4 Light Bulbs - Hot Stove Edition
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CRUNCH: Jerry Dipoto is comfortable with a CF job-share between Heredia and Haniger. MLB.com sez so. The idea passes the chuckle test, easily, presuming that Dyson doesn't face reality sooner than later.
I/O: This does free the M's to go for lumber in a corner OF spot. This frees the M's to target (ulp) J.D. Martinez, Jose Bautista, Jay Bruce, Lorenzo Cain, and their ilk. The Condor if JeDi gets REALLY ambitious.
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CRUNCH: Hanjag wants to build a little altar to Giancarlo Stanton "starting with" James Paxton, Edwin Diaz, and going from there.
The question is what the Marlins are going to do. If they're trading everybody off and building from the ground up, I don't think we have a package of prospects that would entice them.
However, I don't think they plan to sell off everybody, just who they can't afford. If they just traded Stanton and Dee Gordon, they still have a good core to build around and try winning while maintaining a realistic budget.
With Paxton's agent being Scott Boras, I think a package for Stanton starting with Paxton/Diaz makes a world of sense for both teams if the Mariners are truly going after Darvish and Ohtani-san. The Mariners add some dependability, the Fish get big upside at low cost.
I/O: Pipe dreams and air flutes notwithstanding, Stanton is on the market for what would be perhaps history's (?) biggest blockbuster. Says MLBTradeRumors.com, among many other sources,
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The Cardinals are more likely to trade for an impact bat than sign one, suggests Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.comreported Saturday that the Cardinals are willing to offer “one of their best young pitchers” for Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, and Goold adds that the Redbirds will have discussions with Miami about both Stanton and center fielder Christian Yelich this offseason.
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I know jack doodle about the NL, and despite that, can confidently say that "one of the Cardinals' best young pitchers" might or might not be well-suited to lace James Paxton's cleats. Objectively speaking, I would give Paxton and ? for Giancarlo Stanton, and that's saying a whale of a lot.
The problem is, Paxton has only what, 3 years of club control left, which might not be exactly what the Marlins are looking for. Edwin Diaz as a center piece, however, that is a horse of a different color.
Dipoto proved, several times over, that he is capable of anything.
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The Mainframe is not particularly pleased with the fact that Stanton hit only 59 homers last year. This would have fallen short of the big time even in 1963, much less before the McGwire/Sosa/Bonds era. But he does console himself with 7 WAR from a corner outfielder, which is like what our four athletic OF's did between them. Dr. D also would console himself with the nightly review of the pinball lights and bells on the ESPN HR Tracker. Not sure what it would be like, watching a season in which your #4 hitter went over 450 feet on 11 different occasions.
Who gets credit for bringing up Stanton with a straight face? Is it Bat and Hanjab? Anybody else?
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CRUNCH: Lookout Landing with a comprehensive sabe on Kyle Seager's problems, about 1,000 words' worth or so.
I/O: Bill James with a comprehensive Tweet on Kyle Seager's problems, about 140 characters or so: he led the league in long-fly outs.
Dr. D respects LL greatly, but this is exactly how you FIND roto steals on draft day, grabbing all the guys whose balls were caught on the warning track. On a sabe level, it ain't like Seager is popping pitches up. As a completely separate issue: the scouts'-eye view is that Seager is evolving, he is anticipating pitches better; he is attacking them better and he is showing avg-distance RESULTS.
The worst possible world is that Seager has to dial it back in, return to what he used to be. The worst possible world is not what is going to occur. B'lee DAT.
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CRUNCH: SodoMojo.com, often a pretty fun site, has the M's and Rays as dance padnas. Especially for Jake Odorizzi.
I/O: Double props for their roto-savvy remarks on Odorizzi's bad HR/F luck in 2017.
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Did Dr. D just get those crunches and I/O's backwards? Actually that's cool. Think of that time Bruce Willis went out to apologize to Ben Affleck in Armageddon. Affleck: "Well, that's like 11 words or something, but whatever." Dr. D's birthday is Nov. 16 and, him being way DC instead of Marvel, we're doing a big Justice League b-day.
Stanton would be a YUGE get