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Jays interested in adding Greg Holland, if he's made available. They realize this (and maybe next) year will be their only shot for potentially a decade. Props to AA on going all in.I like the idea of it, but it's going to cost WAY too much.
We do need a closer though.
Jays interested in adding Greg Holland, if he's made available. They realize this (and maybe next) year will be their only shot for potentially a decade. Props to AA on going all in.I like the idea of it, but it's going to cost WAY too much.
They (likely) got their 2B. The guy they got from Detroit already projects to be a league average player. Maybe Steamer is just high on him, but they've got a guy that looks to not be horrible.
Assuming that they've prioritizing a 2B over Melky, that will not happen.
agreed. he's asking 4 years, $64 million which Toronto can't afford plus with the signing of Martin, they lost their 1st round draft selection. if another team signs Cabrera, they'll get that 1st round pick back
Odds are pretty limited they can afford Melky and Russell.
Here's my post from SBT:
A refresher on this award: The Silver Slugger Award is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball (MLB). NOTE: outfield is inclusive, so all three winners could conceivably play the same field (left, center, or right). These voters consider several offensive categories in selecting the winners, including batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, in addition to "coaches' and managers' general impressions of a player's overall offensive value". Managers and coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their own team.
My take:
C: Gomes and Posey seem right (Lucroy and Mesoraco would win easily if either were in the AL)
1B: Abreu for sure -- is the Miguel Cabrera era over? Frankly, Rizzo was a better hitter than Gonzalez in 2014 (so were Freeman, Morneau, and Duda for that matter), but these voters all drool over RBI.
2B: You could make a case for Cano, but Altuve deserved it more, if just for the steals. Walker is the clear winner in a very weak NL field.
3B: Donaldson tapered off in the second half, leaving the door open for a more deserving Beltre; Rendon is the correct choice in the NL.
SS: I can't argue with Ramirez or Desmond (Peralta might), but I do wonder where those power-hitting shortstops of yesteryear have gone?
OF: The voters nailed it with Trout, Bautista, and Brantley in the AL (sorry, Cruz). As for the NL, McCutcheon and Stanton for sure. Upton over Gomez? I'm having a lot of trouble with that.
DH: The only choice, really, was Martinez, though Ortiz had a pretty good year for an old guy.
P: Who cares? But for those who do, Bumgarner is the clear choice.
Abreu was a equal hitting 1B - you really put him above Trout? Trout is still the best position player in baseball by a fairly wide margin, and the fact that he regressed a lot doesn't change that at all - that's just how much better he was than anyone else on the face of the planet.
Let's consider this: Trout's wRC+ was still essentially the highest in baseball (168 for Cutch, 167 for Trout). By OPS+, he was 3rd - just 4% behind Abreu (difference there is OPS values OBP and SLG equally, wRC values OBP about 2/3 to SLG 1/3). And while his defensive metrics have gone down each season, they're far from definitive - his scouting metrics (yes, those exist) have gone up. He's still reaching the same "routine" plays. His rate of making "likely" plays has gone up each season since 2012, his "even" plays are also trending up, and his "unlikely" plays are literally exactly in line with his career average. The only difference is that his "remote" plays have trended down.*
According to UZR, his range dropped by nearly 10 runs in a season, though his range factor ((PO + A)/GP) has increased each season he's been in the league and the scouts think his general ability on reasonable plays has gone up as well. I'm not saying he's a great fielder, but considering him a below average fielder is probably a little unfair - I would say he's an average defender, and there are a few metrics that support that.
One idea suggested by Tony Blengino (former scout/metrics guy for the M's, now working for fangraphs) is that a more accurate version of WAR is to take a 3 year average of the defensive numbers instead of just a single season. Going by this, Trout's defensive value jumps from -8.4 to +2.6 - and his WAR jumps from 7.8 to 8.9 wins. That's still a decent drop from 10.1 and 10.5 in 2012 and 2013, respectively, but it's not like Trout is no longer incredible. He's still a top 2-3 hitter, a good base runner, and (probably) an average defender.
If you think his defense really dropped by 10 runs in one year, then he's the best position player by a full win (7.8 for Trout, 6.8 for Cutch). If you think his defense is probably more average than the 2014 metrics suggest, he's the best position player by two full wins - and the best player in baseball by a win (7.9 RA9-WAR for Kershaw, 8.9 for Trout).**
* Scale for Inside Edge Fielding (in terms of percent of players that make a play)
- Routine 90-100%
- Likely 60-90%
- Even 40-60%
- Unlikely 10-40%
- Remote 1-10%
- Impossible - 0%
**I know WAR isn't the end all, be all - but it's really easy to use at 1 in the morning. If you really want me to go into his other aspects without WAR in the morning, I will.
It's possible he's still the best, but he's regressed big time in 2014. Lower BA/OBP/SLUG/WAR. His defensive metrics have been getting worse. His speed game basically disappeared despite the fact that he still stole at a solid rate. Made significantly less contact. Atrocious performance in his only playoff series.
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