Second half 22 GM Thread!

[sportscoach]

Alright we have reached the halfway point with the season, so let's make a new thread to get this second half started!!!

 

[sportscoach]

So here's sort of my mid-season progress report:

My preseason prediction, I think, was a 3rd place finish in our division. After a promising start, we seem to have come back to Earth.
I'm disappointed in the pitching. The SP, except for McKenzie, has been inconsistent. The bullpen, other than Clase, has also been inconsistent.
The offense has been very poor. JRam has carried the team for most of the first half. Gimenez also has produced well. Naylor shows he can produce in the clutch.
Straw, Reyes, Miller, Clement and the C position are not showing much yet.
The good news is the the kids brought up this season seem to have a future. Kwan can make contact at a very good rate. OG has also shown promise. Palacios may become an elite pinch-hitter. Even Nolan Jones shows early promise.

So how do you improve the team at the trade deadline?
I'm gonna say the G's should be sellers.
Make available any SP, other than McKenzie. Bieber seems to have slipped a notch. Not saying he's bad. But not sure he's a #1 anymore. Bullpen: anybody other than Morgan & Clase. Rosario also available.
Keep Espino, Valera, Williams. (Maybe Naylor) All other prospects are negotiable.

What do we need?
We don't need any rentals. I don't think we are realistic contenders in 22.
We don't need any prospects in AA. We have enough of those types.
We can use a controllable C that can hit @ .240.
We can use a young, controllable OF that has a + bat. (BTW, any news on Michael Conforto?)

I expect Espino, Valera, and maybe Williams to make their MLB debut next season.
If they are who we think they are, we might contend in 23.

I always like to do a starting post, but honestly yours would beat anything I could throw out and it really is well done! So everyone read through what he said!

I thought we would be second in the division, so we are at about where I expected, but this was way more of a roller coaster than I projected. We are closer than projected because the White Soxs haven't been where anyone projected them. We can definitely try to make a WC spot...

I am okay with the pitching, I figured somethings would get messed up cause of the lockout. Let's see how these guys do in the second half. I actually think our SPs will be top 5 in the second half...

I am disappointed a ton in the bullpen. I know it has had some good stretches, but I don't trust it and I feel like we gotta get some more young arms in the bullpen. I want another setup man/closer type with team control to help out Clase. We just don't have that...

Hitting wasn't 100% surprising we arent the best offense since we did look light on paper to begin with...

I am going to do a bold take right now and it's kind of strange so don't mind me...

I did a weird trade a monthish back, where I traded Freeman to the Tigers for Lange and some other prospects. I still want to get Lange or Effross or someone else... We have a ton of pitchers, but we don't have a ton of the high leverage style bullpen arms. I want to acquire a RH and a LH back end style young bullpen arm with lots of team control.

I think it's time to DFA Maile and add Naylor... I like Maile and whatnot and I want to find a way to keep him around (shoot can we get him a bonus to keep him in the minors). I want Naylor or Lavastida to finish the season as one of the main catchers. It's maybe a bit too soon, but we cannot sit there and keep doing this black hole from the position.

I also don't want to trade for an OF anymore. I feel like let's see who we have in house. OGonz, Jones, Brennan etc... let's give all the OF bats to them now. I wouldn't be against finding a mentor type for them out there to replace Mercado, but in no way am I going to get an everyday OF unless it's Reynolds...

I think it's also time to move Miller down and see how everyone else like Freeman does...

 

[Gson]

w/r to Michael Conforto... shoulder surgery during spring training (work out injury) has put a doubt that he'll be on an ML roster / play at all in the 2022 season. What's been reported (by his scumbag agent) is that the best chance for him is to take a few AB's in September with a team willing to take a risk on a pro rated 1 year contract plus a contract for the 2023 season.. The dollars involved would be highly risky..

IOW.. not a good candidate for the way the Indians do business.. IDK if it's how the Guardians do business, but, all indications are.. nothing has changed...

 

[Gson]

...a relief pitcher with a gimmicky pitch and any catcher not currently on the Guardians Major League roster is the cure?..... keep guessing...

W/R to Lange.. good/great arm.. if he and Tucker or Erik the Red is coming.. then it's worthy of discussion.. and more than what they're really worth coming from De-Toi.. errr Detroit.. Absolutely, without a doubt.. specific prospects must be excluded.. or the Guards walk away from the deal...

 

[sportscoach]

@hockeyjohn

I put up a trade to purposely bother someone specific on BTV, we need everyone to put it up haha

 

[sportscoach]

...a relief pitcher with a gimmicky pitch and any catcher not currently on the Guardians Major League roster is the cure?..... keep guessing...

W/R to Lange.. good/great arm.. if he and Tucker or Erik the Red is coming.. then it's worthy of discussion.. and more than what they're really worth coming from De-Toi.. errr Detroit.. Absolutely, without a doubt.. specific prospects must be excluded.. or the Guards walk away from the deal...

Lange and Haase, wouldn't be a horrible idea at the end of the day...

 

[Gson]

Lange and Haase, wouldn't be a horrible idea at the end of the day...

wrong..

 

[sportscoach]

wrong..

Why is that wrong?

 

[hockeyjohn]

@hockeyjohn

I put up a trade to purposely bother someone specific on BTV, we need everyone to put it up haha

@hockeyjohn

I put up a trade to purposely bother someone specific on BTV, we need everyone to put it up haha

BTV needs a block button so we don't have to deal with Benjo. He is just trying to start a fight now. I am not going to give him the satisfaction.

 

[sportscoach]

What do the values represent, how are they calculated?

It's essentially how much they cost in trade value via their analysts...

So like JRam is 209 while someone like Jones is 13...

So for a fair trade you need to get the two/three teams involved to have similar numbers going in and out...

So right now Contreras is at 10 and Jones is at 13, so its an overpay for the Guardians to trade only Jones to the Cubs. So let's say we add Effross from the Cubs who is at 5, that makes the Cubs side 15, and ours is at 13, so to make the deal fair we add in another player who is at 2, like Mace and tada you have a deal...

Contreras and Effross for Jones and Mace...

If you decided to do Jones for Effross then the trade wouldn't be valid and you couldn't post it...

 

[CATS44]

As GM, I'm looking at what we have right now...

Jose is back to hitting well.
Gimenez is getting on base.
Kwan is getting on base.
Straw is heating up.
Amed is still hot.
Naylor is really hot, but can't play every day.
OGonz was doing well, but is gonna be out until at least after the break.
Jones is gonna get a look in his place.

Miller is not a 1B....at least not yet.

Hedges concussion issues are troublesome.

The rotation is solid, but not spectacular. Civale is improving. But outside of Pilkington, there is no immediate depth.

Clase is elite, but the rest of the pen is faltering, most of them badly. There is no immediate help below.

Maybe the rest at the break will help the pen, and there are nine games left.

The 40 man, once a concern, is becoming critical. I'm extremely excited about how well so many 40 man candidates are doing, but know full well that I can't come close to protecting them all.

But...as I look at my present MIF prospects that are closest to MLB ready, the next one in line (Arias) is having a horrendous season, leaving only Freeman as an immediate possibility if I move Amed...and doing so would make the team worse.

If the team flops over the next nine games and vs Chicago after the break, my decisions become easier, because we face Boston and Tampa on the road right before the deadline.

But if the team rebounds in a big way, my decisions become much more difficult. I can hardly throw the season away if we are neck and neck going into August...and I have no room for any more prospects that are anywhere close to MLB ready, or rule five eligible.

My payroll is under control with no major money contracts that need to be dumped. The biggest contract that I could reasonably move is Amed, but dumping him would only save about $1.8 mil.

As I look at my options and prioritize them, they go something like this if we are still in the division race....

1) Thinning out my 40 man situation...meaning a four for one trade for a major long term piece.

2) Acquiring an experienced bullpen upgrade, preferably not a rental.

3) Acquiring a short term RH corner bat that can play first base...preferably also play outfield.

4) Acquiring a rental catcher, or one with another year of control...but that is more about Hedges health than bat.

If we have fallen out of the race, my only real priority is thinning out my 40 man situation.

If I wait to do it until after the season, every GM will know my problem, and my back will be against the wall. I either overpay now for something that will help now...or I overpay more for something that doesn't help me now...or I'm gonna expose a lot of solid prospects to the R5 that are likely to be taken.

 

[DCTribefan]

Cats worst nightmare:

Bryan Reynolds was replaced for a pinch-hitter prior to his at-bat in the seventh inning of the Pirates’ 8-6 win over the Brewers today. The Pirates later announced that Reynolds was day-to-day after experiencing discomfort in his right side.

While more testing will eventually reveal the severity of the injury, the worst-case scenario would be an oblique strain. Even a lower-level oblique issue would require a trip to the injured list for Reynolds, and a higher-grade strain could put the outfielder’s season in jeopardy.

 

[sportscoach]

@Gson I need your help...

I want to make one or two trades to get more bullpen help... so if possible in here/BTV find me bullpen targets... I want to find a way to get one left hander and one right hander... help me find guys near MLB as well...

Baseball Trade Values: Accurate Player Trade Values: Trade Boards

Imagine you’re the GM of your favorite team. Review values of all major and minor baseball players. Use our trade simulator, figure out a deal, and debate trades with fellow baseball fanatics.

www.baseballtradevalues.com

My first one is a weird one...

Cubs get...
UTIL Clement
SP Curry
RHP Torres (maybe a different guy here).

Cleveland gets
UTIL Bote
RHP Effross
(Maybe cash and/or lotto prospect)

Reason why Cubs do this... First off they don't want to trade Effross, so Cleveland takes Bote's bad contract off their hands and give them a SP prospect in Curry... I know Cubs can spend, but they get rid of a bad contract nonetheless... Bote is an utility guy like Clement, but has more upside with the bat...

Other guys on my list, RHP Bednar (PIT), RHP Lange (DET), RHP Barlow (KC) RHP Barlow (Tex) LHP Martin (Tex) LHP Puk (Oak).

 

[sportscoach]

Baseball Trade Values: Accurate Player Trade Values: Trade Boards

Imagine you’re the GM of your favorite team. Review values of all major and minor baseball players. Use our trade simulator, figure out a deal, and debate trades with fellow baseball fanatics.

www.baseballtradevalues.com

That's my second trade...

Cleveland gets AJ Puk

A's get Call, Fermin and Mace (or something like that)

 

[MadThinker88]

Baseball Trade Values: Accurate Player Trade Values: Trade Boards

Imagine you’re the GM of your favorite team. Review values of all major and minor baseball players. Use our trade simulator, figure out a deal, and debate trades with fellow baseball fanatics.

www.baseballtradevalues.com

That's my second trade...

Cleveland gets AJ Puk

A's get Call, Fermin and Mace (or something like that)

@sportscoach
Yes Oakland is looking to bring in talent, but Puk doesn't enter his arbitration years until 2024.
That's 4 plus seasons of overall control & 1 plus season at league minimum...

1) Why does Oakland make the deal?
2) I think you offer is is way low... It feels like the equivalent of broken buttons and bent paper clips.
If I was Oakland I would want 1 of Will Dion/ Jack Leftwich along with 1 of Milan Tolentino/ Jake Fox and a PTBNL... I fully suspect CLE to say no to that counter offer.