SoxBlanco

Exactly. That was kind of the point of my original post. If that’s what our team would look like without any signings, which spots do you anticipate needing upgrades the most?

Callis has the exact same rotation I projected for 2021 in the Personal Opinions Sox Rebuild thread a few days ago. Not that it's going out on much of limb, but I thought it was interesting. Below is my post. Thoughts on the lineup?

Perhaps you are more familiar with the T-Mobile team?

Is he on the Verizon team?

If we add zero players through trade/free agency and don't re-sign anybody who will be a free agent, how does this look for a potential 2021 team? Which spots would we likely need to upgrade, and which spots are least likely to come to fruition? Obviously Vaughn at 1B is the least likely because there's a chance we won't even draft him, but I wanted to have a little fun with including our top pick from the 2019 draft. Everybody has a different opinion of the outfielders in our system, so you might have Basabe, Rutherford, or Walker instead of the guys I have there. You also might have Giolito, Hansen, or Flores in the rotation. Rotation: Kopech Rodon Cease Lopez Dunning Lineup: Moncada 3B Robert CF Eloy LF Adolfo DH Vaughn 1B Collins C Gonzalez RF Anderson SS Madrigal 2B

I think we will need to sign or trade for a #1/#2 type pitcher. Then we'll need either Kopech or Cease to be the other #1/#2. The other three spots can be filled with Lopez, Giolito, Dunning, Hansen, Flores, Lambert, etc. This means one of Kopech/Cease could completely bust and we'd still have our future rotation. Or if both of those guys hit, then we'd only need 2 of the 6 guys I listed to become a part of the rotation.

I can't believe there are people who feel this way. Is it because he was the #1 prospect at one point and people expected him to come out and be Mike Trout right away? I don't know how any intelligent human being could watch Yoan and have no hope for him. It's ridiculous.

Makes sense. I’ve always been high on him, but he does need to prove it in AA this year. And we could actually have a scenario in the future where 5 of our outfield prospects are starting (LF, CF, RF, DH, 1B).

No love for Gonzalez?

I have similar thoughts. The Machado/Harper debacle was ridiculous, but I really don’t have any issue with a lack of other moves. The heart of our young core will be up in 2020/2021, and we need to convert on some free agents at that point. I think most people felt that if we didn’t convert on Machado, then we shouldn’t be making other moves yet.

Yes, it's terrible...but no way is it as bad as last year. The bullpen alone makes it better than last year, and that's assuming nobody improves (Moncada, Giolito, etc.)

We have a player named Goins? I thought he was a power forward for Michigan State.

I'm talking about the stretch from June 22 through August 30. That's over two months where he looked great. That June 22 game against Oakland stands out to me because I remember thinking, "Finally! He actually looks great tonight." The final line might not show it, but he had given up 2 runs through 7 innings and Ricky let him go back out there for the 8th. First two batters got on, and then he was pulled. The bullpen gave up both inherited runners, so his final line was 7 IP, 4 ER. Giolito was awesome that night. He then followed up that start with a stretch of 9 out of 12 quality starts. The ERA doesn't tell the whole story because he got lit up for 7 runs in two of those games, but go back and watch his games against Houston and particularly Boston during that stretch. Two of the best teams in the AL, and Giolito was great against them. He had other great games during those two months as well, but those two stand out to me because of the quality of the opponent.

He had a stretch last year where he absolutely looked like a #2 starter. So yes, it’s not impossible. If he can turn things around, I envision him as more of a 3/4, but I’m certainly not giving up on him yet.

Even though the 25-man roster will not be finalized until right before the season starts, I can tell you that 25 out of the 25 guys will have a last name that is not Harper or Machado. There probably will be a Manny, though.

And he struck out the first batter! If he just does that to every batter, he'll never give up a run! (Well, unless Narvaez is catching him...then I suppose he could)

What's more likely? We land Harper, or Yonder has a higher WAR than Machado this year?

But he could probably use another team that is willing to go long term.

I think they would have. I honestly don't think it was about being cheap. I think it was about being horrible during the negotiations and not thinking SD was serious. I posted this earlier, but think of it this way: If the front office could go back in time and offer a 10 year deal worth $310 with an opt out after 5 year, and they knew for a fact Machado would accept, would they do it? I think the answer to that question is yes.

Couldn't agree more with this.

Was Madrigal's hit to the opposite field?

Could this be something that goes down before the trade deadline this year? If the Rockies are in the hunt, could this be something both teams would want?

Grab a pitcher next offseason, and then wait until 2021 for a position player. I know Trout is a free agent after 2020 (and we won't be signing him), but who are some big name free agents after the 2021 season?

I tend to think it’s the second one as well, which is the only reason I have a sliver of hope for Harper. If they learned their lesson and truly want him, they could make it happen. But I still only give it about a 5% chance of happening.

Agreed, but the point of my post is not what it would have taken to get Manny to sign. I’m wondering why the Sox didn’t offer that magic number. Is it because they are cheap and simply refuse to go that high? Or is it because they didn’t think they needed to go that high?