MLB Hot Stove 2019-20

[shoothoops]

The Arenado deal is pretty much a carbon copy of the Goldschmidt deal.  Both put up awesome numbers in hitting friendly environments (I think Goldschmidt only played one year in AZ with the humidor), Goldschmidt was 31 and Arenado is 30, the Cards extended Goldschmidt for 5 years through age 36 season after the trade and Arenado has 6 years left on his deal through age 36 season.  Both players are high floor guys who project to age pretty well, and the biggest question mark is/was how the power holds up after the trade. 

It will be interesting to see if Arenado makes adjustments that mirror Goldschmidt's. Goldschmidt has seen drops in HR/FB ratio and ground ball rate since the move, and an increased line drive rate. He's trying to drive the ball more than hit HRs, but he's having trouble keeping his hard hit percentages stable.

This isn't even the first time the Cardinals have done this with Colorado. Matt Holliday had a better OPS+ (ball park adjusted OPS) in St. Louis than Colorado. 138 to 131. (100 being league average) That was over many seasons at both places. In a shorter sample size, Larry Walker, also played with both teams, had a 147 OPS+ in Colorado, and 134 in St. Louis. Pretty good for an aging player at the time.

Goldschmidt expanded his zone the most he ever had when he first arrived in St. Louis. It wasn't all that surprising trying a bit too much to contribute in a new place. It's common. His 2nd half numbers were much better than his first half numbers. And, this past season, his 142 OPS+ was as good as or better than his final three seasons in Arizona. He adjusted his pitch selection and patience, especially early in the count.

Back to Arenado. He put up .292/.349/.526 away from Coors Field at Central Division teams. In 90 AB's he's had .511 slugging at Busch. He has a pretty good chance to do just fine with the change.

[drewm88]

https://twitter.com/ConfirmedShoot/status/1355350015871430657?s=20


Matt
@ConfirmedShoot
Jan 29
Imagine being a Cardinals fan. Sitting in jail for storming the Capitol. No idea your team got Nolan Arenado.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Brother dgies,

Last year the Cardinals were bad offensively (23rd or 24th in runs scored). Good news was that the Pirates, Brewers and Reds were worse and the Cubs were barely better. In 2021, none of the Card's competition will be better on offense and the Cubs and Bucs will be even worse. So a mediocre offense will probably dominate. But when Molina and Carpenter are integral to the offense it ain't exactly "Murderer's Row".

The Cubs offense will most likely be better this year unless they trade off more pieces, which is likely at some point this summer.  Bryant and Baez were horrendous - that's extremely unlikely in a contract year.  Rizzo and Contreras underperformed.  Happ should be solid.  Pederson has been a better hitter than Schwarber. 

The Cubs main issue will be the rotation after the Darvish trade as it will be Hendricks, Davies and then most likely a pile of garbage. 

[WI inferiority Complexes]

Kolton Wong to the Brewers.

[4everwarriors]

Who, hey?

[shoothoops]

Kolton Wong to the Brewers.

Elite defensive second baseman, has won the past two gold gloves. Very popular player. Good for Kolten.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Kolton Wong to the Brewers.

Does that move Huira to 3rd?

[Jockey]

Does that move Huira to 3rd?

1st or 3rd, depending on who else they sign and whether DH is in play in the NL.

[shoothoops]

Elite defensive second baseman, has won the past two gold gloves. Very popular player. Good for Kolten.

In 217 career AB's in Milwaukee, Wong is:

.308/.373/.482

[The Sultan]

In 217 career AB's in Milwaukee, Wong is:

.308/.373/.482

But he can't face the Brewers pitching staff right?

[Lennys Tap]

1st or 3rd, depending on who else they sign and whether DH is in play in the NL.

Hiura has an unreliable arm. 1B or DH are his only legit options.