soyouresayingtheresachance

The BP definitely needs some work. I think signing David Bednar to be our Closer would be a great start. Hoffman in the 8th and we would have a very good setup/closer combo. I would be in favor of signing a guy like Michael King to add a little more stability to the top end of our rotation. We do have enough arms to make a rotation. Taj and Ryan had solid years for a #3 starter. I hope Prielipp takes another step forward and has better, more consistent results. Will Pablo be healthy and effective? If not, we'll need someone else to be the Ace of the staff. I just dont think we have that guy on the roster. We cannot go into next season with Caratini behind the plate. Mid defense and almost a sure out at the plate after his hot streak ended. Jeffers is the best FA Catcher available this offseason, so unless he for some reason accepts a QO, I doubt he'll be back. In that case, I'd go after Tyler Stephenson. His bat is slightly above average for a C. To replace Lewis, I'd look into Brandon Lowe and see if hes interested in playing 1B. He has a solidly above average bat that would look pretty good in our cleanup spot.

Great start from Kremer. He was pitching like he wants to be in the rotation next season.

Yes. With how many games the BP lost after having a lead, we'd have won atleast 6-10 more games minimum.

To answer the question of exceeding expectations, no, we didn't. We learned some things, though. The front office kept some players that shouldn't have been here anymore. Larnach being at the top of the list. He blocked Jenkins, Erod, Roden and any other OF prospects that may have been able to fill that spot and gain meaningful experience. We learned better positions for some guys, Lee and Keaschall. Lee at 3B defensively has been a night and day difference from SS. Im hoping his bat can develop a bit more. Keaschall was awful at 2B and has been only slightly better in the OF. Its a much better use of his speed, though. Maybe with an offseason of work, he'll improve. His bat plays. We learned some guys that shouldn't be on the team anymore. Either by poor play or no fit on the team. Some of those guys are already gone and others should be gone this offseason. Larnach, Lewis, Wallner, Ober. SIM, Outman, and others are already gone. We knew the BP was a mess and It still is. We found a couple guys for next season, but work is still needed. Kody Clemens broke out in a big way, leading the team in HRs and IMO being team MVP. We answered some questions and didnt answer others. This offseason needs to answer questions like the BP and finding us a legit Closer. 1B needs a huge upgrade. C needs an upgrade, Caratini can not be the guy. Is Pablo going to be healthy and effective? If not, we'll to answer the question of finding an Ace. This season ended right about where I thought it would. Flirting with .500. A weak AL made a playoff opportunity seem real. Injuries and inconsistencies ultimately cost us that opportunity.

Not an ideal time for Ober to have such a rough outing. Ive (mostly) enjoyed watching him pitch for us. Outside of a possible BP role, I don't really see a fit on the team for him next season.

If I could run the offseason, this is how the team would look opening day 2027. ERod LF - Buxton CF - Jenkins RF (Keaschall 4th - Roden 5th) DH would be Keaschall. Buck would take days off from the field and DH some days. Keaschall would play LF those days with one of ERod or Jenkins filling in CF. Lee 3B - Culpepper SS - Clemens 2B - Contreras 1B (Kriedler UTL - Ross UTL) - Make a trade for Willson Contreras. Backup option sign Brandon Lowe for 1B. Jeffers & Caratini behind the plate. I would've preferred Jackson over Caratini, but it seems he was DFA'd today, so probably wont be around next season. Give Jeffers the QO. If he doesn't accept, just try to sign him. I'd imagine 4 years/ $70-$75M should get it done. If we cant sign Jeffers, Tyler Stephenson is my backup. Caratini can not be the starter. If Alex Jackson stays with the club, keep him as backup C and trade Caratini. Lineup: 1. Keaschall 2. Jenkins 3. Buxton 4. Contreras 5. Jeffers 6. Clemens 7. Culpepper 8. ERod 9. Lee Bullpen: Sign David Bednar to be our Closer. Hoffman gets the 8th inning. Gomez & Morris get the 7th inning. Funderburk, Nanace, Banda, & Rojas round out the BP. Raisel Iglesias Is my backup to sign as Closer. Rotation: Sign Michael King to lead our rotation. Followed by Taj, Ryan, Prielipp, and hopefully a healthy and effective Pablo. Zebby and others could be AAA depth or be moved to the pen if its deemed best. Sonny Gray is the other Starter I would consider signing. This setup also leaves many current players off the team. These guys would be traded or Non Tender / DFA'd: Royce Lewis - Trevor Larnach - Bailey Ober - Austin Martin - Dean Kremer. This still leaves an abundance of "ready" players at AAA, especially starting pitchers. The beauty of this blueprint is none of it is really fantasy. Every one of these moves are realistic.

Im not entirely sure it was the teams decision. Buck probably had a bit of say on the matter. However, whoever was responsible for the decision waited too long. It was clear he couldn't play even when he came back off the injured list.

Being his last start of the season, I was a little disappointed Prielipp was pulled so early. But just a minor complaint. He pitched quite well and finished the season strong. Im excited to his development next season.

Yikes.

Whatever the number is, it should include signing Jeffers to a 4yr/75M +/- contract. As well as signing Michael King or Sonny Gray to lead or rotation and David Bednar to be our Closer. And also find us a big bat to hit Cleanup and play 1B. Id imagine those 4 players will be in that 60-80M range.

The Nance trade looks a little worse at the moment due to his recent struggles. He was acquired as a low leverage arm and we used him in a lot of higher leverage situations. Im hoping he shows some improvement for next season. We gave up a decent C prospect, though. Grade: B - We dealt from a healthy stockpile of catchers and got what should be a decent BP arm for next season. Minter has performed well for us, but Billy Amick has 38 HRs and 108 RBIs this season. I dont care how he "profiles", thats darn good production and would look great at 1B for us. He has produced at every level so far. We gave up that production plus another player for 2 months of a reliever. Grade: D - Overpaid for 2 months of a lefty RP. Kremer pitched well for us. Gave up a player struggling in A ball to get him. Comes with another season of team control. Grade: A - He outperformed expectations. Zero complaints about this deal. Trade him while his value is higher than its ever been. Hoffman struggled a bit initially, but he turned it around and pitched quite well since then. We'll have him next season. If he continues to pitch well, he will be a big boost to next year's BP. Grade: C- - Yes, he's pitched well, but we gave up too much for him. He had a high ERA when he got here. At the time, Dasan Hill alone should've been more than enough to acquire him. Unfortunately we added 2 more players to the deal. High strikeout lefty starters are not the easiest kind of pitcher to find. Seems like a guy we'll regret trading away.

No. Just no. Lewis has no place on this roster once the season ends. Hes has more than enough time to prove himself. Hes below average across the board. Move on and dont look back.

Fair point. Have to switch is to Willson Contreras then.

If I could run the offseason, this is how the team would look opening day 2027. ERod LF - Buxton CF - Jenkins RF (Keaschall 4th - Roden 5th) DH would be Keaschall. Buck would take days off from the field and DH some days. Keaschall would play LF those days with one of ERod or Jenkins filling in CF. Lee 3B - Culpepper SS - Clemens 2B - Contreras 1B (Kriedler UTL - Ross UTL) - Make a trade for Willson Contreras. Backup option sign Brandon Lowe for 1B. Jeffers & Caratini behind the plate. I would've preferred Jackson over Caratini, but it seems he was DFA'd today, so probably wont be around next season. Give Jeffers the QO. If he doesn't accept, just try to sign him. I'd imagine 4 years/ $70-$75M should get it done. If we cant sign Jeffers, Tyler Stephenson is my backup. Caratini can not be the starter. If Alex Jackson stays with the club, keep him as backup C and trade Caratini. Lineup: 1. Keaschall 2. Jenkins 3. Buxton 4. Contreras 5. Jeffers 6. Clemens 7. Culpepper 8. ERod 9. Lee Bullpen: Sign David Bednar to be our Closer. Hoffman gets the 8th inning. Gomez & Morris get the 7th inning. Funderburk, Nanace, Banda, & Rojas round out the BP. Raisel Iglesias Is my backup to sign as Closer. Rotation: Sign Michael King to lead our rotation. Followed by Taj, Ryan, Prielipp, and hopefully a healthy and effective Pablo. Zebby and others could be AAA depth or be moved to the pen if its deemed best. Sonny Gray is the other Starter I would consider signing. This setup also leaves many current players off the team. These guys would be traded or Non Tender / DFA'd: Royce Lewis - Trevor Larnach - Bailey Ober - Austin Martin - Dean Kremer. This still leaves an abundance of "ready" players at AAA, especially starting pitchers. The beauty of this blueprint is none of it is really fantasy. Every one of these moves are realistic. EDIT: It was pointed out Yandy Diaz doesnt play in the field anymore. So I changed it to Willson Contreras.

Absolutely not. He has zero defensive value and the bat isn't good enough to make up for it. Good teammate. He is who he is. It just isn't a good fit for him here.

1. I'd be looking to sign a free agent like Raisel Iglesias or David Bednar. Iglesias could probably be had on a 1 year deal. Both have a good history as a Closer and could perform well for us. Give Hoffman the 8th inning and use Morris/Gomez for the 7th. We have Nance coming back for low leverage. Id imagine the team will bring in some low cost veterans to battle with young guys to fill out the rest of the pen. Possibly even Rojas. 2. Actually, yes, I love to sign Skubal. A rotation with him, Taj, Ryan, Prielipp, and hopefully a healthy and effective Pablo would look great. Zebby and others could be AAA depth or be moved to the pen if its deemed best. If Skubal is too expensive, Michael King would be my next choice to sign. Sonny Gray may also be available. 3. This may require some thinking outside the box, but perhaps getting a guy like Brandon Lowe to move to 1B. The trade market may be the best option. Yandy Diaz is rumored to be available fron TB. Shouldn't take a massive payout to get him. Willson Contreras is another option. 4. For C, obviously retaining Jeffers should be a priority. A 4 year deal for $70-$75M should get it done. When Lackey or someone is ready, he could be a 1B or trade candidate. Backup option would be Tyler Stephenson. Bonus: There are only, what, 9 or fewer people batting .300 or better this season? Our old friend Luis Arraez is also available. He'll hit .300 for us and we might be able to convince him to play 1B, although he'd prefer 2B. There are many ways to achieve what I'd like to see done without trading away the farm. If you could pry away a big bat like Yandy or Willson, they wouldnt cost top prospects either. Although a guy like Tait could be made available. We also have plenty of guys like Larnach and Lewis to trade.

Not every player is worth a big contract. Framber Valdez is one of those guys. Crossing up your own catcher? Huge attitude problem. All we can do is try. Skubal seems to be a better teammate. Don't hear of big complaints. I actually really like the upcoming talent core possibilities on our team. Im ready to take a chance on that elite talent.

Hopefully he's played his last game for us. Absolutely no reason for him to be a part of the team going forward. None. He cant play defense at all and his bat isn't good enough to be a bat only player.

We have a lot of young talent. Drafting and developing definitely needs to happen. Teams arent able to draft and develop elite players at every position. We need some of those elite veterans to show the young guys how its done. On a side note, rumblings from the CBA negotiations are making it seem as if a salary floor is happening. If thats the case, the team will have to spend. What better way to spend than on the elite talent we need.

Thats really the only way to get elite talent if you're not lucky enough to draft and develop it yourself. If we want it, we'll have to pay for it.

I would give Skubal a large contract. Absolutely. He is exactly the type of Ace that could elevate our team. We could put him up against any other Ace in the league and have a chance. We have plenty of young guys. We need to surround them with actual elite talent for once. Im tired of the bargain bin signings that dont work out. The 4 moves I would make will actually make a difference for our team.

If I had the ability to run the offseason, I would make 4 acquisitions. Either FA signings or trades: 1. Acquire a top shelf, proven, shut down Closer. Mason Miller, Aroldis Chapman type of guy. Everyone else moves down an inning and, on paper, we have a pretty good BP. 2. Acquire a True Ace. We have the guys to fill out the rest of the rotation already. What we dont have is an Ace. We need a guy that can match up against anybody in game 1 of a playoff series. Taj, Ryan, Prielipp and hopefully Pablo plus an Ace make for a very nice rotation. 3. Trade Lewis and find a stud 1B. Elite bat and good defense. Just a monster to bat cleanup daily. Especially since the All Star break, we've needed this guy. We've had guys on base, but nobody was driving them in. 4. Trade Caratini. We need an actual starting C. Caratini is not him. Jeffers is an option if we can get him to stay, otherwise we'll need to make a trade for one. On paper, these 4 moves will elevate us to a competitive playoff team capable of catching fire in the playoffs

No it wasnt. He blocked much more promising prospects all season long while playing crap defense and disappearing at the plate when we needed him most. It has been such a disappointing year having to watch his mediocre play most days. I sure hope he is gone before next season

Absolutely not. One of the needs the team must address this off-season is acquiring a proven shut down closer. Mason Miller, Aroldis Chapman type reliability. Get that guy and everyone moves down an inning and this BP will be in pretty good shape, on paper.

What a start from Prielipp. I am excited to see his development next season. Same with Jenkins. Adams making a save look easy.