Difficulty of Finding Bats

[nsacpi]

I've discussed the difficulty of finding bats, especially ones with a modicum of power, in other threads. And praised the approach of teams that have focused more on accumulating hitting rather than pitching.

It is worth noting that others seem to agree. John Hart, for example, offered a couple interesting quotes after the Olivera trade. These are all from the AJC.

“You look out onto the market and it’s just tough to find those bats,” Hart said. “We don’t want to give up our draft picks (to sign big-ticket free agents)."

“Look, we just don’t have the upper-level bats that are in the (minor league) system. We’re going to have to be creative in how we bring in some of these guys…."

Another GM was quoted as saying having a hitter to trade at this year's deadline was like having a pot of gold, and not so with pitchers.

Finally, I will note that the past few off-seasons I've tracked what FA pitchers get paid per projected WAR and what hitters get paid. Typically, pitchers have been paid more by this measure. But this switched dramatically last off-season. I don't think it will switch back anytime soon.

[cajunrevenge]

Several years ago teams really started signing their good young hitters to contract extensions and now the FA field is lacking. One thing I remember Hart saying is that young pitching is the best currency when trading. A team only needs 1 good 2B but they need 12 good pitchers.

[nsacpi]

It is one of the subtleties of being a GM, but every good front office needs to be aware of how positional scarcity evolves. Hitters versus pitchers. But also by position. Some periods, good catchers are hard to find or good shortstops. You need a good grasp of current conditions, but also a sense of how things might shift going forward.

[gilesfan]

"We don't have bats"

Ok, lets draft 75 pitchers again next year and request pitching in return for 75% of deals.

[Horsehide Harry]

I have been saying this for a while. The idea of trading pitching, third and fourth tier pitching - because the Braves want to keep the best and trade the rest, right?, was never going to fly. That's why I have been pushing the idea of trading the likes of Wood, Miller and Teheran for bats then using the money in FA to bring in new arms.

Now, the return for Wood is questionable IMO. It appears that Hart fell in love with a shiny toy last offseason and couldn't get it out of his mind.

I would much rather have what the Brewers got from the Astros. I would think that Wood & Maybin would have been an equivalent to Gomez and Fiers. Given that, I think Phillips (described as untouchable just days ago), Santana, Hader & Houser, plus keeping Peraza > Olivera, Rodriguez, Bird and a pick mainly because Olivera is 30 and, while relatively cheap in comparison to ML players, isn't as cheap as having two corner OF who are ML minimum for 2-3 years.

[Julio3000]

It's not that difficult if you know where to look. They're nocturnal, you know.

[smootness]

The price for hitting with a pulse definitely makes you question the return we got for Gattis. I mean, 1 year and 2 months of Brandon Moss got the Indians the Cardinals' #3 prospect.

We got a good prospect duo for Gattis, and Ruiz's struggles have changed the way we think of the return, but 4 years of a guy who can hit 25-30 HR maybe should have returned more in hindsight.

[nsacpi]

The price for hitting with a pulse definitely makes you question the return we got for Gattis. I mean, 1 year and 2 months of Brandon Moss got the Indians the Cardinals' #3 prospect.

We got a good prospect duo for Gattis, and Ruiz's struggles have changed the way we think of the return, but 4 years of a guy who can hit 25-30 HR maybe should have returned more in hindsight.

Yup. That was one of our worst trades this past off-season.

[WaitingFor2017]

So it should be a no brainer to trade Cameron Maybin. Pirates need an OF.

[Hawk]

So it should be a no brainer to trade Cameron Maybin. Pirates need an OF.

If the Mets can't get Cespedes I wonder if they swing back in.

[JohnAdcox]

So it should be a no brainer to trade Cameron Maybin. Pirates need an OF.

So do we.

[Horsehide Harry]

So do we.

Not Maybin unless you plan to extend him. The goal as stated is not next year but 2017 and beyond.

[Heyward]

Not Maybin unless you plan to extend him. The goal as stated is not next year but 2017 and beyond.

You dont make a trade just for the sake of making one, thats horrible business

[Horsehide Harry]

You dont make a trade just for the sake of making one, thats horrible business

I did not say that you should. I don't get where/how you get that from the post.

The idea is to rebuild. You use the assets that you have today that are not long term solutions to help with that rebuild. Unless you plan to extend Maybin then he's one of your best trade chips to bring back a return that helps your rebuild. You certainly don't give him away.

[sturg33]

You dont make a trade just for the sake of making one, thats horrible business

Yet you're bashing the Pads in another thread for not making trades

[Heyward]

Yet you're bashing the Pads in another thread for not making trades

Padres had alot of good trade assets.

Ross, Cashner, Kimbrel, JUP, among others.

7.5 out, didnt trade anyone.

And we arent in their situation.

[Heyward]

I did not say that you should. I don't get where/how you get that from the post.

The idea is to rebuild. You use the assets that you have today that are not long term solutions to help with that rebuild. Unless you plan to extend Maybin then he's one of your best trade chips to bring back a return that helps your rebuild. You certainly don't give him away.

I'm sure he's been discussed in trade, but given his contract and our lack of hitters, they should need to be blown away to trade him.

[sturg33]

Padres had alot of good trade assets.

Ross, Cashner, Kimbrel, JUP, among others.

7.5 out, didnt trade anyone.

And we arent in their situation.

Why aren't we? You just listed 3 players who are under control several more years... Why would they need to move them unless they got good value?

Actually we probably would have gladly moved them. Lot of injured 30 year olds I'm guessing

[Heyward]

Why aren't we? You just listed 3 players who are under control several more years... Why would they need to move them unless they got good value?

Actually we probably would have gladly moved them. Lot of injured 30 year olds I'm guessing

1 year, 2 year, FA, 3-4 is their control levels after this year.

Forgot Ian Kennedy, FA after the year.

Preller could have really re-stocked their farm system but nope

[NinersSBChamps]

Hart would rather be cheap and try to find hitters through the draft instead of signing a legit major league player who has shown he can hit. I didn't care for Wren, but he was more aggressive about trying to win. He cared for offense although his idea of lineup didn't exactly pan out.