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They brought back Eaton and hired La Russa....I'm not sure they are concerned about team chemistry all that much.

This must of been the deal all of the "insiders" were saying the Sox were making a lot of progress towards the other day.

I like how Engel plays. He’s a good athlete and could be a late bloomer which is a lot better that that fucking idiot Ricky ran out to rf last year.

Im not sure if you've been watching the news lately, but it turns out many attorneys are completely insane and are so stupid that I wouldn't hire them to answer phones for my assistant.

The Padres gave up a lot of talent though. Two of those dudes were significant international signings that have had immediate success in rookie ball. Caissie was highly regarded 2nd rounder. People were expecting more but it wasn't a straight salary dump. Cubs acquired some real talent.

Isn't Heyman being a dick here too? Heyman doesn't know what all 30 teams are doing, either. He's salty because a player finally is speaking up on their own behalf. These media guys are pushing a narrative from one particular source/side to keep their contacts. It's not genuine, it just gets them air time and allows them to push false narratives to eventually get a scoop. I get it's BAU for these insiders, but the players have a voice now and should feel free to use it. Not everyone is going to like Bauer or TA types who speak their mind and it goes against 'traditional' baseball ways, but I'm happy to see him calling out BS. I hope other players start doing it too.

Musgrove is blah. I’d rather just sign someone to fill out a depth role. If all he costs is some roster waste like Collins, ok. But he’d probably cost more so eff that.

This is why I F'ing hate MLB Free Agency. In the NBA and NFL every major FA is signed within a 2 week period. None of these 3 month windows. It's comical how cheap MLB ownership is as a whole.

Montero was linked, most everyone on the planet hates him. Most players keep their dirty laundry in house. The Indians were comfortable taking on the known cancer in Puig just to get Bauer’s Proud Boys ass out of there. Both teams were trying to get rid of their cancers. I don’t have to worry about him coming here because Jerry isn’t going to pay. Any team signing this clown will regret it.

Jfc you cry a lot about a little

For the record, Engel is in his first year of arbitration eligibility. His deal was always going to be cheap.

Lmao did you say mild mannered miguel montero? Isn't that the same dude that was mad about Contreras taking his starting job so he talked shit to the Cubs until they dfa-ed his ass? and Puig has nothing to do with Bauer, he wasn't replacing him on the mound. Nobody said anything like you are inferring here, you didn't put up one article where another player was pissed at him for anything. Votto has never been one to mince words and all he did was own his error and move on this is all so petty lol. Bring me Bauer

Don’t overlook Eaton’s other potential use, which is to passive-aggressively lecture the clubhouse about “what Skipper wants/says”, while shaking his head, folding his arms and staring at the floor.

Good deal for the Starting RF of 50% of Sox games. I really hope last year wasn't an illusion, he was really solid last year and he needs to be in 8th and 9th innings in LF in every game with a lead.

No.

Congratulations to San Diego for recognzing what I said all along, if you are willing to take on dollars, the deals will literally never be better than what they are this winter.

If Bauer does indeed sign a 1 or 2 year deal and the Sox do not even try to pursue him, I will be pissed....and then quickly move on so I can get pissed about who they didn't sign for the bullpen, etc.

They were saying there would be 20 million people vaccinated by EOY. As of yesterday, we were at 2.1 million. Criticizing the rollout of the vaccination is perfectly fair. They've had months to put a plan in place and be ready to coordinate who gets it and when. Instead, they've spent the last two months focused on trying to stay in power and denying the election results.

No arguments. It's annoying that they're just hoping the group they have is good enough and refusing to fill holes with anything other than 1 year stopgaps.

You’re right, but the issue I have is they rushed into an Adam Eaton signing in order to save money for “other needs”. That shows they are planning to operate on the cheap this offseason, even if there are hopefully more moves to come.

Yup, at least give them a chance for disappointment first before slinging arrows

He's a very good pitcher who I would love to have on the Sox, especially on a short contract. Playoff, Pennant and World Series odds go way up in our favor with Bauer in the rotation. None of the arguments that he is a bad dude will sway my opinion. I have always thought he was the obvious play for the Sox this offseason to put a strangle hold on the AL Central.

That was one of those plays that I feel honored to have watched "live" and not as a highlight...I was speechless when I saw it...like Wise's catch in the perfect game....and Robert's unbelievable grab in the 9th inning this past season...Mercy!! Indeed!!!

I think a big part of it is the feeling that the top prospects of 2019 were just wrapped in bubble wrap and are the same now. Had there been baseball, the top 100 would have seen huge churn as always. These guys being 10-20 or something means less than if it happened last winter. We just have little idea.

Really, over 50%? I'm looking at the 2000 Sox roster and I can't imagine that half of those guys were using steroids. I know Canseco said 80% but it seemed like he was selling books and pushing numbers for publicity. I think what you had was 15 to 20% at the most but they are the players that were setting records and winning awards. I think it's a slap in the face to players like Frank who worked hard and didn't cheat for guys like Sosa and Bonds to even be considered. The Hall of Fame is a museum that celebrates the game of baseball. It's a tourist attraction. I wouldn't mind a display that discusses the steroid era and talks about those players and their achievements. I just don't think a plaque or display equal to the non steroid using players is appropriate in a place that should be about what makes the game great, not the negative. We're planning on returning there this summer, I hope they are open.

Seeking MORE than 5/$150 million...Good luck dude. Now Sox quickly moving on makes a ton of sense. Hahn called up, agent said it's gonna take $150 to move to next phase and Hahn put on some lipstick and crossed Springers name off his kill list.

My general recommendation to my seniors is don't borrow for your first two years. Community college or one of the local four year public schools. But then go away for at least two years. It makes the most sense for the most students. I do have those that are prepping for med school or a top law school and it's not as clear cut for the.

Darvish is 34 years old, has injury concerns, and is in the hook for 3 more years. He also hasn't been consistently great by any means. I'm not sure why people expected the moon for him. It wasn't that long ago people were talking about how bad of a signing that was.

It is real talent, it is just surprising how far away it all is.

Lol, sure. You hear the MLB GMs? South Side Hit Men from soxtalk.com has spoken. Anybody who signs Bauer will regret it, guaranteed. He knows Bauer better than anybody.

Linked, not liked. Arizona dumped Bauer very quickly. There are currently only 4 or 5 teams with the willingness and ability to pay Bauer for even one or two seasons this offseason, let alone the asinine amount and length he is asking for. Sure, “Four Good Prospects”. https://www.mlb.com/prospects/indians/ Moss and Allen are not in their top 20 prospects list, Nova is not ranked. They let Puig walk, leaving Reyes as the MLB player. His biggest value is being paid the minimum. 2.2 total bWAR / 2.7 fWAR total over his three seasons, would provide more value as a DH. Engel topped him in OPS last season, Engel slightly lower in bWAR (1.9) / fWAR (1.7) over the past three seasons. Cancer dump and salary dump.

I see the New Years Eve drinking has started early.

What if a unicorn flies by? "Would you STFU?" When you have to say things like that it's because you don't have a real argument. Childish nonsense. Is Jack a constant pessimist? Sure. He's also absolutely right. I would take what the Cubs had the last 5 years or so over ours and this coming year as well (provided they don't sign any big fish), easy. Extensive run and a WS title? Yes, please. Old man Jerry is likely about to punt this entire rebuild. Sucks to be a Cubs fan right now? Nah, being a Sox fan has been vastly worse, don't kid your fucking self. Before last season, the Padres might have been the most irrelevant team on baseball. Just over a year later, it's clearly us while they are making great strides towards putting their core around proven winners to make a run and optimize their contention. How nice that must be.

This ballot makes me feel worse about Rolen and Buehrle. At least I just learned that Rolen and LaRussa didn’t like each other at all.

I would have rather passed on Lynn, then pass on Hendriks, and then over-pay a bit for Bauer. Dunning for Lynn looks like a half @ss Rick Hahn plug-the-holes move. This off-season, cast the net for the big fish Trevor Bauer and reel him in. This is go time.

If I were doing it? I would start Crochet as a starter in Spring Training, get him stretched out for 5 innings. If he shows he is ready for big leaguers, I bring him up. If he isn't, then send him to whatever minor league affiliate is appropriate for a short stretch, with Lopez or FA signee holding that rotation spot. He then pitches...with a limit of ~100 innings. Once he gets to 100 innings, he gets shut down for a time, and then after some rest break with only bullpen sessions, is moved to the team's bullpen for a stretch run. Gives him a shot at ~125-ish innings, maybe a few more if playoffs are possible. Kopech is treated the opposite. He starts in Charlotte, with a goal of slowly ramping up his innings. If he performs well enough and his innings are limited enough, he comes up in ~July and takes Crochet's rotation spot as he's shut down. Thus, between Crochet and Kopech, you have a shot at getting almost a full pitcher between them in the rotation while still maintaining innings limits, and could have Kopech available to start games in the playoffs if needed. What do I think will happen? LaRussa is going to insist that Crochet is going to be his closer after the team doesn't spend the money to sign a veteran one, and Crochet spends the season in the bullpen.

I could see a plan similar to Sale for Crochet. Pitch out of the bullpen in 2021, and become a starter in 2022. I agree that Kopech will likely start in the minors, but he could quickly make his way to the Sox is his recovery was successful, and his year off didn't harm him. Regardless, both have the potential to be huge parts of the success of the Sox moving forward.

Like others have said, if you're going to stretch out Crochet, you kinda have to do it in the minors. He hasn't thrown enough innings as a starter. The other thing they have to do is monitor how his stuff is as a starter, if he drops down to topping out at 94 mph and gets lit up like a christmas tree, then......dude is a reliever, and that's that.

Barf Its a hall of fame. Not a hall of role models.

Ty Cobb didn't make better players sit so he could chase a record. Just to be clear, PR career OBP .375 SP .409 Average defender. Played rotten defense at 3rd. His skill was durability. IMHO .784OPS and average defense doesn't compute to super star. If Rickey Henderson was on the 1970's Reds instead of PR,they would have won 4-5 titles.

Wow...he sounds really good when you say it like that. He also is a dog lover. I sold.?

Schilling would be my only vote. This year's crop is pretty uninspiring, to be honest.

Lou Whitaker's WAR is pretty high. He's more than deserving over many of these guys.

Pettitte was accused of using as well.