1984Echoes

There is a flipside to this. Come Spring Training 2026, all bets are off. It doesn't matter if they are on the 40 or not. It doesn't matter who IS on the 40 come ST 2026. If Clark and McGonigle (one, or both) kick everyone's ass in 2026 ST, and the Org BELIEVES they are ready for MLB... Then room will be made on the 40. They'll break ST with the Tigers. And... it does NOT have to be at SS and CF. Gleyber is a FA after 2025, is he not? Who is playing 2B next year? Why not McGonigle? We can still throw out baez at SS until we get a better option... If Clark is able to make the 26 AND Parker is able to keep CF, Clark can easily shift to Left or Right. What is our best defensive OF in 2026? Who provides the most Offense? What if Calrk actually DOES steal CF in ST 2026? I'll let Hinch work that out. But I have ZERO expectations for next Spring Training so whatever happens, happens. I would just be ready for a mild shocker. With the 40 being ZERO impediment in ST 2026. Which may not be a shock at all to some...

They are. Bratwurst or Italian sausage subs are FAR superior!!!

Conversely... The Org could call up Trei Cruz as a band aid for 2025. just to cover Sweeney/SS after they demote him... And open up the SS position in Spring Training 2026 to all competition. Just a guess.

I think last year, Skubal didn't have enough history to command that package. He missed a lot of 2023 with injury and pitched well at the end of the season. In 2024... he hadn't won a Cy Young or anything at the trade deadline... And pitched a partial season the year before. I think aside from the Orioles normal "reticence", and even with 1.3 years left at last year's deadline... teams may have been leery of Skubal's recent health history or just weren't 100% certain about him... But in the 2025 season: Skubal pitched well at the end of 2023. He won the CY YOUNG in 2024!!! (I'm saying this from a marketing perspective... not trying to all-CAP's everybody... the CY, or pitching at that level, is a huge selling point for a pitcher, obviously...). He pitched 192 dominant regular season innings last year and ALSO pitched just as dominant in the postseason, with 19 innings at 0.79 WHIP and 2.37 ERA. What is he doing this year? Leading the Cy Young AGAIN. IMO.. I think the track record, right now, says he's the most dominant pitcher in MLB... right now. To your point, there are teams, probably a lot of them or most of them, who are looking at the 1 year of control and won't offer a package because he doesn't have 2 years or more of control. The Rays and Marlins can automatically be ruled out, of course, amongst others. But I think you are ignoring the fact that certain other organizations operate on a different basis. The Dodgers and Phillies, and sometimes Yankees and Mets, and maybe even a few others, are hell-bent on World Series Championships. you know Dombrowski is. You know that Dombrowski has no reticence whatsoever offering a package of players for a MLB player that he wants. It doesn't matter if it's Miggy, Scherzer, Fister, or anyone... If he wants Skubal, because he thinks he can win WS Championships with him, he will go balls out with everything it takes to get him. You know he will. You know he has no problems whatsoever working with Boras. The Dodgers? Money is no object. And what is the greatest threat to them winning WS Championships? Right now: It's the Phillies. And Brewers. And their problematic starting pitching after Yamamoto. They also will go all out to get a player they believe gives them a huge advantage towards winning championships. Including having to work with Boras. Including making a massive extension offer that satisfies Boras and Skubal and prevents him from getting to free agency (same with Dombrowski, who has a track record of doing exactly THAT!) And including giving up the prospects necessary (IMO) to block other teams from doing that and to put themselves in a position to work with Boras on an extension and getting it done. So... I could be completely full of it and my little "Godfather package theory"... But we'll see what happens this offseason. I won't be surprised if...

I did NOT say set us up better for 2026. I specifically stated that we would have just as good a chance in 2026... It's a small difference, but it's there... Which is predicated on "it's a crapshoot in the playoffs so just get there". As in, anyone can get hot. As in... it wasn't Denny McLain of 31 wins in 1968 that won us the championship... it was Mickey Lolich. I know you know that. It might not be Skubal who wins us a championship. That's just how baseball works. And I won't disagree with you on WANTING Skubal in 2026 because I love having dominant players and Skubal is a majot one. But I also know that "getting hot at the right time" counts for more than just one dominant player. And I'd rather have multiple dominant or near-dominant players that set us up for both 2026 and the next 5 years rather than one dominant player and betting ALL the money on that one player/card winning everything for us. Especially when that ONE player is a pitcher. I prefer a huge package for Skubal... sorry. IF there's one actually out there... I mean, I'm just guessing there will be.

I don't agree with this. I've waffled quite a bit between hanging on to Skubal for 2026 and settling for a draft pick after he leaves... And hoping he takes us all the way next year. Or trading him in the offseason. I believe we will get major offers this offseason. Offers that are too hard to pass up. This isn't all on you Shelton so others can pipe up or respond... just quotin you as the lead-in... I think it's convenient for someone to say "but they're only trading for ONE YEAR of Skubal!", except... that's not how certain Organizations think. We in fact, traded Maybin & Miller and other spare parts for Miggy and then proceeded to IMMEDIATELY extend a huge contract for him. After arbitration, they signed an 8-year $152 mill extension... before his free agent season even started. No one in here thinks that can't happen again? Dodgers? Phillies? Yankees? Etc. No one thinks they won't do the same? It doesn't even matter that it's Boras. Any one of them could easily sit down with Boras and hammer out a contract. In Spring Training 2026. And with that... After Skubal wins his second Cy Young this year... Big offers will come in. Here are two I guessed at on Page 3 (or 4) in here: Dodgers Offer: Emmett Sheehan, 25 yo RH SP; Emil Morales, 18 yo RH 3B; Josue De Paula, 20 yo LH OF; Jack Dreyer, 26 yo LH RP; Alex Freeland, 24 yo SS/3B. Phillies Offer: Andrew Painter, 22 yo RH SP; Justin Crawford, 21 yo LH CF; Orion Kerkering, 24 yo RH RP, Aidan Miller, 21 yo RH SS/3B, Mavis Graves, 21 yo LH SP (NEEDS to be converted to RP though...). Those are GOOD packages. And they will set us up not only for the future (better than a 2026 comp pick), but ALSO for 2026. We have just as good a chance to win it all in 2026 with either of these returns, as we do with just Skubal. IMO. And Dombrowski has NO reticence to trade big name prospects... None at all. Neither do the Dodgers, who are ALL-IN chasing championships. I think it's wrong to just dismiss offers that we will receive this offseason out of hand. Not saying you're doing that Shelton... but I think others are...

More than that. Trump and the ICE wanted IRS records to track down legal/illegals that they didn't like so they could deport them and... the IRS head refused. So he got canned. And Bessent will, obviously, hand over the records to the ICE.

They need some help though... I'd like to see Kasper up there with those two. Probably Edvinsson too... except I like it that they have them separated so there is one dominant D on the ice most of the time. That would make it hard for both Seider AND Simon to be up there... And... they need to find the right partner for each of them.

He has a .367 OPS against lefties this year so Hinch may not be this-year-active with that... SSS. But still... He did better last year against lefties at .718 so... at some point, Hinch will go back to him for another try methinks...

Kerry "Bonds" Carpenter.

Well... obviously, this is the KEY question!!!

Where is the Motown Forums IN-DEPTH analysis of this guy we just traded for? Is he any good? Does he have 5 tools? How many cousins does he have? What was the name of his Venezuelan Little League team in 3rd grade? The Maracay Margates?

Negative is good. Positive means it's fractured or worse.

BEAUTIFUL outing by Melton. My guess is he's done for the day... That **** umpire was squeezing him at the end. There was a definite strike not anywhere close to the edge or anything and that's a ball? FU Ump.

So now trading for Paddock is simply treading water...

Yes. Oh wait... OUCH! Now trade for Jacon DeGrom please.

Also, Pacheco is 22 (and in high-A)... Has he found his batting stroke, like Meadows... after struggling just barely over the Mendoza for his career so far...? Enquiring minds want to know.

I think Melton has more starter upside... long-term. But this would be a great year to break him into the playoffs as a bullpen guy... Per one inning stints, as you say...

THAT I could live with. And not just Melton... I think Montero would be much, much better in the bullpen.

Well that certainly makes this trade a WIN!!!

He has a 1.28 WHIP this year and a 1.21 career WHIP so he's pitching on a par with Flaherty and Mize. One of these 3 goes to the bullpen in the post-season.

If we can avoid any more Montero starts a huge win for me.

The flipside is I wonder if they start losing games from losing one of their top two relievers that would knock them out of wild card contention. Too close to the deadline for the team to decide what the impact of losing Clase will have... But for what it's worth, if I were the Tigers I'd have more interest in Cade Smith anyways... Not that there was any chance of that happenin'...

6'0" switch-hitter... (PS: It's Danandres Colon per the profile sites...): This was on Sports Recruit dot com: Danandres Colon's Baseball Recruiting Profile My name is Danandres Colon, I am 15 and I was born in Allentown, PA. I moved to Eagle Lake, FL with my family when I was 4. I have brother who is 13 and a sister who is 22. My father is from Puerto Rico and My mother is from Colombia. This is the reason why I am fully bilingual in English and Spanish. I go to a Hispanic church called Corazones Agradecidos with my family. My favorite subject is Math and I play the French Horn in my school band. I enjoy listening to music and playing MLB the show. My favorite baseball team is the New York Yankees and my favorite baseball player is Roberto Clemente, the reason why I wear his number #21. I started switch hitting when I was 13 and half years old. Prep Baseball dot com: Danandres Colon CLASS OF 2025 SS 2B Danandres Colon Lakeland Christian School (HS) • FL 6' 0" • 180LBS S/R • 18yr 5mo Travel Team: Top Tier (These look like they're from 2023...): 60 time: 7.43 Infield velocity: 85 Hand Speed: 22.7 Exit Velocity: 98.1 (high) Bat Speed: 78.9 (average) Average Launch Angle 22%

Two thumbs up on that. I Concur!