Whether at the trade deadline or in the off-season, which positions would you most want to upgrade? Assume all the current players (ie including Marte) can either return or be upgraded.

I’d keep Marte, Jazz, Miggy, and Jesus Sanchez.

In order, I most want to upgrade:

1. Catcher

2. Right Field

3. Third base

4. First Base

It’s funny, that as bad as the offense has been, only Catcher is IMO a no-brainer upgrade.

I like Aguilar, but there are certainly better first baseman in the league (whether or not they’re available).

On deck from the farm: JJ Bleday, Lewin Diaz, Burdick, anyone else?

Edited July 6, 20215 yr by mystikol87

1. Manager

2. Catcher

Need a catcher, RF, bullpen arms that aren't all contact guys

1. Manager

2. Strength and Conditioning Coaches

3. Bullpen

4. Catcher

5. Versatile infield bench

5 minutes ago, SongInTheAir said:

1. Manager

2. Strength and Conditioning Coaches

3. Bullpen

4. Catcher

5. Versatile infield bench

Yeah, bench would actually be my #3 after replacing Mattingly and getting a better catcher.

Our bench is awful.

9 minutes ago, Erick said:

Yeah, bench would actually be my #3 after replacing Mattingly and getting a better catcher.

Our bench is awful.

Getting a better manager would actually improve the bench though, since those guys shouldn't be playing nearly as much as they are right now. But yeah, having someone on the bench who you'd trust over a relief pitcher in a late game pinch hitting appearance would be nice. 

The fastest way to make this team better is to fire anyone involved with the offensive game plan cause it just is not working. They’re the only team you never see jump on fastballs and pull them with authority. This “take it the other way” philosophy is shit and has to go. But as for the players:

1B. Bring up Lewin and let him develop his game in the big leagues. I love Aggy but he has no future here at present. Trade him at the deadline for a bullpen arm that is major league ready and a minor league arm. 

2B. I’m good with Jazz there. I feel we’re pretty much seeing the floor of his potential and he’ll get even better from here each season. 

3B. I hope BA has an awesome end of the year and then gets traded in the off-season cause I don’t trust him at all as a long term piece. He’s just way too streaky. This team is missing that cornerstone bat, and I think 3B is a position we may be able to find a good bat for either through trade or Free Agency. 

SS. Sign miggy, let him retire here. Not only is he a decent player but it’s pretty clear he helps get the most out of his teammates and every team needs that kind of dude. In a couple of seasons you have some of these shortstops prospects closer to being ready or sign someone in free agency.

Catcher: Send Alfaro down to work on his catching game with whatever minor league affiliate has the best catching coach. And bring up Lorenzo Quintana to see if there may be something there. If after next season there’s no improvement, move on from him and sign a Travis D’arnaud type player in free agency that may surprise.

 Outfield: 

Sign Marte, he can start for now and help transition Bleday/Burdick/Misner/Encarnacion and then be a really good 4th outfielder in a couple of seasons. Trade Duvall this deadline for a controllable bullpen arm that can strike dudes out and replace him with whoever is most ready out of Bleday or Encarnacion. I’m honestly not convinced about Sanchez, the swing is a little too max-effort for me and lends itself to getting exposed. I said the same thing about Brinson and he’s proven me right so far. Though I’m rooting for him very hard, he definitely has great potential.
 

 

 

Oh, and draft the best available college hitter with good contact ability. This team has too many all or nothing dudes, we need a Pierre/Castillo type guy that just finds a way to always be on base. They did well with pitching last year, let’s work on the offense now

Yea I came in here to ask if managers were available in the draft but I was beat to it.

I know we still need bats more than anything but as far as the draft goes, I'm still, and will always be, BPA. Take the value, make trades later as needed.

1A) Closer

1B) Catcher

They should address this at the deadline in prep for next year. Richard Rodriguez and Gregory Soto are just starting to get going plus Jacob Stallings(Rodriguez’s catcher) and Eric Haase(Soto’s catcher) are good and in Stallings case, very good.

2) Manager 

Problem is that it’s going to be a Yes Man. I would love for them to call Fredi Gonzalez back or Ron Washington because they have experience developing young teams OR a true up and comer like Joe Espada, Mark Prior, Hensley Muelens, or Skip Schumacher. Buck Showwalter would be an awesome choice as well.

3) Hitting coaches 

 

Big time and they need to get it right. I would call Mark McGwire and see if we can convince to unretire to return to the bench. Maybe bring in Marcus Thames who’s the AAA manager for the Yanks. This goes for the entire organization top to bottom as well. 
 

- I’m going to create an entire thread on this and on this season’s outlook. I just need some time to go through who’s going to be available, stats, etc.

Edited July 7, 20215 yr by ZfromCIS

8 minutes ago, ZfromCIS said:

1A) Closer

1B) Catcher

They should address this at the deadline in prep for next year. Richard Rodriguez and Gregory Soto are just starting to get going plus Jacob Stallings(Rodriguez’s catcher) and Eric Haase(Soto’s catcher) are good and in Stallings case, very good.

2) Manager 

Problem is that it’s going to be a Yes Man. I would love for them to call Fredi Gonzalez back or Ron Washington because they have experience developing young teams OR a true up and comer like Joe Espada, Mark Prior, Hensley Muelens, or Skip Schumacher. Buck Showwalter would be an awesome choice as well.

3) Hitting coaches 

 

Big time and they need to get it right. I would call Mark McGwire and see if we can convince to unretire to return to the bench. Maybe bring in Marcus Thames who’s the AAA manager for the Yanks. This goes for the entire organization top to bottom as well. 
 

- I’m going to create an entire thread on this and on this season’s outlook. I just need some time to go through who’s going to be available, stats, etc.

I believe Marcus Thames is the Yankees hitting coach, not their AAA manager. And Yankees fans want him fired. 

12 minutes ago, Erick said:

I believe Marcus Thames is the Yankees hitting coach, not their AAA manager. And Yankees fans want him fired. 

Just looked it up and you’re right. Where have I been? Anyways, point still stands.

1A) High Leverage Bullpen 

- this team is built to win with pitching. It’s very hard to do that with a poor bullpen. Find a couple high leverage arms that can follow our SP and we’re going to be competitive every game 

1B) Catcher 

- Similar to the above, Alfaro simply doesn’t fit with Miami. If we’re going to win with pitching and scraping together runs, Alfaro isn’t the choice for us. His pitch calling and defense, outside of the few flash plays, just doesn’t gel with what this club needs from the position. Not enough production offensively to outweigh his deficiencies. Find a way to get Keibert Ruiz 

 

On another note, I understand why most seem willing to part with Aguilar. Lewin needs ABs, and he has some trade value. However, with the DH likely coming in 2022, I would actually keep Agi and look to move Cooper. We know there were teams calling this offseason, and there’s no reason he shouldn’t net a respectable return. 
 

Here are the assets I would be looking to move at the end of the month: 

- Yimi 

- Detweiler 

- Bleier 

- Cooper 

- Duvall 

- Zach Thompson 

Aguilar is an interesting piece - if they get a good trade offer for him then yes, as much as i love him and all that he brings to the bench in terms of lifting dudes up and keeping things light, he can go.  I think he'll go on to have a lengthy career as a DH/PH as he seems very adept and getting the single to bring in a guy in scoring position but with the DH only an assumption for next season you take what you can get if it genuinely helps the club (but not some fringe guy just to save $$). 

They desperately need an all-around catcher who is an upgrade defensively and offensively but those don't exactly grow on trees and they had their shot at the best in the game last season for a very fair price so I don't have much hope here as they seem to be convinced Alfaro will be the man going forward.

More than anything, they need guys who can GET ON BASE at a regular clip - as it stands they have a shit ton of guys who should be batting 6 or 7 in a normal MLB lineup.  Guys like BA who are great defensively and should be hitting 6th or so in a lineup.  Really want to see them keep Marte and go after another premier bat like Kris Bryant. 

Manager is a foregone conclusion at this point - or one would hope.

They don't need to revamp the entire bullpen, but man, they really need to find at least a couple guys who can actually get the strikeout when needed.  Some contact guys and some K guys - variety is needed.  Hopefully, Bender gets a look at the closer gig though if they don't get anyone else and roll out largely the same pile of shit. 

 

 

I don't know, the more i look at it the less hope I have for next season.  Their lineup is just so shitty and they have very little in the minors in terms of the type of bat prospects they NEED on the team.  That, coupled with a perceived (but earned) level of cheapness does not bode well for them in filling the gaps with some FA's.  Keep Marte, sign Bryant and at least 2 strong BP arms, a new catcher, and a new manager.  Something along those lines is what it'll really take to vault this team into contention.  Do i see even half of that happening?  Nope.

3 hours ago, hovertical said:

the more i look at it the less hope I have for next season

If they keep shit the same I have no hope for next season. But I do think they have enough pieces to build on that if they make a genuine effort to improve they do have a shot next season. Hell, they have/had a shot this season if they actually made big upgrades. This goes back to why there's so much frustration here. There is talent here, this team shouldn't be this bad if they made the right moves.

Tl;dr: status quo is death here, gotta push forward, urgency needed.

the only bats i'm not moving if I'm Kim Ng is Jazz and J. Sanchez that are on the 40 man roster.

Anyone else can be moved in the right deal.

Granted if you can somehow find a way to not insult Marte and get an extension (deadline is really the all star break) then you keep him, else he gone. 

The good thing with both is they have some positional flexibility, so that doesnt limit your return.

 

2 hours ago, SilverBullet said:

If they keep shit the same I have no hope for next season. But I do think they have enough pieces to build on that if they make a genuine effort to improve they do have a shot next season. Hell, they have/had a shot this season if they actually made big upgrades. This goes back to why there's so much frustration here. There is talent here, this team shouldn't be this bad if they made the right moves.

Tl;dr: status quo is death here, gotta push forward, urgency needed.

I just see them letting Marte walk, signing a couple so-so bp arms, and a couple bench bats to 1 year deals and then touting the starting pitching again. 

I think this team is in a good spot heading into next season pending there aren’t a ton of injuries. (And signing Marte would be nice)

I guess I’m not in the majority though. 

As good as the pitching has been this year, it could be better next year.

1 minute ago, Erick said:

I think this team is in a good spot heading into next season pending there aren’t a ton of injuries. (And signing Marte would be nice)

I guess I’m not in the majority though. 

As good as the pitching has been this year, it could be better next year.

the problem is the offense.  We know the pitching is good.

2 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

the problem is the offense.  We know the pitching is good.

The problem has more to do with the timeliness of the offense.

Going into a season, the front office is trying to project what the run differential would be and this team has a run differential that reflects they should have a better record.

At the end of the season, Don Mattingly isn’t going to look great if they’re looking at things rationally. Normally, firing a manager is scapegoating, but, in this case, it isn’t.

Part of the problem has been blown saves too, which involves Mattingly not using Bender at the end of games. If all of our pitching is healthy next season, keep in mind that somebody from the group might end up in the pen next year, as well.

Need a lefty power bat for this god forsaken stadium that is terrible for righty power bats. Bullpen big time upgrade. Love arugula but can do better at 1b. Catcher. 

43 minutes ago, Erick said:

The problem has more to do with the timeliness of the offense.

Going into a season, the front office is trying to project what the run differential would be and this team has a run differential that reflects they should have a better record.

At the end of the season, Don Mattingly isn’t going to look great if they’re looking at things rationally. Normally, firing a manager is scapegoating, but, in this case, it isn’t.

Part of the problem has been blown saves too, which involves Mattingly not using Bender at the end of games. If all of our pitching is healthy next season, keep in mind that somebody from the group might end up in the pen next year, as well.

If Cabrera, Meyer and Eder (to a lesser extent) are all ready for the show next year to go along with Pablo, Sandy, and Trevor, we are in great shape.   Hopefully Sanchez will be healthy too but that would be gravy at this point.   

 

Imagine being able to possibly add Poteet and Thompson to the back end of the pen to go along with Bender! We also have some other young pen arms in the minors (Guzman) that might have a shot at high leverage situations.  

We just have to find some offense.  Having a healthy BA would help in that regard. I want to see Lewin get another chance in the second half also.  

I've had to really sit back and think long and hard about this one, but I've finally realized what position I want them to improve above all. Reverse cowgirl.

 

6 minutes ago, Michael said:

I've had to really sit back and think long and hard about this one, but I've finally realized what position I want them to improve above all. Reverse cowgirl.