Carp4Cy wrote: ↑26 Dec 2025 14:55 pm
If we assume anyone without an 8 figure contract (sorry Nado) is keepable OR tradable - then after 2026, anyone still on this roster who isn't making progress is Blooms problem. Who does he keep and who will we look back and wish he'd traded before they lost whatever remained of their trade value?
Gorman - 426 Games 3.5 career WAR 99 OPS+
Walker - 279 G, -2.7 WAR 88OPS+
Nootbaar - 527 G, 9.3 Career WAR. 109 OPS+ OK that looks decent on paper, but which was is he trending?
Herrera - 203 G, 4 WAR, 127 OPS+ - does he build on this and become a true plus player or is 19 HRs his ceiling?
Burly - 414 G, 2.2 career WAR
Winn - 316 G, 6.5 WAR, outstanding rookie year - have to reasonably assume there's more upside there.
Scott - 191 G, 2.2 WAR
Pages - 180 G, 2.2 WAR
so that's what we have right now - 1 good but not AS yet, some downright awful, several are just pedestrian. All have had more than 162 games tryouts. No one in double digits for career, no one above 4, except Winn. Are we being irrational to just hope and pray and see what we've got for another year and expect that 5 of these 8 can just magically double their production of prior years? And if so, where is the change coming from? Not Oli's MLB staff that hasn't changed from last year's massive failure at the plate. We were 29th in HRs. And our HR leader Willson just got traded.
Compare to recent real hitting talents we've developed:
Pujols - enough said
Molina - 14 WAR by age 28, gg
Carp - 10.4 WAR by age 28, in only 3 seasons.
Drew - 18 WAR by age 27, then traded for Waino
Renteria - 22 WAR by age 27, 17 of those for the Cards, gg
DeJong - 10.6 WAR by age 25 before falling off a cliff
Oneil - 1 year wonder but 6.4 WAR in 1 year at age 26 when healthy - where are our 6 WAR 26 yo's? (not burly)
Jon Jay - 7 WAR his first 3 years with 113 OPS+
Rasmus - 7.4 WAR in 2.5 years before being traded for a WS ring. 110 OPS+
Wong 16.5 WAR by age 28, gg
Bader 11.8 WAR by 28, gg
Edman - 17 WAR by age 28
Donovan - 11 WAR in first 4 seasons, gg
Bloom is stocking up on pitching prospects. Where is the future offense going to come from?
We are excited about Josh Baez maybe, but so far his best year is a 20 HR .884 OPS at age 22. Does that project as a plus MOTOB or just as a servicable starter?
for comps Mike Sirota OPS'd 1.068 so far in the minors. Andy Pages was over .900 and 1.000 at AA/AAA. Heck Walker was over 1.000 at A and .898 at AA at only age 20 and we know how well that's projected into the Majors. Clearly we need more than 2-3 legit hitting prospects including JJW. What does Bloom do for now, and what opportunities will we regret missing?
