Snake Bytes, 10/19: Boston vs. the World

Boston Red Sox 4, Houston Astros 1

After Just Dingers long-ball, it was another homer which really ended this one, Rafael Devers hitting a three-run shot for Boston in the sixth to put them 4-0 up. Houston were unable to do anything against David Price, whose reputation for post-season failure was belied by six shutout innings of three-hit ball, with no walks and nine strikeouts. The Astros did get on the board in the seventh, on a solo shot from Marwin Gonzalez, but that was all they managed. Craig Kimbrel closed things out in the ninth, and the Red Sox move on to the World Series. They’ll face the winners of the Dodgers-Brewers series, which resumes tonight in Milwaukee, with Los Angeles leading 3-2 in the best of seven series.

D-backs news [hypothetical trades edition]

In the absence of any actual news, let the rosterbation commence in force!

[Viva El Birdos] Looking at potential trades with the Diamondbacks - I would guess if the Cardinals traded for Greinke, the Cards would try to get Dexter Fowler to agree to waive his no-trade clause and swap contracts plus add a prospect. The Diamondbacks would be potentially interested in Fowler because he’s owed $49.5 million over the next three years and, if you don’t like doing the math yourself, that’s $55 million less than Greinke is owed. Plus the Cards would add a prospect. Win-win.

[CBSSports] Ranking the Diamondbacks' 10 best trade candidates as MLB Hot Stove approaches - 1. Paul Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt has one year remaining on his deal, during which he'll make more than $14 million. After that, he'll hit the open market as a 32-year-old right-handed hitting first baseman -- or, realistically, nobody's idea of a great long-term investment. Still, Goldschmidt overcame a rough start in 2018 to finish the year with a 139 OPS+, thus ensuring he would continue a streak that has seen him post an OPS+ higher than 125 in all seven of his full seasons. Contenders hoping to land a premium middle-of-the-order bat should inquire, even if they have no interest in keeping Goldschmidt beyond next season.

[DRaysBay] Tampa Bay Rays offseason trade target: 1B Paul Goldschmidt - Austin Reimann at Rays Colored Glasses recently suggested a trade of 1B Jake Bauers (50 FV on FanGraphs), 2B Nick Solak (45+ FV), OF Joe McCarthy (45 FV), and RHP Austin Franklin (40 FV). That seems a little rich for my liking, particularly because I see Solak as closer to 50 FV in value, but given some injury concerns spread across the trade it’s probably not far off from what Arizona would request. If I were the Rays, I’d probably then counter with 2B Brandon Lowe and LHP Resly Linares to anchor the deal and let the haggling begin. Bottom line: If Goldschmidt is truly for sale, Tampa Bay has the depth to get this deal done.

[Metro] Paul Goldschmidt for Peter Alonso? - The Mets are in need of a starting first baseman that can provide a legitimate offensive threat in the middle of the lineup... despite having minor-league stud Peter Alonso ripping it up. In 132 games between Double-A and Triple-A this season, the 23-year-old batted .285 with 36 home runs and 119 RBI. Yet the Mets refused to take a chance on him in the final weeks of the season when the team was already well out of contention, citing his defense as a problem. [Alonso] might be a price too steep given the last year he had in the minors. However, the Mets could be keeping Alonso in the minors to hide some deficiencies with a trade in mind.

And, elsewhere...

[MLB] For the first time, Big League Chew will feature a female player on its packaging - You probably know Big League Chew’s packaging: A giant, muscle-bound man ready to crack some dingers and chomp on some bubble gum. But now, more than 40 years after the idea of the gum was dreamed up by two pitchers in a Portland Mavericks bullpen, there’s a new character making its debut.

[Fancred Sports] Has Machado cost himself with his actions and words? - A trio of longtime baseball people hit on the same theme in interviews this week: “He’s A-Rod II,” one baseball executive said. “He’s A-Rod without the steroids,” another exec said. “He’s basically following A-Rod’s lead,” another longtime baseball person said... The guess here is that he still gets the monster deal in the $300-million range because talent talks — though one rival exec says his guess is that maybe “no one but Philly” may be willing to go there now. “I have never seen a major free agent make any more dumb statements/decisions in a 24-hour window while still playing the game than Machado,” the second exec said.

Even the local transit authorities in Milwaukee and Los Angeles have opinions on #Machadogate