The Official 2020-2021 Hot Stove Offseason Thread

[halonatic13]

7 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

Nice perspective and I feel this is ultimately the route Minasian takes.

We have the game’s best player in Trout, two top 30 MLB prospects in Adell and Marsh, as well as another very promising one in Adams.  We can afford to deal one of them, and given Adell by far has the most value, it will likely be him, since he would be needed to secure a SP of the caliber of Snell, Marquez, Gray.

Another important consideration is that it's not hard to find good, quality corner OFers for a rather cheap cost.  If we had the space, we could sign Schwarber for like a 1/5 deal, and he could be a 2+ WAR player in LF.  Obviously with Upton on board, it doesn't make sense, but the point is that we don't need 3+ high quality OF prospects.  Again, we have Trout, who will be a fixture in CF for years, and we have Marsh, who projects as a very good quality RF.  We can easily plug any hole in LF with a Pederson, Schwarber, etc for a minimal cost in future years, as teams simply don't highly value LF, unless you are Juan Soto caliber hitter.

We can also afford to trade Jackson since he’s likely a 3B, not a SS, and we have 3B covered for years with Rendon.

So for all of the above reasons, I am on board with packaging Adell, Jackson, and others in whatever trade is needed to secure a top-of-the-rotation caliber SP.

Schwarber will kill us in RF.  Pederson is def the better FA option.  I'd hate to imagine an outfield of Upton, Trout, Schwarber.

[Warfarin]

2 minutes ago, halonatic13 said:

Schwarber will kill us in RF.  Pederson is def the better FA option.  I'd hate to imagine an outfield of Upton, Trout, Schwarber.

I didn’t mean this year specifically, I was just using it as an example that it’s not hard to find good, quality LFers in free agency for fairly cheap, whereas it is much more expensive in general to find good, quality SP. Hence, since Adell is projected as more of a LF than a RF, it would make sense to trade him than Marsh, especially since Marsh is a LHH, which this team needs 

[Stradling]

With McCann gone, I would be 100% on board with resigning Castro and spend the rest on pitching and a RFer. 

[angelsnationtalk]

24 minutes ago, mmc said:

 

This more than likely confirms Mets will only get one of Springer/Bauer next and not both.
I actually think this helps the Angels with Bauer and might hurt them in a way.

1: Mets dished out a ton for McCann which hinders a bit financially for them to give a big contract to a guy pitching every 5th day rather than everyday player (Springer)
2: Bauer could look at the Angels and still see big holes so it could be a Cole problem again where he doesn't see the Angels as a team close to winning. 

This brings me to another strange idea (which I 100% don't want, but seeing how Arte has been makes it's possible)....
If the Mets do get Bauer next, does Arte and team pivot towards Springer or Realmuto? 
I say this connecting it to trading for an Ace. If the Mets get Bauer I wonder if Arte/Minasian see Springer as a RF fix then swing Adell for someone like Marquez. 
This, in turn, fixes the outfield and now trades Adell for an Ace while Marsh's development lines up with Upton's contract winding down.

JUST A THOUGHT.

 

[Stradling]

I wouldn’t be shocked if the Mets still go after both Springer and Bauer.  Remember Cohen is not only the richest owner in baseball, he also didn’t lose money in MLB last year.

[Warfarin]

2 minutes ago, angelsnationtalk said:

This more than likely confirms Mets will only get one of Springer/Bauer next and not both.
I actually think this helps the Angels with Bauer and might hurt them in a way.

1: Mets dished out a ton for McCann which hinders a bit financially for them to give a big contract to a guy pitching every 5th day rather than everyday player (Springer)
2: Bauer could look at the Angels and still see big holes so it could be a Cole problem again where he doesn't see the Angels as a team close to winning. 

This brings me to another strange idea (which I 100% don't want, but seeing how Arte has been makes it's possible)....
If the Mets do get Bauer next, does Arte and team pivot towards Springer or Realmuto? 
I say this connecting it to trading for an Ace. If the Mets get Bauer I wonder if Arte/Minasian see Springer as a RF fix then swing Adell for someone like Marquez. 
This, in turn, fixes the outfield and now trades Adell for an Ace while Marsh's development lines up with Upton's contract winding down.

JUST A THOUGHT.

 

I would 100% absolutely avoid Springer without question.  We don't need another RHH OF locked down on a multi-year deal.  We need a LHH OF, but we can find one for a very cheap price.

Realmuto is an interesting idea, but since he will command 20mil+ AAV, I really don't think he makes sense on a team that really needs pitching like ours.

Instead, I think we look in the Castro/Casali/etc category for a backup catcher.  

I would, at this point, consider trading Adell+ for Marquez (or Snell), sign someone like Quintana, and actually sign someone like Joc Pederson.  Marquez/Snell would be ~8-11mil AAV, Quintana likely ~8-9mil AAV, Casali/Castro should be just a few mil, and Pederson probably 8-9mil AAV.

That would fit within our budget, give us an ace, a quality SP, a legitimate backup C, and a great LHH corner OF who can play both RF/LF.

[mmc]

My target for a catcher would definitely be someone who's good defensively and is well respect among pitchers around the league.  Someone like Yadi might fit this.

[Angelsfan1984]

2 minutes ago, mmc said:

My target for a catcher would definitely be someone who's good defensively and is well respect among pitchers around the league.  Someone like Yadi might fit this.

Jeff Mathis isn’t available

[halonatic13]

7 minutes ago, angelsnationtalk said:

This more than likely confirms Mets will only get one of Springer/Bauer next and not both.
I actually think this helps the Angels with Bauer and might hurt them in a way.

1: Mets dished out a ton for McCann which hinders a bit financially for them to give a big contract to a guy pitching every 5th day rather than everyday player (Springer)
2: Bauer could look at the Angels and still see big holes so it could be a Cole problem again where he doesn't see the Angels as a team close to winning. 

This brings me to another strange idea (which I 100% don't want, but seeing how Arte has been makes it's possible)....
If the Mets do get Bauer next, does Arte and team pivot towards Springer or Realmuto? 
I say this connecting it to trading for an Ace. If the Mets get Bauer I wonder if Arte/Minasian see Springer as a RF fix then swing Adell for someone like Marquez. 
This, in turn, fixes the outfield and now trades Adell for an Ace while Marsh's development lines up with Upton's contract winding down.

JUST A THOUGHT.

 

I like. Get Springer, Realmuto, get the ACE pitcher + tier 2 pitcher, a couple more relievers.  Then in 2022 Marsh moves to LF.  Nice little lineup there.

Lineup:

2B - Fletcher

CF - Trout

3B - Rendon

DH - Ohtani

RF - Springer

C - Realmuto

1B - Walsh

LF - Upton

SS - Iglesias

 

Rotation:

Snell/Gray/Marquez

Musgrove/Odorizzi

Bundy

Heaney

Canning/Baria/Sandoval

Ohtani

[Warfarin]

2 minutes ago, halonatic13 said:

I like. Get Springer, Realmuto, get the ACE pitcher + tier 2 pitcher, a couple more relievers.  Then in 2022 Marsh moves to LF.  Nice little lineup there.

Lineup:

2B - Fletcher

CF - Trout

3B - Rendon

DH - Ohtani

RF - Springer

C - Realmuto

1B - Walsh

LF - Upton

SS - Iglesias

 

Rotation:

Snell/Gray/Marquez

Musgrove/Odorizzi

Bundy

Heaney

Canning/Baria/Sandoval

Ohtani

You’re adding like 60 million to the payroll.  No chance that is happening 

[mmc]

I will absolutely refuse to watch the Angels next season if they sign George Springer.

[halonatic13]

2 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

You’re adding like 60 million to the payroll.  No chance that is happening 

[Pancake Bear]

20 minutes ago, angelsnationtalk said:

This more than likely confirms Mets will only get one of Springer/Bauer next and not both.
I actually think this helps the Angels with Bauer and might hurt them in a way.

 

15 minutes ago, Stradling said:

I wouldn’t be shocked if the Mets still go after both Springer and Bauer.  Remember Cohen is not only the richest owner in baseball, he also didn’t lose money in MLB last year.

I think if the Angels had gotten McCann, the Mets would be choosing between two of Realmuto, Springer, and Bauer. Now that they've got McCann, Realmuto isn't needed and I could see them signing both. Just my opinion. 

[Warfarin]

Just now, Pancake Bear said:

 

I think if the Angels had gotten McCann, the Mets would be choosing between two of Realmuto, Springer, and Bauer. Now that they've got McCann, Realmuto isn't needed and I could see them signing both. Just my opinion. 

I think the Mets are practically a shoe-in for Springer, and I agree they can easily afford Bauer.  I think we might see them instead trade for Lindor, though, given that their SP is actually fairly strong already.

Adding Springer, Lindor, and McCann to that team is tremendous.

[Warfarin]

 

"Angels had expressed interest but instead are focusing attention on pitching," which we basically already know, but FYI.

[mmc]

This is what I want pitchers to be saying about our new catcher...

 

[Warfarin]

3 minutes ago, mmc said:

This is what I want pitchers to be saying about our new catcher...

 

Obviously that's cool to hear, but I will say, despite those rave reviews, the White Sox opted to mainly start Grandal at catcher, and in 2 of their 3 playoff games, started Grandal as well, too.

Grandal is obviously a good catcher, but notably, the Dodgers sat him in favor of Austin Barnes during some of their playoff runs.  So while McCann gets praise, I wonder how great he is behind the plate.  If he were really amazing, I would have to imagine the White Sox would have opted to have used him for all 3 games.

[BritAngel]

Castro  and Pederson/Goodwin sorts out catcher and OF and adds two lefties

Then go all in for SP and relief

 

 

 

[Stradling]

4 minutes ago, BritAngel said:

Castro  and Pederson/Goodwin sorts out catcher and OF and adds two lefties

Then go all in for SP and relief

 

 

 

Yep, I like this.  

[Hubs]

Pederson over Goodwin though.

[Stradling]

4 minutes ago, Hubs said:

Pederson over Goodwin though.

I agree with this.  

[wopphil]

I like Pederson, but he really fell off a cliff this year. Not sure there is much left in the tank. 

[Warfarin]

6 minutes ago, wopphil said:

I like Pederson, but he really fell off a cliff this year. Not sure there is much left in the tank. 

Probably just a small sample size in a strange season.  He's still young, no reason to think he's lost his skills.

[DMVol]

1 hour ago, mmc said:

My target for a catcher would definitely be someone who's good defensively and is well respect among pitchers around the league.  Someone like Yadi might fit this.

Or Castro or Suzuki....

[rafibomb]

The Mets signing of McCann affects their ability to get both Springer and Bauer but it certainly doesn't rule them out of signing both.