Lillian

Are those projections for 6 years? $36 to $38 Million AAV sounds about right, given today's environment.

I'd rather have Ozuna than Castellanos, for the following reasons: 1) Ozuna has been a better hitter, against RH pitching, than Castellanos, . I'd prefer a LH hitter, but if not, at least he should be really good vs. RH pitching. 2) He is a better defender. As we've all recognised, Eloy in LF means that the right fielder should not be another negative defender. 3) I assume that he will cost a little less than Castellanos. My greatest reservation is concern over how complete his recovery has been, since his shoulder surgery. If it won't continue to affect his arm, which is a big part of a right fielder's defense, he should be a more than adequate defensive right fielder.

Monthly Stats over the last 3 seasons, in which he seemed pretty consistently good. Last year he missed July and had a terrible September, but was pretty good, outside of that: it G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ April/March 23 23 98 88 11 26 3 0 6 21 0 0 9 26 .295 .357 .534 .891 47 3 0 0 1 1 1 .351 92 144 May 28 28 121 108 18 37 5 0 8 18 0 1 13 20 .343 .413 .611 1.024 66 4 0 0 0 2 1 .363 121 171 June 27 26 109 101 16 30 5 0 6 15 0 0 8 24 .297 .349 .525 .873 53 3 0 0 0 0 0 .338 89 125 July 26 25 113 105 15 31 11 1 4 27 0 0 8 30 .295 .345 .533 .878 56 4 0 0 0 0 0 .380 89 130 August 28 28 121 102 15 32 3 0 7 22 1 2 18 17 .314 .413 .549 .962 56 1 0 0 1 1 0 .316 110 153 Sept/Oct 27 25 117 109 18 35 3 1 6 21 0 0 8 27 .321 .368 .532 .900 58 3 0 0 0 0 0 .382 95 141 Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ April/March 25 25 112 108 8 27 3 0 2 17 0 0 3 27 .250 .268 .333 .601 36 3 0 0 1 0 2 .313 59 67 May 25 23 100 88 12 24 3 0 1 6 2 0 11 15 .273 .354 .341 .694 30 3 0 0 0 0 2 .319 88 94 June 27 27 110 102 12 34 2 1 7 21 0 0 6 19 .333 .373 .578 .951 59 0 1 0 1 0 0 .351 148 161 July 26 26 112 105 11 22 2 0 3 14 0 0 6 19 .210 .250 .314 .564 33 2 0 0 1 1 0 .226 49 52 August 20 20 87 81 9 26 3 1 3 11 0 0 5 10 .321 .368 .494 .862 40 1 1 0 0 1 1 .338 127 134 Sept/Oct 25 25 107 98 17 30 3 0 7 19 1 0 7 20 .306 .355 .551 .906 54 1 1 0 1 0 0 .319 137 149 Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ April/March 27 27 114 100 24 26 5 0 10 28 3 0 13 25 .260 .351 .610 .961 61 5 1 0 0 2 1 .246 135 154 May 27 27 117 106 17 24 7 0 6 22 1 0 10 22 .226 .291 .462 .753 49 6 0 0 1 0 0 .228 86 98 June 24 23 95 87 11 26 3 0 4 12 4 1 8 21 .299 .358 .471 .829 41 1 0 0 0 0 0 .355 108 118 August 26 26 106 92 16 26 5 1 4 15 4 0 14 22 .283 .377 .489 .866 45 3 0 0 0 0 1 .333 117 123 Sept/Oct 26 26 117 100 12 16 3 0 5 12 0 1 17 24 .160 .282 .340 .622 34 6 0 0 0 0 2 .155 57 69

Just to clarify Ryu's injury history with the Dodgers. Did I miss any and is there any reason to assume that any of these problems will recur? I'm just asking. 2014 - Pitched 26 games for the Dodgers in 2014, despite missing time with various injuries. 2015 - He started the season on the disabled list and despite reporting himself pain free in April, the Dodgers decided to take a cautious route with him as he had shoulder pain sporadically during the previous season. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list on May 4 and the Dodgers noted a lack of velocity in his bullpen session soon afterwards, causing his rehab to be shut down. He decided to have surgery on the shoulder to alleviate the problem. The surgery revealed that he needed his left shoulder labrum repaired, which was done on May 21, ending his chances of pitching during the 2015 season. 2016 - Ryu eventually rejoined the Dodgers on July 7, 2016. However, he reported elbow discomfort after the game and was placed back on the disabled list. On September 28, he underwent debridement surgery on his left elbow. 2017 - ??? 2018 - Made 6 starts before landing on the disabled list with a groin injury. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list on June 2nd. 2019 - Healthy with no serious, or lengthy injuries.

I assume that suggests one, or the other, regarding Wheeler and Strasburg, not both. That is unless Ray is right about lots of bluster.

Regarding the speculation that, in addition to his price tag, Villar's character might be a reason that he is unwanted, this article seems to refute that notion: https://www.camdenchat.com/2019/8/30/20840248/jonathan-villar-is-having-a-breakout-season

Here's one more option, which I left out of the list of possibilities: Let him play 2ND, and keep Madrigal at AAA most of the season. If the Sox are not in the race, he might be decent trade bait, at the trade deadline. That would delay Madrigal's service time, reduce the overall cost of Villar and perhaps even net a prospect.

And remember, He's a better hitter from the left side, which would also help the Sox.

Because we can't seem to find one. If you can find a good one, I'm all for that, as well. Sharing your concerns for financial constraints, I'm reluctant to advocate signing a right fielder, to a long term contract. Villar will be a free agent after this coming season, so he fits the time frame. Perhaps by 2021, one of the promising farm hands will emerge to take his place.

Imagine the power speed combinations of T.A., Moncada, Robert and Villar. That's 4 guys with 25 homer and 25 steals potential, or better. Add in Madrigal's speed and base stealing ability, and you have terrific speed at 5 spots, in the lineup.

Once Robert and Madrigal are called up, there will only be one spot open in the lineup. Therefore, either Villar, or someone switching positions with him, would have to fill the RF hole, or acquiring him wouldn't make much sense. Given his speed, perhaps he could play CF, moving Robert to RF, for one year. Another possibility would be to let him play 3RD, moving Moncada to RF. We know that Yoan has the arm to play there. The best option would be to play Villar in RF, but we don't know if that is feasible. The point is that if you acquire Villar, you should not have to spend additional money on another regular position player. Therefore, the remaining money could be allocated for a 5TH starter and another reliever. Moreover, I'm not convinced that the payroll ceiling is $130 Million. That is merely conjecture.

However, it's only one year, which makes it almost meaningless. It's the long term contracts, that are a concern. I do understand that it wouldn't make sense to simply use him as a bench player. If he could play RF, I'd be very intrigued. He has the speed, but I have no idea whether, or not, he has the arm. Anyone have an assessment of his arm strength and accuracy?

I'll say!!! 24 homers and 40 stolen bases, caught stealing just 9 times (80% success rate).

He's a nice power/speed combination and switch hitter. Do you think his arm is good enough to move him to RF? If so, he might be an intriguing option, at $10 Million, with no long term commitment and no loss of a draft pick. He was especially good as a LH hitter: .280 .354 .465. Here is a quote from an article, which appeared today: This is the one storyline I’m eager to see come to a conclusion soon. I’m also a bit shocked that there are no takers for Villar who is coming off a 4.0 fWAR season in which he stole 40 bases and hit a career-high 24 home runs. Non-tendering Villar, despite his projected $10 million salary for next season, shouldn’t be an option on December 2nd. I’m all aboard the rebuild and support a lot of the moves already made by this organization, but if no one takes Villar this week, paying him his salary and plugging him back in the lineup should be the only option.

I can't imagine that the O's would give up Mancini, with 3 years of control, for just Rutherford, Sheets and Flores, let alone throw in Bundy. If they would do that deal, I'm pretty sure that Hahn would take it, in a heart beat. I don't care if Mancini bats RH. He hits RH pitching very well.

I'd lean toward Strasburg.

The $30 Million AAV sounds about right, but that 6TH year would be a tough pill to swallow. That would be for his age 37 season. 5 years, $150 Million would be pretty intriguing.

Having opted out of his 4 year, $100 Million contract with the Nats, and given all of the other big market teams looking for pitching, what do you think it would take to sign him? Whatever that number is, it would almost certainly be something way out of character, for Mr. Reinsdorf, especially for a 32 year old pitcher. Nevertheless, we can dream.

Au contraire. If the Sox are finally showing a willingness to spend big, even if it's a little "senseless," I'll gladly accept that and rejoice. Better than hoarding the money. JR isn't getting any younger and neither am I. Maybe we'd both like to see a run of winning baseball, before we leave the "yard".

Has anyone been watching a Twins message board, to see if there are any rumors regarding Wheeler being headed there? If there aren't any comparable rumblings, over there, that would be encouraging.

We should make a distinction between the front office using it "as an excuse," and it actually being a significant factor, impeding their ability to make any of those financial commitments. If they are looking for an excuse, they will find something.

Lots of hyperbole in this thread, mostly from the "haters". Perhaps we should wait to see what else the front office does. If they were to sign a top tier pitcher, or even just below that, like Wheeler, I wonder if those, who are so concerned about payroll limitations will feel better about this contract.

I agree with this assessment and my expectations are probably not as high as some here. The one thing that he does bring, which McCann does not, and which is sorely needed, is that middle of the order, LH bat. If he can hit around .250, with an OBP of .350 and with power, he will fill a very important hole, in the lineup, vs. RH pitching.

Your point is valid. However, in that final year of Grandal's 4 year contract, will he really be catching "incredibly well"? I'm not so sure.

I echo these thoughts. I'm not saying that it's a great deal and I concede that it may be a slight overpay. However, I just don't understand this over the top negative reaction. Is this really going to significantly alter the front office's plans? The irony here is that while many complain about J.R. being "cheap," they seem even more critical of what might be considered a display of generosity and gesture of gratitude. I don't get it.