nrockway

very off topic, but I think about this a lot and basically now think the Sox probably aren't leaving and are actually staying exactly where they are. There's a mutual interest for the club and the city to redevelop the ~100ish acres of parking lots around the park. Check out the development models for Truist and Globe Life and in particular what will soon happen in Kansas City. They're fairly comprehensive approaches and have some actual economic benefits for their cities unlike previous models of ballpark construction. Mark Rosentraub at UMich has been writing about the economic impacts of stadium construction forever and essentially writes that this new model can produce tax revenue for a city while the previous generation of them were public money sinks. Of course, I'm skeptical of these entertainment districts/ballpark villages/whatever you want to call it as I am about development that wholly caters to yuppy consumption habits. alas, that's the state of urban governance for now and the foreseeable future. The city is trying its hardest to yupify Bronzeville and so a complete redevelopment of that 'middle area' between Bridgeport and (technically) Douglas has to be front of mind for the Department of Planning. easy sell too: get rid of parking lots (everyone who works in that department thinks parking lots and automobiles are the devil) and replace them with buildings and create new sources of property and sales tax revenue. I just finished reading this book Mallparks: Baseball Stadiums and the Culture of Consumption by Michael Friedman on this topic, published this year, and would highly recommend it.

this is a good point. their package becomes more desirable if so, I like his upside and ability to play all three outfield positions but he feels like a prototypical right fielder. on the other hand, why would ATL take on that much salary to trade for Cease when they could spend in free agency?

seems unlikely. that ownership group is one of the worst in sports. loser cheapskates despite playing in a cashcow city

why do we assume Colas won't play next season? it reflects more so on Grifol and Getz to give up on him. if he's "undisciplined" and "lacks fundamentals" maybe they should instill those things in him. Colas needs to start unless somehow Lee Jung-Hoo plays right field for the team next year, at which point ship him and the farm boy out for a bag of chips

I think it makes sense for that reason actually. he might be totally done and won't cost much and carlos perez isn't worth looking at, at the very least he probably has some wisdom to impart on the catchers with upside. my only issue is that hackenberg looks much improved and had a very solid 2023. .649 OPS in 2022 across A+ and AA versus .755 in 2023 at AA-AAA. he looks pretty good defensively and has a cannon for an arm too. carrying three catchers isn't a completely insane strategy though.

Oh, the pitcher I was describing was Bryan Shaw (sans left-handedness). Senior moment.

Good point but I guess I'm of the opinion that, since there's no expectation to win next season, I'd rather deal known (but good) commodities who might help in the short term but probably don't have a role once the team is competing again; and so take a chance on boom/bust types. Maybe we find another Gregory Santos. Next season should be about discovery IMO. In the same vein, I wouldn't mind seeing Shewmake getting play over Lopez, maybe he can prove something. I did become a big fan of Banks' "hard hat and lunch pail" ethos over the second half and cheer on pretty much any lefty pitcher, so I'd also be happy to keep him. easy to root for

Stroman declined a $21mil option, has injury concerns and also exploded in the second half. These guys are getting paid, or at least the potential reward is worth the risk. I can't imagine giving up 27 runs in 26.2 innings and then saying "no" to 20 million dollars.

pitching seems like the way to go in the rule 5 draft this year. there are some solid dudes that are worth a look, certainly more interesting than Padilla. maybe Banks and Lambert have some trade value and could be moved before the 6th to clear another slot. I'd stick with Touki. I bet if they were targeting bats, Remillard would be off the 40 man roster.

I think it purely comes down to Benetti talking to the media about how signing an extension was "kind of a pain." He talks a lot and Amin doesn't. Also think Benetti is better at his job than Amin, I really can't stand Bulls broadcasts since Funk retired and will try my best to listen to the other team's. Stacey has become unbearable, hawking his hot sauce and his podcast. Amin just kowtows to him. Doesn't help that the team is in a worse position than the Sox are. Frankly, I don't like having "national" guys as broadcasters. They're seemingly more concerned about not pissing off their bosses at Fox or other team's fanbases than they are about rooting for the home team, which is logical from their perspective. I'd rather have a homer than the best of the best. I can look at Baseball-Reference or Fangraphs or otherwise go on the internet to talk about advanced stats or whatever. I want a homer in the booth. Both guys see a close call and say "well let's go to the replay and get the whole picture, we can't really say". Wrong. the call needs to go in our favor every time and when it doesn't, it's refball. Make fun of Kwame Brown's tiny hands too. Amin's best moment was when he went after Grayson Allen for several minutes calling him a dirty player when Allen kinda just made a hardnosed basketball play that wasn't dirty in the slightest, just physical. That was the first and last time I ever saw him stand up for a Bulls player and Allen is an easy target since his days at Duke.

how do you know about soft contact? do they have statcast in the carolina league or at the ole miss park? he hit 40 home runs in 800 plate appearances in college, that seems like a larger sample size than 30 games in A ball. he changed his swing as a junior and hit for 60 points higher batting average but dropped his home run rate. one might expect a 21-year-old will continue to develop and find the right approach. who were you taking instead? I would've wanted Bradfield maybe, or Nimmala but they were never taking a high schooler, but Gonzalez was not a bad choice. compare to Brice Matthews and Brayden Taylor, neither one will play shortstop in the MLB and are dubiously better hitters.

why was it a mistake to draft him? 150 plate appearances in RK-A? left-handed bat with plus power who walks a lot and might actually stick at SS. give the kid a chance.

Can they unload more salary in the deal? Boegarts or Manny? I could see both teams going for that. Their prospects are nothing special imo but Volpe, Peraza, Dominguez, Thorpe isn't too bad.

Noticing a trend, what are they hiding under those things?Untrustworthy. Lance and keuchel are particularly funny, I guess it’s the phantom napper’s fault he nearly set the record for home runs given up. I think the highest hr/9 for qualified starters ever.

I mean, what kind of person leaves his job and then trashes the organization and his former coworkers publicly? true pro. you should listen to the bbc some time. there are ways to ask difficult questions respectfully and get interesting answers. you make my point, he said nothing interesting and most journalists are wimps and bad at their jobs.

Love Gio, seems like a great guy, pretty much the only ball player whose interviews I'll watch. I watched some video last year featuring him and Blake Snell and Snell seems like the biggest moron alive whereas Gio seemed cool, charismatic and intelligent. Cool that he's still living in Chicago and welcomed the idea of coming back. The bit about Ohtani is more interesting than what he said about the Sox."the pitching was good when the hitting was bad and vice versa. we didn't click" snooze...but Shohei sleeps 14 hours a day? fascinating. wish these podcast guys actually knew how to conduct an interview and asked something more specific than "why did you guys lose so much?"

I doubt Cease gets traded before Ohtani signs, maybe Yamamoto too. Let's say the Cubs somehow sign Ohtani, the Cardinals might conclude that Cease isn't the answer to winning the division and might want to stick with their prospects. After both guys sign, other teams might get desperate and drive up Cease's value. Red Sox, for example, could probably use Cease and have several prospects that could help us. They'd also probably want (and be able) to resign him. Unless there's some slam dunk deal from a team with no hope for either one of them (Orioles), just wait a month or two.

Yeah seems wiser to keep him for now and trade at the deadline. He’ll also only be owed about $10-15mil at that point which seems easier to stomach (or retain).

I'm obsessed with Masyn Winn. kind of slow to groundballs, but 80 grade arm. some analysts suggested his 'rushed' throws might draw first basemen off the bag, but that seems to me like Vaughn's biggest strength as a first baseman, scooping bad throws. Good fit. I think Cease could be enough to get him, but I'd risk throwing Ramos into the deal.

Pauly D on the South Side? He was already here!

I'm going with $115 mil max. subtract Cease's ~$10mil (can you retain the salary if he's traded before arbitration hearings? I don't think so), add about $2mil in pre-arb contracts from that deal, puts the projected payroll at about ~$110m. I tend to think we'll roll with Perez/Lee at catcher and that there's enough infield depth to avoid re-signing Elvis or a similar player. I don't see any point in spending on pitching, there are 13+ guys who are at least AAAA quality without Cease, unless you really want to spend 8 or 9 mil on a guy like Hyun-Jin Ryu or Carrasco. I wouldn't. Could possibly add someone in the Rule 5 draft too. Probably just need some outfield depth. Haseley was DFA'd today to add DeJong, could see Remillard being DFA'd for that purpose. But who to add? I wouldn't mind adding Kiermaier as a super-sub or to even start in RF but that seems very unlikely. Who else is really available? Someone of Trayce Thompson's caliber at $1-5mil. Or add someone in the Rule 5 draft. I bet they'd really love to get under $100mil. But will any team be willing to take on the majority of Moncada's salary?

You're right, the division is up for grabs, the Brewers will certainly be worse and I had a dream (prophecy) that Bellinger will go home and sign with the DBacks on a giant deal (or I read it 'rumored' somewhere but can't where. I'm going with vision). Their position players are running out of time to do anything. Might as well go all in the next two years. Still, I don't think they'd want to part with Winn who is probably starting at short next season. He's the main guy I'd want back, fits perfectly at 2B on the Sox or realistically at SS with Montgomery moving to 3B. depends on Ramos I guess.

looks like a fair deal. too bad, was still hoping we could get Winn and Hence out of them

I'd be looking at the guys the Dodgers couldn't protect. Joel Ibarra comes to mind, great stuff but no control. Which other teams have loaded 40 man rosters, ie no space to protect guys?

Overpay for lee jung-hoo and I’ll be happy. Offer him at least $100m/5, well higher than benintendi or yoshida. Risk worth taking for a 25-year-old whose game may or may not translate (great contact, dubious pop). Is this the free agency discussion thread?