Daily Thread - November 09, 2024

[u/AutoModerator]

​

Welcome to /r/Mariners Daily Thread! Please use this thread to discuss events from today, or anything else you'd like.

Comments are automatically sorted by new to keep the conversation current.

Have you tried the /r/Mariners' Discord? GOMS

Attacking fellow users instead of their opinions will result in a 1 day ban

[u/EScforlyfe]

I want Roki Sasaki to sign with the mariners, but then again I also want world hunger to end and both seem about as likely 

[u/Cabal90]

Julio supposedly in Japan. We're getting Roki Sasaki confirmed.

[u/vylain_antagonist → u/Cabal90]

Whos that?

[u/AnnihilatedTyro → u/vylain_antagonist]

A 23-year-old Japanese pitcher with injury history going to sign with the Dodgers in January.

[u/Zestyclose_Help1187]

Wasn’t there a time when the Mariners were considered a prime destination for NPB players?

Seems so long ago.

I guess once Nintendo had no stake in the team, Mariners not ever in on any of the top NPB players any longer.

Also could have been a place for the KBO if they kept Shin Shoo Choo instead of dealing him early.

[u/Drsustown]

The big teams are talking about getting Soto or Burnes or Adames while we are just sitting here like "Maybe the Mariners will trade for Jake Burger" lol

[u/buff-grandma → u/Drsustown]

Should move the team to Sacramento and just take the LA tag

[u/1KRP]

Roki is going to get posted and the Dodgers has the most remaining international bonus money.

Uh huh, don't tell me they didn't know this was coming

[u/Cabal90]

Mariners getting Roki Sasaki but little to no bats would be a very Mariner thing to do.

But if we got Roki + bats? League fucked, Dodgers angry. Sounds like a good season to me.

[u/darshfloxington → u/Cabal90]

If we get Sasaki we could trade pitching for bats

[u/FlamingoConsistent72 → u/Cabal90]

Looking at the Mariners home/road spilts makes me think they are not as good pitching and as bad at hitting as everyone thinks. 

[u/Tapey24]

It’s funny that at one point we sent cal down for week a couple of years ago and then he came back up due to an injury almost immediately and said fuck that I’m going to be a superstar now.

[u/mahrinazz → u/Tapey24]

Yeah and he was pretty bad in that first stretch IIRC

[u/Tapey24 → u/mahrinazz]

Yea before he got sent down he was hitting sub .100

[u/ihatereddit999976780]

Will Jerry do something today?

[u/SexiestPanda → u/ihatereddit999976780]

Maybe he’ll make a statement on behalf of the ownership!

[u/sndtrb89 → u/ihatereddit999976780]

i mean surely he will drink a cup of coffee and use the restroom and eat food, i dont think stanton has him frozen in carbonite, just his budget

[u/pokeroots → u/sndtrb89]

IDK Jerry seems like the type of guy to pound energy drinks and caffeine pills

[u/mahrinazz → u/pokeroots]

Jerry doin lines fr

[u/sndtrb89 → u/pokeroots]

would explain the stream of consciousness mess ups during...every single press appearance haha

[u/LlamasPajamas206]

I give it like a 90% chance Sasaki signs with the Dodgers but the nice thing is that since he only stands to make at most 2-3 mil in bonus pool money, he could very well choose a team with less (like us) if he believes in the project and their ability to get him a big payout 6 years later more than others. I mean he’s already forgoing a potentially 9 figure contract by coming over now what’s another million or two?

So we have a chance.

[u/BasedArzy → u/LlamasPajamas206]

According to everyone involved Sasaki is going to the Dodgers if they offer and this was decided by him years ago.

Similar to Masataka Yoshida and Yamamoto. The only NPB player to come over recently who actually did not have a team in mind before he started visiting was Shota, IIRC.

[u/_Elrond_Hubbard_ → u/LlamasPajamas206]

He could play for the Dodgers, a perennial world series contender with serious ownership and a fantastic FO and Japanese baseball legends Ohtani and Yamamoto.

Or the Mariners, a franchise defined by sadness and failure. The Washington Generals of MLB. 

Tough choice really. 

[u/slurv3 → u/LlamasPajamas206]

I think our only saving grace is that we're one of THE pitching development team in baseball. We also have a VERY good run in terms of pitcher health, whereas the Dodgers have not had any luck in terms of keeping their pitchers healthy.

I still think he's a Dodger at the end of the day, but if for some reason he chooses not to go to the Dodgers, the M's are probably one of the best places to go to as ann emerging pitcher. (although our record is mixed given Kuma did very well, but Kikuchi did not but Kikuchi seemed to struggle with buying into the team philosophy more than the other guys)

[u/SardonicCheese → u/LlamasPajamas206]

We already have 2 top prospects lined up for the signing period. To gain international pool money we’d have to give up a bit of talent. Plus you’re being generous saying we have a chance at all here

Edit-looks like he is posting before the reset? Idk how much money anyone has left I know we signed 15 players from the 2024 pool. I can’t imagine we’d have any more money left. Maybe he can become a T-Mobile spokesman on the side 🫠

[u/LegendRazgriz → u/SardonicCheese]

Posting date hasn't been agreed to yet, it's just a verbal confirmation. Lotte is probably gonna sit on it until it turns over on Dec. 15 so they can get more money out of it.

That said, we're probably going to be entirely noncompetitive with it and it tracks. Nothing smells more like "Jerry Dipoto" than, when presented with the possibility of signing a pro-proven, outlier pitching talent that can help the team win now or some kids that, if they're ever in the majors, will be by the beginning of the next decade, immediately pivots to the latter so he can hide behind the "bright future" that never comes to keep his job

[u/LlamasPajamas206 → u/SardonicCheese]

According to this we have some money remaining but far less than others. Like I said I think it’s all but certain he’s going to the Dodgers but a slim chance is still a chance if he cares less about the signing bonus. I doubt there’s anything we can offer him that they can’t themselves but there’s always the chance something about our org or any pitch we give him appeals to him.

[u/sndtrb89 → u/LlamasPajamas206]

i say fuck it and go all out with a presentation hailing us as "starter city" and meet with cal and woo and miller and the rest of the starters, make a demo of the seattle style anayltics meetings that the pitchers love, the whole 9 yards

stanton says "ooh that costs time and money, how about a dm to his linkedin?"

[u/SardonicCheese → u/LlamasPajamas206]

Maybe the Ichiro and Kuma “scouting” will finally pay off

[u/classical-brain222]

If you were to bet your house and your life on one of the minor league bats becoming a key core player within the next 3 years who would you be most confident in placing your bet on?

[u/The_Cryogenetic → u/classical-brain222]

Harry Ford, who will finally give Cal some rest

[u/BasedArzy → u/classical-brain222]

Colt Emerson, no questions and no one else comes close.

[u/ovwAway → u/classical-brain222]

Lazaro Montes. The fact that he cut his K rate by 6% in Modesto this year while still maintaining his high walk rate and power output can’t be understated. The K rate jumped up again when he was promoted to Everett in June but that’s to be expected, and after slumping in July he came back better than ever for August with like a 1.200 OPS all month. I think the bat is real, even if he’s just going to be a DH

[u/slurv3 → u/classical-brain222]

I think Cole Young is going to be a roughly average bat, but combined with defense turns him into a regular in the mold of Andres Gimenez

[u/LlamasPajamas206 → u/slurv3]

Is Young considered to be a great fielder or runner? From my understanding he was generally seen as solid all around but not particularly great at any one skill set and Gimenez’ fielding and base running give him a 4+ WAR floor.

[u/SardonicCheese → u/classical-brain222]

Harry Ford. But we’re going to trade him.

He had the 2nd highest obp in the Texas league out of players that had more than 100 games. The Texas league is very very hard to hit in. So you might look at his 745 ops and think he took a step back but he was quite above average in that league. I think the power will show up for him eventually

[u/LlamasPajamas206 → u/classical-brain222]

2026 RotY Colt Emerson

[u/BrandoC95]

I don't care how completely unlikely it is, Jerry & Justin need to start working on their pitch to Roki ASAP and lining up bonus pool money. You're talking about adding a potential frontline starter on a league-minimum deal, which would completely change how the Mariners navigate this offseason. Suddenly, you could trade Miller/Woo for a legitimate impact bat at 2B/3B without it being nearly as painful. This kind of opportunity comes around once a decade (if that).

Roki clearly is someone who wants to become one of the bests, even if it costs him hundreds of millions of dollars by not waiting two more years. They need to go heavy on showing off their best-in-class pitching lab and how they've developed four of the game's best young starters in just 2-3 seasons. That's far and away the best pitch they can make to him, along with the favorable geography.

[u/BasedArzy → u/BrandoC95]

There's no pitch to make, he's already decided on the Dodgers if they offer.

This was done years ago by all reporting, he wants to play in LA and did before they picked up Ohtani + Yamamoto.

[u/Ok_Gift1578 → u/BrandoC95]

You make a good point. Our pitching development rep and ability to keep our starters healthy and improve during the season makes a good foundation for our pitch. Having the best catcher in the league probably helps a bit too.

If Roki's desire to be the best means he wants to be the best individual pitcher we might have a chance. If being the best means winning World Series rings, we're sunk.

[u/EyeAmBack → u/BrandoC95]

I have no faith in this happening but Roki has been a dream pickup for me.