SoCalSox

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 06:48 PM) Hahn was very determined to get Frazier. Literally took him a month and a half to get him, but he found a way. I think the market will develop drastically over the next week or two. I still have a good feeling the Sox get one of the three, too. We as fans ride the highs of getting a good player & expect more right after. A week passes by & that high turns into doubt. Perfectly normal but patience is key with the MLB FA market.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 06:06 PM) With the way Close conducts negotiations, we might never know if the Sox offered or not, and what exactly was on the table...unless the leak comes from the Sox side. My own personal feeling is that the longer this drags on, the more likely it is that Gordon ends up elsewhere. It would also be pretty surprising if the White Sox made an offer on December 28th that just blew everyone else's out of the water...you get the feeling there will be 3-5 serious offers within a $5-15 million range of each other. If the Royals are within that range, maybe even if it's one year shorter but the average is comparable or a bit higher over 4 years, he'll probably end up staying. That said, there's been no indication that KC was even willing to go up to $60 million and 4 years, which isn't far off from Melky Cabrera or LaRoche and obviously is either just a PR offer and they have no intentions to retain him or they're lurking in the weeds trying to suppress the Gordon market and really have an intention to offer $15-20 million per season and at least four years. That would be 4/$70 million (a lot of current speculation is around 5/$88-92). I think you're on base with this & I think it goes for all 3 of the top guys left. Time is not really the Sox's friend. The longer this drags on, prices will go down & teams that have said they are "done" might jump back in. I can't imagine the White Sox are a very attractive team to play for.

FWIW, Mark Sheldon (Reds Beat Writer) said that the Reds/Yankees talks started on Christmas Eve & completed today. Worth noting the timeline, especially if the Sox just made Gordon an offer today.

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 11:14 AM) He slow down the market these guys want J Heyward money now. Heyward signed for less money than most projected him to sign for. He was the top OF'er on the market. I don't think him signing had anything to do with the market. Players outpriced themselves & teams hurt players by placing QO's on guys that simply aren't worth the money & a pick.

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 11:12 AM) We can thank overrated Jason Heyward for this. How?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 11:06 AM) And even if we offered Gordon a formal contract today, it doesn't mean he has to accept it today. He'll likely want to talk with his family/agent/etc and make sure he is making the best decision. He may also take that offer and use it as leverage to get the Royals to increase their offer. No news so far today doesn't take away credibility from what bucket said. I agree. The process of this FA market has been historically slow. It seems very unrealistic to expect a player to receive his first offer from a team and accept that the same day. Some on here are acting like the market is flying & the White Sox are refusing to move. NO ONE is signing.

I think it's pretty simple in terms of what our board sources give us. Take it or leave it. If you don't want to believe it, move on & don't give it the time of the day. Making them out to be some jerk halfway into the first day after a holiday weekend is just childish. It's not like these guys have to give any of us info & even if none of the top 3 end up signing... Oh well. Gave us something to talk about in a long offseason.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 10:20 AM) Dude, its monday. Just stop already Why be patient when you can fly off the handle for no reason?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 08:50 AM) No way on giving Parra 3 to 4 years with an AAV of $13M. That would be a terrible use of resources and would barely make our team better. Hell, Jacob May could probably get you better production in 2017 at the league minimum. If we're serious about competing next year, we need to add an impact OF and Parra clearly doesn't qualify. Not to mention, they could very easily find a way to either clear an extra $5M for 2016 or simply backload the first year to make a contract fit if they can get one of the big 3. Looking at Parra's numbers, he combined for less than 1 fWAR the past two seasons vs any of the others who are consistently putting up 2-4 WAR per season. Was reading something last week saying that teams are paying $6-8M per WAR on FAs. Parra would not be worth it by that value.

Personally, I'm not going to get overly riled up about alternative options until the Sox lose out on the top 3. I still think they end up with 1 of them. Most people lost hope with Frazier after the Lawrie deal & it still happened. Frankly, I think the layover with the holidays, it has people on edge. Nothing has changed for any team & both raBBit & Bucket both said they would move forward this week.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 08:33 AM) Parra can't hit lefties. FWIW, Merkin said yesterday that Parra was a "good option". He's been on top of things this offseason. Follow Scott MerkinVerified account ‏@scottmerkin @ejasso87 @CSNWhiteSox I've heard no interest in Desmond. And isn't Alvarez basically playing the role of LaRoche? Parra--good option Interesting. Maybe I'm just ignorant when it comes to the splits. Either way, I think Parra would be a solid upgrade for sure. Would still much rather see one of the top 3 but we'll see. Edit: FWIW, Merkin told me a few weeks ago that he doesn't usually throw specific players names out. Could mean something the more I think about it.

I see no real platoon option with Parra/Avi. Parra is head & shoulders the better player & still improves this team a good amount.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 09:04 PM) You pretty much answered your own question to be honest. Cespedes or Upton or Gordon will not make the Sox a playoff team but they would likely eat up whatever funds JR might be willing to open up the payroll to. I'm keeping in mind that the payroll is currently (119M) at last year's already and its rumored that's all Hahn has to play with which is why he needs to get "creative". As you pointed out, the Sox still have other holes, will still be relying on a few unreliable players and nowhere has anyone from the front office said JR will actually raise the payroll. Not saying he won't, just not willing to assume he will and I'm not willing to assume the Sox sign one of the big three. As I said yesterday, I think spending 15-20% of the overall payroll on 1 player on a team of 25 players is just plain dumb. The Sox do not have the payroll ceiling that teams like the Dodgers, Red Sox, Yanks etc. Also, Gordon especially is not worth 20M+ plus per year and the Sox would be stupid to pay him that kind of money. I hope he re-signed with the Royals. Cespedes is 30 and looking for a 6 year deal, ya, no thanks! Upton, I wouldn't mind him so much but I fear his cost due to his age will keep his price kinda high. Too many Sox fans making too many assumptions. I'm just going to sit back and see how this plays out with no expectations on the Sox signing any of those three. I'm curious as to why you think this... I think they are right on the verge of having that ability right now but a 2-4 WAR type player would get them there.

QUOTE (Baron @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 07:48 PM) If none are the answer why go through the trouble of signing them? That makes no sense. Exactly. They are in on each of them. I think if the Sox are going to sign one, it will be within the next 2 weeks. The longer time goes on, the less likely they are to land one of the top 3.

Well guys, Hopefully you all had a good Christmas because tomorrow things should pick up again. I'm hoping for something else to celebrate come New Years!

Tomorrow things should pick back up. Until I start reading info from people who are either raBBit, Bucket, or any paid writer, I won't believe it.

Mibelt Rodriguez is a joke. Wouldn't listen to a word he says. Dude was wrong so many times last year. Cotillo & Robert Murray are the only two new guys to break out over the past few years in terms of reliable sources.

I think Tyler is going to be borderline "acceptable" as a whole at SS. He's going to play plus defense, play with a higher motor & I expect to see subtle improvements. It's worth keeping in mind that he is expected to be a 1-2 year stop gap, with a large amount of optimism that Tim Anderson will kill it in AAA this year & be a mid-season call up. With that being said, here are my projections: .230 AVG/ 10 HR/ 45 RBI/ 15 SB/ .280 OBP w/ plus defense.

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 11:59 AM) I have a feeling gordon going to wait for 5 years and most money. Waiting time is about over for these guys. I'm sure he's been holding out for a 5th year but everything I can tell, says that he has a limited market. We've got basically 7-8 weeks until ST starts, these guys need to sign soon & teams know that. The longer these guys wait, the lower their price goes but in turn, the more suitors they'll have with a cheaper price.

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Dec 24, 2015 -> 10:52 PM) I wonder if more teams jump in on the big 3 if there prices drop. Guaranteed to happen. Joel Sherman touched on that yesterday. If prices drop, teams that were "done", might jump back in.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Dec 24, 2015 -> 10:44 PM) Yeah this one's been a strange ride on all these guys. After Heyward the market moved in a way nobody expected. None of the media has said this yet, but Heyward's clauses (opt-out & trade) really shifted the paradigm. Yeah... Sure seems that way. I would assume nothing will really move until next week or after the start of the new year. It seems obvious they want one of the top three, but wanting doesn't always result on getting, especially if they are sticking within guidelines, not just head-hunting. I do think they make a deal with their guy if they get the chance & make it "fit" later. Either way, I know I speak for everyone when I say, I really appreciate the info you & raBBit provide. Hope you have a Merry Christmas.

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Dec 24, 2015 -> 10:42 PM) All the sox beat reporters saying we not getting a big bat. Let 'em. When was the last time Hayes or any of those guys were right?

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Dec 24, 2015 -> 10:38 PM) is bucket on twitter. Not sure but I don't think so.

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Dec 24, 2015 -> 10:36 PM) does he better then dan hayes or sox beat reporters. Hayes has no sources. Just second hand BS he gets from others or speculation type stuff. raBBit has a good connect. So does Bucket.

Does the Gordon situation seem weird to you at all, Bucket? He seems non-committal & almost like he isn't sure that he wants to play for the Sox. It also seems like Cespedes is hurting his price by holding out longer... Do you think these guys are getting cheaper as each week passes? Only so long before ST...