Who had the best plan from the mariners podsters

[D-train]

Interesting that Castillo's no trade clause has expired, the things you can discover on the internet!

I knew that already. So you consider the guy that was the OD starter a year and a half ago the entire roster. Jerry has said many times he loves the rotation and wants to keep it together. I actually trust what he says because he does what he says. And his 1500 hours of PR training seems to be paying off.

The fact is the contract was written that way for a reason. This isnt about PR issues or really even this seasons payroll. It's about that contract, he wanted to be in position to be able to move it. And in terms of the roster I think this is what he would have been hoping for. He has developed lower cost depth where it could be possible.

Will he in fact do it, who knows. The odds are pretty slim probably with all the factors to take into account. But the fact is the biggest one has been eliminated, the no trade clause. Dipoto already admitted to considering offers for him last season, it only makes sense he'd be looking at them this season.

Dipoto has a history of unloading contracts. He did in fact address the issue of bringing Suarez back after unloading his. Posters seemed to feel he'd be sensitive about that PR

“You make decisions based on where you are,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said on Thursday, shortly after the 3 p.m. PT Trade Deadline passed. “If we could have called and asked for a re-do ... that would have been great. But that's not how it works.”

“What we didn’t know the day we traded Geno to Arizona was that we were later going to be able to make a deal with the Braves that kind of answered our needs,” Dipoto said, citing another cost-cutting trade that sent Jarred Kelenic, Marco Gonzales and Evan White to Atlanta 11 days later, which saved nearly $25 million in payroll.

“If we'd known that we had that deal in our back pocket, we might have done something different. The November [2023] deal that sent Geno to Arizona, I told him that day -- and I think he'll verify it being true -- one of my least favorite trades we ever did.”

That comment I think speaks to an issue with off-season plans. Trades pretty much work in a vacuum. Like the locked on sports, they trade Castillo and then replace him with another trade. Pulling things like that off I think would be extremely difficult. If you decide to trade Castillo the decision would to have to stand on its own.

Speaking of reversing trades, guessing the Braves just might like to have that one back. lol I knew they were crazy at the time of the trade. So does JK get an NRI this Spring. .213/.595 in AAA this season....yikes That would have been the 23rd highest OPS on the Rainiers this season just ahead of Jacob Nottingham.

[D-train]

Castillo trade only makes sense IF they use the funds to trade for an impact bat like Marte AND replace him in the rotation with a comparable or better pitcher and they don't have that internally YET. So basically you would have to trade for Skubal and Marte AND find a taker for Castillo. Yeah that is a lot and you risk everything going off the rails if one of those deals fall through.

[D-train]

I guess the Marte trade would not need to happen because the would be using the Castillo savings to pay Skubal. Could trade for Gore instead of Skubal and Marte as well though.

[Donn Beach]

Castillo trade only makes sense IF they use the funds to trade for an impact bat like Marte AND replace him in the rotation with a comparable or better pitcher and they don't have that internally YET. So basically you would have to trade for Skubal and Marte AND find a taker for Castillo. Yeah that is a lot and you risk everything going off the rails if one of those deals fall through.

This is where I disagree, I think the decision to move Castillo would turn more on their overall attitude terms of carrying the rest of the contract than another particular move this season. My feeling is your going to need to pull the trigger on the Castillo trade and then see where you might be able to apply the savings. Or maybe decide to take on Ketels contract and then look to move Castillo. I think you need to be prepared to live with either move without the other happening. It begin with them being comfortable moving Castillo's contract

[Donn Beach]

I guess the Marte trade would need to happen because the would be using the Castillo savings to pay Skubal. Could trade for Gore instead of Skubal and Marte as well though.

I don't think you can stack all these moves in a row. They would happen more separately. Like dipoto working on trading both Castillo and Kelenic essentially for the same purpose but without any connection

[D-train]

Castillo trade only makes sense IF they use the funds to trade for an impact bat like Marte AND replace him in the rotation with a comparable or better pitcher and they don't have that internally YET. So basically you would have to trade for Skubal and Marte AND find a taker for Castillo. Yeah that is a lot and you risk everything going off the rails if one of those deals fall through.

This is where I disagree, I think the decision to move Castillo would turn more on their overall attitude terms of carrying the rest of the contract than another particular move this season. My feeling is your going to need to pull the trigger on the Castillo trade and then see where you might be able to apply the savings. Or maybe decide to take on Ketels contract and then look to move Castillo. I think you need to be prepared to live with either move without the other happening. It begin with them being comfortable moving Castillo's contract

If they move Castillo and can't find a good way to reallocate the funds and or can't replace him with a good starter they are screwed. I don't think they take that risk of ending up with a worse roster than they started with.

[Donn Beach]

I think its a series of contingency plans. I'm saying he's taking calls, it's got to be an interesting proposal for Castillo to begin with. He isn't just giving him away. And he isn't going to have to find a Castillo replacement. The replacement for Castillo is already on the team. What he's going to need to find is more depth as opposed to a replacement. And he'd have various different possibilities for how to do it.

Okay, if Castillo isn't the most likely MLer to get traded then who is in your mind? I had been thinking Miller but now I'd say Castillo. Terms of dipotos chips, that's his hottest. Its not his most valuable but it plays on multiple levels. Castillo has value, he's become more liquid without the no trade clause. Dipoto would be playing from a position of strength, their pitching depth and he can get out from under the contract obligation.

[Donn Beach]

I don't think dipoto has a particular plan, he has a bunch of possible ones. At some point cards begin to drop and the plan takes shape. Let's say the polanco deal falls through, that's probably a good starting point. So there's a deal out there that supplies a polanco replacement, a more than decent bat for Castillo and it moves his contract. He does it knowing he's going to need a starter, he's got some possibilities he's chatted about so now those talks warm up. He gets his starter, it's going to be a middle of the rotation guy, he makes some more moves, this and that. Whether the roster is actually improved could easily be up for debate. But I certainly see the possibility of an off season along those lines

[D-train]

I think its a series of contingency plans. I'm saying he's taking calls, it's got to be an interesting proposal for Castillo to begin with. He isn't just giving him away. And he isn't going to have to find a Castillo replacement. The replacement for Castillo is already on the team. What he's going to need to find is more depth as opposed to a replacement. And he'd have various different possibilities for how to do it.

Okay, if Castillo isn't the most likely MLer to get traded then who is in your mind? I had been thinking Miller but now I'd say Castillo. Terms of dipotos chips, that's his hottest. Its not his most valuable but it plays on multiple levels. Castillo has value, he's become more liquid without the no trade clause. Dipoto would be playing from a position of strength, their pitching depth and he can get out from under the contract obligation.

You are replacing Castillo with Evans? That is quite a downgrade. 2.1 WAR 3.54 ERA 1.19 WHIP vs -0.1 WAR 4.32 ERA and 1.39 WHIP

Raley is the most likely MLer to be thrown into a trade.

[D-train]

I don't think dipoto has a particular plan, he has a bunch of possible ones. At some point cards begin to drop and the plan takes shape. Let's say the polanco deal falls through, that's probably a good starting point. So there's a deal out there that supplies a polanco replacement, a more than decent bat for Castillo and it moves his contract. He does it knowing he's going to need a starter, he's got some possibilities he's chatted about so now those talks warm up. He gets his starter, it's going to be a middle of the rotation guy, he makes some more moves, this and that. Whether the roster is actually improved could easily be up for debate. But I certainly see the possibility of an off season along those lines

btw while Rocky gets the award for by for the Best Avatar, you get the award for by far the worst. Creepy AF. lol