SoxBlanco

Good stuff. I think you nailed where things stand and what it would take. Probably a crazy thought, but any chance McCann’s departure scares Giolito a little bit, making it more likely for him to pull the trigger on an extension? If he thinks there’s a chance he might regress a little bit, this could be the perfect time for an extension.

Remember last offseason when the majority here said Abreu had no business hitting 3rd, and they were worried that Renteria would keep him there all year? Point being, if Eaton is hitting .300 with a .375 OBP, then TLR can put him at the top of the lineup for all I care. If he struggles a bit, then TLR will slide him down to the 8 or 9 spot. I don’t think anybody needs to worry about lineup construction at this point. Guys will be slotted based on how they’re hitting.

Yeah, I get that. I’m just way more comfortable with Eaton as our starting RF than Dahl. But I totally understand the concerns. If we were hypothetically only given two options for our starting RF, and the options were Dahl for $3M or Eaton for $7M, I’m taking Eaton without hesitation.

Would you guys have been ok with that deal with Dahl being our starting RF? And if not, then Dahl isn’t taking that deal with us when he can take the same deal with another team and actually start.

I feel like all of a sudden, we're gonna hear that we signed Colome. Kind of like how we were hearing Pederson was our next target and then bam, Eaton was signed.

I believe he’s referring to Luis Gonzalez.

Agreed. That’s why I’m so confused by his negative defensive numbers. It wasn’t just all the times he threw somebody out. The eye test told me he was solid out there, and much better than how he looked in CF. I can’t imagine he is bad out there now, but I admittedly haven’t watched him much at all in the last few years.

Does anybody know specifically why he has declined defensively? Has his range declined? Weak arm? Dropping balls out there? I just can’t imagine he’s that bad out there, but that’s what the numbers are saying. Can anybody who has actually watched him shed some light?

Well that’s great news. Thanks for the info. You hearing anything on the Hendriks front?

Didn’t people say similar things about Abreu before last year? He was getting older, not as good offensively, and becoming worse as a defender. And he’s two years older than Eaton. I’m not saying that as proof that Eaton will be good. I just think it’s very possible he has a solid season. Being surrounded by a good offense and a team that’s winning tends to bring the best out in a player, especially for a guy like with a winner’s mentality like Eaton.

The 75% is probably a bit high, but I'm just optimistic. I don't expect weird knee, ankle, or finger injuries to occur. Guys who are inured often with hamstring/groin type of injuries scare me a lot more than a guy like Eaton.

Due to the possibility of Engel starting against lefties, the 150 number is probably unlikely. But if you're just asking about staying healthy in general for the full season with at most one 10-day stint on the injured list, I'd give it about a 75% chance. But I'm admittedly more optimistic when it comes to injuries, especially in baseball for non-pitchers.

That's the million dollar question. I'm not sure what's best. You either suck it up and rotate Collins, Grandal, Eloy, etc. at DH for a couple weeks. Or you sign another big bat and keep Vaughn down for a while. Personally, I want Vaughn up as soon as possible.

You are going to REALLY hate the Madrigal/Eaton combo in our lineup.

Neither do I. I also don't think knocking the ball out of the park is the gospel of determining the value of baseball players.

I don't see why he can't play that many games (other than possibly being part of a platoon). He just played 151 in 2019. I think the "always injured" narrative is a little overblown. I would easily take that bet if anything between 0-2 is a wash, over 2 is a win, and under 0 is a loss.

And Eaton is a left handed bat who gets on base at a higher clip than Pederson. We have guys who can knock the ball out of the park. Eaton will generate runs. Pederson would have also. Why does it matter how that happens exactly? Do you think Pederson would have a higher WAR?

Is there really much difference between Joc and Eaton in terms of production? Sure, one of them could have a monster season, but I'd expect both of them to be in the 2/3 WAR range.

What do you think Eaton's WAR will be if he plays around 150 games?

Sorry to quote myself here, but I just realized that 2017 was the year he only played 23 games. So throw out the two seasons where he played only 23 and 41 games, and you've got a pretty consistent stretch there. I'm officially on board! It took several hours, but it feels good. Now let's lock up Hendriks and another starter.

Is that graphic really showing a guy "falling off a cliff" as much as it appears? If you take out 2020, it looks like he was pretty consistent from 2014 to 2019, with a very good 2017 making it look more like a cliff dive.

I know about Frazier and I’ve heard Ozzie’s comments, but who else spoke out about not liking Eaton? I’m not asking this to argue a point. I’m genuinely curious.

It’s a valid concern. Although I guess most free agents have some concerns attached to them. Let’s say Springer and Bauer didn’t exist. Who would you want the Sox to sign?

How does Brantley’s defense compare to Eloy’s?

I think there are two sides to everything. I’m sure Eaton can be a dick, but he’s also a winner (like AJ). I’ve played sports with guys like that. I love having them on my team. Other guys on my team hated it. But if you’re winning, none of that really matters. Here’s an example of somebody who said he’s one of the best teammates he’s ever had: “When I was playing against him, he’s that guy that rubs you wrong a little bit,” veteran infielder Howie Kendrick told NBC Sports Chicago. “But once you get on a team with him, he’s probably one of the best teammates, if not the best teammate that I’ve ever had.” “On that (World Series) team, he was one of the biggest pieces for us because of the way he went about the game and his ability to play all facets of the game, whether it’s moving runners, bunting, speed and obviously his defense,” Kendrick explained. “You go back and watch those tapes and it definitely shows. “As far as clubhouses go, you need guys like Adam to be around, especially if there’s young players. He’s not afraid to talk to guys. He’s not afraid to be who he is. I think that he rubs off on other people, the way he plays the game. He lent information to the young guys (Juan Soto and Víctor Robles) about approaching situations in the outfield, whether it was throwing to bases or certain situations during the game, those guys would always talk.”