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I try not to get to attached to prospects. I don't think Vaughn and Crochet are untouchable even though the Sox might. Crochet is far away from becoming a starter and Vaughn might not be a good defensive 1st baseman so he COULD be viewed as 1B/DH. I know his hitting potential is elite but right now the Sox are scrambling for starting pitching. There's no guarantee Cease, or Kopech can emerge or that Lynn is being offered an extension or if he should be. Keuchel and Lynn are older and regression could happen quickly to an ERA of 4+. We shouldn't be so quick to condemn Lopez to the BP . The Sox need every one of those young starting pitchers to increase the odds that one or more of them can discover the good pitcher within. Right now I am not at all concerned about the lineup with or without a DH or backup catcher acquisition, If anything derails the team it will be the starting pitching. Maybe not this year but it may come quicker than many anticipate.

You took me too literally. I know in one thread I said "Our new DH ladies and gentlemen" as a joke . I had to look him up because I couldn't remember who he was. As far as liking Yermin. I just like him , his story, and I have been following him since the Sox picked him up That doesn't mean I want him as our DH this year. He could've got a chance for the last 2 years and didn't . Him and Collins were the reason why I never wanted Encarnacion. In 2019, the last rebuild year, him and Collins could've got more AB's but Mercedes got none as Welington Castillo and other garbage continued to get AB's.

Right I understood that .But things have changed since Dec. 2nd and Katz has had a chance to see him and work with him while the Sox just signed Hendriks and are reaching the end of their rope financially. Thought there was a small chance he got DFA for the extra $2M.

Oh don't get me wrong . I'm not saying Williams is going to be the DH . He's just AAA fodder, emergency use only. In no way, shape, or form was I saying he is the DH now which is why I mentioned Murphy or Moreland. Or La Stella. Plus I love Yermin so even though I don't think he will ever get a shot I'd prefer him . I also said in another post the Sox had no chance at Kluber and if hes signing with the Yankees then so far I'm doing pretty good on my guesses.

Probably not . Arbitration estimates were probably figured into payroll already since Reylo wasn't non tendered and Gio was not going to get more than the estimates unless he signed an extension. When I first starting writing about the Hendriks signing I thought the Sox were maxed out with only the salary of a guy the Sox trade for salary and maybe another $5M after that so maybe another $10M total. I didn't expect a DH acquisition nor a catcher from anything but the bargain bin otherwise known as dumpster diving or minor league contracts. Soon after we got the Nick Williams minor league deal. I really haven't back off from that . I think a trade is more likely than a FA signing but if the Sox can get a cost controlled pitcher who is under $5M now like Musgrove I could see another guy like Danny Murphy or Mitch Moreland signed. Right now the Twitter guys are saying Garret Richards who is a FA and estimates on him are about the same as Walker only perhaps 1 instead of 2 year contract. I don't expect to be right on everything and I'm actually hoping I'm wrong. I just did it as an exercise to see if my educated guesswork could beat the Foodie Twitter guys "source" of information.

Nah if Bauer says anything he will praise him just like he did with Lindor and Carrasco. Lindor got in his face about the ball thrown over the CF fence incident and Bauer praised him for being a leader.

If the spatula fits.....

I just checked what MLBTR said about him : Suffice to say, teams considering Walker will likely not be chasing upside so much as hoping for reasonably priced, solid innings. And there’s reason to think he can serve as a useful back-of-the-rotation starter. Walker was healthy enough in 2020 to average 93.5 mph with his fastball, not far off his career average, and he won’t turn 29 until August. MLBTR graded him the 23rd-best available free agent, predicting that he’d land a two-year, $16MM contract. So I guess me and MLBTR think alike as far as price goes.

I said 2/$15M but I could see it being more or less. Hard to guess how front offices view him.Smoke and mirrors pitchers but who I classify as a pitcher ( not a thrower) are not thought of very highly . He is 28 only so there's that and TJ is behind him so it's full steam ahead for him.

Suzuki gone to the Angels now.

I think most of us are looking at a LHH with a strong history of hitting RHP well.

But did he create a Soxtalk name so he can troll us incognito ? NotDownUnder

This is just where we have a difference of opinion. I think anyone expecting 2 1 years contracts or 1 2 year contract for anything over $10M more is fooling themselves. But I will be more than happy to be wrong. Whoever the Sox add to the rotation for example Joe Musgrove we will add his est. $4.4M salary which might leave room for Mitch Moreland for around the same salary depending on any salary traded away.

Link or are you just joking around ? I'd like to hear that if you are serious.

They aren't ever going to come close to that CBT because that's the reality of the White Sox and Covid. They took the tax hit with the Hendriks contract for the 1st 3 years at $18M per year to save on the back end. We are saying they are pretty well maxed out on their payroll according to the luxury tax figures to the payroll not the actual hit to the payroll except for any salary we add for the remaining SP we should acquire and that's more likely to come via trade because of our CBT payroll this year. The Sox will operate now because the payroll is $160M for luxury tax purposes not $131M.

While I have been supportive of Madrigal in general I am straddling the fence re: his future going forward. I think it's easy to say he won't be a .340 hitter moving forward. We can manipulate his stats like I have done to say his OPS was higher than Roberts in both their rookie seasons but due to defense and baserunning Robert was the much more valuable player and even got some pub as a top 10 CF in baseball right now on that show that MLB network did recently. I have given Madrigal the benefit of the doubt due to his injury and adjustments that many rookies have to make even the uber prospect Robert. I can also manipulate another stat I heard about Madrigal regarding his OPS. It was the lowest in baseball history for a guy who had that batting average in the same amount of AB's. That means he really needs to take more walks and get more extra base hits along with improving his base running and fielding to be as valuable as many think he can be. I'm inclined to wanting him to stick around but would'nt be as upset as some if he's traded.

Whatever it is the Sox aren't going to come close to it.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/a-quick-note-on-the-liam-hendriks-contract/#comments This is the fangraphs article used in the luxury tax thread. It says payroll is it $131M (Roster Resource) but for luxury tax purposes it's at $160M.

I think as far as luxury tax purposes go they are already up to $160M according to what's posted in the Luxury Tax thread. That's my reason for thinking the only money spent going forward is reserved for the SP the Sox trade for or trade deadline purposes.

I guess we will see today what Katz thinks of Lopez. If Lopez is DFA'd and a BP piece traded for a starting pitcher the BP takes a hit.

I think that is significant money to the Sox right now with a hole still in the rotation .

Right and I certainly am not trying to make that discussion stop and I'd be happy to be wrong but I think any remaining money is going to the pitcher we trade for.

But many here think the Sox will or should spend money on it and a FA starting pitcher and a backup catcher whereas I'm thinking we see very little spent from this point forward .

Just came here to say that since as i just said I doubt the Sox address the DH position with any significant money. I say it and voila ,the Nick Williams signing occurs.

Our LH DH ladies and gentlemen.