Cespedes Re-signs with the Mets

[Chicago White Sox]

Who cares about the Cubs, let's add Cespedes so our team is a legit playoff contender. Add Cespedes and we have just as good of a shot as any team in the division to win the Central.

[Saufley]

Who cares about the Cubs, let's add Cespedes so our team is a legit playoff contender. Add Cespedes and we have just as good of a shot as any team in the division to win the Central.

 

I don't care about the northside team! I hate the northside team!

[Condor13]

Just read on rotoworld that Baltimore is still in on Cespedes if he will sign a short term deal.

 

Just grow a pair and give him a 4 yr contract so the fans will finally enjoy a full season of baseball, not just the first month.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Condor13

[caulfield12]

Just read on rotoworld that Baltimore is still in on Cespedes if he will sign a short term deal.

 

Just grow a pair and give him a 4 yr contract so the fans will finally enjoy a full season of baseball, not just the first month.

 

We don't even usually get to enjoy the first month recently...just opening day.

[Condor13]

We don't even usually get to enjoy the first month recently...just opening day.

 

Very true

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

first, 5 yrs of Cespedes too many yrs, that will make him 36 when the contract ends. i think 4yrs is just about right.

 

however i am already acknowledging the fact that the team will not invest in anymore if any fa's..... that is a ship that has moved into another horizon.

 

however, i wonder about some minor trades. i mean they can do that, at least...... but will they???

 

going into the sox convention, there will be many media news of how the sox couldn't spend b/c of budgetary reasons, or no money or any kind of b/s. i wonder if there will be any fans I'who will have the balls to address this there????

 

I've said this a number of time but it bears repeating every time I see misinformation. 2015 was Cespedes age 29 season. 5 years would be ( count with me) his age 1) 30, 2) 31. 3) 32 , 4) 33 , 5) 34 seasons. He will be 34 when a 5 year contract ends not 36 . So I gather that you are ok then with a contract that brings him through his age 35 season which then would be a 6 year contract . His birthday is October 18th so he get a whole season for each year of age unless he plays in the post season and that brings him past October 18th.

[Whisox05]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0116-story.html

[SoCalSox]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0116-story.html

 

Care to copy & paste the link? It has a paywall on it.

[YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES!]

Here's my daily obligatory "I have a feeling that something will happen soon" post for today.

[Whisox05]

Care to copy & paste the link? It has a paywall on it.

 

That is the link. Unfortunately Tribune has certain articles that make you sign up or pay. If you register with them you get like 5 or 10 articles to read before having to pay

[Chicago White Sox]

Care to copy & paste the link? It has a paywall on it.

Just search "Cespedes Tribune" on google and you can read it for free.

[Chicago White Sox]

Here's my daily obligatory "I have a feeling that something will happen soon" post for today.

I think it's going to be a few more days at minimum before anything happens with Cespedes. He's got to regroup with his agent and lay out their options. At the same time, if we are willing to go beyond this three year threshold, it will likely be in a take or leave it type offer. And my guess is they'll try to have their plan B in place and use that as leverage as well. Davis was the first big roadblock, but now Cespedes needs to accept reality that a 6/$130M offer isn't happening.

[fathom]

http://m.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/m...NSports+Twitter

 

Some very interesting comments in this article about Buck not wanting Cespedes and concerns about his attitude.

[caulfield12]

http://m.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/m...NSports+Twitter

 

Some very interesting comments in this article about Buck not wanting Cespedes and concerns about his attitude.

 

On the other hand, the White Sox also have a long history of risk-taking on players with more questionable reputations.

 

That's the nature of not having enough talent on the farm, especially position players.

 

Jenks

Everett

AJ

Adam Eaton

Javy

Swisher

Orlando Cabrera

Belisario

Melky Cabrera

Alex Rios

DAngelo Jimenez

Wil Cordero

Albert Belle

Jaime Navarro

Kenny Lofton

 

 

Some have worked out wonderfully and others (thinking of Keppinger) have completely blown up in their faces.

 

Almost nobody in baseball had anything bad to say about Adam Dunn or LaRoche as far as being good teammates until their production imploded. Jake Peavy had all the talk and competitiveness in the world but never delivered. Shark was a complete bust.

 

If you have the right coaching staff in place, you can take on more risk, imo...Buck Showalter, Scioscia, LaRussa...they're classic micromanagers who don't have much tolerance for free spirits on their team.

Edited January 17, 2016 by caulfield12

[SoCalSox]

There's been multiple people even on the MLB Network that have cited Cespedes' personal/leadership issues as well.

 

At this point, this could be his 5th team in 5 years. It's not unrealistic to think there's an issue with him. With that being said, I still want to see the Sox lock this guy up.

[fathom]

Another question that Levine brought up was concerns about him golfing at Medinah prior to the NLCS games. If you recall, he had to leave one of those games with a strange shoulder issue.

Edited January 17, 2016 by fathom

[Whisox05]

There's been multiple people even on the MLB Network that have cited Cespedes' personal/leadership issues as well.

 

At this point, this could be his 5th team in 5 years. It's not unrealistic to think there's an issue with him. With that being said, I still want to see the Sox lock this guy up.

 

I never understood the whole 4 teams in 2 years thing. 2 teams weren't in contention and didn't need him so the try to get something back for him. The A's traded him to get that big game pitcher which didn't work. You could tell after the A's traded him the team wasnt the same offensively and didn't have as much energy. The Mets get him and he helps them run to the world series.

[OmarComing25]

I never understood the whole 4 teams in 2 years thing. 2 teams weren't in contention and didn't need him so the try to get something back for him. The A's traded him to get that big game pitcher which didn't work. You could tell after the A's traded him the team wasnt the same offensively and didn't have as much energy. The Mets get him and he helps them run to the world series.

Agreed, it's a completely overblown "red flag".

[caulfield12]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball...ticle-1.2406497

 

That story wasn't reported by Levine. It was everywhere in the NY media.

 

We can do the same with Fowler.

 

"Dexter’s a great kid and he knows that we all feel that way about him. But I think he’s got to get tougher. No doubt. He’s got to show up and play with an edge every day, not just when he thinks he has to. It’s got to be that edge that he brings every day. He’s got to be a passionate competitor in the game. He has to love the game. He’s got to compete because he loves the game and he loves his teammates and he wants to win. It can’t be for anything the game provides. It’s got to be for those reasons." Dan O'Dowd

 

"Rockies manager Walt Weiss is nobody's puppet. This is his baseball team. It will win or lose his way.

And that's why Dexter Fowler is no longer in Colorado. After five seasons with the Rockies, it seemed obvious Fowler could not be a centerpiece in a winning franchise. He simply isn't tough enough. Fowler is gone. The Rockies are tougher."

Mark Kiszla, Denver Post

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article....articleid=23227

 

One of the most interesting recent discoveries in sabermetrics is Matt Swartz’s finding that players who stay with the same teams tend to perform better over the long run than those who sign elsewhere. The implication is that organizations know more about their own players than outsiders do, and Luhnow admitted as much when he acknowledged the risk inherent in trading for someone from outside the org. We don’t know exactly what form the longtime team’s information advantage takes, but it seems reasonable to suggest that psychological evaluations are part of the picture. However, we know that not every accusation of a lack of toughness turns out to be on target.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caulfield12]

Fathom might be right...he might be wrong.

 

The obvious problem is the White Sox are always in this same situation of bringing in almost all of their position players from other teams.

 

Saladino is really the only homegrown (drafted/developed) starting player on the roster (and the one whose position is most tenuous). You constantly lose that huge advantage in terms of assessing your own players since you are naturally much more familiar with them...but the White Sox can't profit from this like other organizations.

 

Therein lies the rub....everything working out perfectly in 2005 is almost impossible to replicate in today's game which places even more emphasis on developing your own core of players and then supplementing with pricey free agents.

Edited January 17, 2016 by caulfield12

[Whisox05]

Fathom might be right...he might be wrong.

 

The obvious problem is the White Sox are always in this same situation of bringing in almost all of their position players from other teams.

 

Saladino is really the only homegrown (drafted/developed) starting player on the roster (and the one whose position is most tenuous). You constantly lose that huge advantage in terms of assessing your own players since you are naturally much more familiar with them...but the White Sox can't profit from this like other organizations.

 

Therein lies the rub....everything working out perfectly in 2005 is almost impossible to replicate in today's game which places even more emphasis on developing your own core of players and then supplementing with pricey free agents.

 

And if they don't start actually getting into the playoffs here on it it's going to get to the point of doing a fire sale on the major league side. The supposed 3 years windows ends with 2 years left on sales and Abreu's contracts. If the Sox aren't in prime position of contending then they are probably going to have to look at trading them. If the Sox are having trouble trying to give out money and years to Cespedes what's it doing to be like when we get closer to the end of sales and Abreu contracts. Do we actually see them coughing up between 25-30 million and probably at least 5 years or more for sale. Abreu will be older so can't image them coughing up money for him.

[LDF]

I've said this a number of time but it bears repeating every time I see misinformation. 2015 was Cespedes age 29 season. 5 years would be ( count with me) his age 1) 30, 2) 31. 3) 32 , 4) 33 , 5) 34 seasons. He will be 34 when a 5 year contract ends not 36 . So I gather that you are ok then with a contract that brings him through his age 35 season which then would be a 6 year contract . His birthday is October 18th so he get a whole season for each year of age unless he plays in the post season and that brings him past October 18th.

 

so you can count.... impressive, however according to baseball ref he is 30 now.... do the counting.

 

i will like the contract to end at age 34... but that is me... baseball FO has their own mind.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cespeyo01.shtml

[YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES!]

In my opinion, Cespedes is a very low risk move for the Sox. Yes, it's a lot of money to commit to one player, but that's all he'd require. Sacrificing a draft pick/minor leaguers wouldn't be necessary to get him, and it's important for the Sox to build up their farm system.

 

Furthermore, I believe that this is the Sox time to compete if they intend on doing so. It isn't every day that a team has multiple stars like Sale, Quintana, Abreu, Eaton, Rodon, and potentially Anderson and Fulmer all on EXTREMELY team friendly contacts for the next 4-5 years. As it stands now, the Sox have a solid team, but not a playoff worthy one in my opinion. Cespedes would change that. Like I said, it's an awful lot of money to give to one player, but I believe that Cespedes is worth it. It isn't a coincidence that just about every team Cespedes is on has been competitive for the most part and they fall apart once he leaves (i.e., the A's and Tigers). Cespedes is a game changer no matter how you put it and he would completely change the lineup and team that the Sox have as a whole.

 

The argument could be made that the Sox would be in trouble if he busts, but if he does, so what? The Sox would be in a great position to have a major selloff in 2018 or 2019 if they aren't competitive anyway, and Cespedes could just be added to the trade list. If necessary, trading Sale, Quintana, Rodon, Abreu, Cespedes, etc could rebuild the farm system and rejuvenate the franchise in a blink of an eye.

 

In other words, while the possibility exists that the could bust if they sign Cespedes (well, they could bust without him too), I 100% believe that it is worth whatever the Sox would have to pay him to bring him on board. The division is wide open and the Sox would have as good of a chance as anyone if they can land Cespedes. Detroit is a wreck and have no farm system, Kansas City has just about a 2 year window left before their stars go elsewhere, Cleveland is decent but who knows how they'll be in the future, and Minnesota has good young prospects but not enough pitching to do anything significant.

 

This is the Sox chance to become relevant in Chicago again and I think they'd be foolish to pass up that chance just because of money.

[fathom]

Can't spend what you don't have. I'm sure 2016 season ticket sales look bleak right now. We aren't talking about an extra 5 million or so. 100-125 million is a huge amount for a team that might already be at their budget.

[YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES!]

Can't spend what you don't have. I'm sure 2016 season ticket sales look bleak right now. We aren't talking about an extra 5 million or so. 100-125 million is a huge amount for a team that might already be at their budget.

It's a double edged sword in my opinion. While 2016 season ticket sales could look bleak now, signing Cespedes could cause more people to buy tickets to watch more games at the stadium (I know I'd buy more tickets if he was on the team) as the team would appear to be much improved over recent years. That paired with a potentially hot start to the season could cause more people to become interested in the team, hence making the Sox more money.