JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 6/23/25

Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page

Ben Clemens

3:18

Yeah, which is why I definitely don't think they'll do it until the Vegas stadium is confirmed good (they broke ground, so looking better on this front) and the Rays situation is settled

Oaktown Blues

3:18

Not sure NYY positions of need but A's will also have Andujar and Urias to sell

Ben Clemens

3:19

Urias is just not gonna have that much value after so many seasons of not hitting. And I say this as a huge Urias fan, one who's consistently too high on him

and same deal with Andujar, he's a career average hitter who has no defensive home, also he already had a pretty bad run in new york

3:20

they do need a second baseman, so mayyyyyybe Urias makes sense? But really, their roster isn't that easy to improve, they're kinda jam packed with hitters they're trying to figure out how to play

like Bleday would even have a tough time finding playing time and I think he's by far the best hitter of the A's options

3:21

so maybe I should say like.... Suarez if the DBacks fall out?

an infielder would be better in NYY, but only if they're actually a good hitter

GraphsMan

3:21

you mentioned the Smith and Vargas possibility for the Cubs, but what real incentive would the Sox have to do that? They’re controllable but not gonna get a massive return, at some point isn’t it worth just keeping competent players so that the on field product isn’t entirely miserable?

Ben Clemens

3:21

i mean, I agree with that

I would say that major league teams mostly seem not to when they are tanking

3:22

like last White Sox teardown, they blew it up pretty comprehensively

I guess they kept Tim Anderson around

3:23

and Jose Abrue

Abreu*

so okay maybe they do keep them, fine

3:23

Are there any correlated tracking data easily available? I love in basketball, hockey, football, etc. you can track how a certain player does when playing with another player. Is that done as much here in baseball? I.e. when Judge is in the lineup, Jazz hits X, but when Judge is out, Jazz hits Y for a delta of D.

Ben Clemens

3:23

all that data exists

3:24

it's all on Baseball Savant, if you feel like sorting through it. But when you look at historical splits like that, they're all noise, very little correlation between one year and the next, so we mostly don't bother quoting them

it's kinda similar to the day game/night game split or something of that nature

Melky Cabrera (All-Star)

3:24

Are there any current announcers you cannot stand?

Ben Clemens

3:24

yes, but I'm not saying who

I think Davy might have mentioned reviving the crowdsourced broadcaster rankings this year, man, I hope so

HappyFunBall

3:24

Luis Urias would probably work out well actually. He's being paid nothing and wouldn't cost much in trade. Also he can cover 3B during the inevitable next JAzz injury. He's hit better than DJLM for three seasons running...

Sig Mejdal

3:24

Do the O's move anybody at the deadline besides O'Hearn? Mullins is really struggling at the plate and can't play every day; Mountcastle is out for a while. I guess Zach Eflin has some value?

Dudhd

3:24

I’m also too high on Luis Urias! It seems the park and his suddenly high contact and high flyball rate SHOULD lead to lots of home park homers, but it seems like he’s been losing momentum. What are your thoughts on him and is he toast when Gelof returns?

Ben Clemens

3:24

Whoops, Sig, I'll answer yours in a second. but first, let's form the fan club!

3:25

yeah, um, I wouldn't trade Mullins if I were them. I agree that the return might not be amazing, also, I like Mullins as an O and I think the hit to team confidence and fan approval would be enough that they'd need a real return for him

3:26

Jim Bowden proposed the Cubs trading Horton, Caissie, Alcantara, and Ronny Cruz for Sandy Alcantara. As a Cardinals fan, how happy would it make you if this man were the Cubs' GM?

Ben Clemens

3:27

I mean, I don't think that move would be outrageous if you think Sandy is an ace going forward

3:28

I just don't. But gimme a few weeks of starts to see how much he's able to keep his recent improvement, I keep up on Lance Brozdowski's pitcher updates and I agree with Lance that he seems to be trending back up as he gets more reps under his belt

3:29

I'd basically just say that I wouldn't make that deal without a little bit more understanding of how 'back' he is. Because the price is right, two more years at reasonable numbers, plus this year, for a Cy Young winner. Just.... the post-TJ stuff, eh

Mr red legs

3:29

You seemed to be taking a relative step back on Ellys trade value a couple weeks ago. How do you feel now after his multi week hot streak has him playing better than last year?

Ben Clemens

3:29

I mean, I'm trying not to be TOO affected by a few weeks of hot streaks

that's actually the point of spreading out my analysis over a longer time period

3:30

I guess I would say that the chances of Elly turning into the greatest baseball player of our generation are lower now than they were last year

though his chances of being a bust are commensurately lower

3:31

and to me, enough of his value (in the trade value series, wehre I had him as a top 5 value in all of baseball) was about the chance of a truly ridiculous ceiling that another year in the books with good but not great production lowers the overall EV

Bosoxforlife

3:31

I would need a lot more evidence than has been shown before I would give any real players for Alcantara. He pitched the game I saw in Pittsburgh and was able to get the Pirate "hitters" out but so could you.

Ben Clemens

3:31

Connecting…

Message History

On Off

Your current subscriptions

None

E-mail Address	Chat Owner	Status	Remove

Enter your email address to be notified when Ben Clemens hosts a chat