Quote from fenn68 on August 2, 2019, 6:18 am

Did some research on Edward's history. Promising. Only 27 years old.

In the 2 year period 2017-18, Edwards was ranked #28 (WAR) for Qualified RP. 131 games (118.1 innings) and a 12.25K/9 rate. The negative is a 5.32 BB/9 rate.

From what I read, over the winter he modified his delivery (probably to improve his control) by adding a toe tap to his delivery. Fine in ST but when the season started opposing managers complained ... calling it a balk move ... and MLB agreed. Messed Edwards up and needed to re-rework his delivery. Then (and no idea on the details) he became the target of some very virulent racial attacks on social media ... some thought that might have contributed to his 2019 issues.

So, given his previous success, age, and potential reasons for a poor 2019 ... work with Balsley could get him back to an effective RP ... and maybe even better if the control is improved. Has to happen by the end of ST since he is out of minor league options after 2019.

Quote from MrPadre19 on August 2, 2019, 7:46 am

You would think when a young player has that kind of success....and then such a sudden collapse,that it is more easily

repairable.....and we certainly have the right guy for the job.

Which brings up the question....with Edwards not in S.D. how closely can Balsley be involved in his reclamation?

Do they trust the staff in EP to be able to do the same job as DB in a case like this?

 

 

Quote from BoosterSD on August 2, 2019, 7:48 am

Quote from David Nevin on August 2, 2019, 7:46 am

You would think when a young player has that kind of success....and then such a sudden collapse,that it is more easily

repairable.....and we certainly have the right guy for the job.

Which brings up the question....with Edwards not in S.D. how closely can Balsley be involved in his reclamation?

Do they trust the staff in EP to be able to do the same job as DB in a case like this?

 

 

I wonder as well, as it didnt go well with Capps in EP and that change. You would think that they are giving Mrs Winterbourne one more chance this season, and then maybe then they bring up Edwards to finish the year with Balsley.

Quote from fenn68 on August 2, 2019, 8:45 am

Guessing they want the EP/roving pitching coach to get first hand looks at Edwards (probably also using his old videos from 2018) and refine the correction process started in Chicago. Good chance of seeing him in Sept. Balsley and the development folks are in contact during the season and with video he will contribute to the evaluation.

Would expect the Padres to give him some "guidance" for the winter and ongoing contact with Balsley ... then a focused effort is ST.

Quote from fenn68 on August 2, 2019, 8:47 am

Quote from BoosterSD on August 2, 2019, 7:48 am

Quote from David Nevin on August 2, 2019, 7:46 am

You would think when a young player has that kind of success....and then such a sudden collapse,that it is more easily

repairable.....and we certainly have the right guy for the job.

Which brings up the question....with Edwards not in S.D. how closely can Balsley be involved in his reclamation?

Do they trust the staff in EP to be able to do the same job as DB in a case like this?

 

 

I wonder as well, as it didnt go well with Capps in EP and that change. You would think that they are giving Mrs Winterbourne one more chance this season, and then maybe then they bring up Edwards to finish the year with Balsley.

Capps had that balk delivery for some time ... so a big change but Edwards only added the new delivery last winter and was successful before ... should be easier to revert him to what he had prior. No guarantee.

Quote from Brian Connelly on August 2, 2019, 1:56 pm

Quote from fenn68 on August 2, 2019, 6:18 am

Did some research on Edward's history. Promising. Only 27 years old.

In the 2 year period 2017-18, Edwards was ranked #28 (WAR) for Qualified RP. 131 games (118.1 innings) and a 12.25K/9 rate. The negative is a 5.32 BB/9 rate.

From what I read, over the winter he modified his delivery (probably to improve his control) by adding a toe tap to his delivery. Fine in ST but when the season started opposing managers complained ... calling it a balk move ... and MLB agreed. Messed Edwards up and needed to re-rework his delivery. Then (and no idea on the details) he became the target of some very virulent racial attacks on social media ... some thought that might have contributed to his 2019 issues.

So, given his previous success, age, and potential reasons for a poor 2019 ... work with Balsley could get him back to an effective RP ... and maybe even better if the control is improved. Has to happen by the end of ST since he is out of minor league options after 2019.

Well, really has to show some promise THIS year, b/c his 2nd yr (super 2) arb salary even with the down year is going to be somewhere in the 1.5 - 2+ MM range... can't avoid much of that $ being spent unless he's a very early cut in ST I believe?

Quote from Brian Connelly on August 2, 2019, 2:38 pm

Now with dust settled I looked at Greinke deal a little more...  originally thought they had traded (due to poor wording in write up) "their 4 best prospects after Whitley & Tucker", and that they were nuts or gutsy to do so....

... now I think they might have been the smartest team out there.  Their SP is so much better than NYY, it's hard to see how Yanks win a 7 game series vs them; Greinke perfectly overlaps Cole & others who will leave, and if Whitley can get right & healthy, in good shape to be strong (if long in tooth @ SP) again in 2020.  And the cost?  A lot of $ yes, but 53 MM  = 21-22/yr  averaged out, and Cole will likely move on.  Elite top 5 MLB team; now's the time to spend.  Otherwise...

... literally the #100 overall MLB prospect, a "50" grade SP or RP, a "50" grade SP who JUST had TJ Surgery, and a performing well but not top 30 system older utility prospect....

... correct me if I'm wrong, but if the Pads swung the deal, wouldn't our closest match be:  Naylor, M. Baez, Reggie Lawson, and Ivan Castillo?    I'm higher than most on ALL 4 of these guys, and I STILL would make that theoretical ($ doesn't work for Pads) trade to get that elite guy to pop into #1 & mentor for 2 + years...

Deal totally made sense for Arizona to do, and I hate that they just bulked up their system like that, but really think Astros win that trade.

Quote from BoosterSD on August 3, 2019, 8:25 am

Even if the prospects and money matched up between AZ and SD, Greinke had SD on his no trade list, so no guarantee that he would have OKed the trade. Unless more money was sent his way. Unfortunate, Greinke would have looked good in a SD uniform.

Quote from fenn68 on August 3, 2019, 9:10 am

Think the Greinke deal was a big win for Houston ... but good for AZ. I am not sold on the upside of any of the four prospect in the deal ... so no loss for Houston and a chance of some benefit for AZ on the fringe. It was all about the money ... and $53MM over 2 years is substantial. For AZ, under the assumption they are not contending, saving money is just good no matter what the do with it. Coming up with that money to get Greinke really adds to Houston's pennant run with a dominate SP rotation and covers them in 2020 when Cole departs as a FA (and offsets Greinke's 2020 contact in part). Actually Houston has about 9 FA to be that will reduce their payroll by nearly $50MM ... so adding Greinke fits and still allows them to cover Atuve's $20MM contract increase and a large arbitration increase for Correa. For Houston ... good now and going forward.

It that money that really kept the Padres out of consideration. Adding $20MMish to what looks like a $120MM base probably over extends (by a lot) the payroll limit ... and curtails any other improvements. Plus, may have been academic if Greinke had the Padres on the no trade list.