Nice to know that if he is only needed for 3 outs he is pretty much automatic.

I’ve had McGee pegged for a relief role for a while.

and he carries the type of value people say he does than I think he’s more valuable to the team in a trade. If he can be the main peice(s) in a blockbuster type trade then we should pull the trigger.

if we don’t trade for a young stud my dream rotation would be something like

1. Scott Kazmir
2. David Price.
3. James Shields
4. Wade Davis
5. Matt Garza
CL Jacob McGee

thats why I love this team so much, Hellickson is prob my 2nd fav spect after Price and I don’t even know where he would have a roll.

If McGee is going to move into a closing role and we do not trade him then I REALLY would love to see him sitting in the bullpen this September and all next year so Ol’ Red Ass Percy can mentor him as much as possible.

Because you want to exhaust all the opportunities you can with him in a more valuable role before converting him to a closer. McGee as a successful starter is more valuable than McGee as a successful closer, and until the team is sure that the former option is not possible, it should remain patient.

That having been said, I do believe that McGee will end up in the bullpen. Further, I think he will be very successful as a power reliever. But the time for that has not come yet, and we should be patient until it does.

BTW, I saw this troubling tidbit in the morning’s St. Petersburg Times:

LHP prospect Jake McGee left his start for Montgomery complaining of forearm soreness and expects to miss his next several starts.

His explosive fastball and the fact that he is such a stud early in the game then starts tailing off. Wouldn’t shock me if he is the next Papelbon/Chamberlain. Chamberlain is starting but he would of been an awesome closer.

if we have him close and put Price and Davis/Hellickson in the rotation we at least come close to using all the studs. While on the subject, Niemann would be a cool bullpen arm also. Eventually there will be Mason, Houser, Cobb…..the list goes on but I am sure we will find a use for everyone whether it’s helping the team or being part of a trade.

is so great these days. You can be lights out one year and fall of the face of the earth the next. Also consider that just because you have great stuff does not mean you can close. I dont know if McGee can or can’t mentally hold a closers role but if we’re not seeing him as a front line starter then he should be traded as he carries A LOT of value on the market.

Also, lets hold off putting Hellickson in the big league rotation just yet. We don’t know what he can do above A ball. Which also makes me say that if he carries that same type of value as McGee does then if we can package those two to get someone like Corey Hart, Matt Kemp, etc then we should do it ASAP. This would leave us with Davis, Neimann, Talbot, EJax, Sonny to fight for the 5th spot next year which is still a great problem to have.

Agree/Disagree?

I’m a big Ken Rosenthal guy but…

but come on now..

“The Mets, Phillies, Yankees and Rays are among the clubs interested in Fuentes. For the Rays, Fuentes could provide more potent left-handed stuff than J.P. Howell and Trever Miller and serve as a capable closer if Troy Percival wore down later in the season.”

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8276984/Dunn-doesn‘t-show-it-much,but-he-loves-baseball

but there are no guarantees with those two as one has not pitched above A ball (I know he will be soon) and one is being mentioned as a power bullpen arm. Say Hellickson where to carry the value that McGee & Davis do now, then we move him to AA ball and he takes a step back in production…then his value goes down. But if we leave him at A ball and he keeps up with Nintendo type numbers then package him with a future bullpen arm in McGee to get Corey Hart then why wouldn’t we?

I would say a power bullpen arm is cheaper and easier to find (Balfour) than someone like Corey Hart.

I just feel like we’re all saying that Davis/McGee/Hellickson/Jennings are automatics and untouchable. The only thing that we have now that is close to automatic is Price. I do think the names mentioned have a good chance at being good major leaguers but if we have the chance at a proven player then we should take it. I would say Hart is proven.

At some point we need to load up again with guys that will be ready in 3-4 years. We have enough guys that will be ready as soon as Sept or next year…

1 man’s opinion…

but we have no idea if McGee has the mental makeup to be that type of closer. Stuff is there but what sets those guys apart from Armando Benitez is their mental makeup.