Chicago White Sox

Harper just looks like a natural fit in a Sox uniform. At this point, I’m hoping the Phillies prioritize Machado and leave us as the favorites for Bryce. Outside of Philly, I’m not sure there is a bigger threat to sign him than us.

Are we seriously defining stars by which guys perform in dancing competitions post retirement?

David Ross?

We should be able to produce a $150M payroll with ease after all this national TV money.

I don’t disagree with that statement, but that has more to do with Abreu being a low profile star than being a member of the White Sox IMO. I think Machado would have much stronger endorsement earning potential on the Sox than the Yankees. I think the national media will use Manny Machado as the face for all their White Sox coverage. He can honestly own Chicago (at least the south side) if he brings the Sox back to the playoffs. I guess I see a difference between marketability and being famous. There is value being the name associated with a major league baseball club.

Other than the first item, I’m not sure the rest of this is true. The Sox can offer as much money as anyone. As for marketability, being the face of the Chicago White Sox is probably better for him than just being another Yankee. The biggest concern outside of the win now factor is the rumor he simply wants to be a Yankee. If he’s determined to play there, then there isn’t much we can do win the sweepstakes.

I may be in the minority, but I like me some Farmer. Glad he’s doing ok.

I didn’t bring up the comment, I’m just denying that it was taken out of context because that isn’t true. I’ve said plenty of dumb things on this board, but I’m not going to outright deny them if called out. That’s the risk you take when putting an option on the internet.

I guess I don’t see why the strategies are mutually exclusive. Adding bridge guys shouldn’t prevent us from adding a whale and there are only so many spots we can give to veterans anyway. For example, if I can add Harper, I’d like to see the following: Donaldson, 3B - 2/$40M Cruz, DH - 1/$13M Lynn - 2/$25M Pomeranz - 1/$8M Allen - 1/$10M We’d have to non-tender Avi and trade Yolmer to get the payroll around $140M, but that team would have a playoff caliber offense with a high variance pitching staff that could be interesting if enough things went right. If not, all those guys would be tradable and/or potentially part of the 2020 team. What I don’t want to do is sign guys like Corbin, Keuchel, & Pollack to big, multi-year contracts that could easily blow up in our face. Keep things short term, especially on the pitching side, and I’m all for spending to improve the 2019 product and give us a non-zero chance at a playoff spot.

They’re not accepting those deals, not unless they come with another 5 to 6 years (with opt-outs) to serve as an insurance policy. Now is not the time to be afraid to pay market (or above) for a star.

Who do you have in mind?

Go big or go home. I just don’t see the value of spreading money around to fill a lot of holes. At some point, you’ll just be blocking your young guys. Now, I’m all for adding “bridge” guys in the near term, but those contracts would ideally be one or two years in length. Personally, I think adding a Harper or Machado is critical to the rebuild. We need a star that can anchor this thing without costing us a big chunk of our prospect capital. Failure to land one of these guys puts us in a tough spot, as we’ll be forced to settle for expensive secondary free agents that are unlikely to move the needle as much as a Bryce or Manny and puts a ton of pressure on Moncada, Eloy, & Robert all needing to develop into legit stars.

I think he was drafted as a catcher. Not sure how long that lasted though.

Holy shit is someone reporting that something is close!?!

Your wish is my command:

I think people have a right to know the truth here.

Under no circumstance was that taken out of context.

You hearing anything raBBit on who might be his replacement?

Lol...how in the world do you expect either of those teams to add $60M in payroll commitments?

Yup, these signings are all related to landing a way.

I just don’t see the point of spending big on Marwin Gonzalez. He’s young enough that he’ll probably get a four year deal and versatile enough that he’ll probably get a +$10M AAV. He makes way more sense in the NL IMO.

RF: Harper 3B: Arenado 1B: Donaldson Gone: Abreu Like I side in my previous post, Donaldson’s bat is good enough to move to 1B if we’d like to add an Arenado type.

2/$40M would be ideal, but I could convince myself to go three years. The nice thing about Donaldson is the bat should be playable at 1B/DH if a young, controllable 3B suddenly becomes available and/or Madrigal forces his way into the picture fairy quickly.

Daniel Murphy would be a nice bridge to Madrigal and could shift to 1B/DH if Nick ends up coming fast. He’s another value free agent I’d be open to adding.

I have a feeling Donladon will end up being the steal of this year’s class. I wouldn’t want to go more than 2 or 3 years max, but adding him & Harper alongside Jimenez completely changes the complexion of the offense. With some development from Moncada & a more consistent season from Abreu, we could actually have one of the better offenses in the league. Obviously the pitching would be a problem, but gamble on some higher variance guys to fill the remaining two holesand hope that the Rodon, Lopez, & Giolito trio takes a big step forward next year.