Jose Abreu

I'd be pleasantly surprised if it's someone as good as either of those two

I think it's just (necessary) depth and that Collins will still "win" the backup job

Yeah the Sox were willing to take him as a NRI on a minor league deal

He just operates on a different plane of existence.

I'm not a Hahn hater but I'm pretty sure Jeremy Haber is the lead behind the majority of those

"Why would the Brewers want Nick Madrigal? They already have a second baseman!"

Awesome. I assumed his OF stint was similar to "Andrew Vaughn is 3B/RF" or "Nick Madrigal is a SS" but glad to hear that it might actually be viable.

Nobody's saying it's better than live games, we're just saying he didn't "take a year off" and everyone who watched him there last year and/or had access to his batted ball data thinks he's going to be a stud

With Cease in particular, I feel like many are overlooking his other issues too. I love that he's putting in the work and that his fastball is apparently regaining some rising action, but in my opinion, his #1 issue last year was that he just couldn't throw strikes. While the cut on his fastball probably contributed to that, I don't think it was the main factor, and I struggle to see him revamping his command so quickly and on such a remarkable level to suddenly become an ace

Even when you factor all that in, they've still cut more payroll than they've added by about $3 million

I'm more surprised at the amount of people who answered "minors all year". Assuming a 162 game season, I would bet on him playing >125 games in MLB

You'd have to define low. I used Grandal with a higher average as a comp because I see a bigger difference between BA/OBP than most and I think most of his SLG value will come from doubles with 25-30 home runs sprinkled in. So I guess 2018-2020 Grandal (with higher average) is more what I was getting at. I'm not saying he'll hit .230/.400/.500 or something that outrageous in his prime, but .265/.380/.480 or something isn't too far-fetched given his potential walk rates

If he's getting on base 38% of the time and slugging near .500, I doubt anyone will care about his average

.260/.330/.440 or something, more strikeouts than expected. But long-term, I think he's a 1:1 K:BB guy with Grandal-like slash lines, maybe a bit higher average

On the other hand, it seems irresponsible for reporters to claim it's 162 game pay for 154 games, while ignoring that Manfred can pause/reduce the season whenever he wants, and if he does so, full pay is not guaranteed

There are plenty of issues with that proposal, and boiling it down to just expanded playoffs versus regular playoffs just really misses the point

Nah, I don't think it will be like last year. There's really no reason for the season to not start as scheduled, given that the CBA is in place and the government is allowing every other league to play too. The only way I can see a delay (barring a surprise acceptance from MLBPA) is if the owners can somehow "convince" the government to deem an on time season as unsafe/hazardous, but I have a hard time believing that will happen

I don't think this was posted here actually: Lots of good insight in there for why they'll reject, such as the proposal including Manfred having full authority to halt the season, the fact that pitchers are already ramping up and would likely see an increase in injuries (like last year), the lack of off days in the proposal and their impact on health, and more

Yeah, I noticed that too and was surprised it isn't being discussed more. That alone is enough for the union to reject, even with the other ~6 reasons in the Nightengale article

If you want Marquez, you have to give up at least one of Vaughn/Kopech/Crochet, which the Sox aren't doing So if you want Marquez, you have to take on a bad contract (Blackmon), which the Sox aren't doing So if you're trading with the Rockies, it's probably Jon Gray (yuck)

Eaton's defense is very overrated because of how good he was in 2016. He hasn't been close to that guy ever since leaving the Sox

Agreed but not sure what else you can expect when you root for a team that has had a massive hole in RF for almost a decade (with the exception of 2016 alone). Especially when no steps are ever taken to actually address that hole, only stopgaps who underperform

I can see Vaughn having a few Votto-esque seasons in his prime (5-7 wins), essentially all from offensive value. I struggle to see even a maxed-out Madrigal coming anywhere close to that