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CAVEATS and QUID PRO QUO's Dept.
The Mainframe would like to have this trade back. We're not trying to grovel a paper trade victory here.
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ZOOM ZOOM Dept.
Billy Zoom nailed a prediction on a Cards-or-Dodgers ML ready starter for an M's outfielder. That, amigos, is quite a call. Bat571 seems to have been with him; check me on that because nothing against Bat but my memory is worthless. :- )
Neither Zoom or Dipoto are selling Gonzalez as an elite prospect; Dipoto withheld his "premium prospects" exactly because he didn't get the young TOR he craved. But Zoom is willing to chime in towards Gonzalez' upside, predicting not only success but an actual #2 starter within 2 years.
Which would be something because Dipoto emphasized Marco's "preparation and readiness" for 2017. A 100+ ERA would indeed help the club muchly if it is out of the #5 slot.
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DENIZENS
... Have done a great job in registering their camera angles on Marco, Polo! Marco ... Here are the main Frame takeaways on the situation:
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BAD = what was it, our #2 for their #18. Very nice. What a farm system. (Though I think Tank is now their #4 and Marco our #7. There is a Beltway factor on the rankings.)
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BAD = It is up to this crew now. Needed some wind in the sails for a roster that has been grinding manfully. (But see Paul Silvi's opinion that it actually does boost the clubhouse.)
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BAD = Marco's elbow problems. It's problematic to trade hitting for pitching even if there are no injury questions pending.
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GOOD = The Mariners' outfield situation is Dipoto's pride and joy and it should be. Those four young hosses stay. 4-to-make-3 is exponentially better than 3-to-make-3. Several times we've gotten one of the OF's nicked up, or in a little slump, and we're still left with 3 starters we like, not 2.
Many have forgotten about Mitch Haniger but not me, gentlemen, not me. Growing pains are part of it but this man is the real deal.
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GOOD = Marco Gonzalez is a pull at the deck -- as was Tank O'Neill. They're not married to Gonzalez. And were they married to O'Neill? Quite the opposite; he had a tough path into the lineup at all. If Marco doesn't throw well, you can flush him. The same was true of Tank!
It's important that Marco is not Wade Miley or Yovani Gallardo. If he doesn't pitch good, fuhgeddaboudim.
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GOOD = We keep Max Povse. I'll take Povse's chances over Marco's right here, right now. 6 years of Povse for 1.5 years of a merely above-average relief pitcher, that would have been truly weird.
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GOOD = Popups and lefty fly balls in Safeco with fleet jardineros. Some wag on LL chimed in, "Dipoto thinks infield pops (weak contact) is the new market inefficiency," thinking of Moore and Marco.
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GOOD = I do like the template Marco brings, the lefty straight changeup.
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GOOD = The makeup is supposed to be really good. Much of baseball is between the ears. In projecting young prospects, poise is truly the "market inefficiency." Even when makeup is not underrated, it's underrated. See Hisashi Iwakuma, and the industry's early disdain for him, as exhibit A.
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GOOD = see Greg Johns' and Bob Dutton's twitter feeds. Their impression is quite a bit different from the Think Tank's.
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DR'S R/X
You ask me, I un-do the deal. As a casual observer here -- I have never even seen Gonzalez pitch -- the trade reminds me of when we had a hot commodity in Jarrod Washburn midseason, and took back ... a vanilla three-pitch lefty? Scouts were going, "Luke French is just another dime-a-dozen lefty. We offered them twice that." Also, it's not like Jerry Dipoto is immune to bad deals.
But hey. The bottom line is that this is a GM we are very lucky to have. He pointed a finger at Tank O'Neill's future and said, "Not gonna happen." He pointed a finger at Marco Gonzelez' future and said "That guy, he's going to help in the big leagues." Neither judgment is unreasonable. His judgments on Jean Segura, on Mitch Haniger, on Ben Gamel, on Edwin Diaz as a reliever, and other judgments, showed some good visualization.
Worth consideration is the fact that --- > Jerry Dipoto likes Marco Gonzalez and wasn't so crazy about Tyler O'Neill.
BABVA,
Jeff
