steveno89

QUOTE (GenericUserName @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 11:50 PM) From a fangraphs chat: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/fangraphs-a...ark-chat-12517/ How would you guys feel about that deal? I am not a fan of that deal, or Red Sox prospects in general right now. Chavis' numbers really came back to earth after he got promoted to AA. If that is the best deal on the table I think we keep Abreu.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 05:47 PM) Craig Mish‏Verified account @CraigMish 4h4 hours ago SourceS : Full trade offer from SF to Miami for Giancarlo Stanton. Tyler Beede Heliot Ramos (1st noted by @JoeFrisaro ) Chris Shaw Christian Arroyo @jonmorosi had 250 mil 1st @clarkspencer had some combo of this deal also. Four prospects and picking up $250 million in remaining contract seems steep for San Francisco. Their farm is already pretty bad, but this will easily give them the worst in the mlb. Giants will get Stanton, and Arroyo's inclusion is disputed. If Stanton rakes he can opt out in 2020, if he sucks then the Giants choke on his contract for the next decade.

QUOTE (cjgalloway @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 05:20 PM) No matter what kind of good stuff we are smoking there is no way you get that package for Abreu. Why? Flaherty's numbers are a little misleading, as his 2.74 ERA in 15 AAA starts looks more pedestrian with a 4.10 FIP and 4.06 xFIP. His cup of coffee at the mlb level did not go very well either. He's still a quality prospect, but I see mid rotation ceiling for him. Piscotty I don't see us trading for as he was signed long term and is coming off a bad season. Bader is overrated in my book, as he really does not have any standout tools. He seems to be a guy that ends up being a good fourth outfielder on a contender, but I don't think he has the bat to be a corner OF regular on a championship team. I'm not trying to tear these guys down, but who out of these guys do you feel is too much for the Cardinals to sacrifice for an impact bat?

QUOTE (Quin @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 04:10 PM) Yeah, Kelly would necessitate trading one of Omar or Smith, if not both. I'd focus on Flaherty, Perez and an OF http://www.stltoday.com/sports/if-not-stan...cbe99163c8.html This article seems to suggest something in the realm of Flaherty + Piscotty + Bader might be just short of what it would take from the Cardinals fan perspective. Personally I would want more in order to deal Abreu. If I am St. Louis I would be very interested in acquiring Abreu if the cost was only prospects. They have a glut of outfielders and Flaherty is expendable.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 03:44 PM) You're welcome to disagree, man, but there are two or three pages with reams of researched reasons supporting the opposite side of the argument, and you're just popping in essentially saying "nuh-uh" without any evidence to support it. It's hard to take your stance seriously if you don't make a case. I'm not saying you're wrong, but you gotta defend it. Me too. The current free agent class for outfielders is not great with JD Martinez, Cain, Bruce and Gomez the top available guys. Garcia could be an attractive trade target under control for two more seasons?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 11:12 AM) If they don't deal Sale and Eaton, they probably would have been close to moving on from Avisail too, if not at least platooning him. Now they're either looking at a decent player moving forward or a guy that they can trade for a small package too. The Sox are among the teams best positioned to make noise moving forward. 2018 will be fun watching the kids, and 2019 could be a really great year, especially if they're able to bring in one of the top free agents. Best case scenario? Yes, 2018 we show progress and 2019 take that step forward. I'm still a bit skeptical as young players often need time to adjust to the mlb level. I see our bullpen being a big question mark in 2018 as we really do not have anything reliable in that regard right now. Sure we can supplement the pen with a free agent or two, but we still need to develop 3-5 quality arms ourselves for relief.

QUOTE (GenericUserName @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 01:45 PM) I think this is where I differ with a lot of people. I love Kelly and O'Neil and both are kinda blocked at the ML level and are probably ready to take the jump. If St. Louis makes Kelly available that could be interesting. O'Neill it depends on what you think of his hit tool playing at the mlb level? https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2017/9/17/1631...offseason-trade St. Louis has an outfield logjam and should be motivated to deal some of that

QUOTE (GenericUserName @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 01:19 PM) Yeah, from what I heard before he was a SS with a chance to hit and hit for power and could profile at third if he slowed down too much. Now its a 3B who might have to move to 1B and hasn't hit or had the power they thought he would have so he doesn't profile well at either spot. But considering how bad the Angels farm is, its worth the risk. For the Angels and their crappy system? Absolutely worth the risk. Maitan could still develop into a great player, but after struggling in rookie ball he is no longer viewed as a player that could fast track to the majors. Small sample size and still very young, but a sub .600 OPS means he has a long way to go developmentally.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 01:28 PM) I’d do a trade built around Reyes, but Flaherty doesn’t do enough for me. We got enough guys with similar or higher ceilings that will need to be given opportunities in the next year or so. Flaherty has the look of a guy who could develop into a mid rotation starter eventually, but I would certainly need more to ship Abreu off. I don't love the Cardinals position player prospect crop right now to say what other pieces I would need.

QUOTE (GenericUserName @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 01:04 PM) Maitan signing reported to be for $2.2mil, which means thats from next year because I believe they only have like $1.3mil for Ohtani. I've been reading that Maitan's stock is down considerably, enough for him to likely fall out of the top 100 prospects due to questions about some bad weight gain? He's far too young to give up on, but he also seems to be viewed as much riskier than before.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 4, 2017 -> 10:14 AM) Hopefully Stanton picks the Giants this week and then the Cardinals turn their attention towards Abreu. All just in time for the Winter Meetings next week. Abreu should remain in demand because he won't require teams to hand out 3+ year deals to players like Santana and Hosmer. The Sox know this and will keep his asking price very high until they know they are getting the most value possible.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 09:59 AM) Avi seems to me to be a guy who will really slow up running as he approaches 30. It seems it happens to the bigger guys who can run a bit earlier. But trading either guy all depends on the return. If other teams aren't going to pay for last year's production, there is no need to give them away, and Hahn won't. If Avi had put up back to back similar seasons to 2017 then his trade value would be through the roof right now, but I still think we can find a team willing to take a two year chance that he keeps it up. We have some players who can fill in the outfield until Jimenez is ready.

QUOTE (GermanSock @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 07:00 AM) New mlb.com list http://m.mlb.com/news/article/262831302/ml...prospects-list/ Surprised they have it so pitching heavy, they don't seem to love the hitters of the class. I don't think that 4 out of the top5 go pitching though, even if the hitters are not super exciting. Especially surprised no college Bat in top10. I get it is not a super exciting class for college bats but while they may have less upside the bust risk is also much lower than high school hitters or pitchers. I'm sure some teams in the top10 will consider that and prefer lower risk (and faster ETA) bumping up some of the college bats who have a good year late. Doesn’t seem to be a ton of separation in this draft, but looks like we will end up adding another top 100 overall prospect to our system at #4 overall right away. High school talent is ranked higher than college tallest for now. These lists always dramatically change by draft day. Casey Mize is a player I have read up on and like. Players that can dominate in the SEC (best conference in NCAA) have a solid track record of success. The only thing holding him back are a few injury issues.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 09:05 AM) Top 4 right now: Ethan Hankins Nander De Sedas Nolan Gorman Brice Turang I haven't watched much of Liberatore yet, but from the little I watched yesterday, he looks like a pretty nice prospect as well. He might bump someone off this list for me. Madrigal seems to be underrated due to his size, but the guy can hit.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Dec 4, 2017 -> 06:54 PM) This is my tweet so I'll elaborate: Rangers: Have $3.53 million. They can acquire roughly $1.5 million more. Total: $5 million. Mariners: Have $1.57 million. They can acquire $2-$2.5 million more. Total: $3.5-$4 million Angels: Have $1.315 million. They can acquire $2 million. Total: $3-$3.5 million. I’ll gladly deal away more bonus pool money in exchange for prospects

QUOTE (Quin @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 12:48 AM) And more importantly, the assets were elite and controlled. Just sucks we couldn’t build a winner around what assets we had. The tigers and royals farm systems will take a few years to restock and neither possess the top end talent ours currently does.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 4, 2017 -> 04:53 PM) I mean, I'd rather give out the 10-year deals to guys in their mid-20s than the 10-year deals towards the 30/31 year olds (Pujols, Cano for example). Unless he bounces back, the Cabrera contract is the total disaster. He's set to get paid $184 million guaranteed over the next 6 seasons, which is a ton obviously. Signing a 33 year old to an eight year contract just screams bad idea, and I think the Tigers will suffer as a result. Of course it is easier to hand a 8+ year deal to a player in their mid 20's, but the downside is very real. The Harper/Machado free agency figures very well could reach insane levels that I am not sure the White Sox should be messing with (+$400 million deals).

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 4, 2017 -> 04:59 PM) Guerrero? Seems like he’s been pretty succeful every year except 2016. His ERA from last year is very misleading if you followed him start to start. My only guess is that the White Sox did not think all that highly of his stuff playing at the mlb level (although as a young lefty I am not sure why he wasn't given the chance in 2018 to earn a bullpen or rotation spot?).

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 4, 2017 -> 04:43 PM) Yeah I just don't think either team has anything worthwhile to deal. Cabrera will bring back nothing even if they can move him. They're gonna have to do it the way the Cubs and Astros did: suck and keep accumulating top draft picks for at least 3-4 years and keep trying to sign and flip guys. The Cabrera and Zimmerman deals are a disaster moving forward, as nearly $50 million of payroll is going to those two players. These things should be kept in mind as we all clamor for the Sox to chase the huge money free agents next offseason. They did manage to offload Verlander, Wilson and Upton which goes a long way towards financial relief.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 4, 2017 -> 04:18 PM) Cleveland being monstrously loaded through 2018 and beyond probably also. They might well win 100+ again next year. In fact, with the Tigers, White Sox, and Royals in that division, they're probably likely to win 100+. Sox knew that they were not going to compete with Cleveland in the near future for the division. Royals gave it one last shot with a championship roster and came up empty. The additional picks and bonus pool money will help, but you can really only squeeze so much out of the draft each year. If you get a couple players who make the majors that is a great draft class. For being one full year into our rebuild we have come a long way, albeit largely due to trading very valuable cost controlled assets. The Tigers/Royals don't have nearly what we had in Sale/Eaton/Quintana to reload with.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 4, 2017 -> 12:01 PM) Royals and Tigers going to hell right when the Sox have a window opening in the near future is one of my favorite parts of the rebuild. Totally agree^ Sox should be ahead of the Royals and Tigers rebuilds, and be ready to roll when the Indians window should be closing. Twins are decent, but I like our top end talent better than theirs right now.

QUOTE (daggins @ Dec 4, 2017 -> 03:13 PM) Considering the roster of non-competing, rebuilding teams continues to grow, I absolutely expect some team will roster him as a starter and just let him take his lumps a la Dylan Covey. Why keep Covey over Guerrero? I've seen all I need to determine that Covey sucks.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 4, 2017 -> 02:09 PM) Really sucks he was left off. Feel like we definitely could have made room (couldn't they cut Hansen sooner?). I still do not understand not protecting Guerrero given our lack of left handed pitching depth in the system. Diving deeper into his 2017 numbers, there is a pretty stark contrast between his home and away splits. He was significantly better at home in pitcher friendly Birmingham, than away. His peripherals like FIP and xFIP are pretty strong. All in all, I am puzzled as to why we wouldn't protect him? Currently I have the Sox roster at 36, and I'm not sure why Guerrero didn't warrant a spot?

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ Dec 4, 2017 -> 12:12 PM) How many players hit .330 over the course of an entire season during any time in their career? There is a lot of skepticism that is not tied to reality - reality in this case being a player who has improved his plate discipline, has lost a lot of weight and has greatly improved his physical conditioning. He looks quicker and no doubt has more flexibility with the weight ;loss. In addition, he has effectively countered the strategy of pitching him low outside pitches by anticipating those pitches and taking them to right field. I see a progression in Avi's power numbers when pitchers start abandoning that strategy and try to get him out on the inside part of the plate more. I would not trade Avi unless a no-miss blue chip prospect is included plus one or two more highly rated prospects. This guy is a stud...one of the best hitters in the league and he might only get better adding power numbers. Maybe. I get where you are coming from, but we need to be realistic about Avi's breakout season. There are legitimate questions as to whether he can produce at close to 2017 levels moving forward. If he is a stud as you are saying, that means you want to extend him, right? How much/long are you willing to offer him?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 4, 2017 -> 10:45 AM) I pretty convinced now they’ll sign at least one reliever to a multi-year deal. That may only be for two years, but it really sounds like Hahn’s focus at the Winter Meetings (outside of potentially selling guys like Avi, etc) will be to add major league ready pitching and I definitely see him adding one moderately priced veteran to esnure some stability. Why offer a reliever a 2 year deal at this point though? The Castillo signing makes sense because we need to bridge the gap until Collins/Zavala are ready to contribute. I see several one year deal and/or minor league contracts to players similar to Swarzak who could bounce back.