Quote from sportwarrior on December 7, 2023, 11:34 am

Quote from BoosterSD on December 7, 2023, 11:16 am

As we start to speculate on possible OF additions, I would think that both Adam Duvall and Joc Pederson could be in play.

Duvall - able to play all 3 OF spots, and 1B. Is more versatile than Pederson, although is a RHH.

Pederson - limited to the COF spots, had a little of a down year last season, but is a LHH something dearly needed next season.

Both should be relatively inexpensive, and available for a 1 year deal, maybe with an option.

Both of those options make me sad, but also are quite realistic. Joc Pederson, in particular, I absolutely cannot stand.

The unfortunate reality is we traded away two hitters in an offseason where the hitting market is ridiculously thin. I think we can pencil in Lee as our CF (or, perhaps, in permanent ink), since I'm not sure we trade Grish unless we were relatively certain we had Lee lined up. After that, though, we need to solve a corner OF spot and 1B/DH. The 2nd best options behind the Bellingers and Ohtanis of the offseason are journeymen-types who usually latch onto basement clubs. It is what it is, I suppose.

Quote from BoosterSD on December 7, 2023, 11:41 am

I forgot to add Profar to that list, I think he is a must just because of what he brings.

I think with Marsee, Pauley, and Martorella hopefully all close we are theoretically looking at one year stop gap.  All of which are LH, and Pauley and Martorella having some pop.

Also, in the correct platoon situation David Peralta (LH) could be a decent option in LF. Can still field a little and does well against RH pitching.

Quote from BoosterSD on December 7, 2023, 11:45 am

A long shot could be Austin Meadows. At one time a very good OFer and LH bat. Unfortunately injuries and more so off field issues have gotten the best of him. He is still young, and if his mental issues have been resolved, could be a nice bounce back candidate. And maybe a more laid back city like SD would be a good spot for him.

Quote from BoosterSD on December 7, 2023, 11:54 am

For 1B options, there are around 8 FA options that are LH. I would throw out Calhoun due to injury issues, and Votto due to age, and probably not going to succeed in Petco.

Leaving the following options. Brandon Belt, Choi, Carlos Santana, Dominic Smith, Rowdy Tellez, and Jared Walsh. All have their warts, and a couple have some potential to bounce back. Probably my two favorites are Tellez and Walsh, Belt could be decent if he is not retiring.

Once again, really looking at being a one year stop gap until either Pauley, Martorella, or maybe Henry's guy Doershcing are ready for 1B.

Quote from Randy Manese on December 7, 2023, 12:07 pm

As much as I like Cronenworth, it's been a serious decline since his debut year in the shortened 2020 season and, if you remember, he started out very hot looking like Rookie of the Year and then faded down the stretch.  Since then he's consistently dropped 20 points every year in BA and 30 -50+ points in OPS from 21-23.  Looking for a silver lining in his 23 stats which did see a slight uptick in extra base hit and Line Drive % but those gains usually came in spurts.  Now, heading into his age 30 year, have we already seen his best days?  For that reason, moving his contract seems the best thing to do and honesty surprised we had several clubs interested in him given his contract.  Sure, we'll lose yet another LH bat from the line-up but if we sign Lee (LH), then all our top hitters who may come to the team as early as 2024 are LH hitters - Merrill, Marsee and Pauley with Salas, Zavala and Martorella a little far back in the development side but all LH.

So, besides Lee, I'd re-sign switch hitter Profar and keep Marcano (LH) around as our utility infielder.  We're stuck with Carpenter (LH) but I think the remedy to our right-handedness will come from within the organization - maybe as early as mid-season.   Until the young guys are deemed ready, we might do an inexpensive free agency patch with the guys Booster is mentioning to plug into the line-up; money still has to go to pitching.

Quote from BoosterSD on December 7, 2023, 12:20 pm

Quote from Randy Manese on December 7, 2023, 12:07 pm

Sure, we'll lose yet another LH bat from the line-up but if we sign Lee (LH), then all our top hitters who may come to the team as early as 2024 are LH hitters - Merrill, Marsee and Pauley with Salas, Zavala and Martorella a little far back in the development side but all LH.

If these kids develop quicker than expected, especially Merrill and Marsee. Then the vets that I have suggested to sign, become decent bench options and/or depending on their success in 2024 trade fodder depending on how our season is playing out.

Quote from fenn68 on December 7, 2023, 1:13 pm

Depending on how they spread the money ... if they want a quality veteran LHH DH at what should be a one year deal under $10MM ... make a call to Michael Brantley. The dude can still hit ... no longer a realistic OF option ... some injury risk.

Sign Lee, Brantley, and Profar for CF, DH, LF for maybe $25+/-MM and with the rest of the line-up would be clearly a contender ... if Machado, Tatis, and Bogaerts rebound to the back of their baseball cards.

Then in 2025 ... Brantley is gone and Profar moves to super utility making a room for Marsee and Pauley.

Quote from 3fingersplit on December 7, 2023, 1:30 pm

I am stoked that Soto is outta here for lots of reasons and getting pitching is a win in my opinion and with that being said…nobody actually knows if 200 million is going to be the payroll and none of us were in the room with ownership and how Mr Seidler set up the budget going forward before he passed away.

I have zero faith in anything that Kevin acee says so this is all speculation until it is confirmed by the very few that really know…while trying to figure out how the team will be constructed going forward I will just continue to watch and be optimistic and not worry about a hard ceiling about payroll for the 2024 season

Quote from MrPadre19 on December 7, 2023, 2:16 pm

Sign Profar,Garrett Cooper and Jankowski...spend the Soto savings on pitching via Free Agency or trade....and let's roll!

Manny is DH for the first month then rotate players in the role.