JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 11/27/23

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Rainbow Sprinkles

2:33

How many combined PAs do you see for Miguel Vargas and Michael Busch this season? And... for what team(s)?

Ben Clemens

2:33

1000, and honestly both for the Dodgers

AL West enjoyer

2:33

The Mariners desperately need bats, and seem unwilling to spend big. Enter... Rhys Hoskins? 1B/DH upgrade probably available at a post-injury discount? Am I crazy for thinking that's a great match because I haven't seen anybody linking them together all winter

Ben Clemens

2:33

Makes sense to me, but uh, I dunno if they want to pay money

it's not very fun to say but it's true

they might just roll with what they have

2:34

there sure are a lot of righty power bats available, though, so maybe they just pull a Brewers and wait to see who has the least interest, then try to sign that guy for cheap

harry

2:34

sorry for another cardinals question -- which outfielder is most likely to move this offseason? what does the starting outfield look like next year?

Ben Clemens

2:34

i think Carlson, b/c it seems like the Cardinals are intent on getting a real return for TON and no one is going to offer them that

I Don't Know, Margot!

2:34

Who is your bet for team most likely to go all Mets, spend a ton of money in the off-season, and still not be relevant in their division, and why is it the Giants?

Ben Clemens

2:35

It's probably the Giants, sadly

I want to see Ohtani home games next year SO badly

But if that doesn't work out I can completely see them just getting Bellinger and running back an old team that wasn't great last year

Insert Witty Name Here

2:35

How bad will the Phillies core of aged stars in 2030 be?

Ben Clemens

2:35

Okay, I was going to give this a sarcastic answer but let's do this for real

2:36

Turner, Harper, and Nola are the guys signed beyond 2026

so Harper, eh, LHH 1b/dh, probably still gonna be mashing

he has old guy skills

2:37

won't be as good as he is now, obviously, and he's signed until even longer than that, but I don't see him being unplayable. Error bars are huge that far out, of course

Nola? Yeah, I don't think he'll be very good. He'll be a fifth starter or not in the rotation most likely

Turner, probably not incredible by then either

2:38

But teams have guys like that on salary from time to time and it's fine

those are the only three signed beyond 2026, so they could have more big contracts by then, but I hardly see this as some unfixable burden

ryan

2:38

Do you find the Tatis playing SS in LIDOM thing as funny as I do? Like, do you think the Padres want him to occasionally get reps there to keep the muscle memory, or is this some kind of act of civil disobedience?

Ben Clemens

2:38

I want it to be civil disobedience for sure

I definitely find it very funny

KBO

2:39

What are your thoughts on Jung Hoo Lee?

Ben Clemens

2:39

Wrote about it a little in the top 50 free agent piece, which you can find here:

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2024-top-50-mlb-free-agents/

I'm less sure than Eric that he's going to be a plus center fielder, but there's a decent chance of it

2:40

teams are definitely going to be interested in finding out

Farhandrew Zaidman

2:40

Hey Ben! Resigning J-Hey pretty much guarantees Mookie is playing 2B versus righties again, right?

Ben Clemens

2:40

I believe so, yes

Well-Beered Englishman

2:41

Will anyone top Maeda in the department of "Contracts That Make Fans of the Other 29 Teams Wonder Why Their Team Didn't Sign That Guy"?

Ben Clemens

2:41

Almost for sure, yes

I can't tell you who

but almost for sure, there are a LOT of free agents

Sean

2:41

Is it possible the M's money thing is just a smokescreen and they come out of all this with Ohtani? It seems like just last year they put forward a ton of money into Castillo and Julio?

Ben Clemens

2:42

Possible? Sure

Likely? Definitely not

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