SoxBlanco

You definitely have me intrigued by this guy. Thanks for the info.

Excellent. Boras is trying to get the Sox to increase their offer.

It's hopefully our playoff rotation in 7 months (not necessarily in that order): A: Lynn B: Bassitt C Giolito

Somewhat funny story about Shields' second year with the Sox: Before the season, I was claiming that Shields wasn't as bad as his 2017 made him seem. I made a friendly wager with a buddy of mine (for a case of beer) that he would have an ERA under 4.55 in 2018. I still don't know why I picked 4.55, but my buddy gladly took the bet. It came down to the very last inning of his last start and I needed him to complete the inning with no runs. Inning starts with a walk and a single, so it's first and third with nobody out. Next guy lines out to third. Guy after that flies out shallow to right (no tag). Then Lindor comes up and Shields goes to a full count. The entire stupid bet came down to 1 pitch, and he struck Lindor out to finish the inning. 4.53 ERA, and the beer tasted great. I know, I know...cool story, bro.

People like to judge results rather than the judging the decision at the time it was made. If Lynn had sucked last year, and Dunning had a great year, people would be here saying, "The trade didn't make sense at the time, regardless of results. You don't trade 6 years of a promising, young prospect for 1 year of a pitcher who is aging and could fall off a cliff at any time." Now, I understand the hate for the Shields trade obviously, but my point remains about how people tend to judge trades. If Kimbrel was lights out and we won the World Series, nobody would be complaining about that trade. We took a gamble, and it turned out to be awful.

There isn't enough here for this to be a "Who would you rather have?" game, but does anyone want to guess who the three pitchers are here?

Comparison of three pitchers over the past two seasons: Pitcher A: 41 GS, 241 IP, 3.62 FIP Pitcher B: 38 GS, 220 IP, 3.41 FIP Pitcher C: 43 GS, 251 IP, 3.62 FIP

I like Bassitt for around 3 or 4 WAR. I think he is getting better and better each year. Your point about pitching in Oakland is definitely valid, though. The problem with Rodon is that he is such an unknown in my eyes. I could see him also putting up a 3/4 WAR season, but I could just as easily see him get injured and put up close to nothing. Gun to my head, I'm taking Bassitt to have the better season (without much hesitation).

I actually have no problem with signing Rodon. I just prefer Bassitt based on how I think they will perform. If we signed Rodon, I would try to trade Keuchel for salary relief.

The projections are fine to look at, but what do you actually believe will happen? Do you think Rodon or Bassitt will have a higher WAR next year?

If you take everything else out of the equation (cost, trading prospects, etc.), I would rather have Bassitt on the team than Rodon.

This is how I feel. I am fine "losing the trade" if it makes us better this year. Obviously, there's different degrees of losing a trade, so you can't be stupid, but I think another starting pitcher that will pitch one of the first three games of a playoff series is a must.

What about the Lynn trade? Are you happy we made that trade?

By “outta here”, do you mean off the message boards or off to Nashville? ?

I respect that opinion. I’m just not high on Kikuchi, and Rodon’s health scares me. Perhaps I’m too high on Bassitt, but I have been very impressed watching him the past few seasons. I think he would really improve the rotation and would make a difference for this team in the playoffs.

This has nothing to do with what you said. Sure, it means a lot when deciding whether or not to make the acquisition, but I was simply responding to your comment that what Oakland has to offer isn’t much better than what we can get in free agency. This has everything to do with what you said, and I don’t agree. I would easily take Bassitt over both of them.

I would easily take Bassitt over any of the free agents still available.

I'd be absolutely shocked if we didn't trade Kimbrel. He's as good as gone.

A is Conforto, B is Bryant, and C is Castellanos. And I'm taking Conforto all day.

Player A has to be Conforto, but I don't think B is Castellanos.

Bryant an option if we don’t convert on those guys? Or is he too expensive?

If that happens, I think we’ll make a push for Castellanos or Bryant.

More of an established vet. I think Chris Bassitt is a possibility.

If there were good ones available, then yes. But I think a trade for a SP makes more sense.

And now the Bears just traded Mack. This is going to be a crazy/fun weekend of sports.