Trade Deadline Day - 2020

Gson said:

If you recall.. back when Lindor was first drafted... it was thought he would certainly have the glove, range and arm to play SS at the highest level of Baseball.. The question was whether he would be able to hit & hit with some power.. At under 6 foot and barely over 170 pounds.. he was a slap hitting SS with a slick glove.. We found out that Lindor can hit.. hit for both average and power..

Fast forward to the today.. Gabriel Arias was drafted as a 17 year old.. just at 6 foot or a wee bit above that and maybe 170 pounds.. today.. he is bigger, stronger and faster than Lindor (6'1" and over 200 pounds). Arias is big enough and has put on enough muscle that he may be considered for 3B.. Additionally, what Arias does bring is a pedigree that says this is the slickest fielding prospect in MiLB.. He was so well thought of.. he was moved to full season ball and reached A+ in his age 19 year.. Says this could become a special kind of player.. just like the guy currently playing the spot..

Thoughts..?

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Lord Mar said:

Yea, but how's the offense doin'?

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LL3 said:

It probably improved, too. I doubt we’ll miss Domingo.

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LL3 said:

Keith Law's take --

The Padres then swapped six players to Cleveland for starter “Typhoid Mike” Clevenger, outfielder Greg Allen, and a PTBNL, but they did what smart teams do in these situations – they dealt from the middle of their farm system, rather than from the top, trading quantity to avoid giving up any of their elite prospects. That makes it a solid return for Cleveland but perhaps a little underwhelming for fans of the team-that-must-change-its-name who hoped they’d at least land a marquee young player in return for one of their best starters.

Cleveland netted the Padres’ No. 7 prospect, shortstop Gabriel Arias; No. 9 prospect, infielder Owen Miller; No. 13 prospect, lefty Joey Cantillo; and major-leaguers Josh Naylor, Cal Quantrill, and Austin Hedges. (All ranks are from prior to the season and don’t include this year’s draft.) This could turn out to be a huge haul for Cleveland if Arias and Naylor hit their ceilings, but I think a median forecast would be that they get good value spread across the entire package without any one player really “making” the deal. Arias is a plus defender at short who has already come into above-average power at age 19 and should see more, but he has a lot of holes in his approach, with just 23 unintentional walks last year in High A (where he was one of the youngest regulars). If one guy in this trade turns out to be someone we can’t believe Cleveland got in the return, I’d bet it’s him – he has youth, tools, and good feel on the defensive side of the ball all working in his favor.

Naylor might be the biggest individual beneficiary, as he gets away from the logjam of Wil Myers, Eric Hosmer, and now Mitch Moreland, and ends up in the same system as his younger brother Bo, a top 100 prospect who was Cleveland’s first-round pick in 2018. Josh is a patient hitter with power who got crushed by Petco – he slugged 104 points better on the road since his recall last year, and even had an 86 point OBP split – but who has everyday upside even if he ends up as a DH. He worked hard to improve his conditioning before 2019 and Cleveland should send him out to left field for now, since they’ve gotten no production there while their DH, Naylor’s former teammate Franmil Reyes, has been solid at that spot thanks to a big jump in his BABIP this year.

Miller should at least develop into a utility infielder but has the upside to be a regular at second base with his ability to make contact, although he lacks the home run power to be more than an everyday guy. Cantillo is a deception lefty with a very funky delivery and plus changeup, more likely a swingman or reliever but worth developing as a starter for now to see how this unusual combination works as he moves up the ladder.

Quantrill has moved to a one-inning relief role and has shifted to more of a sinker/slider approach from his prior four-seam/changeup plan His slider has crept up to be more than an average pitch and his sinker is definitely more effective than his flat four-seamer, and I’d stretch him out a bit more than one inning at a time since he has a plus changeup and can use it effectively against lefties. Hedges is what he is at this point, a premium defensive catcher with power who has never posted even a .290 OBP in the majors, making him a very good backup but not someone who should play every day.

The Padres’ rotation has been a disappointment even as the team as a whole has played well, with just two starters, Zach Davies and Dinelson Lamet, producing at or above league-average levels. Chris Paddack has struggled with the long ball, in part because he still doesn’t have an average breaking ball and right-handed hitters are sitting more on his four-seamer. Clevinger immediately becomes their No. 1 starter even if, as seems likely, he’s more like his 2017-18 self than the 2019 version. He was off to a rough start for Cleveland; in four starts this year he’s had more trouble keeping hitters off his four-seamer, giving up five of his six homers off the pitch and missing fewer bats with it than he did last year. He’s moving to a better pitchers’ park, at least, and four starts is a small enough sample that it shouldn’t weigh too heavily given that his velocity and other pitch characteristics seem the same. Allen is a great extra outfielder and pinch-runner but lacks the bat to play semi-regularly, perhaps more of a tactical weapon for the team in the playoffs than someone they’d use often in the regular season.

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Lord Mar said:

Well, improving minimally from near garbage doesn't excite me much.

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Randolphkeys said:

A couple quick thoughts from somebody who follows the NL West as his "other team"...

The Padres might have the best farm in baseball. This is their year, but it is because they have amazing depth in the farm. Their #7 or #9 prospect would be top three or four if they were with the Giants.

I didn't think many teams would trade for rentals this off-season, so Clevlinger was a good investment for them because of value next season. I don't know how many other teams were stoked to get active this trade deadline, good for the Tribe linking up with the top buyer.

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LL3 said:

All and all, it was a pretty low impact deadline.

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LL3 said:

I will work On exciting you tomorrow — promise!

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Lee said:

Handy? Blow job?

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Randolphkeys said:

Well, yeah... there are only three weeks of the regular season left. Who is going to give up much for three weeks of action?

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sportscoach said:

Your mommy and daddy's wedding night vid is what i think you will get! Just gotta get it edited right lol

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Lee said:

Handy? Blow job?

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