Rounding_Third

Charlotte played 139 games in 2019. 120 games player games is pretty much a full season in the minors with days off. In 2019, Madrigal hit .311 in 120 games and Robert hit ;328 in 122 games and neither saw the show. Both progressed A to AAA so that may account for missed games, as well. You would think that Vaughn would start in AAA.

From December; ‘‘If Andrew had had daily competition outside of what we were able to do in Schaumburg, it would have been evident to everyone that he was ready for next year, if not sooner,’’ Hahn said after the season. ‘‘That was just sort of a mild casualty of the pandemic. But the skills are there; the tools continue to grow. He’s a remarkable hitter, real solid makeup and a guy we envision being part of this thing in the not-too-distant future. ‘‘The only hesitation is that he didn’t get a chance to play 120 games last year against outside competition". Sounds to me like they're not quite comfortable bringing him up just yet.

Sorry but I can't see them starting the MLB clock on Vaughn based on a 50 AB resume in AA ball. There's no history that the Sox would do that. And what a mess if he struggles.

Maybe but safe to say he'll get millions more than Sox willing to pay for backup catcher given their other much more important needs and limited $'s.

Never happen, way tooo expensive for Sox backup catcher. 3 predictions have him $9m, 10m, & 12m.

The Sox just raised the bar on closer $. When they're all signed I think we'll agree they got the best quality per $. Ofc, there be a chicken/egg debate as well. lol

La Stella's got enough savvy and skill to be full time DH when not IF platooning.

Yep, $2m tops. Plenty of choices too. Too bad we missed (Giants) on Casali at $1.5m

Based on Sox history with Madrigal & Robert, I think Vaughn spends a year in Charlotte. 1st choice - La Stella with his multiple roles as DH/utility IF and still get 500+ AB's. 2nd choice - Daniel Murphy has a chance to be very good at a very affordable price.

If $140 target, ~$15 more for SP, DH, @ backup catcher is very doable.

You would have to place him on the team immediately, right? ...and get that suspension out of the way and increase his value. If they don't sign La Stella or another IF, they have their 2 utility IF's. If they sign another FA IF, have no IF injuries, and Beckham's out of options then they trade or release him. If he has option(s) left, got to send him down. I would hope they wouldn't play that option game with Mendick to appease Beckham, assuming Mendick isn't struggling big time.

They not in the same category; next level down, at best.

There's only 2 quality closers left, right? Colome and Hand? With at least a half dozen teams looking for closers, including the friggin Dodgers, I think Colome is going to sign for just a couple $m under Hendriks. No proof just thinking logically. If true, give me Hendriks for a little more.

is he out of options to minors so they'd have waive him if they kept Mendick up?

Oh forgot about that too. Does he still have all 80 to serve?

Still really like a La Stella signing and let Mendick and Beckham battle for the other spot. As its been pointed out many times here that La Stella basically gives them an extra roster spot with his ability to provide 2 roles. That can't be overstated. And it finally sunk in for me.

oh yeah, right, minor league deal, not on current roster, thx.

With you guys. We need to keep Madrigal AND sign La Stella otherwise we'd still be an IF short, even with Mendick. I've been leaning away from La Stella as our LH DH but not anymore. He's the perfect fit with his versatility. Was looking for more pop at DH but he's got enough for this lineup and he's way too valuable when he's not DH'ing. There's so many lineup options with him on the roster.

Welcome! Been a longstanding kinship between Sox and Cards fans. Going back a few years, a couple of times my friends and I had the chance to do a Hawks/Blues road trip and hit a Cards/Cubs game, as well. Sitting in Busch in Hawks jerseys and Sox hats routing on the Cards was a beautiful thing!

To do it right, they need to exceed that $140m barrier by a few $m.

its close/over $130 now and they also need a LH DH and probably a backup C.

Their prices just went up. If the Sox spend that kind of money on more pitching, it'll be on a quality SP. Their bullpen is a beast already!

On the other hand, if he's still an elite closer after 3 years, that $15m option to keep him will be a steal.

Yeah, and Colome has struggled for many of his saves. He's a bit lucky he didn't blow more. In the end, he got it done but how long can that go on?

lol Well, he's not in Toronto so that's a start.