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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 7/24/18
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Jeff Sullivan
10:24
No
John
10:25
What would need to happen for the Nationals to consider selling at the deadline?
Jeff Sullivan
10:25
Getting swept by the Marlins would do it!
Can't imagine they'll go that far, though. And it would be tough to suddenly become a seller anyway, assuming they haven't been holding such conversations to this point with other teams. Not just a switch you can flip
Scott M
10:27
Any opinions on Tyler Saladino?  I heard the Brewers helped him tweak some things at the plate and he's been a solid contributor this season (admittedly small sample size).  Think he can sustain these improvements?
Jeff Sullivan
10:29
He's basically swinging harder. One of those guys who's exchanged contact for lift. I like his defensive versatility and he has a decent eye -- I can see Saladino as a decent semi-regular. He makes the shortstop situation a little less urgent for now
But it's not like Tyler Saladino is exactly becoming the next Max Muncy
10:30
What a sentence to write
Jared
10:30
What do you make of the A's 2b situation? Will they really extended Lowrie and block Barreto even longer? It can't be helpful for him to get inconsistent at bats at the MLB level
Jeff Sullivan
10:31
Barreto has struck out 43% of the time he's batted in the majors, and he's also shown a strikeout problem in Triple-A. I like him, but he doesn't seem ready, and Lowrie has been outstanding
10:33
Could be that Semien ends up the guy on the outside. The A's love Lowrie and I do think they'd like to keep him another year or two
He's 34, so he won't be looking for that much length
10:34
If only Khris Davis could throw
Josh
10:34
I saw a rumor yesterday that Milwaukee is interested in Moustakas and would be open to using Travis Shaw at 2B. This...can’t be true, can it?  Does Dozier to the Brewers almost feel inevitable?
Jeff Sullivan
10:35
I'm sure it's just something they've thought about, and it's not crazy, given that Shaw is a good defensive 3B and the adjustment to 2B isn't dramatic
10:36
That being said, that's like more of an offseason move, since Shaw hasn't played an inning at second in the majors in his career. Would have very little time to pick it up, and, importantly, Mike Moustakas isn't very good
Dozier fits. Escobar also fits
v2micca
10:37
I'm finding myself increasingly hostile to the argument that reworking the current service time model could harm small market teams.  With a defacto salary cap in place, but no salary floor, why should a small market team be any more entitled to star players and massively under-market salaries?
Jeff Sullivan
10:38
Baseball doesn't want to end up with permanent haves and have-nots and there simply aren't 30 equivalent markets to go around. I think before you tweak the service-time rules, you bump up the league-minimum salaries. That way you shift compensation earlier without completely destroying the Rays' operating model
10:39
And when I say "bump" I mean significantly. Could argue for $1-million minimum, at least
Arthur
10:41
What's your take on all the NY media outrage over Gary last night?
Jeff Sullivan
"Sanchez, who needed 5.39 seconds to reach first base, has raced from home to first as quickly as 4.33 seconds this season. Sanchez's "max-effort" average on runs from home to first this year -- the top 10 percent of his home-to-first dashes -- is 4.53 seconds."
"I hit the ball well there. I should have run harder. There was a chance [Hicks] was going to be out at second base, but that didn't happen. He was safe.''
10:43
So, I mean, it's just one play, and just one game -- this isn't reason enough to want the Yankees to trade Sanchez or anything
I should say, it's at least a couple plays, since there was also that passed ball
10:44
That being said, especially at the end, to not hustle in that moment is legitimately inexcusable, unless Sanchez was hurt. You have to send a message to try to get through to him. Few days of being benched
ryan
10:44
Hi Jeff -- thanks for chatting today! What sort of return do you expect the Reds to get for Harvey?
Jeff Sullivan
10:45
Small. I think Harvey will be a very interesting free agent for a progressive team to look at, but for now he's a Jaime Garcia-level trade piece
Drew
10:45
Do the A's or Mariners win the second wild card? Are the Mariners a better team than the A's with Cano?
Jeff Sullivan
10:46
Still think it's the Mariners, but the gap is only getting slimmer and slimmer. Mariners better hope they get it this year, because next year will only look worse
Guest
10:46
So, if this whole position players pitching thing becomes a trend, it's bad for baseball right?
Jeff Sullivan
10:47
Already is a trend, albeit a somewhat subtle one
Doing a cursory search, there have been 31 instances in baseball history in which multiple position players have pitched for a team in the same game
10:48
Four of those have happened in the last four days. Five have happened in the last two weeks
10:49
I don't think it's so bad provided it doesn't get out of control -- some position players kind of like it, the stakes are non-existent, and fans still get a kick out of the whole experience. But this is something the union might use to argue for a 26th roster spot
10:50
Even zero-leverage innings are innings that could be going to someone in Triple-A who's looking to build a career
Small Sample Steve
10:52
Hi Jeff, I was wondering what you thought of the Cubs platooning Schwarber at this point in his career. I get that he sucks against lefties and they are in win now mode, but doesn't this seriously limit his potential as a player, especially one destined to become a DH in he future? Do they just not care?
Jeff Sullivan
10:52
Schwarber got about 100 PA against lefties last year, and he's on pace to do it again this year
10:54
He's faced righties 81% of the time. Joc Pederson is all the way up at 87%. Matt Joyce, 91%. Curtis Granderson, 92%. Those are more extreme platoons
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