The Lake Merced Goutfish might have put the finishing touches on the league's top Keeper Roster on Saturday, completing a monster deal with the Mission Viejo Maulers targeted around standout backstop Yasmani Grandal.
The Goutfish will receive Grandal (3/$5), activation ready outfielder Dom Smith (Minors) and a 2021 8th Round Pick (110th Overall) from the Maulers in exchange for third baseman Kris Bryant (2/$50), activation ready shortstop Willy Adames (Minors), catching prospect Keibert Ruiz (Minors), big league pitcher Bryse Wilson (2/$1) and a 2021 2nd Round Pick (24th Overall).
The Goutfish will pair Grandal with Will Smith (2FA/$5) behind the plate to form a very strong duo at the league's toughest position. Grandal has been a top catcher for nearly a decade, providing a high on-base and solid power option. This remains the case entering 2021, despite a relatively worse 2020 season. In 46 games, Grandal had his lowest average since 2014 likely due in part to a career-high 30% K-rate.
He's just a year removed from slashing .246/.380/.468 with 28 home runs in 2019, leading all catchers in scoring that campaign.
The Goutfish also addressed the shallowest piece of their Keeper Roster with the addition of Smith who is set to be an Opening Day activation. It wasn't that long ago that Smith was attempting to prove he deserved an extended chance in the majors. His .937 OPS over the past two seasons shows he clearly belongs. Smith led the Mets in 2020 with a 165 wRC+ and 42 RBI, and he also tied for fourth in the majors with 32 extra-base hits (10 homers, one triple, 21 doubles). His defense remains a hindrance, but he served as the designated hitter only five times and split most of his time between first base and left field making the concern over playing time with no DH in 2021 easiest to swallow for GM Ryan Atkinson.
His strong numbers over the past two seasons span only 139 games, so there's some question of whether it will translate across a full 162-game slate but the production in 2020 was certainly eye-opening as it ranked 27th among all hitters in the RDBL.
With Grandal added to the Keeper Roster, the Goutfish are expected to entertain offers for reliever Edwin Diaz (3/$11) while continuing to evaluate how to trim down a deep starting rotation that includes Jose Berrios (3R/$5), Zach Plesac (2FA/$5), Jose Urquidy (2FA/$5), Lance Lynn (2FA/$5) and Tony Gonsolin (2FA/$5) as well as potential activation Sixto Sanchez (Minors).
While Bryant is the biggest name heading to the Maulers, Willy Adames is the true prize for GM Chris Ferraro. At 25 years old, Adames already has more than 1,100 PA under his belt at the major-league level which gives the Maulers a plug and play activation for their roster. Known more for his glove at shortstop, Adames seemed to be making major strides at the plate in 2020 only to lose some of that steam in the playoffs facing more consistent high-end pitching. He was 37% better than league average by wRC+ during the regular season, but he also struck out 36.1% of the time and those swing-and-miss issues carried over to the postseason (25 strikeouts in 59 at-bats).
He has displayed stronger than expected power numbers with 38 home runs in 291 big league games and a more consistent approach at the plate could have him settle in as a consistent 350-375 performer for the duration of the contract.
The Bryant fit was questionable at first glance considering the Maulers intentions to overhaul and rebuild the roster from the ground up in 2021. Also interesting is the fact that the Maulers had traded Bryant to the Goutfish 12 months and 1 day ago!
If rumors are confirmed, the Maulers are expected to only hold Bryant for a short amount of time as another deal is reportedly in place.
Once tabbed as the Dodgers' catcher of the future, Keibert Ruiz has lost some of his prospect luster due to both a flatlining of his development and the growing backstop depth within the organization. While he batted a healthy .316 in his first stint at Triple-A in 2019, that came on the heels of a .254 average over a much larger sample size at Double-A during the same season, and he hit only six home runs in 314 at-bats between both levels.
The cancellation of the 2020 minor-league campaign did Ruiz no favors, though he did get a brief callup to the majors, collecting a pair of hits -- including a home run -- in eight at-bats. Ruiz's contact skills (his career minor-league strikeout rate is less than 10%) could help him forge a career as a starting catcher with limited power, but with Will Smith behind the plate in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future, Ruiz may need to be traded to get that opportunity. The positive that underscores his numbers is that Ruiz has been far below the average age at every stop through the Minors giving him plenty of runway to regain any value he's lost.
The Maulers now hold three selections in the Top 24 picks which should help the top end of a Farm System that could use an injection of high-end talent.
Wilson rounds out the deal for Ferraro and the Maulers as more of a flyer for 2021. Entering his age-23 season, Wilson has made starts for the Braves in each of the past three seasons, pitching to a 5.91 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 37:25 K:BB in 42.2 innings overall at the MLB level. Atlanta is going for it and can't afford to let Wilson figure it out on the job, so he could be ticketed for the bullpen or Minors to open 2021.
Comments