Quote from BoosterSD on February 2, 2023, 12:26 pm

Quote from fenn68 on February 2, 2023, 12:21 pm

Have heard this opinion from a number of reports but clearly no documented validation ... just seeing the end state which does not have Japanese stars on the same team. Sort of a believable opinion until some signing invalidates it.

It would be nice if it was SD that breaks the mold, and we kept Darvish and got Ohtani.

Quote from fenn68 on February 2, 2023, 12:26 pm

Quote from Henry Silvestre on February 2, 2023, 10:41 am

Lets assume we re-neg Manny in ST long term.. and we end up WS Champs in 23.. Deciding to trade Soto

What does a package from NYY (imagine that RF and Soto) look like?

Dominguez + Cabrera + Peraza + Schultz enough? Too much?

+ Pereira maybe

1 year, $30MMish, will not get a lot of teams interested and willing to give up that much. Has to be the right team ... has the money and sees Soto taking them to the promise land in 2024. Maybe if they can swing a pre-FA deal with Soto, they would be more willing to give more to the Padres since they avoid open bidding in FA ... but unlikely Boras goes that route. He could be dealt by the Padres with the main benefit being saving $30MM to redeploy and maybe on very good prospect.

Quote from MrPadre19 on February 2, 2023, 12:35 pm

If we move Tatis back to the infield in the next couple years it will be at SS.

I'm also guessing that the subject of Xander playing somewhere other than SS if Manny opts out came up in the negotiations.

I can't see moving Tatis from SS to the OF and then the very next season moving him to 3B.

That's a lot to ask and a lot to expect even from a supreme athlete...even one in no position to dictate where he plays.

 

 

 

Quote from fenn68 on February 2, 2023, 12:50 pm

Quote from BoosterSD on February 2, 2023, 11:48 am

Quote from MrPadre19 on February 2, 2023, 11:20 am

If Manny moves on our infield becomes Xander-Tatis-Kim-Cronenworth.....right?

They could move Tatis back to SS, considering that Kim would only have 1 year left of control, and that should work fine, it would be the same as this season, and the strongest defender at SS would still not be playing SS.

We could look at a possible scenario of Tatis returning to the dirt, and line them up this way, Tatis-3B, Kim-SS, Borgaerts-2B, and Crone-1B.

Either way, it does create another OF hole, and would need a replacement in the OF, and there are not a lot good FA options for OF.

So where would SD have the best chance of filling a hole. 3B, OF, 1B......? Depends on who becomes FA, opt outs, and who is available via trade.

If Machado goes and Tatis returns to the INF ... can debate a lot of alignments speculating on maximizing the defense of the entire INF considering the unknown skills/limitations of each payer at each position.

Tatis is a great athlete but had his issues at SS (consistency, throwing) ... and with Kim (the best SS defender in hand) and Merrill on the fast track ... maybe not SS.

Tatis to 3B ... maybe not since we really don't know his reaction time and 3B is very different than SS.

Tatis to 2B ... takes full advantage of his range in an era without the shift but exposes him to the unfamiliar double pay pivot and a greater chance of injury.

Tatis to 1B ... makes little sense but some think that is a good idea.

So Bogaerts to 3B seems the better fit and keep Cronenworth at 1B with Kim at SS, Tatis to 2B unless Bogaerts has the same 3B issue as I speculate could be with Tatis ... then Kim to 3B (he has looked good there in limited appearances) and Bogaerts remains at SS.

Of course the hole made in the OF would become a major problem ... so with probably would leave Tatis in the OF and hunt for a "serviceable" 2B or 1B ... both likely easier to get via FA or trade.

Have to hope Merrill develops as projected making the backfill process more flexible not having to think long run ... plus and scenario surrounding extending either Kim or Cronenworth. Also have to consider if Carpenter returns (does not opt out), Campusano hits but can't catch and is covered to 1B, or Rosario actually develop in 2023 to a ML quality 2B (even if just "average").

A lot of moving parts between now and the decisions next winter.

Quote from fenn68 on February 2, 2023, 12:54 pm

Quote from MrPadre19 on February 2, 2023, 12:35 pm

If we move Tatis back to the infield in the next couple years it will be at SS.

I'm also guessing that the subject of Xander playing somewhere other than SS if Manny opts out came up in the negotiations.

I can't see moving Tatis from SS to the OF and then the very next season moving him to 3B.

That's a lot to ask and a lot to expect even from a supreme athlete...even one in no position to dictate where he plays.

 

 

 

Maybe he become the new Will Myers defensively?

Actually there was some speculation last season that his return would feature him playing multiple positions ... don't like that ... did not like that with Myers and thought that hurt his production ... but precedent has been set.

 

Quote from Jeremy Hill on February 2, 2023, 1:07 pm

I'm half Japanese and have a connection to a pretty powerful agent in the Japanese baseball world. There's nothing cultural about Japanese players not wanting to play together. There is some belief that it's better for the star level players not to team up from a financial standpoint. Basically they think that they can make a lot more in endorsements from Japanese companies if they're the only choice in the market.

Quote from fenn68 on February 2, 2023, 1:12 pm

Quote from Jeremy Hill on February 2, 2023, 1:07 pm

I'm half Japanese and have a connection to a pretty powerful agent in the Japanese baseball world. There's nothing cultural about Japanese players not wanting to play together. There is some belief that it's better for the star level players not to team up from a financial standpoint. Basically they think that they can make a lot more in endorsements from Japanese companies if they're the only choice in the market.

Now that makes sense … it is always about the money.

Quote from fenn68 on February 2, 2023, 3:48 pm

Quote from Henry Silvestre on February 2, 2023, 10:36 am

Quote from BoosterSD on February 2, 2023, 9:12 am

Quote from Jeremy Hill on February 2, 2023, 8:56 am

That's about 120m in actual money and 110m in luxury tax money that could potentially come off the books at the end of the season. Obviously it can change a little bit based on option decisions, but that's a lot of money to spend and also a lot of talent to either try to bring back or replace.

Found a link to MLBTR list of potential FA after the 2023 season.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/12/2023-24-mlb-free-agents.html

For 1B, after Rhys Hopkins and our buddy Josh Bell, the pickings seem a little slim. So unless SD is interested in Hoskins, not a lot of improvement at 1B. Which could leave SD leaving Crone at 1B, and rearranging the INF to accommodate a possible Machado departure.

For the OF, once again not a lot of great options. Maybe look at Ian Happ or Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Bader could be an option as maybe Bellinger if his bat bounces back. And based on bounce backs as well, Gallo and Conforto could be options FA wise.

SP does have some intriguing options. Of course could resign Darvish or Snell, and the tease of possibly getting Ohtani. Then other possibilities could be (not in any order) Marquez, Giolito, Alex Cobb, Flaherty, Heaney, Mahle, Montas, Montgomery.

So maybe the best bang for the buck is resigning Machado and Snell if he has a healthy and good season, and then fill in behind with a couple of the other FA not named Ohtani.

 

Lee Jung-hoo CF

Don't forget Kim's best friend and reigning KBO MVP..who has hired Boras and who will be posted next offseason

Wonder if an extension for Kim (who is worth keeping) would help in the recruitment of this guy? With Boras the agent ... no idea what he will cost but he is only now 24 and maybe the best hitter ever in the KBO ... LHH but little power but a good option over Grisham in CF.

Quote from Henry Silvestre on February 3, 2023, 5:40 pm

https://twitter.com/blackwings2011/status/1621657588512485377?t=Gapmvz0vcVof_O7LMtpIKQ&s=19

BTW ... everyone in on Othani and extending Soto...

I think when all the dust settles we will have Joon CF + SP Nola with a Machado + Kim extension (maybe even Jake) for less $$ than Othani would cost by himself .. setting a rock solid base for WS contention for the next 1/2 decade +..

Soto decision likely = 23 + 2024 and him testing then when again we could pivot towards 2 solid AS level types vs one HOF Soto..

Not sure how it all plays out but I can see something like the above being more realistic than Othani + Soto + Machado + Tatis and Xamder all together for a decade for better or worse