So it begins, The official Hot Stove League Thread 2024-25 Offseason

[Seattle or Bust]

I like Bohm better than Bregman even if Bregman wasn't a tool. Same OPS+ but Bohm is 3 years younger and Bregman has been trending down since 2022. I think it might be Lowe though because we have done so many trades with the Rays.

Yeah, the Rays always fleece Jerry

Fairly certain the Rays got hosed last year trading Raley for Cabby.

[Donn Beach]

Jose caballerp delivered what they were looking for, infield depth after the Franco suspension

[harmony]

Jose caballerp delivered what they were looking for, infield depth after the Franco suspension

The Locked On Rays podcasters agree:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42DsdUtbt4s&t=191s

[Seattle or Bust]

Jose caballerp delivered what they were looking for, infield depth after the Franco suspension

Great.

He hung 1.6 bWAR while Luke Raley hung 3.2...

He was an 80 OPS+ hitter while Raley was a 129 OPS+ hitter.

The Rays outfield production was horrific.

That's a fleece no matter how you shake it.

[Donn Beach]

That's what dtrain would say, or did say. They replaced Riley with Richie Palacios though they play him a.lot at second. They had a happy costumer in dipoto, he did well for once. The Rays might have been more interested in team fit than matching war

[D-train]

Ironically they gave Cabby 28 more PAs than we gave Raley....

[Seattle or Bust]

That's what dtrain would say, or did say. They replaced Riley with Richie Palacios though they play him a.lot at second. They had a happy costumer in dipoto, he did well for once. The Rays might have been more interested in team fit than matching war.

Clearly a miscalculation.

They traded who would have been their best outfielder for a backup shortstop when their top prospect, Carson Williams (no. 4 in baseball), is a short stop in AA. Their no. 3 prospect, Brayden Taylor(no. 60 overall), is also a SS in AA. And their top 2x prospects last year, Curtis Mead (no. 33 in baseball in '24) and Junior Caminero (no. 3 in baseball in'24), are second basemen. Not mention that Osleivis Basabe, also a top 10 prospect for them last year, is a middle infielder.

They have one outfield prospect who is even remotely close and top rated. They have no outfield depth after trading Arozarena and Raley.

Stats from their existing outfield '24:

Jose Siri: .187/.255/.366/.620... 76 OPS+
Josh Lowe: .241/.302/.391/.692... 98 OPS+
Jonny Deluca: .217/.278/.331/.609... 75 OPS+
Richie Palacios: .224/.346/.318/.664... 94 OPS+

It was a desperation move that removed an outfielder and resulted in immense problems with depth. Now they have nothing in the outfield and 30 middle infielders.

I'd be on the phone right now seeing what combo of shitty AAAA OF's we have that can pry Brandon Lowe away.

[D-train]

That's what dtrain would say, or did say. They replaced Riley with Richie Palacios though they play him a.lot at second. They had a happy costumer in dipoto, he did well for once. The Rays might have been more interested in team fit than matching war.

Clearly a miscalculation.

They traded who would have been their best outfielder for a backup shortstop when their top prospect, Carson Williams (no. 4 in baseball), is a short stop in AA. Their no. 3 prospect, Brayden Taylor(no. 60 overall), is also a SS in AA. And their top 2x prospects last year, Curtis Mead (no. 33 in baseball in '24) and Junior Caminero (no. 3 in baseball in'24), are second basemen. Not mention that Osleivis Basabe, also a top 10 prospect for them last year, is a middle infielder.

They have one outfield prospect who is even remotely close and top rated. They have no outfield depth after trading Arozarena and Raley.

Stats from their existing outfield '24:

Jose Siri: .187/.255/.366/.620... 76 OPS+
Josh Lowe: .241/.302/.391/.692... 98 OPS+
Jonny Deluca: .217/.278/.331/.609... 75 OPS+
Richie Palacios: .224/.346/.318/.664... 94 OPS+

It was a desperation move that removed an outfielder and resulted in immense problems with depth. Now they have nothing in the outfield and 30 middle infielders.

I'd be on the phone right now seeing what combo of shitty AAAA OF's we have that can pry Brandon Lowe away.

That is why I want to give them Randy back for Brandon Lowe.

[Donn Beach]

That's what dtrain would say, or did say. They replaced Riley with Richie Palacios though they play him a.lot at second. They had a happy costumer in dipoto, he did well for once. The Rays might have been more interested in team fit than matching war.

Clearly a miscalculation.

They traded who would have been their best outfielder for a backup shortstop when their top prospect, Carson Williams (no. 4 in baseball), is a short stop in AA. Their no. 3 prospect, Brayden Taylor(no. 60 overall), is also a SS in AA. And their top 2x prospects last year, Curtis Mead (no. 33 in baseball in '24) and Junior Caminero (no. 3 in baseball in'24), are second basemen. Not mention that Osleivis Basabe, also a top 10 prospect for them last year, is a middle infielder.

They have one outfield prospect who is even remotely close and top rated. They have no outfield depth after trading Arozarena and Raley.

Stats from their existing outfield '24:

Jose Siri: .187/.255/.366/.620... 76 OPS+
Josh Lowe: .241/.302/.391/.692... 98 OPS+
Jonny Deluca: .217/.278/.331/.609... 75 OPS+
Richie Palacios: .224/.346/.318/.664... 94 OPS+

It was a desperation move that removed an outfielder and resulted in immense problems with depth. Now they have nothing in the outfield and 30 middle infielders.

I'd be on the phone right now seeing what combo of shitty AAAA OF's we have that can pry Brandon Lowe away.

Could be, I haven't begun to look at it this closely. All I know is the Rays have been pretty good at roster construction. Desperation move, that doesn't sound like the Rays to me. Yeah, dipoto did well with the trade, but when it comes to roster construction I'll give the benefit of the doubt to the Rays.

What l think is funny, WAR is disparaged here, that is unless it suits someone's argument. Then it becomes the holy grail.

Terms of being on the phone. Okay if you're that smart. Your going to argue the Rays make mistakes. Sure, personally I don't consider myself smart enough to be able to visualize them. I'll wait for the talking heads to weigh in.

[Donn Beach]

From an article on how the Rays have built a history of success. I think a lot of it is having a strategy and sticking to it. If you want to say they lost the trade over 1,5 WAR in it's first season okay. But if you're going to stretch it to they are making desperation moves that you could take advantage of by moving in and clipping premium players I'll question that. That gets into running the entire organization which I think they have been pretty good at, and you need to put a single trade in that context

When the Rays make a trade they need to ensure the return puts them in the best position possible for the future. They do this by targeting the same types of players in their trades:

Developed Prospects
Players who Fill a Major League Need
Specialty Relievers