Gold glove finalists, lead MLB short stops in defensive runs saved and was third among MLB position players and was solid enough at the plate to finish with the sixth highest WAR in MLB, actually finishing one spot above Tatis
again, Tatis is going to win and deserves it but there's nothing wrong with throwing some love at a hometown guy who had a career year as well
I'm thinking the Angels might bid on Nelson Cruz; he's their kind of guy...almost. He's still going great, which is the only thing against him as an Angel; they prefer to get someone either on the cusp of being an over the hill great, or already there. So that's against him. Still, he could do them some good for maybe a couple of years as DH, Otani stunk up the joint this year.
Honestly, if they can pry open Moreno's wallet, what they really need is Bauer and maybe Realmuto if they can swing it. And any other good pitcher on the free agent market, though another good to great hitter would also be welcome. I'm pretty sure there's at least another B level pitcher on the market....but I can't recall who. Anyone know?
Yeah grand slams are sexy, nothing to do about it
Well, going to the postseason certainly help you win MVPs, I should say. The finalists are out for both leagues, and for the Dodgers, Mookie Betts is among them; a no brainer IMO. For the AL though, Mike Trout isn't among the finalists, though his numbers were almost dead on comparable to Betts'. Mookie had a slightly higher average, Mike had a slightly better HR count and slugging. The difference is Mookie played for the eventual champs, (and at least the top seeded post season team), and Mike...played for an truly terrible team.
With free agency here, I found this article highly interesting:
The 5 tiers of this offseason's free agents
Avatar: Here's to the late, great Steve Dillon. Best. Punisher. Artist. EVER!
It is very interesting. But my hopes for the Angels or Braves will undoubtabley be crushed as usual. Well, for the Angels at least. They need Bauer, Realmuto, and at least another big hitter and several pitchers, including a closer and a middle relief guy. And that's just to move up a bit in the AL West.
I don't see the Angels pulling off those signings. Not all of them, anyway.
Bauer, Realmuto and a big name hitter prob isn't going to happen for them. But what do I know.
I'm not really sure the Mariners are going to make any splashes this year. I'm not sure they should either.
It will be interesting to see which teams do open their pockets after last year. And considering next season is likely to be largely, if not entirely crowdless, for at least part of the season.