Was This a Good Idea?: Kluber/MadBum Edition

So. Yesterday was a big day for awesome pitchers.

First, Corey Kluber ends up in a trade to Arlington, in exchange for Delino Deshields and Emmanuel Clase. Which is already a big deal, because the Tribe had been trying to figure out how to lose Kluber for years. But then, the Diamondbacks go to one-up them, by signing Madison Bumgarner to a 5-year deal, and essentially figuring out the way to move on from losing Greinke.

So both these deals happened...and yet I think that both of them are inherently flawed.

First, the Kluber deal. If this had happened at the beginning of the offseason, I'd have been fine with it. Good, that's a good starting point, the Rangers need pitching help, it all works. However, a lot of deals have been made in Texas already. The Rangers have already beefed up their starting rotation, adding Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles to a rotation that already features aces Lance Lynn and Mike Minor.

Now add Corey Kluber to that. That is a solid five, but...there's an odd man out. Kolby Allard, the former Braves prospect who landed there in the Chris Martin deal, took to the rotation like a fireball and pulled 4 wins in 9 starts. To take Allard, who'd essentially been promised a rotation spot after last season, and now say to him 'well we signed 3 guys who we KNOW can throw consistently, so you might not have a spot here'...that's kinda cold. And yes, we do have someone like Lyles who, if need be, can pitch out of the bullpen, but 2019 established that Lyles can start really well. And the Rangers already have chosen to start Mike Minor, who came to the team as a reliever, so they may do something similar with Lyles.

So...now there's too MUCH starting pitching. Because I didn't even mention Brock Burke and Joe Palumbo, the other two prospects who now don't have a place in the rotation.

And it would have been fine to trade DeShields if there was still a solid outfield to back him up, but without Mazara as well, we're shoving people into backup positions. The outfield for 2020 now looks like it'll be Joey Gallo, Danny Santana and Willie Calhoun. Not the greatest defensive outfield there. And no backup or swingman.

Somehow the MadBum idea has a similar flaw in mind.

So, you have MadBum at the top of your rotation. Awesome. He'll give you 32 games of strong stuff. Then you have Robbie Ray as your second man, then Mike Leake and Luke Weaver. That's a solid four.

...and then you have Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Alex Young and Taylor Clarke, all of whom started several games in 2019 and shouldn't be pushed to relief work because of overflow.

The Diamondbacks had a strong rotation already, and had numerous options to choose from...but now they went and overflowed the pack, and got MadBum because they had the opportunity, regardless of whether or not they NEEDED the ace. Robbie Ray could have been a strong #1, but apparently they didn't want to take the chance.

And just like the Rangers, the D-Backs now have too many pitchers and not enough outfielders. Yes, they do have David Peralta, but the other two options are Tim Locastro and Josh Rojas. Not a very deep well. I honestly think they should trade 2 or 3 of the excess starters to a team that NEEDS rotation help. I point to teams like the Athletics, Twins and Rockies who need starters and have too many outfielders, and they could give up Piscotty, Cave or Dahl (respectively) in exchange for Young, Clarke and probably Kelly (Gallen better still have a shot).

There's also the obvious point that both teams got these pitchers in an effort to throw their name into the ring for a playoff attempt. Both teams do have enough of a base to try this, but they're also coming off middling seasons. The D-Backs did come in second this year, but they don't have the core lineup that made the runs probable before. And the Rangers still need a sure-thing offensive hero at the front of their lineup, and I'm not convinced that Joey Gallo is that guy yet.

If anything, Corey Kluber and Madison Bumgarner could have amazing, 20-win seasons with accolades and leaderboard spots. I just don't know if they're on the right teams. I'll need the rest of the season to be properly convinced.