Two-Gun Pete

In Charlotte's case, they are owned by a different group than the White Sox. So, I would infer that their P&L is separate from the SOX's P&L. AFAIK, there is a sporting affiliation between the White Sox and their minor league teams, as the ownership groups are separate. If memory serves, there are a few MLB organizations that also own their minor league teams. St Louis Cardinals are one that own their minor league affiliates. In THEIR case, their P&Ls are tied together in some way. I hope this helps.

I also read that Conforto admitted that he should have taken the QO. Showalter running his piehole suggests to me that either: A. They didn't expect Conforto to reject the QO, and/or B. NYM's plans have always included retaining Conforto So, while not final by any means, I think there is still some interest on both the part of the player and the club. Add into the fact that the last 2 major FAs to reject QOs (Keuchel and Kimbrel) were repped by Boras, and ended up waiting until mid-season to sign, and I'd have to believe that Conforto would have to consider that. We'll have to see.

That could be. But I also think that if he were to accept a pillow contract, why wouldn't he just re-sign w/NYM? Why add the additional variable of trying to adjust to a new team/clubhouse/city, and in our case, league? If he's wanting to rebuild his value with a 1 year deal, AND no pick attached to his signature, I'm guessing that NYM would be the lowest bar to leap over, in his case.

Yeah, and Bassitt is also 33 years old. I'm already against this front office making any trades, apart from performing the desperately needed Kimbrelectomy. But given that the rotation already has Lynn and Keuchel in it, and Kopech will have an IP limit, I'd rather not have another older SP, unless he comes with a WS or CY pedigree. Also, I'd really rather not throw the last bits of trade assets on a fire to get a pre-injured player we probably won't re-sign.

But, if its a "radical" realignment, why would there be "natural " rivals? But cool concept, tho.

Moat Amazon and Walmart employees also can't hit the curveball, nor can they throw it 95+ MPH. Jack, take a break from this. You're doing it again. (Edit) And the rest of us should stop feeding Jack, and should give HIM a break, me included.

I think the other leagues share more revenue between teams than MLB does. Its one reason why shittsburgh can be competitive in the NFL & NHL, but they're useless turds in MLB.

Weird to not put Det with Tor/Cleve/Cincy, if basing this entirely on geography, no? Aren't Tor/Cleve/Cincy/Det in the eastern time zone? KC seems a bit far west compared to the others you grouped together.

I'd actually prefer this, as it could help the SOX stop overvaluing certain positions, like 1B and RP.

I think this would be a good offseason as well. Who would you prefer in lieu of Conforto/Bassitt/Tepera?

If the CBT threshold is currently $210MM, here's the sequence of 5% raises/year: 2022: $220.5MM 2023: $231.525MM 2024: $243.1MM 2025: $255MM 2026: $268MM. By contrast, the previous CBA went: 195/197/206/208/210. % increases were: 1%, 4.69%, 1%, and 1%. IOW, a 7.69% increase over 5 years, whereas inflation averaged ~3.25% in the US. The MLBPA got robbed last CBA. Numbers don't lie.

Gotcha. I was concerned that maybe you knew something about their health statuses that would preclude them from getting stretched out. In any case, the stretching out is gonna have to happen at some point, IMO. Lynn and Keuchel aren't getting younger. And Giolito's as good as gone in a couple seasons. Meanwhile, there ain't much in the farm, and Detroit and KC are getting better. To me, if they're gonna do it, 2022 presents perhaps the last chance to stretch them out, given where we are relative to our division enemies, and the makeup of the org overall.

Yeah, I saw that. I was more worried that Villar's a raging @sshole that would fuck up the clubhouse. That said, why the huge disparity between UZR and DRS? One has him as being horrific with the glove, the other has him as merely mediocre. And, to your point, 2020 was a bit of an outlier as well. In any case, its not like there's a cavalcade of ideal options available for 2B. I sure as fuck dont want RH/KW to make a trade, because they'll fuck it up. No matter WHO they get, I think we'll all still be disappointed.

Care to expand?

Fangraphs says he had a negative DRS at 2B, but positive at SS. Are we sure that this is the issue?

Out of curiosity, why not Villar? I wasn't aware of anything that should preclude him from consideration. Especially in a vortex of shit that is the current 2B FA market. (Yeah, Madrigal at the league minimum would look pretty good right now.)

First and foremost, if RH/KW trade with Oakland, they'll get curb-stomped. They got crushed the last few times they traded with Oakland, and they got crushed trading with the scrubs last season. So, I think they'll make an inferior choice trading, which will hurt this years team, and further shorten the window. Just don't trade, because they've shown no ability to match wits with enemy front offices. One SP I've looked at (back when we thought the CBT was only going to be ~$215MM) is Kwang Hyun Kim. Lefty GB pitcher with SP/RP experience. If this FO comes to their senses, and sends Crochet down to be stretched out, he's an interesting arm that can fill a variety of roles. He can start, or come out of the pen and take multiple innings. Insofar as who would be a primary SP signing, I haven't considered that yet, given that I hadn't expected the CBT to go up much. But whatever they do, they don't need to trade for a veteran, because they'll lose. They do well selling cheap stars (Sale/Q/Eaton), but they get absolutely curb-stomped trying to add veterans.

Yeah, it seems we're all in agreement: That it was obvious to everyone that those three should have been sent down last year, That it could be beneficial to send those three down this year, but It probably won't happen.

If the CBT does in fact go up as much as reported, I'll agree that it opens up more possibilities for this team. (including Conforto) But, it also opens up possibilities for other teams as well. I still think I'd rather secure the best SP possible before addressing other needs. I still don't want RH/KW trading anything for a SP, for a variety of reasons. I think that them trading with Oakland would end about as well as my old ass trying to keep Gronk from going across the middle. in any case, the labor talks have made the hot stove definitely more interesting.

I hope not. I hope they didn't squander a high pick on a reliever. At a minimum, can they, ya know, TRY to see if he can be more than a reliever? Pretty please? There is enough talent here to start the season without Kopech/Crochet/Vaughn to make the post season. And just because they could be in Charlotte working on some things, does NOT mean that they'll die or never be here again.

Yeah. I took a shit ton of hassle from others for suggesting that same thing a year ago. I will once again take a shit ton of hassle this offseason for the same thing. I remain convinced that these three have reasons to not be here to start this season. I remain MORE convinced that this team has more than enough talent WITHOUT them to start the season, in order to make the post season.

Given The list of FA SPs, I'm not convinced that Rodon isn't the best SP available right now. (I could be convinced otherwise, if I looked more thoroughly.) I dont relish the chance for RH/KW to get outright robbed in trade; if they trade with Oakland, they'll lose the trade, period. That aside, the rest of your list makes sense, except that I still don't think the SOX will be able to shed all of Kimbrel’s salary.

I'd love it if they signed another RP, in order to send Crochet down to get stretched out. I dont think that this team NEEDS Kopech and Crochet to get to the new, expanded postseason. Meanwhile, Giolito is on a trip out of town sooner or later, while Lynn and Keuchel are not getting younger. So, I'd rather that they spend the time and effort to find out if Crochet and Kopech are SPs or not.

Update: FIFA finally took the easy tap-in on this one. Good on them. I hold no ill will towards the Russian people, nor their athletes, nor their soldiers. But this is what must be done, IMO.

Yeah, I just can't "both sides" this one. One side locked out the other. The other side is asking for a rational increase on key points. When I was younger, I didn't much care for the players' side. But this whole "billionaires vs millionaires" trope is lazy analysis. The billionaires could have continued under the previous agreement, and then negotiated in good faith, but I guess "winning" is more important to them. Insofar as poppy goes, he's free to express his views, even if they're unpopular. As a purveyor of the occasional unpopular view here, I support him to continue to make this discussion interesting. (Full disclosure: I think he's misguided, but I also think its ok for him to opine against the prevailing position here.) This sucks, but thinking about our Ukrainian friends getting bullied makes this impasse seem trivial by comparison. Here's hoping for an agreement, and then for this FO to not fuck up what could be a special team.