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I've been posting all off season that Rodon and Mazara will be gone Dec. 2nd but there's always the chance they won't be. But it is close to $10M combined salary for them which can be used better elsewhere. That could be 1 starting pitcher's salary for the year or 2 relievers or 1 RF and a reliever you hope are better than Mazara and Rodon. Mazara and Rodon would definitely be some of the more coveted non-tenders.

Oh yea it's totally all about you ! You're welcome.

I'm sure that wasn't the only reason but I'm sure he knows it wouldn't be a great idea to sit out 2 seasons in a row. He need to start pitching if he has any interest in making millions of dollars unless he'd rather be relativtely poor like us non-professional athletes.

I'd like to take this opportunity on Thanksgiving to thank all of Soxtalk for giving me a forum to write about my favorite team. I know this place can get wild and crazy a lot and I mean a REAL lot but I wouldn't be coming here for the last 15+ years if I didn't love this place. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart and have a great Thanksgiving ! Now let's continue the craziness and get some reinforcements and win a World Series !

They don't need to break the bank. Signing Bauer would probably only add between $5-$10M to next years payroll if he goes from $30-35M per year . Of course it's the willingness to go 5 or 6 years with him that's usually the problem with this organizations view of long term contracts for pitchers. If the Sox are willing to spend very close to that amount of money on Springer then why not Bauer instead ? Unless you think he's getting $35M/year + or a 7 or 8 year contract in the $30M range. It will be interesting to see the total amount difference between the 2 contracts when they eventually sign and if any opt outs are used. If they really want to win a World Series pony up for Bauer and allow him to pitch every 4th day if that is a deal breaker for teams in the running for him.

All we need is Bauer. Let the roulette wheel keep spinning on 1 yr. stop gaps in RF ,a reliever to replace Colome or Colome himself, and run with that. Let Cease and Dunning be 4 and 5 . See who's non tendered and see what else we can come up with. If we can't sign Bauer divide what we were willing to pay Bauer among 2 other starting pitchers.

Exactly. Does anyone really think Tampa starts asking for a fair price right away ? I said a few days ago TB was just sniffing around to see if they could find a sucker and would end up not trading Snell this off season. I said it early so I have at least 3 months to be wrong . You increase your chances of winning a trade by asking for the moon. Maybe it's not the moon to the other team. It's a good way to start the poker game.

Oh i like the original thought. How is Tadahito Iguchi's english ? Can he be the interpreter/coach ? Would love the Sox to get established in the Japanese market again , even if the west coast is the most popular destination.

I have always been one of those YerMen. I'd be thrilled for him to get an opportunity to become something and if he winds up being really good for 5+ years it wouldn't torment me at all . If he never gets a good opportunity I can never say "See the Sox made a big mistake never giving him a shot when they had the chance." Imagine playing Welington Castillo and AJ Reed over Yermin in the middle of a rebuild in 2019 . Neither Castillo (opted out of 2020 season ) nor Reed (retired) played again. Edit: If he was given a chance and did well in 2019 the Sox perhaps don't waste $10M on EE which I was always against because I still wanted Yermin and Collins to get AB's.

Deal done .

This would be great news and news that would also bum me out. I'd be thrilled to get Springer and also bummed because then Bauer is definitely out and I consider Bauer a lot more important than Springer. If Springer adds $25M a year to the payroll how do we fill the starting pitching holes ? Is the payroll going up $25M this year ? Springer estimate +$25M 1 or 2 starting pitcher estimate + $10M to $25M Bullpen estimate +8 M EE, GG , Mazara Rodon gone -$25M Equals +$18M to $33M increase in payroll.

I think we got some great years from Colome but the natural progression is Bummer to closer but I do think another good relief arm would be prudent. If that's Colome and he is still the closer I'm good with that. If he falters there's still Bummer to use as closer.

I'll just address the not signing Bauer part. More than likely you are correct. But it all depends on if top dollar is the key for him. In the past he has talked about 1 year contracts in order to get the chance to play with a contender every year. With the year he had the 1 year deal is probably history. If the team he signs with doesn't contend then at least 1 opt out in his contract would be wise. So what else does he think is important ? Pitching every 4th day. In a Covid shortened season I think this can be accomplished. I'm not sure it's wise in a full length season. I'm sure if teams ask him for specific reasons why he thinks he can pitch every 4th day he can give them sound reasons based on his own data. The willingness of a team to do this may play an important role in his decision. This would seem to me to be in the Sox favor since they have so many young arms with so few innings pitched. The more Bauer pitches the less innings Kopech, Crochet, and Dunning will pitch. If Bauer wants to carry a heavy load, let him. Of course this has to be balanced with concerns that overworking him may increase the chance of getting less value from him should he overload his arm after a Covid shortened season and the chance for another one which would be 2 years straight that all starting pitchers are pitching a lot less innings and once you get back into the full schedule any pitcher going 200+ innings is going to be almost non-existent . Most of the pundits think the Mets will blow the roof off most offers for Bauer . If he can be had in the $150M range I'd say the Sox have a shot if and only if they let him pitch every 4th day and put some opt outs in his contract. If the Mets offer him $200M I doubt the Sox go that high.

This may be part of Tampa's general philosophy on keeping pitchers healthier and keeping value high and taking them out before they get hit hard. I'm more concerned about trading with TB than most organizations. I really don't think Snell goes anywhere this off season . Tampa might sniff around and see how desperate teams are for him but ultimately they don't trade him before the start of the season.

I didn't misunderstand you I just think his contract is awful and especially awful for a guy who's best years are in the rear view mirror and it's an overpay on one guy to get another guy and the Rockies still wants us to eat Blackmon's salary and give up a good prospect which is why the talks have come to an impasse if you believe Portillo's.

I already gave one answer to this but I didn't address what i think the Sox specifically will do as I lumped them in with the rest of the teams. The honest answer is I don't know . If staying pat means the same payroll as last year that means they have moves to make since they lost about $30M worth of payroll if both Mazara and Rodon get non tendered. Raises for some guys lower that to around $25M . So the real question is will they go beyond that $25M ? The answer to this should be yes if they are seriously about having a good chance at the World Series . However all the "money will be spent" talk was pre- Covid. My best guess is they disappoint us and start talking about adding at the trade deadline when the vaccination picture should be much clearer if not already resolved. Of course they could shock me and sign Bauer which is what I would do.

I think most teams are going to wait it out and put off major decisions hoping for good vaccination news . Maybe agents too take that approach but until then many will be fishing in the vast school of cheap talent available after Dec. 2nd .

No one has a clue what even the Sox payroll is going to be, maybe not even JR. We still have months to go and it all depends on how fast Covid vaccinations become available to the general public.

So if the Sox don't get any pitchers Cease and Dunning would be in the starting rotation and if we get no closer then Bummer is our closer so in theory we give up 2 starting pitcher both with years of control and a top notch setup guy who just signed an extension for 3 years of a starter who has a small track record and doesn't pitch deep in games. No thank you.

Ahh yes it's the off season , rich with talk of extensions for who we trade for and taking on salary of an overpriced veteran to get who you really want.

I don't want to get rid of many and I would just prefer they go hard after Bauer. However knowing the Sox and lack of interest in a much higher payroll vs using prospects as capital then I have to assume that prospects will be used. On the other hand With EE, GG ,Mazara and Rodon off the payroll that's almost $30M freed up. Add in the raises for Giolito, Leury , Engel, Fry , Marshall and Lopez and I wouldn't be surprised that any of them besides Giolito gets traded or non tendered. Leury has already got his raise for 2021. But all of them still are very cheap and are valuable to the Sox.

https://sports.yahoo.com/former-mlb-player-earns-thousands-193932426.html Micah Johnson and his art.

In concert with this : https://sports.yahoo.com/luis-robert-landed-white-soxs-025000183.html

In what way ?

Baseball survived yes but the Sox have always seemed to shoot themselves in the foot and they don't need much help or excuses from mother nature and labor upheavals to accomplish that. The fact that they all seem to be conspiring against a successful rebuild is concerning to say the least.