Perfect Vision

Remember when the Sox didn't pursue Harper because he was going to block Rutherford, Basabe, and/or Adolfo? Good memories.

Castellanos was connected to the Phillies and Marlins today.

It's going to be a fun time around here when the Sox trade Kimbrel for Myers straight up, and then the Padres turn around and sign Conforto.

FWIW, this guy said earlier the trade was a "bad contract for a bad contract" and the team was a west coast team. So....say hello to your new right fielder Wil Myers or Justin Upton.

The Conforto fit on the White Sox is so obvious (and something that's been noted by multiple national reporters), that Boras would be stupid to not try to bring them in on the bidding or give them the time to move Kimbrel if he believes they need to do that first before making an offer. If (and it's a big if) Hahn's first call after the lockout was to Boras, it would make sense that Hahn would tell him they were interested in making an offer for Conforto, but would want to wait until after the Kimbrel trade to see how much room they have in the budget.

Right. Any trade involving Kimbrel for Lux would necessarily require the Sox to pick up the salary (or at least enough of it for the Dodgers to avoid the tax threshold). A lot depends on if that's a hard line for the Dodgers though. If they're willing to go over, then they'll just re-sign Janssen.

If they would only make that deal with Vera included, then it's a no from me.

Lots of closers struggle outside of the 9th inning. The Sox were hoping that wouldn't be the case, but it was. If he goes back to closing, I definitely think there's reason to believe he'll dominate again like the first half of last year. And if the Sox pick up a lot of that salary, there's tremendous value there. We just don't know if they'd be willing to do that.

Today is one of those days where I really wish I could be a fly on the wall in Hahn's office, because if I were in Hahn's shoes, I'd be pushing hard for Gavin Lux. If Hahn were willing to pick up most or all of Kimbrel's salary in a trade, it certainly seems like something could be worked out from there, even if the Sox had to include a mid-level prospect or someone like Gonzalez to replace Lux as a depth piece.

Cavan Biggio anyone?

To be their primary DH? If so, no way they are offering him more than Schwarber just got.

From who? I'm genuinely curious which teams would still offer Conforto 5/100 at this point. Padres possibly, but if they pivot to Freeman, Castellanos or someone else, then they'd be out.

If the Phillies sign Schwarber or Bryant, the Padres get weird and sign Freeman, and the Marlins/Dbacks/Rockies all decide it's not a good time for them to invest in a big name FA, then what are realistic landing spots for Conforto or Castellanos?

Does anyone on here think the Sox won't extend Abreu on 1 or 2 year contracts after this year to be their DH? That's why a trade of Vaughn or Sheets seems inevitable.

I've seen enough, the Sox won the Tatis trade lol

Can we stop characterizing the making of proposals and options as trying to "sneak shit in." As far as everything that's being reported, it sounds like MLB is trying to be flexible and creative to get a deal done. And yes, of course some of these things benefit their side. That's a negotiation. I think a lot of people have become so anti-owner in this whole thing that they can't see what's happening objectively.

I haven't seen it reported anywhere that these things are considered difficult hurdles to a deal. CBT and pre-arb pool have consistently been mentioned as two of the biggest issues and the sides are getting closer. No doubt they are discussing lots of other things, but other than the international draft, nothing that should get one side to walk away from the table.

These two tweets side by side are pretty funny. Not sure how Heyman can read things the way he has. There has been material progress and the sides are close. But it does sound like MLB is going to have to abandon the international draft.

Agree with Jon here. The MLBPA probably just presented its offer and told MLB to think it over, talk to the owners, and get back to them. Nothing wrong with that. I'm actually pretty encouraged with the way things are going. Yes, it's moving slowly, but neither side is immediately running to a microphone to disparage the other side in the media, or releasing snarky press releases.

My guess is the Padres are offering Hosmer and Mackenzie Gore for Berrios.

Yes and no. Entering this year, the Sox had a bunch of guys who looked like they'd be useful trade chips: Lambert, Stiever, Kelly, Thompson, Dalquist to name a few. They've pretty much all underperformed or been injured. Sure Hahn deserves some of the blame, but so do the players, coaches, scouts, and the development staff.

The Sox will trade for a 2B. I'd put it at: 75% - Escobar 25% - Baez Story isn't going to happen. He hasn't been good and he's not a 2B. Turner isn't going to happen. The Sox don't have the prospects to get him and aren't going to trade MLB pieces.

Yermin has trade value. There are non-contenders out there (Miami, Baltimore, etc.) who I bet would love to acquire him and give him another shot. Who wants to bet that Hahn got on the phone with Yermin today and told him they will make every effort to trade him over the next 8 days but he's got to publicly apologize and confirm his commitment to the game.

This is much ado about nothing. Yermin had his moment in the sun, probably let it get to his head a little bit (having a burger named after him didn't help), and when his flaws were exposed -- which was a near certainty to happen -- and he was sent back to AAA, he couldn't handle the let down. This story has played out thousands of times before for players like Yermin (was Palka's story really that different), but those guys usually keep playing in the minors or overseas for a few years afterward.

I don't agree with this. All moving Eloy to left does is shift Vaughn to DH. And at this point, there isn't a sane person who wouldn't prefer Vaughn in left and Eloy at DH, given the choice. Are we really going to put Eloy back out in the field, where he always gets hurt, just so that Sheets and Burger can have some DH starts????