"not worthy of its own thread" offseason thread

[CardsofSTL]

Someone needs to tell Rustin Dodd not to trust Nightengale

[Magneto2.0]

If that's his offer then stay far away. I'm shocked he's commanding that kinda deal, but then again, he means way more to the Royals than any other team.

[JL21]

I'm wondering if the interest -- if it truly exists -- comes from the Cardinals thinking they can get Hosmer to change his swing just enough that he elevates the ball more. As is, only two players hit a lower percentage of fly balls than Hosmer, but it's clear the power is there. I don't know. Hosmer at his worst, like 2016 and 2014, is a bad player. It would be an expensive gamble.

Bingo.

For him to be worth anything more than 4 years or $20M per year, he'd have to become- successfully- a Flyball Revolution Guy™. Otherwise, you're taking on a BIP-driven first baseman whose low end is replacement level, and you're going to have to swallow that level of production for big chunks of the contract. And at least the advanced metrics say he doesn't add anything with the glove or on the bases. So it's not like he's a well-rounded dude who's going to give you value if the bat craters.

He's not without value, he's an interesting gamble, I get all of that. But not for lots of years and dollars, and not this franchise. That's a gamble you take on a dude like LoMo a few years ago, or Jose Martinez a few years ago. Not Free Market Salary Eric Hosmer. Unless you're one of those teams that prints money and can risk blowing it like that.

[InvincibleCakeEater]

I'm wondering if the interest -- if it truly exists -- comes from the Cardinals thinking they can get Hosmer to change his swing just enough that he elevates the ball more. As is, only two players hit a lower percentage of fly balls than Hosmer, but it's clear the power is there. I don't know. Hosmer at his worst, like 2016 and 2014, is a bad player. It would be an expensive gamble.

Bingo.

For him to be worth anything more than 4 years or $20M per year, he'd have to become- successfully- a Flyball Revolution Guy™. Otherwise, you're taking on a BIP-driven first baseman whose low end is replacement level, and you're going to have to swallow that level of production for big chunks of the contract. And at least the advanced metrics say he doesn't add anything with the glove or on the bases. So it's not like he's a well-rounded dude who's going to give you value if the bat craters.

He's not without value, he's an interesting gamble, I get all of that. But not for lots of years and dollars, and not this franchise. That's a gamble you take on a dude like LoMo a few years ago, or Jose Martinez a few years ago. Not Free Market Salary Eric Hosmer. Unless you're one of those teams that prints money and can risk blowing it like that.

And it doesn't help that this is what Hosmer thinks...

“It’s something that I can’t worry about,” he said. “When I’m going good with myself, there’s certain keys I focus on, and it takes care of all the other stuff. Specifically, I don’t go and look at launch angles, or this angle or that angle. Whatever little key it takes for me to get going, it takes care of all the other stats.

“I’m a guy where most of my deeper balls are going to be to center field, or even to left center. I don’t think I’m a guy who puts a lot of loft on balls.”

[MrCrowesGarden]

FWIW—and I know this is anecdotal—but it seemed he fell in love with the homer in 2016 which led to him basically doing what Wong does when he fell in love with the homer. It seems he was able to tap into something last year by matching his HR total but not at the expense of other hits.

[Jocephus]

Cubs sued for better wheelchair access at Wrigley Field

The lawsuit says the owners are violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing better wheelchair access. It contends a $750 million renovation to the stadium built in 1914 eliminated wheelchair-accessible sections behind home plate and in the right-field bleachers.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2194 ... gley-field

[Joe Shlabotnik]

I cringe when I hear about swing changes. I know its been done. But that's also a huge gamble.

It worked for Lance Lynn last year!

[TimChopsula]

Cubs sued for better wheelchair access at Wrigley Field

The lawsuit says the owners are violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing better wheelchair access. It contends a $750 million renovation to the stadium built in 1914 eliminated wheelchair-accessible sections behind home plate and in the right-field bleachers.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2194 ... gley-field

Come down hard and fast, Boyfred

[Farewell Friends]

I thought more about the collusion comment and I'll use an example of Mike Moustakas:

Moustakas, while not my cup of tea, might be a consistent 3-win player over the next five years, but look at this list of third baseman in MLB:

Bryant, Turner, Arenado, Machado, Donaldson, Devers, Jose Ramirez, Seager, Rendon, Bregman, Beltre. We've just ruled out one-third of MLB teams and eight of them can be counted on to dole out huge buckets of money.

Now take it to the next level, where you've got ascending players like Suarez, Sano, Chapman and Gallo, along with reliable guys like Josh Harrison, Todd Frazier, Travis Shaw, Jedd Gyorko, Evan Longoria and Jake Lamb -- guys who Moose doesn't project to be much better than, if at all. Now we've just ruled out two-thirds of MLB teams and we're left with teams like the White Sox, Tigers, Braves, Marlins, Rays, Royals, Padres, Mets, Phillies and Yankees. (The Yankees are obviously holding out for Machado.)

So now you've got some of the lowest-spending teams in baseball and four of those aren't planning on competing in 2018. The Rays and Mets aren't going there and you're left with the Phillies and Royals as the obvious teams. Is this collusion or teams deciding that a certain player doesn't crack the threshold for paying a significant salary? There's an abundance of great third basemen and a hefty amount of guys who are serviceable. Does it make sense for tanking teams to spend $100 million on decent players when the way to get a great player is race to the bottom?

[Popeye_Card]

And at least the advanced metrics say he doesn't add anything with the glove or on the bases. So it's not like he's a well-rounded dude who's going to give you value if the bat craters.

Yeah, Hosmer *looks* like a guy that should be an athletic, well-rounded 1B. But he just isn't.

His bat would need to improve to be worth what he's seeking. At 28, I don't think that breakout is going to come. His previous highs are just not high enough to devote long years and high dollars to, when it hampers your defensive roster flexibility.

Looking at this another way, this is like playing an inside straight hand in poker, and you'd be waiting for your card on the river. Sure, if the betting wasn't high, maybe you still limp in. If somebody is going to bet big on Hosmer, there's no shame in folding when we have reasonable options at 1B and 3B already. Hosmer just doesn't give you a whole lot of outs if his bat doesn't improve.