I know it’s not till the end of next month but here’s a place we can discuss any rumors or talk about what we need.
I know it’s not till the end of next month but here’s a place we can discuss any rumors or talk about what we need.
LF and bullpen help is a no brainer.
I’m hoping Fried and Wright comeback so the rotation is set!Originally Posted by Garmel
Yeah, I think we're going to be okay there. However, we can't keep letting the LF position be fielded by a guy who has a negative WAR. Hell, all we need is a platoon guy like Joc Pederson because Pillar can hit the lefties.
jpx7 (06-02-2023)
I just don’t think we are getting rid of Rasorryio. As much as I would like to. Plus I just don’t think we have enough to get pen help and a LF. This is why Malloy would have been nice to have. Trade chip worth a damn.
Coppy
Malloy was traded for pen help. How’d that work out?
Assuming Pillar is going to be taking some PAs from Harris at some point, the clear need is an .800+ OPS bat that can competently play LF. Since the Braves have next to nothing in terms of prospects to deal, AA will have to target expensive contracts nobody else wants…possibly a rental.
So who is a competent LFer on a losing team that can post an .800 OPS and is either a rental or a bad contract?
jpx7 (06-02-2023)
Ozuna
Hilliard just not good enough?
Ivermectin Man
As bad as rosario is, Hilliard is even more useless
"Well, you’ll learn soon enough that this was a massive red wave landslide." - thethe on the 2020 election that trump lost bigly
“I can’t fix my life, but I can fix the world.” - sturg
Honestly, I would take a Forrest Wall/Pilar platoon in LF and just pray MH2 can figure out how to get rid of his Heyward herpes.
I know Wall is not great, but his splits versus RHP are not horrible and he would provide excellent defense and actual base stealing potential. He would make Hilliard useless... but then Hilliard is already useless.
Coppy
Given the Snitker method of bench usage, we may never know. I don't think he's all that great and couldn't understand the buzz some generated when he was acquired, but he's our back-up CF. He should probably get a few more ABs, but for some reason, Rosario continues to get sent out there to add to the adventure.
wxOBA vs RHP (min 50 PAs):
Acuña Jr., Ronald .440
Murphy, Sean .411
Olson, Matt .410
Ozuna, Marcell .357
Riley, Austin .333
Albies, Ozzie .286
Rosario, Eddie .284
Hilliard, Sam .278
Harris II, Michael .278
Arcia, Orlando .271
That's 5 legit bats plus 3 guys (Ozzie, Harris, Arcia) who aren't going anywhere vs RHP this year. And yes, discussions about Ozzie batting exclusively RHed need to happen.
wxOBA vs LHP (min 30 PAs to get Arcia in there):
Arcia, Orlando .552
Murphy, Sean .496
Acuña Jr., Ronald .492
Albies, Ozzie .448
Riley, Austin .371
Pillar, Kevin .367
Ozuna, Marcell .363
Harris II, Michael .346
Olson, Matt .301
Grissom, Vaughn .288
We know the team destroys LHP, and this is why. The need for a RHH simply isn't there, but it would be nice if TDA or Murphy could give Olson 1-2 days off a month. In the case of Albies, there's no way in the world the RHH who posts a .448 xwOBA vs LHP wouldn't post an xwOBA better than .286 vs RHP if he batted exclusively RHed.
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So given that Harris, Albies and Arcia probably are never going to sit vs RHP, the main need for this team on the offensive side is a LFer who can post a .320+ xwOBA vs RHP to replace Rosario. That guy can be a RHH, but he will probably be a LHH with platoon splits. If the answer ends up being more PAs for TDA at DH and Ozuna in LF...I guess we cringe and watch it happen.
I agree in the strongest possible terms that Albies should be exclusively RHH. And when it comes up, Snit and AA are like, well, we asked him about it in spring training, and he didn't want to do it. Which is utter bull****. He's their employee, and they have got to understand this data (or whatever proprietary measure they use, it will tell them the same thing). They want him to use a paint sprayer instead of a brush. A Harley instead of a Vespa. A...well, you get the idea. Albies is the Curacaoan Babe Ruth from the right side. From the left, he's just another swinging dick.
In 2023 the average xwOBA of RHHs vs LHPs (platoon advantage) is .335. The average xwOBA RHHs vs RHPs (no platoon advantage) is .316. That's an average platoon advantage of 19 points.
Now, there is some selection bias in that data. Some RHHs who face LHPs are not allowed to face RHP as often, so they are not allowed to drag down that .316 average. However, you can double, triple, or even quadruple that platoon advantage to 76 points, then round up to an even 100 points and Albies is STILL likely better as a RHH against RHP. It seems the reasonable worst case scenario for Albies as a RHH vs RHP (.348) is still much better than what he does as a LHH (.286).
jpx7 (06-02-2023)
The simplest way to get Ozzie to stop switch hitting is to tell him he will be in a platoon.. Call up Shew and make Ozzie sit until you can pinch hit for him. I bet he will start to rethink the switch hitting playing once a week.
Coppy
jpx7 (06-02-2023)
Lord knows I get pissed seeing Ozzie struggle LH, but he is a career .730 ops LHH. Maybe he'll come around
Love ya Matt but fk no.
Back to the original topic, I think the only ways the Braves can truly upgrade is if they take on a really bad contract. I don't think they have enough fungible assets they can move that would net much. Grissom maybe, but I think they have to hold on to both Shuster and Dodd. I think everyone else in the system is a $2 show bet. Don't get me wrong, I think a guy like Alvarez is a legitimate prospect (as are some of the injured pitchers), but there's not enough of a track record to interest another team.
You might to look at that trend more than just career total
Coppy
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