When Matt Moore first broke into the majors in 2011, I thought he was the left handed Stephen Strasburg. I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t getting the same hype.

Turns out, Moore wasn’t as heralded as Strasburg because he isn’t as good but that’s not a knock on the Giants’ new lefty as much as a tip of the cap to Stras’ unbelievable stuff.

Moore has battled injuries for most of his short career but for the most part, when he’s been healthy, he’s been good. Matt posted a 3.81 ERA in his first full season and a 3.29 over 150 innings in his second, good enough for an All Star selection and some Cy Young votes. After a promising start to 2014, he had Tommy John surgery and 2015 was bit rocky, Moore posted 5.43 ERA in just 12 starts and this season hasn’t been a ton better. So far, Moore has a 4.08 ERA in 130 innings, good for a rather pedestrian 1.4 WAR.

There’s more to the story though. It usually takes a year and half or so for pitchers to really recover from Tommy John. They come back after a year but they typically aren’t truly effective for another 6 months or so. Want evidence? Look at Adam Wainwright. Moore is just about to enter that period.

Please visit Off The Bench to continue reading about why Matt Moore will do well on the Giants, including Max’s theory that a veteran staff could help mentor young Matt.

Over the course of the past year or so, numerous teams have initiated a rebuilding process. (Interestingly, most if not all of them reside in the National League.) Each rebuild is different; each team has a unique philosophy on how a roster should be managed, through both the good times and bad.

Some teams, typically those in larger markets that can afford larger pay rolls, seem to feel that they can remain contenders and avoid a true rebuild. Others, usually the middling and smaller market teams, may choose to do a complete teardown, following the Cubs’ strategy of getting worse before getting better.

There is no book on how to rebuild a bad team into a perennial contender, but generally, the first step is to move veterans in exchange for players or prospects under team control and at a much cheaper cost. Roster flexibility and less long-term financial strain is paramount.

Let’s take two case studies sampling teams with contrasting rebuilding strategies: The Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies. The Braves went with the cut bait and tear it down approach, while the Phillies attempted to squeeze every bit of success possible out of an aging roster before waiving the white flag. After the analysis, I’ll grade them—and you should too by posting in the comments.

First, the Braves. (You will notice that players such as Shelby Miller and Hector Olivera are not included, as they were both traded for and traded away during the rebuild.)

Atlanta Braves

Start of Rebuild – 2014/2015 Offseason

Payroll Range:

• 2016 Opening Day Payroll – $86 million
• Highest Opening Day Payroll – $112 Million (2014)

Notable Players Traded Away…

You’re going to have to click over to Off The Bench to continue reading about the Braves and Phillies rebuilding efforts from Alex Vacca. Please enjoy.

We’re barely two weeks past the 2016 MLB All Star Game and it is already appropriate to say that this has been a truly strange baseball season. Every year there are stories that unfold that cause outsiders to do a double take to make sure they understood correctly but this year seems to have had a disproportionate amount with more than two months of the season left to go.

Here are some of the most unforgettable:

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