https://x.com/ChrisKirschner/status/1866270871360241669

He’s getting scooped left and right by the Dodgers and the Mets now because they have fatter wallets. Dude wanted to be in on Snell and lost out because all of his eggs were in the Soto basket. I don’t know if he’s built to be the GM for this new era of MLB baseball where the Yankees are a distant third in the richest team sweepstakes.

Part of why he cost so much was that imo his contract is under market. Just as you have to give up a pick to move a bad contract you have give up a pick to get an attractive one.

That and the durability. He’s the Chipotle of NBA players. You know he’s gonna be there and the burrito will be acceptable.

I agree, this is a very boring blog. You should find another one. I have heard Posting and Toasting is much more fun.

Nah, the blog is great. It’s a big tent where even boring, shitty posters who constantly whine about opinions they don’t like are accepted.

But he’s not doing those things… he’s not even scoring 15ppg efficiently

I’m not at all worried about his offense. His he has fairly consistent long term record for shooting 3s and is shooting below that so far this year or his TS% would be fine (just over 58%). I know what he is on offense. IMO any variance is role and noise.

Defense is another matter. That’s where I think there is some legitmate concern that he was never quite as good as his reputation or has begun slipping a bit, but even there I think he’s already showing signs of improving. He’s taking so much heat because we gave up so much for him and his defense was a key component of the deal given we have Towns/Brunson on the floor. Other than that, he’s playing fine.

I’ll just add one more thing that rarely gets brought up. Part of why he cost so much was that imo his contract is under market. Just as you have to give up a pick to move a bad contract you have give up a pick to get an attractive one.

P.S. And now Bondy says they’re both available, hooray!

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/longform/how-raptors-wing-rj-barrett-ended-up-exactly-where-he-needs-to-be/

Bullish article on RJ Barrett

I couldn’t care less if he only averages 15 efficient PPG as long as he defends at a high level, makes some plays, moves the ball etc… If he’s not doing those things, that’s a different issue.

But he’s not doing those things… he’s not even scoring 15ppg efficiently

I think I’d honestly rather a 15-game losing streak than another day of Metsblogger. Cripes, this has been boring.

I agree, this is a very boring blog. You should find another one. I have heard Posting and Toasting is much more fun.

Baseball in not like basketball where one player can dramtically change the fortunes of a team. One player is going to have a much smaller impact in baseball. If the Yankees use what they offered Soto to get 2 high quality players and add a 3rd from a generally increased budget that they would have spent even if they landed Soto, they could wind up with 3 very good players and a better overall team than if they landed Soto.

Strat, this SEEMS correct but really isn’t. A player like Soto is a no-brainer, you can’t miss with him. He can put up 6 WAR in his sleep. Last year he was worth 8 WAR. The Mets just added 8 WAR to their team, and it only cost them money, and they just got a LOT better.

The article about Soto on Fangraphs describes what I’m trying to say a lot better than I can describe it:

Most roster moves are about picking up a marginal half a win, maybe a whole win if you’re really cooking. Juggling two players perfectly might provide some unseen synergy. Picking the right starting pitching options in free agency is nice, of course: signing Sean Manaea last offseason instead of, say, Wade Miley was a coup for New York.

Those are hard ways to pick up wins, though. Everyone is trying to do that. There are a ton of good-but-not-great pitchers in the world, and every front office in the league is sifting through them looking for an edge. Elegance and efficiency are only nice if they work. Signing Soto? That’s just six-ish wins out of nowhere, without much risk of failure.

Soto was worth about $65 million last year in terms of dollar per production. It is possible for the Yankees to spend $50M on other players and recoup that $65 million in value? It’s certainly possible, I guess. But it is HARD AS HELL to do that. You’d need to sign two 4 WAR players for $25M each, or three-ish 3 WAR players at $18M each, and then there’s the small problem that each of those guys takes up a roster spot and a spot in the lineup.

It is very, very difficult to replace the kind of production that Soto gives you. The Yankees are a well run organization and will probably be contenders again. But it is DEFINITELY not as easy as “just sign a bunch of other guys with that money.”

Look at Soto’s wRC+, year by year, starting at age 19:
146, 143, 202, 164, 146, 154, 180.

His CAREER wRC+ is 169, which would have ranked fourth in baseball, behind only Judge, Ohtani, and himself. You have a massive leg up on the rest of the league if you have a hitter like that (who has also been incredibly durable) in your lineup.

Anyone know if Towns is available tonight? Real WLotS potential here.