JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 1/9/23

Ben Clemens

3:02

Hey everyone, welcome to the chat

3:03

Let's get going, I was a bit delayed by some plumbing issues, or really keeping my dog out of the apartment while a handyman was here issues

Bernardo

3:03

I’m higher on Matt Vierling as a player than Soto even—I don’t know why so many people think that trade is a win for the Phillies. Do you?

Ben Clemens

3:03

Yeah, I like Vierling as a short-side platoon CF/4th outfielder guy, and that's a valuable role I think

3:05

I like the trade for the Tigers, but I get why the Phillies did it; Vierling is a little bit less interesting if Harper starts playing the field again and I do think Soto is a solid reliever. Maybe the Phillies didn't get the maximum return for Vierling, but I think their major league team is better with Soto/Clemens than Vierling/Maton/Sands

Inaccessible Rail

3:05

If a ballplayer goes undrafted, then plays well in an independent league, is the player then essential a free agent? Has there ever been anything like a bidding war for such a player?

Ben Clemens

3:05

yeah; the best example of this (ish) is when TJ Friedl went undrafted as an eligible sophomore and then was on team USA that summer

he shoved and got the better part of a million bucks in signing bonus

3:06

there was a cap on signing bonuses to UDFA's that got instituted around the COVID-shortened draft, but it looks like that cap got rescinded last year

so yes, it could absolutely happen

Lou Perltzman

3:06

Why don't you guys keep Eric chained to a radiator in a locked room so that he can focus on prospect lists and nothing else?

Ben Clemens

3:06

you think we have the money for chains? in this economy?!?

Guest

3:07

Happy New Year!

Ben Clemens

3:07

Happy new year! I love that all of you are here to talk about baseball on January 9

delightful

ryan

3:07

Is it just me or is the Tigers Phillies trade ... just kinda weird? Soto has serious control issues, and I don't think the Phils are better at fixing pitchers than the Tigers, and the new Tigers don't meaningfully make the team that much better, but could have been good depth/platoon compliments in injuries happen. Marsh goes down and the Phillies OF is really bad!

Ben Clemens

3:07

I see why the Phillies went for Soto, they really want to have a lengthy bullpen. But yeah, I think I would have preferred to just sign Taylor Rogers by a long shot. Vierling is a nice player for sure

Guest

3:08

I read an article in the Times today about Noma, a Copenhagen restaurant famous for its unconventional ingredients and presentations. It’s a good read and made me wonder what’s the weirdest dish you’ve prepared that ended up tasting really good?

Ben Clemens

3:08

I'm sad that Noma is closing before I ever got the chance to go there

I'll give you the weirdest dish I've ever tasted, as well as the weirdest I've ever made

3:09

I ate at Pujol, an extremely fancy restaurant in Mexico City, over Thanksgiving this year

They had an ant larva tostada with some kind of ant mayo

It was really amazing!

3:10

Weirdest dish I ever made was eggplant "nigiri", where I cut an eggplant into pieces that were generally shaped like the fish on top of nigiri, basted it in brown butter, and then pan fried it until it kinda looked like a piece of fish. Then I served it over sushi rice. Pretty good

Marty

3:11

Could Houston be a fit for Gary Sanchez? They definitely need another catcher.

Ben Clemens

3:11

I feel like that's kind of a problem for them, because he's not much of a catcher

He does have a cannon arm, though

3:12

So maybe that offsets it?

My biggest issue is that I'd want to give him some run at DH, and there's just no room to do it

Between Brantley and Yordan, it just won't work

Bruce C.

3:12

About your free agent total dollar predictions, did you consider using net present values to dampen the interest rate issues?

Ben Clemens

3:13

Maybe I'll do that next year; working out discount rates and stuff seems hard but doable

I might also just ignore it in terms of a lazy 'change in rates' term b/c that's close enough for modeling, given that contracts only come in whole years

TomBruno23

3:13

Ben...the Cardinals...no real question.

Ben Clemens

3:14

I feel like the Cardinals had an acceptable offseason, just by signing Contreras

It's really hard to find a good catcher, it fits the shape of the team well, and I love Yepez so I didn't want them to go overboard adding bats

Time will tell if their eh-we'll-fix-it-later approach to the rotation was smart, but I don't hate it

Armchair GMing

3:14

Cronenworth and Grisham for Luis Robert, add in a couple smaller pieces, is it reasonable? solves White Sox 2b needs and gives Pads CFer with more upside

Ben Clemens

3:15

I am really high on Grisham, but I wouldn't do this trade if I were the Padres

3:16

Also who would end up as the 2b in San Diego in that case? Tatis I guess? I don't think that's what they're trying to do

Load More Messages

Connecting…

Message History

On Off

Your current subscriptions

None

E-mail Address	Chat Owner	Status	Remove

Enter your email address to be notified when Ben Clemens hosts a chat