steveno89

I could see signing one premium free agent to be a part of our rebuilding plan, but two is out of the question at this point.

For a team that has never shelled out a 100+ million contract, to suggest that we would dish out (2) likely $300+ million contracts in one offseason is insanity. Frankly, I would be concerned if our rebuilding plan was centered around spending $600+ million on two players to fill holes. That is just not prudent to building a winning roster.

There is some truth in what you are saying. Sometimes you are better off paying for "known" production, than trying to cobble it together across several free agents. Sox are prepared to be aggressive in the Machado/Harper markets, but I don't think we should lose sight of the second and third tier free agents we should also be looking at. Buying low on the right player(s) can be lucrative.

Any rumored interest for us to pursue Grandal? He is certainly going to get paid, but he would lock down our catching position for the next (3-5) seasons with Narvaez. Legitimate questions about Collins and Zavala defensively do not make me feel as if the position is settled long term.

Putting that much payroll into two players just is not a smart decision. Remember we still need starting pitching and bullpen help, and not everything can be home grown. Giving Harper/Machado such massive deals would handcuff our ability to spend elsewhere for years.

Josh Donaldson could be a decent buy low option on a 2/40 type of deal? We are still easily a year away from really contending, but he could help on a much cheaper deal.

Assuming nearly everyone else on the roster is barely getting paid? Then sure we end up around 130 million. We still would be far short of building a competitive roster even if we added both Harper/Machado hypothetically. This team still has numerous holes to fill as currently constructed.

I don't think the Nationals are desperate to keep Harper with Robles likely being ready soon. With Eaton, Soto and Robles their outfield is pretty set.

A likely +$600 million offseason? I'd be pretty surprised if we land one, let alone both. Long term payroll flexibility would swiftly be out the window, and I'm not even certain adding them both makes us a playoff team with the way the rest of the roster is constructed. With the payroll being as low as it is, there is no way to cry poor during the bidding process. I can't help but feel it might be more shrewd to sign shorter term free agents for substantially less money though.

ABSOLUTELY NOT^

Grienke is not getting moved unless the DBacks are willing to eat substantial amounts of that salary. I'm just guessing, but I think it would take at least $30 million of that deal to even get teams talking to them about a trade.

If Madrigal projected to have slightly above or even average power potential then I think he clearly would go 1:1 in the draft given his other tools. The wrist injury set him back, but he should still project for 10-15 homers down the line given how much contact he makes.

As other posters have mentioned, many of those clubs luxury tax penalties have reset, making the overage tax only 20%. The clubs I listed all have plenty of money to chase premium free agents and can sell them a team ready to win now. I think the Sox will be involved, but how much so remains a question mark. Sox do have plenty of money to spend if they want to though. At some point we need to go out an acquire a few cornerstone pieces to help supplement the lineup.

Not necessarily. Sometimes if you place a similar value on players internally you can opt for a below slot deal that helps your draft as a whole. Everything is relative to the situation

Sure, but from a value standpoint I'd rather look elsewhere than 1B/DH with a top 5 pick. There is so much time for players not on the radar right now to emerge that it is difficult to assess much. Sox typically are linked to more developed college prospects vs. high school talent that is 4-5 years away from the majors.

If the 1B is truly the BPA then we consider it, but I doubt that becomes the case is what I meant. The draft would have to be pretty thin for me to be considering a 1B/DH that high up. We should be looking for pitching or up the middle talent. I wouldn't be against a premium high school talent either.

There's obviously a ton of time between now and the draft. I highly doubt we use a top 5 selection on a college 1B. We should be looking for top end college pitching, or an up the middle player. Picking that high you try to select BPA, regardless of position.

As much as we may want to sign a Harper or Machado, nobody can know how realistic that will be even if the money is there on our side to do so? Sure the Sox should be involved, but to view us as anything more than a dark horse would be foolish against teams like the Yankees/Angels/Dodgers/Red Sox/Cubs. I think we will be more active than last season, but I still get the feeling that this offseason will feature mainly bridge type deals to help get us into our competitive window. 2019 is another pretty painful rebuilding year, as the bulk of our minor league talent won't be mlb ready until 2020.

Fuck Lost season of control and development. At least 2019 was likely to be a rebuilding year as well and he should be ready for 2020. But FUCK

Awful News per James Fegan

Brantley I'm sure will be looking for at least a 3-4 year deal, which I am certainly not going to entertain. I just see him declining after age 32, and would be unwilling to go more than two season on him.

I hope we resist the temptation to sign second tier free agents like Brantley, etc.

Will likely depend on how he finishes out the season. A strong finish and we keep him around, a poor finish and he's at risk to be cut loose.

I did a deep dive on Jose Ruiz in my first article for Sox On 35th here for anyone that is interested: https://soxon35th.com/2018/08/16/deeper-dive-on-the-under-the-radar-rhp-jose-ruiz/

He's not a free agent until 2025 essentially now. Way too soon to be talking about him not wanting to sign an extension before having his first professional at bat. Frankly, I hope he walks the walk when he comes up to the majors because he still has everything to prove.