He stays healthy (only lost time this year because he got hit by a 111 MPH comebacker), the pitch mix is really good, and the sinker and changeup just don't get hit.
That kills the dream. Good chance he and his agent don't see a major AAV bump to try being a starter. I mean, if Tanner Scott got an $18M AAV for 4 years at 30 years old, Morejon would seemingly be looking for at least a $22M AAV.
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Adrian Morejon is drawing interest as a starter but prefers to remain as a reliever, per @TheAthleticMLB.
Morejon is entering his age-28 season and has started just 1 of his 285 games since 2022.
@IanBloss Could see them getting creative with salary dumps, Eovaldi comes to mind, but you're right, Skubal + King is just playing the 'hopefully we just make the playoffs' game.
@IanBloss Yeah, the contract is probably going to break the record for relievers, so for him, there's really no need to literally double his workload for maybe a 15-20% bump in total money.
How much further above a $22M AAV would teams go to make him start (something he hasn't done consistently at any point as a major leaguer)?
Maybe someone goes crazy to get him to start, but it just feels more likely a team will go crazy just to let him be a reliever.
@IanBloss And a part of me is like, let's see what we get from Barger in RF full-time with Seager/Ketel on the infield instead of Suzuki + the lower-tier 2nd base options.
The three best available bats this offseason (assuming some 10-5 trade vetoes are waived). Who do you want for the Jays? Account for their acquisition cost as well.
@IanBloss Yeah, that's where I'm at as well. The fit is obviously seamless for Suzuki, but I don't think people recognise that our middle infield might be in greater need of an upgrade.
@IanBloss I think on pure value, I lean Ketel because of the contract and health, but I will say Seager in a postseason lineup would be the greatest thing ever