Quote:
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud
And this where is becomes "weird" talking to "scouts", which I do know in Los Angeles.
Is it your opinion that without Zobrist, the Royals would have lost the Central? Was it worth giving up pitchers on a pitching starved team?
In August, all of the guys I know said "Yes". I disagreed. I've yet to hear back from anyone tonight but I'll be curious about their responses.
I know that you justified both trades, which is fine. I was on the other side of the fence. No one will know for certain until next year and the coming years but IMO, the trades were fruitless from the beginning.
Now, the Royals still have an opportunity to prove me wrong (and I hope they do) but as of today, I think the organization will regret giving up five pitchers for two rentals that led them no where.
|
Could they have won the Central without Zobrist? Probably. But that move was never about winning the Central. It was about making the team stronger for the postseason.
He has played to or above expectations. And I wouldn't be surprised to see him stay in KC on a 3-4 year deal after the season is over, which would take some sting out of trading away pieces for him.
The Royals made both of those moves without trading the two top SP prospects in the organization's mind (I am a big Manaea believer, so I might disagree with those rankings).
Manaea is the only potential trouble spot out of those guys, IMO.
Finnegan is a short reliever who value took a big step back this year and who let his body get away from him at age 22. Lamb looks like a AAAA guy at this point, as he got shelled in Cincinnati after getting called up. Aaron Brooks is JaG. Cody Reed also has potential, but still is a long way away from the majors.
If this team doesn't make a deep postseason run, it will not be because Zobrist underperformed. It MIGHT be because Cueto didn't.
But still... Maligning the Zobrist trade is silly. If the Cueto trade had worked out as well as the Zobrist trade did, KC likely would have put up a 2-1 win tonight, with Cueto throwing 6-7 innings of shutout baseball.