That guy's not gonna be pitching 3 years from now.
But I was wrong about Lindor so feel free to up this comment down the road.
The Official 2024-25 MLB Hot Stove Thread
- Thread starter ineedsleep212
- Start date
But I was wrong about Lindor so feel free to up this comment down the road.
god shamgod
Veteran
That guy's not gonna be pitching 3 years from now.
But I was wrong about Lindor so feel free to up this comment down the road.
why not? He’s 30, which is how old “best pitchers not named sasaki on the market fried & burnes” areMost players hit free agency at 29-30, exceptions were young phenoms like arod,Harper,machado & heyward
I don't have an issue with it but I think defense is wildly overrated by MLB front offices and analytics. I'm not saying field a team of nine Soto's but you can always find a glove. You cannot find a guy who hits like Soto.
god shamgod
Veteran
No it’s not
. pca had hands down the best drs for cf’s & played the least innings of any qualified cfBaseball is a game where one run makes a difference
MAYBE defense is overrated by analytics.
Maybe.
But I can't overlook this part of the game when the Yankees literally lost a World Series because of defense.
Canada Goose
Pooping on your head :umad:
Yankees didn't really have that super team vibe until the mid 2000s, and they didn't win a chip until 2009.
Yankees had Jeter/Bernie/Giambi/A Rod/Sheffield/Matusi for a few seasons and didn't win one ring.
There was far more talent in MLB back then compared to today so these stacked Dodgers team are far more annoying. Like Manny Ramirez said a few pages back, outside of a handful of teams, most of MLB is AAA status
The best you can hope for is the Dodgers become another 90s Indians or 90s/2000s Braves, stacked rosters, but only one ring to show for it 
In the 2000s even the Angels and White Sox won chips
Those two teams are completely hopeless today 
And he gives it all back at the plate. He's a nice complimentary piece but a guy who averages fewer than three chances a game in the field cannot compare to a bat like Soto.No it’s not
Baseball is a game where one run makes a difference
Like I said, I don't want a team of guys with ten thumbs. I just want you to make the routine plays, which NY failed to do in that one fateful inning.MAYBE defense is overrated by analytics.
Maybe.
But I can't overlook this part of the game when the Yankees literally lost a World Series because of defense.
And dominant pitching can make the quality of the defense behind him irrelevant. Which is increasingly the case with the way teams trot out pitchers for three innings at the most and then six relievers, all maxing out each pitch.
god shamgod
Veteran
Pca had 7 hr’s 30 rbis and a 765. ops in the 2nd half along with elite defense
Only michael Harris played less innings at cf with the same drs(5 more innings) that’s a solid player as a rookie
Of course that’s not Soto but we saw sotos woat defense in the postseason too
I know he's still young and theoretically will improve. I just prefer building around and paying the bats, then filling in the gaps around him. There's just so few guys who are really impact bats anymore that those guys are more valuable than ever, in my eyes.Pca had 7 hr’s 30 rbis and a 765. ops in the 2nd half along with elite defense
Only michael Harris played less innings at cf with the same drs(5 more innings) that’s a solid player as a rookie
Of course that’s not Soto but we saw sotos woat defense in the postseason too
With the expanded playoffs, it's viable to get through a regular season piecing it together for 162 games and relying on elite defense/timely hitting. But in the playoffs, you need some tentpole bats. The defensive players, jack-of-all-trades guys wind up going 1-16 as your team gets swept out of the postseason.
I think teams need to shift a little more toward traditional offensive skills like making contact and hitting for average.
For most of baseball's history, teams were constructed with some kind of balance. You had your contact guys, your defense guys and your sluggers.
So typically up the middle, you didn't care too much of those guys hit a ton. Catcher, SS, 2B, CF -- those guys were your defenders. If you could get league average offense out of them, you'd be thrilled.
The corner outfield spots were your power bats, as well as 1B.
3B was more defense, but you could hide a weak outfielder who could hit if you needed to.
DH was whatever.
It just seems to me that increasingly over the past 15 years or so, teams decided that this doesn't matter. They just want rosters of guys who can hit home runs and if they were below average fielders or base runners, so be it.
And maybe no team exemplifies this more than the Yankees, who over the past decade featured largely useless or 1 skill players like Joey Gallo, Gary Sanchez, Rougned Odor, Aaron Hicks and even to some degree Giancarlo Stanton.
I don't know if the stats necessarily back this up. I haven't looked into it. It's just my perception.
I hope that things are changing though. I did notice that the Pirates, for example, moved O'Neill Cruz out of shortstop during the season. And while Judge hasn't been terrible at CF, everyone seems to acknowledge that he cannot remain there for much longer.
You have to find guys and build a roster with a high floor because not everyone can be successful with 8 high ceiling players. At least not all the time. And when you have budget constraints.
Someone like Juan Soto is both a high floor and a high ceiling player. The 5-6 teams chasing him are right to do so.
But I don't think any team is 1 player away from a 2025 World Series championship. Even the Yankees and Dodgers have other holes on their roster, and who knows what players might get injured or decline next season.
For most of baseball's history, teams were constructed with some kind of balance. You had your contact guys, your defense guys and your sluggers.
So typically up the middle, you didn't care too much of those guys hit a ton. Catcher, SS, 2B, CF -- those guys were your defenders. If you could get league average offense out of them, you'd be thrilled.
The corner outfield spots were your power bats, as well as 1B.
3B was more defense, but you could hide a weak outfielder who could hit if you needed to.
DH was whatever.
It just seems to me that increasingly over the past 15 years or so, teams decided that this doesn't matter. They just want rosters of guys who can hit home runs and if they were below average fielders or base runners, so be it.
And maybe no team exemplifies this more than the Yankees, who over the past decade featured largely useless or 1 skill players like Joey Gallo, Gary Sanchez, Rougned Odor, Aaron Hicks and even to some degree Giancarlo Stanton.
I don't know if the stats necessarily back this up. I haven't looked into it. It's just my perception.
I hope that things are changing though. I did notice that the Pirates, for example, moved O'Neill Cruz out of shortstop during the season. And while Judge hasn't been terrible at CF, everyone seems to acknowledge that he cannot remain there for much longer.
You have to find guys and build a roster with a high floor because not everyone can be successful with 8 high ceiling players. At least not all the time. And when you have budget constraints.
Someone like Juan Soto is both a high floor and a high ceiling player. The 5-6 teams chasing him are right to do so.
But I don't think any team is 1 player away from a 2025 World Series championship. Even the Yankees and Dodgers have other holes on their roster, and who knows what players might get injured or decline next season.
I disagree. If Cleveland or Seattle signed Soto, they would vault to serious contender status. Padres, Brewers, Mets, Royals, Tigers and Braves would also have an argument. His bat is that impactful.
And I realize San Diego improved without him but that was also due to what they acquired in the trade, as well as the emergence of Jackson Merrill and Jurickson Profar having a career year.
