrule]

TODAY: The Dodgers continue to be “very aggressive in pursuit of” Clevinger and Lindor, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.

[Second Base]

50 minutes ago, Lou said:

seems as though you have forgotten about one major piece of the puzzle

I thought it went without saying how we all feel about him....

[Lou]

3 minutes ago, Second Base said:

I thought it went without saying how we all feel about him....

and yet you included Trout?