Stealth G.O.A.T. Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 10 minutes ago, Lillian said: It's interesting and perhaps quite telling that the tone of the comments has become very cautious. After the Machado fiasco, it's understandable that no one wants to go out on a limb, or set themselves up for another disappointment. The most common theme, I'm reading here now is; "I'd be shocked if the Sox signed Harper". Personally, that would not be shocking to me, at all. What would be shocking is that the Sox' front office is not going to make any serious effort to do so. It would also be shocking if Harper had no interest in signing with the Sox. There aren't enough suitors for him to be that picky and it is pretty widely assumed that he's not crazy about going to Philadelphia. We also know that he likes the city of Chicago and the Harpers' good friends, the Bryants, do live there. No, it wouldn't be a shock, if he ends up on the South Side. If Hahn can't close the deal, I'll be disappointed in him and ownership, more than in not having Bryce on the team. However, in any case, not even trying is the only thing that would be really shocking. As far as I'm concerned, you hit the nail on the head. Well said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth G.O.A.T. Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 8 minutes ago, fathom said: It would shock me if he wanted to play for a team that’s not an immediate contender. That wouldn't shock me as long as there was a vision where they could contend over the next few years. Especially if said team offered $330M+. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tray Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 If Harper doesn't want to play for the Phils and LA does not want to go 8 plus yrs on a contract, the Sox might be back in this juego. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTSox22 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Bryce should go to LAD on a 2-year deal. Sox then come in when he's a FA with a hopefully proven roster to offer long-term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 If Bryce truly held up a lot last year to stay healthy at cost of his defense, a short term deal becomes problematic because if he does the same, he'll have 2 terrible years out of 3 that show he can't play the field and his next contract could be for that of a 1b/dh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogan873 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 The Sox, if they actually are still in on Harper, are the only AL team to be interested. Could that possibly be a bit of a factor for Harper? He could slide into a 1B/DH role eventually. There could be more flexibility with an AL team. Unless, of course, the NL does adopt the DH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 1 minute ago, hogan873 said: The Sox, if they actually are still in on Harper, are the only AL team to be interested. Could that possibly be a bit of a factor for Harper? He could slide into a 1B/DH role eventually. There could be more flexibility with an AL team. Unless, of course, the NL does adopt the DH. That won’t change until after 2021, at the earliest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonofaRoache Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 10 minutes ago, TTSox22 said: Bryce should go to LAD on a 2-year deal. Sox then come in when he's a FA with a hopefully proven roster to offer long-term. Except at that point the Cubs will just get him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveno89 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 2 minutes ago, SonofaRoache said: Except at that point the Cubs will just get him. No chance Harper takes a two year deal, it would be insane to pass on a huge payday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonofaRoache Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 7 minutes ago, steveno89 said: No chance Harper takes a two year deal, it would be insane to pass on a huge payday True, but if he did, he wouldn't come here. That's what our FO doesn't get. The market is bare. Even the high spending Dodgers are at a disadvantage because they won't go 10 years. When the new CBA kicks in and other teams find money, we won't outbid anyone for a premium free agents. If we can't sign these two, then who do we sign? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiSox Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Eloy/Harper alone is probably enough to win the AL central. That presence in the middle of the lineup would make everyone around them better. .... then they get pasted 0-3 in the first round of the playoffs because they dont have anyone who can pitch but I think we'd all be quite happy being in a position to win a division this year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegner Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Harper needs a better deal than Machado all the way around. Offer him more money than Machado and an opt out after 4 years. If the Sox offer more than the 300 million, at least they would be trying. If they do not try at all...that would just suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveno89 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 17 minutes ago, KiwiSox said: Eloy/Harper alone is probably enough to win the AL central. That presence in the middle of the lineup would make everyone around them better. .... then they get pasted 0-3 in the first round of the playoffs because they dont have anyone who can pitch but I think we'd all be quite happy being in a position to win a division this year. Not with our current pitching staff it is not^ The Indians are still easily the best team in the AL Central right now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perfect Vision Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) Really seems like it's going to be the Phillies. Unlike the Machado saga, just doesn't seem like there's going to be a San Diego that swoops in at the end with a big offer. Edited February 25, 2019 by Perfect Vision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky Mark Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 18 minutes ago, steveno89 said: Not with our current pitching staff it is not^ The Indians are still easily the best team in the AL Central right now Yeah I feel like people forget how awful our pitching currently is. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sockin Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) @Y2Jimmy0 Bravo. Edited February 25, 2019 by Sockin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnin' two Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 5 hours ago, bmags said: I'm still kinda excited. Until he signs, despite all the evidence of failed execution there is still a chance for them to turn around and do something different. Like in a bad tv show, where the protagonist does something completely out of character because the writers were lazy and bored. I'm in this boat with you. I really want them to sign Harper, and I keep having to check myself mentally because I am generally optimistic, and don't want to get my hopes up, but I really want it to happen. The opportunity is still there. All the reasons he (or Machado) made sense at the outset of the offseason are still there. Just get it done! *** reminder to self. 1% chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnin' two Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 45 minutes ago, steveno89 said: Not with our current pitching staff it is not^ The Indians are still easily the best team in the AL Central right now Yes, this is true. But they aren't a great team. They lost most of their bullpen. They lost Brantley, Gomes, Donaldson... Their whole offense is two guys, one of whom is hurt and the other collapsed in the second half last year. Their rotation is top notch, but they aren't a juggernaut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shipps Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I honestly feel like the Sox have about a 1% chance of landing Harper based on what’s happened up to this point and all the chatter that’s coming out. To believe in your heart if hearts that this is all working out in our favor to get him is really naive. But I don’t think it’s a bad thing to believe though. We all follow this stuff because it’s a nice distraction and sometimes believing in the extremely unlikely is a fun part of that distraction. ? 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lillian Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) 5 minutes ago, shipps said: I honestly feel like the Sox have about a 1% chance of landing Harper based on what’s happened up to this point and all the chatter that’s coming out. To believe in your heart if hearts that this is all working out in our favor to get him is really naive. But I don’t think it’s a bad thing to believe though. We all follow this stuff because it’s a nice distraction and sometimes believing in the extremely unlikely is a fun part of that distraction. ? It's only a "1% chance," if the Sox don't want him. What do you suppose the chances of that are? There are few teams interested. The price is lower than anticipated. The Sox have the money. They should be motivated to "fix" the mess, which they created. Harper doesn't like the idea of going to Philadelphia. So, still think the chance is 1%? Edited February 25, 2019 by Lillian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesoxwinner Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiebs13 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 1 minute ago, whitesoxwinner said: lol people are failing to mention the Sox share a facility with the Dodgers lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sockin Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Just now, Kiebs13 said: people are failing to mention the Sox share a facility with the Dodgers lol. It was parked on the Dodgers side of the complex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Just now, Kiebs13 said: people are failing to mention the Sox share a facility with the Dodgers lol. It's just Jerry filling up his Glendale vault with gold coins to enjoy a morning swim. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perfect Vision Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Just for my own peace of mind, I'm trying to go through how things could have changed in the pursuit of Harper so that the Sox are not now aggressively in on him: 1. Despite reports of Harper turning down a $300 mil offer from the Nats, the Sox actually believed they'd be able to sign him for less money if they gave an awesome power point presentation and Jim Thome told him how great JR is. At the winter meetings, Boras told the Sox to pound sand. 2. It was all a giant head fake in their pursuit of Machado, in that they planned to use Harper as leverage in their Machado negotiations. They never had serious intentions about signing Harper. 3. At some point this offseason, JR had a conversation with John Middleton in which it was expressly or implicitly decided that the Sox would focus on Machado and the Phillies would focus on Harper. 4. After the Machado failure, Sox ownership and front office are so angry and disappointed that they've simply decided to throw in the towel for the offseason, regardless of what happens with Harper's market. 5. Something happened or was said in one of the meetings or phone calls between the Sox and Harper's camp to make the Sox think that Harper wasn't a fit, or that trying to sign him was futile. 6. The Sox are convinced that the Phillies will top any bid the Sox make, so they've decided to just put themselves in a locker rather than let the Phillies do it to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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