Vance Law

He's getting 4 years (at least). Could we be that mystery team? http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/12/mets...ur-years-2.html

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Dec 6, 2015 -> 02:21 PM) Very promising. Had a great year. The Sox really waited to bring him up for some reason. The rotation was full? They knew by the end of the season they'd have room for him both with rosters expanding and with not wanting to push Rodon's innings total?

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Dec 6, 2015 -> 08:01 AM) What would you call EJ? He's already failed once in the majors as well. Not saying I'd make the trade, but I could see the logic. All of the mechanical changes Johnson made which led to, not only International League pitcher of the year results, but also the large measurable increase in velocity detailed here. http://www.si.com/mlb/2015/11/24/erik-john...-pitcher-health

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 5, 2015 -> 04:23 PM) You can say there's a pattern of these guys not lasting all that long and so far you're right. Tanaka - elbow problem within a year. Matsuzaka, one big league season with 200 innings. Iwakuma, 1 all-star level year, then down to 130 innings last year. The hitters might be an exeption, but Iguchi didn't last all that long, Fukudome broke down pretty quick. You've got guys like Ichiro and Hiroki Kuroda who are the exceptions, but in general he's not wrong. If we're looking at the Japanese market, it might be another of those "make sure you're ready to compete with this guy this year because the long term risk is high" moves. Fukudome was very good in his age 33 season, ok in his age 34 season, bad at 35. That's better than you can say for Nick Swisher, for example. Iguchi was fine at 32, bad at 33. I don't know if there were injuries there or not. You mentioned Ichiro. There's Shin Soo Choo, Nori Aoki who both had good-to-excellent seasons at 32 last year. Hideki Matsui was a very good hitter still in his age 36 season. Kang was excellent last year and is only 28. That's a pretty good track record considering there have only been 16 Japanese or Korean position players in MLB. Matsuda is already 32, but just had his best season ever. He won't get a lot of years or dollars. He'll get a fraction of David Freese's money. At some price, he'd be a sensible stopgap. Particularly if the price were low enough that you would care if you had to release him. But Sox may be too committed to competing at this point to take the risk. If it were 2014, this would be an ideal type move.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 5, 2015 -> 02:55 PM) Phew let is a catcher who cannot catch Fully endorse calling Phegley 'Phew let'.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Dec 5, 2015 -> 02:01 PM) You don't get a lot of mileage out of Asian players. What does this mean?

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Dec 4, 2015 -> 05:58 PM) Samardzija has a $90 million offer, which would make him one of the highest paid pitchers in baseball. Not disputing that Noesi is top-tier in the Korean league. But his contract alone doesn't make him the best. He'll be getting that contract particularly because of his 2014 season when he had the 17th highest fWAR for starting pitchers. If he gets the $18 million a year, he'll be about the 17th highest paid pitcher in baseball. I don't know what the point of this argument is. Phrased another way, the highest profile MLB pitchers the Korean league has enticed to come over (and have given the two highest foreigner salaries to) are Hector Noesi and Emil Rogers ( 6.27 ERA in 33 relief innings in 2015 for Yanks). Korean League has been compared in quality to AA. Why marginal major leaguer Eric Thames can hit 47 home runs there. And why an .870 OPS from Hwang simply doesn't show enough mastery of hitting to get even a bid from an MLB team.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Dec 4, 2015 -> 02:46 PM) I don't think that contract makes Noesi the best SP in the Korean league... that's like saying Ryan Howard is one of the best 1B, Chris Sale is only worth $6 million a year, etc. C'mon. No one gave Ryan Howard that contract this year. And also, no team even bid on Hwang.

Maybe correct the thread title. He hasn't been posted. He's a free agent. Anyone can negotiate with and sign him.

Hector Noesi just signed to pitch in Korea for $1.7 million making him the second highest paid foreign player (someone is making $1.8). So Hector Noesi, who can't get a starting job in MLB, is arguably now the best pitcher in the Korean league. Hwang's career-year .870 OPS is simply not good. Planning for him to be the everyday 3rd baseman would be very bad and dumb. People shouldn't be rooting for that.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Dec 3, 2015 -> 06:47 PM) Navarro, it would seem, is not making more than $2.5 million. Probably less. Well, I was wrong. I figured with AJ, Iannetta, Soto, and Avila having already signed that Navarro would be getting less than them.

I like that they're at least not falling back on the easy less-than-optimal options with Flowers and Alexei. Avila and Navarro are a good bet to outproduce Flowers/Soto, maybe by a bunch, and for cheaper. Navarro, it would seem, is not making more than $2.5 million. Probably less.

The part that's interesting is that he's evidently perceived, even with the pitch framing, to be worth less than $3.5 million. Otherwise, Sox could've gotten something in trade.

Maybe a trade for Josh Phegley coming?

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 2, 2015 -> 04:22 PM) Then that plan got ruined by resigning Beckham. No, his inability to be a better player than Beckham did that.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 2, 2015 -> 04:48 AM) http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/12/ben-...60-million.html So Sox fans. Anyone still interested in Zobrist? I say thanks but absolutely no thanks. Not a surprise. Mlbtraderumors last month predicted 3 years and $51 million for him. I've said all along, he'll get 4 years. Every team in baseball would be improved by him. Only one needs to offer 4 years. If they're actually trying to contend this year and next (which I think they should), I'd have no problem with that IF they can get him to play 3rd base for at least a couple years. It's free agency. It's the convenience store. Everything is an overpay that may well look bad in the final year, but the Sox have no other albatross contracts and 4 years is not crippling. If the Sox are patching over 3rd base with David Freese or Brett Lawrie, they better be making big offensive improvements elsewhere, otherwise there's no point.

QUOTE (Special K @ Dec 2, 2015 -> 02:21 PM) That being said, I think that's more of an inability to convert from a 1B to a full-time DH, rather than simply not being able to hit AL pitching. Yes. There you go. For some players, no doubt, it's a tough transition. Maybe for others it's not. Maybe it just takes a little time (see Adam Dunn Comeback Player of the Year 2012). People don't realize there are only like 5 or 6 good full-time DHs in baseball. It's a very small subset of players that are both excellent hitters, but who have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, through ability and/or age, that they're absolutely unplayable in the field. Ortiz, Fielder, A-Rod, Morales. White Sox were spoiled forever with Frank Thomas and Thome.

QUOTE (Special K @ Dec 2, 2015 -> 02:21 PM) I think the Adam LaRoche failures also contribute to this logic. Sure. And I would again refer to it as "logic." Two guys in their mid-30s come over to DH for the White Sox and struggle, fans are overly emotionally affected by that, and then invent the conclusion that "career NL players can't hit in the AL." Not only ignoring all players who do not hit worse in the AL, but ignoring Adam Dunn hitting 41 and 35 home runs in his next 2 seasons.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Dec 2, 2015 -> 08:17 AM) Beltran had been in the AL before, Victornio had one good AL season and now he's not what he used to be, Houston was in the AL when Martinez left, Bautista had started in the AL... there are many names of NL players who came to the AL and played worse than they used to. Victorino had a great season for Boston the only time he was healthy. So it was the 60 games in the AL that Bautista played (terribly) that allowed him to succeed with the Blue Jays after 4 years with Pittsburgh? I honestly think the underlying "logic" for anyone who thinks that NL hitters can't hit in the AL is "I had my hopes up when the Sox signed Adam Dunn and when he had a terrible season I became angry and my brain kinda malfunctioned."

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Dec 1, 2015 -> 02:25 PM) Hanley and Panda are just the latest examples of career NL guys coming over to the AL and getting overwhelmed. Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder , Jose Bautista, Miguel Cabrera, JD Martinez, Shane Victorino, Edwin Encarnación, Shin Soo Choo Look at Carlos Beltran at age 38. This "theory" is simply ridiculous.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 1, 2015 -> 12:56 PM) Yep. Dumb jokes are my specialty. But back on topic: Park just signed a 4 year deal worth 12 million. That's not a bad gamble at all. I think Kang received similar. I can't see Hwang getting any more than they did so he could potentially be a solid gamble at a better price than the Twins and Pirates paid. Watch Hwang sign for 4/10 or 3/8 or 9. The difference is Park hit 50 plus home runs in each of the last 2 seasons. OPS over 1.100. Kang hit 40 home runs in 2014 with an OPS around 1.200, and also he plays shortstop. Hwang in his career year hit 26 home runs for an .870 OPS. There's not enough there to assume he's worthwhile at all.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 1, 2015 -> 01:43 PM) I'd rather they take Melky and give us money. Hanley is basically Melky with a way better bat and a bad attitude. Thing is Red Sox have more than enough outfielders and a potential opening at 1st base.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 1, 2015 -> 07:14 AM) Adam LaRoche had a better OBP than Hanley Ramirez last season. Hanley Ramirez is a terrible idea. Ramirez was injured the whole second half with 2 or 3 different things and played in 28 games. He was hitting .283/.330/.482/.812 on June 24 when he took a line drive off his wrist for the first of those. The idea that he is washed up is nonsense.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 30, 2015 -> 07:56 PM) i would never assume anything with him. but he is funny .... I think he was making a joke based on the name. hi8is = hiatus

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Nov 30, 2015 -> 06:21 PM) You aren't kidding. No team is that crazy or stupid. Maybe Boston would be enticed by the idea of one year of LaRoche -45M when compared to being stuck with Ramirez for potentially four more years and 90M. I wouldn't worry about the vesting option. it's not tough to avoid him getting 1,100 plate appearances over his last 2 seasons if he's not producing.