|
David Forst Diary
December 8th, 2020
We're still far apart on an extension for Sancho Fajardo. We may not get this deal done for another year or more. In the meantime, I was able to solidify our pitching rotation and bullpen. By acquiring young fireballer Dedgar Jimenez (armed with a 100 mph fastball) from the Padres, we slid Manny Luna from a projected spot in our rotation to the bottom of our bullpen. We're still not nearly as strong as I'd like in our 'pen, but I'm hoping to find a strong reliever in free agency like Al Albuquerque or Jonathan Broxton. Both are still at least three months away from rehabbing from major arm injuries, which would be enough to scare off most suitors. That's the hope... just like when we got Carlos Marmol back in 2014.
Dedgar, on the other hand, is coming off a rookie season in which he struck out a whopping 108 batters in 76 innings, mostly in relief. He's also a lefthander, which we've sorely been missing in our rotation in recent years. I see him battling for, and ultimately winning, the fifth spot in our starting rotation next season.
We also landed a crucially important everyday centerfielder in Mallex Smith. He was a "can't miss" prospect in the San Diego farm system, but has never really put together the kind of season the Padres expected from him. All we're looking for is a .270 average, 20 steals, and a guy who can cover some serious ground in centerfield. Mallex should give us that, and allow us to finally keep Bryce Harper in left, and Fajardo in right. The downside is that Mallex is two years away from free agency. But that's absolutely fine. He's a perfect short-term solution while we wait for one of our young centerfielders to break through from the minors.
We obviously made some sacrifices to land these players. We breake up highly effective platoons at first base and second base by trading Wilmer Flores. The hope is that Chauncey Jordan flourishes as our everyday first baseman, but second base will still be a big question mark. We also had to surrender a promising backup catcher in Mike Stewart, but at least we pried Reese McGuire away from the Padres. McGuire is mediocre at the plate, but without peer behind the plate. He'll be the perfect complement to Travis d'Arnaud at catcher, taking some pressure off of our slugging battery.
We're still far from reaching my main 3 goals this offseason, but I think we've managed to bolster our roster and build up our farm system for the foreseeable future.
|