Warfarin

Now let’s go Trade for Hernandez and Stanton and call it an offseason!

Guys, we are legitimate contenders again.  We have the best player in the game, a strong FO, and are successfully rebuilding our farm system.
Welcome to the new era!  All hail Billy EPPLER!

Guys, we are legitimate contenders again.  We have the best player in the game, a strong FO, and are successfully rebuilding our farm system.
Welcome to the new era!  All hail Billy EPPLER!

Guys, we are legitimate contenders again.  We have the best player in the game, a strong FO, and are successfully rebuilding our farm system.
Welcome to the new era!  All hail Billy EPPLER!

Guys, we are legitimate contenders again.  We have the best player in the game, a strong FO, and are successfully rebuilding our farm system.
Welcome to the new era!  All hail Billy EPPLER!

BLESS YOU BILLY EPPLER!!!

YES!!!  HUGE!!

That’s okay, Angels won’t need a starter once they sign Ohtani 

All this said, it'd be truly something if Ohtani does come here.  I've seen pretty much all of the other finalists (Dodgers, Mariners, Padres, etc) listed as favorites by various members of the media over the last few days, but I don't think I've seen anyone list us as a favorite.  It'd be pretty awesome if we shocked the media and were the ones to actually sign him!

Don't give me more hope, man!  I'm trying to temper my expectations here.. haha.

Don't give me more hope, man!  I'm trying to temper my expectations here.. haha.

While I have no idea where Ohtani is going, I do feel this is going to be over within a few days.  He blitzed through those meetings in 2 days.  Maybe he'll go visit the parks for some of the teams, but at this point, I doubt it.  I look forward to this being done shortly.

Definitely.  Losing the 2nd round draft pick would hurt, but in some ways, it's been mitigated by signing Maitan, as signing him is essentially akin to having a high draft pick.  

Definitely.  Losing the 2nd round draft pick would hurt, but in some ways, it's been mitigated by signing Maitan, as signing him is essentially akin to having a high draft pick.  

Definitely.  Losing the 2nd round draft pick would hurt, but in some ways, it's been mitigated by signing Maitan, as signing him is essentially akin to having a high draft pick.  

If the rumors that he wants to come to a place that he can establish his own legacy are true, then that would seem to rule out the Mariners, as they were the home to the greatest Japanese star to ever come to the MLB.  He would be compared to Ichiro non-stop, and that's a tough comparison to have to live up to.
The Padres, IMO, are a legitimate threat.  They are the smallest market and have a tremendous amount of minor league talent about to emerge in the next 2 years.  If Ohtani wants to go to an up-and-coming, small market West Coast team, that would be a strong one to consider.

If the rumors that he wants to come to a place that he can establish his own legacy are true, then that would seem to rule out the Mariners, as they were the home to the greatest Japanese star to ever come to the MLB.  He would be compared to Ichiro non-stop, and that's a tough comparison to have to live up to.
The Padres, IMO, are a legitimate threat.  They are the smallest market and have a tremendous amount of minor league talent about to emerge in the next 2 years.  If Ohtani wants to go to an up-and-coming, small market West Coast team, that would be a strong one to consider.

The prize in acquiring him isn't that you are getting one of the future top 5 pitchers in baseball, but rather that you are most likely getting a solid #2 starter on a minor league deal.  It'd be somewhat akin to having an elite level prospect reach the majors and dominate.  We don't have many young elite pitchers coming up in our farm system.  He'd be huge for us and we'd get him for pennies on the dollar.  

The prize in acquiring him isn't that you are getting one of the future top 5 pitchers in baseball, but rather that you are most likely getting a solid #2 starter on a minor league deal.  It'd be somewhat akin to having an elite level prospect reach the majors and dominate.  We don't have many young elite pitchers coming up in our farm system.  He'd be huge for us and we'd get him for pennies on the dollar.  

Past performance does not predict future returns.  They have a poor history under different management groups.  The current one has ripped their team apart, much like the Astros did, and drafted/traded heavily for the future, with contention in 2019-2020 in mind. 
If going to a winner matters, then I wouldn't say we have a huge advantage there either.  We have one title, so it's not like we have a much more extensive history of success than the Padres do.  

This is a good point, but the risk is minimal.  The cost is the posting fee + a minor league deal.  I say the downside to that is virtually none.

The affordability isn't the question.  He basically has to sign a minor league deal.  A team can't give him a minor league deal, then give him a monster 150+ mil contract a year later.  The MLB has already said they are watching for fishy exchanges like that.
As a result, whoever signs him is getting a massively, massively discounted player for years.  This is why there's such a frenzy around him.  You're getting what amounts to a 15+ mil player on a minor league deal.  And it's why, IMO, he is a much bigger deal than Stanton.  Whoever gets Stanton is probably absorbing an overvalued contract, whereas whoever gets Ohtani, is getting an absolute steal.  For a team like us, who is stuck with the most overpaid player in the game for the next 4 years, it would be an ENORMOUS coup.

Allegedly, he has the upside of an ace.  Whether that comes into fruition, who really knows.  
I read somewhere in Japan, he started once a week and played the field a few days a week.  We can realistically provide him with something like that.  Have him start a certain day of the week (i.e. Sunday), then have him DH a few days in the middle of the week (Tu-Th?), and have him rest and prepare for his start otherwise.
I think he would be an average DH.  His bat is decent, but it seems he'd be just an average major league hitter.  His upside is as a pitcher, which is something we truly need.

Stanton is 28.  He has 10 guaranteed years remaining, running through his age 38 season.  He also has an option for his age 39 season.  If he were "only" locked up through his age 35 season, it wouldn't be as bad.  But...

Agreed.  Eppler has been great at finding undervalued relievers.  I appreciated Petit's contributions last season, but I likewise think it's unlikely to see that same performance from him moving forward, too.  Best of luck to him, but not against us