Contending teams have to consider weaknesses not just in their regular lineup and starting rotation. They have to consider scenarios about injuries after the deadline and how well they are equipped to deal with injuries at each position. So lets have a look at the team's depth and see where the needs might be.
Catcher: We have two quality players in Suzuki and Flowers. If one went down, the other would play three-quarters of the games rather than half. We have replacement level guys in Stewart and Brantley in AAA.
Infield: On the major league bench we have Culberson, Flaherty and Santana. In the minors, Ruiz and Franco. Let's be honest here. They are all replacement level players. Culberson has been magical. But look at his history and his strikeout and walk rates this year and his BABIP this year and you can see it is 90% pixie dust. Acquiring a player who is above replacement level would help a lot whether he be a starter or bench player. I'm not sure the distinction matters.
Outfield: Santana, Culberson and Tucker are the options. Replacement level players.
Starting pitcher: The rotation currently has Folty, Newk, Teheran, Sanchez, Fried. There are some other options currently on the DL: McCarthy and Soroka. And other options in AAA: Allard and Gohara. I think our depth with starting pitching is pretty good, even accounting for the greater likelihood of injury.
Right handed relievers: We have Viz, Winkler, Carle, Moylan, Wisler and Jackson in the majors. Phillips, Parsons and Sims in AAA. I'm ok with this group. Not ok if Viz is not able to come back and return to the form he has shown so far this year. There is a potential need for an acquisition here depending on Viz' health.
Left handed relievers: Minter, Freeman, Biddle. Potentially Fried and Gohara could round out this group. Given the reverse splits of Biddle and Freeman, I think there is a need for a situational lefty.
Summary: It is little remarked on around here, but except for catcher we have a bench of replacement level players. Pixie dust on Flaherty early in the season and Culberson more recently has camouflaged this. But it is the reality. A replacement level bench is ok if you don't plan on contending, but I think our ambitions are now to play meaningful baseball in September and October. It doesn't matter if you call a player like Solarte a regular or a bench player. His effect is to improve our depth and I think there is clearly a need to do that. Assuming it can be done at reasonable cost, we should be looking to acquire someone like that.
Looking at things from a depth perspective also highlights the fact that we are in better shape as far as starting pitching goes and acquiring someone like Hamels is less of a priority.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by msstate7
