SoCalSox

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 13, 2016 -> 12:45 PM) It doesn't make sense because you say money is an issue, yet if the price goes down it's less likely to happen. What I don't understand is where are you and everyone else getting all these additional suitors if the price goes down? Considering he hasn't signed yet, then why would any team be considered a suitor at this point? No matter what, there just aren't a lot of teams that will commit $20 million a year even for 3 years to an OF at this point. Most of the "new" teams would need something a lot lower than that. The one problem I do see is you have to make sure you get something done at some point, and not be left holding the bag. If they want to take this to February, it will make some team or teams go on to the next idea. I think the disconnect between us seems to be that I think more suitors will come as the price goes down. As far as the money issue, that was more of a separate thought & just a suspicion of mine, although talking with raBBit, he brought up a few good points that throw that thought away. I still think that as the price drops, more suitors will jump in because the demands are that much lower & easier for other teams to meet.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Jan 13, 2016 -> 12:35 PM) If the price drops to 4 years with Cespedes, my bigger concern is the Tigers/Angels/Cardinals being willing to pony up the dough at that point, rather than worrying about the Mets/Red Sox/Braves suddenly jumping in. My concern is that as demands drop, more teams will jump in, even teams who have said they are done. My other concern is that if they miss out there, the secondary market is shrinking as well, which leaves them with little options as time goes on.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 13, 2016 -> 12:33 PM) Then you aren't making sense. On one hand you say there is a payroll issue so it won't happen. You have said the longer it takes the less likely it will happen. Then you say the longer it takes the lower the price. I don't see how my statement doesn't make sense to you. I THINK payroll could be an issue, just my thought. I also said the longer it takes the less likely it is to happen BECAUSE the price will go down & more suitors will jump in. The reason I think their chances are lower as time passes & prices drop because I don't think they are as attractive as other potential FA suitors. I would say that all plays pretty much hand in hand with each other.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Jan 13, 2016 -> 12:29 PM) I don't see the AAV dropping that much, moreso the years. Obviously a lot of teams would jump in if the price fell to 1 or 2 years, but I don't see a lot of teams jumping in at 4 years, which seems like the limit of how high the Sox will go. I think Upton could end up going on a 1-2 year deal. Cespedes will probably still find a way to land 4-5 years. I think the Sox would settle on 4 but at that point, I think a few other teams would, too. 6 is just not worth it with him.

QUOTE (venom4789 @ Jan 13, 2016 -> 12:23 PM) So is the waiting game a good thing for us, not to be negative but i feel like normally we would have signed them already. Really want cespedes or at least upton, but im starting to prepare myself for a second tier now. Everyone has their own theory but mine all along has been the same. The longer they wait, the lower the price. Which is fine but more teams will jump into the race & IMHO, I don't think the Sox are that attractive of a team to be competing for a top FA. Overall, I don't think it's a good thing. I'll gladly be proven wrong but I've already moved on from Upton as a whole & have little hope for Cespedes. Best case at this point may be either a trade or Fowler.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Jan 13, 2016 -> 12:22 PM) Both those things are going to have to happen at some point. Both in 1 year, though? $140M payroll would be about $21M higher than last year. It's just starting to look somewhat unrealistic to expect it.

When I really look at it, the Sox would have to buck 2 major trends: 1. Raising their payroll up to an all-time high. 2. Giving a franchise record-breaking contract to a player (much less a guy probably over 30).

QUOTE (Saufley @ Jan 13, 2016 -> 12:12 PM) You are probably right. Thanks for bringing me back to my senses. I think they'll upgrade at in 1 or 2 more spots (OF being 1) but after putting things into perspective, it's simply hard to see them having a competitive offer (even at 4 years), while backloading a deal & possibly throwing in an opt out (trendy new thing to do). I'm starting to think even a guy like Dexter Fowler may be at the high point of their price range. I could be completely wrong here but numbers aren't really adding up to look realistic enough for me to see them actually doing something big.

Braves, Mets, Tigers, etc all having interest just shows me that there is a ton of interest for him but no one willing to meet his demands... Yet. It's only a matter of time before one of these teams (all with different set prices) finally reach a "selling point" & pull the trigger. I simply can't see that being the Sox at this point. Not to mention, they are at $120M after arb projections. Not sure I can see them pushing to $140M+ in 2016.

I don't think the Sox matchup well with Colorado at all. I would rather sign 1 or find a different trade at this point.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jan 13, 2016 -> 09:29 AM) Thanks for posting this. Pretty enlightening and I didn't realize CarGo was THAT bad against lefties, yikes! SoxPride18: I'm just going to go ahead and give you credit right now. I think maybe you were right yesterday when you said Blackmon could cost more than CarGo in a trade. It's hard to believe Blackmon is almost 30, too. He'd be a good pick up but not sure if he's worth the price.

I think this is a very good hire. Really like his voice & like that he's only 32.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 07:12 PM) What if the Sox traded Avi and Adams for Gonzalez and then signed Jackson? If those moves happened, the Sox wouldn't lose any picks, they'd get the lefty power bat they want, and they'd also get a defensive minded outfielder while shipping Avi away. Any thoughts? I look at it this way. A guy like CarGo costs $17.4M this year & $20.4M next year. Avi means very little to this team but Adams is one of their top pitchers. Trading Adams to me is like losing a pick, plus CarGo costs about as much as one of the top FAs do, so in a sense, it's kinda like losing a pick, IMO.

I wouldn't be surprised if Avi/Adams gets it done. Yes, CarGo is a good player but he's also owed $37.88M over the next two years. That's an expensive investment in it's own.

QUOTE (shipps @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 02:22 PM) If I am Hahn I get plan B one step away from signed and tell Cespedes look this is our best offer. Take it or leave it and we will sign said FA. If you wait around on Cespedes too long while he is playing games in the media, possibly not even intending to sign with the Sox no matter what you will loose out on all the other possible options. Unless you are willing to go for Cespedes and if you dont get him at a great cost you are content with Avi? Enough with this playing games BS. This is where I am worried... I've made peace that they aren't going to get one of the top 2 guys, just want them to move on & nab another option before it's too late.

QUOTE (Alexeihyeess @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 01:13 PM) I'm personally more worried about Melky falling off a cliff than Avi not improving at all. I don't understand that concern, personally. He is what he is defensively but after a brutally slow start with the bat, he still finished up with a .273 BA & OBP over .300. His power might not be there anymore but there's no denying that the second half of his season was very nice.

QUOTE (blackmooncreeping @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 12:37 PM) I see your point, but I don't think the Rockies are going to roll all the way to the All-Star break with 4 lefty hitting outfielders. If CarGo doesn't go now, someone else will imo; the Rockies need to free up a spot for Parra (assuming he stays a Rockie). I highly doubt they signed Parra to trade him...

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 12:00 PM) Please. They can open the conversation however they want, but he has an OBP under .300. he's a highly speculative player. Yes he improved, but from numbers that were terrible. nothing special defensively either. You don't trade top prospects for Wilmer Flores. If you look at what he does, he's a contact hitter. Strikeout % is also in the low teens. Is he a huge upgrade? Probably not but he's young & provides about 1.5 WAR per year. Would also seem to be a plus fielder. Depending on a package, I see no issue with a move like this.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 12:14 PM) Heyward is an elite RF; CF remains to be seen. Soler and Schwarber defensively challenged. If they thought Fowler was a quality CF, he'd be back. He's not. I feel like you somehow missed the part where you type Schwarber & Soler, who are their corner OF'ers... They signed Heyward because he was the best OF'er on the market. They wanted him. That says NOTHING about Fowler.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 11:38 AM) I think Davis is going back to the Orioles eventually and they'll add an OF as well. Not Cespedes or Upton though. Them trading for an OF'er & backing out on Davis would be a best case scenario, though. I'm still really hoping for Cespedes.

I'm willing to bet the Sox are out on Upton, like raBBit is leading on to. I think they are much more likely to end up with Fowler but if the O's trade for any of the Rockies OF'ers, that helps the Sox out tremendously, because I would assume Davis wouldn't be an option for them anymore either.

This helped the Sox in a sense but in another, it just adds more uncertainty. Now we have to wait for a team to trade for one of their OF'ers. COL was not expected to play in the OF market, which isn't a big deal but seeing where one of CarGo/Blackmon goes will have much more of an impact on the Sox, especially if they land one.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 07:32 AM) I'm not willing to go this far, yet. I just don't really believe that there's much interest in meeting Cespedes' demands. I think the White Sox will compete $$ wise with the limited amount of teams interested in him. Davis needs to sign in Baltimore. Once that happens, I think the White Sox are firmly in the Cespedes mix because Baltimore is the only other big spender. I personally wouldn't give up a 1st round draft pick for Fowler. He's just not that good. If he were great defensively, i'd feel better about it. I'd much rather just sign Austin Jackson and maybe trade for Chris Coghlan somehow and call it a day. Biggest issue with this is that Davis may not sign until Feb or March according to reports. I'm not sure the Sox care to wait that long. I really think the longer this drags out, the lower chance the Sox have at landing Cespedes.

Make no mistake, if the Sox sign Dexter Fowler, he's a sizeable upgrade over Avi & may be worth about two more wins per year. It also gives you another guy who has solid range & can play multiple OF spots & a top of the order presence, who may not hit 15-20 HRs a year but gets on base, something that is severely needed in front of Abreu, Frazier, & LaRoche.

Just curious, where did they have us last year?