Major League Ready

Isn't that what Baltimore has done?

A lot of people were adamant they resign Buxton. (I wanted him too) The posts basically demanded it of the FO and ownership. Remember the posts chastising the FO because they posters felt it was an insult that the original offers did not start with a $150M guarantee plus incentives? Same basic thing with Correa, posters were almost universally in favor of singing Correa even when the market was 10+ years and $300M+. So, to posts what the hell were they thinking is rather convenient.

He scorched another ball that was about 3 inches from going over the CFer's head.

Prato continues to impress. He has the highest OPS of anyone to play in a Saints uniform this year. GAMES PA AVE OBP SLG OPS AnthonyPrato 37 116 0.345 0.487 0.664 1.151 MichaelHelman 12 45 0.333 0.434 0.711 1.145 RoyceLewis 8 33 0.333 0.371 0.727 1.098 KyleFarmer 4 13 0.308 0.4 0.692 1.092 AlexKirilloff 10 38 0.316 0.435 0.605 1.04 ErnieYake 10 31 0.29 0.371 0.581 0.952 EdouardJulien 38 133 0.293 0.435 0.496 0.931 MattWallner 67 254 0.291 0.403 0.524 0.927 AndrewStevenson 85 332 0.325 0.399 0.521 0.92 ChrisWilliams 69 232 0.25 0.367 0.53 0.897

Why would it make sense to play what you know when you know what you have been playing absolutely does not make a contending team. Sounds like the definition of insanity to me.

His first AAA game was 6/10. He has had 147 PA. Not enough to be overly confident in what we are seeing but enough to be pretty excited about his potential. I love it when these guys make a leap of this nature. Ideally, they move Royce to the OF but I would not mind them giving Prato a shot after the deadline.

Severino and Prato have been impressive in July. Severino ... .347 / .434 / .778 / 1.212 Prato ... .328 / .474 / .707 / 1.181 Perhaps they should be giving Severino time in the OF.

Castillo's xFIP is 3.63. Ryan's 3.69. They both have produced 2.2 fWAR. Ryan will be here for 4 more years. Castillo would have been a free agent not to mention the salary that could be allocated elsewhere. Trading the type of assets it would have taken to get Castillo for the difference between Castillo and Ryan is really ill-conceived.

Is Canterino expected to pitch competitively at all this late summer/early fall?

That would have resulted in them giving away even more of the future and they still would not have won the division in 2023 so how would they be better off? What they should have done was basically stand pat on the ML club with the exception of a couple rental RPs. They should have kept CES and dealt Steer or Steer plus a pitching prospect for an RH outfield or catching prospect that was near major league ready. We would have CES to fill the role of the RH bat we need now and we would still have Cano plus a good RH hitting OF prospect.

Solano has a 116 wRC+ for July and 131 since June 1st. I have no problem with them trading him to reshape the roster but he has not been terrible. Have to agree on Larnach but I would still trade him if the return is right. I don't think they are in love with Kepler. The problem is neither is any other team so he has not been traded. I am really hope this recent run of good play facilitates a trade. Gallo will not (better not) be here after the deadline even if it's a DFA.

I did not realize the draft and follow rule has a $225K maximum?

The $1.5M signing bonus for Winokur was $640K over slot so they apparently thought highly of him. Hopefully, this early statement is a good indication they are right. I am wondering if they will go over their draft allocation to get their 19th or 20th round picks. Parker is another huge power guy. Larson is a higher profile prospect. Have they ever gone over? They could spend up to $850 without losing picks. They obviously set themselves up with these two picks at the end they knew would require more than the $150K limit.

Your right. I should have said short-term assets instead of rentals which of course is more accurate in Mahle's case. It also does not change the overall premise that this is not a team worthy of investing significant assets for a playoff run, especially assets that would likely be on the ML team next year. I would add that neither one of them added ANY value beyond what a rental would have.

My take is that there is a good chance he is an average MLB player or better. Trading away players with 4 or more years of control for a rental, especially given this team's mediocre profile is a good way to remain mediocre. Apparently, last year's debacle has not made this clear. Before anyone says they should have traded for other players, part of the point is these veterans are not the guarantee many make them out to be. Perhaps more importantly, it would not have made a difference if Mahle and Lopez had performed to expectations. Investing significant assets in rentals is simply desperate unless the team is a true contender. A trade something like LA Vikes Fan lays out is a different story. If they can trade for young talent that fits our roster better, great.

We all know the young guys have done well but illustrating as you have here really drives the point home. The less experienced guys have carried the load while the veterans have mostly underperformed. I am a big supporter because there is absolutely no doubt that sustained success for teams in the bottom two-thirds of revenue is driven by developing talent.

I have been on the Prato bus. He seems like a great fit and he is hot right now. Could he fall flat on his face if promoted? Of course, he might not be able to make the leap but right now seems like a good time to try something. I just don't see any great RH outfield options. I am actually liking CJ Cron with AK going the OF. Cron has been playing really well of late. He could also be an option to resign.

I don't think the problem with the 40 man is finding space next winter. Some cuts are going to be necessary very soon unless other injuries open spots for the guys coming back. Of course, that happens. Next winter we have .... Sonny Gray / Kenta Maeda / Tyler Mahle / Emilio Pagán / Donovan Solano / Joey Gallo / and Michael A. Taylor coming off. Plus, José De León / Ronny Henriquez and Gilberto Celestino are candidates to be taken off the 40 man. That's 10 spots Kepler's option might not be picked up or he is traded. Polanco is a trade candidate as well. I guess we could add Gordon and farmer as trade candidates as well.

They also have Castro and Farmer. Plus, Lee and a few other potential replacements that are not far off in Prato / Hellman and Schobel. That does not mean they have to trade them for rentals. They could attempt a deal for ML and Milb assets like they did with Arraez. For example, how about Gallo plus one of Severino / Gordon / Prato / Schobel for one of the Astros OF prospects that are not far off.

Lewis to the OF and Lee to 3rd would be ideal IMO. An infield of Kirilloff / Julien / Correa and Lee sounds pretty good. Lewis / Buxton / Wallner in the OF. If they add Lane Thomas, great. Good luck getting flyballs to drop in that OF.

What difference does their original intention make? We are talking about his roster position TODAY and going forward. The intent when they signed him has absolutely nothing to do with the current discussion.

Brooks Lee for July .... .375 / .439 / .653 / 1.092 Prato since 6/10 .......... .324 .447 .629 1.076 Is there a source to track the position played for Milb players? I am wondering how much time Prato is seeing in LF. This guy is looking legit! I could see him being involved in a trade for Lane Thomas.

Look at the bright side. The Mahle trade was even worse.

So we need a place to play Polanco and Lewis but we should trade for another guy?