22 Oct 2020 22:42:46
Some winter Trades:

#1

Mets get: Francisco Lindor
Indians get: Brandon Nimmo (OF), Andres Gimenez (SS), Matthew Allan (RHP), Ryley Gilliam (RHP) .

#2

Angels: Joe Musgrove
Pirates: Brandon Marsh (OF), Patrick Sandoval (LHP), Chris Rodriguez (RHP)

#3

Braves: Nolan Arenado (3B), Mychal Givens (RHP)
Rockies: Touki Toussaint (RHP), Drew Waters (OF), Adam Duvall (OF), Brooks WIlson (RHP) .

#4

Phillies: Gary Sanchez (C), Jordan Montgomery (LHP)
Yankees: Zach Eflin (RHP)

#5

Diamondbacks: Whit Merrifield
Royals: Jon Duplantier (RHP), Alek Thomas (OF), Josh Green (RHP)

#6

Brewers: Lance Lynn (RHP)
Rangers: Mario Feliciano (C), Aaron Ashby (LHP)

#7

White Sox: Josh Hader (LHP)
Brewers: Andrew Vaughn (1B), Konnor Pilkington (LHP), Tyler Johnson (RHP)


#8

Giants: Spencer Turnbull (RHP)
Tigers: Alexander Canario (OF), Melvin Adon (RHP) .

1.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 01:18:42
Some explanations:

1. The Mets are going to make a splash. A new owner is going to want to acquire one significant player, and BVW will absolutely pull the trigger on Lindor. This would get the Indians' attention and suits many of their immediate needs, with an arm to develop, which they like.

2. Might be a slight overpay from LA, but it'd make it easier for them getting Musgrove on a cheap salary.

3. Arenado's trade value will be difficult to track down. That contract is yucky and he'd be leaving Coors, but Atlanta isn't giving up pieces that would hurt them.

4. Eflin is criminally underrated, and it seems the Yankees have grown tired of Sanchez. Getting Sanchez back with Girardi in a weak catchers market would be a great move. Would the Phillies give up Eflin for Montgomery? That's the question.

5. Merrifield is wasting away on a bad Royals team. Getting Thomas as a future OF along with Duplaniter would help tremendously in KC.

6. Brewers need pitching and have some payroll to work with. He'd make sense in a competitive NL Central division.

7. I'm just trolling Chi Sox at this point. Hader is going to require a haul for Milwaukee to let him go, and while Vaughn is an obvious overpay, it's closer to what the Brewers would demand. (And frankly, if Vaughn weren't a White Sox prospect, Chi Sox wouldn't give two you-know-whats about him being involved) .

8. Turnbull is the kind of guy Zaidi has targeted since coming to San Francisco. Decent peripherals with two plus-pitches. Zaidi will probably find a way to get the Tigers to take two twinkies and a nutri-grain bar for him.

2.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 05:03:18
No top-100 prospect for Evan Longoria this time through? Dang it.

3.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 06:09:42
Also would be kinda interesting to see the White Sox with 3 of the top 5 left handed relief pitchers in MLB.

But I'll say what I've said a couple times on here - trade major pen pieces at the deadline, not in the offseason. You almost always get more.

4.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 16:36:09
Giants, unlike the White Sox, have come to the new age of baseball. They no longer give up prospects like, say, Fernando Tatis, Jr. for guys like James Shields.

I wonder which existing GM did that?

5.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 17:22:17
As far as that "top 100" prospect given up for Longoria is concerned, the guy has been cut by two teams and will likely be a AAAA guy in Boston until they need the roster spot.

The only relatively decent player given up in that trade was Stephen Woods, and even then, he's a 25-year-old in High-A that missed all of 2018 and, now, all of 2020.

For all the bad trades the old Giants regime made (McCutchen, Matt Moore), the Longoria one hasn't been that bad.

Now, if you want to talk about bad trades, we can talk about the Samardzija trade or the Todd Frazier trade. Bassitt, Semien, and Montas are all legitimately good MLB players.

I'm not sure White Sox fans should criticize any team about bad trades.

6.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 18:32:54
You proposed the Giants get Duran from the Twins a couple months ago. It's hilarious to think you believe that the Longoria trade has been anything but a huge failure for the Giants, a theme that helping them quickly close their contention window. Longoria struggles to hit league average (if he's even on the field), but is still paid like a star. But kudos to them for moving on to Zaidi, who has done a nice job thus far.

Criticize Hahn all you want, but in the grand scheme he did an unreal job of extending Sale, Quintana, and Eaton at the perfect time and then trading them at the peak of their value - securing an ace, budding superstar third baseman, and perennial 40 HR, .300 hitter, not to mention the potential of Kopech, Dunning, and Cease. Not to mention inking Robert, finding Anderson out of a nowhere JUCO (he got killed initially for that pick), and the last 3 drafts that look pretty darn good. The Kuechel and Grandal signings are icing on the cake.

The Giants will be very lucky to be in that position after 3 years of their rebuild.

7.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 19:10:04
Longoria, in the grand scheme of things, is a wash. He's not hurting the Giants financially. In fact, the Giants could cut Longoria and run 3B with a combo of Wilmer Flores and Donovan Solano, who they pay a combined total of less than 4M a year.

At the time of the trade, the Giants didn't have an MLB-ready 3B. The free agent options for 3B were:

-Mike Moustakas (came with a QO attached)
-Todd Frazier

That's it. Those are the only 3B who signed MLB deals that winter. So it was make a trade, or keep Pablo Sandoval as the 3B. They weren't doing either, so they made a trade. The only other 3B that was notably on the block was Chase Headley (go look how he did in 2018).

The trade wasn't popular, and it didn't make a lot of sense, considering the Giants giving up young talent for stars well past their prime, but again, the Giants actually fired their GM the next winter. They recognize they made a massive mistake.

8.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 19:20:08
The Bobby Evans era in San Francisco was a failure of massive proportions, and the Giants are still paying the price.

But, to suggest it's going to be a long time before they are in the White Sox position shows your ignorance to what Zaidi has done.

Like he did time and time again in LA, Zaidi waved his magic wand and turned guys like Mike Yastrzemski, Donovan Solano, and Alex Dickerson from castaways into legit talents. Yaz has a surplus value of around 60M. Need you be reminded, Yaz played over 500 games in the Orioles minors and they never gave him a shot.

Between that and restocking with young talent overnight. And he did so with almost no consequence. He got Jordan Humphreys for Billy Hamilton. Basabe for cash (thanks Rick Hahn), Anthony Banda for cash. Daniel Robertson for cash. Will Wilson just by taking on Zack Cozart.

The Giants won't be contenders next year, but if you think they are a long way away, you're not paying attention.

The White Sox would gladly fire Rick Hahn to take someone with Farhan Zaidi's track record.

9.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 20:04:34
Except, they don't have to. Hahn built an affordable AL force. Give credit where credit is due.

The best case scenario for the Giants is contending in 2023, and that's absolutely best case even with their spending capabilities.

You getting excited about those AAAA guys is cute though. I remember those days.

I also remember the days when you told me Luis Robert could never headline a Noah Syndergaard trade. Sheesh.

10.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 20:18:12
"Longoria is not hurting the Giants financially".

Whoo boy.

11.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 20:19:21
AAAA guys? Obviously, not all of the guys Zaidi acquired will amount to team contributors. But it's not like Zaidi doesn't have a track record of these kind of moves. Value-grabs on guys no one else wants.

It's almost like there's two teams in the World Series employing similar strategies. Interesting.

As far as the future is concerned, the Giants have legit talent coming up the pipeline soon. Ramos, Bishop, Canario, Hjelle, Corry, Wilson, etc. I'd imagine they'll even try to fast track Luciano. They'll have tons of money coming off the books after 2021 (Belt, Crawford, Cueto), and very well might clear at least one of those contracts before 2021 begins.

I'd place good money on the following bet: The Giants will ANOTHER win THREE World Series before the White Sox even win one.

12.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 20:28:09
Also, as flattered as I am that you still reflect on conversations from two years ago, it's a little insane how much space I take up in that noggin of yours.

As much as you love to deny it, I seem to be on your mind a lot, as you reference me all the time.

In fact, it's pretty clear that you trying to bring up past conversations is evidence that you can't keep up in the current one, so your last-ditch effort is to pull whatever tricks you can to look correct.

You were wrong about the Longoria trade. It's okay. You should be used to it by now. It's probably time to head upstairs and get your dinner from mom. I hear it's your favorite: chicken nuggets and apple sauce. Enjoy.

13.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 20:54:43
I reference you all the time? Who just posted a trade to "troll me"? We're trolling people now? And I'm the one getting dinner from mom?

You're willing to bet money that your team wins 3 titles before mine wins 1? And I'm the homer?

You just can't make this stuff up.

14.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 22:43:16
How are them chicken nuggets tho?

15.) 23 Oct 2020
23 Oct 2020 22:49:59
You've mentioned me in like 2-3 posts. You clearly recall, vividly, what comments I've made several years ago.

Meanwhile, I had to be reminded this website even existed still and then I showed up and was reminded of your existence.

I bet you're used to that by now.

16.) 24 Oct 2020
24 Oct 2020 07:20:03
It's hard to forget you saying Robert couldn't headline a Syndergaard deal. He was like a 50-60th ranked prospect when he came over from Cuba, and you scoffed at me for asserting that he would be a top-5 prospect in a couple years.

Yet here we are. On a forum where we are supposed to discuss trades, he probably in the top-10 in the sport in trade value.

It was probably smart to make a new account and try to limit the trail of abhorrent takes that people can reference.

17.) 24 Oct 2020
24 Oct 2020 15:38:41
Since it still exists for posterity sake, we can click on your profile observe some of your other gems.

-Rutherford, Adolfo, Henzman for Greinke, Peralta and 25M.

Looking at it now, you weren't even close. The Astros gave up far more for JUST Zack Greinke, not even adding in Peralta (who was almost a 4 win player when you tried adding him in) .

The White Sox gave up more for Nomar Mazara.

Speaking of Mazara, you did this one:

-Walker, Stiever, Johnson for Benintendi, Price and 21M.

They gave up Walker for Mazara, who is a worse player and has aa full season more of service time.

I'm not sure you get to criticize anyone's trade ideas.

18.) 24 Oct 2020
24 Oct 2020 16:28:52
I'm flattered you find it important to remember me.

And no, since it's still up, I thought I'd remind you of the quote I made:

"That Robert is a top 10 prospect or not is irrelevant when I think the Mets will want even better players yet, prospects or not. "

Literally every indication at the time from beat writers and folks in the know suggested that the Mets were demanding two top 10 prospects for Syndergaard. This isn't even new information at this point.

So, for me to say that it would take more than Luis Robert to get Syndergaard at the time wasn't outrageous. It fit in with the reality of what the Mets were asking for.

They were also looking for MLB ready players. In the 2017-18 offseason, Robert wasn't near MLB-ready (he debuted this year) . In fact, none of the guys (Robert, Cease, Adams) were MLB-ready at the beginning of 2018. And in 2019, when he had less team control, the price never shifted, hence why he's still with the Mets.

You love to criticize my response, but you get absolutely triggered any time someone else isn't getting their rocks off to White Sox players. The truth is, your trade was bad. And you got called out for it.

But if any disagreement with your opinion makes you remember it for THREE YEARS (that was October of 2017), then maybe you need to quit thinking so highly of yourself.

19.) 24 Oct 2020
24 Oct 2020 18:51:55
When has a team ever traded 2 top-10 prospects in the same deal? A team rarely even has 2 top-10 prospects. The Mets were not asking for that. The Sox didn't even get that for Sale. Trading Syndergaard would have signified a rebuild, therefore MLB-ready talent wouldn't have been necessary. He wasn't moved because they decided to not rebuild.

Still, this was your most recent deadline deal proposal. This site sees 25-player deals, the Yankees spending $700 million in an offseason, and then stuff like this. A Giants homer thinking that Evan Longoria is worth more than a bucket of balls and 2 fungo bats. But a top-100, stud pitching prospect from the Twins. But that's not even enough for you. They'd have to throw in a another solid, MLB-ready, top-20 org pitching prospect too. Just horrendous.

"Twins get: Evan Longoria, $20M
Giants get: Edwar Colina (RHP), Jhoan Duran (RHP)

Twins have one of the worst 3B situations - hitting a very nice 69 wRC+ from that position. Giants pay down some of that salary to get a better prospect (Duran) . "

The team literally had Josh Donaldson on a 4-year deal.

It's also funny that you think the Giants were "forced to make the deal for Longoria because of a lack of other options", so their only choice was to acquire a declining third baseman coming off a .730 OPS that was owed more than $80 million guaranteed. You're never forced to do something as dumb as that. They won't even get an average hitter after all is said and done. Even the magician Zaidi can't make that deal disappear, and neither can you

With the constraints they have, the Giants really bailed out the Rays and helped make it possible for them to contend here in the past couple of seasons.

20.) 25 Oct 2020
25 Oct 2020 12:10:32
"When has a team ever traded 2 top-10 prospects in the same deal"

No one said it was a fair deal. But that's clearly what the Mets wanted. It's no surprise that no one paid the price, and it's evident the Mets didn't like the packages they got (Syndergaard is still a Met) .

As far as that Longo trade, let's talk about it. For starters, the Giants have already had success getting teams to take on bad deals. Zaidi got the Braves to take on all of Melancon's contract and give him a really good prospect (Tristan Beck, 40FV) .

So, it's not out of the question that he could potentially clear other bad contracts. Keep in mind, we're talking about the GM who saw value in Yaz, not the GM who couldn't see it in Tatis. So based on history, Zaidi has a track record of getting good deals. If you don't like it, fine. But you'd have called anyone crazy had they projected the Melancon deal.

Second, Donaldson missed all of August. As of the trade deadline, he hadn't played for a month. And on August 31st, the Twins 3B combined for 69+ wRC. In August, Longoria was hitting 125 wRC+.

Longoria wasn't owed more than "80M". As of September 1st, when he'd join the Twins, here's his salary breakdown:

Rest of 2020: 2.25M
2021: 18.67M
2022: 19.67M
2023: 5M Buyout

If you don't like the idea, that's fine. If you think it's egregious, that's fine. I don't. And it's grounded in reality. But that's my opinion. I'm willing to embrace it and defend it.

21.) 25 Oct 2020
25 Oct 2020 12:13:30
Chi Sox,

I know it’s difficult for you to consider any thought except the crazy ones you think up instead of doing your multiplication tables, but you realize that it’s possible to consider, contextually, why a GM made a trade, right?

Evans made comments to dozens of outlets about the Longoria trade, all of which I summarized in these comments.

Much like there’s a context for why Rick Hahn gave away Tatis (and in effect, lost the White Sox nearly 200M in value) . He gave him up because he had no idea Tatis was any good; he thought a 34-year-old James Shields was valuable, and because he’s not a great GM.

It’s okay though. It really is. The White Sox have a bad GM. Just enjoy 2005 until it completely fades from the rear view mirror. It’s all you’re getting.

But it may help you a lot if you try to understand someone’s reasoning, and learn to cope when it doesn’t match your opinion.

These are things grown ups do.

22.) 25 Oct 2020
25 Oct 2020 18:15:26
A bad GM. He has quite possibly built the best young core of players in baseball from scratch, and he's bad GM. Just funny. And that's even without Tatis, a trade that no one here is defending.

You have to still be trolling. Zaidi hasn't accomplished a darn thing yet, and will likely be looking up at San Diego and LA for the next 3-5 years minimum. If he was smart, he'd trade Yaz because the next time the Giants are relevant, he won't be any good. He's already a 30 year old corner OF. He could ask Hahn for advice on how to trade good players at the top of their value and securing top-end returns.

Longoria was owed more than $80M when the Giants acquired him. But he's still signed through 2022. So why would the Twins want 2 declining third baseman signed to big AAVs? Longoria is in no way shape or form an upgrade to Donaldson. It doesn't matter what Donaldson was hitting at the time. Just admit that trade was really, really bad.

And newsflash, a 40 FV prospect is not "really good". Beck was only the return because Melancon is still a solid pitcher. $40 is an average

Let me give you a dose of reality. No one (I repeat), NO ONE, is trading for Evan Longoria unless SF pay 98% of his owed money. He is not good at this point of his career. Most orgs have his skillset at their AAA-affiliate.

23.) 25 Oct 2020
25 Oct 2020 18:15:49
Let's also try to stick to one account, ok?