SonofaRoache

Yep. I don't think he wants to hold out too long and end up with a weak deal. Things may change a little after what happened to players last year. If I'm JDM, and I get a big offer, I may just take that thing on sight.

Well there are many back channels that are most likely being used. Like the janitor bumping into Boras and giving his "input".

Yep, and then the market crashed and people were talking 200-250 million. Then the market uncrashed. The point I'm making is these prices will be driven by how many teams want a guy, and desperation. Wheeler is gonna have a huge market for teams who don't want to pay Cole 250 million. There will be 5 teams bidding for him and his price may soar over market expectation. I would love to get him at 4-68 but if we really want him, we better be prepared for this thing to shoot up.

Machado and Harper had markets that wouldn't pay more than 250 million until..... they got paid 300 and 330 million.

Believe me, this will go down to the final second. Why? Because Chicago sports.

I think they will have a gentleman's agreement in place through back channels. I wouldn't worry about that if I were him. No way he opts out of a three year deal unless Boras knows what teams will be willing to offer him.

Stras is a strong Nats lean, real strong. But money does talk. We will see if Steve Stone is right about the main guys opting out and us being on top of them. Will we be surprised like Sox mouth piece Stone says?

Well he is probably learning about his market right now and seeing if it is worth it to opt out. If he doesn't we go to plan B. I'd try to get Stras and Grandal.

Yep. We will know between now and Tuesday. He's probably talking to the Sox now though back channels to see if it is worth it.

I disagree. When Kenny and Hahn speak, you can tell the fans are pissing them off. The media and baseball folks are even questioning their motives now about winning and spending. The casual fan won't care too much but their reputation amongst the baseball world is important to them.

Sox fans on twitter will burn down Sox Park if Jose isn't brought back. People are somehow that passionate about it.

The good news about waiting on JDs decision is that he is finding out if we will pay him. So these 5 days aren't just going to waste, we are informing him of how much we are willing to pay. If he does opt outs chances are we've come to an agreement on a price.

Thanks for clearing that up. So it's s not like football where our pick would go to them. So if we sign three QO guys we'd lose our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th?

I've been reading JD news from the Boston side of things and they keep saying if he gets the QO attached, the Red Sox would get a 4th rounder. Is this true? I'd have no problem giving up and 2nd and 4th for two stud FA's.

Signing Grandal is not a negative thing. It is essentially picking a great hitter who is a clubhouse leader and champion with zero defense, or a great defensive catcher who is an above average hitter. My stance is simple. I think Big Game and Collins can handle catching duties for now. I think our efforts would be better served bringing in a stud pitcher, hitter, and a competent right fielder.

I didn't create the stats, and everyone is judged with the same criteria. I favor stats to avoid having too much of a biased opinion.

I'm sticking with the Stats on this one, people have agendas.

If we play him 100 games at catcher I'll be okay with the move. My main problem is getting an above average offensively player while paying him for elite defense, and then not even use his elite defense. I'm hearing people say play hom at 1B, C, and DH a third of the time each, would destroys his value to an organization.

He declined as the year progressed. And his OPS has been solid, but nothing great. If we sign him we need to use his elite skillset, which is catching.

Didn't he also say he wasn't an employee of the Astros as well prior to his interview?

Very good post. I think Martinez's issue was more with his back and playing defense. His numbers are well ahead of the other guys we signed and he is one of the best pure hitters in the game, not simply a power guy. It is scary to bring him in, but we need to do something to jumpstart our offense. We also will surround him with a ton of talent so that should take pressure of him, unlike the guys we signed previously.

And what does a seat at the table accomplish? Do you get points for how many seats you've had at tables and can thus cash them in to save money on future FAs? Can these seats be cashed in for wins or to move up in the draft?

Well the idea is that we need to bring in people who are special at something if we're spending big bucks on them. Grandal is special at defense as a catcher, but is a solid but declining hitter overall at this point. I wouldn't want to bring him here to spend half his time as a DH and playing first base, because then you lose a lot of value in him.

It wasn't the White Sox per se, but that athlete with decent numbers who is on a decline. Grandal's offense wasn't top notch last year. His value comes with his defense. If we bring him here and his offense continues to decline, how much value are we really getting compared to what we are paying? This makes sense if we plan on booting big game James next season. It's a tough call for Hahn because Martinez's bet is still very good, but it too can be in decline. But as an everyday DH, he can focus his efforts on hitting, which may even help with the back issues. If we sign Grandal, I think we need to trade for a really good hitting RF to maximize value.

I'm talking about from an offensive slugging perspective. Ik talking about Dunn and Adam Ls. And to a lesser extent because he was in the AL the year before joining us, I'm talking about Yonder, who had an OPS of .866, .896, and .793 before joining us with a .738 right before. He had a .576 OPS with us then went to Colorado and in 54 games had an OPS of .837.