Chisoxfn

What do the Sox do at catcher?

Yeah - I figured he may have thought more than that but you can’t be that blatant to your boss on why something is stupid. Hahn said what he thought might work which was still diplomatic enough to not totally rip JR. Heck I was all in on Rodon and offering him a year ago - but if my owner / boss told me he didn’t like it - Rodon qb would not have been the hill I died on. That would have been asking for more funds for a Harper by talking about the broader business value that move would have had.

If they added Benitemdi next - it may not be flashy but would be another upgrade which fills a real need.

The problem is - if you were HAhn, is that the hill you die on…probably not. That should have been TLR hiring and maybe he did make a big stink but who knows.

I said it last year during the window the Sox had - offer Rodon the QO - if he accepts you gladly take it, although more likely he wouldn't. On Kimbrel - too much risk with keeping him, so you were better off just walking away so you had immediate flexibility with his money (vs. being stuck having to trade him before you created the flexibility).

The biggest thing is - he can really focus on developing his bat and just refining himself at 1B. Trying to spend an off-season learning a new position was not easy and likely took a toll on other avenues of his development. With that said - I would imagine in the long run it will make him a better, more dynamic fielder at 1B (and if nothing else increases some of his positional flexibility in the long run). With that said - the Sox having Vaughn / Jimenez primarily at 1B/DH and replacing the two of them (+ Sheets) with average (better yet good) defenders - will in my opinion have a more significant impact than we think. Having that many innings played in LF / RF by Sheets/Vaughn/Eloy who are literally 3 of the 10 worst defensive outfielders in baseball is just malpractice - especially when you have a strong rotation (if you are going to win with strong pitching - make sure you surround them with some defense). Now to hope that we see some legit moves that show they are going to add quality defenders to the outfield (ideally who are decent enough hitters to boot).

Wow - interesting.

It could be - but $2M to save to take on risk of $10M guaranteed gets to be a delicate risk/reward trade off. Than again - Sox did that with Kimbrel.

Mil could have let him walk - so they want at least some sort of asset for him otherwise they wouldn’t have picked up the option.

McDowell is probably a bad example though - he wasn't happy in Chicago and was a union rep. Gio has been nothing but 1st glass and a huge proponent / advocate of the org since he joined. I don't see him signing an extension - cause Sox don't pay huge LT money to pitchers (although I also wouldn't put it past them if he was open to a 3 year type deal with a 4th year option of sorts - and given how he pitched last year - it isn't impossible that could happen) - but he's an all around likeable, good clubhouse guy. So while I can see Gio being traded (and quite frankly wouldn't have an issue if they got the right value), it won't be because he has a key role on the union.

But why tie up $30M if you can do 1year at at time. Seems like Quintana could also go back to being not good and than you are paying $30M over 2 years. Seems like a bad usage of capital in that scenario knowing where the Sox are from a spend perspective.

Going to get plenty of chances to win and add a ring, so congrats to him.

i think reality is - Sanborn is a bottom 10 starter in the league. His volume numbers and what he's accomplished for a UDFA - fantastic value. But reality is his physical limitations probably prevent him from being anything more than a back-end starter and therefor make him far more likely to be a valuable back-up for the Bears. With that said - he has made some splash plays and warrants the opportunity (part of being a crap teams means giving more time to guys like this to see if they can dramatically outperform there measureables - cause it does happen). But I won't go off pure volume - because this Dline is absolutely atrocious as is the LB corps.

That would be a disaster. The reality is Fields has been extremely bad as a pure passer and needs more quality reps to develop. Delaying that until the off-season would not be ideal as he has an opportunity post bye week (presuming he can get healthy by than) to continue in his development - in particular of focus has to be his ability to play within the system. This isn't to say he can't throw the ball - he can, but his ability to operate within the system is not good. He does nothing to very little on time and in rhythm. That isn't necessarily a surprise - and the fact that he got his team to score so many points during his hot stretch despite being a pure crap system passer (again - he can throw a really good deep and intermediate ball - so he has the arm/throwing talent) - but he's very bad within the confines of the offense. It is also why Field(s) upside is so high. To lead the Bears to the promiseland, he doesn't have to be elite within the system, or even great, but if he can be solid to average within the system - than he will still be an above average to great (maybe even elite QB). But he will never lead the Bears to the promiseland if he plays like he did during that hot stretch - meaning if he doesn't improve from a pure crap player within the system to mediocre to average/good - the Bears will ultimately be looking for another QB in 1-2 years. He has a few bars to climb and is still young and clearly can do it and getting meaningful playing time to continue to work on it this year is CRITICAL. And as we head into hte off-season having better players and protection around him - can help him get there (look at Hurts - who benefited from continued experience early in his career and than got more weapons put around him this year in Philly), but a lot is on Fields too. Semien on those 1st 2 drives, delivered the ball in rhythm and on-time more in 2 drives than Fields probably did in the past 6 weeks combined (if I'm just being honest - and I like Fields). Just watch Fields vs. Hurts - look at how much easier Hurts makes it look (and this is not saying Hurts is special - cause reality is Fields has better tools across the board than Hurts). Fields did incredible things - and it is evident what he can do - but everything has been driven by his pure elite athleticism and that isn't sustainable over a 17 week season. He has to get to point he can be solid within the system (and solid for him is a lower bar because his athleticism will make it easier for him because defenses will have to scheme around his athleticism). He doesn't have to be Brady or Rodgers - he can pave his own way cause he is that elite - but he still has to be able to make plays within the system and get more on time (to minimize the toll on his body if nothing else).

I want nothing to do with him. Than again I didn’t last offseason either. Only shot would be if he really took a lot less and if that was the case it probably means his health is just that bad. I prefer getting an athletic defensive outfielder. Even if it means trading some assets. And no Colas can’t be one of them - cause I want to have Colas too knowing he can start in minors and than earn his ticket later in the season.

I am not going to assume $200M but I am also not going to just assume they are cutting payroll either. Lets see what actually happens. Plus - if they move Moncada or Hendricks - they could get a lot more creative.

The Sox season is going to come down to whether the guys they were counting on last year - bounce back and play much closer to what the Sox were expecting (or if those guys are moved - they are replaced with guys who do more what the Sox were expecting). In particular - Robert, Jimenez, Moncada, Timmy from a position standpoint. I will ignore Grandal cause he seems to have aged / had injuries get in the way of what the Sox should be expecting. They also have to replace Pollock (good thing is he severely underperformed so they aren't replacing a big hole) + Abreu (who was as always if nothing else - solid).

Mooney likely out for the season with torn ligaments in his ankle.

I should point out I was being sarcastic. Have never heard one of there songs - but have heard of em.

We told you we would make a “Max” offer

I expect Gio will have a pretty good season next year - I like Gio in general - but If they got a good offer I couldn’t argue with moving him either.

I don’t think - I know. Those are the facts Jack

I didn’t realize Borom (who needs to be replaced) and than Reiff and Claypool went down. Were they serious?

The field is awful. Probably wasn’t driver of Mooney injury. Outside of Mooney and Jackson who else got hurt?

Good