Dominikk85

I think they need to do a trade (or sign puig). Vaughn can play left once a week maybe but definitely not every day. And I wouldn't want leury or Engel play almost every day especially since we don't know how much Eaton has left in him.

Grandal is one of the best defensive catchers of the league https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=c&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=70&type=1&season=2020&month=0&season1=2020&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2020-01-01&enddate=2020-12-31 That's like saying if Mike trout can hit great billy Hamilton can do that too

I wonder if the Sox can tell him to just avoid the wall and just catch the balls that are like in a 30 feet circle around him. Bobby Abreu was known for avoiding the wall and give up on balls that are near the top of the wall and he got a lot of criticism for that but he also was very durable and his bat was in the lineup 150+ games almost every year. Not sure if la Russa is the right guy for that though, he probably doesn't appreciate players not trying everything to make a play as he is pretty old school.

This. The Sox absolutely have no outfield depth in both majors and minors (they had good depth there but essentially it evaporated with Rutherford, Adolfo, basabe, Gonzalez, walker all underperforming expectations). Essentially they have Robert, Eloy and that's it and Robert is not even a fully proven commodity. Maybe that changes in 2 years with the Cubans but really in the next two years they need Eloy there unless they can make a big trade or signing. The Sox don't need a DH, they need an outfielder. What they could do is of course trading either Eloy or Vaughn for a young all star outfielder. Losing either would hurt but if you get an under 26yo all star with 3-4 years of control it might be worth it. Not many of those around who fullfill those criteria (under 27, good enough to produce 3+ war and 3+ years of control)

Abreu has no trade value though due to his contract if you look at surplus value so you would basically dump him (you probably get a 45 and a 40 fv but that's nothing). You wouldn't want to trade Vaughn either so Eloy has to stay at DH until abreu's contract is over.

Eloy is a much better athlete than vaughn. He is a bad outfielder but his sprint speed is actually above average if you look at statcast.

But we are talking 35m in arb plus 30m= 75m vs 44 guaranteed. That is quite a difference, especially for a guy who had like an 8m signing bonus.

How though? If you do it one of Vaughn or Jose have to go. I think Eloy needs to stay at lf until Jose's contract is over.

If he is an elite player 1 year can cost him 25-30 mil.

Collins (and yermin too) hasn't played much the last days. I wonder if this Indicates lucroy is getting the backup job. Would be a shame the way collins and yermin have been hitting but lucroy has hit decently too this spring (900 ops albwit with a sub 100 iso and more babip driven) and obviously is a better defender even though collins looks improved.

I could understand Vaughn not signing an extension. Yeah it means he won't break camp but really if he signs an extension that signs him through age 31 or so while that offers financial security it also means hitting the FA market at a quite unfavorable age for a 1b man plus first basemen tend to be payed well in arbitration as this is still looking at old school stats like BA, Homers and RBIs. Also Vaughn got a pretty big bonus so he can bet on himself. Really for him an extension to make sense it needs to be a lot of money. He probably can make like 40m before free agency if he is a good as advertised so taking like 60m and delaying his free agency into his 30s doesn't make much sense. Sure if the sox offer him like 90m today he probably has to take it but I don't believe they will do that.

I think the "arm swing is too long" isn't really a fix all for everyone. Plenty of hall of fame pitchers with great command have long arm swings. And plenty of short arm swing guys have bad command. For SOME guys shortening up the arm swing can simplify things and improve command but it isn't really an absolute. Lopez tried to shorten up his arm swing too and it hasn't worked so far. I'm not against starting the arm at 90 degrees instead of going to the classic "T" position before you cock the arm but it is not a magic bullet. Still glad Giolito made those changes as it seems to be exactly the right thing for him but it doesn't have to be for everyone. Regarding cease I do think he can be very good but I wouldn't overrated ST especially since his good results came with 5 K and 3 bb in 6 innings which is not a great k/bb rate.

They do this exaggerated drop the glove to the ground and rip it up catching the ball and it looks outrageous but they are successful with that, Contreras especially has really improved his framing stats.

Williams has tools but he strikes out a lot while not walking much.

Does the good performance by collins and yermin in spring increase the odds of Vaughn signing an extension? Without them fan pressure to bring up Vaughn would be very high but with them performing I think most fans and media would be OK with Vaughn being down a couple weeks so the front office has a good leverage to say if you want to be up at opening day sign this extension.

If someone gets hurt the Sox can Stil make a trade in season. Yeah it might be a tad more expensive in terms of prospects but you will get a crusty old innings eater without giving up any of the top 5-6 prospects. Just don't give up a 17 yo who hasnt played a game as a lotto ticket:)

I hate 5 rounds. I think 40 rounds is too much considering the contraction of the minors but 20 is a good compromise.

He just misses too big with the curve. It is not always needed to throw a curve for a strike but he really misses a lot of curves by more than a foot so hitters don't have to swing at it. If he gets his misses closer to the plate ( Say only 2 or 3 inches) batters will have to swing more at it.

Definitely has earned it offensively but it depends on whether the Sox trust his glove.

That was true for Giolito too though. Obviously such an improvement is rare but sometimes a little change can have a big effect.

That's why the other teams want an international draft:). If Tampa loses the ability to sign and scout international guys at age 14 like wander Franco it will be harder for them to maintain their edge.

Mlb is quite keen on eliminating edges by analytics, scouting and front offices. Analytics used to be an edge but now that everyone uses it owners are viewing it as a cost drag that gives nobody an edge. That is why the want an international draft (less effort to scout and convince players) and they are also against pick trading because that could give smart front offices an edge. Essentially the owners want to create a more level playing field and not an analytics bidding war because when anyone does it they see it mostly as a cost factor without production.

I'm not sure the tigers are better. They have some interesting young pitching but their offense is still extremely bad and their pen probably too.

I still think madrigal will be a solid defender and baserunner. Give the guy some time, he has had like 40 games in mlb abf and just came back from a shoulder injury. All scouting reports suggest he should be a solid defender.

Ricky had 3 and a half starters and Cordero was one of the guys who had to fill out for that. Not saying Ricky managed the pen great but that starting pitching situation always meant some guys would be overused. Somebody needed to throw those innings.