JUSTgottaBELIEVE

Agreed and they’ll be adding another interesting name or two to this group in ~two months. Likely a top 100 MLB prospect.

He’s 23 and just entering his second full season in MLB. Give him some time.

So it appears Moncada’s September 2018 has rolled into the 2019 season rather nicely. No strikeouts through his first 9 plate appearances is also very encouraging. Kid is super talented, just needed a tweak in his mental approach at the plate.

Machado 0-3 with 2 strikeouts. SD fans hate him yet? It’s one game..

Not if you’re a team like the Yankees looking to add him on a short term high AAV contract. Again, it’s not the only factor but to completely dismiss it in the evaluation process is what should get you fired not the other way around.

I’m not sure about that. Obviously the luxury tax threshold was a far bigger deal for most teams but some teams that might have otherwise floated a very high AAV short term deal were reluctant to do so because of the draft pick. I think the draft pick is always a factor even if it is a lesser impact on the megacontracts compared to the Grandals of the world.

But again, how many predicted going into the offseason that Harper would accept a deal with an AAV of $5M less than Machado? I’m not saying the draft pick was the only reason but I don’t think anyone here can definitively say it was a non-factor in his market.

Maybe but it seemed to impact Harper’s market. How many thought he’d get significantly less AAV than Machado heading into the offseason?

Have we heard that anywhere? I’ve only seen glowing reports from scouts and high prospect rankings despite his relative lack of production last year. That tells me the best is yet to come. Seems health is the only obstacle at this point.

Assuming the Sox traded for Machado last winter and kept him all season and then extended a QO, would it have impacted his market in any way for a team like the Padres that would have had to give up a high draft pick to sign him? It’s certainly impacted the market for lesser free agents but not sure what, if any, impact it would have had on Machado. That’s the only indirect discount I could see associated with the Sox trading for him a year ago. Perhaps the Padres don’t hit the $300M number with a draft pick attached?

? the future is bright with or without Manny...

If a small market team like the Indians was willing to spend $60M on a lesser and older DH only type two years ago, I have to imagine JDM will beat that again assuming health and production this season.

Not if he has another 165 wRC+ season. He’ll get more than $65M on the open market.

Which is why I’ve been saying all offseason that if JDM opts out, I don’t see Boston bringing him back so now you’re down to 14 other potential suitors outside the White Sox (and actually far less than that after you rule out teams that have already filled the DH slot and a handful of teams that will simply be unable to spend that kind of money at the position - Rays, A’s, Royals, etc)

How so? In the context of this signing, Harper and Machado look like overpays if Trout is only getting $36M AAV. He’s a far superior player compared to those two.

Not defending KW, but the White Sox average record of 87-75 during his first 6 years as GM would qualify as a modest version of sustained success. It culminated in a World Series win and under today’s playoff format would have resulted in back to back playoff appearances in 2005 and 2006 and then another in 2008. I’d certainly take that same 2001-2008 stretch over the next 8 years and call it a big win.

Browns are more relevant than most teams right now. They are one of the most talked about franchises in the NFL over the last year with the number of splashy moves they’ve made.

It’s always darkest before dawn ?

Many thought the 2018 season was rock bottom for this rebuild, then the 2018-2019 offseason happened. I think we’ve hit rock bottom and things start looking up from here. What do you think? Do you agree or do you think worse times are still ahead?

Let’s be real. The only way to build true sustainability is a change in ownership (to maintain a top 7-10 team payroll). Since that’s not happening any time soon, I will surely take the 2005 outcome as the end product of this rebuild.

At this point, I’d take 2005 again as the outcome of this rebuild. That’s probably a best case scenario because it’s damn hard to win a title in MLB. And the 2005 team didn’t consist of average players. It had a roster full of solid to above average players. Not many holes. Add 3 “stars” to this current team and it’s still a disaster. Even teams loaded with multiple stars (Dodgers, Nationals, Indians, etc) have yet to win a title.

The Sox had three great players (5+ fWAR players) and one really good player (near 4 fWAR player) in 2014 but still lost 89 games. How many 5+ fWAR players did the ‘05 team have?

White Sox had three 5+ WAR players in 2014 and were nowhere near contention. There’s more than one way to build a contender. The complimentary pieces are just as important as the cornerstones, otherwise you end up with a repeat of 2014.

That ship has sailed. This is still a 90 loss team even with Machado and likely still a 80+ loss team in 2020 even with him as well. Signing him alone would have made no difference in their playoff hopes for either this year or next unless it was supplemented with a number of other significant additions.

I agree but to say we signed a bunch of nobody’s for $45M isn’t accurate. They aren’t stars but they are still quality big league players. I wouldn’t be opposed to those types of acquisitions when this team is near contention.