Texas is stupid! There 8 games back. Why are they buying. Dumb.
I want Soto.
Gregory Soto.
Soto is going to be pricey and the pen probably needs more than one arm to fix it.
As it stands now:
Romano, Cimber, Garcia are your high-end locks in the pen.
Phelps is relatively reliable but probably shouldn't be a high-leverage guy. He's a very good middle-leverage reliever though. The kind who comes in for an inning to knock out the bottom half of the order with very little risk of implosion.
Richards and Mayza are kind of your swingy "should be good, might blow up" guys who have been good more often than not but have some bumps in the road this season (Richards has mostly been good since he came off the DL, though he did get roughed up in Boston). Mayza gives you lefty value, while Richards probably has a higher ceiling but more risk. In a perfect world Mayza is your lefty specialist who comes with outs on the board to take out a tough lefty or two and Richards is paired with Phelps for middle-leverage.
Banda should probably be better than he has been, but he has to prove he can pitch to his peripherals rather than teasing better performance. His being a lefty is useful but he has moderately pronounced splits over his career so he's kind of redundant with Mayza already better vs lefties. He's eminently replacable
And Castillo is basically the guy who inherits Stripling's long-man/mop-up/emergency fill-in starter role. Though if it comes down to it they can also probably sacrifice this gig to get another better reliever in since they have 2-4 relatively reliable starters depending on whether Berrios levels off at his old performance threshold again and what you think of Stripling's probability of holding up over the rest of the season and becoming the new Estrada.
Sure at minimum you could get one big reliever, swap him with Banda, and call it a day. I'd argue they would be better off adding a second one and replacing Castillo on the understanding that they likely don't need a regular long-man in the pen all the time if Stripling keeps pitching as he has. And if you want to be really ballsy you pick up 3 relievers and someone goes on the DL with a mystery ailment (the only guys with options besides Castillo are the ones who are too good to send down, or the only current lefty in Mayza)
Then in an ideal world you have:
Closer
Romano
High Leverage
Garcia
Cimber
???
Medium Leverage/Specialist
Mayza*
Richards
Phelps
???
Joe Mantiply from the D'Backs isn't a fireballer but he is a strong lefty specialist with a funky delivery. So he would be like lefty Cimber. He also comes with control until 2027. Jimenez or Fulmer from the Tigers would be interesting too. Jimenez has pitched well and has an extra year of control. Fulmer is an ex-starter who might be able to give you 2 innings and while he doesn't have is old starter heat, he's played well as he heads into free agency. Any of these guys would probably cost less than Soto largely because Soto has control for several more years and his status as an actual saves-accruing closer inflates his value over and above functionally similar non-closer relievers.
There's also a good amount of data to suggest Soto isn't as good as his numbers suggest. The dude has basically zero control but gets away with it because he throws absolute gas.
Manitply is an interesting one. His stuff is anything but overpowering but as already alluded to, he's kind of like a Cimber type where his stuff his soft, but it's enhanced/complimented by a janky delivery.
My off the radar suggestion would be call the Pirates and see if you can swing a package deal for Bednar and Bryan Reynolds. Would cost you an absolute assload but you get a high leverage reliever and a switch hitter who would be under team control until 2026.
Yup. The guy has great stuff but he's also a guy who can implode in an inning and cost you a game (4bb/9ip). I preferred Chafin before the vax info. Mantiply would be my other target from the left side. We may just be better off bringing up Tiedemann in the playoffs.There's also a good amount of data to suggest Soto isn't as good as his numbers suggest. The dude has basically zero control but gets away with it because he throws absolute gas.
Manitply is an interesting one. His stuff is anything but overpowering but as already alluded to, he's kind of like a Cimber type where his stuff his soft, but it's enhanced/complimented by a janky delivery.
My off the radar suggestion would be call the Pirates and see if you can swing a package deal for Bednar and Bryan Reynolds. Would cost you an absolute assload but you get a high leverage reliever and a switch hitter who would be under team control until 2026.
[C]atcher game-calling isn't a statistically significant skill, I'm well aware that many of you will want to see the results for your favorite catcher, or to review how other catchers measured up. I've listed seasonal and career RPR and XRA for most catchers in the appendix. Just keep in mind that the results are almost certainly due to randomness rather than aptitude.
It’s not a bad pen if you get some insurance. I trust most of it except for Richards and the funny thing is Richards has the best whiff rate out of the pen for us and the best K% on the team. He just can’t limit HRs and hits.
Soto and Jimenez would be good adds but we went over them. Jimenez is easier to get but Soto not so much.
Eovaldi would be a perfect add. One of the hardest throwers in the league. Kills the Yankees and Rays. Knows the division and can be you starter insurance but also play the multi inning guy out of the pen. Lots of playoff experience with Boston. If not Eovaldi, Syndergaard could do it too. His velo could play higher out of the pen as well.
If you want a traditional reliever the Daniel Bard is a perfect fit. Won’t cost much, misses bats, high K% and has the results in a batter friendly park. Should cost much.
At the letters with Zwelling and BNS brought up Bard, buying low on Joe Trivino, Robertson and Bednar. Says Bednar will probably cost you Orelvis and that’s a non starter. Robertson can be had but he will go to the highest bidder which is likely to be someone else. They like Lange out of Detroit but they won’t be trading him. Anthony Bass is having a great season. Also said Mantiply will be moved but I’m not a fan.
It’s a shame pens aren’t more consistent, a few ex Jays are doing well;
Bass: 1.4 WAR
Jason Adam: 1.2 WAR
Bryan Baker: 0.9 WAR
Jesse Chavez: 0.7 WAR
Brad Hand: 0.5 WAR
But I agree here. Rather deal with the rental market prices.
I like a Reynolds and Bednar package too. But at least one of Moreno or Kirk have to go back plus more and I don’t know I do that.