Quote from BoosterSD on December 7, 2023, 8:11 am

Listening to MLB on XM on the way to work this morning, and they mentioned that King has had two elbow issues in his career already.

I know that we are envisioning him in the rotation, perhaps he should be in the BP and maybe the closer, especially if we find a taker for Suarez?

Quote from BoosterSD on December 7, 2023, 8:26 am

My biggest concern after the trade is we have traded two of three of our LH bats from last season, and our only source of LH power. We are extremely RH heavy line up now.

Lee is LH so that will help if he signs, and probably our lead off hitter. We will still need to find a source of LH power. Pauley and Martorella could help with that, but probably not to start the season.

I am really hoping that Preller can find some LH pop to add the either LF or 1B.

Quote from Randy Manese on December 7, 2023, 8:43 am

King will definitely be in the rotation and will be better than the two others we had who were recently converted relievers, Nick Martinez and Seth Lugo - plus his salary in arbitration is likely less than 2.5M.  King's injury was to the tip of his elbow, a rare injury, but the all important ligament in the elbow was determined to be very sound.  I hadn't read about a second elbow injury but he did have a minor back problem a few years ago.  I'm sure that's what the Padres were looking at info on the elbow before they finally pulled the trigger.  King's probably bummed that he now won't get to pitch for his hometown team any longer, but I think he'll immediately gravitate toward Joe Musgrove and they'll form a solid nucleus we can build around in the next few years as our young talented starters move up to the big club.

Pitchers can come out of nowhere to become dominant.  Just a tweak in their mechanics can make them go from ordinary to elite.   I'd be very surprised if by mid-season we aren't touting our pitching as a strength of this team rather than a question mark.   Lots of good young arms in the system even though they may seem very far away in December of 2023.

 

Quote from MrPadre19 on December 7, 2023, 9:11 am

Bowden speculated that both King and Brito would be in the rotation and Vasquez in the Pen.

Just guessing I'm sure....but it is good to get 3 arms that could be in SD from day 1.

Still need more....and a "good" outfielder.

Am I the only one worried about Lee taking 1-2 years to hit?...like Kim?

There aren't many (if any) guys who come straight from the KBO an dhit.

 

 

Quote from BoosterSD on December 7, 2023, 9:27 am

Quote from MrPadre19 on December 7, 2023, 9:11 am

Am I the only one worried about Lee taking 1-2 years to hit?...like Kim?

There aren't many (if any) guys who come straight from the KBO an dhit.

 

 

I guess the hopeful saving grace is that Kim has been working with Lee on the things that Kim didnt know when Kim first came over. In an attempt to shorten the learning curve for Lee.

So hopefully it doesnt take 1-2 seasons for Lee to get up to speed.

Quote from fenn68 on December 7, 2023, 10:24 am

I guess the rest of the winter and ST will sort out the SP behind Musgrove and Darvish. King seems a lock at #3. Then somewhat a back and forth as to whether Vazquez or Brito gets the next SP slot with the other in the pen. Some are leaning towards Vazquez to start … Brito to pen. Possibly both start (or both pen) depending on other Preller adds or a surprise jump by one of the prospects.

Should note that a number of the national types are going out of their way to praise the Padres on the arms they added … basically that rare trade that works for both teams. A lot of love for Thorpe’s future and that all four being legit ML arms for 2024 (even Thorpe by mid-season).

Preller did say he was still going to pursue more pitching … so too early to evaluate the final roster. Might we see Brito emerge as the closer? Will be interesting to follow.

 

Quote from fenn68 on December 7, 2023, 10:33 am

Not worried that much about Lee being able to contribute quickly in 2024 … maybe not to his full potential (few do no matter their background) … but at a level that provides more in CF than Grisham considering offense/ defense.

Lee initially will be a complementary piece in the offense that better be carried by Machado, Tatis, Bogaerts.  Unfair to Lee to try to match him up to Soto.

The key may be the OF add(s) after Lee to lengthen out the line-up.

Quote from sportwarrior on December 7, 2023, 10:41 am

Quote from MrPadre19 on December 7, 2023, 7:51 am

Would be a pretty bad look if we traded Suarez,considered best choice to Close,and we struggle all year to close out games and miss the playoffs.I know AJ doesn't operate on "optics"....but I just doubt we would trade him after bringing him back to MLB and then extending him.

Also think Crone needs to play and regain his value...they extended him for a reason and if he returns to his offensive output of a couple years ago and continues to play great defense we may want to keep him (esp if no Kim extension) or would be more able to move him.I don't like at our current situation trading anyone away and having to pay with $ or prospects to do so.

But if we can move him and "improve" the team somehow I'm fine with it......just doubtful though

 

I hear you on optics, but if AJ is willing to trade Crone immediately after trading Soto, then he is completely and totally unconcerned with any optics associated with trading Suarez.

Also, the impetus for trading Croney should have much more to do with the desire to extend Kim. Remember that Crone's extension was signed at a time when the team viewed Kim aspirationally as a super-sub. His emergence has changed the dynamics of our infield in a way that, I think, would have left us kicking around the idea of trading Crone even if he'd had a good year last year. Kim is younger, more dynamic, and a better defender at similar positions. It makes sense to trade Crone and redeploy his money to Kim (and other positions).

Quote from sportwarrior on December 7, 2023, 11:01 am

Quote from fenn68 on December 7, 2023, 10:24 am

I guess the rest of the winter and ST will sort out the SP behind Musgrove and Darvish. King seems a lock at #3. Then somewhat a back and forth as to whether Vazquez or Brito gets the next SP slot with the other in the pen. Some are leaning towards Vazquez to start … Brito to pen. Possibly both start (or both pen) depending on other Preller adds or a surprise jump by one of the prospects.

Should note that a number of the national types are going out of their way to praise the Padres on the arms they added … basically that rare trade that works for both teams. A lot of love for Thorpe’s future and that all four being legit ML arms for 2024 (even Thorpe by mid-season).

Preller did say he was still going to pursue more pitching … so too early to evaluate the final roster. Might we see Brito emerge as the closer? Will be interesting to follow.

 

Indeed, although it was interesting to read The Athletic's pieces this morning. Keith Law is decidedly down on Thorpe, calling him a Potemkin starter (which means "that he looks like a starter on the surface but when you look a little deeper you realize it’s a façade, and [Law] still think that’s the case"), while Eno Harris is quite glowing. As always, reality is almost certainly somewhere in between those two.

Same goes for King, who Law said the Yankees "sold high" on. Eno Harris, on the other hand, thinks that King can be one of the best starters in the league based on Stuff+ provided he can hold up.

Regarding injury history, King has had two elbow injuries. There was the fractured elbow that, while rare (Joel Zumaya and Gavin Floyd have both suffered and returned from the injury), usually only occurs from overuse. Importantly, he had hid months of lingering pain from the Yankees medical staff prior to that injury. Hopefully he's learned from that mistake. He's also had a stress reaction in the same elbow back in 2019 that kept him out until the All Star break.