Don

Offensively, you're right. The potential is still there. But it's becoming less and less likely that he'll ever be a competent OFer from a defensive standpoint. I mean if he's still struggling after this much time, he might be beyond helping. His issues are things most major league quality OFers have worked out late in highschool/early on in college/minors.

Yeah, this is kind of where I'm at with him. I don't think he has much of a future in the org barring a substantial injury to one of the other OF guys 

Keep him as our fulltime DH? Note that I didn't say who Adell should be DHing for. I was just commenting on his potential career path in general.

Part of what amazes me is that management (player development haha) must have known that he was pretty bad.  He’s not ready, period. Marsh is playing well enough to be the everyday LF and Adell can go work on learning baseball.  Surely they will assign him a coach to teach him, or at least drill him, until he’s better than this.

Now?

Saw that last night. I thought it was good, especially from a visual/production quality perspective. Definitely a movie meant to be seen in a theater. I wasn't super impressed by the story itself. Like not bad, but also kinda simple. The entirety of the experience pushes it over the top though.

And the amount he could reasonably sue for is massive. A quarter bill isn't unreasonable. Doubt he would've made that much more in his career, but you could certainly make an argument this whole thing has cost him that much in potential earnings.
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Obviously this seems ridiculous at first glance. And I hope Bauer's lawyers get to eat MLB ass-first. I do have a few clarifying questions for the AW Labor Law Pro's though. Looking at you @cals
1. Does MLB need a definitive, legally sound reason to suspend Bauer? Like are they doing this because they can interpret their code of conduct policies however they choose and basically suspend anybody they think has done something "bad" without having to legally defend that decision? Another hypothetical example being like a current player going on an expletive-laden rant about their ex-wife or something in a Youtube video. Not technically illegal or punishable, but could MLB be like, "Nah, we're suspending this asshole"?
2. If a judge (or some similar entity) determined that Bauer was suspended not because he did anything wrong from a criminal perspective, but simply because the league found his sexual tastes to be unpalatable to their brand, could one make an argument that he was being discriminated against on the basis of sex? Like in the protected class sexual orientation sort of way. Like could being a kinky dude be part of one's orientation, and thus not discriminate-against-able?

And the amount he could reasonably sue for is massive. A quarter bill isn't unreasonable. Doubt he would've made that much more in his career, but you could certainly make an argument this whole thing has cost him that much in potential earnings.
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These numbers tell a pretty interesting story. In some orgs, Ward might've been at a point after the end of last year where he stopped getting chances. And 2022 is definitely the year that he turns into a legit major leaguer or becomes AAA depth somewhere for a couple of years before he starts selling cars or something. BUT.... there's a lot of circumstance in those numbers up there. Obviously he became a different hitter in the minors once he stopped being a catcher. Ever since then, he's torched the high minors whenever he's graced them with his presence. 2018 and 2019 in the big leagues were basically cups of coffee where getting your ass handed to you is fairly common, even for players that turn out totally fine. And then 2020... I just kinda consider that a lost year for most guys from a statistical evaluation standpoint. Shit was weird for everyone, players included. So I'd really consider 2021 Ward's first "real" major league season. And while not great, it wasn't exactly terrible either. Add in the way things are trending so far this year, and I'd say he still has a real shot of being a solid major leaguer. Obviously the 1300+ OPS isn't really sustainable; but a dude that can (let's say) put up a 800 OPS, play all three outfield spots, fill in at the corners, and also function as a competent emergency third catcher will keep working at the big league level. And I think that's a reasonable projection for him over the next few years.
Honestly the Ward narrative/statistical background kinda feels like those dudes the A's or the Dodgers always seem to find out of nowhere that are suddenly All Star level players. Ward came this close to slipping through the cracks, but I still think there's pretty solid potential there.  

And the amount he could reasonably sue for is massive. A quarter bill isn't unreasonable. Doubt he would've made that much more in his career, but you could certainly make an argument this whole thing has cost him that much in potential earnings.
'

These numbers tell a pretty interesting story. In some orgs, Ward might've been at a point after the end of last year where he stopped getting chances. And 2022 is definitely the year that he turns into a legit major leaguer or becomes AAA depth somewhere for a couple of years before he starts selling cars or something. BUT.... there's a lot of circumstance in those numbers up there. Obviously he became a different hitter in the minors once he stopped being a catcher. Ever since then, he's torched the high minors whenever he's graced them with his presence. 2018 and 2019 in the big leagues were basically cups of coffee where getting your ass handed to you is fairly common, even for players that turn out totally fine. And then 2020... I just kinda consider that a lost year for most guys from a statistical evaluation standpoint. Shit was weird for everyone, players included. So I'd really consider 2021 Ward's first "real" major league season. And while not great, it wasn't exactly terrible either. Add in the way things are trending so far this year, and I'd say he still has a real shot of being a solid major leaguer. Obviously the 1300+ OPS isn't really sustainable; but a dude that can (let's say) put up a 800 OPS, play all three outfield spots, fill in at the corners, and also function as a competent emergency third catcher will keep working at the big league level. And I think that's a reasonable projection for him over the next few years.
Honestly the Ward narrative/statistical background kinda feels like those dudes the A's or the Dodgers always seem to find out of nowhere that are suddenly All Star level players. Ward came this close to slipping through the cracks, but I still think there's pretty solid potential there.  

These numbers tell a pretty interesting story. In some orgs, Ward might've been at a point after the end of last year where he stopped getting chances. And 2022 is definitely the year that he turns into a legit major leaguer or becomes AAA depth somewhere for a couple of years before he starts selling cars or something. BUT.... there's a lot of circumstance in those numbers up there. Obviously he became a different hitter in the minors once he stopped being a catcher. Ever since then, he's torched the high minors whenever he's graced them with his presence. 2018 and 2019 in the big leagues were basically cups of coffee where getting your ass handed to you is fairly common, even for players that turn out totally fine. And then 2020... I just kinda consider that a lost year for most guys from a statistical evaluation standpoint. Shit was weird for everyone, players included. So I'd really consider 2021 Ward's first "real" major league season. And while not great, it wasn't exactly terrible either. Add in the way things are trending so far this year, and I'd say he still has a real shot of being a solid major leaguer. Obviously the 1300+ OPS isn't really sustainable; but a dude that can (let's say) put up a 800 OPS, play all three outfield spots, fill in at the corners, and also function as a competent emergency third catcher will keep working at the big league level. And I think that's a reasonable projection for him over the next few years.
Honestly the Ward narrative/statistical background kinda feels like those dudes the A's or the Dodgers always seem to find out of nowhere that are suddenly All Star level players. Ward came this close to slipping through the cracks, but I still think there's pretty solid potential there.  

From what I recall the Reds were trying to get rid of every asset that might actually cost money that year. Seems like they were more motivated to get rid of Iglesias than to wait for a good haul for him. Deal looked like a steal at the time… and even more so now.

Everyone else should try to care as much as we do.

You, me, and @Don are the only ones who care about this.

These numbers tell a pretty interesting story. In some orgs, Ward might've been at a point after the end of last year where he stopped getting chances. And 2022 is definitely the year that he turns into a legit major leaguer or becomes AAA depth somewhere for a couple of years before he starts selling cars or something. BUT.... there's a lot of circumstance in those numbers up there. Obviously he became a different hitter in the minors once he stopped being a catcher. Ever since then, he's torched the high minors whenever he's graced them with his presence. 2018 and 2019 in the big leagues were basically cups of coffee where getting your ass handed to you is fairly common, even for players that turn out totally fine. And then 2020... I just kinda consider that a lost year for most guys from a statistical evaluation standpoint. Shit was weird for everyone, players included. So I'd really consider 2021 Ward's first "real" major league season. And while not great, it wasn't exactly terrible either. Add in the way things are trending so far this year, and I'd say he still has a real shot of being a solid major leaguer. Obviously the 1300+ OPS isn't really sustainable; but a dude that can (let's say) put up a 800 OPS, play all three outfield spots, fill in at the corners, and also function as a competent emergency third catcher will keep working at the big league level. And I think that's a reasonable projection for him over the next few years.
Honestly the Ward narrative/statistical background kinda feels like those dudes the A's or the Dodgers always seem to find out of nowhere that are suddenly All Star level players. Ward came this close to slipping through the cracks, but I still think there's pretty solid potential there.  

These numbers tell a pretty interesting story. In some orgs, Ward might've been at a point after the end of last year where he stopped getting chances. And 2022 is definitely the year that he turns into a legit major leaguer or becomes AAA depth somewhere for a couple of years before he starts selling cars or something. BUT.... there's a lot of circumstance in those numbers up there. Obviously he became a different hitter in the minors once he stopped being a catcher. Ever since then, he's torched the high minors whenever he's graced them with his presence. 2018 and 2019 in the big leagues were basically cups of coffee where getting your ass handed to you is fairly common, even for players that turn out totally fine. And then 2020... I just kinda consider that a lost year for most guys from a statistical evaluation standpoint. Shit was weird for everyone, players included. So I'd really consider 2021 Ward's first "real" major league season. And while not great, it wasn't exactly terrible either. Add in the way things are trending so far this year, and I'd say he still has a real shot of being a solid major leaguer. Obviously the 1300+ OPS isn't really sustainable; but a dude that can (let's say) put up a 800 OPS, play all three outfield spots, fill in at the corners, and also function as a competent emergency third catcher will keep working at the big league level. And I think that's a reasonable projection for him over the next few years.
Honestly the Ward narrative/statistical background kinda feels like those dudes the A's or the Dodgers always seem to find out of nowhere that are suddenly All Star level players. Ward came this close to slipping through the cracks, but I still think there's pretty solid potential there.  

When Trout first came up, I thought he was going to be more like Rickey Henderson... who is one of the most dynamic and entertaining players of all time.  Such a tremendous threat at the top of a lineup.  Well, Trout is so much more than that (of course), but I think MLB is missing the kind of talent Henderson represented.
I'd love to see that kind of player emerge again. 
 
 

If he settles in as a .280/.375/.425-450 hitter then you call that a huge win and you celebrate your good fortune of turning a busted catcher into a viable starting OFer.

Oh look, Ortega is 1 for 3 according the screen.

Angel Rhetorical 

Yeah, it’s gonna be awesome hearing about all the dudes with communications degrees getting 6 or 7 figures thrown their way for “environmental impact consulting services” and whatnot. Also wouldn’t be shocked to find a few effectively fake companies in there, or real companies that have just been getting paid to do nothing (or nothing that takes any real resources) for a couple decades now.
This thing has always been nothing more than a slush fund for bureaucratic corruption. At least that’s the best-case/most palatable scenario in my mind; the only other possible conclusion being that all the major players involved in this project are just horrendously and consistently incompetent.

I'm really looking forward to the day that the Adam McKay movie about this scam comes out.

Like clockwork