Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat – 11/9/20

1:59
Ben Clemens: Hey everybody, and welcome to the chat.

2:00
Ben Clemens: Today will be a mixture of hot stove topics and general baseball stuff, presumably.

2:02
Ben Clemens: Don’t sleep on board games and food, though.

2:02
Ben Clemens: Or complaining about cold weather.

2:02
Ben Clemens: Into all of those

2:02
Malik: Tarik skubal a top 5 arm next year?

2:02
Ben Clemens: Let’s start with a very early and very optimistic question

2:02
Ben Clemens: I mean, no?

2:03
Ben Clemens: Nothing wrong with hoping for the best, of course, but that’s above a 99th percentile outcome I th ink

2:03
Ben Clemens: Nothing about watching him pitch this year made me think “eh I might take him over deGrom next year”

2:03
Ben Clemens: Never say never, but while that CAN happen, it’s really unlikely

2:03
Ben Clemens: Unless you mean top 5 on the Tigers, in which case yes definitely

2:05
Tejay antone: Am I getting a shot to start next season?

2:05
Ben Clemens: I assume so

2:05
Ben Clemens: Not necessarily 30 starts

2:06
Ben Clemens: We’re listing Lorenzen as the fifth starter right now, but if I’m the Reds I’d rather keep Lorenzen in relief

2:06
Ross Atkins: what kind of package do you think CLE gets for Lindor?

2:06
Uncle Steve: Hi Ben! What would a deal for Lindor and Carrasco to the Mets look like? Would NYs leverage be so great that Cleveland would simply relish the salary relief and Rosario + JD Davis?

2:06
Him again: Lindor is really good, but is one year of him really worth what I’m seeing proposed? You would be trading for 1 year of, what, somewhere from 4-8 WAR? Is that worth 2 pre-arb regulars who can produce 2-4 WAR for multiple seasons, plus a top prospect? Some are saying that it’s worth paying more if you sign him to an extension, but should that actually factor into the acquisition cost at all?

2:08
Ben Clemens: Lot of questions about Lindor, and it’s a really tough valuation. The Indians are absolutely the kind of team who would move him for surplus value, but one thing that’s tricky is that they don’t have an infinitely long window — even if you think they’re just min-maxing, being less competitive in 2021 is a bad deal

2:10
Ben Clemens: So I think that realistically, if the Indians move him, the deal will have fewer prospects and more controllable contributors

2:10
Ben Clemens: I don’t think that JD Davis and Rosario would do it — Lindor isn’t actually that much of a salary burden on the Indians

2:10
Ben Clemens: Maybe those two plus one more useful player

2:11
Blue-Collar Tweeker: I’ve seen that multiple teams are interested in Yadi.  I’ve also seen that he now wants to play 2 more years.  Is there any indication if he’s leaning towards staying in St. Louis, or if the Cardinals *want* to keep Yadi 2 more years?

2:11
Ben Clemens: I haven’t really seen any indications either way. I’m not sure what I want as a Cards fan, to be honest

2:11
Ben Clemens: If he insists on his current playing time continuing for two years, uh, yikes

2:12
Ben Clemens: Might as well just light Andrew Knizner’s tenure with the club on fire

2:12
Gutbuster: Hi Ben! Who, among free agent pitchers this year, do you think puts up the best fWAR (or other metric if you prefer) over the next five years?

2:12
Ben Clemens: Stroman by a hair over Bauer (I assume Bauer is consensus)

2:12
Inaccessible Rail: I sure hope the Mets don’t make the Lindor trade you are describing.

2:12
Ben Clemens: I don’t think the Mets are a good fit for a Lindor trade to be honest

2:13
Ben Clemens: Teams that should be trading for a year of Lindor are teams that have 40 man crunches that would cushion the cost to them, or teams that are a stud away from being clear division favorites

2:14
Ben Clemens: That’s a ton of teams, but I think the Mets just have other ways they can improve the franchise without making that move.

2:14
Guest: Glassnow, Snell, Luis Castillo. Who has the best year in 2021? Thank you.

2:14
Ben Clemens: Castillo by a hair over Snell

2:14
Ben Clemens: AL East is a seriously tough place to pitch and that’s the tiebreaker for me

2:14
Steve Cohen: Hey Ben, big fan. I would like Realmuto, Springer, and Bauer. I have the money. Can I get em all? If I miss on one, I’d like Lindor. Thanks, I’ll hang up and listen while eating some mid-day shrimp cocktail.

2:15
Ben Clemens: I’m not sure I’d actually like mid-day shrimp cocktail? I think the Mets could get all three, though I’m low on Springer compared to most

2:15
Ben Clemens: Mets not getting Realmuto would qualify as a surprise to me, though

2:15
Ben Clemens: It’s the perfect combination of ‘new owner needs to do something’ and ‘clear best player’

2:15
Gutbuster: Marco Gonzales and Justus Sheffield seem like they are trending in very similar ways:  once-hyped, then either hurt and/or forgotten, or yelled at for being purely reliever material, then making adjustments, hitting spots, and becoming remarkably solid contributors, but still overlooked.  Does this sound like too much homerism, or do you agree, this control/command profile just gets a lot of shrugs even if it is effective?

2:16
Ben Clemens: As someone who was on team Marco over team Carlos Martinez when the Cards had a spare rotation spot (2014? I can’t remember when)

2:16
Ben Clemens: I’ve long been a sucker for that profile

2:17
Ben Clemens: I think that expecting Sheffield to match Gonzales’s stats is a tough selll, which is partially b/c I think expecting Gonzales to replicate those stats will be hard lol

2:18
Ben Clemens: But yeah, I think that they’re similar types of pitchers in that they felt like they had htin margins

2:18
Ben Clemens: Missed those margins (not enough velo, or not a good enough secondary, etc.)

2:18
Ben Clemens: And despite missing were still good enough b/c they developed other tools

2:19
Isolated Thinker: The Mets should only be concerned about improving the pitching staff especially the starters behind deGrom.  You can argue that the Mets need to add 4 SP.  The only major offensive add should be Realmuto.

2:19
Guest: So how would you improve the Mets? Doesn’t JT, Lindor, and Morton make them division co-favorites with ATL?

2:19
SH: Do you think that Michael Conforto gets to another level next year?

2:19
Ben Clemens: Lot of Mets questions today!

2:19
Ben Clemens: I agree with Isolated Thinker that I’d focus on the rotation plus Realmuto

2:20
Ben Clemens: Between Rosario and Gimenez, I don’t hate the shortstop situation, and they’re kind of flooded elsewhere

2:20
Ben Clemens: With hitters, that is

2:20
Ben Clemens: Nice problem to have

2:20
Moose_Bolton: Hi Ben. Thoughts on the Red Sox rehiring Cora? As a Sox fan myself I think I would have preferred they go a different direction, if only so I didn’t have to deal with piping hot internet takes (which I should ignore anyway). That being said, the players seem to really like him so I guess it’s not a terrible decision.

2:20
Ben Clemens: I think it’s a real cop out by the team, and I think there’s some chance it backfires

2:21
Ben Clemens: I.e. if Cora is just really into cheating, or things that he considers not to be cheating but that we consider to be out of bounds

2:21
Ben Clemens: And they get caught

2:21
Ben Clemens: Well, yeah, that’s gonna be bad

2:21
Ben Clemens: That said, maybe it’s just a bet that no one actually cares about sign stealing, least of all MLB, as long as you keep it quiet

2:21
Ben Clemens: And that they just thought Cora was the best person for the job last time

2:21
Ben Clemens: They clearly didn’t give anyone else a real shot this time despite what Chaim Bloom said

2:21
Uncle Steve: Thoughts on the likelihood for the DH in the NL in 2021?

2:22
Ben Clemens: 90%?

2:22
kcbg: Best SP addition for the Mariners if they feel there is a playoff chance in 2021 but a very good chance in 2022?  Return of Taijuan at 3 years, 45 mil. Trade for Musgrove, giving Taylor Trammel and Juan Then. Or go for broke with Trevor Bauer?

2:22
Ben Clemens: That would be WAYYYY too much for Walker I think

2:22
Ben Clemens: Depending on whether you like Craig or the crowd more, we have him somewhere between 2/18 and 2/20

2:23
Ben Clemens: I’d definitely not trade Trammell for Musgrove, though there’s some chance I’m just residually too high on Trammell from his Cincy days

2:23
Ben Clemens: So I’d say Walker for 3/30 or something

2:23
Ben Clemens: Give him an extra year and hope it works.

2:23
Derek: Jeff Luhnow suing the Astros seems like a natural next step in this story. (though honestly I think he has a bit of a point – Jim Crane escaping the whole thing mostly Scot free is at least… interesting.)

2:23
T-P: What or how or when and where can the Cubs make imporvements to the roster this offseason? So that they make it out of the play in round next year

2:24
Ben Clemens: Whoops, was trying to grab two Astros ones

2:24
Ben Clemens: But let’s answer these two instead

2:24
Ben Clemens: As to the first: he might have a point that he was scapegoated, but wrongful termination? No shot

2:25
Ben Clemens: He’s just not going to be able to win this when it’s clear he was involved. Maybe they did make a deal behind closed doors, but Luhnow was complicit and was always going to get fired, regardless of what the deal was

2:25
Ben Clemens: I’m not sure whether he’s just suing for wrongful termination or also for defamation, and I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t think he has much of a case

2:26
Ben Clemens: As to the Cubs, they’re still kinda stuck. They could non-tender Bryant and sign Tommy La Stella, then use that money to sign a pitcher, maybe?

2:26
Uncle Steve: Pristine weather in NYC since Steve Cohen officially closed the deal for the Mets. Coincidence?

2:26
Ben Clemens: Nope, clearly the real deal

2:27
Ben Clemens: Meanwhile it’s chilly in San Francisco, and also surely warmer than NY

2:27
Ben Clemens: I do not miss the weather, though I do miss the city

2:27
Guest: Do you think Tampa see Nate Lowe as trade bait at this point? How much has his value taken a hit with his mediocre performance in his limited MLB stints?

2:28
Ben Clemens: I don’t think his value has taken that much of a hit, because like you said, it’s limited playing time

2:29
Ben Clemens: 245 PA’s, and he hasn’t been unplayable or anything

2:29
Ben Clemens: His batting line is above average, though largely because of BABIP

2:29
Ben Clemens: I think the bigger issue is that bat-only types have limited value period

2:30
Ben Clemens: The Rays might non-tender Choi, though I don’t think they should. At that point, does it really matter if a guy like Lowe is cost-controlled? You can just find someone like that for so cheap

2:30
Alex Cora: My good man, would you mind not slandering me here, I’m sitting in an airport eating Subway and I’d really rather not see that kind of thing

2:30
segiddins: If the rash of non-tenders we’ve been predicting for this offseason indeed happens, do you think that’s going to prompt the players to demand changes in that part of arb in the new CBA?

2:31
Ben Clemens: Hm…. this is a tricky question b/c it implies causation

2:31
Ben Clemens: I think that the players are going to demand changes to the arb system regardless

2:31
Ben Clemens: They may not get it, and this winter might heighten their resolve, but I think that will be their first target for sure

2:32
SH: Dominic Smith or Michael Conforto? Why?

2:33
Ben Clemens: Gimme Conforto, because I trust his production more. I also think he has a higher ceiling as a defender, but Dom has been really great the past two years, after being written off (including by me)

2:33
Giuseppe Torre: Do you think we’ll get a full, real, normal baseball season next year? (Well, as “real” and “normal” as you can call it with a DH in the NL, if that comes to pass.)

2:33
Ben Clemens: I think that it’s very hard to handicap what will be going on COVID-wise next year when baseball starts

2:34
Ben Clemens: Things seem like they’re going to get worse before they get better, obviously

2:34
Ben Clemens: But there’s time for them to get worse, then get better, and still have baseball

2:34
Ben Clemens: I don’t think it’d be responsible for me to put a number on that. I just don’ really know

2:35
David: Nothing normal, or ok, about DH in the national league.

2:35
Ben Clemens: Yeah, I just don’t think this at all

2:35
Ben Clemens: I don’t miss pitchers hitting even a little

2:35
Ben Clemens: I miss double switches slightly more, but still not that much

2:35
Ben Clemens: I just don’t have THAT much desire to be wowed by managerial decisions rather than wowed by actual baseball

2:35
Estevão: Will the Dodgers low ball JT and how much. Between Rios and Lux getting more AB next year the need just isn’t there. It’d be nice to have him but I can’t imagine them offering anything really significant.

2:36
Ben Clemens: This is a really interesting question to me. I think they’re going to end up with him staying, because it seems like both sides want it

2:36
Ben Clemens: Particularly if the DH remains

2:36
Ben Clemens: But if they were being purely cold-blooded, they would lower the cost or cap the years b/c of Rios and Lux

2:37
David: I like moving runners with the bunt, I like the bench getting used each game for pinch hitters instead of sitting there for days and days.  I like lower scoring games and pitching stats staying down.

2:37
Ben Clemens: Those are things you can like. I’m not convinced that that means there’s ‘nothing okay’ about the DH in the national league, but obviously everyone has their own aesthetic

2:37
Austin Meadows: Am I… Gonna have that breakout season? I wanna be a star. I wanna eat shrimp cocktail by the handful.

2:37
Ben Clemens: I don’t really see it, but Meadows is somebody I’ve long had a blind spot about

2:37
Ben Clemens: That looked good at first when he disappointed in the Pittsburgh system, then bad, then okay again

2:38
Ben Clemens: I don’t think it’s impossible but I’d bet against it, the Rays seem to be looking at Matthews as a platoon guy and I kind of see why

2:38
Austin Meadows: Why are you speaking about me in the third person? Dude, I’m right HERE

2:38
Jacques Pederson: Any chance that the cardinals package a prospect with Carp to get out of his salary? They seem set to go ultra cheap this year

2:38
Ben Clemens: Nah, very unlikely in my mind

2:39
Ben Clemens: I do agree with you th at they’re going to go cheap, but they’ve already cut ~40 million from their payroll

2:39
Ben Clemens: ~*

2:39
Ben Clemens: hm you can’t use tilde’s in jotcast

2:39
Ben Clemens: Who knew?

2:39
Estevão: Max Scherzer is the best big money fa signing of the 21st century by a mile, right.

2:40
Ben Clemens: I think so

2:40
Ben Clemens: He was just really good for longer than expected and the team also won a World Series because of him

2:40
Guest: Even worse than talking about you in the 3rd person, Austin, is that Ben changed your last name to Matthews!

2:40
Ben Clemens: Uh, no idea where that came from

2:40
Ben Clemens: Whoops!

2:41
David: Would you rather see Bonds hit 3 homers in a game or Maddux pitch a shutout in under 100 pitches?

2:41
Ben Clemens: Maddux

2:42
Ben Clemens: Combination of two things: first, homers are fun but only briefly, and your sweat is only when Bonds is at bat, whereas Maddux is the whole time

2:42
Derek: Are there any teams out there expected to spend big this offseason (besides, allegedly, the Mets)?

2:42
Ben Clemens: I’d argue that the Jays are set up for it

2:43
Ben Clemens: Who knows if they will do it, but signing Ray early makes sense if they want to get a bunch of pitching tihs offseason

2:43
Appa Yip Yip: Blake Snell is under contract for three more years, clearly the clock is ticking on a trade because Rays. How long until they dangle him for prospects?

2:44
Ben Clemens: I don’t think they will do it, but I wouldn’t say it’s a complete non-starter

2:44
Ben Clemens: More likely, they’ll talk about another extension, Longoria style

2:44
Ben Clemens: But Snell is a really good fit for Tampa Bay, and they don’t have huge salary commitments in the next two years

2:45
Cohen: Pete alonso for Blake Snell. who says no

2:45
Ben Clemens: I think the Rays would say no, just b/c I don’t know where they’d put him, and given the amount of lefty bats they have he’d be replacing a good matchup if they wanted to use him every day

2:46
Jacques Pederson: Does Carlos Martinez get traded?

2:46
Ben Clemens: This seems more likely than Carpenter getting traded

2:46
Ben Clemens: “Change of scenery” is a very lazy take, but I think it might be true with Martinez. The fans in St. Louis are pretty down on him, and I get the sense that it wears on him a bit

2:47
Teledji Adeledji: Do you think Bauer’s public persona/abrasiveness has any effect whatsoever on his value?

2:47
Ben Clemens: I basically don’t

2:47
Ben Clemens: Now, that’s Twitter abrasiveness I’m talking about

2:47
Ben Clemens: Because it seems like he doesn’t have the same effect on teammates

2:48
Ben Clemens: I do think that there are teams that aren’t interested in signing Bauer b/c they want to do something very regimented with him and they don’t think he’d be willing to

2:48
Cordane: Bader for Nimmo, straight up? Would you do the deal if you’re the Cardinals? If you’re the Mets? Both teams deal from strength, both teams get something they desperately need, both players are roughly the same age & contract, etc. Plus Tots heads home & gets the media attention he needs to finally win a GG.

2:49
Ben Clemens: I’ve seen this batted around a bit. I love this trade for both sides. In my eyes, the holdup is that we’re probably overvaluing how teams pay for CF defense

2:49
Ben Clemens: I love watching Bader, but there’s a good chance that guys like that simply don’t get the money that WAR implies they’re worth ever

2:49
Ex-Panded Playoffs: Can anything be done to put this cat back in the bag? Seems like the players are not too opposed, and owners want it as a concession for universal DH (which players clearly want). Also, how opposed are you to the 16-team format on a scale of 1-10

2:50
Ben Clemens: 16, I’m 10 of 10 opposed

2:51
Ben Clemens: I think that it’s likely some form of expanded playoffs will end up happening, though I think that’s less to players’ benefit than they think

2:51
Ben Clemens: As you said, it’s hard to put the cat back int he bag

2:51
Anon: “They clearly didn’t give anyone else a real shot this time despite what Chaim Bloom said.” Any source on this or are you just speculating?

2:52
Ben Clemens: I’m not gonna go source for source through all the reporting I’ve read, but it’s speculation based on two things. One, no one else was ever seriously linked to the club or mentioned as a strong candidate by any of the numerous reporters with in-the-know sources. Two, they didn’t need to hire anyone yet, there was plenty of time and they’re the marquee job available this winter with TLR locked into Chicago

2:53
Kiermaier’s Piercing Green Eyes: Was a 4-WAR season not a breakout for Meadows? (Also, I’ll give him a pass on last season, apparently his sprint speed never recovered, possibly from COVID, so maybe he wasn’t 100%.)

2:54
Ben Clemens: No, it totally was. I was skeptical that it would persist, and yeah, I’m not ready to declare victory, but 2020 made 2019 look more fluky. That said, excellent point about COVID and recovery

2:54
Ben Clemens: I think that almost everyone who had an atypically awful year this year is going to be underrated next year, because our minds can’t help recency bias

2:55
Ben Clemens: But it was a short season and there were all kinds of health concerns, even if you didn’t have COVID; just the timing of the season could have caused all kinds of minor injuries

2:55
David: If the team got who they wanted, does it matter if they considered anyone else?  If you know what you want, go get it.

2:55
Ben Clemens: Agreed on this

2:55
Ben Clemens: Well, eh, qualified agree

2:55
Ben Clemens: Given that the Red Sox had already done a real search last year and come up with Cora, I’m not shocked that they hired him again

2:56
Ben Clemens: There’s real value into interviewing other people even if you think you know your target, because you don’t have perfect information about how interesting you’ll find them

2:56
Ben Clemens: There’s plenty of value in giving more people a real shot

2:56
Ben Clemens: I just think that the Sox didn’t really want to fire Cora in the first place

2:56
Ben Clemens: Did for public relations reasons, perhaps with Manfred whispering in their ear

2:56
Ben Clemens: and had no hesitation about running it back

2:57
Estevão: Randy Arozarena for Jo Adell. Is there anything more Tampa than that

2:57
Ben Clemens: Lots of things more Tampa than that, because they aren’t even banking service time

2:57
Ben Clemens: I don’t think Tampa is trading Arozarena, they were clearly believers that he was undervalued, and as much as he was a playoff hero, no team is valuing him like Trout 2.0 or anything, so it’s unclear why there would be a lot of surplus in trading him

2:58
Ben Clemens: Unless you think teams have gone from valuing him less than Matt Liberatore to massively overvaluing him on the strenght of 2020, which I don’t buy

2:58
Nolan: Current FG depth charts have the Dodgers, Nationals, Indians, Padres, and Mets as the best rotations in baseball.  Are you on board with that top 5, and in that order?

2:58
Ben Clemens: That seems wildly optimistic for the Mets

2:59
Ben Clemens: The back half of their rotation is a pile of question marks

2:59
Nick: Who is the Alex Trebek of baseball?  I.e., someone who is widely beloved and was considered an integral part of the game, even though he never played the game himself?

2:59
Ben Clemens: This is a great question that I now need to think about

3:01
Ben Clemens: Oh! It’s Vin Scully

3:01
Ben Clemens: Some of you guys chimed in with that right as I realized it

3:01
Ben Clemens: So good work team!

3:01
Ben Clemens: Yeah, definitely Scully

3:01
Guest: What would your over/under be for how many years LaRussa manages the White Sox?

3:01
Ben Clemens: I actulaly think it’s one year

3:01
Ben Clemens: Well like, 1.5

3:02
Ben Clemens: is the over under

3:02
Ben Clemens: But I think 1 is the mode outcome

3:03
Ben Clemens: Could be totally wrong but it’s just so easy to see him being like “Wait my players hate me and this sucks”

3:03
Nathan: With Hinch and Cora finding jobs and Luhnow wanting to go to court probably because no one will hire him, was being jerks in the front office the Astros true sin? It takes a lot annoy players enough to rat in each other.

3:03
Ben Clemens: Yes, that’s the definite takeaway for me

3:03
Ben Clemens: That’s clearly the unforgiveable thing in baseball circles, that they thumbed their nose at the very existence of baseball circles

3:04
Ben Clemens: Carlos Beltran would beg to differ, I suppose

3:04
Ben Clemens: But there’s a reason that Luhnow is struggling to find a job moreso than the rest of them

3:04
Ben Clemens: Despite, if we’re being clear-eyed and amoral, being more of a standout in his field than Hinch or Cora

3:04
Derek: There’s been no actual reason given for the White Sox hiring La Russa besides his relationship with Reinsdorf, has there?

3:05
Ben Clemens: Well, there’s been a smattering of talk about how he impressed them in the interview process, but basically no

3:05
Appa Yip Yip: I think a 14 team playoff could work with 4 wild card teams per league. Division winners get a bye, the first wild card round is a one game play in, the winners move on to a three game series so only one wild card moves into the divisional round. Division winners get enough benefit to incentivize winning, and more fan bases get meaningful September baseball.

3:06
Ben Clemens: I like this format quite a bit more than 16

3:07
Ben Clemens: I’d also be fine with the top two division winners getting byes, then the next four teams playing a three- or five-game play-in round

3:07
Ben Clemens: So 12 teams

3:07
Guest: Ben I found an awesome fun fact today I wanted to see if you can get …
There are only two players who’ve done the following in the same game:
* Played infield
* Played outfield
* Pitched and allowed an HR
Who do you think they are?

3:07
Ben Clemens: Boy, I’m not going to get this, though I’m happy to guess at it

3:08
Ben Clemens: Okay, I guess I don’t even have any guesses now that I’m thinking about it

3:08
W.B. Mason: Surprised to see Semien ranked so highly in the FA list. I had him in fantasy and considered keeping him for wayyy cheap value but didn’t/wouldn’t. Wondering if he can really elevate

3:08
Ben Clemens: Semien is a question of weightings. How much do you care about his breakout 2019, how much do you care about his dud 2020, and is the defense real?

3:09
Ben Clemens: I think he’s going to come in lower than Craig’s projection, personally

3:09
Ben Clemens: I put down 3 years at 14 per in my own crowdsource ballot

3:10
Guest: I’ll give two hints: One is a top 5 HOFer and the other is one of the most famous utility men of the 2010s…

3:10
Ben Clemens: In that case, Babe Ruth seems reasonable, though I’m not sure he found time to play infield when he was pitching

3:10
Ben Clemens: Most famous utillity men of the 2010s, so my first guess was going to be Sandoval but he’s not really a utility man

3:10
Ben Clemens: So, Ben Zobrist?

3:11
Derek: Well apparently in his lawsuit Luhnow is claiming he had “no knowledge or involvement in” the sign-stealing… So yeah, unlikely to win that argument, I think. But hey he’s going after $22 million and people already think he’s an asshole so I guess there’s not much downside there on his end!

3:12
Ben Clemens: Here’s a reason you could logically file this lawsuit if you’re Luhnow. Let’s say you’ve called your contacts around the league and everyone is like ‘lol Jeff pass’

3:12
Ben Clemens: So there’s no issue of you burning bridges; they’re all burnt

3:12
Ben Clemens: You might not think you can win the lawsuit — but Jim Crane is probably suuuuuper uninterested in a lengthy discovery process

3:13
Ben Clemens: So you file a lawsuit for $22 million and immediately offer to settle for $3 million

3:14
B: Does MLB perceive the problem that so much of the game now revolves around home runs, Ks, and BBs?  There’s much less action in the field now, and even casual fans that I talk to are starting to really notice and cite it as a reason that they think baseball is boring. Can MLB do anything about it?

3:15
Ben Clemens: I think they absolutely do. It’s a tricky problem, without an obvious answer

3:15
Ben Clemens: Which is why Manfred just targets time of game instead

3:15
Ben Clemens: But I’m sure that they’re working on ideas for how to handle it, and just keep coming up withones thath don’t work

3:15
Guest: Correct! Babe Ruth was the first (He played LF-1B-P, went 1-4, Stole a base and allowed 6 ER with one Homer, the Yankees won 7-6). The second I guess I probably exaggerated being a “famous” utility man, but it was Kiké Hernandez in 2018. The other fun fact was both were against Philadelphia teams! The then Philadelphia Athletics and the Phillies

3:15
Ben Clemens: oh that’s a solid one. I htink he counts as famous

3:16
Ben Clemens: Gonna call this a wrap on the chat; my chatting muscles have atrophied from a month off and I’m falling really behind on answering questions, so gonna call it and get some lunch. Thanks so much for hanging out with me, everyone, and sorry if I didn’t get to your questions. See you next week!





Ben is a writer at FanGraphs. He can be found on Twitter @_Ben_Clemens.

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thebearproofsuit
3 years ago

outside of SEA, no one seems to think the Mariners will be in on Stroman, not sure why. They have cash, they need a SP, they have the IF defense, he fits their timeline. I would put them in the top 3 to sign him, provided he’s open to the PNW. They missed playoffs by 2 games, ….adding kelenic, haniger, plus a new bull pen and stroman would put them in position to compete again for a playoff spot next year it would seem…….

people keep saying ‘well…they looking at 2022…..well it’s not like Stroman is going to disappear suddenly after 2021. Waiting another year and trying to make several big splashes on the FA in the same year seems like a bad plan for SEA, especially in light of this down market. Locking up 4-years of stroman at 2020 prices might not look so bad when they wade into the 2021 FA market. If they just tank this year too, it’s not like the big names are going to flock to them in 2022. build now, win 85-88 games and build on that.