Chicago White Sox

Bingo, it’s already been hinted at by Manfred.

Who is they? The White Sox. They wouldn’t move to Portland bro.

Sounds like they want to trade him now and replace him with a free agent.

I still don’t get why you think this matters. What is the difference between saying “take $xM or we’ll non-tender you” and non-tendering a player & then offering $xM? How exactly does the outcome change for the player?

Rosenthal just wrote an article speculating the Yankees might pass on Machado in hopes of landing Arenado next year. I personally think they will be in the mix, but I don’t see them being ridiculously aggressive to land him. I do think the Phillies are dangerous, but I don’t see them landing both Harper & Machado. If there was ever an opportunity for us to land a whale, now is the time IMO.

I’m not sure expecting Jon Gray to breakout into a legit #2 outside of Coors and Lopez to become a solid #3 starter is that much of a stretch. Development isn’t linear and talented young guys can take massive leaps in short periods of time. I simply believe in both of those guys, especially Lopez who I watched pitch a good 20+ times last year and saw the necessary adjustments. The one guy I don’t believe in is Giolito and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him post respectable #5 starter numbers next year. If not, I fully expect Cease to be ready for a rotation spot in the 2nd half. And as I mentioned previously, my plan isn’t to go all-in on 2019. I have no interest in trading for a TOR starter just yet. But I do like the possibility of a 2020 rotation that features Corbin, Gray, Lopez, Cease, & Kopech with Giolito & Dunning potentially in the mix. But again, I’m willing to believe some of our young guys will develop into quality pitchers even if doesn’t happen immediately in year one.

We weren’t getting Yelich for that tier of guys as it would have required at least one blue-chipper and that didn’t make a ton of sense at that point in time. If rumors are true, it does sound like Hahn explored the opportunity.

Lol...I don’t even know why I waste my time with you. Everything is so black & white and if it’s not Balta’s way then it’s obviously wrong. In my particular case, I’m banking on young starters getting better which does happen from time to time and a guy with a proven track record bouncing back after an injury fillled season. But I know they weren’t good last year so they can’t possibly be good going forward. And no, I have no interest in trading my assets for a front line guy. We have money to burn and can spend in the interim, but I’m keeping my prospects for another year to see how the first wave shakes out and who from the second wave will be ready to contribute in 2020. If enough goes right, great we have a competitive team in 2019. If not, we’re better prepared for 2020 and have a few one-year guys (Dozier, Pomeranz, & Allen) that we hopefully flipped.

How is the Sox offering a take it or leave it offer not player friendly? Would the player be better off never getting an offer to consider? Where is a grievance coming from exactly? At a bare minimum, I’m sure there are examples of injured arb-eligible players who took more than a 20% reduction to stick with their organization.

And I won’t stop until it happens! But I 100% agree speed plays up better in CF vs. 2B. However, part of the allure of moving Moncada to the OF is taking advantage of his 70 grade arm, which is wasted to an extent at 2B.

What in the world is a “sub-arbitration” contract?

I’m confused here. Arbitration eligible players do not have to go to arbitration and can agree to any contract the club offers if they so choose. If the player rejects the offer, the team has the right to non-tender. How is this an issue?

Jonathan Mayo is reporting that Jeff McNeil is also involved in discussions. It’s going to be fascinating to see how this deal shakes out.

Great comparison. If you ignore age, defense, & PEDs, Cano is right there with Harper & Machado!

There were some rumors earlier that Bruce might be involved. That ease the financial hit a little bit if true.

Women that date/marry major league baseball players are aware of the fidelity risks and are able to decide if that’s something they can live with. Being physically assaulted is an entirely different monster and is unacceptable under any circumstances. The violence Russell has demonstrated speaks of much deeper issues and whether he can address that in counseling isn’t out problem. I’m all for calling out social justice warriors, but this is simply about having basic human morality.

Don’t disagree with your assessment in regards to Moncada, but I think if we add Machado then Yoan will be moved to the OF. If you look at recent picks like Madrigal (polished college bat), they tend to move fast and oftentimes reach the majors in their first full season. Right or wrong, I truly believe the Sox will take that into consideration this offseason and move Moncada off 2B. As for Gray vs. Rodon, I thought I’d get eaten alive for that proposal, but for the exact opposite reason. I’m not sure what metrics you’re looking at, but I don’t see much of an argument for Rodon having been better as a pro. I personally think both have fantastic stuff but am willing to give the edge to Rodon given he’s a lefty. Ultimately, I think both guys haven’t come close to reaching their ceilings and represent high-end change of scenery types. For me, I see an easier path for Gray becoming a 4 or 5 WAR pitcher (getting out of Coors) than I do for Rodon. The fact he’s not represented by Boras is simply icing on the cake. If I could get that deal done without Bummer, that would be fantastic, but I do think the Rockies are taking on more risk in the deal and would need a sweetener to get it done. Just my guess though

Looking at how good the Indians’ rotation is, I just wonder if time has passed by Cooper. Clevinger & Bieber were never huge prospects but come up and simply get shit done. Meanwhile Cooper has all these nice toys in Rodon, Lopez, & Giolito (sort of) and the results are a mix of frustrating & terrifying. If shit doesn’t gett beter next year, I think it’s time for a change at pitching coach.

Smith/Ruiz & Verdugo would be a pretty good starting point for Bauer, who only has two arbitration years left. CLE is likely looking for a major league ready OF so the matchup makes a ton of sense.

Not true at all. Our biggest problem is our young talent hasn’t taken that next step yet. We need to get more out of Moncada, Anderson, Rodon, Lopez, & Giolito. Those five guys and Jimenez are key for this team to take massive leap next year. Add a whale and another high end piece and we could easily fill the other holes on the roster with league average veterans. But it’s all for naught if you don’t believe in the young talent currently on the roster.

Exactly. And if you can somehow get him for two years, who really cares if you have to pay market for him? He would be a substantial upgrade over Avi IMO and would add much needed OBP to the lineup.

Our best bat last year? He was a below league average hitter with an OPS of like .720. We had guys better than him.

I think we have to accept the fact that Avi is a flawed but physically gifted guy who has a non-zero chance of putting it all together, but the odds of that happening with us are slim to none. We’ve given him 2,500 plate appearances, it’s officially time for us to move on.

It definitely is crazy. Now, will they actually spend up to $150M next year? Probably unlikely, but with the huge increases in National TV money in recent years, I think that type of payroll is possible at our current attendance levels. I fully expect us to get there by 2020 at the latest though.

He’ll probably be up by 2H 2020, but the beauty of this plan is you don’t have to rely on that happening. If he forces the issue then great, we can either move McCutchen to DH / the bench or shift Jimenez to 1B / DH. We would have a ton of flexibility on the positional side of things. If we want to be legit World Series contenders in 2020, that’s a good problem to have.