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Signing him makes no sense to me at this point. We have other needs and he is far from being an impact player.
M's Still in on Mike Napoli?
if you don't come get me Jerry I'll pull this arm out of its socket.
.
What do these two things have in common?
- Sponge-painting the wall, after a wisdom tooth / gall bladder extraction, but before the Nitrous wears off
- Jerry Dipoto assembling "young, athletic" rosters out of spare Dae-Ho, Danny, and Napoli parts
Never mind. We'll get back to it later. But both experiences are both overrated and underrated at the same time, or so we have observed in others.
....
Jerry Dipoto's off-the-record surrogates (let me read those two terms again) swore on Ouija boards that Valencia meant the M's were way, way OUT on Mike Napoli. However, Jim Bowden now says that the Mariners, post-Valencia, are "giving the Indians serious competition" for Mike Napoli. Dr. D finds it refreshing that Jerry Dipoto picks the best house in the worst neighborhood and avoids Black Friday bids on Edwin Encarnacion. Napoli is a supporting player that Dipoto can outbid others for, not a marquee player that he can underbid others for.
Here is Lookout Landing delivering a Fangraphs-style "NIX!" about as well as such anti-DH WAR diatribes can be done. Dr. D will avoid a rehash of all the 1B/DH's (on the downside) and all the Chone Figginses (on the upside) that this logic has stumbled over. He will merely remind the reader that GM's pay more for "hard" WAR out of the batter's box than they do for "soft" WAR achieved outside it. Of course, we will cheerfully concede that the $/WAR camera angle has its rightful purchase on this issue.
Also, In Beauty There Is Success. Mike Napoli's swing, and his walks, are beautiful, beautiful in the Greek sense of aesthetic and ethical all at once. I flat enjoy watchin' him swing. (And enjoy watchin' him not swing.) Jerry Dipoto seems to have a relatively high "maintenance" threshhold for players who give him guff, but who attend to their pitching videotapes. Dr. D approves of this.
Here is a quick video of the man. Don't forget that when he's at first base, he's an ex-catcher with all the short-hop erudition that implies. And this guy dips the back knee like nobody you ever seen. There are size-13 divots in the batter's box after he leaves it.
It says here that Mike Napoli has a happy spot in his baseball card all saved up for MGR's and GM's who talk to him sweet. ... Check the Lookout Landing comments, as well, for a nice back-and-forth as to the wisdom of such a signing.
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Ryan Braun is a similar but much more lengthy commitment. If the Gentle Reader were to argue "we don't want two DH's both age 37 making $20M plus" then the Gentle Reader would have Dr. D's sympathy. But Mike Napoli is the same idea tailored to the Felix/Boomstick window. How come we argue on Tuesdays and Thursdays that we can't waste the Boomstick window, and argue Wednesdays Fridays argue the "future org sustainability" angle?
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Napoli, if signed, would take away at-bats from Ben Gamel and his predecessor, Nori Aoki. Can Seth Smith play left? Sure, no problem, assuming he's in Seattle at all. So then the question becomes: did Nori Aoki hit 34 home runs and walk 80 times last season? Did Nori Aoki even score 92 runs, as Mike Napoli did last year? Can Nori Aoki peel the bottlecap off a Heineken in one mighty, clenched eye socket?
You could look it up. Nori Aoki did not have 101 RBI last season. Nor did Nori Aoki have 50.5 RBI. Nori Aoki had ... wait for it ... 28 RBI. Hey, guys. Formulas are nice and all. But the game's about runs, isn't it.
BABVA,
jemanji
Comments
2
If he plays first, he takes at bats from Vogelbach, if he plays DH, he forces Cruz into the outfield full time.
So. ..not real enthused about that.
On the other hand.......
1) Cozart (please!) SS
2) Seager 3B
3) Cano 2B
4) Cruz RF
5) Napoli DH
6) Smith/Heredia LF
7) Vogelbach/Valencia 1B
8) Martin CF
9) Zunino/Ruiz C
**Drool**
3
If it's up to me, I take a strong hiter who gives me a decent outfield glove, vs. a third first-baseman or a third DH (when the current Rules of the Game allow playing only one at either position.) What was Gomez's slash line for the 2H of the season, vs Napoli's? And, how old is he vs. Mountain Mike?
The only factors I can't account for are
a) Does Napoli hafve a hankering to suit up for Scott 'n' Jerry, in the PacNW (while Carlos prefers to ply his trade closer to the Caribbean)? Although I'd guess the presence of such Dominican leaders as Cano and Cruz in the clubhouse would make it all the mroe attractive for yourn Carlos.
b) Do Napoli's leadership skills products a WAR or two by themselves, that make up for his outfield inflexibility and his increasing age?
All that considered- strictly on the basis of what happens "between the lines", I'd vote for CarGo over Mighty Mike.
4
I don't get it. Wasn't improving the defense a priority? How many 1B/DH/crappy defensive OF guys can one roster carry?
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1. It certainly doesn't work with Smith in town. That would give you 5 guys (Napoli, Cruz, Valencia, Smith, Vogs) who play ONLY RF or 1B (or DH). We get stuck in that rut again. OK, Valencia plays 3B...but it isn't like Seager ever misses a game. Add Zunino and Ruiz and you have 7 guys . Not much flexibility left. Unless you AAA Vogs.....and I HATE that idea. There, I've said it...I'm full of hate. Drats.
2. Get rid of Smith, play Valencia in RF fulltime and then mix/match your 1B guys....that works.
3. Napoli Walks Like and Egyptian (Cute, huh? Steve Martin would be proud)! 100 pts. Clockwork. Ka-ching. I will point out, however, that at age 34 he just careered it in terms of HR's (and PA's). He might not bomb like that at 35. All the same, he will beat up on LHP, which makes him nice. Nice, but not a no brainer. OH, youlikely have to pay him for his age 35-36-37 seasons. Well, you might option out of 37. Now he begins to look heavy.
4. Can't we just go get a cheap Puig instead? McCutcheon makes more sense.
5. Or play in the Chris Sale market?
6. Actually, I think somebody is overselling our interest here. Brian Grieper (Napoli's agent) perhaps? DiPoto has been all over us getting "youger and more athletic!" As a result his 3 FA gets could be Smith, Valancia AND Napoli? That's 101 years, not many + defensive plays (saying the least) and 6 SB's we're adding (5 of those belonging to "Rocket" Napoli. Really! He hadn't had more than 4 since '08. What is in the Cleveland water?) OK...it is decently batty, but it isn't the stuff DiPoto said we were getting.
7. (Trigger warning) I am sick to death of tatted up ball-players. OK, it's a poor reason for not signing him, I admit. But I'll betcha that Harmon Killebrew didn't have any tats. McCovey, too. Can we sign one of them?
8. But it would be interesting to see Vogelbach and Napoli in the lineup at the same time, batting 1 and 2. :)
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I like how you think, amigo! I'm all over a lineup that's "any way to get on", steals a zillion bases, drives them in with "gap-shot" doubles extended into triples, runs down all those gap shots when they come back our way, throws "strike one" 80% of the time, and puts the ball in play and trusts the defense. That's much more fun to watch, and root for, than "point-to-point", "three true outcomes" offense and "nearly got there" defense. We already have enough of those guys for my money- havetypes!not acquired any more since Jerry D assumed the reins- I'm all for drawing our line in the sand and closing the door to more 1B/DH(/maybe RF) types!
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Seth Smith has to go, obviously.
Danny Valencia, we all assumed, was to be the 1B. But take a look at the guy. Maybe Dipoto sees that he's built more like Carlos Beltran and Jose Bautista than Brett Butlrr.
It won't surprise me a'tall if DiPoto sees something with Valencia as a corner outfielder that works for him. Maybe he plays back a little more or something and he's a serviceable OF. I sure like him more than Guillermo Heredia in LF, for example.
So Napoli as a starting 1B and DH while Cruz is in RF. Vogelbach could start the season in AAA with Valencia or Freeman etc. taking a day at 1B and delaying Vogelbach's clock a little bit. He didn't earn a starting position, yet, did he?
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I guess it all depends on how you view Vogs. I think he should be there pretty much everyday, at least to start out, next year, and I'm sure Napoli won't be happy being the short end of the platoon with a 23 year old rookie. And if he's dhing then Cruz takes abs, and innings, from Valencia. He certainly doesn't fit on the same roster as Cruz, Valencia Vogs and Smith, but even without Smith it would only really make sense to put him at first full time, otherwise you'd be handicapping the defense somethin fierce. If you think Vogs should be in AAA for the first half or most of next season, however, then heck yeah give me Napoli at first. I just don't like the idea of trading Mike Montgomery just to block Vogs with Napoli. But hey, end of the day you gotta put the best team on the field.
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M's trade Taijuan/Marte for Jean Segura and some minor leaguers... Interesting...
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The Mariners have acquired shortstop Jean Segura, outfielder Mitch Haniger and left-handed pitcher Zac Curtis from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handed pitcher Taijuan Walker and infielder Ketel Marte.
If you believe Segura finally broke out at 26, then you bought 2 years of prime performance before he hits FA. He was a 5.5 WAR player last year - that'd be quite something. It's also a suspicious, Melky Cabrera-like aberration in his stat line. The kid has talent though - 26-with-experience is a thing for a reason.
Mitch Haniger is ANOTHER decent-glove, kinda-tweener outfielder who has played all 3 positions, but his minor league statline is even prettier than Gamel's. DiPoto really wants to build that glove OF of productive hitters Royals-style, with O'Neill anchoring it from an offensive perspective moving forward. Haniger is one of those late-bloomers who looks like he might be putting it together. He's ready for more than a cup of coffee in the bigs.
Zac Curtis is a short lefty who has destroyed the minors with his 4-pitch repertoire and is basically fearless. He's a lefty who might not be a LOOGY, but I'm not sure he has the stuff to treat the bigs like he treated the minors. It'll be fun to find out though.
Essentially this was Walker for Segura, and Marte for the 2 others. How you feel about the deal is probably predicated on how you feel about Segura. It's definitely bold, though. DiPoto isn't scared of risk.
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Signed by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as an amateur free agent in 2007.
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If Segura is for real he's the best player in the deal. Not to say that Walker couldn't become the best or even Marte. As a Mariners fan, I'll take the one that's actually had a 5 win season though. Will Walker ever have one? I still hope so, not hating on him. He's still not a Texas Ranger.
Segura is another Dominican to pal with Cano up the middle. This one absolutely looks like a leadoff hitter.
Aaaannd .290/.370/.490 in 1866 MiL PA from a decently glovey CF (Very glovely corner)? .276/.349/.512 is where O'Neill sits at 1398 PA, 2 promotions behind. .293/.374/.508 this year for Tank if you prefer. Haniger has basically done that, with way less strikeouts (17% of PA), his entire MiL career including .321/.428/.670 in 312 AAA PA. Segura doesn't look like the only heavy lifter coming in on this deal. Dipoto brought in another Tank and this one seems closer to contributing.
Since you spoke of Curtis' stats, here's his Brooks page on his repertoire: His fourseam fastball is a real worm killer that generates an extreme number of groundballs compared to other pitchers' fourseamers, has an obvious tail, has some natural sinking action and has essentially average velo. His slider results in somewhat more flyballs compared to other pitchers' sliders and has some two-plane movement. Hischange (take this with a grain of salt because he's only thrown 13 of them in 2016) is thrown extremely hard, generates an extremely high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers' changeups, dives down out of the zone and is an extreme flyball pitch compared to other pitchers' changeups.
This could be a bigtime win. I definitely like it.
Now where's the rotation addition we suddenly need?
Happy Thanksgiving!
13
I LOVE this deal. Got the best player in the deal, and I really, really, really like Haniger. Plus in a corner and he can hit. I think we just stole a late bloomer.
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Walker has been looking like Brandon Morrow: all of the stuff, none of the success. He puts it together and he'll be a monster, but betting on bats feels safer. If Segura is doing his Altuve thing, we win. If Haniger is the late bloomer he looks like that's some incredible icing, and Curtis could fix our pen lefty issue. THIS is the deal DiPoto is going to hang his hat on.
He had a nice long look at both Walker and Paxton, and traded Walker off for a swing to fix SS with an All-Star in his prime and addresss other roster holes.
Mad props, Jerry. From my side it looks a lot better than the Bedard deal. Dice go right and the Mariners sent out two guys and STILL added the two best players in the deal. Dice go wrong and they break even. IMO it would have to be a catastrophe for Segura and a breaktrough for Walker to lose it - and Walker would have to stay healthy. We'll see.
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And all of a sudden our offense/defense unit is complete in one deal.
We still need at least one potential impact SP, but I really like the work DiPito is doing this offseason.
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Our roster by signing Napoli. Then trading Nellie, Gohara, a fill in, and one of Gamel, Heredia, Shaffer, or Powell for Chris Sale and we could be almost set for the season!