Marcell Ozuna Watch - (Update: Traded to Cards Pg. 13)

[Alias]

Does this mean no CarGo?

One can only hope.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Where's john conrad today?

Turning down the Tennessee coaching job

I laughed.

[Alias]

ozunas instagram fwiw

https://www.instagram.com/thebigbear13ozuna/?hl=en

Ozuna's wife is quite voluptuous.

Wait can we say that any more or no?

Dat ass....

She will be a mess in 5 years

[Popeye_Card]

and maybe it solidifies grichuk being a part of any TB deal...though my cynicism says he'll be on our roster in 2018

That is the best part of this deal in my opinion. We can definitely send Grichuk in the deal for Colone and maybe still land Longoria.

Personally, I would rather just bypass Longoria and sign a lefty 1b’man.

I'm wary of Hosmer at the price he'll likely command.

I think Santana will get a reasonable contract--like 3/$50MM or 4/$65MM. Comparing him to Longoria...

* Same age.
* Santana has a clear edge in OBP.
* SLG/ISO is pretty much a wash, though Longoria probably has a slightly higher ceiling.
* Contract price/length is going to be roughly the same.
* Defensively, an IF with Carpenter at 3B and Santana at 1B is probably not going to be very good. Marp at 1B with Longo at 3B, might be decent.

I've been OK with pursuing Longoria, but now I'm thinking Santana looks like the better option. Same basic $ price for slightly better offensive production, and you don't have to give up any prospects.

That said, I think Santana returns to Cleveland if contract offers are similar. The Indians likely aren't going to put a crazy offer together, but you'll probably have to beat it by $2-3MM AAV. Just my hunch.

[jagtrader]

Would rather trade Sierra than Garcia.

[phins]

Here is what I wrote for BaseBall Ranks back in March:

3) SANDY ALCANTARA
21 Years Old – Right Handed Pitcher – St. Louis Cardinals (Class-A+)

If you’re looking for a prospect who made the biggest impression on the Cardinals front office in 2016, it was Alcantara. Extremely athletic at 6-4, 170, with long arms, big hands and feet, and a narrow waist, Alcantara is not your physically imposing pitcher on the mound, but he fits the Cardinals profile perfectly. Alcantara is still growing into his mechanics and can lose his arm slot at times, but when he’s in sync, his fastball actually has hit 102 reportedly.

Alcantara starts smoothly, has a slight pause at the back, then excellent upper and lower torso rhythm, resulting in a power combination of fastball/curveball. The curveball comes in at 84, which is quite hard for the pitch overall. It has natural bend and really runs low and away from right-handers when his mechanics are in sync. When they get out of sync, it flattens out and rolls to the plate as a batting average fastball. While the fastball sits at a current 70 grade, the curveball profiles as a future 70 grade pitch, the changeup profiles as simply average. Two plus-plus pitches and an average third offering profiles as a number two starter in the big leagues.

So what could go wrong for Alcantara? He’s only thrown ~240 professional innings and has inconsistencies with his delivery. He also needs to continue to develop the changeup to stick as a starting pitcher. There is still plenty of time for Alcantara to accomplish these things, as he was the 5th youngest pitcher in the Florida State league.

I’m betting on the athleticism that Alcantara possesses to smooth out the delivery, experience to allow him to better understand how to pitch at the professional level, and the results to follow as he zooms up the various prospect lists.

WHY ALCANTARA OVER CARSON KELLY?

Alcantara possesses the type of upside to be a superstar, while Kelly profiles as an average every day regular at catcher. Due to the upside, I chose to side with the prospect much further away.

And on Sierra, which most people know already, having seen him. Of course, if I made this list again I'd have it completely different, as the Cardinals are one team that saw a huge amount of movement in their rankings (from my point of view).

8) MAGNEURIS SIERRA
20 Years Old – Centerfield – St. Louis Cardinals (Class-A)

When talking about Sierra, it is hard not to be a little disappointed in the fact that he had to repeat the Midwest League after being overwhelmed at High-A ball. Then you realize he is still only 20 years old and understand most of his teammates are actually several years older than him and you start to realize the Cardinals will aggressive with him due to his defense being ready for the next level, but his aptitude for hitting was not.

Sierra is a true 70 runner who chews up ground effortlessly and has natural instincts for the position. His defense is also plus-plus, which raises his floor as a player considerably. At worst, he will make an excellent fifth OF who can enter games late as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. What lowers his ceiling at this point is his bat. Sierra is realistically a 40 hit, 30 power players, and that level of offense is hard to carry as an everyday player in your lineup. Currently, Sierra is a swings-at-everything type who strikes out far too often (97 times in 524 at-bats), doesn’t walk enough, and isn’t nearly as successful stealing bases as he should be (31 stolen bases, 17 caught stealing).

If you squint, you can see Sierra turning into Ender Inciarte-lite. Both are 5-11, 175 or so, both are elite defenders in center field with plus speed but less than excellent stolen base success. Inciarte walked more, struck out far less, and actually showed a little more pop than Sierra has to this point.

All field, no hit players can be useful to major league clubs, but if Sierra doesn’t start to show he can handle velocity and punish mistakes, pitchers will knock the bat out of his hands, limiting his upside.

WHY SIERRA OVER JACK FLAHERTY?

With the skillset Sierra exhibits, I am quite confident he at least reaches the majors. Flaherty has polish, but a lower upside.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Marlins also obtained Junior Fernandez in the deal, but that's a total guess on my part.

[MrCrowesGarden]

[cardinalkarp]

Wow.....Marlins got robbed again

[Fat Strat]

Absolute. Freaking. Steal.

[heyzeus]

Show of hands - who has actually heard of Gallen and Castano?

not me.