ChiSox59

Agreed. I don’t even think it needs to be $50M each season, but difference between $50 and $45 or whatever is micenuts. Point remains - that type of deal probably gets it done and likely doesn’t hamstring the organization for a decade. Gives us a 5 year window to make this thing happen.

I like Palka, but Alonso is an upgrade. He’s also better at 1B than Abreu. He does improve he team, and he’s not very expensive. I didn’t like the McCann move at all because he isn’t good at anything, and if you wanted a guy that isn’t good at anything, sign a few minor league deals and let the best of bunch have the backup role until Seby is ready. I have zero qualms about The Alonso move. I love the effort. And let’s be real, there’s a decent chance Palka is terrible in 2019. I like the guy a lot and am rooting for him, but he’s already a low OBP, terrible defender and home run or nothing guy, and that was with a very surprising rookie campaign.

Plus, if the Sox don’t get Machado, and they decide to be bad again for some reason, they could easily give Alonso away, and poof! The $9M is back, and put Palka back as everyday DH. He could also turn in a nice first half and return a better prospect than Call. Its really not a concern of mine.

The Sox payroll WITH Alonso is still projected to be one of the smallest in the league. $9M is nothing - who cares? The Sox gave up a guy that was never going to be a long term piece for them. I think the only one making the “joke” is you. Ken Rosenthal was just saying the other day that he projected some “savvy” team would do this. If the Yankees or Phillies did it, you’d be lauding the move.

I’m not upset about it. Dude is due $9M, not some huge sum. He put up 2.4 fWAR in 2017, but fell at .7 in 2018. He’s paid what he’s worth, and could be a nice value if he bounces back to 2017 levels. i don’t see the harm in this move at all.

I imagine the Sox will now be in the market for a right handed bat to platoon with Alonso. He struggles against LHP, and obviously Palka cannot be his platoon mate.

You’re going a bit far with this take dude. Yonder Alonso is a proven and legitimate major leaguer, not some Indy ball bum. No one is going to give a shit about Alonso if the Sox somehow fail to sign MM, and why do you even care if they do?

The Sox can absolutely afford both, especially if the contracts are frontloaded and structured with advantageous opt outs. But uncle Jerry better be prepared to up the payroll over $150M. its unlikely, but getting one helps the offs of getting another. What better may to prove to these guys you aren’t messing around.

Fair, I’ll take one for the team!

Hey, that includes me!!!

As for the trade, why the heck not? A little repetitive with Palka, but as others have said, even if this moves our chances with Machado from 10% to 15%, why not? Palka was fun last year and all, but Alonso is a much better bet to be better next year, and we can still put Palka in a corner if need be. I like the move, If we strike out on the whales, you just use Alonso as a part time player. Sox have tons of payroll room, so I am not concerned about the $9M. Go get em Rick!

Just read this entire thread. Wow. Caulfield, put down the bottle, log off Soxtalk and go to bed.

No, actually he wasn't. I looked it up. I know. Here is a link for your education: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/q/quintjo01.shtml

Put a 6 foot tinfoil hat on his had, and you got it.

He had a 3.93 ERA with the Cubs. Please, at least look shit up before just throwing it out there. Jose Quintana would get paid alot of money if he were a FA right now. The $10.5M option is going to be one of the easiest no brainer team options of the offseason next November.

The fan base despises Q, so the team is going to decline a $10.5M team option that has well over $10M in surplus value? JFC, your ramblings make zero sense.

This is terrible analysis, and underscores that you really have no idea what you're talking about. Everything around you suggests that the Sox have as good of a chance to sign one of these guys as every other team in baseball except for the Yankees, Dodgers and Phillies, yet you've compared it to winning $25k on a scratch off?

1) Are Zavala/Collins actually going to stick at catcher? If so, you can trade either Collins or Grandal! 2) Sweet...now you have three trade pieces with varying degrees of value!

You're such a psycho for caring!!

I don't. I was responding to posters who are saying "what's the big deal? He's a placeholder for Seby.". I think McCann, with this deal, is clearly expected to be the backup for the entirety of the 2019 season. He wasn't signed to an milb deal. He was paid $2.5M, which isn't nothing, to be the backup catcher next season. If they just wanted a 1 month placeholder, they would have given a catcher or two a minor league deal.

Stephen Vogt or Jose Lobaton would have been cheap (likely milb deals) and actually hold a platoon advantage with Wellington. Vogt sucks defensively, not sure on Lobaton of fhand. Even guys like Caleb Joseph, Rene Rivera, AJ Ellis would have been better options. It is what it is. Mainly just bored at work and have been craving a Sox move to talk about, as opposed to actually being outraged by this deal. Its not really a big thing - but I do think its a puzzling fit based on the Narvaez and Smith moves, and as someone who was really hoping for Grandal in addition to one (or both) of the whales, I am disappointed.

This.

If that is the plan, why not just give someone that actually holds the platoon with Wellington a minor league deal to play 15 games before Zavala comes up?

I think its a pretty legit indication that the Sox are Harper/Machado or bust. I think that is why some people are upset by the move. James McCann is not a guy a team signs that is interested in trying to put a decent product on the field. We have also traded away a similarly defensively challenged catcher for a good not great bullpen arm, when the org could have signed someone similar for similar money, without giving up said asset. And we also gave away another passable option for nothing. Either keep Narvaez and just sign a reliever off FA, and wait for a better opportunity to trade Narvaez. Or keep Smith (for less $). Puzzling move to say the least. Its minor, but still doesn't add up.