Riverbrian

I was referring to Kepler but it works for Rosario after last season as well.

This info isn't going to sell me on Wins above replacement. It will probably cause me to go to war with WAR. ? Better defensive metrics at two harder defensive position (2B and CF) than an easier defensive position such as LF and the results state that Jake Cave is slightly ahead of Nick Gordon in LF despite 17 less games played at that position. 4 out of 5 chances are routine. 233 total chances for Max Kepler over 115 games. Roughly 2 chances per game. That's 1 non-routine play every 3rd game or so to separate himself defensively from his peers. 216 Total Chances for Nick Gordon over 136 games. Roughly 1.5 chances per game so 1 non-routine play every 3rd game or so to separate himself defensively from his peers. 92 Total Chances for Jake Cave over 54 games. Roughly 1.7 chances per game so 1 non-routine play every 3rd game or so to separate himself defensively from his peers. 1 defensive play every third game is enough to elevate Jake Cave over Nick Gordon? You also have to assume that neither Max Kepler or Jake Cave is succeeding at every non-routine chance while Nick Gordon is failing at every non-routine chance. Is it possible that WAR is misleading and groaning from the weight of small sample size zone rating statistics?

According to Fangraphs how did Nick Gordon do? This question is for anyone to answer.

How many teams are looking to improve a corner outfielder spot with a guy that just produced a .666 OPS for 8.5 million dollars? I looked at all 30 rosters and I could only find one team. The Minnesota Twins.

Perfect This keeps Kepler out of the Miami deal. Now we can trade Max to Seattle for Julio Rodriquez. ?

Easy to argue The Marlins while absolutely needing OF production improvement already have 3 OF guys (De La Cruz, Soler, Sanchez) on the roster with a higher OPS than Max Kepler plus Avisail Garcia under contract for the next 4 years plus 2 decently ranked prospects on the 40 man roster (Bleday, Burdick). How does Max Kepler move the needle for them?

If I were to guess and guessing is all I have. Garver was what the Rangers required to beat whatever the Yankees were offering for IKF because that's what it took to get the deal done. The Twins were probably offering something surplussy and you would have to assume that the Yankees were offering something surplussy. Ultimately the Rangers wanted a catcher to get it done, which was obviously something that the Yankees didn't have because they asked for Rortvedt in order to fill what they couldn't provide to the Rangers. Just guessing but I assume that the Twins didn't plan on trading off catcher depth but that is what the trading team was asking for. It takes two to tango, which just goes to show that we can have a surplus but... that piece of the puzzle has different edges to it.

I don't know about Rotation but I certainly want more than 60 innings from him.

Agreed However, even the trade route is going to take further development of the guy acquired to get him past the Sonny Gray threshold. If the player you are acquiring is already past the Gray threshold, very few teams are giving him up and if they do the price will cost farm system depletion. If you deplete the farm system, it is going to hamstring the developing of your own guy from your system because that guy is who they will ask for to make it happen. Not saying it can't be done... Kluber came cheap and blossomed through further development but either way... Joe Ryan has been more than expected. Either way... Development is the most reasonable way to find that guy. All teams... Even the Dodgers and especially the Twins/Marlins are going to need 600K guys who can get the job done in order to afford the bigger contracts. If you trade off the 600k guys, you find yourself stuck in free agency being the only way to fill your roster. When that happens to the Twins... The Archer's, Bundy's and Happ's are what show up more often than not. Once you reach that point... the full scale rebuild is just a moment away.

If the Twins want a pitcher to surpasses the Sonny Gray threshold they will most likely have to develop him.

Being a GM is a tough job.

All in All, I like the aggressiveness. However, that OF is a collection of health and performance question marks.

So with the defensive weighting that is done. Arraez WAR 56.8

They Do Not

I've never seen what they do behind the scenes. I've never met any of them in person.

OK... Yeah it would be nice to fix the revolving door at SS. But, I'll add that at other positions some of those doors solidly in place need to start revolving.

Hamilton was basically gathering dust on the bench in September. Rocco only used him for pinch running despite Cave and Celestino being below average... nowhere near good enough for a team fighing for a playoff spot. Rocco turned to Cave and Celestino over and over again to below average results. If Rocco doesn't trust Hamilton to be an improvement over bad performance, I can't recommend a continuation of the relationship. I agree through... His defense and stolen base ability is good but we need a hitter more than we need OF defense. Whoever is backing up Buxton is going to play a lot. ?

Whoever backs up Buxton isn't a back up.

I won't argue bad or good, but we won games with Polanco, Arraez and Sano in those spots. ?

I just want to say that you post solid stuff. I can always count on your postings to be well researched and logical. I may see things differently from time to time but I know you are coming from solid ground. Cheers to ya.

You can sign multiple players and improve in multiple spots for what it would take to gobble up one of the top 4 SS's.

Thanks... I'll take the job. Just waiting for Falvey to give me a call. I'm keeping my phone charged and with me at all times just in case. In my opinion, Drury and Haniger are necessary together. We just don't know if Larnach will get the job done. We don't know if Gordon will be the same Gordon next year. I am certainly at my wits end with Kepler. Buxton has his health issues and so does Haniger. Drury plays 1B, 2B, 3B and he also plays OF. If we are struggling to find OF production because of the 5 things listed above. Drury can prop things up. Make it less likely that we are praying that Jake Cave brings us to the playoffs. Mateo can also play OF if needed. Gordon can also play IF. WIth the DH spot also available for use. We could staff a Haniger and Drury and find the AB's to keep them producing if they are producing.

I only included Pagan because... I know that he will be back. He will be on the roster next year and the front office better be right about that. In my world... Pagan money could be turned into Hand money.

You should change your underwear because you never know when you get caught with your pants down. If you keep specialists on your roster. What happens when you need them to be much more than what they are. Every. Single. Year. Injuries. Happen. If someone is on your 26 man roster, they can't be hid because injuries are going to bring them into the light and you will NEED THEM. It happens every. single. year. Every year... injuries are going to pull your pants down. Change your underwear because the whole world will see that specialist if you don't. Gilbert Celestino was a defensive specialist. His hitting wasn't good. We knew his hitting wasn't good and we knew that Buxton wasn't healthy by the trade deadline. You are screwed when you need your defensive specialist to be a hitter because your hitters have gone away. Max Kepler is a defensive specialist. His hitting makes him a defensive specialist. He defends but doesn't hit. That makes him a defensive specialist for two years now. Needing Kepler to be a hitter because your other hitters have gone away is too much to ask and too much to expect. Kyle Garlick was a specialist that was only allowed to face left handed hitting. You are screwed when you need Garlick to quickly digest right handers after starving him for years, needing to do it in September during a pennant chase is complete lack of prep for the possibility. Placing a player in a short side platoon is not prepping someone for September. We knew what Celestino and Garlick were at the trade deadline. The trade deadline is the last day that you can change your underwear. Our pants came down.