Free Agency - How confident are you?

[chitownsportsfan]

5 minutes ago, bmags said:

What is the best 2019-20 free agency list? MLBTR's burned me because it included guys that were on team options.

They have them parsed out it appears.

That list of RF outside Castellanos and Puig is straight garbage.  The list of veteran SP looks pretty deep however.

[SonofaRoache]

1 hour ago, ChiSox59 said:

The bolded is really the bottom line.  The Sox currently have $17M committed to 2020 payroll.  With arbitration, they'll be around $50M without signing anybody.  They could add $75M to next year's payroll and still be below average.  

All signees should be on a three or four year deal to keep money to sign core guys. Unless of course, if a star wants to sign. 2020 is year 1 of our contention window. 

[mqr]

Ideally you do both, but I think it's more important to sign a breadth of solid pitchers than 1 very good one at this juncture. 

[bmags]

1 minute ago, chitownsportsfan said:

They have them parsed out it appears.

That list of RF outside Castellanos and Puig is straight garbage.  The list of veteran SP looks pretty deep however.

They still have derek dietrich listed which is annoying.

[bmags]

I know the royals are weird but if they do buy out gordon he may not be a bad option.

[chitownsportsfan]

One thing nice is that when Robert is the CF it will push Leury to either 2B or super sub.  I wouldn't have a problem with him starting next year at 2B as a placemat for Madrigal coming up sometime in June and then he goes back to super utility guy.

So I wouldn't worry about signing a 2B or utility guy.  Focus should almost 100% be on RF and SP and then RP.

[mqr]

1 minute ago, bmags said:

I know the royals are weird but if they do buy out gordon he may not be a bad option.

I'd personally like to avoid 36 year olds off bounce back years

[chitownsportsfan]

1 minute ago, mqr said:

I'd personally like to avoid 36 year olds off bounce back years

How about Avi?

[RTC]

20 minutes ago, Jose Abreu said:

That's basically what I'm saying. But having fewer holes to fill, in my opinion, actually does mean they are going to be better at filling them, simply because they'll have more money to do so and won't need to dumpster dive. Even if our current core + 4-5 or so free agents still isn't a good enough team, I still have a lot of faith in the non-Robert/Madrigal type of prospects in our system, plus the recent influx of intriguing talent in the DSL and Rookie Leagues

As skeptical as I am of the FO, I'm with you on this.  I'm more optimistic than a lot of folks on guys like Rutherford.

[RTC]

Just now, chitownsportsfan said:

How about Avi?

Absolutely no.  We need a RF not just with a bat, but one that can play at least middling D. 

[mqr]

1 minute ago, chitownsportsfan said:

How about Avi?

I'd be open to it if you can't find a lefty and he's not too expensive. 

[bmags]

4 minutes ago, mqr said:

I'd personally like to avoid 36 year olds off bounce back years

Yeah I get that, but I think there is something to in this free agency:

- still a good defender

- good clubhouse guy from winning teams

- Still decent obp even in bad years and not bad k rates

But yes, not option 1a

[chitownsportsfan]

1 minute ago, bmags said:

Yeah I get that, but I think there is something to in this free agency:

- still a good defender

- good clubhouse guy from winning teams

- Still decent obp even in bad years and not bad k rates

But yes, not option 1a

who is option 1A in RF?  I don't think there is one looking at that list.   Puig on a one year deal would be alright I guess.  He's a bad defender at this point in his career as well however.  There are really no good glove guys available that can hit a lick.

[bmags]

Just now, chitownsportsfan said:

who is option 1A in RF?  I don't think there is one looking at that list.   Puig on a one year deal would be alright I guess.  He's a bad defender at this point in his career as well however.  There are really no good glove guys available that can hit a lick.

I think it will have to be trade. I always preferred Castellanos as just a bat, so 1b/dh. 

Um, joc pederson sure would have been nice...

I really have no idea who will be available.

[southsideirish71]

If we learned our lesson of do not negotiate through the media we might have a shot at getting someone decent.  If we see Nightingale leaks and other nonsense in the Winter we might be hosed.  

If we also use our failed econ 101 of actual dollars versus magical perceived future dollars that we did with Manny we might not be in a good spot to land anyone decent.  Reinsdorf-future-bucks are as valuable as lead.  

 

[GermanSoxFan]

38 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

Indeed.  You hope.  That's all you can do.  Expecting them to do a 180 on FA signings is just...hopeful.  When was the last time Hahn attempted to supplement the roster via FA?  2015?  Was that the Wilson Betetimit era or the  Keppinger era?  It all has blended together.

For being such a persona non grata, Betemit only had 50 PAs with the Sox. And he was actually a pretty good hitter.

[Jose Abreu]

3 minutes ago, bmags said:

I think it will have to be trade. I always preferred Castellanos as just a bat, so 1b/dh. 

Um, joc pederson sure would have been nice...

I really have no idea who will be available.

I still think they trade Joc this offseason. Maybe not to us, but somewhere. Their outfield is pretty stacked and now that Pollock is back healthy, they're struggling to get ABs for both Joc and Verdugo since they get Bellinger in the lineup every day. 

[chitownsportsfan]

4 minutes ago, bmags said:

I think it will have to be trade. I always preferred Castellanos as just a bat, so 1b/dh. 

Um, joc pederson sure would have been nice...

I really have no idea who will be available.

Heyward isn't going to opt out and it's worth a call to see what they want for him come December.  If it's just "take on his salary and send us some A ball reliever" it might make sense depending on the other options.  It's a risk, but at worst you probably get about 8 WAR for 80 million and he's off the books in 2024 when it's time to potentially re-up on Moncada and others.

[GermanSoxFan]

I don't think he is great, but Corey Dickerson would be a nice quality stopgap solution.

[bmags]

Just now, chitownsportsfan said:

Heyward isn't going to opt out and it's worth a call to see what they want for him come December.  If it's just "take on his salary and send us some A ball reliever" it might make sense depending on the other options.  It's a risk, but at worst you probably get about 8 WAR for 80 million and he's off the books in 2024 when it's time to potentially re-up on Moncada and others.

Ha, I was just thinking Heyward.

[ChiSox59]

4 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

who is option 1A in RF?  I don't think there is one looking at that list.   Puig on a one year deal would be alright I guess.  He's a bad defender at this point in his career as well however.  There are really no good glove guys available that can hit a lick.

My guess is their top few options for RF are controllable LH bats that they'd need to acquire via trade.

I have mentioned Nimmo, Conforto, and Benintendi in recent weeks.  Obviously all those guys would require prospect capital in return, unless the BoSox really wanted to get cute for this season (doubtful).        

I actually don't hate Gordon as a stop gap option if the trade market prices just don't make sense.  Prefer him to Puig, honestly.  Another stop gappy option would would be David Peralta.  He's been rumored to be available, controlled thru 2020.  Not sure how his defense is, honestly. 

[turnin' two]

I'm not sure why anyone would have confidence in free agency.  That has been this team's (and not just this FO) biggest challenge.  They haven't shown themselves to be anything other than incompetent in free agency.

[chitownsportsfan]

3 minutes ago, GermanSoxFan said:

For being such a persona non grata, Betemit only had 50 PAs with the Sox. And he was actually a pretty good hitter.

well he hit the mendoza line for a 590 OPS so he stunk when he was on the South Side.

1 minute ago, GermanSoxFan said:

I don't think he is great, but Corey Dickerson would be a nice quality stopgap solution.

yea I can see that.  Just find a 2 WAR type so you can see what you have in Basabe and Rutherford heading into 2021 and beyond while not completely punting the position in what should be a contending year.

[Moan4Yoan]

I think one thing to note for all the people that are excited about Cole...

I think the Sox see far more risk in a long-term deal for a pitcher than for a position player due to injuries.  So even while Cole will not get as much money as Machado, I would not be surprised if the Sox have more of a problem signing a guy like Cole to a long term deal than Machado, even if it is less overall money just because of the likelihood of injury to a pitcher over a position player.

Also, signing a stopgap like Dickerson makes sense when you are pretty sure you will have a legit major league player ready in a couple years.  Neither Rutherford nor Basabe are sure things.

Edited July 22, 2019 by Moan4Yoan

[Jose Abreu]

1 minute ago, ChiSox59 said:

My guess is their top few options for RF are controllable LH bats that they'd need to acquire via trade.

I have mentioned Nimmo, Conforto, and Benintendi in recent weeks.  Obviously all those guys would require prospect capital in return, unless the BoSox really wanted to get cute for this season (doubtful).        

They don't even need to be controllable, IMO. In this climate especially, I can easily see us trading for one and then extending him soon after. It's probably one of the best ways to allocate some of this money given the weak FA crop. It would not shock me to see one of the players you mentioned, or someone like Joc Pederson, end up as our long-term RF