[Pirata Morado]

OK, it's still early, but the outfield is becoming a very healthy mess.

We are suppossed to carry this outfield come april:

Saunders LF
Gutiérrez CF
Morse RF

But, Peguero is making it interesting. We still have Wells, Thames, Ibañez who also play the Outfield. No wonder Carp was traded!

I'm liking this competition.

[M's Watcher]

Don't forget to add Bay to the OF mess. Another HR today. Wells and Thames had better wake up soon, though I think Thames can still go to Tacoma without passing through waivers.

[Huindekmi]

Thames has an option. Wells would have to get through waivers, but I doubt he makes it.

I still think Peguero is an illusion. How does a guy change from being a career free-swinger to a guy with great plate patience over one off-season? I keep expecting the real Peguero to show up at any minute.

[Pirata Morado]

M, on 01 March 2013 - 02:29 PM, said:

Don't forget to add Bay to the OF mess. Another HR today. Wells and Thames had better wake up soon, though I think Thames can still go to Tacoma without passing through waivers.

I forgot about Bay!!!!

So we have:

1. Saunders
2. Guti
3. Morse
4. Bay
5. Ibañez
6. Wells
7. Thames
8. Peguero

For how many spots of the 25, 4? 5?

[M's Watcher]

I'd bet on five of those eight. If it were to happen today, I'd keep 1-5, trade Wells for a bucket of balls and send Thames and Piggy to Tacoma. I share the disbelief about Piggy. Let him keep showing improvement in his approach in Tacoma and get promoted at the trade deadline, when Jack deals somebody ahead of him.

[DocMilo]

As they say, things tend to sort themselves out. The M's are an injury or two from everything working itself out, even an injury like Curtis Granderson can help this mess. This sure beats the pants our of last year where we were excited about Carp, were all about ready to give up on Saunders and were stuck with Ichiro.

I'm excitedly suprised with Bay. I'm still glad we didn't sign him a couple of years ago, but he's a great bounce back candidate and we're not counting on him to carry the team but to just give veteran depth. I don't think the "veterans" will be given anything. They will have to earn their ab's like everyone else. So unlike the last few years.

[Vidya]

We could end up with 6 outfielders on the Opening Day roster if one of them is on the DL. That is a definite possibility. Let's hope that if three outfielders go on the DL this year that one of them happens before the end of ST. If everyone stays healthy, there's a good chance that Zduriencik will have to trade one of his outfielders. Which one? I don't know, but my advice is to not be so certain that it would be Wells. Zduriencik has a nasty habit of not making the obvious move.

This post has been edited by Vidya: 01 March 2013 - 04:40 PM

[Dag Gummit]

I agree with you guys on Peguero. I'm chalking up his success this Spring to a lack of competition -- he's just not facing season-ready MLB pitchers, yet. I'm also pretty confident the reason he's been getting so much PT thus far is because the team wants to get as much of a scouting look on him as possible to see if he IS real or not.

[Vidya]

If Peguero can get his BB/K ratio higher than he ever has against minor league pitchers, then that would be significant. Everyone knows he has power, but if pitchers don't have to throw him strikes, they won't, and it really doesn't matter how good that pitcher is. Yes, his HR numbers in ST really don't say anything, but his BB/K ratio says everything about what he needs to do to become a MLB player. I don't beleive the change involves pitch recognition, you can't learn that against a pitching machine or against winter league pitchers. That's not what he's done. What he's changed over the winter is his mental approach to hitting. He's simply waiting for his pitch to swing, instead of trying to hit every pitch thrown to him.

This post has been edited by Vidya: 05 March 2013 - 01:35 PM

[M's Watcher]

Vidya, on 01 March 2013 - 04:38 PM, said:

... there's a good chance that Zduriencik will have to trade one of his outfielders. Which one? I don't know, but my advice is to not be so certain that it would be Wells. Zduriencik has a nasty habit of not making the obvious move.

It seems more likely that he'd trade one that is perceived to be doing well, even if that is in ST. Several teams have injured OFers, so have needs where the M's appear to have excess. So Jack may offer some of the "best" ones, for the best return. It might be Guti or Saunders, as both can play CF. Wells, based on last year or this ST, may not yield much in return, especially if teams think he can be claimed off waivers.

[OutfieldGrass]

If both Saunders and Gutierrez are starting on opening day then I think its a certainty that Wells is on that roster as well. We need an option in CF and Bay/Ibanez are not going to cut it. If I were running the ship as soon as Gutierrez proves he can stay healthy I am looking for trade options. I am as big of a fan as there is but even if he puts together a somewhat healthy season he just cannot be counted on. Move Saunders to CF permanently. It opens up a spot for Wells/Bay/Peguero to get some AB's. Puts us in a solid position for the future.