I just think you're gonna have to take 'close to the majors' OR 'high ceiling' at as the centerpiece for Merrifield.

Torres has an extremely high ceiling as a hitter, but obviously is very far away and thus has no floor to speak of. If you want a guy with a more defined floor, you're not going to get that kind of ceiling.

I think the Royals could use as much 'high ceiling' in their system as they can get. In order to get guys like that, they're gonna have to risk lower floors. With Merrifields age and relatively benign skill set, you're not gonna get high ceiling, high floor guys.

Dylan Carlson has an extremely high floor and a solid ceiling. I don't think that's the kind of guy that will end up the centerpiece of a Merrifield deal. You'll have to take a risk on a guy like Torres or someone like Alvarez was last year and hope that he takes the next step into establishing his floor next season as he gets more full-season ball exposure.
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Control isn't the problem with Whit. It's age.

Control is nice, but when it's ages 31-34 in an era where aging curves have cratered (due, IMO, to the rise of high velocity fastballs that are particularly damaging to even slight decreases in batspeed), it's less exciting. Doubly so when it's for one of those classic 'late arrivals' that historically have shorter peaks.

If you're looking at basic trendlines, you figure you're really trading for 2.5 years even if the contract is for 4.5. Now maybe the guy ages like Biggio but Biggio was making AS teams at 25 years old; he's simply in a different historical bracket; a different risk pool so to speak.

I like Whit quite a lot but he's the kind of guy a really good team trades for hoping to become great. I look at the landscape right now and just don't see a team like that who's also going to be willing to give a top 30 prospect for him.

A team that's being overlooked here, however, could be the Dodgers. They love versatile players, they're playing guys like Muncy, Bellinger, Taylor and Hernandez all over the place. They can find starts for him virtually every day at 2b, OF or 1b if they wanted to and another high OBP hitter ahead of Bellinger would be pretty outstanding for them.

They also have a couple of awfully damn good C prospects and appear to really like Will Smith. They could move Keibert Ruiz, Michael Busch and a big arm w/ mechanical issues like say Denny Santana pretty easily.

That said, the Dodgers have been more than willing to just tell teams to !@#$ off if they don't want to come to their asking price. And it seems like a whole lot of teams have eventually relented. And because they don't NEED Merrifield, they are in a better position to get up from the table and walk away if needed.

Ultimately if the Royals are gonna get your homerun package, I'm thinking LAD is where they need to be calling.
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The other problem the Royals face right now is that they're asking for a huge package for a guy in Merrifield who's value is in his floor. Meanwhile that same kind of package that Duncan is suggesting could probably get you Syndergaard.

And while Syndergaard as a looooooot more risk, he's also a guy that can steal you a couple games in a playoff series. And no, he's not under control cheaply for 4.5 more years but he IS under control for 2.5 more years and that's around how long Merrifields age says he'll be truly valuable for.

I think you'd be hard pressed to find many teams that would rather have the known quantity of Merrifield over the sky-high upside of Syndergaard. Just my impression.
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If that’s really the best type of thing on the table, they won’t trade him. And shouldn’t. There are other ways of acquiring lottery tickets that don’t involve a giveaway of a guy likely to provide a floor of 10 wins over a four year period for $30 million.

You’re proposing a trade that doesn’t have a single top 100 guy in it or a single guy who’s even close to it.

They can get that type of return when he’s a 2-win player at age 32.
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That Astros team is loaded with talent. 7 top 11 picks in the draft in 9 years I guess will do it. First 6 hitters with an 660+OPS. How many years did they tank to build that talent? 4 years?
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Anything gonna happen today?
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I have read fuck all about any central team making moves besides the Reds being sellers. The worst division in baseball seems content to suck.
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Well someone has to win by default, right?

Also, anyone ever sit in those all inclusive seats at Busch? Wife and I bought tickets to the Pirates game next Friday in Homers Landing. Am I gonna be able to get my $75 worth of beer?
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Well someone has to win by default, right?

Also, anyone ever sit in those all inclusive seats at Busch? Wife and I bought tickets to the Pirates game next Friday in Homers Landing. Am I gonna be able to get my $75 worth in beer?
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Drink a beer for me as you guys romp all over my Pirates.
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I'm going Friday and Saturday, Sunday might happen too if we aren't hungover and ready to gtfo of town. We ate our opening weekend tickets last year on Sunday because it was snowing.

Sucks I'm gonna miss the i70 series for the second year in a row though. They really need to switch that back to 3 games in KC and 3 games in STL on consecutive weekends. This 2 game weeknight series is horse shit.
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I'm flying to Oakland on Friday for an extended weekend and will be going to the A's/Cardinals on Saturday. I've heard the stadium is a dump but looking forward to it as another stadium to check off the list. Any suggestions on where to sit in that stadium for those who have been there?
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It is a nuclear landfill of a stadium.

So glad when the team is leaving that hellhole. Let the A's have it.
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I've sat in the cardinals club behind home plate quite a few times. Definitely worth it. I think I at and drank about 1200 bucks worth of food the last time.
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Reds trade for Trevor Bauer. Going all in to try and win the division while the top 3 shit all over themselves. 6.5 games back... probably doable.
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