SoCalChiSox

I feel that instead of actually making a 4 year commitment to Conforto they are going to on like a 1-2 year deal with Castellanos instead, they'll make excuses about how it doesn't matter that he's right handed and that having him and Eloy bookend the corners on defense is actually an "underappreciated" defensive combo.

Don't they need to move Kimbrel first for prospects so they can send those kids then to OAK? I thought one was kind of contingent on the other. And RH needs to get Conforto done tonight. 4/80-85 and once Colas is ready you can move Conforto to LF and Eloy to DH.

No Bryant...No Castellanos.

This. Get it done now. No excuses.

Get Conforto now. If they can't, pivot to Schwarber quickly. No excuses.

Hope not. Get a legit LHH. No Bryant, no Castellanos.

Sure you can. If part counts against CBT but not all, you can give players numbers they want and give some cushion to owners. Even 65m divided over 30 clubs is about 2m and change. If they agreed to 50m rising to 70m and it would count as 1m against CBT for each team, the players are basically redistributing about half of their own money to pay for it and owners ate paying other half in new money.

Yep. I expect the union to use this to get some more money for prearb pool and/or MLBs agreement that prearb pool money won't count against CBT and maybe a bit more cash for min salary players.

Union can use intl draft to force one final increase in prearb pool.

Likely PIT, OAK, MIA and CLE.

I wonder if the union will still say no expanded playoffs in 2022 in their statement.

MLBPA should respond to the clubs final offer with a bottom line 50m with 220/220/230/235/240 and remind them again that if games are canceled no expanded playoffs in 2022 so they can say goodbye to that extra 85m from espn at least for this year.

Union prolly wants to get the prearb pool up a little higher and get rid of the 220 CBT for three straight years. 40-50m and 220/225/230 will prolly be enough IMO and if they throw the owners a bone on intl draft that should be enough to get it done.

Indeed...and they could prolly get that LHH 2B from OAK for cheap too who did well last year (name escapes me) and platoon him with Leury at 2B.

NSC is suggesting there is some kind of informal trade worked out between us and OAK for one of their pitchers. If that's the case, you can slide that person into 4 and then Keuchel/Kopech split innings on 5. I actually wouldn't be surprised if there was a market for Keuchel at a salary of like 11/12m. I wouldn't be opposed to eating 6m of the 18m this year, moving him out and saving 12m in the process and not having to worry about the whole vesting issue for next year.

Damn....thats higher wins than I thought. Seems there is still pretty good incentive for teams to be good.

Nope...12 out of 30 only so prolly would require a second place finish in most divisions...might need 84/85 wins.

Owners won't go for ghost wins because it reduces TV revenues. HFA throughout might work though.

Get Conforto signed ASAP

The CBT in subsequent years will need to go up more. Freezing it at 220 for 3 straight years won't work. Maybe 220, 224, 230, 235, 240. Prearb pool also needs to go to at least 30m and min salaries will need to go to 700 from 675.

The 40m/700k deal with 14 teams is good for players if they can bump up CBT to 220m and get 3% increases a year. They might have to throw a bone on increasing the top tax rate from 62.5 to like 70 or something.

That's probably how poppysox would have addressed the players.

RHH....no

There's no way they will let him get to that number. He will pitch early and Kopech will take his innings later in the year.

Owners may not cave on super 2/service time changes, but they will absolutely need to increase the pre-arb pool to something very close to the 100m that the union wants and put control of how it's divided up in the unions hands. The minimums will have to go up to 700k plus and keep rising from there. Union will have to swallow some increases in CBT penalties in exchange for higher thresholds.