OmarComing25

Why are people freaking out about the Tiger tweets? We already knew they were in on Cespedes, it's not new information. And to claim we're at budget seems strange, because why would we have spent weeks in negotiations with these guys if that were the case? I have no doubt we'll get someone to replace Avi.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 17, 2016 -> 08:03 PM) Signs this week. Signing will be large. If teams are suddenly willing to give into his demands after all this time, why haven't we heard anything about Upton? It seems like teams would be more willing to throw money at him compared to Cespedes. I don't buy these new tweets at all. 10 teams? Laughable. Unless they're including everyone interested on a 1 year deal.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 17, 2016 -> 08:03 PM) Signs this week. Signing will be large. What constitutes "large"?

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Jan 16, 2016 -> 09:57 PM) I never understood the whole 4 teams in 2 years thing. 2 teams weren't in contention and didn't need him so the try to get something back for him. The A's traded him to get that big game pitcher which didn't work. You could tell after the A's traded him the team wasnt the same offensively and didn't have as much energy. The Mets get him and he helps them run to the world series. Agreed, it's a completely overblown "red flag".

I just don't see how someone (not necessarily us) doesn't trump the Mets' offer, it seems so weak. And Cespedes doesn't strike me as a guy willing to take a discount with a better offer on the table. I don't buy the Mets.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Jan 16, 2016 -> 09:38 AM) Because WAR SHMORE. I doubt front offices pay much attention to the stat. I get what you're saying but Davis & Cespedes are hard players to compare and using WAR would make it even more difficult. Cespedes will probly get a bunch of money too. You really think front offices don't look at WAR?

If the Mets won't go higher than 3/60 that should be easy to beat.

So Cespedes could potentially end up getting the exact same deal Samardzija got. Raise your hand if you thought that was possible at the beginning of the offseason.

I would be pretty surprised if he signed for less than $20 million AAV, but if no one else offers that 5th year perhaps 5/90 would look enticing enough for him.

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 05:46 PM) Whats them other sites. Orioles: http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/for.../2-Orioles-Talk Mets: http://www.metsparadise.com/forum/4-new-york-mets-forum/ Tigers: http://www.motownsports.com/forums/detroit-tigers/ Those are the main three I've been looking at the past few days.

I've pretty much moved on already, but out of boredom I've been reading message boards of other teams. There's not one team linked to him whose fans are at all confident they'll sign him (a few Tiger hopefuls but most still think it's unlikely). I just checked the Orioles again and they all think this offer is merely to put pressure on Davis, and that they won't be able to sign him because supposedly they're unwilling to offer opt outs. I honestly have no idea where he'll end up.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 04:37 PM) Every steamer projection I've seen for players projects a lower than usual defensive rating. Yeah projections in general shouldn't be taken too seriously, but defensive projections especially should be taken with a large grain of salt.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 04:29 PM) How can a DH cost you runs on defense? He isn't even out there. Someone must have done a retrospective study and came up with this number to make the math work. I don't understand it fully, but here's Dave Cameron's explanation: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/position-adjustments/

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 04:31 PM) http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=...=&players=0 I don't see -8 anywhere. Look at his 2016 Steamer projection http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playe...amp;position=OF

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 03:59 PM) The 1B ratings seem way off. Nearly every 1B has a horrible rating. It's the positional adjustments. Every 1B starts off with -12.5 runs on defense, so Rizzo at -8.9 means he rated out positively for the position. I believe these are the adjustments, but many say they are too extreme (which means C, SS, 2B and 3B might be overvalued, while LF, RF, 1B and DH are undervalued): Catcher: +12.5 runs (all are per 162 defensive games) Shortstop: +7.5 runs Second Base: +2.5 runs Third Base: +2.5 runs Center Field: +2.5 runs Left Field: -7.5 runs Right Field: -7.5 runs First Base: -12.5 runs Designated Hitter: -17.5 runs

At this point, how much longer do we wait on Cespedes before signing Fowler? You don't want to lose out on both of them.

Where is Desmond going to sign now? I can't think of a logical suitor besides us, and I can't see us doing that.

QUOTE (SoCalSox @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 02:42 PM) Latos would be nice but how will he cost on a 1 year deal? I'd guess Latos gets around $10-12 million, given how the market for pitching has gone this offseason.

Would Fowler really cost $15 million/year at this point? I'm thinking the cost would be a bit lower.

I'd rather not see Anderson until 2017 at the earliest even if Saladino is struggling. If he's up that better mean he's killing it at AAA (.900 OPS with solid defense), and even then I'd almost still rather keep him down there the whole season.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 02:21 PM) Strange how people use that when it comes to Fowler, but if it's LaRoche/Dunn/anyone else striking out often, there is no positive. There seems to be a misconception that the White Sox strike out a lot, when it really isn't true. The Sox are 24th in the Majors in strikeouts since the beginning of 2010. Regardless, how often your offense strikes out doesn't really mean that much. In 2014 the Sox were 5th in the MLB in strikeouts, yet scored more runs than the 2011 team, who were 28th in the MLB in strikeouts (difference of 373 strikeouts between the two teams). That's just one example of course, but there are many.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 02:14 PM) QO aside, the last thing we need is another strikeout-prone, poor defensive player. A 22% K-rate is above average, but I wouldn't necessarily call it "strikeout-prone". And we didn't strikeout that much in 2015, and that didn't help much. Agree about the defense though.

QUOTE (bighurt574 @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 12:16 PM) The case for a one-year deal is that next year's FA class is weak, and maybe some of the traditional big spenders get involved. A two-year deal would be interesting with the stacked FA class, not sure that's a great idea. The stacked free agent class is three years from now, not two.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 12:01 PM) You can doubt it all you like but Cespedes has been quoted numerous times in reference to him liking NY and the Mets team dating back to August. I'm not saying he is a sure fire bet to sign with the Mets but it seems the Mets are back in the picture, like it or not. My post says I don't doubt that he likes the Mets and NY.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 11:44 AM) It vanishes and everybody moves up a spot in the draft order. The Cubs then get a sandwich pick between the 1st and 2nd round. The Cubs are losing their first three draft picks because of the Heyward, Zobrist and Lackey signings. So they will lose their first round pick, the comp pick gained from Fowler signing somewhere and their second round pick. The will not pick until the third round. Zobrist didn't have a QO.