JUSTgottaBELIEVE

Or even better, Cole AND Strasburg ? Won’t happen but they could certainly afford to while still maintaining a below league average payroll.

5 years is nuts. I wouldn’t be surprised if they give him 2 years with a 3rd year option/buyout.

Giolito as the #3 next year would be amazing

Guessing Jose/his agent thinks his market is better than that.

They have no better internal options and the external options this winter aren’t exactly great. He’s a steady clubhouse presence and > 110 OPS+ hitters aren’t abundantly available at a low cost.

Which is why it’s going to take a 2 year deal to bring him back. I’ve been saying all along, I’m fine with a 2 year/$24M deal. Much more than that and I’m out.

What’s the projected payroll next season even with extending Abreu? Like $60M? League average payroll is actually $136M, median is ~$125M. Even using the lower number, how much talent could this organization add via free agency with $65M this winter?

No. I’m saying if they can’t do better than 3rd place in the division after significantly increasing payroll then heads should roll. Jerry has to at least give this rebuild a chance to succeed by approving a league average payroll, at a minimum, as early as next season.

All of which occurred before Hahn took over as GM. Where has payroll ranked the last 6 seasons? The rebuild won’t work without at least a league average payroll (~$125M).

Imagine what this team could add this winter with a $160M payroll next season. Cole, Strasburg, Chapman, Puig. Combine that with the minor league reinforcements coming up and that’s a vastly different looking team. I mean imagine a rotation of Cole, Strasburg, Giolito (as the #3!), Cease, Kopech/Lopez/Rodon and a bullpen with Colome/Bummer/Chapman at the back end. Pitching just went from a weakness to a strength. I realize they won’t do this but just pointing out how much of a difference an extra $70Mb in payroll makes...

They were not consistently in the top 10 from 2006 thru 2013. Two seasons they fell out of it. And the high payroll from 2006 thru 2008 was a byproduct of the 2005 World Series team. They actually had what many would consider sustained success (by ALC standards) from 2005 thru 2008. World Series title, two playoff teams (three under the current format), perennial contender. Now back to my original point, you can’t pin all of this on Hahn and the front office when he’s worked with minuscule payrolls every year since taking the reign in 2013. If Jerry allows for a $160M+ payroll next year and beyond and they still can’t crack 3rd place in the division, then yes heads should roll. It’s extremely difficult to win a World Series with a bottom 10 payroll though. Has it been done since the 2003 Marlins?

Jerry hasn’t shown a willingness to maintain an above average payroll for an extended period (ever) so unless that changes it’s kind of hard to put it all on the front office that they haven’t been able to achieve sustained success. And yes, I know the Indians have dominated the division for years with a relatively low payroll but they also haven’t won a title since 1948 and will be unable to sustain success if they let their payroll slip to bottom 5 again. It’s no coincidence that 6 of the current playoff teams are also top 8 in payroll. This is typical. Usually, 6-8 playoff teams are top 10 in payroll. It’s not rocket science that a larger payroll allows a front office to hide more of their mistakes and add higher paid players to plug roster holes.

Sure, as long as Jerry is willing to spend above league average in payroll. You know like every other franchise that has sustained success and won titles in recent years - Yankees, Red Sox, Astros, Cubs, Giants, Cardinals.

I define sustained success as making the playoffs every year, regardless of how you get there. Does anyone care that the 2014 Giants were a wild card entry?

How so? The goal is to win the World Series. A team can do that as either a wild card or division winner. Of course, it’s an easier path as a division winner but it can be done as a wild card as well.

This whole rebuild was to win the World Series, which they can do as a wild card team ?

Sox don’t need to win the division to win the World Series.

As a 22 year old in his first full professional season. Near 800 OPS for the season.

That Charlotte lineup right now is an opposing AAA pitcher’s worst nightmare.

A certain slow footed, poorly rated defensive 1b that Jose replaced was also written off at the age of 32 after two subpar seasons. Just sayin’

Most Sox fans thought Paul Konerko was done in 2008 at the same age as Jose.

Amen

So Nova is worth $15-20M next year (and this year)? Assuming 1.5-2.0 WAR again next year. Yikes...

Bumgarner would be a great fit and pickup for the Sox.

Because he was only 26 years old and entering the prime of his career! Yet, he’s having one of the worst seasons of his career so maybe we’ve already witnessed the best version of Manny Machado (e.g., year before FA 2018 season). Generally, I’m not a fan of giving hundreds of millions to a player with questionable character. And no, I’m not just talking about the bullshit stuff like laying a bat by a catcher’s feet on a pop up or attempting to throw a bat at a pitcher but not hustling in the freakin playoffs and then showing zero remorse afterwords is a huge red flag regarding an individual’s character.