2. Hoard Free Agent Bullpen Arms
The bullpen was a pretty big weakness in 2015. Koji Uehara is almost as old as I am and coming off an injury, I wouldn’t give him the closer’s role back on a regular basis. I would hand it to Darren O’Day. How about three years at $20 million for O’Day?
Then, go out and get Joakim Soria, Ryan Madson, and Oliver Perez. Surely, the bullpen will still need more help at that point, so rotating some kids from the farm through the ‘pen to get a look might be an unconventional way to find people to fill out the ‘pen.
A wish list without Sonny Gray?!
I agree with a lot of that. load the bullpen with as much proven talent you can find, i have loved the idea of Zimmerman, i do not think Grienke in Boston is a good idea for him. I think Shaw should be the utility corner infield spot though, he was a great story but i can’t imagine Dave Dombrowski giving him first base for 2016 after such a smal sample size with how incredibly hot he was for like 3 weeks. Zimmerman and Porcello in my mind would work off of one another with those sinkers and 2 seamers, maybe help each other out. Aslo get big Schil there in the spring and teach those guys that nasty splitter, like he did with pap.
First of all, thanks for sending a well-thought-out, logical comment. I shy away from Gray for two quick reasons. 1.) After all the backlash Billy Beane has endured from the Donaldson trade and the overall dismantling of the team, I doubt he’d pull the trigger on a trade for Gray. Which leads me to reason 2.) If he did agree to trade Gray, I think Hazen would be forced to empty a boatload of prospects and maybe a major league ready player. That, I don’t want to do. Gray is fantastic, though.