August 8, 201213 yr If I were GM, the following people would be gone, Heath Bell John Buck Ricky Nolasco IDK about Lee or Big Z In Free Agency, we should sign Michael Bourn. With him, Bonifacio, and Reyes, we would have 3 of the fastest guys in baseball. Juan Pierre is doing well this yr in Philly, maybe sign him to some sort of deal. Get D-Train out of retirement to sign a Minor League Deal with us. I would love to see Cox, Brantly, and Turner all be on our Opening Day Roster for 2013. Sticking with the speed, There's this Reds' Prospect, A SS named Billy Hamilton who has sick speed. As of right now, he has 127 Stolen Bases this year between A+ and AA. So, in my opinion, If we traded for Billy Hamilton, we would probably have to trade somebody for him, which I would do, even though we have a SS. So, this would be a pretty decent 25 Man Roster for next year. Batting Order: 1. Bonifacio, LF 2. Bourn, CF 3. Reyes, SS 4. Stanton, RF 5. Morrison, 1B 6. Brantly, C 7. Hamilton, 2B 8. Cox, 3B 9. Pitcher Bench: Ruggiano, OF Solano, IF Dobbs, IF Hayes, C Pierre, OF Rotation: Johnson Buerhle Eovaldi Turner Sanabia Bullpen: LeBlanc Cishek Oviedo Willis Dunn Gaudin Webb I Know I'm dreaming a bit, and this bullpen would still suck, but realistically, I actually think this Roster COULD happen, as well as not being so bad. What does everyone think?
August 8, 201213 yr LFers can be had on the cheap and there are usually serviceable guys to put out there all the time in FA. Sign a stopgap LFer until Yelich is ready. No way in hell Boni is a LFer.
August 8, 201213 yr This team will probably have 60 homeruns at the end of the year. More than half of which will be from Stanton alone. I would also be interested in your strategy on how to get rid of those players you mentioned.
August 8, 201213 yr Author LFers can be had on the cheap and there are usually serviceable guys to put out there all the time in FA. Sign a stopgap LFer until Yelich is ready. No way in hell Boni is a LFer. Where do you think Boni should play? 2B, 3B, Bench?
August 8, 201213 yr LFers can be had on the cheap and there are usually serviceable guys to put out there all the time in FA. Sign a stopgap LFer until Yelich is ready. No way in hell Boni is a LFer. Where do you think Boni should play? 2B, 3B, Bench? 2B. He has more value there. You can get away with low power speedsters at 2B. You need power potential at the LF and 3B spots.
August 8, 201213 yr Author This team will probably have 60 homeruns at the end of the year. More than half of which will be from Stanton alone. I would also be interested in your strategy on how to get rid of those players you mentioned. I think at the end of the season, that could be a better time than ever to dump these players. Look at Hanley for example. He's doing pretty well in LA. Maybe these guys just need a change of scenery.
August 8, 201213 yr This team will probably have 60 homeruns at the end of the year. More than half of which will be from Stanton alone. I would also be interested in your strategy on how to get rid of those players you mentioned. I think at the end of the season, that could be a better time than ever to dump these players. Look at Hanley for example. He's doing pretty well in LA. Maybe these guys just need a change of scenery. Hanley is doing well in LA? Dude is hitting like 2 bucks and a quarter. We were very fortunate to get rid of that waste of talent.
August 8, 201213 yr Author This team will probably have 60 homeruns at the end of the year. More than half of which will be from Stanton alone. I would also be interested in your strategy on how to get rid of those players you mentioned. I think at the end of the season, that could be a better time than ever to dump these players. Look at Hanley for example. He's doing pretty well in LA. Maybe these guys just need a change of scenery. Hanley is doing well in LA? Dude is hitting like 2 bucks and a quarter. We were very fortunate to get rid of that waste of talent. He's still hitting better in LA then he was in Miami. At least I thought.
August 8, 201213 yr -Make a trade for Peter Bourjos -Sign Eric Chavez -Sign Jeff Keppinger -Sign Brandon McCarthy -Bring back Randy Choate Lineup vs. RHP 1. Emilio Bonifacio - LF 2. Jose Reyes - SS 3. Giancarlo Stanton - RF 4. Logan Morrison - 1B 5. Eric Chavez - 3B 6. Jeff Keppinger - 2B 7. Rob Brantly - C 8. Peter Bourjos - CF 9. Pitcher Lineup vs. LHP 1. Jose Reyes - SS 2. Jeff Keppinger - 3B 3. Giancarlo Stanton - RF 4. Justin Ruggiano - LF 5. Logan Morrison - 1B 6. Peter Bourjos - CF 7. John Buck - C 8. Emilio Bonifacio - 2B 9. Pitcher Other/Bench Players Greg Dobbs - 1B/3B/OF (really though, pinch-hitter vs. RHP, please) Donovan Solano - Util (can pinch-run or whatever) Donnie Murphy - Util Rotation 1. Josh Johnson - RHP 2. Mark Buehrle - LHP 3. Brandon McCarthy - RHP 4. Ricky Nolasco - RHP 5. Wade LeBlanc - LHP Bullpen Closer: Heath Bell - RHP Setup: Steve Cishek - RHP Lefty Specialist: Randy Choate - LHP Dunn/Jennings/Webb/Hatcher/Reed/Rosario/Sanabia/Koehler, etc. (pick four) Turner/Eovaldi start the year in AAA.
August 8, 201213 yr -Make a trade for Peter Bourjos -Sign Eric Chavez -Sign Jeff Keppinger -Sign Brandon McCarthy -Bring back Randy Choate Lineup vs. RHP 1. Emilio Bonifacio - LF 2. Jose Reyes - SS 3. Giancarlo Stanton - RF 4. Logan Morrison - 1B 5. Eric Chavez - 3B 6. Jeff Keppinger - 2B 7. Rob Brantly - C 8. Peter Bourjos - CF 9. Pitcher Lineup vs. LHP 1. Jose Reyes - SS 2. Jeff Keppinger - 3B 3. Giancarlo Stanton - RF 4. Justin Ruggiano - LF 5. Logan Morrison - 1B 6. Peter Bourjos - CF 7. John Buck - C 8. Emilio Bonifacio - 2B 9. Pitcher Other/Bench Players Greg Dobbs - 1B/3B/OF (really though, pinch-hitter vs. RHP, please) Donovan Solano - Util (can pinch-run or whatever) Donnie Murphy - Util Rotation 1. Josh Johnson - RHP 2. Mark Buehrle - LHP 3. Brandon McCarthy - RHP 4. Ricky Nolasco - RHP 5. Wade LeBlanc - LHP Bullpen Closer: Heath Bell - RHP Setup: Steve Cishek - RHP Lefty Specialist: Randy Choate - LHP Dunn/Jennings/Webb/Hatcher/Reed/Rosario/Sanabia/Koehler, etc. (pick four) Turner/Eovaldi start the year in AAA. Do this
August 8, 201213 yr So outside of the obvious Michael Bourn signing, your three biggest moves are trading for Billy Hamilton, trading for Brandon McCarthy and signing Juan Pierre. First off, Billy Hamilton is absolutely, utterly untouchable. Secondly, we have nothing in our system that would attract Billy Hamilton away from Cincinnati. Nope, not even Josh Johnson will net you him, and that trade doesn't appeal to anybody. Brandon McCarthy is a possibility, but I don't see it as a fit. He seems like a guy who could get a nice chunk of change from Billy Beane. Unless the Marlins want to throw some cash at the kid, I don't see him leaving Oakland. He's certainly an intriguing player, but it's hard to get excited about giving a nice long term deal to a player who has only pitched more than 102 innings in a season once since 2005. Finally, the Juan Pierre signing. First off, Pierre is 34 years old. Second, he's having a really good season as a close to everyday guy, so it's laughable to think he'd be absolutely fine with playing off the bench on this mediocre team next season. Add in the fact that you'd have to give a 34 year old outfielder a two or three year deal at around $7-9 million per year, and it is just an awful situation for everybody involved. On a few other notes, it's doubtful that Zack Cox is the starting 3B next season on Opening Day, and that John Buck is replaced by Rob Brantly. It's possible Cox has an super fantastic spring training, but it's unlikely, so we're more than likely looking at a stopgap 3B to start the season, with Cox being a June call up at the earliest, with a September call up being more likely. The best case scenario for Brantly, barring injury, is that he earns some sort of platoon with Buck. The problem with that scenario is Buck is a better hitter against righties than lefties. Thus, it seems fair to say Buck gets another shot Opening Day as the mostly full time catcher next season, and if he continues to hit around or below the Mendoza line, he gets replaced by Brantly by late May to early June. A couple more notes. Sanabia probably doesn't figure to be a starting pitcher for the Marlins squad next season. Johnson, Buehrle, Eovaldi, and Turner are most likely all going to be in the rotation, but that fifth spot will probably be filled by either a veteran we sign for cheap in free agency (similar to Zambrano) or we go with LeBlanc or Hand as the random 5th guy. Finally, Oviedo's career with the Marlins is done most likely. He could sign a cheap deal, but I think a contender will give him a reasonable offer and he'll head somewhere else. I don't know if that Willis refers to Dontrelle Willis, but if it does, he's retired. I'd be disappointed if Gaudin is in the bullpen at the start of next season. Personally, I'd like to go with the ol' throw sh*t against the wall and see what sticks routine. From around 2006-2011, the Marlins general approach in regards to relievers had plenty of misses, but overall it didn't hurt the team badly on the field or financially other than two seasons or so. There's always relievers out there that can put together a nice season in a low key environment. I'm sure we can find some guys next year. I understand you listed it after the post as a "dream" scenario, and you're definitely entitled to that, but a lot of that predicted roster is pretty unreasonable. I didn't mean to sh*t all over your post, sorry if it feels like this post does that.
August 8, 201213 yr If I had a choice for the team next year, within what I personally view are reasonable terms, it would be C: Buck/Hayes/Brantly (Brantly beginning the year in AAA, gets called up in June)\ 1B: Morrison/Dobbs 2B: Bonifacio/Solano 3B: Free agent signing (Chavez/Peralta/Keppinger/whoever) SS: Reyes LF: Free Agent Signing (sh*t if I know. Team will probably start Ruggiano after what he's done this year though). CF: Free Agent Signing (Bourn/Upton/Cabrera/Victorino, a take your pick of guys. I'd pick Bourn, but they all have their flaws). RF: Stanton Pitching staff: Johnson Buehrle Nolasco Turner Eovaldi Bullpen: Dunn Webb Cishek Bell Leblanc Free agent signing Free Agent signing Obviously some of the bullpen guys will suck during the season, get called up and down, and guys in AAA will come in and pitch at times (such as Hatcher/Jennings/Sanabia/etc...) Basically, what I'm saying is to fill all of our holes in 2013 with short term guys (well, except for the CF position, considering the depth on free agents at the spot this offseason). Cox is going to need probably at least a half season of 2013 in the minors, probably until September, so we need a one year guy there. The pitching staff can easily guy by with a random 5th starter, whoever that may be. The bullpen can obviously be replaced with some of the underlooked free agent guys or one of the decent relief pitchers we have in the minors. The only major problem area I see is LF, considering the lack of free agents available this offseason there. If you feel great about Ruggiano though, then it really isn't a problem. If you do think this may be a short time spurt by a career minor leaguer, then we may be in some trouble there. This kind of roster next season will ensure that the team doesn't put out an embarrassing product, will have a chance to compete for one of the wild card spots, and keep payroll relatively low, with the payroll being lower if they decide not to seek a long term option in CF this offseason.
August 8, 201213 yr I didn't read what Erick or dim said, but I trust both of them have said logical paths.
August 8, 201213 yr This team will probably have 60 homeruns at the end of the year. More than half of which will be from Stanton alone. I would also be interested in your strategy on how to get rid of those players you mentioned. I think at the end of the season, that could be a better time than ever to dump these players. Look at Hanley for example. He's doing pretty well in LA. Maybe these guys just need a change of scenery. Hanley is doing well in LA? Dude is hitting like 2 bucks and a quarter. We were very fortunate to get rid of that waste of talent. He's still hitting better in LA then he was in Miami. At least I thought. He's hitting .217 with a .690 OPS, way below average numbers. He's done. Get rid of Ozzie, and get a manager who gives a damn. LeBlanc should have been a starter at the beginning of this year. Spend money on a veteran 3B (because Cox won't be ML ready for a while) + CF and continue to look for SP you can never have enough. I still think pitching is the most important thing to a baseball team, maybe get rid of Buck and throw some cash at another starter.
August 8, 201213 yr Author So outside of the obvious Michael Bourn signing, your three biggest moves are trading for Billy Hamilton, trading for Brandon McCarthy and signing Juan Pierre. First off, Billy Hamilton is absolutely, utterly untouchable. Secondly, we have nothing in our system that would attract Billy Hamilton away from Cincinnati. Nope, not even Josh Johnson will net you him, and that trade doesn't appeal to anybody. Brandon McCarthy is a possibility, but I don't see it as a fit. He seems like a guy who could get a nice chunk of change from Billy Beane. Unless the Marlins want to throw some cash at the kid, I don't see him leaving Oakland. He's certainly an intriguing player, but it's hard to get excited about giving a nice long term deal to a player who has only pitched more than 102 innings in a season once since 2005. Finally, the Juan Pierre signing. First off, Pierre is 34 years old. Second, he's having a really good season as a close to everyday guy, so it's laughable to think he'd be absolutely fine with playing off the bench on this mediocre team next season. Add in the fact that you'd have to give a 34 year old outfielder a two or three year deal at around $7-9 million per year, and it is just an awful situation for everybody involved. On a few other notes, it's doubtful that Zack Cox is the starting 3B next season on Opening Day, and that John Buck is replaced by Rob Brantly. It's possible Cox has an super fantastic spring training, but it's unlikely, so we're more than likely looking at a stopgap 3B to start the season, with Cox being a June call up at the earliest, with a September call up being more likely. The best case scenario for Brantly, barring injury, is that he earns some sort of platoon with Buck. The problem with that scenario is Buck is a better hitter against righties than lefties. Thus, it seems fair to say Buck gets another shot Opening Day as the mostly full time catcher next season, and if he continues to hit around or below the Mendoza line, he gets replaced by Brantly by late May to early June. A couple more notes. Sanabia probably doesn't figure to be a starting pitcher for the Marlins squad next season. Johnson, Buehrle, Eovaldi, and Turner are most likely all going to be in the rotation, but that fifth spot will probably be filled by either a veteran we sign for cheap in free agency (similar to Zambrano) or we go with LeBlanc or Hand as the random 5th guy. Finally, Oviedo's career with the Marlins is done most likely. He could sign a cheap deal, but I think a contender will give him a reasonable offer and he'll head somewhere else. I don't know if that Willis refers to Dontrelle Willis, but if it does, he's retired. I'd be disappointed if Gaudin is in the bullpen at the start of next season. Personally, I'd like to go with the ol' throw sh*t against the wall and see what sticks routine. From around 2006-2011, the Marlins general approach in regards to relievers had plenty of misses, but overall it didn't hurt the team badly on the field or financially other than two seasons or so. There's always relievers out there that can put together a nice season in a low key environment. I'm sure we can find some guys next year. I understand you listed it after the post as a "dream" scenario, and you're definitely entitled to that, but a lot of that predicted roster is pretty unreasonable. I didn't mean to sh*t all over your post, sorry if it feels like this post does that. It's all good. I think that some things you say are true. First, Pierre would probably not fit with us next yr, although, it would be nice for him to finish his career as a marlin. Same with D Train. Second, McCartney would be a good fit with our rotation. Unfortunately, i do have to disagree with the fact that the Reds would not except a Hamilton for JJ deal. If JJ finishes the season strong and that is a very big if, i will be shocked if JJ will be our opening day starter, as i believe we would get some offers for JJ that would be hard to turn down. As for JC Oviedo, if Bell is still with the team next year (I pray tht he isnt), JC will be gone. But if we somehow get rid of Bell, we would do one of two things. Either make JC the closer or pass on him and let Cishek keep closing, which would be fine with me.
August 8, 201213 yr I'm saying that it'll take more than Josh Johnson to get Hamilton, not the other way around. There's basically no offer other than for a superstar that would get the Reds to get rid of Hamilton, who will be a star player and a marketing boon. The reason JJ is still a Marlin is because we DIDN'T get any offers that we couldn't refuse. Texas wasn't even willing to offer Mike Olt straight up for JJ. The Marlins believe JJ's trade value is still of an ace, while other teams don't think the same, as evidence by the lackluster trade offers presented at the trade deadline. BTW, Unless he F's up between now and the end of the year, Cishek is the closer next season. There's no dancing around that fact. JCO isn't taking that job from him. Only Heath Bell might, and that's again contingent on Cishek having a few bad outings, which hasn't happened yet. You also called Brandon McCarthy "McCartney". Second, a guy with a history of shoulder problems in lieu of a decent sized payday isn't a "good fit" for a team that's look to cut down on payroll. The only place this team is possibly splurging this offseason is on a CF. It would be an absolute shock to see them spend big money on any other position, ESPECIALLY pitching considering we've stockpiled our minor league system with a myriad of pitching options. Jose Fernandez, Nathan Eovaldi, and Jacob Turner are going to be in the Marlins rotation by the 2014 season. With Buehrle on the payroll and the thought of extending Josh Johnson to a semi long term deal, with guys like Brad Hand and Adam Conley possibly making their way into the rotation soon after (or before). Where exactly does a long term deal for Brandon McCarthy fit into the equation? The answer is it doesn't.
August 8, 201213 yr I'm suprised no one's talked more about adding Melky Cabrera. He's only leading major league basbeall in hits. He had 200 hits last season so you can't really say this season's a fluke for him. He'll only be 28 next season so he's still right in the middle of his prime.
August 8, 201213 yr I'm suprised no one's talked more about adding Melky Cabrera. He's only leading major league basbeall in hits. He had 200 hits last season so you can't really say this season's a fluke for him. He'll only be 28 next season so he's still right in the middle of his prime. We have and he will most likely be extremely overpaid and there's a good possibility he won't keep up this level of production.
August 8, 201213 yr Melky would be insanely overpaid. As for Billy Hamilton, yeah, he is not going anywhere. The Reds would basically have to be getting a team's 6-7 best prospects if they were giving him up. IMO he also needs to be moved to the outfield - not sure if it's because of his speed and getting to more balls, but his fielding percentage is not good at all for a middle infielder. Maybe better suited at second base, I don't know. I do believe his future is definitely in center field, or maybe left field for the Reds.
August 8, 201213 yr Sign Torii Hunter, A.J. Pierzynski, Jeff Keppinger all to 2 yr contracts and bring back Choate. Lineup C-Pierzynski 1B-LoMo 2B-Boni SS-Reyes 3B-Keppinger LF-Ruggiano CF-Hunter RF-Stanton Bench - Donovan Solano, Greg Dobbs, Gorkys Hernandez, John Buck, Chris Coghlan Bring up Brantly either in 2014 or September of 2013, unless we shed John Buck's contract then call him up. Keppinger signing would depend on Cox, I guess I'd be fine with a platoon of Greg Dobbs and Solano until Cox came up. Depends on how ready the FO thinks he is. Hunter would be a good signing because of his age, shouldn't want too many years, he could play LF and CF, keep an OF spot warm until Yelich comes up, also take over if Ruggz shows to have been a fluke, and play some RF when Stanton needs a day of rest for his knee. SP - JJ, Buehrle, Nolasco, Turner, Eovaldi ... I don't see a scenario where we shed Nolasco unless we pick up some of his contract.
August 8, 201213 yr -Make a trade for Peter Bourjos -Sign Eric Chavez -Sign Jeff Keppinger -Sign Brandon McCarthy -Bring back Randy Choate Lineup vs. RHP 1. Emilio Bonifacio - LF 2. Jose Reyes - SS 3. Giancarlo Stanton - RF 4. Logan Morrison - 1B 5. Eric Chavez - 3B 6. Jeff Keppinger - 2B 7. Rob Brantly - C 8. Peter Bourjos - CF 9. Pitcher Lineup vs. LHP 1. Jose Reyes - SS 2. Jeff Keppinger - 3B 3. Giancarlo Stanton - RF 4. Justin Ruggiano - LF 5. Logan Morrison - 1B 6. Peter Bourjos - CF 7. John Buck - C 8. Emilio Bonifacio - 2B 9. Pitcher Other/Bench Players Greg Dobbs - 1B/3B/OF (really though, pinch-hitter vs. RHP, please) Donovan Solano - Util (can pinch-run or whatever) Donnie Murphy - Util Rotation 1. Josh Johnson - RHP 2. Mark Buehrle - LHP 3. Brandon McCarthy - RHP 4. Ricky Nolasco - RHP 5. Wade LeBlanc - LHP Bullpen Closer: Heath Bell - RHP Setup: Steve Cishek - RHP Lefty Specialist: Randy Choate - LHP Dunn/Jennings/Webb/Hatcher/Reed/Rosario/Sanabia/Koehler, etc. (pick four) Turner/Eovaldi start the year in AAA. Do this You aced the test 'till i read the words "Heath Bell" at Closing Pitcher.
August 8, 201213 yr I would line them up and shoot them. Correction: I would line them up and have Stanton shoot them.
August 8, 201213 yr I would start from scratch. Load the farm system. Get rid of Buck, get rid of Bell, try and get something for them if at all possible. Build around Stanton. And build around Reyes (for now). Go after pitching and defense and guys who don't strike out. This is just a general outline I don't have any specific way of executing the plan but that's what they're paid for.
August 8, 201213 yr I would not want Ricky Nolasco on my ballclub. Those of you who have him in your rotation for next year are coocoo.
August 8, 201213 yr I don't know what some of you are going to do with all this payroll that these "overpaid useless player" are going to command. I doubt many teams are going to take them.
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