Quote from Cptjack on November 7, 2019, 1:41 am

Hedges calls a very timid game, which doesn't match up with Paddack's pitch count problem in getting strike 3. Beyond that Paddack doesn't bury either of his offspeed pitches so his defense is marginal.  Then there's Joey "in the dirt" Lucchesi no way you're giving him to Mejia. You're actually proposing a 60:40 split for Hedges.

Quote from Brian Connelly on November 7, 2019, 9:51 am

Quote from Cptjack on November 7, 2019, 1:41 am

Hedges calls a very timid game, which doesn't match up with Paddack's pitch count problem in getting strike 3. Beyond that Paddack doesn't bury either of his offspeed pitches so his defense is marginal.  Then there's Joey "in the dirt" Lucchesi no way you're giving him to Mejia. You're actually proposing a 60:40 split for Hedges.

Great point... unless you package Lucchessi with Myers as I've proposed to clear enough payroll to sign Strasburg...

Quote from Randy Manese on November 7, 2019, 11:16 am

The Athletic just ran a piece on a hypothetical trade between the Padres and the Rangers.  Padres would get Mazara and Jonathan Hernandez while giving up Lucchesi and Blake Hunt.   Great deal of insight in the article and I personally would take that trade with the commitment to get a top of a rotation starter to replace Lucchesi.

Quote from JasonE135 on November 7, 2019, 11:17 am

Personal catchers are a very bad idea. Hedges can help guys get better pitching numbers by stealing more strikes. Let's be honest, what do pitchers care about? Their numbers. Everyone will want to pitch to Hedges to inflate their numbers and get them more money when they become a free agent. Problem is it will cost us more games overall because of the hole he puts in our lineup.

Hedges is like ice cream: he tastes great but is bad for you. If you give two of your five kids ice cream every meal, do you think the others might get jealous and whine and complain? Rotate Hedges with everyone.

Quote from Randy Manese on November 7, 2019, 11:26 am

If there is a team that believes they can get Hedges to hit at least .230, then he becomes a very valuable trade chip.  Catchers are usually the last to see their offence production improve, so it is not impossible Hedges can get there given he had a strong 2018 finish.  Yadier Molina had a relatively slow start before he became an all-star but that .216 he put up was when he was 23 not 26.  Time is running out on Hedges to show he has more than minimal skills with the bat so a trade of Hedges to a team that can afford to put his low offensive production in the line-up would not surprise me.

Quote from Brian Connelly on November 7, 2019, 11:51 am

Quote from JasonE135 on November 7, 2019, 11:17 am

Personal catchers are a very bad idea. Hedges can help guys get better pitching numbers by stealing more strikes. Let's be honest, what do pitchers care about? Their numbers. Everyone will want to pitch to Hedges to inflate their numbers and get them more money when they become a free agent. Problem is it will cost us more games overall because of the hole he puts in our lineup.

Hedges is like ice cream: he tastes great but is bad for you. If you give two of your five kids ice cream every meal, do you think the others might get jealous and whine and complain? Rotate Hedges with everyone.

Jason, this is a GREAT point!   I do think a guy of Strasburg's stature gets Hedges if he wants him, b/c team shouldn't need to score as many runs to win those games.  Garrett Richards & Chris Paddack have not earned that stature.

BUT it is a real thing that EVERY P would prefer to pitch to Hedges, on literally 27-28 teams in MLB.  It's almost an unfair comparison for ANY other C, and sort of puts the other guy in an impossible position; Mejia has one of the few C arms in MLB BETTER than Hedges, but he'll still never be Hedges defensively, no matter how much he improves...   It is a real argument to be made that you just trade Hedges & take that off the table altogether, so P stop whining about not getting to pitch to Hedges & just live with whoever's there & you get WAY more offense from the position.

I personally think Pads should enter year with Hedges; but with 4 C on roster, 2 in AAA being legit prospects, and Campusano in AA, they will have to trade him or another C no later than next offseason (Torrens out of options next year).

Quote from TatisJr on November 7, 2019, 1:08 pm

Quote from Brian Connelly on November 7, 2019, 11:51 am

Quote from JasonE135 on November 7, 2019, 11:17 am

Personal catchers are a very bad idea. Hedges can help guys get better pitching numbers by stealing more strikes. Let's be honest, what do pitchers care about? Their numbers. Everyone will want to pitch to Hedges to inflate their numbers and get them more money when they become a free agent. Problem is it will cost us more games overall because of the hole he puts in our lineup.

Hedges is like ice cream: he tastes great but is bad for you. If you give two of your five kids ice cream every meal, do you think the others might get jealous and whine and complain? Rotate Hedges with everyone.

Jason, this is a GREAT point!   I do think a guy of Strasburg's stature gets Hedges if he wants him, b/c team shouldn't need to score as many runs to win those games.  Garrett Richards & Chris Paddack have not earned that stature.

BUT it is a real thing that EVERY P would prefer to pitch to Hedges, on literally 27-28 teams in MLB.  It's almost an unfair comparison for ANY other C, and sort of puts the other guy in an impossible position; Mejia has one of the few C arms in MLB BETTER than Hedges, but he'll still never be Hedges defensively, no matter how much he improves...   It is a real argument to be made that you just trade Hedges & take that off the table altogether, so P stop whining about not getting to pitch to Hedges & just live with whoever's there & you get WAY more offense from the position.

I personally think Pads should enter year with Hedges; but with 4 C on roster, 2 in AAA being legit prospects, and Campusano in AA, they will have to trade him or another C no later than next offseason (Torrens out of options next year).

Great post Jason and Brian! I felt like it was noticeable with some pitchers in 2019 who displayed outright displeasure when Mejia was behind the dish. That’s part of my reasoning for wanting Hedges traded. Hedges work behind the dish is AMAZING and the guy prepares with a staff like no other. His work with a young staff was truly a huge asset to team the last couple of years. If the Padres acquire an ace, go with a dominant rotation 2020, it makes Hedges less valuable to the Padres IMO. Think about some of the dominant rotations in the MLB over the last 10 years or so. The catching situations haven’t all been some elite defenders Gomes in Wash. Chirinos in Houston. Alex Avila with those Verlander/Scherzer teams, the A’s and Rays good staffs filtered through various non elites at catcher. If Hedges is on the roster he will be the guy pitchers want to go with and that’s super tough on Mejia. Can Mejia get the starts and develop as a catcher with an elite defensive stud like Hedges on the roster? I think its difficult and has potential to cause unnecessary clubhouse issues. We need Mejias bat in the lineup and Hedges won’t be content in a part time role. Mejia/Torrens as the 2020 catching duo with a dominant staff would be just fine with me.

Quote from Brian Connelly on November 7, 2019, 3:29 pm

Yeah, if you honestly assess Hedges, where he actually fits best is on a strong offensive AL team batting 9th.   Preferably a mid to large payroll where they have the $ to spend on "just" his defense.

He would also work on a large payroll NL team that's really elite either Offensively or Pitching/Defensively.  The Pads extreme depth at C makes it certain Preller is going to explore Hedges' value; but ideally would like better than .176/.252 to trade him...

That being said, 2 ideas I've had about Hedges/Pads C situation:  1)  It's clear to me that Hedges could "take over" as the primary C on any playoff team where the SP is elite & you know the game is going to be close.  Especially if the more Offensive C (Mejia, for example) is not "hot" heading into the playoffs, or has a track record of being vulnerable to the SP's being faced.

2)  This idea has emerged in last week or so:  Looking at Pads' 40-man roster composition.  Our SS & 3B are going to start like 155 games each if healthy.  1B by pay should as well, but may have to sub RH hitter more vs LHP if Hosmer can't begin to do better.  Only 2B playing time likely to be <150 starts...   SO is it possible Pads go with a weird bench composition of only 1 backup INF (Garcia), but 2 C's to better capitalize on someone else playing 1B vs LHP sometimes, and just better pinch hitting bench?  2 bench OF as usual.   (assumes 13 P, 13 position players).

 

 

 

Quote from JasonE135 on November 7, 2019, 4:46 pm

So you are saying we should use maybe Austin Allen as our 3rd catcher/1B platoon, but mostly just for his bat?