The initial thought of signing Puig makes me recoil in horror. I don’t like his antics and he reminds me too much of Carlos Gomez. But after thinking about this for a few days now, it might not be the worst idea. In 7 seasons he’s a 2.5 WAR/year player who is gonna hit .277 with 20-25 homers. There are very few options like that out there and he might be VERY affordable since he missed last year.
I’d prefer to sign Brantley and Bradley to pair with Tucker. But unless the Twins non-tender Rosario, which is very likely actually, most of what is left in the outfield market besides Brantley and Bradley that we can afford are platoon types…and Puig.
Even if Brantley wants to stay here, I’d be shocked if he signs before the league and the players union finalize what will happen with the DH rule for next season. Any player who already is a DH, or could be utilized as one, should wait on that decision. The possibility of having the NL teams bidding for you very likely drives up your price.
Sneed along with Humberto Castellanos and Austin Pruitt identified by Kaplan as possible DFA candidates in this article in The Athletic for clearing space on the 40-man roster for FA signings, etc.
Along a similar vein, he picks Cionel Perez, Taylor Jones and Abraham Toro as possible trade candidates.
Pruitt is out of options and coming off the elbow surgery (repair hairline fracture).
Toro is another one of those guys who’s handy to have around, and you need guys like him. It’s not that I love Toro so much, as wondering who’s gonna fill that role? Are you counting on Aledmys Diaz? Pardon me if I’m not sold on him being available day in and day out.
That said, I don’t see both Toro and Jones fitting into this roster.
I think one of them needs to be traded along with mid-level pitching prospects for a young veteran OF or P.
I think Toro is the better one 2 move because he was more highly regarded as a prospect, and younger so easier to trade but has also shown nothing outstanding in his brief experience.
At best I see Toro as an average MLB player. Jones has smaller window due to age but could be a late blooming all star ( Yastrzemski ish)
Wouldn’t roster building be easier if they had an injury list for the off season if players were recovering from surgery and unable to play until well into next season or beyond?
I like Jones just fine, and people say he can hit. But can he play 3B? SS? 2B? If not, he’s not really the guy to replace Toro/Mayfield. I don’t see it as a choice between Toro and Jones. They have to have another true infielder. Again, Diaz could be that guy, if he can stay healthy and be reliable for regular work. But can he be? That’s a big if, IMO.
I feel that Toro and Jones are very similar defensively.
I realize that Toro has played 2b. I can’t find any scouting reports or stats ( fielding stats are foreign and confusing to me) to back this up, but I just don’t see him able to play there regularly.
I feel they are both 1b/3b types with athleticism to play elsewhere when required - LF in Jones’ case and 2B in Toro’s.
I would be very very interested if anyone has scouting information on their fielding abilities and/or potential.
I may be totally off. He may be just fine, which is why I am hoping to get some data.
But when I watch him in the field I have not been impressed with his lateral movement and range.
And to me other than turning the dp that’s the biggest skill needed to play 2b
If Altuve and Diaz were both to get hurt and miss a chunk of time, I wonder what the Astros would do with 2b?
Play Toro there? Move Bregman and play Toro or Jones at 3rd? Move Bregman (2nd) and Gurriel (3rd) and play Jones or Toro at first? What about Straw? De Goti? Pena?
I would hate to see it happen, but I wonder what the plan would be.
Another clue is that the Astros started Toro at 2nd in a game early last year, but when Altuve went on the I.R. and missed 11 games later in the year they did not start him there once.
I’m thinking they decided during that one game that he isn’t a second baseman .
That said, good for Sneed, who is likely going to get more opportunities, and a raise, and also gets to pitch closer to home. (Tokyo is 3,409 miles from Kenai, Alaska. Houston is 4,291 miles from Kenai, Alaska).
No they didn’t - they played him at 2nd 19 games in 2019 in AA-AAA and decided he could play second in the majors. They played him in one game because they had better options. Remember, he was drafted as a catcher, even though he didn’t play catcher in college, and spent much of the first two years learning to play that position. He played 3rd in college because they had a hole there. He was recruited to play SS. He is a good athlete, he could play an adequate 2nd if needed.
Jones was drafted as a 1st baseman. You usually don’t see players with positional flexibility drafted as 1st basemen.
When looking for flexibility, don’t forget, Miles Straw played 26 (14 starts) games at SS & 4 (1 start) games at 2nd in 19. He only played more at SS than he did in OF that year. More games at SS than Mayfield and Diaz combined. Why? They needed him to due to injuries. This year he played 1 game at SS because they were healthier. This year, they needed him in the OF (which is where he has more value).
Excellent post, Duman. I saw Jones quite a bit at RR. He is a little more athletic than some 1B are, but you are spot on about guys who are drafted to play 1B. Maybe some LF. Maybe.