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I'm not even sure he will make the 28 for April . I thought he had a chance before the acquisitions of Haseley and Pollock but now it's looking doubtful. I just hate to see how the injuries have messed with his career. The Sox obviously love his power and we haven't seen any other OF's who can hit ,play good defense with a strong arm emerge among the other OF guys like Rutherford, Gonzalez , Basabe etc.. Plus now with Cespedes and Colas 2 guys who are much older than Micker was when they signed, Micker is kind of redundant. I guess when he goes I'll just have to see how it turns out for him.

Our catcher who the Sox would've picked 1-1 according to the guy Getz replaced is now gone for a guy who was spanking his monkey in his car.

I sort of think "Sox were in on him" in the thread title should really be " Sox had a seat at the table."

$4M in Luxury tax and $3M in Payroll Salary according to Spotrac .

Contract Notes for Pollock from Spotrac Contract Notes: 2022 opt out available ($5M buyout), with 1,000 plate appearances across 2020-2021, or 1,450 plate appearances across 2019-2021 (not earned) 2023 Player Option includes a $5M buyout 2023 Option escalates $1M each for 400,450,500,550,600 Plate Appearances in 2022 2023 option increases $1M per point based on finish in 2019-22 MVP voting, with 5 points for first place, 3 points for second-fifth place, and 1 point for sixth-10th place

Wasn't there a $3M signing bonus too ? I mean I read the whole conversations on it but I never got a clear understanding of what goes under the CBT and what goes under payroll.

Didn't it come to just about $1M gained in the Kimbrel deal ? Or if you are talking about payroll cash then more since the buyout may not count against payroll ?

Hard to think he has an ace up his sleeve when the Sox are pretty close to the CBT since the Kimbrel contract was a wash with the Pollock contract. They are out of Aces in the deck they are playing.

If you are not familiar with the Micker Adolfo situation this article from November of 2021 will get you up to speed along with the developments since then that I will provide. https://www.soxon35th.com/running-out-of-options-what-to-do-with-micker-adolfo/ Since that time he played for Estrellas in the Dominican Winter league and got close to 50 plate appearances and didn't do much. This spring in exhibition games though has opened a lot of eyes. Without getting too carried away ( after all it is still ST and he did have the benefit of some time in the DWL to be more prepared for ST) I'm trying to figure out something that will allow the Sox to keep him. Any way here's what he has done in ST so far in 26 PA which is around 9th on the team. .429 BA, .500 OBP .810 SLG. ,1.310 OPS . As expected with those kind of numbers his BABIP is through the roof . His K rate is still 34.6 % but he has shown the ability to work the count and his walk rate is 11.5%. If you like those numbers look at how he's done against RHP since he is a RHH, .412 BA, .476 OBP , .882 SLG. , 1.358 OPS. He tied for 2nd with Eloy for Total bases only trailing Robert. He has actually looked like Eloy , Robert and TA in his approach in that he's been going to RF and the RF gap. He also has a gun for an arm. He is showing that massive potential that was derailed by injuries. If the Sox cannot retain him it's hard to imagine another team not picking him up. He probably will be the most attractive release out there. So getting back to trying to figure out how the Sox can keep him. For the smarter people in the room could the Sox sign him to an extension at league minimum which now amounts to 2 years $1.4M ? Would that allow them to do pretty much anything they wanted to with him ?

No Jack people don't care about that. That was then this is now and most of us expect a big jump in his production against RHP It was essentially him learning on the job without the benefit of hardly any minor league time because of the injuries that I was down on him last year. I didn't like it at the time. I cared more about winning since I never took making the playoff for granted. I thought he should've been getting every day AB in the minors or sat more since he could hit lefties well. But I never in my life Soxtalk life saw such rabid support for any draft choice as I saw for Vaughn in the 1st half last year even when his wRC+ was 38 against RHP.

Don't ask me but if Vaughn is traded there will be a huge outcry. Guaranteed.

That's why most want to trade Sheets or Burger

I wonder if the Sox keep him if they could sign him to some kind of extension but still keep him in the minors if they have to send him down . He primed for a big year if I start to think this ST means anything.

Great AB by Adolfo. He's been crushing righties.

Freakin Adolfo has looked really good and even good against right handers. Of course a bunch of shit pitchers but that hasn't helped Moncada at all . I was hoping to see if Vaughn kept hitting RH well but Tony wasn't giving him ABs against them as much as Adolfo and Sheets were getting them.

LOL relax Spring training

Love the stirrups rather than the long pants on top of the shoes

Only pitched in high A last year

I wanted Varsho this off season

I'll add to that . Notice any lefty missing that's still on the team ?

Keep rooting for the Cubs. Traitor !

1. What's done is done. There is no going back. You hated the Kimbrel trade from the beginning . I get it. It ended up sucking in every way imaginable. I just don't understand why you think it's "meh". Just start with the fact Kimbrel was on the team and slated to pitch in a role he wasn't suited for this year. Then ask yourself, is subtracting Kimbrel and adding Pollock on paper something that improves the team, all things being equal, if both are healthy and both live up to their previous 2 or 3 years. That answer is a resounding yes. 2. Joc Pederson ? What impresses you at all about Pederson ? The last good year he had was 2019 when he was 27 with a 3.0 fWAR. 2020 was -.1 wRC+ 86 ,and 2021 was .6 & 94 wRC+ . His last 600+ AB's plus his " good defense" accumulated .5 fWAR total. Pollock was hurt much of 2019 but managed .9 fWAR & 107 wRC+ . 2020 .9 fWAR in 55 of the 60 games played that year & 131 wRC+. 2021 3.0 fWAR & 137 wRC+. In his last 600+ AB's he's accumulated 3.9 fWAR . Over the last 2 years Pollock has easily been better offensively. Defensively from 2016-2021 Pederson is a -18 in OAA playing all OF positions, mostly CF and LF. The most games he has ever played in a season in RF is 39 . Pollock from 2016-2021 is a 0 OAA playing mostly CF and LF . The most games he ever played in a season in RF is 4. I don't see anything that suggests Joc is a better fielder . Just the opposite in fact. In fairness Pollock has rarely played RF but since he's played way more games in CF than anything else the fact his OAA is still 0 is a good sign he can play RF adequately. To take this even further Pederson's sprint speed in 2021 was 26.9 ft./second while Pollock's was 27.8 despite the 5 years difference in age. 3.. You often say you don't see the Sox window extending beyond 2023 when Giolito becomes a free agent so if the Cubs signed Suzuki for 5/$85M the Sox would've had to beat that. So what purpose does Suzuki serve being here so long ,so expensively? The length of time Pollock will be here should give Colas and Cespedes amble time to show their abilities and possibly replace Pollock at a way cheaper rate than Suzuki .

Look I know you wanted Suzuki but let it go, just like you should let go of picking up Kimbrel's option . I agree with you there. I thought it was about pride and would take a few different moves to make that work. But in the end it made the team better defensively and depth wise. Kimbrel,. in a bad role didn't accomplish any of those things. For less cash a better fit ? Like who ? This better fit was what , LH, younger , cost less ,had a good arm,played RF more in the past, doesn't get hurt and could play good defense ? Because that's what you are suggesting.

I don't think it's irrational exuberance. For one, some people, like me, didn't want to move Hendriks to any other role. Plus I thought that the Kiimbrel move was to dump his salary , get very little in return then try to fix RF. Hahn did it in one fell swoop. They traded a guy without a position to do his best for a similarly aged player who fits better as a RF than Kimbrel does as a set up guy. If it the ideal fit ? No, but it's a fit that brings a professional hitter who is still pretty good and increases OF depth and team depth especially in light of the Vaughn injury for the early part of the season. It also reduces Leury ,Vaughn and Sheet's OF roles. So while Pollock may not have the arm for RF he is still probably a better defensive OF than what was going to be trotted out there.