Bobby BradGOAT

[sportscoach]

In recent years, this front office has signed three separate FA 1B/DH:

Mike Napoli
Edwin Encarnacion
Yonder Alonso

Napoli was signed after the 2015 season when the team finished the season with 81 wins, which this team can do as well if they win today and tomorrow.

There is a reason why people are speculating a player like Canha as a free agent signing since he can play 1B as well as the corner OF spots... 1B will not be a priority in FA/in trades, but we arent going to skip on a chance if a Walsh or an established big league 1B is within the "affordable" range the FO as set... It's just not a position the FO will go out of their way for, so its a good 80% chance Bradley is starting the spring at 1B with a veteran minor league signing competing with him...

 

[Gson]

Yeah, he didn't get all of it but still got it out. His power is impressive.

But I will be more impressed when I see him slapping more outside pitches into left field to beat the shift, especially with two strikes. And when I see him laying off the high fastballs, especially with two strikes.

Bradley is hitting .110 with two strikes. He needs to be more aggressive early in the count and try to put the ball in play before he has two strikes on him. Failing that, he needs to be more selective with two strikes and also wait longer on the pitch and go oppo. He has to get the BA up and the K-rate down even if that means he hits 30 HR's instead of 40.

So you'd rather see a slappy hit effort the opposite way as opposed to the majestic home run clout?.. Everyone has their right to their brand of exciting..I suppose...

 

[DickyLeftridge]

You guys ever heard of a 1B with a OBP higher than their Slugging? What about a 1B with a Slugging % of .277?

Would that be good do you think? Thanks in advance.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

So you'd rather see a slappy hit effort the opposite way as opposed to the majestic home run clout?.. Everyone has their right to their brand of exciting..I suppose...

With two strikes on him he's not hitting any majestic (or non-majestic) home runs. He chasing breaking balls outside the zone and fastballs above the zone and striking out.

I'm fine with him trying to pull the ball early in the count but when you're hitting .110 with two strikes you can't just keep doing what isn't working. I've seen Bradley take outside pitches to left field for base hits. I want to see him taking that approach with two strikes, along with laying off the letter-high fastballs and the breaking balls in the dirt.

How many times have I seen a pitcher get two strikes on Miquel Cabrera only to have Miggy slap a 1-2 pitch on or just off the outside corner into right field? Too many to count and that was when Miggy was in his prime.

 

[CATS44]

This has been gone over multiple times.

The payroll will increase. The only question is how much.

Even a minimal increase will cover the costs of arby raises, non of which will be significant (because of Biebs injury), and an extension.

We will still have the money not being spent of Hernandez, Eddie, and Parker...$14-15 mil to spend on two significant upgrades.

One will come from a trade of multiple prospects for a long term bat that is in early arby and cost about $5 mil. The other will come from a short term FA that
will cost about $8 mil.

**********

Bradley is out of options. If we bring in a FA 1B (Cron), it means that the FO has given up on Bradley, and replaced him with a short term fix. That simply is not in this orgs DNA. (See Bauers, Zimmer, Johnson, Mercado) This FO cannot bring itself to give up on anybody, until it has squeezed the last drop out of any possible hope that they can be more than a AAAA.

 

[KluberSociety]

I think Bradley would be claimed as potential "cheap power" to a rebuilding team. If we DFA him he's gone. Unless we want to roll with Franmil at 1B, I don't think Naylor will be ready to start the year and even if he is, there's no guarantee he won't be worse than Bradley. For that reason I think he'll stay on the roster but I don't have the highest hopes for him. He got a taste of being overmatched by MLB pitchers though and perhaps he can make that adjustment in the offseason. He'll still be only 25 starting next season.

Mercado also has no options. The fact that neither of them do, make them unappealing from a flexibility standpoint and less valuable when we could be giving those spots to other players who we don't have to keep on the active roster.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I think Bradley would be claimed as potential "cheap power" to a rebuilding team. If we DFA him he's gone. Unless we want to roll with Franmil at 1B, I don't think Naylor will be ready to start the year and even if he is, there's no guarantee he won't be worse than Bradley. For that reason I think he'll stay on the roster but I don't have the highest hopes for him. He got a taste of being overmatched by MLB pitchers though and perhaps he can make that adjustment in the offseason. He'll still be only 25 starting next season.

Mercado also has no options. The fact that neither of them do, make them unappealing from a flexibility standpoint and less valuable when we could be giving those spots to other players who we don't have to keep on the active roster.

What about Chang at first base next year? He finished strong the last two months and hits left- and right-handed pitching equally well.

From July 1 through the end of the season he hit .280 with 7 HR's and 25 RBI's in 132 AB's. Multiply by four gives you 528 AB's, 28 HR's, and 100 RBI's.

His OPS was .720 against RHP's and .668 against LHP's for the entire season so it's not like he put up good numbers being platooned against LHP.

Chang was at his best in the most important at-bats;
.295/.832 with runners on, .321/.857 with RISP, .333/.958 with RISP and two out, and 3-for-7 with the bases loaded. If you just looked at those numbers for the last three months they would probably be better. As of June 30 he was hitting .162.

Over the same time period (after July 1) Bobby Bradley hit .193 with 4 HR's and 18 RBI's in 166 AB's. He hit .162 against lefties, so he probably can't be an every day first baseman.

Chang can also play the other three infield positions if they want to put Bradley or Naylor at first base.

They could do a three-way platoon where they have Chang at first and Miller at second against LHP's and Chang at second and Bradley or Naylor at first against RHP's.

 

[Gson]

What about Chang at first base next year? He finished strong the last two months and hits left- and right-handed pitching equally well.

From July 1 through the end of the season he hit .280 with 7 HR's and 25 RBI's in 132 AB's. Multiply by four gives you 528 AB's, 28 HR's, and 100 RBI's.

His OPS was .720 against RHP's and .668 against LHP's for the entire season so it's not like he put up good numbers being platooned against LHP.

Chang was at his best in the most important at-bats;
.295/.832 with runners on, .321/.857 with RISP, .333/.958 with RISP and two out, and 3-for-7 with the bases loaded. If you just looked at those numbers for the last three months they would probably be better. As of June 30 he was hitting .162.

Over the same time period (after July 1) Bobby Bradley hit .193 with 4 HR's and 18 RBI's in 166 AB's. He hit .162 against lefties, so he probably can't be an every day first baseman.

Chang can also play the other three infield positions if they want to put Bradley or Naylor at first base.

They could do a three-way platoon where they have Chang at first and Miller at second against LHP's and Chang at second and Bradley or Naylor at first against RHP's.

As was stated in an early season game thread when Chang was hitting a buck something and several posters were calling for his release.. "... chang's swing is very good.. we need to see more of it before we can make that kind of decision..". Anything that gives Chang regular AB's.. will be good for the Guardians going into & through 2022..

 

[CATS44]

I see no way that the FO would DFA Bradley.

He may not have much, but he does have value on the field and in trade...and at the moment we have no other viable, healthy option at 1B.

I'm not a Bradley fan, and never have been. I dont expect him to have much more than a fringe type career. Guys that K 35% of the time have very low odds of ever learning how to hit a baseball.

But he is all we have, and he has shown over several years the willingness to work hard on everything he needs to address. In that way, he is the anti Bauers.

I've been thinking about Mercado, too. IMO he is the one out of him, Zimmer, Harold, and Johnson to keep.

KC just extended Michael Taylor for two years for $9 mil....maybe a good signing, maybe not. But it means that a kid with a tool set like Mercado has some value.

 

[AZ_]

Sub zero percent chance the organization gives up on Bradley before camp next year.

Even if they wind up platooning him with Chang, who may well have earned some utility at-bats next season, I'd be surprised if they don't give him every opportunity to come in healthy and produce.

 

[CATS44]

As was stated in an early season game thread when Chang was hitting a buck something and several posters were calling for his release.. "... chang's swing is very good.. we need to see more of it before we can make that kind of decision..". Anything that gives Chang regular AB's.. will be good for the Guardians going into & through 2022..

I dont think that any situation in which we go into next year expecting Chang to get regular ABs is a good thing.

Utility infielder who plays sparingly, rests the regulars once in a while...maybe. Regular at bats, no way.

Changs career OPS vs lefties...628.
Vs RHers....683.

2022.....vs lefties...668.
Vs RHers....720.

He's not even a good candidate to be RH bat off the bench.

 

[KluberSociety]

What about Chang at first base next year? He finished strong the last two months and hits left- and right-handed pitching equally well.

From July 1 through the end of the season he hit .280 with 7 HR's and 25 RBI's in 132 AB's. Multiply by four gives you 528 AB's, 28 HR's, and 100 RBI's.

His OPS was .720 against RHP's and .668 against LHP's for the entire season so it's not like he put up good numbers being platooned against LHP.

Chang was at his best in the most important at-bats;
.295/.832 with runners on, .321/.857 with RISP, .333/.958 with RISP and two out, and 3-for-7 with the bases loaded. If you just looked at those numbers for the last three months they would probably be better. As of June 30 he was hitting .162.

Over the same time period (after July 1) Bobby Bradley hit .193 with 4 HR's and 18 RBI's in 166 AB's. He hit .162 against lefties, so he probably can't be an every day first baseman.

Chang can also play the other three infield positions if they want to put Bradley or Naylor at first base.

They could do a three-way platoon where they have Chang at first and Miller at second against LHP's and Chang at second and Bradley or Naylor at first against RHP's.

I'm not impressed with Chang as a 1B or a hitter. Low sample size situational stats aren't likely to persist into the future. He provides some pop but not as much as Bobby, and his .267 OBP is not really cutting it (he hasn't really improved his BB/K stats which mean it's likely to continue to be low).

His positional flexibility is nice off the bench, but he's going to have to show a little more before I'm penciling him in over Bobby at 1B. I'm really hoping either Bobby or Naylor take a step forward to seize the job, but I do wish Chang the best too.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

I think Chang is the leader in the clubhouse for the utility infield position. But he's sure not a starter.
So we've got that.

 

[CATS44]

As was stated in an early season game thread when Chang was hitting a buck something and several posters were calling for his release.. "... chang's swing is very good.. we need to see more of it before we can make that kind of decision..". Anything that gives Chang regular AB's.. will be good for the Guardians going into & through 2022..

I dont think that any situation in which we go into next year expecting Chang to get regular ABs is a good thing.

Utility infielder who plays sparingly, rests the regulars once in a while...maybe. Regular at bats, no way.

Changs career OPS vs lefties...628.
Vs RHers....683.

2022.....vs lefties...668.
Vs RHers....720.

He's not even a good candidate to be RH bat off the bench.

 

[Kevalier]

Sub zero percent chance the organization gives up on Bradley before camp next year.

Even if they wind up platooning him with Chang, who may well have earned some utility at-bats next season, I'd be surprised if they don't give him every opportunity to come in healthy and produce.

While Bobby Bradley's career fWAR in the big leagues is sub zero, the chances of him being with a different organization next season are not. I understand the infatuation with the power he displayed in June, but he then completely fell off a cliff when pitchers adjusted as I've written about in this thread. It's certainly possible that he's the Opening Day 1B for the Guardians in 2022, but it's also certainly a possibility that they look to upgrade at 1B as well. He's not an indispensable part of this franchise.