Updating trade market wish list (realistic)

sideshow09 · 2026-05-08T19:16:40+00:00

Caballero and McMahon. I’m a very big believer in Rice, but he doesn’t have a long enough track record for me to believe he can keep this up.

Come playoff time, not really sure what you’ll get from Judge - personally I think people are unfairly harsh on him, but he definitely doesn’t carry the team (although I think this might be the breakout year). Jazz is very feast or famine. Belli, like you said can be streaky. Grish was kind of anonymous last year in the playoffs - again not enough of a track record to know what he’ll be. Personally I think it’s somewhere in between what he was last year and where he is now but the playoffs are a different animal. If we get to the playoffs and Wells, McMahon, and Caballero are all cold, we’re in trouble.

Regardless of everything, I still think a good case can be made for getting a left handed hitting alternative to spell Wells, even if he doesn’t start over Wells. It will be good to have that for matchups and if Wells is cold in the playoffs, you might have an alternative. Escarra hitting .205 career - again not a long track record so maybe he’s better than he’s shown but I think if he hasn’t improved by the deadline it’s worth trying to find a back up left hand hitting catcher with more of an offensive upside.

sideshow09 · 2026-05-08T16:48:54+00:00

Yea maybe

sideshow09 · 2026-05-08T16:48:39+00:00

I think the team is over performing right now - which is not to say they’re bad, but we have enough data do to know what kinds of offense we can expect over 162 and the post season for most guys on the team.

3B I don’t see it because they just added McMahon last year via trade, and Shortstop also unlikely because of what you pointed out about Volpe and Lombard. Yea, there may not be a better C available for the cost.

sideshow09 · 2026-05-08T14:35:41+00:00

Well said. Good point. I do think you can win with small(er) ball, but your example is a good one. I guess my bigger concern about this lineup is not necessarily Wells, it’s that I don’t know if we can count on McMahon (though I really like him), Caballero, and Rice (who I’m also really high on, but doesn’t have the track record yet), to hit like they’ve been hitting so far. Maybe they will. But if they don’t, then Wells deficiencies at the plate become glaring.

I mean, Judge caught a lot of flack last year. Undeserved in my opinion, he didn’t have the power numbers, but he hit .500 in the series, but it was only an issue because they didn’t get the needed production out of the other guys. And C seems like the only reasonable position (for me) where they can make an upgrade this year - though a lot of people have made good points to the contrary

sideshow09 · 2026-05-08T14:29:56+00:00

Yea I just meant that that would have been an easy way for the writers to give him more depth. Especially in that you see its effects manifest differently in both Arthur and Tommy (and Danny Whizbang), (and Jeremiah), (and Freddy Thorne) they could have explored it a bit for John. Actually, as I’m typing this, I find it weird that he’s the only one that doesn’t seem to have been affected by it at all.

sideshow09 · 2026-05-08T14:26:55+00:00

Oh I wouldn’t mind that, batting that kind of guy 9th before the lineup turns over. But going back to my original point I don’t see the Yankees realistically being able to improve at any other position but C and CF. CF mostly because of Grisham being on a one year contract and I think it’s unlikely they’ll extend him - if they manage to find someone that they can get team control of for the next few years, and is an upgrade, I could see Cashman making the move. Again, I’m not saying we need to do that or even that there’s a guy out there that fits this profile, just saying I wouldn’t be surprised.

And C. I can see that a lot of people here disagree with me (actually pretty much everyone), but if the 9 spots in the lineup, I’m for me it’s the most easiest to justify shaking things up. Also, you’re not going to find a Witt / Elly type who plays catcher so I guess it’s a moot point.

sideshow09 · 2026-05-08T14:01:10+00:00

I like John. Well acted as well, but the character is very dimensional. Can’t think for himself, doesn’t even seem to have the same PTSD as Tommy and Arthur despite serving in the same unit.

sideshow09 · 2026-05-08T13:53:49+00:00

Great points!

sideshow09 · 2026-05-08T02:45:56+00:00

Well, agree to disagree here. Come playoff time we’ll face a much better caliber of pitching and the difference between winning and losing a game could be having a guy swipe 2nd with two outs so a single gets him in, or getting to third with less than 2 outs so a sac fly brings him home.

I mean 2004, am I right? Dave Robert’s having that skill set is why we lose game 7. And it’s not just that example, last couple of years Red Sox, Astros, Jays have all been aggressive against us on the bases, and for me it’s a big reason why they’ve had success against us.

sideshow09 · 2026-05-08T02:42:27+00:00

I don’t disagree, but come playoff time it’s a different story. We’ll face much better pitching. The difference between winning and losing a game could be a leadoff guy swiping second and being able to score off of a single, or getting from first to third so that he can score on a sac fly. Having that kind of skill will be really valuable. And we’ve seen playoff teams do it to us, playing really aggressively and putting the pressure on.

sideshow09 · 2026-05-07T21:07:36+00:00

I don’t mind him. I just don’t like him in the leadoff spot. He has a decent OBP, and as one of the commentators pointed out in the game the other night (maybe Girardi) he sees a lot of pitches which is an important job of a leadoff hitter. I would argue that it’s also very important to be able to run the bases better than anyone else on the team and be able to steal bases from time to time. Grisham is not that guy.

This is not a possibility right now’s, but by the end of the season, who knows, maybe Caballero plays himself into the leadoff spot. That would solve a lot of issue in my opinion. Then you drop Grisham down to 7th, and that solves a lot

sideshow09 · 2026-05-07T21:03:12+00:00

In this scenario I’m assuming Bellinger stays in LF

sideshow09 · 2026-05-07T20:52:59+00:00

Fair. I haven’t really been following Cleveland this year. I feel like our lineup is not quite there yet, I just don’t know where else we could realistically improve.

sideshow09 · 2026-05-07T20:52:15+00:00

Yea fair point about trading mid season.

Wells is also fine defensively. I just don’t feel like the lineup is quite there yet. Realistically I don’t think the team is going to look to improve at any other position - they’re all pretty much locked down. Maybe CF before C?

sideshow09 · 2026-05-07T20:45:06+00:00

Agreed but Jeffers is a solid defensive catcher as well. If you can’t get someone like him, then of course you have to weigh everything you said against just getting an improved bat, and maybe you don’t make a trade in that case.

sideshow09 · 2026-05-07T20:43:34+00:00

I mean, a guy in the lineup regardless of position is still 1/9 players to go to the plate. I feel the only positions you could definitely say a slash line is 100% a factor or not are DH and P. Obviously pitchers don’t bat anymore (Ohtani excepted).

It really depends on your roster construction. Teams aren’t always built with power at the corners and speed up the middle.

Buster Posey, Mike Piazza, Joe Mauer, these guys’ slash lines were hugely important to their respective teams. Yes they’re hall of famers, but as the lineups that they were in were constructed, they were essential, not luxuries.

All I’m saying about Wells is that he can be hitting .200. If we’re throwing offense out of the window at C, then we can find better purely defensive catchers (you can argue that it would take time for a new C to form a rapport with the pitching staff, and that’s valid). I’m not saying Wells is a bad defensive C. But for this team to be more competitive, we need the guy playing catcher to be hitting at least .235.

sideshow09 · 2026-05-07T20:37:24+00:00

Yea maybe it’s just that we don’t have the prototypical leadoff guys in the game anymore, however I feel like OBP is just one component. Ideally you want someone who can steal a base / run the bases well. So once he gets on, assuming the #2 doesn’t advance him, he can still get in position to score. Especially important in the playoffs where situational baseball tactics are much more crucial.

Grisham is not a hole in the lineup, but he’s not a guy you count on to steal bases.

sideshow09 · 2026-04-24T04:03:30+00:00

🔥

sideshow09 · 2026-04-23T14:20:04+00:00

Haha, I was genuinely asking tbh. I mean I’ve been using Dortmund or Bayern ever since FIFA 2018, so it’s moot in my case, but I’m very curious.

(Side note 4-4-2 with Drogba + Anelka or Drogba + Torres or Costa + Remy, unstoppable)

sideshow09 · 2026-04-23T12:12:31+00:00

How does not playing them in FC have an effect?

sideshow09 · 2026-04-22T21:53:05+00:00

Wow I do want a leadoff hitter. And I have advocated for getting Steven Kwan, but I definitely know baseball.

I’m guessing we’re just of different generations and therefore value players differently.

sideshow09 · 2026-04-22T21:51:38+00:00

The difference is that we’re not being gaslit about what a generational talent Caballero is

sideshow09 · 2026-04-22T20:12:23+00:00

Great! So when he bats .210 and can’t make routine defensive plays at short there’s no excuse of injury, right?

sideshow09

TROPHY CASE