Edwin Encarnacion

[ChiSoxFanMike]

4 minutes ago, pcq said:

EE changes a lot of lineup plans. I was psyched for Nick who is up and coming. 

Isn’t Collins’ playing time the only thing that changes with an EE signing? If anything, EE keeps the DH spot warm for a year until Vaughn is ready. I don’t really think this move would change that much in terms of the lineup.

[caulfield12]

3 minutes ago, pcq said:

EE changes a lot of lineup plans. I was psyched for Nick who is up and coming. 

But this is also likely peak Castellanos.  If they hadn’t already blocked DH with Abreu in 2021-22, many would agree with you.  Betts, Springer and even Pederson will be more expensive next year, and our young RF prospects are far from a certainty to make an impact.  Adolfo and Rutherford are probably the two most promising at this point.

[Lillian]

37 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Bob was also spotted in the entourage of Social Influencers in Saudi Arabia...

In all seriousness, shocked that Lillian isn’t backing a left handed hitter.

McCann doesn’t have to traded unless we get the exact piece we want (bullpen or young RH outfielder) we want.  It’s that simple.  We don’t have to give up on Collins, either.  Look how long it took before Tyler Flowers became a legit big leaguer with the Braves.  Catchers usually mature in their late 20s as capable receivers and game callers.  It’s not an overnight process.   Better to hold onto our embarrassment of riches and force another team to make an overpay if one of their top guys go down.

I'm satisfied that the Sox have acquired two left handed power hitters, in Grandal (Switch hitter) and Mazara. That need has been fulfilled by Hahn, who apparently shared my desire to attain better balance in the lineup. Catching is about defense first. I haven't advocated trading Collins and I'm hopeful that he will develop into a serviceable receiver and good OBP, power bat. However, as I've said repeatedly, he is not ready to be the every day catcher, if Grandal should get hurt. The Sox should feel very comfortable knowing that they have such good catching depth.

Contrary to what some may think, I'm not excessively partial to left handed hitters. What I have been concerned about, for so long, is the lack of balance. Without this season's acquisitions, the Sox would have had 1 run producing, left handed hitter, in Moncada. That is not an ideal situation. As I've stated, I wouldn't want an all left handed hitting lineup, any more than I would be satisfied with an all right handed hitting lineup. Balance is the ideal, for which a team should strive.

Edited December 25, 2019 by Lillian

[pcq]

Just now, YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES! said:

Isn’t Collins’ playing time the only thing that changes with an EE signing? If anything, EE keeps the DH spot warm for a year until Vaughn is ready. I don’t really think this move would change that much in terms of the lineup.

Abreu at 1B as a regular, Grandal full time catcher, McCann and Collins with limited PT. Nick is age 27 breakout candidate. This is a discount move to save money. Just my take. 

[Lillian]

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone. I hope that you are all pleased with what "SHAHNTA" has brought us. Good Night.

[pcq]

Just now, Lillian said:

I'm satisfied that the Sox have acquired two left handed power hitters, in Grandal (Switch hitter) and Mazara. That need has been fulfilled by Hahn, who apparently shared my desire to attain better balance in the lineup. Catching is about defense first. I haven't advocated trading Collins and I'm hopeful that he will develop into a serviceable receiver and good OBP, power bat. However, as I've said repeatedly, he is not ready to be the every day catcher, if Grandal should get hurt. The Sox should feel very comfortable knowing that they have such good catching depth.

Contrary to what some may think, I'm not excessively partial to left handed hitters. What I have been concerned about, for so long, is the lack of balance. Without this season's acquisitions, the Sox would have had 1 run producing, left handed hitter, in Moncada. That is not an ideal situation. As I've stated, I wouldn't want an all left handed hitting lineup, any more than I would be satisfied with an all right handed hitting lineup. Balance is the ideal, for which a team should strive.

I think the Mazara plan is legit and likely had input from Menechino.

[Moan4Yoan]

The only reason anyone could be upset about adding an .850 OPS DH like Encarnacion on an inexpensive, short-term contract is if they want to see Collins get some playing time.

I am with Dick Allen and all for moving McCann for a nice reliever to free up the backup position for Collins.  Even if McCann is the same guy he was last year (which I think is unlikely), he still won’t get much playing time with Grandal around.  I would not trade Collins and his years of control and potential for a half season wonder in McCann.

Sell high on the guy.  I guarantee you we will regret not moving him by the middle of next season.

[caulfield12]

39 minutes ago, pcq said:

Abreu at 1B as a regular, Grandal full time catcher, McCann and Collins with limited PT. Nick is age 27 breakout candidate. This is a discount move to save money. Just my take. 

So the Rangers made discount moves when they brought in Minor and Lynn.  And they saved a ton of money, which they then reallocated on their roster.

Yet they were worth 10.7 fWAR last year.  If you overpay through FA for every position on the field, a mid market team will invariably run into payroll constraints.

Or you can simply argue they never should have committed to Abreu past 2020.

They arguably overpaid Abreu...you can argue that as well.   But you have to take into consideration the consequences of overpaying Castellanos and forcing him into RF instead of DH or 1B.

What happens when you need that money for starting pitching, relievers or extending your own young players like Robert, Moncada and Madrigal?

Of they don’t get Robert or Moncada to sign extensions, we can all argue that giving Abreu three years was a huge mistake if the wheels come off his offensive performance in 2021 or 22.  Heck, even next year, although nobody is arguing Vaughn is ready for the big leagues this year, not yet.

Edited December 25, 2019 by caulfield12

[Jack Parkman]

36 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

 If they don’t get Robert or Moncada to sign extensions, we can all argue that giving Abreu three years was a huge mistake if the wheels come off his offensive performance in 2021 or 22.  Heck, even next year, although nobody is arguing Vaughn is ready for the big leagues this year, not yet.

I can say definitively right now that if they can't re-sign Moncada that contract is a mistake. 

[Orlando]

 

lol all these dudes regurgitating the same info and citing sources. Hector was first. Jon Heyman was next. These two were legit. Then we had Kinander, MLB executive burner, Chi Sox schins and now this guy citing “sources”. 

[ChiSoxFanMike]

1 minute ago, Orlando said:

 

lol all these dudes regurgitating the same info and citing sources. Hector was first. Jon Heyman was next. These two were legit. Then we had Kinander, MLB executive burner, Chi Sox schins and now this guy citing “sources”. 

I will never understand the allure that random people have of being an “insider” 

[SonofaRoache]

2 minutes ago, Orlando said:

 

lol all these dudes regurgitating the same info and citing sources. Hector was first. Jon Heyman was next. These two were legit. Then we had Kinander, MLB executive burner, Chi Sox schins and now this guy citing “sources”. 

His sources are Hector and Heyman, he never said they weren't. 

[Orlando]

Just now, SonofaRoache said:

His sources are Hector and Heyman, he never said they weren't. 

Haha the “are telling me” part makes it seem like he knows someone on the inside. I guess I should tweet “sources are telling me” as well and start a career?

[BackDoorBreach]

6 hours ago, HOFHurt35 said:

And let's get to the part of "being good" first before demanding every hole gets filled in one off-season.  I get the sense Sox fans are a little too demanding in trying to build a WS contender in one off-season.  That's almost impossible to get done coming from where we are in the rebuild.  And it still involves a lot of luck, than just player additions.

Patience.  Let's get to good first and then see where we stand.

This isn't a rebuild anymore though. We have a glaring hole in RF when there are several bats available right now to fix it.

They aren't spending 350 million dollars on Betts next year.  Springer could easily get an extension, if not he's going to cost probably 100 million on the wrong side of 30. And Joc Pederson is fine, but he's a platoon bat and will likely have many other suitors.  They could get Nick right now and solidify RF for the next few years and upgrade substantially.  He has like the 3rd most XBHs in baseball over the last 3 years.   

[Orlando]

 

lol

[RudyLawRules]

14 minutes ago, Orlando said:

 

lol

May not mean much but I have read past articles in the Daily Herald by Tim and engaged with him on Twitter for high school sports stories he's covered. He seemed on the up and up. Just my $.02.

[caulfield12]

42 minutes ago, BackDoorBreach said:

This isn't a rebuild anymore though. We have a glaring hole in RF when there are several bats available right now to fix it.

They aren't spending 350 million dollars on Betts next year.  Springer could easily get an extension, if not he's going to cost probably 100 million on the wrong side of 30. And Joc Pederson is fine, but he's a platoon bat and will likely have many other suitors.  They could get Nick right now and solidify RF for the next few years and upgrade substantially.  He has like the 3rd most XBHs in baseball over the last 3 years.   

This year is a contention one if everything goes right (or goes wrong for the Twins and Indians.)

They can’t put all their chips in quite yet though...if you rush too much, you end up with contracts you didn’t even need if you would have been a bit more patient.

Not signing Machado worked out fine, it remains to be seen between Keuchel, Wheeler, Bumgarner and Ryu.

Micker Adolfo, for example, might be the most talented prospect after Robert, but has never been able to stay healthy.  Rutherford could be part of a platoon.  The point is that if you keep spending $10-15 million on every single possible hole, there won’t be as much flexibility remaining next offseason or with signing our own homegrown players to extensions.

EE over Collins is one thing...for a year or two.  A four year contract for a defensively limited corner outfielder or DH is another matter altogether.   That’s why the market for Ozuna, Castellanos and even Puig is taking so long to develop.

 

 

Edited December 25, 2019 by caulfield12

[SonofaRoache]

1 hour ago, Orlando said:

Haha the “are telling me” part makes it seem like he knows someone on the inside. I guess I should tweet “sources are telling me” as well and start a career?

Are Gomez and Heyman not telling him, like they are telling the rest of us lol? It's all semantics. 

[Moan4Yoan]

It’s looking like EE is all but official and Castellanos probably isn’t happening.

Next up is a right-handed outfielder and a reliever.

I think Kevin Pillar makes the most sense.  Decent splits against lefties and can play good defense in CF and RF.  He can begin the season starting in CF and then platoon with Mazara in RF once Robert is called up.  You then have Engel solely as a 5th OF defensive replacement that can hang out in AAA if and when he is needed.

Edited December 25, 2019 by Moan4Yoan

[Sambuca]

Some of those randoms pretending to be insiders have slid into my DMs when I have sarcastically inquired on their inside information.  I don’t even remember the conversations, but it was pretty weird at 2am.  I’m not female, FYI, and no I’m not insinuating the DMs were of sexual nature.  Goodnight.

[CWSpalehoseCWS]

4 hours ago, YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES! said:

I will never understand the allure that random people have of being an “insider” 

Narcissistic personality. Which also attributes to the vast majority of people on social media.

[tray]

Projecting Collins as a DH is a real stretch.  I am even beginning to wonder about Vaughn.  An article considering his pros and cons prior to last years Draft is here.

 

[caulfield12]

7 minutes ago, tray said:

Projecting Collins as a DH is a real stretch.  I am even beginning to wonder about Vaughn.  An article considering his pros and cons prior to last years Draft is here.

 

Give him a year.  Everyone said the exact same things about Madrigal entering 2020 off a subpar draft year performance.

[SoxSteve]

1 hour ago, tray said:

Projecting Collins as a DH is a real stretch.  I am even beginning to wonder about Vaughn.  An article considering his pros and cons prior to last years Draft is here.

 

Your having doubts about Vaughn after reading a article? All that article says is he is the best college  hitter some have ever seen but he is a right handed hitting first baseman. I’ll take the former. 

[pcq]

Just now, caulfield12 said:

So the Rangers made discount moves when they brought in Minor and Lynn.  And they saved a ton of money, which they then reallocated on their roster.

Yet they were worth 10.7 fWAR last year.  If you overpay through FA for every position on the field, a mid market team will invariably run into payroll constraints.

Or you can simply argue they never should have committed to Abreu past 2020.

They arguably overpaid Abreu...you can argue that as well.   But you have to take into consideration the consequences of overpaying Castellanos and forcing him into RF instead of DH or 1B.

What happens when you need that money for starting pitching, relievers or extending your own young players like Robert, Moncada and Madrigal?

Of they don’t get Robert or Moncada to sign extensions, we can all argue that giving Abreu three years was a huge mistake if the wheels come off his offensive performance in 2021 or 22.  Heck, even next year, although nobody is arguing Vaughn is ready for the big leagues this year, not yet.

I understand it's a money calculus. The Rangers can do their budget maneuvers and our owner gets to pay his favorites. Nick would be a huge statement for a team that has a chance to climb out of AAAA status 2020 and compete. EE 37 fouls up the lineup variations discussed here and is an aging suitcase. I have a right to be disappointed and that is all I am expressing. Psyched for Nick and bummed for EE.