BD wrote:
Keyser Soze wrote:
Obviously they have a shit ton lot of work to do. I don't expect them to get everything done in one off season but they have to start filling in the many holes on the roster with long term players. I expect Eloy will be up in April to man one of the corner OF spots and Zack Collins will be up in the summer to catch. I'm hopeful Cease will also be up in the summer. To do list:
1. Release Welington Castillo
2. Find long term 3B
3. Acquire two starting pitchers
4. Acquire 2-3 impact relievers
5. Make a decision about Abreu and Avi. Sign or trade them
6. Delmonico, Davidson and Palka are redundant players. Make a decision on who to keep and who to trade
Why is releasing Wellington Castillo the most important item on your off-season list?
Options 2-4 imply the team will try and contend season unless you're referring to 1 year rental types for the end of the rotation.
Do they really need to make any decisions on Abreu or Avi? Neither have much trade value. Garcia's injury plagued season doesn't make me want to give him long-term money either. Abreu's deal doesn't make to extend either given the position he plays and value.
Palka probably deserves more at bats, but I'm not overly optimistic he's nothing more than a .220 HR hitter ultimately.
It's hard to see how this team doesn't improve next season with some urgency from the front office. At the same time, it's very hard to see them as anything more than a 70-80 win team if things bring right.
Castillo was a bad signing from day 1. He's not very good and now he's taking playing time away from younger better players. He's also not someone you want around young players especially for an organization that talked so tough about steroid users. It's bad optics.
Why shouldn't they try to contend. They've done more than enough losing. Lets try something different. Last season they used 11 different starting pitchers. Currently they have 3 big league starters in Rodon, Giolito and Lopez. They have some depth in the minors with Adams, Cease and maybe Stephens. They need 2 big league starters and whether they're 1 year rentals or long term guys will depend on how the market plays out but they will have options.
Avi and Abreu are both free agents after the season. If they're not part of the future they need to go now so younger players who may be part of the future can play. Simply playing out the string and getting nothing in return when they leave should not be an option.
Palka can't hit lefties and is a defensive liability so he's a platoon DH. I'm not sure where more AB's come from.