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Post by inger on Nov 9, 2018 11:23:25 GMT -5
Does anyone recall Brian Cashman as bluntly and transparently obvious about trading any player, as with Sonny Gray? The home and away splits tell the ugly story, and the Yankees appear to have said "Uncle" to further attempts to mitigate Gray's "head mechanics" regarding pitching in the Bronx. As for Profar, he had a .712 OPS on the road and an .874 OPS at the friendly confines at Arlington, Texas. Though he is versatile, his defense occasionally wilts at crucial moments. Once considered an untouchable prospect, he's only recently found regular playing time on a bad Rangers team. He's not a virtual certainty for me. I did take a look at Profar's career fielding and found a player very similar to Torres at both 2B and SS. His fielding pct., like Torres, is below average at .975 at 2B and is around the .950 mark at SS, again below average and...like Torres. There is a difference of around four years in age, with Profar being the elder of the two, so I can accept the fumbles and foibles of Torres more as an unfinished product than I can accept such with Profar...So...Yeah. He's a talented kid, but it's time for him to become a professional in his occupation...Maybe another year of playing time will settle him down, again...like Torres... |
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Post by inger on Nov 9, 2018 11:36:29 GMT -5
The only reason he’s still on the roster is because he’s a left handed hitter with some power in the most left handed friendly park in baseball. No, Ji-Man Choi is a left handed hitter with some power. Greg Bird just hasn't been healthy...ever. But, in 570 odd, inconsistent, career MLB at bats he has 31 homers, 32 doubles, and a triple. Bird has prodigious power...when right. As for his mental makeup, his best performances were down the stretch in 2015 and in the playoffs of 2017. Remember that home run against Cleveland? With the nasty lefty Miller pitching no less. He's still on the team for the exact reason Inger identified. Bird may just need one full, healthy, spring training - which he has never had - before his wings are clipped. Or, unless the Yankees land an established all-star bat to play first. I'd hate to see Boston with a healthy Bird, peppering the Green Monster with doubles, then launching blue darters into the second deck at Yankee Stadium. One more chance won't doom the franchise. It was greedy of me and of the rest of us to have high hopes for Bird last season. Had we not had such a poor combination of players at first base in the early season, he might have gotten another month, or even just a couple of more weeks in AAA to get his bat working, get some timing before being elevated to MLB in the hope that the reps could come against MLB pitching and he'd eventually come around. I do think it became mental last season, but I don't see him as a long term mental case that struggles in the spot light. Yep...as rizzuto says... a full and healthy spring and a start to the season that doesn't burden him with a batting average that puts him in Rob Deer territory might be all he needs... |
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Post by chiyankee on Nov 9, 2018 11:45:10 GMT -5
Agree, Gray will probably shine away fro NY, but Texas will want a lot more than him for Profar. Wish we could dump Bird on them to sweeten the pot. Here's Gray's road stats last season: 71 IP, 3.17 ERA, 60 H, 3 HR, 22 BB, 78 K, 226 AVG. Against, 1.15 WHIP I think he's more than enough in a trade for someone like Profar. |
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Post by Blue Marlin on Nov 9, 2018 12:50:04 GMT -5
Does anyone recall Brian Cashman as bluntly and transparently obvious about trading any player, as with Sonny Gray? The home and away splits tell the ugly story, and the Yankees appear to have said "Uncle" to further attempts to mitigate Gray's "head mechanics" regarding pitching in the Bronx. As for Profar, he had a .712 OPS on the road and an .874 OPS at the friendly confines at Arlington, Texas. Though he is versatile, his defense occasionally wilts at crucial moments. Once considered an untouchable prospect, he's only recently found regular playing time on a bad Rangers team. He's not a virtual certainty for me. I did take a look at Profar's career fielding and found a player very similar to Torres at both 2B and SS. His fielding pct., like Torres, is below average at .975 at 2B and is around the .950 mark at SS, again below average and...like Torres. There is a difference of around four years in age, with Profar being the elder of the two, so I can accept the fumbles and foibles of Torres more as an unfinished product than I can accept such with Profar...So...Yeah. He's a talented kid, but it's time for him to become a professional in his occupation...Maybe another year of playing time will settle him down, again...like Torres... Keep in mind that Profar hasn't been given the chance to settle in to any one position. He's played SS, 2B, 3B, 1B, LF, so his relative lack of polish at any one position needs to be viewed in the context of his versatility. He's a +talent, overall. And last year, at age 25, he hit. Gray, on the other hand, has pretty much proven to be a poor fit, but his v. good road stats indicate he could pitch v.well elsewhere. I don't know if a straight-up Gray for Profar deal is feasible, but (I'll say again) I love the idea of Profar on the Yanks--a switch hitter with some power who can play all over the infield. He'd be a perfect fill-in at SS. The Yanks certainly have a few more "expendable" pieces who'd be attractive to the re-building Rangers if a deal would require them (i.e. Estrada, Acevedo, Adams, etc) |
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Post by rizzuto on Nov 9, 2018 15:54:22 GMT -5
To be accurate, Profar hit at home in Arlington and raked against National League teams. Color me skeptical, but he hasn't been able to displace Roughned Odor or Elvis Andrus, which is why he hasn't stuck at any infield position. He wasn't going to beat out Beltre, and the trade of Mitch Moreland to Boston opened at bats at first base. With Beltre retired, he'll have a chance at third for Texas.
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Post by kaybli on Nov 9, 2018 16:31:39 GMT -5
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Post by kaybli on Nov 9, 2018 16:32:29 GMT -5
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Post by Blue Marlin on Nov 9, 2018 16:40:12 GMT -5
To be accurate, Profar hit at home in Arlington and raked against National League teams. Color me skeptical, but he hasn't been able to displace Roughned Odor or Elvis Andrus, which is why he hasn't stuck at any infield position. He wasn't going to beat out Beltre, and the trade of Mitch Moreland to Boston opened at bats at first base. With Beltre retired, he'll have a chance at third for Texas. You're correct on his home/away splits. But I think his not being able to displace Beltre, Odor, or Andrus has got more to do with what they're paying those other guys than with how Profar performed in 2018. Neither Odor, nor Andrus, put up better offensive stats than Profar. In any case, the Yankees like Profar and, apparently, are talking about a trade. No harm in being skeptical, but, as far as I'm concerned, Profar would be a more valuable contributor to the Yankees--in 2019 and into the future--than any of the current substitutes for Didi (read: Gio Urshela or Hansel Alberto). |
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Post by greatfatness on Nov 9, 2018 17:48:48 GMT -5
That won’t be inexpensive. |
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Post by greatfatness on Nov 9, 2018 17:49:38 GMT -5
No, Ji-Man Choi is a left handed hitter with some power. Greg Bird just hasn't been healthy...ever. But, in 570 odd, inconsistent, career MLB at bats he has 31 homers, 32 doubles, and a triple. Bird has prodigious power...when right. As for his mental makeup, his best performances were down the stretch in 2015 and in the playoffs of 2017. Remember that home run against Cleveland? With the nasty lefty Miller pitching no less. He's still on the team for the exact reason Inger identified. Bird may just need one full, healthy, spring training - which he has never had - before his wings are clipped. Or, unless the Yankees land an established all-star bat to play first. I'd hate to see Boston with a healthy Bird, peppering the Green Monster with doubles, then launching blue darters into the second deck at Yankee Stadium. One more chance won't doom the franchise. It was greedy of me and of the rest of us to have high hopes for Bird last season. Had we not had such a poor combination of players at first base in the early season, he might have gotten another month, or even just a couple of more weeks in AAA to get his bat working, get some timing before being elevated to MLB in the hope that the reps could come against MLB pitching and he'd eventually come around. I do think it became mental last season, but I don't see him as a long term mental case that struggles in the spot light. Yep...as rizzuto says... a full and healthy spring and a start to the season that doesn't burden him with a batting average that puts him in Rob Deer territory might be all he needs... Bird’s issue was really poor batspeed. I don’t think that’s mental. |
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Post by inger on Nov 9, 2018 21:01:51 GMT -5
It was greedy of me and of the rest of us to have high hopes for Bird last season. Had we not had such a poor combination of players at first base in the early season, he might have gotten another month, or even just a couple of more weeks in AAA to get his bat working, get some timing before being elevated to MLB in the hope that the reps could come against MLB pitching and he'd eventually come around. I do think it became mental last season, but I don't see him as a long term mental case that struggles in the spot light. Yep...as rizzuto says... a full and healthy spring and a start to the season that doesn't burden him with a batting average that puts him in Rob Deer territory might be all he needs... Bird’s issue was really poor batspeed. I don’t think that’s mental. How certain are you that it was bat speed, GF? I'm not arguing that it wasn't bat speed, I just took it for a timing issue and perhaps a lack of confidence that was triggering the timing problem... |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2018 23:12:11 GMT -5
They all go together. I think the team is in trouble if they still think Bird is a legit option going forward. He brings precious little to the party on either side of the ball. First base, catcher and short will determine the teams success next season. I think they will address the SP needs and BP.
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Post by greatfatness on Nov 10, 2018 7:50:17 GMT -5
Bird’s issue was really poor batspeed. I don’t think that’s mental. How certain are you that it was bat speed, GF? I'm not arguing that it wasn't bat speed, I just took it for a timing issue and perhaps a lack of confidence that was triggering the timing problem... Take a look at this and some of the stark observations in this article. He can’t hit a decent fastball and balls leave his bat with really weak contact compared to the rest of the league, let alone the rest of hitters who are supposed to be power hitters at positions relying on offense. www.fangraphs.com/blogs/things-arent-going-well-for-greg-bird/“Via Statcast, Bird’s average exit velocity of 86.7 mph is in just the 25th percentile among the 294 hitters with at least 150 batted-ball events. That average is a full 3.0 mph below his limited run last year and 6.3 mph below his 2015 stint.” “One thing that stands out in Bird’s pitch splits is the extent to which he has failed to do damage when putting fastballs into play. In 114 PA ending with four-seamers, he’s hit .188/.298/.365 for a 95 wRC+, while in 53 PA against sinkers, he’s hit .182/.283/.341 for an 83 wRC+. “ Now it is possible he had some serious physical issue that caused this drop on ability to turn around a decent fastball. The question is whether that’s an issue that’s going to resolve or not. I like the kid and love his swing but I am not optimistic. |
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Post by inger on Nov 10, 2018 11:42:26 GMT -5
How certain are you that it was bat speed, GF? I'm not arguing that it wasn't bat speed, I just took it for a timing issue and perhaps a lack of confidence that was triggering the timing problem... Take a look at this and some of the stark observations in this article. He can’t hit a decent fastball and balls leave his bat with really weak contact compared to the rest of the league, let alone the rest of hitters who are supposed to be power hitters at positions relying on offense. www.fangraphs.com/blogs/things-arent-going-well-for-greg-bird/“Via Statcast, Bird’s average exit velocity of 86.7 mph is in just the 25th percentile among the 294 hitters with at least 150 batted-ball events. That average is a full 3.0 mph below his limited run last year and 6.3 mph below his 2015 stint.” “One thing that stands out in Bird’s pitch splits is the extent to which he has failed to do damage when putting fastballs into play. In 114 PA ending with four-seamers, he’s hit .188/.298/.365 for a 95 wRC+, while in 53 PA against sinkers, he’s hit .182/.283/.341 for an 83 wRC+. “ Now it is possible he had some serious physical issue that caused this drop on ability to turn around a decent fastball. The question is whether that’s an issue that’s going to resolve or not. I like the kid and love his swing but I am not optimistic. In the end, this leaves us with the same question being asked at the beginning...With a full and injury spring training, do we get the same player back that we had in 2015 when he was healthy for a stretch of time? So, we either take a chance on him, or we don't. He has so little value at this point, why not expose him to spring training wrapped in bubble wrap this spring and see if he's got gas left in the tank, or if his journey with the team is over? Damn, maybe I'm stubborn... (: |
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Post by greatfatness on Nov 10, 2018 12:10:32 GMT -5
Take a look at this and some of the stark observations in this article. He can’t hit a decent fastball and balls leave his bat with really weak contact compared to the rest of the league, let alone the rest of hitters who are supposed to be power hitters at positions relying on offense. www.fangraphs.com/blogs/things-arent-going-well-for-greg-bird/“Via Statcast, Bird’s average exit velocity of 86.7 mph is in just the 25th percentile among the 294 hitters with at least 150 batted-ball events. That average is a full 3.0 mph below his limited run last year and 6.3 mph below his 2015 stint.” “One thing that stands out in Bird’s pitch splits is the extent to which he has failed to do damage when putting fastballs into play. In 114 PA ending with four-seamers, he’s hit .188/.298/.365 for a 95 wRC+, while in 53 PA against sinkers, he’s hit .182/.283/.341 for an 83 wRC+. “ Now it is possible he had some serious physical issue that caused this drop on ability to turn around a decent fastball. The question is whether that’s an issue that’s going to resolve or not. I like the kid and love his swing but I am not optimistic. In the end, this leaves us with the same question being asked at the beginning...With a full and injury spring training, do we get the same player back that we had in 2015 when he was healthy for a stretch of time? So, we either take a chance on him, or we don't. He has so little value at this point, why not expose him to spring training wrapped in bubble wrap this spring and see if he's got gas left in the tank, or if his journey with the team is over? Damn, maybe I'm stubborn... (: I thjnknfor sure he’s at spring trading, assuming some other team isn’t so optimistic that they seek to have the Yanks trade him. I think he’s in camp and starts the season at SWB. |
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