Chisoxfn

I don't think Crede will get Type A compensation but I could be wrong.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 22, 2008 -> 09:47 AM) At the time he was a cheap closer. Those usually don't get traded either, and that happened. He was injury prone and due a significant raise. There was absolutely no way the Royals were going to keep him, especially when the Sox made the offer they did (it was a significant offer to acquire an oft injured closer).

DeJesus would be a very good acquisition. However, the Royals are in no need to acquire him and I don't know if I'd give up an A type of prospect to get him (Fields is probably the only guy, along with potentially Poreda who could even come close to being graded A prospects; Note: Neither of them are as of this moment in time). Would I trade Broadway, Anderson and Richar...sure I would. Would the Royals take that, I doubt it considering they don't have to trade him.

That right there is great. I completely agree with Ozzie. I would absolutely under no way shape or form deal Fields for a rent-a-player, unless such rent-a-player would for sure net you two top picks (again, I have no problem stocking up on picks now to help rebuild what is an absolute barren farm system, however, people should realize those picks are probably 3-5 years away from truly helping the major league team and 2-3 years from helping re-establish the minor league system. I think the better alternative is to consider moving Crede if possible, however, I must say that whomever the Sox get in return (if its a rental) should be able to net them draft pick compensation (as we should get at least one pick from Crede). Also, I'm not going to lie, I don't think this team is quite ready to win a series. I expect Floyd/Danks to tire and considering this team is built around the strength of pitching as those guys tire this teams chances will also tire. I think Kenny should be on the phone looking to make deals which could help the team get into the playoffs this year, but more importantly, help set things up for a World Series run 1-3 years from now (again, not at all saying wave the white flag, rather saying I wouldn't be opposed to making deals to make the club better next year while staying roughly the same this year).

Clearly 2k and Kap didn't realize that Pratt and I at SS were doing our best impressions of Jose Valentin.

Great team to play the game against since I'm sure the people at Assembly will be lining up to see Deron!!!

Good deal, glad this is done. Now sign Williams and than try and work something out with Hester (still think the Bears won't be able to come to terms with Hester until he shows more as a WR).

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 01:17 PM) How many closers have been on the DL this year? And how many other relievers do you trust to step in and be a closer? I actually do have faith in a few guys in house to close if necessary. I certainly won't be trading top prospects to get a closer just in case Jenks went down. The club has depth and I'm confident if Jenks was down for an extended time someone would step up (and at that point, Kenny would just have to acquire a solid guy middle reliever to fill the void for whomever the new closer is (or hope that Masset/Russel could fill that void).

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 02:07 PM) How many closers did the Sox use in 2005? How many of those closers did they trade for during the season?

Trading for closers when you already have a closer is an even worse idea.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 01:24 PM) I agree with the notion of getting a top of the line CF, but in that proposed plan, does that include getting rid of one of Thome/Konerko in the off-season? The logic is that you could get your CF in the future today if you dangle Orlando Cabrera (this than means Ken Williams would have to pull out all the stops to acquire Brian Roberts to replace Cabrera at the top of the order with Ramirez sliding over to SS defensively). By acquiring Kemp to play CF, you now have freed up Swisher to either be (this year): 1. If you can trade Paulie today, he would be your full-time first baseman, but also able to sub in at other OF positions in the case of an injury. However, the only way you can move Konerko now is if the Dodgers are that desperate to get a SS that they would also be willing to take a chance at Paulie and take his contract. 2. Ultimate Rover - He essentially plays as a full-time player but as a fill-in at other positions (all 3 OF spots helping Kemp/Dye/Q rest) as well as 1B for Paulie (or you play him in one of those OF spots with the OF DH'ing and giving Thome a day off). Swisher is also there for depth if any starter goes down. This gives you a lot of depth down the stretch and considering Swisher would be able to play all 3 OF spots, plus 1B and DH you could essentially play him 5 days a week while resting each of those positions once a week (plus you could play him more for someone who is struggling, ie, Paulie). In 2009, Swisher would for sure fit into #1 as the Sox would have traded Paul Konerko (ideally, if scenario 2 happened for the 08 season, Konerko would produce in the 2nd half, thus increasing his trade value and enabling the Sox to actually improve there system by getting 2 B prospects for Paulie) and hopefully have Thome back for one more season (if both Thome and Paulie are gone, you offer Dunn a 4 year 60M deal to replace the lost power). Your 09 lineup would essentially be this (I'm using the assumption that the Sox would acquire a legit leadoff hitter to replace OC and Roberts is the ideal fit and Fields and potentially more would be the cost): Roberts AJP Q Dye Thome Kemp Swisher Insert 3B (FA or Trade, Casey Blake could be a cheap fit here, regardless we are talking about the 8th spot in the lineup) Ramirez - SS You look at that lineup and you have 3 guys whose best years are ahead of them (Ramirez/Q/Kemp), 1 guy entering his prime (Swisher) and a few solid vets that are still productive (Roberts/Thome/AJP/Vet 3B). That isn't a bad mix of youth and veterans. If you can acquire Roberts without giving up Fields than he would be plugged in and you'd be talking about 4 guys whose best years are ahead of them. The farm system would not have been destroyed with the moves either (as Roberts will at most cost one of Fields/Poreda plus a starting prospect and one of Richar/Getz).

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 12:54 PM) Oh I know and 3/4 of them will have the Sox landing Matt Kemp. If not more than 3/4ths. If I see the Dodgers beat reporters talking about Kemp for Wilson than I read that as meaning Kemp for OC could happen. Therefor, I will not rest until it does I see the Sox two long-term needs, which they will not be able to fill from within, being a top notch CF (which I think is a very important position) and a front-line type starter. The Sox will be losing significant contracts and if they could get that CF now (Kemp) they could than focus there off-season on getting a front line starter to team up with Vaz/Buehrle (with Danks/Floyd being able to continue to master there craft and develop into future front line guys). I'm very excited right now about the possibilities of putting together a young up and coming team that is already very good (which still has that right mix of vets).

In the Futures Game he was a bit more wild than typical. He relies heavily on using his command and strong sinking action (you'll notice he uses all parts of the plate) and will throw the ocassional elevated pitch but when he throws it, it will be letter high and above. Otherwise everything should be down down down in the zone.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 11:36 AM) Hence why I hate this time of year, any idiot thinks he formulate a realistic trade scenario but it seems no one has any clue as to the value of these players. It won't stop me from throwing out trade scenario after trade scenario.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 11:19 AM) Think they are looking to move Weeks for a closer/bullpen arm like Street. I can't see Weeks being really positive about this move. Oakland just acquired there 2B of the future so they'd have no interest in Weeks. They'd probably laugh at a Weeks for Street offer. I was listening to the radio yesterday and they were talking about Weeks and it sounded as if they would have trouble getting anything of significant value for him. The best shot for the Brewers would be to get a solid reliever and maybe a C prospect for him. Another option would be for them to trade him to another team who has a former highly touted prospect in need of a change of scenery. I guarantee you the Brewers would not get an actual top prospect for Weeks in a deal (unless the Brewers were giving something else up). In fact, I think you could look at this past off-season that a best case scenario type of deal for the Brewers and Weeks would be similar to what happened with Quentin (ie, they got Carter who was a good prospect with upside, but not the same caliber as the player they gave up).

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 10:44 AM) Indeed this website doesn't make enough money to sign a major league pitcher. Were you at the Sox game on Saturday in the OF bleachers? I was sitting in the same section as Mike (southsider) and than my buddy I was at the game with mentioned that the person in group in front of us mentioned the Soxtalk/WSI softball game.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 10:55 AM) I doubt KW makes any sort of push for Bedard before the July 31st deadline especially with Erik currently on the DL and unable to pitch until August. If the Mariners want to get ANY sort of value back for Erik Bedard they'll wait until the offseason after he's able to make a few starts in August and September proving he's at least capable of pitching. Bedard not being able to make a start before the deadline should kill any chance of him being dealt. In terms of acquiring an ace, I was referring to over the off-season, not this season.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 11:40 AM) CC will be in SF, AZ or LAD probably. He wants to be on the west coast, in the NL. I can't see the Giants throwing out another 7 year deal to a pitcher.

QUOTE (SoxPride56 @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 11:34 AM) I would LOVE that lineup, but what are the odds we can put that together? The Sox have enough to acquire Kemp (as long as OC is the main bait) and should have enough to acquire Roberts. The question is if you make both of those deals Konerko becomes the odd-man out since the acquisition of Kemp would lead to Swisher moving to 1B. The club could obviously hold onto Konerko and basically keep him as an insurance policy to anyone going down (and also be ensured that they will be able to give everyone rest down the stretch). Keeping Konerko could turn into a good thing because if he is healthy and puts up numbers you would actually be able to trade him for value in the off-season (getting 2 B type prospects in return). However, if he isn't healthy than you'd potentially have a hard time trading him period. The only logic in acquiring Roberts occurs if you move OC so basically put any deal for Roberts hinges on OC going to the Dodgers (as that is the one team in desperate need for a SS that also has top talent to deal). Either of this trades would be ballsy though as it would significantly impact the clubhouse. In fact, if you keep Paulie you would be impacting the club-house less, essentially removing OC (someone who hasn't fit in with all) and one of the fringe roster players (to make room for Roberts).

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 11:16 AM) What Ace quality starters will be available (you can even push it a bit here) on teams that would be interested in a Josh Fields as the centerpiece of a trade? We all now who the Aces are which of them are you talking about here? Well by ace, I should say more likely front of the rotation starter. Dan Haren/Brandon Webb/Carlos Zambrano/Beckett/Peavy will not be available (CC is the only legit ace that will be available and the Sox will have the money to go after CC but CC will likely get 6 plus years and the Sox won't do that). The one guy that I think the Sox might target is Erik Bedard. It would be a risky deal and the M's will likely want a decent amount, however, they'll have a need at 3B (assuming they are going to deal Beltre, which means Fields could be an attractive option) and are probably not going to be competing next year. That said there is a lot of risk involved with Bedard (health) and the Sox tend to stay away from acquiring injury prone starters.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 11:22 AM) If some team were willing to give up a #1 or #2 pitcher for Fields, KW would be insane not to do it, unless the contract coming back is just ridiculous. If its a legit #1 or #2 than assuming its not like a 7 year contract coming back the Sox should have no issues. They should have all kinds of money to play with this off-season (given the contracts which are coming off the books).

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 11:14 AM) The 35 year old Casey Blake will be a free agent following this season. Adrian Beltre is a Boras client. Which means Beltre won't extend. Blake would be the guy I target. Hopefully whomever has him doesn't offer him arbitration because that would prevent such club from receiving draft pick compensation (I assume he'd at least qualify as a Type B FA). I have no problem giving a 35 year old like Blake a 2 year 14M deal (money shouldn't be a concern for the Sox, especially short-term), if it meant they could use Fields as bait to get a legit 5 tool CF (obviously not Fields by himself). This could mean an unproven guy or even some sort of ridiculous deal to get a guy like Kemp (whose a 5 tool guy already at the major league level). The problem is to get Kemp you'd have to make that deal now (ie, OC) or get a 3rd team involved (or have Paulie re-establish himself as the Sox don't have the necessary components the Dodgers will want come the off-season). I can't say it enough just how good Matt Kemp is and the fact that the Dodgers have reportedly been dangling him for a SS means the Sox should show some fore-sight and make the risky move. The Dodgers would do Kemp for OC (I'm damn near sure of this) and that would enable the Sox in the long-term to move Swisher to 1B and Ramirez to SS. The issue is this season you'd have to find a taker for Konerko. The next question is could you convince Paulie to waive his 10/5 rights to go back to the Dodgers and would the Dodgers be willing to take him. At this point in time, any team getting Paulie would obviously be giving up nothing in terms of talent to get him (given the large risk they are taking and his current contract, which is perfectly fine when producing, but given his season totals this wouldn't be the case). The only real horrid contract the Dodgers have (aside from Jason Schmidt) would be Andruw Jones (or Juan Pierre) and if the Sox got Kemp they would have no need for Jones (who has had a 4K and 5K game since coming off the DL). So would the Sox make an in-season move where they give up more talent to get better long-term (they don't get better short-term, unless they have another move up there sleeves) by trading Konerko and OC to the Dodgers for Kemp. And do the Dodgers make this move, given the significant amount of contracts they would be taking on (OC's isn't an issue, but Konerko's is a long term deal). The move fills the Dodgers significant void (SS) and actually could fill another void (there lack of power and Paulie (if healthy) would become there best power hitter). Loney is capable of playing the OF (as is Ethier) and the Dodgers had too many OF'ers so while the loss of Kemp would be big (talent wise) you could make a case that the Dodgers could afford such a loss. The Sox would now have Ramirez at SS and a void at 2B (Uribe would either play SS or 2B) and a serious void at the top of the order. However, Brian Roberts is on the market and if the Sox wanted to dangle Josh Fields they could acquire Roberts and at that point you could argue that despite trading Konerko/OC/Josh Fields that the Sox are actually better. Brian Roberts AJP CQ Dye Thome Kemp Swisher Crede Ramirez Next season, the roster essentially stays the same with Crede being the guy you have to replace and the farm system is not decimated as the only top prospect the club gave up would be Fields (although you could bet your ass that one of Richar/Getz plus one pitching prospect would be involved in the Roberts deal). So I don't know how realistic the idea is of the Konerko portion of the deal but I do think the Sox could acquire Kemp & Roberts this season (which helps the Sox not just this year and next year). Also, financially the Sox would be big winners because they'd now have a large chunk of there lineup filled with younger/cheaper players.

Garret Atkins would likely be too expensive (in terms of prospects). He's 28 and I'm always scared about getting guys coming from Coors because there is an obvious crap-shoot as to how they will perform. The good news is his power has been consistent whether he's playing at home or away over the past 3 years (although his average deeps to the .270 range).

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 11:08 AM) In a similar amount of AAA ABs this year and last, his walk rate is down significantly, and his strikeouts are higher. He'll be 26 years old next year. Something has to happen fairly soon. I'd much rather have Casey Blake at 3B with Fields being traded in a package that gets the Sox an ace pitcher or a 5 tool CFer (Kemp would be included in this group).

QUOTE (DBAH0 @ Jul 21, 2008 -> 11:03 AM) So what third baseman are there out on the FA or trade market this off-season that could give you a better OBP and defense than what Josh Fields could offer you in 2009? Garrett Atkins? Casey Blake? If Blake gets moved, I would have zero problem picking him up. He's a solid veteran who can handle a bat way and play decent enough D. He's clearly nothing special but I don't think there would be significant costs in getting him (he'd just have to be on another team cause the Tribe won't be dealing with the Sox). Beltre would be an actual upgrade and the Sox could afford to acquire him and extend him another year or two (which would be smart because he will put up above average 3B numbers while playing at the Cell). But the Sox can't afford to deal there top notch prospects for a 3Bman, imo as those prospects have to be kept for the major league squad or to fill key holes (ie, CF). With Blake you know your gonna get a league average OBP, average, and 20 HR power. Is he a UFA this off-season or still under contract?