JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 12/21/20

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 12/21/20

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Ben Clemens

2:00

Hey everyone, and thanks for joining me.

2:02

I'm going to keep today's chat short and sweet, but I'm a big fan of themed chats, so if you would like to share how you're spending the holidays this year, I'd love to hear it. My family and I are trying out a bunch of things we never have before and I'm curious what everyone else is doing/has done.

Also, of course, baseball!

Rob

2:02

Why not just DH Ohtani every game and use him as a multi-inning reliever or high leverage arm? Seems to be the best way to maximize his talent while minimizing injury risk.

Ben Clemens

2:02

I think that if they go down this path, it will quickly turn into just full-time DH'ing, which is coincidentally my guess for the most likely outcome anyway

2:03

I think that mid-game warmups to reliever-level readiness are probably not easy to pick up on the fly -- that's basically why I don't think they've tried it.

Mike

2:03

What does a nats reds Suarez trade look like?

Mike Rizzo

2:03

Kieboom for Suarez, Garrett, and Lorenzen. Who says no?

Ben Clemens

2:04

I think the Reds say no on that one, though it's close

2:05

Id love that trade for the Nats if they could make it, b/c I think Suarez fits the team pretty well and his contract isn't ludicrous

Garrett and Lorenzen are kinda throw-ins

The reason I think the Reds might say yes is if they're really serious about cost-cutting. I am still in wait-and-see mode there.

Rob

2:06

Ohtani as a full time DH seems like such a waste of his athleticism. Hopefully if they move him to being a hitter full-time he can try picking up RF or 1B.

Ben Clemens

2:06

Yeah, I think that if he moved to hitting full-time he'd end up in right

Eventually

Inaccessible Rail

2:06

This year for the holiday, I'm going to sit around and wait to hear if the Mets have signed anyone good, which is what I do every year for Christmas.

Uri

2:06

Given his age and contract, even coming off of a Cy-worthy season, what is Darvish's likely trade value?

Ben Clemens

2:07

Darvish has a good deal of surplus value still. You wouldn't be able to sign him for 3/60 this offseason, which is roughly what his contract comes down to

2:08

Let me put it this way: we crowd-sourced Bauer at 3/87, and I'd rather have Darvish at 3/60

So I think he'd command more than that 27 million dollar gap in surplus value?

SOrry, meant to say I'd rather have Darvish for the next three years

2:09

If the contract were longer, I'd be more hesitant, but pitchers break more than age, so eh

Jeff

2:09

I was just about to read your velocity spike article but then saw this chat. Hello!

Ben Clemens

2:09

There's been a Ben Clemens article spike today

Will it last tomorrow? Stay tuned to find out!

(but no)

Doug

2:09

Think it makes sense for the Angels to float trading Jo Adell with guys like Snell and Castillo out there? Probably not for Gray though, right?

Ben Clemens

2:10

I think it does. As Dan has noted a few times, having Mike Trout means you should constantly be in win-now mode

All you have to do is build an otherwise average team and he makes you a playoff contender

2:11

I'd be interested in Snell and Castillo, and yeah, like you said, probably not as much Gray

billyjojimbob

2:11

Not too much this holiday. Staying with the immediate fam. Question: A trade for Luis Castillo. Could the Red Sox get involved in this? It starts with Cincy native Bennitendi.

Ben Clemens

2:12

The Sox could get involved, but my guess is that their plan under Chaim Bloom is going to follow what the Dodgers did initially upon adding Friedman, in that they'll focus a lot more on internal shoring up and less on trades. That has the convenient side effect of not acquiring more payroll, but I think it's probably long-term wise for them as well. Spend a few years rebuilding the system and then go from there

Am I Jake Cronenworth

2:13

What do you make of Texas Rangers offseason - are they headed toward a full rebuild? They seem to be pretty active so far

Ben Clemens

2:13

Yeah I think they're going to end up tearing it completely down. Their quick turnaround plan didn't quite get there

Sharp

2:13

Worker Placement or Deck Building?

Ben Clemens

2:14

I'm a realllly big deck building game fan. Something in my brain likes the feeling of building my own pile of things and having that pile give me new rewards and capabilities over time

Games like that just scratch the exact right itch for me

Am I Jake Cronenworth

2:14

Is Gary Sanchez more or less likely to be a Yankee in 2021? Also, I am going to be staying up all night on Xmas eve to try to measure Santa Claus' exit velocity

Ben Clemens

2:14

More

Guest

2:16

How likely is another irregular season (i.e., fewer than 162 games)? Health necessitated it in 2020, but a shortened season seems entirely revenue-related for 2021, which does not seem like a legitimate reason.

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