TheFutureIsNear

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 30, 2013 -> 01:05 PM) If we're not expecting an .857 or better OPS from Abreu next year then that contract looks really, really dumb. Its a 6 year deal. He's a rookie who will be not only be adjusting to MLB pitching, but the entire culture of the country. You're honestly going to tell me you expect him to perform that well right off the bat? .857 OPS would have been good for 21st in all of baseball last year and 8th among 1B. Plus you act as if the $7M he will be making each of the next 2 years is a big contract. Thats peanuts in todays MLB. If he's playing everyday and maintaining a .775ish OPS its great value. Not saying Abreu can't or won't be a good player, but .850 OPS in his 1st year just seems a little unrealistic to me.

C or RP are the only positions I see us possibly taking a shot at in the Rule V. They are the only 2 positions I see us being able to stick with on the roster all year. With that said, I can easily see us going after 1 of the power arms available to see if Coop can work with them. There are 3 or 4 guys available that throw 95+ and that has been this FO's MO for quite a while.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Nov 29, 2013 -> 09:23 PM) By my, perhaps twisted, logic they don't have to replicate what those guys did run for run. The Sox lost 52 of their 99 games by 2 runs or less. To me, and perhaps only to me, that means they're not as far away as some might think. Once again, perhaps only in my world, I think if you improve 3 positions, Abreu already being one, Granderson being another, and a trade could bring another. I see both arguments and believe they're both valid, Hahn can go either way. What about the bullpen? That has a huge impact on all of those 2 run games. It seems like we are going to be relying on Reed, Lindstrom, Jones and a bunch of rookies. And what about our 3,4, and 5 SP's? A lot of youth and an injury prone and inconsistent Danks. Is it not possible that the back of our rotation struggles a lot? For the record, I fell pretty good about our young pitching for the future, both Sp and Rp. But they are going to do what young pitchers do and struggle. I don't see how this upcoming season is going to go well unless you are hoping and praying for everything possible to go right. Abreu, Garcia, Vicidieo, Santiago, Johnson, and at least 3 of the young BP arms would all have to perform at least up to or exceeding expectations. Just too much to do in 1 year.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Nov 29, 2013 -> 04:23 PM) You guys are avoiding DAs point about this team being just 1 year removed from being 4th in the AL in runs scored. I think it's completely plausible to think they can return to that esp. if Abreu hits like we're all hoping. I'm all for Granderson. He walks at a pretty good rate and he won't clog the base paths. Batting him 3rd ahead of Abreu-Dunn-Garcia would be quite the sexy middle of the lineup. If they can then trade Santiago for yet another piece then the offense should be more than good enough to get the Sox back in contention. 4 of the top 5 guys in OPS are gone from that team. And Dunn is the 5th and he's getting more and more unreliable by the day(OPS is dropping a shocking amount year by year). Anybody who is expecting Abreu to match a .857 OPS or Garcia to maintain close to a .850 OPS needs to take off the rose colored glasses. Is it possible? Sure, but we are talking about rookies. 1 of which I don't think has even stepped foot on American soil yet. Expecting either to do so is unrealistic. And then there is the catcher spot.....AJ hit out of his mind that year, I'd be shocked if our C spot produces 3/4 of what he did that year. Our offense is still 2 or 3 guys away from our team being in real contention. We've already traded off 2 big pieces and suffered through 1 horrible season, why ruin progress with a waste of $ stopgap that isn't enough to get the team over the hump? Personally I see being bad for another year as the best possible thing for the franchise and its future. 2015 is a whole different story though, I'd be upset with anything less than a playoff appearance.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Nov 29, 2013 -> 01:04 PM) You are one of very few voices of reason my friend. Signing Granderson to a team that's rebuilding/retooling etc is just spending money for the sake of spending money as well as just plain dumb. That money is better spent on player development than any one free agent. If this team was close to contending I would be all for it but they aren't so invest that money in the farm, future drafts and Intl signings. Look at it this way. Had we already signed Granderson we could very well have missed out on Abreu ( depending on years/ money per year for Grandy). Thanks but no thanks Curtis! Yeah I've been surprised by the amount of people who want to hold on and not embrace a rebuild. Not saying I haven't seen a good amount of people rooting for a rebuild, but there are just way more people who are delusional about the talent on the current roster. Curtis Granderson isn't going to make our horrible offense any less horrible.

QUOTE (flavum @ Nov 29, 2013 -> 11:32 AM) If they got Granderson for 2 years at 26 mil, I'd be happy with that. Two years while the Sox are still trying to develop some guys, I'd be ok with. Three years is where I don't want him--especially at 12+ mil. I bet he signs somewhere in the next two weeks, so we'll know soon enough. Why? So he can be there just to ensure the team stays mediocre? This team does not need to be investing $ in any player that isn't apart of the future. Plus the current lineup is already over capacity with guys who can't keep their OBP above .320.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Nov 28, 2013 -> 03:44 PM) God, I hope this is false. Might as well punt the season, if true. I don't like punting whole seasons. Sometimes you have to get worse to get better.....I'd like to see a vet brought in who can field the position well, but I don't see the need to break the bank for any of the guys available this year. If we can get a young C in a trade then great, but I see no need to rush and get the 1st upgrade available.

Not really big news or anything, but its slow..... BA had him as San Fran's 8th best prospect going into last season and he's put had a fairly impressive minor league career. Still 25 and supposedly has some serious tools. Could be an interesting guy to bring for a look

Is there a neither option? But if I had to pick 1 I guess I'd go with Salty. It wouldn't be a good contract, but it wouldn't be bad enough to handcuff the organization or anything either. Johnson has a chance to be a legit #3, if not #2 starter. I'm not trading him + a guy who has a shot to be a starting 2B in the near future for Weiters

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 26, 2013 -> 12:05 PM) I think were close, but if say the Red Sox and the Orioles both feel they need a left handed power bat and nothing but a left handed power bat, and Adam Dunn is the only one available, I think you could potentially see one or both increase what they are willing to give up (perhaps demanding the Sox pick up only $5 mill rather than $10 mill, or willing to give a better prospect, or whatever). However, that's a pretty narrow scenario and I think both teams would attempt to find a substitute that offers more utility than Adam Dunn, even if it costs them more. There are going to be more left handed power bats available than Adam Dunn. I was actually thinking the same thing as for desperate AL teams, but with the Yankees and Mariners. The Yankees paid 14M over 2 years for Vernon Wells last year in a desperate attempt for a power hitter. Dunn doesn't seem that out of the question. Cashman seems to love renting players in recent years as well. The Mariners are also desperate for a power hitter and I don't see any of the big name guys going there unless the Mariners grossly overpay. They could be willing to settle on Dunn as a last ditch effort. They know they have to start competing with the pitching they have. Not saying its at all likely, just that's its not out of the question and if there were to be any interest Hahn should definitely do his best to work out a reasonable deal if possible.

QUOTE (sammy esposito @ Nov 25, 2013 -> 07:35 PM) We traded for Thome who had a big contract from Philly that worked for us. Why wouldn't there be any takers in say the national league that could use a player with his high obp and power enhanced by a huge discount. You can't even compare Dunn to Thome circa 2005. Thome had a down year the year before we traded for because of injury. He only had 242 AB's. And even despite .205 average he still manged a .360 OBP. The year before that he hit .279/.396/.581. Dunn has been bad for 3 straight years. Plus he can't play 1B full time. Dunn is a late desperate grab at adding a power bat for 1 of the AL contenders. Yankees? Rangers? Oakland?

Isn't it possible that Dunn's value is higher right now than it will be at the break though? He was having a pretty good 2nd half until he fell flat out his face his last month. What if he is hitting .195/.320 with 12 HR's at the deadline? We could easily end up stuck with him for the entire season. I'm not saying we should flat out dump him, but I think Hanhn should be doing his due diligence on moving him (if there is a market at all). I agree that $5 million should be the limit of what we should be willing to chip in though.

And the $ keeps flowing in LA

I wouldn't mind taking a look at Brody Colvin. He was a top prospect for the Phillies at 1 point. Could be a good bullpen arm, he has a power curve already. He has some mechanical and control issues but who knows....Coop could fix him

QUOTE (scs787 @ Nov 24, 2013 -> 07:30 PM) I can't find the article that I believe "Dayan" posted that talked about how they weren't "passing" on 2014, and it went along with what Bucket has said at the beginning of the offseason. IDK, can a front office really say they are "passing" on a year even if they really are? I personally see the front office's focus on 2015. And with the core we have currently I don't think its at all unrealistic that we could be serious contenders by then. The Red Sox laid out a blue print and we should be following it.

QUOTE (sircaffey @ Nov 24, 2013 -> 05:33 PM) Actually I kind of view it as the opposite. STL was one of the few teams that could actually call Alexei a substantial upgrade. And they decided that it was more prudent to give a buttload of money to a PED user than trade for Alexei. And now, the market for Alexei looks very very thin. I just don't know where the demand is going to come from, especially with Stephen Drew still a FA. Not many contending teams need a SS. Hopefully the market will change through injuries or more PED suspensions... Was thinking the same thing. What contenders still need a SS? Dodgers, Pirates, and ??? Plus with Drew still available it lessens the market further. Hahn could be very busy at the deadline

I don't see how a trade makes sense with San Diego at all. Alexei doesn't make any more sense for them than Headley does for us. Unless its a young pitcher for their young hitter swap. Grandal is literally the only guy that makes sense from their team to me. And I think that might cost us Q, not sure they'd let him go for Hector.

Dodgers? They have Hanley, but they don't have a 3B either and Hanley could easily slide over. Could be some sort of older Cuban mentor for Puig too. Call me crazy, but I wouldn't mind getting a package back that included Dee Gordon. Hasn't looked great in the majors so far, but he's demonstrated he can be a pretty productive hitter in the minors. Just needs to put it together and change of scenery could be good for him. Obviously not the only thing I would want in return for Alexei. Only other team I can think of is the Pirates. They have a plethora of young players we could want in return.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Nov 23, 2013 -> 08:10 PM) Can we trade for Gary Sanchez please? Not sure how realistic it is that the Yankees will trade Sanchez at this point, but they do have a kid named JR Murphy who slashed .280/.359/.439 between AA and AAA last year. May not have the pedigree of Sanzhez, but seems ready to contribute fairly soon and could be a guy we get as part of a package.

7:26pm: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that one team who offered Peralta four years and $52MM was told they're "not even in [the] game." http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/11/card...se-to-deal.html Yikes, no way I'd even pay the $52M for Peralta, let alone more. He hasn't been able to put together 2 consecutive good seasons in quite some time.

Rosenthal defusing the rumor a bit now. Says talks are serious, but no deal is close

No details yet, but over or under $100 million?

I don't think anybody needs to waste the effort of discussing Matt Kemp. Not happening.

So I think we can all agree that Hahn should at least be exploring trade possibilities for 1 of young LH SP's? We should make up a list of all of the teams actively looking for SP and what they presumably could/would realistically offer. I'll start... La Angels - Their rotation is very weak beyond Wilson and Weaver. Even more so after letting lefty Vargas walk. They are also in championship or bust mode given their pay roll. Who they could give up- Howie Kendrick, Mark Trumbo, Taylor Lindsey, CJ Cron, Kaleb Cowart Not sure how they look as a trade partner to be honest. I want to move in the opposite direction of the Trumbo's of the world and Kendrick is a little old for us. Plus their top position prospects leave a lot to be desired. Anyone wanna try another team?

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 22, 2013 -> 07:29 PM) Even with Jay traded there is four outfielders there..? Bourjos will be 27 at the start of next year and has a grand total of 1100 AB's in the majors with a .251/.306/.398 career slash line. Bourjos is hardly penciled into the starting lineup.