JotCast | FanGraphs After Dark Chat

Prev Page View Full Chat

Tom

9:57

Yasmany Tomas has been an above-average hitter this year; could he be traded to an AL team to DH, despite his contract?

Paul Swydan

9:58

I think he could be, but if the Dbacks don't eat a bunch of that contract they won't get much in return for him.

If they do clean slate in the front office, I'd imagine trading Tomas is something the new regime might explore.

Jim Lonborg

9:58

What's your expectation for Wright next year? Or is that always a pointless question about a knuckleballer?

Paul Swydan

10:00

My expectation is that the first half of 2016 will be the best baseball he ever plays, and that's OK. That's more than most people. I expect he'll be in the high 3's-low 4's ERA wise, and be a perfectly serviceable 3rd-4th starter.

But first we have to see if his shoulder is right.

Grace

10:00

Cool! And what time, usually?

Paul Swydan

10:00

Same time, 9 pm ET.

10:01

There is also usually a chat at noon ET here everyday. Different person each day.

Stinky Pete

10:01

Late to the party but please tell me we're getting an Instagraphs post on the ridiculous homer Adrian Beltre hit from his knees tonight

Paul Swydan

10:01

I am not aware of any such plan but I will put word to Carson and the gang that one is eagerly awaited!

Justin

10:02

I tend to agree with you about Maddon, but I'd like to think he'd be smart enough to not, say, play Travis Wood in left in the playoffs. With Schwarber, though, I'm not sure what else he was supposed to do with him. (Although I certainly wouldn't have played him in that canyon in Phoenix where he got hurt.)

Paul Swydan

10:03

He came up as a catcher. I would have played him there until he conclusively showed that he couldn't. I don't like assuming guys can't play certain positions. If we did that all the time, then Tulo and Xander never would have been shortstops.

Don

10:03

Which single (non-knuckleball) pitcher do you have the most confidence in to out-perform his peripherals?

Paul Swydan

10:04

This is going to sound odd, but none of them, really. I generally just hope for them to strike out more people. Marcus Stroman comes to mind as someone who I feel like should have more Ks than he does.

Justin

10:04

Good point. You're okay, Paul. I like you.

Paul Swydan

10:04

Right back at ya!

Tom

10:04

So, the AL East next year: Basically a toss-up between the everyone except the Rays?

Paul Swydan

10:05

I think the Rays can get back into the thick of it sooner given the quality of their starting rotation. In other words, they already have the one thing that most teams need to get in the offseason, so they can afford to zig where others need to zag. Whether they do is an open question, of course.

Gustavo Fring

10:06

Which Yankees prospects do you think will become above average players

Paul Swydan

10:08

I like Sanchez, obviously. And I like Gleyber. I think Frazier has the chance to be as well. But honestly, I think if a bunch of them can just be average, then they'll be in really good position.

Rick

10:08

What do you think of the rumored Puig-Braun trade? The outcome obviously depends on the money/other pieces involved, but which player would you rather have?

Paul Swydan

10:08

I'd rather have Puig, but I can understand LA's motivation for the deal.

Tyler

10:09

If you had to pick one reliever to be your closer/relief ace for the next three years, who would you take?

Paul Swydan

10:09

Can I say Mariano Rivera? No?

10:10

I can't bring myself to say Chapman for the off-field reasons, so I'll say Betances, with Jansen, Miller, Kimbrel and Britton on the short list behind him.

10:11

Alright guys, that's going to do it for me tonight. I'm beat. Thanks for hanging out as always, and sorry I got off to a late start. Back next week!

Connecting…