SoxBlanco

This discussion came up earlier this offseason. Most people think Ricky will keep him 3rd all year no matter what. I don't think there's any chance he keeps him 3rd if he's struggling and other guys deserve to be in that spot. He wants to win games. He has never had a team that can win games, so you can't use his past decisions to predict what he will do this year.

Based on today's lineup, Ricky will be going with something very close to what you have here. Push EE up to 4 or 5 and I think you nailed it.

This is one of those discussions where I agree with both people as I read each subsequent post. In my head: "Oh good point...wait, but that's a great point too...shit, another solid counter...alright, I agree with both people."

Huh? EE replaces Delmonico and Grandal replaces McCann. Mazara slides down to 8, Grandal hits 4, and EE goes to the 6 spot.

If Dunning gets in some extended spring training (as expected), when do we think he officially reports to an affiliate?

That lineup looks solid, and it doesn’t even have Grandal or EE in it yet. We’re gonna score so many runs this year.

Sorry if I missed it, but did anybody discuss what the lineup would have been today had they played?

Agreed. I don't think they were overpaid. I'm saying if they preferred to go to those teams, then we would have had to overpay to get them. Maybe Maybin wants to play every day with the Tigers instead of being a bench piece with the Sox. For the same money, he is going to choose the Tigers, and there is no reason to overpay a guy like him to convince him to come here. This is obviously all speculation, and I have no idea if we kicked the tires or if Maybin was interested in coming here, but I don't think it's a big deal at all one way or another.

I understand your point, and it's valid, but it seems that you are operating under the assumption that the front office just stopped working after the major signings. How you know we didn't reach out to the players you just mentioned? What if they didn't want to sign with us? There is no reason to overpay for a depth piece at this stage.

I think you have one too many “back”s in there.

Luis Gonzalez. Book it.

2020 is not an all-in year for the Sox. If it was, perhaps we would have gone bigger for RF. But instead, we picked up a stopgap option with a really high ceiling. Hahn even said we don't have the long term answer there. Maybe Mazara becomes that, but if not, we try to upgrade next year through free agency, trade, or our own prospects. The Mazara deal was fine for where the Sox are at right now.

When I read the thread title, my first thought was, “I’m expecting a huge offensive season...something like 45 bombs and a .900 OPS.” Then I read your post and saw you had the exact same prediction. Great minds.

@Look at Ray Ray Run @ChiSox59 Sounds like a great chance for a bet between you two. 10-1 odds. If Madrigal breaks camp with the team, you owe Ray Ray $200. If he doesn't, Ray Ray owes you $20. Why don't you guys just PayPal me the money now and I'll send it to whoever wins the bet? In fact, go ahead and give me your checking account information and social security numbers just in case anything goes wrong.

I agree. I prefer him in AAA where he can continue to get consistent playing time. But at this moment, I just don’t know who to put as the last bench spot.

I agree. I just wasn’t sure if it was possible that we use that last spot for a 5 man bench. I’m going to put Fulmer in there for now.

What does your bench look like right now, assuming Garcia starts at 2B?

I want to create this thread and update the original post as we make spring training decisions or if we make any more minor moves. As we stand right now, help me out on what the opening day roster will look like. Don't worry about things like who is the starter and who is the bench option between Garcia and Mendick. I didn't put much thought into that. I just want to try and nail down the 26 guys. Will we go with a 5 man bench or an 8 man bullpen? I realize that most of this is pretty set already, so this might turn into a bullpen discussion, but that's alright. Starters: C - Grandal 1B - Abreu 2B - Garcia 3B - Moncada SS - Anderson LF - Eloy CF - Robert RF - Mazara DH - Encarnacion Bench: McCann Mendick Engel Cuthbert Rotation: Giolito Keuchel Lopez Gonzalez Cease Bullpen: Colome Bummer Cishek Herrera Fry Marshall Cordero Fulmer

This is exactly how I read it. The fact that we only have Mazara for two years is the key...it's not a knock on his skills/production.

Haha, as I read that post, I was thinking..."I remember Dyson and maybe Dave Roberts back in the day...can't really think of anybody else."

It’s an ESPN Insider article. Here’s the link: https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/28412068/what-baseball-look-2020s

Agreed. The question becomes...is he better off in AAA or getting limited reps with the Sox?

Good call. I’ll be pulling hard for him, and not just because I’ll naturally be rooting for the Sox. On a personal level for Carson, it would be great to see him turn it around.

Yeah, I’m expecting him to be on the opening day roster, to be honest. Give him one last shot and then cut ties if it doesn’t work out.

I had the exact same thought.