There's 3 things I'd want us to do to fix this LHP problem:
1) DFA David Peralta, call up Eguy Rosario, and play Eguy for Crone on LHP days. (Crone is OPSing .480 v LHP so far)
2) Send down Azocar, call up Locastro or Mercado (both 900+ OPS v LHP in AAA so far), and play them for Merrill on LHP days. (Merrill is OPSing .424 v LHP so far). I'd opt for Locastro who can also has some speed, steal a bag, play decent D. Locastro just seems like an upgrade all around over Azocar for me. Mercado might have more career success vs LHP, and is also a good pick.
3) Trade for a catcher (Elias Diaz, Danny Jansen, Shea Langeliers, Kyle McCann, etc) and have Campy be the backup moving forward. If we can't do that, consider playing Higgy vs LHP. (Campy is OPSing .339!! v LHP so far -- not to mention metrics show he's the worst defensive catcher in MLB + a bottom 3 starting catcher by WAR.)
Lineup v lefties could look like:
1B Arraez
RF Tatis
LF Profar
3B Machado
2B Rosario
DH Solano
SS Kim
CF Locastro/Mercado
C Higgy / (or trade piece)
At minimum I feel like we have to make the Rosario move. He'd make a big difference right away.
Longer term we need to figure out a solution at catcher, because Campy ain't the answer for the next 3 years while we wait for Salas (who also could end up a bust anyway).
If Preller wanted to go crazy he could also trade the farm for Robert Jr to play CF lol.
There's 3 things I'd want us to do to fix this LHP problem:
1) DFA David Peralta, call up Eguy Rosario, and play Eguy for Crone on LHP days. (Crone is OPSing .480 v LHP so far)
2) Send down Azocar, call up Locastro or Mercado (both 900+ OPS v LHP in AAA so far), and play them for Merrill on LHP days. (Merrill is OPSing .424 v LHP so far). I'd opt for Locastro who can also has some speed, steal a bag, play decent D. Locastro just seems like an upgrade all around over Azocar for me. Mercado might have more career success vs LHP, and is also a good pick.
3) Trade for a catcher (Elias Diaz, Danny Jansen, Shea Langeliers, Kyle McCann, etc) and have Campy be the backup moving forward. If we can't do that, consider playing Higgy vs LHP. (Campy is OPSing .339!! v LHP so far -- not to mention metrics show he's the worst defensive catcher in MLB + a bottom 3 starting catcher by WAR.)
Lineup v lefties could look like:
1B Arraez
RF Tatis
LF Profar
3B Machado
2B Rosario
DH Solano
SS Kim
CF Locastro/Mercado
C Higgy / (or trade piece)
At minimum I feel like we have to make the Rosario move. He'd make a big difference right away.
Longer term we need to figure out a solution at catcher, because Campy ain't the answer for the next 3 years while we wait for Salas (who also could end up a bust anyway).
If Preller wanted to go crazy he could also trade the farm for Robert Jr to play CF lol.