1984Echoes

To add further context to that... Does anyone think that Harris has reviewed what he has, enough to make some decisions? IE: If he's looking at Tork, Malloy, and/or Jung... is he willing to make an offseason decision on one or two of them? What about Mize, Manning, Madden, etc...? Anyone else Harris should think about trading? I'm not going to speculate on return. Just on whether Harris would/should be ready to makes some moves...

I don't think they'd be trading for what will mostly be available at the deadline: pending FA's. I think if Harris decides to do some kind of strategic trade it'll be over the offseason. And add someone with a few years of control remaining at least...

Didn't the Yankees trade Andrew Miller and/or Aroldis Chapman and then re-signed one of them as a FA over that winter...?

I think the top 4 should be Keith (LH), Perez (SH), Greene (LH), Canha (RH). After that, Hinch will just have to mix and match as best he can... Just a WAG...

I would view Flaherty and Kelly on the same basis: My first preference would be an extension prior to the trade deadline. Flaherty 2-3 years... if he's agreeable and the two sides can come to an agreement. Same with Kelly. I wasn't thinking about him so much because we have Rogers and Dingler-on-the-cusp.... But to G2's point: He's definitely better than Rogers. So... if we did sign him to, say a 2-year extension, then I would let Spring Training decide things. Meaning... an injury decides things for the team (who makes the opening roster). No injury, and let's say Dingler proves, at least in spring training, that he's ready for MLB... then maybe the team makes a spring training trade of Rogers, or even if Dingler starts in AAA again but shows that he's ready for the jump, an early-season trade of Rogers... to open the door up for Dingler. I think Rogers will have trade value. But my straight-up preference for 2025 catchers would be Kelly and Dingler. So if that happens next year... then whatever Harris gets for Rogers next year is fine by me. And if Rogers is able to hold off Dingler all of next year, sobeit. But it will take all of the above to actually happen (not the Flaherty part...). Nothing has to be decided, today. Let that hash out next year. EXCEPT... Whoever has NOT signed an extension by the trade deadline, is an exposure to being lost at the end of the season for nothing. And is probably - actually, most definitely - worth much more at the trade deadline. So those two are going to be traded at the deadline, IMO... UNLESS they are signed to an extension prior to. I would not be opposed to extending either one, or both of them.

They're looking at his stint at Western Kentucky in 2023, with: 12.2K's/ 9, 2.3BB's/ 9, and 5.2H's/ 9 for a 0.84 WHIP, and trying to figure out if they can squeeze that kind of performance out of him through the A-ball and higher levels... Wingenter was worthless so if Weins just craps out then nothing was lost anyways... I would call it a calculated risk. A good one to take.

And I can hear Eddie Murphy's voice with that...

Hinch is working with what he's got. Who is it that you would have pitch the 9th?

The problem is that he is not signed. So you're losing him.

I would use Vest...

Also: TWO innings still left...

But what about Carpenter? 😉

Move him.

I've heard nothing on moving on from Compher. Where are you hearing that?

I'll go along with this. But I'm going to need to apply my, ummmm.... UNIQUE!!! Perspective: Let's stretch out Wentz. Make him a starter. In... TOLEDO!!! In fact, let's do that now, or as soon as Lael Lockhart can be called up. Wentz can be stretched out in Toledo... and stay there. He can be the "break glass in case of emergency" Detroit starter... meaning there would have to be 6 starting pitcher injuries before we needed to turn to him for an "emergency" start. And even that would be debatable as Hinch can always go to a bullpen day instead... As for Lockhart: he's struggling right now in Toledo (first time in AAA) with a 1.58 WHIP as a starter. But last year, and this year in AA, he had a 1.167 and 1.036 WHIP as a starter, respectively. My theory, and this is only a theory... Is that if Lockhart can be switched to the lefty multi-inning (2-3) middle reliever in Detroit, and ALSO be able to work with Fetters, he can: (A) "Cut loose", or "let 'er rip", whichever is the preference, for those 2-ish innings, and (B)e better than Wentz has been this year. Not a highly impossible task, IMO. And (C) Work with Fetters. I don't know what Fetters can do with him, but I'm interested in finding out. I actually have no idea what kind of "stuff" Lockhart has... But I do know that he struck out 11 per 9 in Erie last year, albeit with 4 BB's per 9; THIS year in Erie he was at 11.6 K's/9, and 2.9 BB's/9. His struggles in Toledo have him at 12.2 K's/9 and 5 BB's/9. If switching him to middle reliever, even though it's in Detroit (per my theory), he could: Pound the strike zone. Cut loose. And Fetters work with him on anything that helps at all. I see upside, IMO... But that's just a theory.

That would be my plan too. Let Kasper and Danielson hit the roster and float around until they settle on positions... Still have Compher, Copp & Veleno too. If one of them makes it to 2C (Danielson would be my guess), there's still 3C (Compher or Kasper on a guess) and 4C (Copp on a guess, pushing Veleno to wing or elsewhere...). Even if that takes more than just 1 year... Let these guys settle in and then figure out afterwards what else needs to be plugged in or improved... IMO.

Well... It's not so much overrating at this point, It's throwing everything against the wall to see what sticks.

That... And maybe they also woke up and said: "WAIT! The "other" guy in this debate, Trump, is running again? HOLY ****!!! I better wake the **** up!!!"

Let me rephrase that: Do you want to know who I REALLY think will be 1st and 2nd pair LHD? Edvinsson and Johansson. Chiarot 3rd pair. Gustaf as PP specialist and mixed in judiciously. But I don't think the team breaks camp like that. I think Johansson will have to earn it. Like Walman did in 2022-23. Slowly, once he acclimates to the NHL and shows the team what he can do. Just a guess.

Berggren will be the extra forward so I didn't know where to put him, at least at this point... but yeah, I should've listed him. As for Gustaf/ Chiarot/ Holl/ Petry... Let's look at the team mid-season and see where these questions/ viewpoints land. As for Chiarot specifically... Holl is not ahead of him, Edvinsson is. Holl is simply the right-shot pairing with Simon. So Chiarot is either 1st pair LHD with Mo, or 3rd pair LHD with whomever ends up as 3rd pair RHD. I think that will be Petry on 3rd pair, not Holl. And as for Chiarot... I've voiced multiple times my displeasure with him in here so I think you know why I have little confidence in him. I will give you he was better in 2023-24 than 2022-23... I don't think that will last. Ideally, I WANT him as 3rd pair so he can go simply knock a few people around and play 3rd/4th lines instead of 1st/2nd lines. He can be assistant captain from the 3rd pair this season. If he's 1st pair this year with MO, I think he will look like the same **** he did as in 2022-23 and will have to be separated again. I'm planning on it, as you can see above. Gustaf has young legs and is a decent defender, therefore I stuck him with Mo. Ideally, here, Edvinsson acclimates to NHL level quickly and takes over top pairing with MO and pushes Gustaf down to 2nd pair, where he belongs. I don't even know if he belongs there... like you said, low rent.

On Tork... I think he'll be in Spring Training camp next year... but after that, I wouldn't put money on anything... And I hear ya' chas on him being sent to Toledo if he can't make the opening day roster, that's probably the most likely outcome... The only thing that's striking me a little bit at the moment (and I don't really know what that means for Tork's future...), but it sure seems like the Org is testing lots of different guys out at 1B. In Detroit, that's been Canha, Urshela (yesterday) and today it's Ibanez. Just an interesting factoid if nothing else...

I think the rumor was Toronto wanted to get rid of the contract, maybe even at this trade deadline. So the cost might be less in prospects than what one would think if they're trying to dump a contract or open up a space for someone else... And if he claims the position, meaning he's back to being a 4-ish WAR SS... Then eat the cost of Baez's contract, that's a no-brainer decision... And offer a 3-year extension to Bichette: FA at 29 (or is that 30?). Even if he declines, like I said, I think the prospect cost might be less than one would expect. Hell, offer him 5 years and good money... This is an easy no-brainer... for me. I don't know about Bichette... and... YMMV.

And the HBP's... He had two of them yesterday. Ditto on the Org sees potential... You can see the "stuff" that he has. It's good. He just has to be able to consistently "harness" it. I have no idea if that means repeatability, smoothing mechanics, gaining better command and/or control... or whatever. It's there, he has "it"... but he does have to do better than the 1.70 Toledo WHIP that he has or the 1.43 minors WHIP... Pitching consistently like yesterday though... keeps him on the "future rotation" list.

I think I saw that on Trade Rumors somewhere... Yes, I would definitely be down with a trade for Bichette.

4 lines: Tarasenko - Larkin - Raymond - I want to see this line in action. Debrincat - Compher - Kane - I'm putting Kane-Cat together and I'm LEAVING it like that. Rasmussen - Copp - Kasper - I think this could be a great two-way line. I almost want Compher here moreso than Copp but then I'd have to figure out the #2 Center... I'm fine with Copp here though... Or maybe Kasper is centering and Copp slides to wing? Maybe... but it wouldn't start out that way, Kasper would have to acclimate to this level before he gets his Centerman shot and pushes Copp to wing... IMO. Motte - Veleno - Fischer - checking line? Can anyone steal a job from any of these 3? Mazur? D pairings: Gustafsson - Seider - is Gust better than Chiarot? Is this the best pairing we can get for Mo? At least until Simon is ready for 1st pair? Edvinsson - Holl - I had Petry here but he's 36 and Holl is 32. Petry on 2nd pair? meh. Worse than meh. I think Holl will surpass Petry in training camp this year and be on the 2nd with Simon... just a guess. Chiarot - Petry - I'll take whatever we can get here from these two guys 7th & 8th: Maatta and Johansson. I have no idea what playing time either of these guys will get so they are here for now. Both LHD so they're sort of blocked. But they'll get playing time. I just won't guess where that will be at this point...