Spike

Bit late but I really don't understand trading Zach McCambley for Rece Hinds. McCambley looks like a guy who could contribute to the bullpen right now and Hinds is another AAAA OF off the waiver wire which the organization has been collecting at an oddly high rate for some reason.

Ruiz hasn't exactly been good in his career. Hes been bad defensively and awful offensively, granted in only one full season.

Slater or Ruiz, does it really matter?

I wouldn't put too much stock into Savant just yet. Not saying Norby will or wont do anything, but it takes about 1.5 to 2 months for Savant to normalize league wide IIRC.

I really don't get why people are against trading Alcantra. Dude turns 31 this year. Even with a better second half last year his ERA was over 5 and FIP, xFIP, and xERA all in the mid 4s. Yea he had 2 good starts against two very awful teams but even then there were some troubling signs(his K/9 being under 7 for example).

Outside of Perez not really anyone worth extending.

I do use the data to back myself up? Xavier Edwards is 147th in baseball in sprint speed so he isn't fast. Despite claims he wasn't anything special when it came to turning singles into anything else because he just objectively isn't that fast. And he had a 95 wrc+. His oWAR was .1. And that is with a .330 BABIP. He is not a good hitter by any stretch. His glove since moving to 2B is quite good but his value is basically entirely defensively.

I am not saying he isn't fast. Data is saying he isnt fast. Trea Turner is the fastest player in baseball. 2nd place Victor Scott has a higher SB success rate by almost 4% points. Edwards is actually a pretty smart base runner. But it is in spite of his speed not because of it. Jose Cabillero might be the most valuable runner in baseball and he is well behind even Edwards in sprint speed.

Base stealing isn't really just speed. Edwards isnt a particularly fast player.

His oWAR is .3. I might have been a bit hyperbolic but he is objectively not a good hitter. He is literally a replacement level bat with a .330 BABIP. I also don't know why people keep repeating this thing about "speed" with Edwards. He is 147th in baseball in sprint speed. He is behind noted speedsters like JT Realmuto and Connor Norby. That blazing quickness allowed him to stretch singles into 20! doubles, good enough for 6th on the team. Again, Edwards defense is nice. But he is not a good hitter by any measure.

The issue is even with the high BABIP he isnt a good hitter. It being sustainable is irrelevant. Again his WRC+ is 15th among 2B. His offense is below replacement level. A 14% K rate is pretty meh. It isnt good or bad. It was 123rd in baseball. His mediocre BB rate doesn't make up for it. Edwards is a nice player because of his glove. But hes a pretty poor offensive player.

And even Edwards isnt a very good hitter. He is below replacement level offensively and the 15th ranked 2B by WRC+. And that is with a .330 BABIP.

I see no reason to extend Marsee. Stowers not breaking out(possibly) until he was 28 is pretty unfortunate for him.

I think some might be expecting too much out of Conine just based on his name.

Orioles apparently shopping both Mountcastle and Mayo.

Am I the only one who thinks people are being a bit too optimistic about Joe Mack? I know his defense is supposed to be elite and he makes really hard contact but like...making contact has been an issue with him in general. And on top of that he K's a ton and doesn't really draw BB. A .322 OBP with almost 27% K rate in AA doesn't scream MLB bat no matter how hard he hits it or how great his pop times are.

A lot of depth but little high end talent. I would assume the fact that White, Cassie, Snelling, and Mack are expected to move up this season factored in. The Marlins being notoriously slow at promoting prospects doesn't help(although this should not have any bearing on the ranking, just a personal gripe).

Victor Victor was older and had a lot of hype. Got I think around $5 million bonus and rocketed up top prospects lists. It was realized almost immediately after he actually got to the team that something was way off with his scouting evaluation and he couldn't hit at all. He eventually went missing in the sense he stopped showing up. He was beyond awful. Victor Mesa Jr, who was just DFA, was the lesser thought of brother and was signed for around $1 million and largely to help get his brother to sign. He pretty quickly leapfrogged his brother. I really would like a deep dive someday of how they got it so wrong. And this isnt really a condemnation of the Marlins either, the Orioles(IIRC) were willing to give them that much money too.

The Mesa brother signings might be the strangest story in MLB history. Scouts get things wrong, it happens a lot. I don't know that they have ever been as wrong about a player as they were Victor Victor.

He was slightly above average in 2024 and slightly below average in 2025. The rest of his offensive game isnt anything to write home about either. Again, he is bottom of the league for 2B for OPS+ and WRC+ and his offensive contribution to his WAR is at replacement level.

I think it is just a different valuation of players. I dont really think guys that are mediocre at BB and depend on putting the ball in play to get on base are that valuable. And that bores out as Edwards basically has zero offensive value from advanced metrics. He might be a high WAR player this season, but it will again be entirely from his defense which is hard to quantify.

Edwards WAR is basically all defense. Whether his BABIP is sustainable is irrelevant, as his bat is below average even considering that. I dont hate Edwards. But he isnt some irreplaceable player that you should worry about extending.

Edwards is not a good hitter. He is exactly replacement level and that is with a .330 BABIP. He is 15th out of 22 qualified 2B in WRC+. He has no power and doesn't draw BBs. In a perfect world with a normal operating franchise, with his weak bat and positional versatility, he would be a utility guy. I never said Alcantra sucked. Just that he wasnt and ace. And he objectively never has been, as even in that kind of flukey Cy Young year his peripheral stats weren't particularly good.

Edwards isnt anyone you have to worry about going year to year with. He is a good defender at 2B but he is a poor hitter.

A thread for things you think might happen with thr roster in Spring Training leading into opening day. My two biggest are that Fulton breaks camp as a lefty in the pen and that Arquette has a great spring and they get aggressive and he is the opening day SS.