Tag: Francisco Lindor

Trade: Marshall Law | Bomb Squad

Francisco Lindor names his favorite players growing up | Sporting News

 

 

Marshall Law Trades:
Francisco Lindor

Bomb Squad Trades:
Alex Bregman
George Kirby

 

(Obligatory trash can joke.)Look, Bregman took a step back – I know it, you know it. His BABIP dropped almost 30 points, but even then, BABIP wasn’t a big part of Bregman’s game anyways (in 2018 and 2019, his BABIP was below .300). The slugging percentage dropping by 140 points is scary, and the .451 slugging was the lowest of his career. But there are some encouraging steps, in that his swinging strike percentage was still below five percent, his contact rate still sat over 85 percent, and his exit velocity still sat at his career average. All of that, plus a manageable $40 salary and the fact he will play the obligatory amount to get SS eligibility (thank you, Carlos Correa!), makes him a smart buy-low to me. Oh, AND George Kirby? A power arm that throws strikes? He doesn’t walk anyone. Literally – he didn’t walk anyone in 2019. He’s not a Top 100 prospect, but you know how you just see a guy making the majors? That’s Kirby. The other stuff is still a little behind, but he could get himself to Seattle in part of an interesting rebuild quickly. Getting Lindor when you have Carlos Correa and Adalberto Mondesi, flawed as they are is an…interesting approach. In those three players alone, Bomb Squad now has over $180. Meanwhile, the third base options are… Maikel Franco? Hanser Alberto? The more I see this, the less I get it. But okay, let’s say he can trade Carlos Correa, he has Lindor now, and the counting stats are great (30 HR from 2017-2019), but there are SOME worrying pieces as the swinging strikes are going up and the barrels are going down. Still, I give him a 2020 Pass too, because this year was wacky (his Slugging fell by more than 100 points though, for what it’s worth). Who wins? I’ll take Marshall in this one, if only because the trading pieces in HIS positional surplus (Moncada, Urshela) would be better than Bomb’s surplus (Correa, Mondesi) should either one choose to trade them. Plus, adding players and losing some salary is a win-win to me.

-Kyle HTCP

 

Trade: Marshall Law | Evil Otters

Marshall Law trades away

OF Alex Verdugo ($303 $3.03)
2B/3B/SS Javier Baez ($20)

Evil Otters trades away

SS Francisco Lindor ($57)

Jordan’s thoughts: I like how this occurs during the greed process. Not waiting a day or two on a cold day in December to get this trade done just to see i the values of these players change at all. I’m not saying that $5-12 changes this deal at all. It probably does not.

Anyway Lindor and Baez were both really good last year. That’s no surprise to anyone. Projections both have them regressing somewhat, Baez more so. I do not think there’s a lot of reason to be low on either player. I think ultimately you rather have Lindor, but at three times the (pre-greed) cost? Yeah probably.

Alex Verdugo does swing it a bit. He hit amazing last year in AAA. Which was good for zero points. His production for the Dodgers was sparse and not fantasy relevant. I don’t know if he finds playing time next year, and if he doesn’t. He just gets more expensive for nothing. Potentially sure, he gets traded or injuries create opportunity. He’s a nice piece. That doesn’t really move the needle a lot. I’ll eat my crow if he jumps for 1000 points next year.

Huge win for Marshall Law in my book here.

 

 

Hustles Toxic $.02  I think this trade is fine for both teams. I’m not nose deep into everyone’s budget but I cant imagine Kyle was scraping too hard for budget this year .. even with recent trades. I’d rather have the better player, which is Lindor here. I think Verdugo’s low upside doesn’t really cover the ground.  My guess is also that Baez gets greeded a bit more than Lindor (unfortunately), which might make the price difference a little less attractive.  I think Kyle should have probably waited a day, seen what Baez went up to and leveraged that somehow.  In the end, it’s probably not a big deal and this trade is reasonable.  I personally think Baez is due for a giant regression, but thats more of a testament to the amazing year he had than think he’s bad or anything.

Trade: Rocky Mountain Oysters | Preseason Double Stuffs

Preseason Double Stuffs sends: 2B/3B/SS Cesar Hernandez ($3), 1B/OF Ben Paulsen ($3)
Rocky Mountain Oysters sends: SS Brandon Crawford ($14)

Jordan’s thoughts: Well when you get Francisco Lindor, clearly you don’t need Brandon Crawford anymore. So you give him away. Hernandez has some value from being a strong backup at three positions. Do not confuse him with actually being good. Paulsen is fine, he hits in Coors.

Double Stuff win themselves a likely top ten short stop candidate, even in a field that has risen to the occasion. If Crawford ends up just being top 16, they ended up paying two bench pieces for a starting player. It’s a winning deal. I doubt any of these players have any long term value.

Andrew’s thoughts: I like this one for the Double Stuffs. As Jordan said above, two utility bench players is worth it for a starter. I don’t like Crawford much at all, but for $14, he’s more valuable to a roster than Hernandez or Paulsen.

This is sort of a weird follow up to Dusty’s other deal. He basically bought someone here (Paulsen) who plays the same spots as Hanley Ramirez but not nearly as well, so he acquired someone his previous deal made superfluous, and downgraded his back-up to Francisco Lindor from Crawford to Hernandez.

Trade: Rocky Mountain Oysters | Long ball to LF

Long ball to LF sends: SS Francisco Lindor ($40) & 1B/LF Hanley Ramirez ($15)
Rocky Mountain Oysters sends: SP Kenta Maeda ($21)

Jordan’s thoughts: I really don’t like shipping off Kenta Maeda here. Five starts into his short MLB career so far, and he’s been better than advertised. 38 points per start. He’s efficient, able to get deep into games and strike hitters out. He also is quite fun to watch, which probably has less value in fantasy that I give it for.

Maeda just had his worst start where he finished with 27 points. His pitch counts have been well managed and there’s just so much to like about him. Even if Maeda gets hammered by greed dollars, he’s still keepable at under $50. I hate sending him away for anything less tier 1 ace return.

Long ball gets an ace, and they send off some overprice pieces. You’re not a baseball fan if you’re not aware of where Hanley Ramirez‘s value stands. So far this season, he’s not walking, striking out more and the power isn’t making up for it. A .696 OPS for a first basemen is not good enough. The Red Sox have a problem on their hands. Hanley was overpriced in the auction is certain to be dropped at the end of the season. While he does provide some what consistent low bar production, he’s a throw in for this kind of deal.

Francisco Lindor is the presumed prize coming back. He’s been good. Not great, but good. Andrew’s already written about positional adjusted values. Short stops this year have been all good. Lindor’s 5 points per game should have been top 5, but right now its 10th. Aledmys Diaz, Jean Segura, and Zack Cozart are names you should not expect to hold on to finish ahead of Lindor, but they are there now. Guys like Trevor Story, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, Starlin Castro, and Corey Seager should not be surprising. If all the sudden short stops are a deep enough position, there’s just no prize here. Guys like Jed Lowrie, Brock Holt, Asdrubal Cabrera have all been better than average for years past. They’re all basically free. If you can get a player who’s an everyday guy without punting the position you are golden. If we knew what we knew now in the draft, I have to imagine that Lindor is going for $25-30. That isn’t insignificant. He’s good, but that perceived value is just gone when the 2nd and 3rd tier of a position show up.

Dusty has really won many trades in this league so far, and this was not one of them. Lindor replaces Jose Ramirez in the line up. It is an improvement. But, now Dusty is one less ace short in a world where you cannot have too many.

Johnny couldn’t cash this check fast enough in my opinion. He gets value for a player he didn’t need. Dallas Keuchel wasn’t enough to carry the rotation, adding Maeda to that makes his pitching staff leagues better. Fantastic move.

Andrew’s thoughts: I know Dusty really likes Lindor and has a solid pitching staff with or without Maeda, but I’d rather have the pitcher here.

For starters, Lindor is probably overpriced. He’s young and a shortstop though, so hooray, $40! I just don’t like his price — or Hanley’s, for that matter — and think Maeda’s a bargain. Anything can happen, of course. Maeda had some questionable medicals and he’s just making his first run through the league, so maybe we’re seeing the best he has. Even still, I wouldn’t view this as a “sell high” in a league where pitching is at a premium. To me, Lindor and a potentially finished Hanley aren’t a big prize.

But hey, who knows? As I said, Dusty still has pitching and now his offense should be slightly improved, salaries be damned.

Side note: Dusty previously traded Hisashi Iwakuma for Khris Davis, then abruptly cut Davis because he was underperforming through less than 20 games. Just thinking aloud here, but would you rather have Davis on your roster or Hanley? I think most would say Hanley. He’s got the longer track record and qualifies at an extra position. And that isn’t a bad answer. Point is, is the gap between Davis, who was cut flat out, and Hanley, who was a key piece in dumping off a really good starting pitcher, really that big? I don’t think it is.

2016 Auction Review – Long Ball to LF

Long Ball to LF

lblf

Where have all the first basemen gone… Alright step back take a second look. Perhaps Hanley Ramirez does take over at first base for Boston, qualifies, and now you have Michael Brantley in left, Jacoby Ellsbury in center. Eh. I mean, the best news for Hustle Loyalty Respect and Long Ball to LF, is that between them, the shortstop market is all but cornered. And except when they play each other, they should handily win that position battle each week. This was one of the hardest teams to project. I see the logic behind the roster, but I don’t love forcing the issue of transactions to get better roster utilization.

Hitters – Alright

This group is so close to good you can almost taste it. There is just pieces missing at key positions. First base is a concern even with Hanley presumably taking over. Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista are awesome in Toronto, but was last year the ceiling? Brantley appears to be ready to go to be ready close to opening day, but he’s had issues staying healthy. I don’t think any of us wanted a short stop to be a primary utility guy, and there’s almost no way around it here. Matt Kemp and Ellsbury sure, but they’ll be mixed into the outfield often enough. Just seems like a first basemen short. LBLF has that same rotating door utility problem. It’s not a glaring issue, but it can turn into one with an injury or two. It is not a huge problem that LBLF is also relying on Devon Travis, but three Blue Jays means on Toronto off-days this roster may have open slots.

Pitchers – Uh-oh

Dallas Keuchel is amazing. Now that he is out of the way. He’s capable of being dominate in 2-start weeks. That’s fine. The other 12 weeks when he’s not starting twice, you’re depending on Wheeler being healthy, Leake being above average, and a bunch of maybes and hopefuls. Sure, pitching is a finicky bitch and perhaps 6 good starters come out of this group of 12. It just seems like a ballsy risk in order to own three shortstops. The bullpen isn’t great either. Best case scenario is that six or seven guys from this group flesh themselves out to be good enough fast, and two or three make themselves easy to chop and replace with other depth.

Depth – Good

So while things on the pitching side don’t look amazing, the depth here is actually good. I just dogged the group of guys in the back of his rotation as guys you want to depend on, but I like Tyler Skaggs, Aaron Nola, Josh Tomlin, Taylor Jungmann, and Daniel Norris, they could be quite dependable. It’s not unrealistic. And while I assume one of the short stops is getting traded for something, even if they don’t. The hitting depth in the outfield is great, catcher is good, and if you find some 1B to move Logan Forsythe to a backup roll, even better. Those pitchers should be able to fetch something on the market and you can count on that happening most likely. Even with the Toronto issue on offense, I like the depth here.

Why 2016 would be bad… 

Both Xander Bogaerts and Francisco Lindor trend downward and become possible candidates for release next off-season. Keuchel loses his touch. The team never finds a first baseman. Take your pick. This team will take some real grinding to push to the top, especially if the market for shortstops does not bring something equivalent to what was spent.

Why 2016 would be good… 

I could just be wrong. Lindor and Bogaerts are amazing, they are good enough even if they have to server the utility role. Devon Travis stays healthy and ends up a top 5 2b. Hanley Ramirez ends up being a steal and hits like a top 15 first baseman. Michael Brantley returns to 2014 form. Jose Bautista and Josh Donaldson nail their encore. Of the twelve starters just six have to be good. There’s trade bait all around this team.