he gone.

True. But it's pretty clear that TLR values defense over bat (doesn't help that Collins doesn't have a bat). I was totally against it at first, but once Robert and Eloy are back? We don't really need an extra bat, especially as a backup to Grandal. I'd stick with Seby or the guy we just traded for. I was ready to be a fan of Collins ... i defended him a bunch at the outset ... I'm officially done with him. in regards to Sheets/Goodwin/Hamilton ... it's pretty easy - one guy you can send down with no repercussions ... Sheets. You do that. If Robert is back in ... what? 5-10 days that puts us at almost mid August. September call ups are around the corner. Sheets on the bench for 2-3 weeks of meaningless games or cut bait with Goodwin?

That's the Rays being the Rays. Actually kind of a smart move in my opinion. They tweak to go for it each year ... Glasnow obviously wasn't going to help this year. He then had his surgery so late in the season and as we've seen with Syndergaard, Severino, Sale, etc. these rehabs are taking upwards of 14 months to even get back on the mound. So chances are if he's back in any capacity next year its for mayyyyybe late September baseball out of the bullpen. Dont know his contract situation, but it sounds like one year left? after that. So are the Rays going to really pay him next year to rehab, and then the following year for one year of service knowing they're not resigning him? If they could've turned that into Bryant and Kimbrel and then traded Kimbrel for some pieces in the offseason? That's just smart baseball. You'll likely even see Glasnow traded this offseason for the exact same reasons above. Not easy being a Rays fan, but they're like Costanza going out on top ... they see something, they see the price, and they churn. Hell, i wouldn't even mind if the sox did something similar with Giolito ... Reinsdorf doesn't like to go over 4 years, mayyyybe he'll go 5 in a really good mood. Giolito doesn't seem like the type of guy who will take under 6-7/market value. Do you ride the horse for a World Series chance or do you flip him like Snell and probably get a similar return where you have a guy like Patino slotting into your rotation for the next 4-5 years? I know most people would say ride Gio ... but we've seen his bad (his first year) his greatness (the next few years) and ups and downs (this year, sticky stuff, last few starts). I'd like to think the real Gio is somewhere in between ... maybe not Ace, but more like #2 type guy.

They'll kick the can down the road ... fight about it for 1.5/2 or so years, then get it to a vote before the next 2 year vote cycle .... blame republicans for not supporting, then say they're re-working another angle just in time for the 4 year vote cycle. Democrats will run on student loan forgiveness in 2023/4 to try and sway the young vote their way. Rinse and repeat. And we all eat it up like movie popcorn.

love to hear that. didnt need astros going out and getting like buxton or bryant. that team didn't need to be more loaded

i wonder if the astros are going after like ... buxton? they definitely aren't just letting their CF walk with no return guy planned.

hm.. that's strange. he was playing a lot CF for the astros ...... another deal ready for the astros?? bryant?

the rockies lol. they screw up constantly. amazing really. who knows maybe the price drops so much that we can add story lol

This deadline is absolutely insane. this is like when the bars opened post covid ... floodgates are open. good pieces for phillies ... wild, wild day.

cubs are doing a great job in my opinion. They tried to extend a few of these guys ... the guys seemed to love the cubs, nothing is stopping them from talking to rizzo and bryant and baez as their FA markets develop. getting young talent in return ... not bad all around. only really bad move looks like Yu darvish deal ... which if i remember right they took on some really young guys. basically i think they took on more, younger, prospects - lottery ticket approach. i bet if they held onto him until the deadline they coulda landed the berrios type return. still not bad.

one thing ... if there is any bit of salt ... the price for Kimbrel woulda been a lot less this offseason ... wish we pushed down that pedal when money was thin and teams were scared about revenue/fans.

trades are already controversial ... throw in a controversial player in Madrigal and there will be some fun takes. Personally it stings, but second baseman are one of the easier positions to replace (which is a bit funny when you think how long we went with Mendick and Leury). I loved his throwback style and this stings personally, but i get it. this makes us a better team. Guessing that the Cubs ate the salary for this year to get Madrigal, but still would cost $16mm next year ...

Kimbrel .... oooooo that sounds sexy. Really, i think he may be the biggest difference maker left out there for the sox maybe outside of Bryant. if you have kimbrel, kopech, crochet, and hendriks closing out the last 3-4 innings on a nightly basis (not to mention bummer) .... that takes a huge load off our starters & is an absolute nightmare for teams.

I was wrong on Engel before.. i thought he was 4OF/AAAA trash. I thought he was a player for a 72 win team. hand up, that was wrong. I now think he is a legit starter in this league and can be our everyday RF for a World Series team. Call me crazy. He just looks good. I also don't like getting in a pissing match based on what others are doing. Take care of our own and win our own ball games. Who cares what the Dodgers or Padres are doing. That said, if the price for Bryant is reasonable? I'm not going to complain as it definitely adds a lethal bat, a guy who can play a buncha positions, etc. I'd give up Burger and Lambert for that in a heartbeat.

There's still a chance that the Padres and Dodgers play in a WC game ... one of those teams loses. It's for sure a mega super team, but whatevs. go giants!

To me you just look at like the Patino for Snell trade... I think I'd already rather have Patino and the Rays have how many more years of him and what cost? I don't know what a Scherzer costs ... maybe its Gore? Maybe Gore turns into a nobody, maybe he turns into Giolito. i get it's the cost of going for it, but I'd rather dink and dunk with Cesar Hernandez' of the world than give up controllable talent if I were the Padres. Two of those three teams in the West are going to be playing each other in the WC game to probably play the other team in the West in a 5 game series. You have one bad outing in the WC game and the year is moot and you've lost your controllable talent for a short term guy.

My favorite day! The armchair GM reaction day. All of a sudden everybody is an expert on Cesar Hernandez career strengths and weaknesses and have been scouting Pilkington down in AA and know his for sure potential! Cesar Hernandez is an upgrade. He doesn't cost a ton. He has stolen bases and has had speed in the past, hitting the ball with more power this year, is serviceable and can slot in at the 9 spot. He's a one year commitment and is a fine get. Not every move needs to be a splash. I give it a solid B grade. Story would've been cool, but none of know the price on him, so let's just be happy!

I'm probably in the minority - but I'm glad we have Hahn and not Preller. That team had a stockpile of talent, and it's cool they're going for it, but if it doesn't work out, it's going to sting when they're watching like 20 prospects across the league flourish.

I would think the Sox WOULD NOT take on extra salary in lieu of prospects. everything the sox have shown me for a better part of two decades is the opposite. Blackmon wouldn't even really be a need at this point. I'd almost prefer Engel ... which sounds crazy and maybe is. But unless the Rockies are just moving on completely I don't think they'll package them together.

I'm torn ... me thinks the Sox knew they have a hole and absolutely know they have to fill it. It would seem very odd for them not to fill it. They were definitely in the conversations for Frazier and Escobar and both of those returns seems to be able to be matched ... as such ... it makes me think they have their sights on someone else. I just don't see them passing all together and saying they're okay with Garcia and Mendick. I think that you'll see Burger, Lopez, and _______ go back in any deal. Story i think makes a whole buncha sense, but we'll see.

The Dodgers/Giants/Padres rivalries are going to really drive these prices a bit high IMO. I'd love to add someone, but those 3 are going to drive the price up pretty high on some of these bigger names/pieces. Feel like the A's, Astros, Mets, Braves, Brewers, Sox, Rays, etc. are all comfortable pursuing more of the second and third tier options. Meanwhile those three West Coast teams are like sharks driving the market. Not like we're going after a Scherzer or Gray anyways, but someone like Story would be nice if the price doesn't get driven up.

Maybe ... but it's not like Luzardo hasn't already had success at the majors. Luzardo had tossed 70IP of under 4FIP ball entering this year ... at the ages of 21 and 22. I'd guess that this years wildness was the outlier and will return to a top prospect soon.

I forgot about Sixto! EIGHT! deep. lawd. ? That team is set up for me to put a nice $25 or $50 wager at like +4000 to win the World Series next year. That type of pitching depth is hard to come by.

Luzardo is a very, very good return for Marte and paying $4mm. Look at Giolito from year to the next. Or Cease. Sometimes all these guys need is a change of pace or team. One slight tweak and they're a star. Personally I'm a fan of this trade for the Marlins. They tried extending Marte at like 3/39 and he said no. I think that's a fair price on Marte. You move on and you get yourself a nice lottery ticket with significant upside. They now have: Alcantara Rogers Pablo Lopez Eleiser Hernandez Max Meyer Edward Cabrera Jesus Luzardo That's SEVEN! deep of really nice arms. And not only that ... all arms that have either performed in the majors or at AAA. I wouldn't actually surprised if Luzardo opens them up to trading a Rogers or Alcantara for a nice return of prospect bats. Ng and Jeter have that team on the cusp. They are a few FA signings away from being a team on the up and up. I wouldn't be surprised to see Anthony Rizzo sign on and go back to Miami area to finish his career. Maybe even Baez somewhere in the IF. You then have: 1b: Rizzo/Aguilar 2b: Jazz Chisolm (who i think has the makings of being an annual all star SS: Javy Baez 3b - Miguel Rojas OF: Garret Cooper/Brian Anderson/Jesus Sanchez (really weak here .... brinson, etc) would need a nice FA signing in CF C - meh - alfaro With that rotation 7 deep? if you trade an alcantara for a stud CF prospect + some other pieces? if the marlines are ready to spend some money they have the makings of being a real darkhorse to win a division or pennant next year... they just need 2-3 bats and with some many impact SS available that could be anywhere from Correa, Semien, Story, Baez, etc. etc.

In the spirit of the FA pitching thread being brought back up .... led me down the rabbit hole on some old threads/responses .... I'd like to change my list haha.. and credit the guy who called me out on Tatis. I was wrong. 1 - tatis - by a wide, wide margin. 2 - turner 3 - xander 4 - correa 5 - bichette 6 - anderson 7 - lindor 8 - seager 9 - semien 10 - crawford 11 - story? i doubt he's as bad as he is this year, but hard to get behind him right now.

I'd favorite this 5 times if i could. The playoffs, especially this year, will be going back to normal with days of rest. Someone else responded they don't know what they're doing with Kopech and Crochet ... meanwhile, I think they know EXACTLY what they're doing and it doing it flawlessly. I'd be skipping Rodon or limiting him to 3-4 inning outings right now if I were the Sox too. Just like the Brewers are doing with Peralta and Burnes. I'd have Lambert up, or Lopez in the rotation too. Make a 6 man rotation, keep these guys fresh, limit outings, skip guys, etc. When you have a 99.5% chance of making the playoffs and the Indians top arms (Bieber and Civale) are still like 3-4 weeks at best from returning? I wouldn't even be half surprised to see the Indians trade someone like Cesar Hernandez inner division to us. They know they're dead in the water. So this is all about prep for the playoffs. Sure it'd be nice to have the top record so Lynn is matching up against someone else #2 guy, but that said? who cares. You'll have your 4 man rotation. Lynn. Rodon. Giolito. Game 4 is either a Keuchel/Cease piggy back or the likes. That's when the reigns come off Kopech and Crochet. That's when you let them go 2, 3, maybe even 4 innings depending on the situation. Imagine something like this: Game 1 - Lynn, 7IP, 1ip bummer, hendriks Game 2 - Rodon 6IP, crochet 2ip, hendriks Game 3 - Giolito 5IP, 3ip Kopech, hendriks Game 4 - 4IP Keuchel, 4IP Cease, Hendriks I get that's a perfect scenario where our guys are mowing through lineups and that in the playoffs there are quick hooks... but you get the point ... I don't think you'll need to see a whole lot of our bullpen.