Minor League Updates

[Juliooooo]

We're forgetting something guys. JD could easily get trigger happy now that he has a little pitching depth. Let's hope he's learned his lesson.

He's in prospect mode. He won't trade any of the top prospects unless he sees a steal. I could see guys in the 12-30 range being traded, but not the top 10-12

There's 4 outfielders in the top 10, one of them would probably be the top piece. Just not Kelenic or Rodriguez.
I'm ok with also trading lower ceiling pitching for higher ceiling SP that's at least close if not MLB.

I think they believe in Fraley and Lewis. I think they may trade Haniger for a top pitching prospect if they can. Might need to be a few months into the season though

[Juliooooo]

You can't acquire an idea. Give me a name to target and we can have a discussion. My idea is that they don't want to replace the unreplaceable and therefore signing Cole also takes away from your rival.

Astros Cole replacement is Grienke imo. They will sign a #3 starter, or hope one of their prospects is ready.

[Wishhiker]

I think they believe in Fraley and Lewis. I think they may trade Haniger for a top pitching prospect if they can. Might need to be a few months into the season though

I agree except that Domingo Santana is first to go for me. Haniger would be trading low right now as well as counting chickens before they hatched. Probably better to do in July or November of 2020 if it still seems like the right move.

[Wishhiker]

You can't acquire an idea. Give me a name to target and we can have a discussion. My idea is that they don't want to replace the unreplaceable and therefore signing Cole also takes away from your rival.

Astros Cole replacement is Grienke imo. They will sign a #3 starter, or hope one of their prospects is ready.

In that case the Mariners can't acquire Cole's replacement because Greinke is signed through 2021. Unless Dr. Naysay is saying to wait until November of 2021 when Greinke will presumably be available. I'm not assuming anyone will make it to Free Agency and definitely wouldn't pin my hopes on it. Too many top players are getting extended.

I find it very unlikely that the Mariners actually chase and acquire Gerrit anyway. It's still the one specific acquisition I'd want before 2021.

[Juliooooo]

You can't acquire an idea. Give me a name to target and we can have a discussion. My idea is that they don't want to replace the unreplaceable and therefore signing Cole also takes away from your rival.

Astros Cole replacement is Grienke imo. They will sign a #3 starter, or hope one of their prospects is ready.

In that case the Mariners can't acquire Cole's replacement because Greinke is signed through 2021. Unless Dr. Naysay is saying to wait until November of 2021 when Greinke will presumably be available. I'm not assuming anyone will make it to Free Agency and definitely wouldn't pin my hopes on it. Too many top players are getting extended.

I find it very unlikely that the Mariners actually chase and acquire Gerrit anyway. It's still the one specific acquisition I'd want before 2021.

I think the Mariners will sign a pitcher like odorizzi, Gibson, Wood, Roark, Pineda... a #2-3 type starter that could be signed for 4 years 50-60 million. He can be a part of the future, or they could trade him in a deadline move in a few years if they have enough promising starting prospects knocking down the door of the MLB.

They won't be in the market for Cole, Bumgarner or Ryu. Maybe they would go for wheeler.

I could also see a 1 year deal for someone like Vargus to bridge the gap and possible trade I'd he's having a good season.

[Wishhiker]

Astros Cole replacement is Grienke imo. They will sign a #3 starter, or hope one of their prospects is ready.

In that case the Mariners can't acquire Cole's replacement because Greinke is signed through 2021. Unless Dr. Naysay is saying to wait until November of 2021 when Greinke will presumably be available. I'm not assuming anyone will make it to Free Agency and definitely wouldn't pin my hopes on it. Too many top players are getting extended.

I find it very unlikely that the Mariners actually chase and acquire Gerrit anyway. It's still the one specific acquisition I'd want before 2021.

I think the Mariners will sign a pitcher like odorizzi, Gibson, Wood, Roark, Pineda... a #2-3 type starter that could be signed for 4 years 50-60 million. He can be a part of the future, or they could trade him in a deadline move in a few years if they have enough promising starting prospects knocking down the door of the MLB.

They won't be in the market for Cole, Bumgarner or Ryu. Maybe they would go for wheeler.

I could also see a 1 year deal for someone like Vargus to bridge the gap and possible trade I'd he's having a good season.

Wheeler would be a good fallback except for the injury history. I can see rolling the dice at significantly lower outlay for him. Ryu might be the best fallback. But I don't understand the fear of paying Cole what it takes to get him if possible, which is why I'd only consider them less reliable/certain fallback options. The rest of them I mostly don't see the point. Mostly either much older or not nearly as good. They don't need veteran depth like they need an All-Star SP to lead the rotation for 2+years. Bumgarner doesn't still seem a good bet for leading a rotation in 2 or 3 years although possible.

Other than Cole, they're all NL pitchers and that can still be a difference with not knowing the hitters and division as much. Gerritt Cole knows the division and has actually been consistently dominant enough that I wouldn't worry about that anyway.

[Juliooooo]

Wheeler would be a good fallback except for the injury history. I can see rolling the dice at significantly lower outlay for him. Ryu might be the best fallback. But I don't understand the fear of paying Cole what it takes to get him if possible, which is why I'd only consider them less reliable/certain fallback options. The rest of them I mostly don't see the point. Mostly either much older or not nearly as good. They don't need veteran depth like they need an All-Star SP to lead the rotation for 2+years. Bumgarner doesn't still seem a good bet for leading a rotation in 2 or 3 years although possible.

Other than Cole, they're all NL pitchers and that can still be a difference with not knowing the hitters and division as much. Gerritt Cole knows the division and has actually been consistently dominant enough that I wouldn't worry about that anyway.

Its not just being willing to pay Cole, its being willing to pay him AND him choosing Seattle. Not going to happen unless the M's give him a rediculous contract that is sure to be a bad deal. 10 years, 350 million, yeah he probably signs with Mariners, but no way should you give a pitcher a 10 year guaranteed contract.

[Dr Naysay]

Wheeler would be a good fallback except for the injury history. I can see rolling the dice at significantly lower outlay for him. Ryu might be the best fallback. But I don't understand the fear of paying Cole what it takes to get him if possible, which is why I'd only consider them less reliable/certain fallback options. The rest of them I mostly don't see the point. Mostly either much older or not nearly as good. They don't need veteran depth like they need an All-Star SP to lead the rotation for 2+years. Bumgarner doesn't still seem a good bet for leading a rotation in 2 or 3 years although possible.

Other than Cole, they're all NL pitchers and that can still be a difference with not knowing the hitters and division as much. Gerritt Cole knows the division and has actually been consistently dominant enough that I wouldn't worry about that anyway.

Its not just being willing to pay Cole, its being willing to pay him AND him choosing Seattle. Not going to happen unless the M's give him a rediculous contract that is sure to be a bad deal. 10 years, 350 million, yeah he probably signs with Mariners, but no way should you give a pitcher a 10 year guaranteed contract.

This is my thinking too.....and when/if we are ready a Grienke like trade is something I would rather do than sign a guy to a 10 year deal. Houston are only on the hook for 3 years with Grienke rather than a full 10 years of someone else. I think we need to be more flexible in our dealings like Oakland are and in that vein I am still dumbfounded we let Fiers drop in to Billy Beanes lap, this is exactly the type of player we should be looking to have on our team and would have been a useful trade chip this year too.

[Wishhiker]

Wheeler would be a good fallback except for the injury history. I can see rolling the dice at significantly lower outlay for him. Ryu might be the best fallback. But I don't understand the fear of paying Cole what it takes to get him if possible, which is why I'd only consider them less reliable/certain fallback options. The rest of them I mostly don't see the point. Mostly either much older or not nearly as good. They don't need veteran depth like they need an All-Star SP to lead the rotation for 2+years. Bumgarner doesn't still seem a good bet for leading a rotation in 2 or 3 years although possible.

Other than Cole, they're all NL pitchers and that can still be a difference with not knowing the hitters and division as much. Gerritt Cole knows the division and has actually been consistently dominant enough that I wouldn't worry about that anyway.

Its not just being willing to pay Cole, its being willing to pay him AND him choosing Seattle. Not going to happen unless the M's give him a rediculous contract that is sure to be a bad deal. 10 years, 350 million, yeah he probably signs with Mariners, but no way should you give a pitcher a 10 year guaranteed contract.

This is my thinking too.....and when/if we are ready a Grienke like trade is something I would rather do than sign a guy to a 10 year deal. Houston are only on the hook for 3 years with Grienke rather than a full 10 years of someone else. I think we need to be more flexible in our dealings like Oakland are and in that vein I am still dumbfounded we let Fiers drop in to Billy Beanes lap, this is exactly the type of player we should be looking to have on our team and would have been a useful trade chip this year too.

The largest pitcher contract was $217 million to David Price. 7 years. Where's this 10 year hyperbole coming from?

[Dr Naysay]

I don't like the way Baseball contracts are set up full stop tbh and I think its ridiculous that both Cy Young winners will earn a fraction of what Felix has this year. Cole himself has made 34 million in earnings after this season and he deserves to be on big bucks(And his agent is Boras), I just don't like the idea of having a player on a long term contract and earning 30 million a year at age 36 when we witnessed Felix's decline aged 32.

I personally don't think it's prudent for a team like us where you can't hide an overpaid over the hill vet like say the Yanks can and when you see how early in his career Felix lost it it just seems inefficient. I am not saying Gerrit will be over the hill at age 35 or 36 btw, it just seems for every Zak Grienke there is there are a few more Chris Davis, Alex Gordons, Jordan Zimmermans, Wei Yin Chens, Miguel Cabrerras etc. I just prefer the nimble approach Oakland takes towards setting up it's roster rather than say LA who are paying Pujols insane amounts for one 800+ ops season. I think it's nuts what San Diego are paying Hosmer and Machado for what is essentially a grad total of 3 WAR so far this season and if it isn't a blip for them and both of those guys are on the books till 2026/2028