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he said the same thing when he was trying to get out of his NPB contract too lol. I didn't realize slaves got $2.7 million signing bonuses when they started working at the plantations. What a silly thing to say especially given the context, he sped through the minors and there was good reason he stayed at A+ so long. I read an interview the other day with Andy Barkett from Jan 2023 about Colas, Benintendi and Romy. He said this: “(Winston-Salem Dash manager) Lorenzo (Bundy) did an amazing job,” Barkett said. “Holding him (Oscar) accountable to the point of ‘Do you want to go to Double A? Do you want to move up? Well, you need to do this every day.’ (Colás) would come in his office after every game, and they would go over a checklist. ‘Did you do this today? Did you do this today?’ It wasn’t about getting two hits. It was like, ‘Did you go to the cage and prepare? Did you do your outfield work?’” It seems to jive with the lack of preparation and poor fundamentals he was criticized for on the major league team, that he stayed in A+ so long because he wasn't taking the necessary steps to improve into a major league player. I hope this past season was a wakeup call for him. Also, didn't realize til now that Barkett was fired. Does anyone know who they replaced him with?

that hat is awesome. I regret not attending the game and I can't find it for sale anywhere.

well, Tim did say “I kind of feel like today’s Jackie Robinson. That’s huge to say. But it’s cool, man, because he changed the game, and I feel like I’m getting to a point to where I need to change the game.” which is hilariously naïve and deserving of mockery, he's nothing like Jackie Robinson. so it doesn't surprise that a s%*#-starter like Donaldson would be the one to say it but people were acting like he burned a cross on TA's front lawn.

Isn't it $11mil AAV? That seems reasonable for a 27-year-old closer if he fails as a starter (not that he would take that role away from Doval) and I agree with you that SFG would be the team to help him with his command issues. Whether or not his body can hold up or still throw 100mph as a starter is a different question. I like these kinds of risky moves though.

Those guys are on other teams though. Donaldson is actually who I was thinking about, the whole team had Tim’s back on that even though I don’t think Donaldson actually said anything particularly bad. Donaldson himself seems like he has a history of being a bad teammate actually. Not sure what you’re referring to regarding the Royals.

yeah I never got the impression that he's a bad teammate or anything, actually the opposite, he simply sucked at baseball last year. and he behaves in a way that rubs some fans the wrong way. the only "clubhouse issue" I can recall is that rumor about a conflict with Groundball where Tim seemed to be in the right.

very detailed post and some great information here, thanks for sharing. Oscar is clearly talented but seems like a knucklehead, and old enough that he should be expressing better judgement. That's so weird and kind of funny about Clevinger's ex, you'd think a professional athlete could attract female attention without resorting to "liking" his teammate's ex's social media posts especially in consideration of everything that transpired between her and Clev. Pretty gross honestly and seems like the sort of thing that creates bad blood in a clubhouse. It sort of reminds me how Eury Perez and lots of other MLB players were "liking" the posts of Wander Franco's abuse victim. Like, why can these guys not find a girlfriend the normal way like everyone else in history has done? What is it about the zoomer mentality that you must find a girlfriend over the internet and "sliding into the DMs"? I think the culture problem was a big deal the past couple of seasons and really impacted the team's performance which is why I like the signing of Maldonado. He's a winner, mature and vocal in the clubhouse and best of all he speaks Spanish. I hope he can make an impression on guys like Colas, Eloy, Moncada.

I tend to agree with your post, but if they are trying to sign an outfielder in free agency to replace Colas, those are the two guys left I'd look at on one year deals. Kiermaier and Bader would've been my first two choices, but I get the impression we're not signing an outfielder for actual money. But yeah I'd rather it be Colas starting or a potential return from Cease, I'd actually love to watch Kelenic on the Sox if Atlanta forked up the right price, he seems like a prototypical right fielder, he's a good enough defender and has a cannon for an arm.

no way this guy starts, but he's not completely useless as a 5th outfielder or injury replacement. he walks at a respectable clip and doesn't strike out much. he was actually pretty good with the cubs and not god awful with the Mets. for reference, he produced as much WAR as Benintendi last season despite having 1/4 the amount of plate appearances. I think they gotta roll with Oscar though unless they acquire someone who is actually good to play in right. I like Gallo or Michael A Taylor in free agency but would still prefer to see Colas or someone gotten back in a Cease trade.

prospects for prospects is always interesting and it seems like a good trade for both teams. Cubs get a proper slugger to play 1b and get some help for their tragic bullpen while the Dodgers had no spot for Busch and now have a very talented LHP prospect. I like it better for the Dodgers because I don't think the Cubs are still all that competitive and they should've leaned into acquiring more prospects for Bellinger instead of trying to make a run for the postseason.

Chapman had a fine season last year after a disastrous 2022 where he clearly was a clubhouse cancer. there's good reason he was still available in January and signed with the Royals. I agreed with you that he was clearly the best free agent option, but there were several guys already on the team that were better options to replace Liam, namely Graveman who had a pretty much equivalent season to Chapman. the fact that Santos impressed just goes to show that it's pointless to spend actual money on relief pitchers. something tells me this team wouldn't have been better off if they paid one more relief pitcher.

like who? some options would've been Andrew Chafin (negative WAR) Michael Fulmer (0.2 WAR) Chad Green (negative WAR) Luke Weaver (negative WAR) Will Smith (probably the best of the bunch but still posted a 4.40 ERA and 0.3 WAR) then the rest of the relief pitchers who were still available pretty much signed minor league deals. Chapman was by far the best of the bunch. Probably should've signed some of those pitchers to minor league deals regardless, I appreciate that Getz is doing what Hahn did not by adding AAAA quality pitching depth, but none of those guys were replacing Liam's production. realistically, Santos was probably Liam's replacement. We traded for him before Liam publicly announced his cancer diagnosis, but likely after he informed the team. so it seems to me like the best decision was made out of a really terrible situation.

yeah I would've thought going into last season that Kelly/Bummer/Graveman/Lopez should've been enough to fill in for Hendriks and that signing a dysfunctional player like Chapman probably would've just made the clubhouse a worse place to be. beyond that, he was pretty bad in 2022, lost his spot to Clay Holmes, went on the IL as a result of a bad tattoo, then was left off the playoff roster for skipping practice. don't see any reason the Sox should've signed him even in hindsight

less than I expected him to get paid, but he's probably a 4th or 5th starter honestly. he was "good" in JCL last season, very good K/BB ratio but his stats also look shockingly similar to Foster Griffin, a guy who will likely not pitch in the MLB again. he was probably better than his teammate Trevor Bauer though which should show people why he's not worth having on a MLB roster, why should your 5th starter be a headcase who 4 different women have accused of sexual assault?

this is what I was hoping for, there's no reason not to give him the opportunity to do it next season, and pretty much no reason to start Touki. 3 MLB-ready lefty starters in the minors too, this feels like a good problem to have. my pipe dream is Crochet, Bush and Eder all fulfilling their potential and having a 3 lefty rotation. actually, a 4 lefty rotation and Shuster can keep Noah Schultz's spot warm for him.

and what about the other three? how many ballplayers do you know of that have been accused of sexual assault by four different women?

where's that guy talking about his 14-year-old niece and that all these girls are just lying about their age? "My girl, if my team realizes this it could cause problems for me, it is a rule in all teams not to talk to minors and, nevertheless, I took the risk and I loved it," Franco expressed in a screenshot of a conversation on the WhatsApp platform with the teenager, who appears on page 569 of the 595 of the request for coercive measures against Franco and the minor's mother, Martha Vanessa Chevalier. Furthermore, in the extract, Franco recognizes that the young woman is just a girl, he even asks her to let herself be raised by him in her own way, when she is there she demands him. "I would like you to forget everything you have learned to raise yourself my way" — Excerpt from Wander Franco's conversation with a minor In said conversation, Franco confesses that he loves her and that he was willing to give her one last chance, but he demanded exclusivity for the minor, who was supposedly in another relationship. The young woman asked him how he would raise her, "without love, without respect?", to which the athlete responded: "There was more to it, but you're just a girl and you don't know how to get along with me, that's why you failed. But I give you one chance, you should be just for me, don't look at anyone else. I know you've been with someone else, but "No one will know how to use you the way I want and give you." this guy is a sick f***

He’s not that good anymore. And he’s been incredibly arrogant about this whole ordeal, you’d think being kicked out of the MLB and relegated to Japan (and then the Japanese minor league) might have humbled him, but nope, still the same arrogant cancer he always was. This statement is the first “apology/non-apology” he’s ever made and it’s a terrible one. and guess what, he’s not off the hook with the rape stuff. He settled with one woman, he still has an open case in Arizona with a woman who accused him of holding a knife to her throat and choking her. There’s the third allegation too. The guy is a scumbag any way you slice it and, the key thing, he’s old and not very good at baseball. Some team will probably overpay for his slightly better teammate shota imanaga though

I think it would be cool to see draft pick trades. Competitive balance picks can be traded, just not for cash. For example, in 2022, the Rays traded Austin Meadows for Isaac Parades and the 71st pick and the Braves traded Drew Waters, Andrew Hoffman and CJ Alexander for the 35th pick. Extending that to regular picks would be a good idea imo, teams could put together more compelling trade packages or a contending team could ship out a pick and its slot value for someone ready to contribute. The MLB draft is a crapshoot to be sure but so are the other leagues' drafts, those guys simply play sooner, but I can think of plenty of examples where I'd rather trade for a first round pick than a 19-year-old in Rookie ball. There would have to be regulations so that teams can't trade picks 10 years down the line, or only be allowed to trade in the first 10 rounds or something, but another thought is that I'm sure there are teams that would trade up in the draft to take someone who is going to demand over their slot value and I bet they'd find willing partners who do not want to spend the slot value amount. Frankly, I see no reason why draft pick trading doesn't exist except that protects teams from their own incompetence, mortgaging the future for garbage players. You see this quite often in the NBA, one infamous example being the Nets trading 3 unprotected first round picks to the Celtics for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Those players made Brooklyn worse whereas the Celtics drafted Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, two superstars currently leading the best team in the league. The Bulls also gave up several first rounders for Nikola Vucevic putting the team in (imo) a worse position than the White Sox are in. Still, it adds an extra dimension to player transactions -- maybe the Reds have a more appealing offer for Cease if they can offer the 2nd overall pick.

I’d bet on the Tigers to win the division. Minnesota took some big steps backward meanwhile the Tigers looked like the team to beat in the second half of last season. They have the best manager in the division, added some useful pieces (one of whom was poached from the twins) and their young talent is a year older and primed for breakout seasons. I could see Skubal contending for Cy Young. Really like the Canha addition for them too. They’re just unfortunately stuck with Baez but I wouldn’t rule out him having a ~100 OPS+ season again. losing the division I dunno. I think the central will actually be close and entertaining next year. The easy answer is the Sox but I could also legitimately see us winning 80 or so games next season. I voted for the royals, I’m not impressed by anyone on their team outside of Witt, including Vinnie P and Ragans.

I would assume that the country has a legitimate criminal justice system and that things fall through the cracks, in a similar vein to American states like Mississippi, Oklahoma, New Mexico etc (places without a statutory minimum age of consent) where state law and federal law are at odds. But I also assume that they would prosecute pedophiles like any other country would. DR is not exactly a shithole and the rich and famous get off of reasonable, actionable charges everywhere in the world so I wouldn't assume any more or less about the DR...but I bet Wander Franco's case is not something they'd want to f*** up because the whole world is watching. I assume justice will be done, or at least attempted at. Good luck to their prosecutors. Or, who cares about good luck, just hopefully that justice gets done.

“I told Roland Hemond to go out and get me a big name pitcher. He said, ‘Dave Wehrmeister’s got 11 letters. Is that big enough for you?'”

I just don't know what the expectation is: do what the Royals are doing? only point in signing free agents this offseason is to eventually trade them for minor leaguers IMO. signing guys with the potential for bounceback seasons feels like a far savvier investment than giving multiple years to Giolito types. If we had followed that logic and signed Bellinger over Benintendi, we might have one more top 100 prospect on the team.

I see it more like "the team is bad and signing pitchers like Giolito to massive contracts isn't going to change anything, so sign depth pieces with retainable salaries who might perform and become a tradeable asset." TBH this is how I'd hope a rebuild would look, the team isn't signing bad contracts in a desperate attempt sell one or two more tickets and a couple Stroman/Bellinger jerseys, but it is addressing AAAA type depth and signing players who won't hurt a rebuild, but might help it if a handful of them can turn around their performances. It's actually kinda nice to see 4+ major league quality catchers and 8-10 pitchers in AA/AAA who could potentially join the major league team next year. A couple infielders match this description though outfield depth looks horrendous and is hopefully addressed. I even have some optimism that if all these players hit and guys like Benintendi/Moncada/Vaughn play closer to their potential, the team is much better than it was last year and might even compete for the division title.

Kiermaier would've been my first choice, either put him in right or even put Robert there to help preserve his body somewhat. The fact that there's been no movement on outfielders, including depth signings (ie bringing back Trayce on the same minor league deal the Mets signed him for), leads me to think Getz and co are expecting to get back an outfielder as part of a Cease trade. wouldn't surprise me if Kelenic is starting in RF next year.