4hzglory

Lee just got hit in the face -don’t know how long he’s out.

I do remember a fair amount of talk about Neto right after the draft, including that scouts/others in the front office wanted him, but Avila wanted Jung. How true it was, I don't know, but it was before either played in the minors.

Top 5 in a strong organization is much different than even top 3 in some organizations.

And all Jung has done has hit since going back to Toledo. He just hasn't found his power in his limited AB's in the majors. I think he does have value - obviously not Clark, McGonigle, Rainer, Briceno, Lizarno value, but he comes in next IMO and is the only one I'd trade of that bunch for a rental.

I mean J.D. Martinez didn't bring back much . I don't think Sweeney moves the needle for the Jays, nor would I want to include him as Bichette is only a rental and we need options for next year. And Sweeney has shown enough in spurts IMO to have potential to be the bridge to McGonigle/Rainer. I'd much rather go into 2026 with Sweeney and Baez over counting on Baez. I also. don't think Bichette as a rental costs a fortune, but it may be Jung, Lee, and someone like Hamm.

It's still amazing to me how many wrote him off after his 1/2 season last year. If you looked at his history, every time he was moved up, he struggled for roughly 1/2 season. Then he came around. Obviously there was no guarantee of it happening in the majors, but to completely write him off as many seemed to do didn't make any sense to me.

It clearly didn't fix the reduced movement on pitches. In Jobe's start, they were showing the extreme lack of movement he was having compared to a normal start. It forces pitchers to pitch differently. They had a former Rockie pitcher on MLB and he was saying if he was building a staff there, he'd focus on pitchers with command and control and almost ignore spin/stuff as it is so reduced at that altitude.

Vierling is in Lakeland as are Meadows and Perez - likely due to the weather up north. Vierling played 3rd the past 2 games. Meadows has played this week as well. So far 1 for 5 with 2 walks in 2 games.

BA just did a statcast article and compared Lee to Marcelo Mayer and said it's much closer than people think. Showed Lee is hitting the ball harder, than Mayer, but Mayer is getting better launch angle. Lee has also been unlucky on BABIP (except for the past week). Mayer's defensive versatility gives him the overall edge as a prospect, but BA thinks they are very close. Similarly, they compared Rainer and Konnor Griffin. Rainer is hitting the ball harder and has better swing decisions, and his power is a notch better, where Griffin makes better contact when he chases. They said they would pick Rainer now as a hitter and compared him to Jackson Holliday as a prospect.

Last year the top rounds minus Rainer were very pitcher heavy

Yes, that is exactly right. He has to clear and we either need to decline buying him back or work out a trade with the White Sox for them to send him to AAA

The article also implies he could just be sent to the minors by the White Sox-no realization what the rules are for a Rule V pick.

On NFL Radio, they are regrading the 2021 draft based on if players are still in the league, $ under contract, years of contracts, guaranteed $, etc and they just did the NFC North and the Lions draft is by far the best in the NFL. They gave it A++. Realistically to even give it an A- like MCS did is having unrealistic expectations of what the normal drafts are. Most teams had 40% of their picks out of the league. The only lion pick out of the league was Jefferson. They by far have the most $, guaranteed $, multi-year deals of any team. And 2 All Pro's and another pro bowler. And without any extra top 100 picks.

And Skubal is listed as tomorrow's starter.

They wouldn't do that to Skubal. He is a man of routine and already knows when he's going to pitch.

They showed the graphic last night how much less his slider was moving and needless to say, both homers were off it

I definitely wouldn’t want Pickens attitude on the Lions. He doesn’t block at all either so isn’t a fit.

With no off day until the next Thursday, they will have to call up a SP sometime and I’d be shocked if it’s not the “free man” on Thursday

No, I mean player opt out. I'm certain they wouldn't accept a team opt out

Yep, I wonder if we will see anymore 9 year contracts like that. I could see Skubal ending up around 6 - 270 if he waits until FA. So add $5 mil to each of the seasons in my original proposal and you are at 7 for $280 with the first year being his arbitration year. He locks it in 1 season early and protects himself from the chance of getting injured. 2026 - $25 mil 2027 - $45 mil 2028 - $45 mil 2029 - $45 mil 2030 - $45 mil - opt out 2031 -$40 mil - opt out 2032 - $35 mil

It depends if the contract is signed while he is still under control (this year or this offseason) or as a FA. If he continues what he has done since August 2023, can see him getting close to $40 mil/yr over 6-7 years as a FA, but may be closer to $35-7 mil average if he signed right now as his arbitration number for 2026 is probably around $20 mil. My sample proposal. 2026 - $20 mil 2027 - $40 mil 2028 - $40 mil 2029 - $40 mil 2030 - $40 mil - opt out 2031 -$35 mil - opt out 2032 - $30 mil Total 7 years $245 mil with opt out after 2030 and 2031 as well as vesting option for 2033 for $30 mi depending on innings. $180 mil over 5 years (including his last arbitration year) before opt outs. Maybe even bump 2031 and 2032 (and 2033 vesting) numbers $5 mil each if he is top 3 cy young in 2029 or 2030. If need to put opt out after 2029 to get it done, do it.

Well, he’s still only 21 so he is actually young for AA

Why not is because if we are expecting to compete for the playoffs/championship next year, we should be looking to keep/add players like Skubal rather than sell. The difference between a comp pick (similar to McGonigle) and 2 top 50 prospects is worth it for 1 season of a top 5 pitcher in the game. The Angels didn’t “not recover” from losing Ohtani for a comp pick, they weren’t good before that. If we were in the position we were 2-4 years ago, yes trading Skubal would have made more sense. Not when we are a playoff caliber team.

The allocation of the signing bonus remains hits the cap all at once when a player is traded-similar to when they’re cut. Example: player signs a 4 year contract with a $40 million signing bonus. That bonus counts $10 million against the cap for each of the 4 years even though it was paid up front. So if the player is traded after year 1, the team takes a $30 million dead cap hit immediately. If he’s traded after year 3, it’s only a $10 million dead cap hit. So if they are going to cut a player anyway, they will try and trade them. If they aren’t and there is a significant amount of signing bonus still to be allocated, they likely will not.

Exactly. And then, in a playoff game with a team with Super Bowl aspirations, who do you trust more: a guy who hasn't experienced any real game time, or a seasoned vet, who was also in your offense the year before? They were only going to activate 1 and the other would be the emergency. It really makes complete sense without necessarily saying anything about how they feel about Hooker. The fact that they didn't bring in any significant competition this offseason says more about how they feel about Hooker IMO.