I like Matijevic and think he is underrated but I will be shocked if he is taken in the Rule 5 this year. Prospects who are limited defensively and strike out a lot are rarely selected. I agree he is a potential replacement for Gurriel or as a lefty bench bat after next season. I expect him to have a big year in AAA. Papierski and Diaz are the 2 most likely position players to be selected. I will be very very surprised if any others are chosen. There’s a bunch of pitchers who probably interest teams. Macuare and Taveras are the two I think could come back and make Click look bad for leaving exposed.
The Stros are going to lose some talent Diaz is most likely gone. Young catchers that can hit are worth their weight in gold. I also think there's a good chance Matijevic, Macuare/Conine get picked as well.
Macuare, especially after his performance in the AFL, is definitely at risk of being taken. JP France is the other pitcher who I think could be not only taken but also stick. Especially on a rebuilding club that doesn't have much pitching and/or wants to keep their top prospects down in AAA to develop (and potentially for service time purposes if not addressed in the CBA). He showed some real promise in AAA, and at least could be a AAA/MLB swing guy who can fill in, and has a ceiling as a 4th or 5th starter. Maybe a bit paranoid, but I'd have protected Diaz, Papierski, Matijevic, and France. DFA Seth Martinez, non-tender Montero, swing another trade or two.
I would have tried to package up fringe 40-man/Rule 5 pitchers to trade for lotto prospects or a good MLB RP, although I’m sure Click explored that and didn’t find anything worthwhile. Otherwise, I would have protected the guys they did plus Diaz, Papierski, and Macuare, while cutting/trading Martinez, Montero, and Scrubb. After all that I would brace to lose Taveras, hoping he’d get returned.
What do you see in Papierski that would project for a team to take him as a rule 5 guy? I know nothing about him and he seems to have very pedestrian Minor League stats.
Good defender, walks a ton. Good clubhouse presence. Basically an ideal backup C profile. I have said it a bunch in the minors thread but he’s a big dude so it’s a little odd he doesn’t hit for power. If he could change that he’d be an everyday guy.
It probably shouldn't, but it still surprises me that we have an R&D department. We don't just use analytics and tech, we have to stay on the cutting edge finding new stuff to use.
Matt Carpenter could be a nice under the radar addition. Can he get reps at SS? Seems like a versatile player, could be a good utility guy if we need him to hold down the fort until Pena is ready.
Astros get: RHP Aaron Nola Phillies get: OF Chas McCormick, RHP Bryan Abreu, RHP Josh James Nola did not look like his usual self this past year at first glance, but take a deeper dive. The K rate is still there, and he posted a career low walk rate. His ERA was 4.63 but his FIP was 3.37. Saw somewhere that it's rumored the Phillies are looking at one of our young OF - which makes sense since McCutcheon is a FA and is a RHH (their OF is lefty-heavy). So I thought this could work. Astros get a proven veteran arm who can give us about 180-200 innings. Which is huge since I imagine JV and LMJ will have their workloads managed and the younger guys likely won't throw that much. We'd also give them Bryan Abreu, who I'm not high on but supposedly execs around the league still see high upside in. Josh James is practically a throw in. They badly need pen arms so they may want to get their hands on him. He did show flashes, most notably in 2019 so I think he may be of some value.
No thanks. Never played SS as a pro (majors or minors), turns 36 this week, and was absolutely horrendous this year. Even the peripherals said so. If we're talking about Cardinals I'd take Paul DeJong. Really doesn't fit the Astros model of OBP and low K, but he's a slick fielder and can be a big power guy. With him being a pull-side fly ball hitter who makes lots of hard contact, he'd love MMP. Really grown on me as a stopgap SS.
You can find an emergency 3rd catcher anywhere on the waiver wire. It just doesn't matter. I do think it's hilarious every year how yall think 6 or 8 guys need to be protected or they'll be chosen. And it never happens.
