This is from Heyman, not sure how legit this is but take it for whatever. Slow news day and boring winter meetings.
Trading Ender Inciearte to make room for AJ makes no sense. Trading Flowers and Prospects for JT also....
Mets get Realmuto and Swanson. Marlins get Rosario and Newcomb. Braves get Syndergaard!
Maybe slightly higher - IF he somehow stays healthy for the first time in years AND doesn't crumble under the pressure of being sold as the guy AA went out and gave really good prospects for to front the rotation with Folty (much like he was sold as such an important piece to Yankee fans when they first got him). It's a little bit of personal preference, and I don't disagree that several years ago I'd have agreed that Gray had more upside than any of the guys I listed not named Gohara - but is it REALLY worth it to pay anything close to Cashman's current rumored asking price for a minimal upgrade if you're only getting Gray for one year?
That's the type of all-in move I don't have problems with - once you've "fixed" everything else. With Duvall as your current LF option and the exact same bullpen that was so bad last season, how much better does Gray make you? Say he actually (surprisingly) returns to that 3 win Pitcher everyone thinks he could bounce back to if he gets out of NY. Does that really move the needle any when you could rotate Soroka, Touki, Fried, Gohara, and Wright through the #5 slot and at least have a 2 win Pitcher there? If we already had a Closer you feel like you can count on (wouldn't even have to be one of the big names - I'd be fine with Soria or Allen who can give you dominant stretches and allow you to use Viz, Minter, and Sobotka as fallback options when they're cold) and an "answer" in LF (whether that "answer" is Brantley, Pollock, Peralta, or Pederson wouldn't matter either) and you're sold that Gray would at least be your #2 and push everyone else down a slot, I'd be fine with it.
I just don't think Gray currently makes enough of a difference to even sneeze at by himself - like I said, that could change in a hurry if Frazier came with him and you could make a fair value deal for the two of them while also being able to dump Julio's salary so you could upgrade the pen.
Has there EVER been a statement and question a certain someone should absolutely never have made and asked publicly more than...
Kinda pathetic to see yourself as a message board knight in shining armor. How impotent does someone have to be in real life to resort to playing hero on a message board?
That's fine. As I've said before, I'm ok calling them both 3 WAR pitchers. But the notion that Gray is a much better pitcher than Porcello is silly and not supported by facts. And if you had to bet on one pitcher producing 3 WAR or better next season, it shouldn't be the guy that hasn't pitched more than 160 innings or more in 3 years and is coming off a pretty poor season.
Last edited by Carp; 12-14-2018 at 05:13 PM.
A series of moves that gets the Braves:
1. JTR for Flowers, Riley and a pitcher
2. Gray for minimal prospect value
And then one of:
3a. Haniger for Newk plus more
3b. Frazier for pitching
3c. Brantley on a 3-4 year deal
3d. Puig at a good value
Ends up being a very solid off season, though getting Gray probably means they don’t have enough money to sign Brantley.
If Newk goes in a trade, Gray makes more sense than he does now.
Last edited by Enscheff; 12-14-2018 at 05:15 PM.
jpx7 (12-14-2018)
Gray was injured in 2016 and the 1st month of 2017. Hasn't been on the DL at any other point in his career. So I'm pretty confident he can be healthy in 2018 as much as you can have confidence in any pitcher.
Nobody is even suggesting to come close to Cashmans rumored asking price
Depth is always good in your starting rotation. But if the Braves plan to keep all of their current starters then no it doesn't make sense. But when there are plenty of ideas of moving Julio for payroll, Newk + prospects for an OF upgrade or Realmuto then that depth can evaporate pretty quick.
jpx7 (12-14-2018)
I am hoping we get Realmuto for a price I like, that we re-sign Sanchez and trade Teheran, and add one of Brantley, Martinez or Puig in the OF. Plus I still hope AA is asking about Simmons from the Angels and would trade a package of Newcomb and Swanson to get him.
jpx7 (12-14-2018)
I'm starting to wonder just how far we'd go in order to dump Julio. That extra 10 milli could help a good bit. I wonder if we'd be willing to find some rebuilding team and give them a C level prospect to take on Julio's contract. It probably depends on whether or not we have a move in mind that would push us out of our financial comfort zone.
DOB just tweeted this out and quickly deleted it. Obviously meant to be a DM but is causing rampant speculation on twitter
what was that about?
That's a good way for DOB to mess up his limited connections... its probably nothing but if it is sounds like a typical AA move that no one saw coming