CaliSoxFanViaSWside

it was @bmags being funny that's all.

No it's not he wants Castellanos.

Not according to all the discussions going on in the Castellanos thread.

Is this how we celebrate the end of Dylan Covey ? Have they ever been seen together in the same place at the same time ?

Got a guy in mind ? Who haven't we discussed ad nauseum ? Brad Miller and Holt both play OF but not Cf. Who does that leave Pillar ? He hasn't had an OBP over .303 since 2015. Cameron didnt play much CF the last few years. Leury will just have to do in CF if Robert gets injured. Then you just decide on the infielder ,the Swiss army knife IF/OF you want.

I do like this a lot better than the nightmares it is sandwiched between.

No there isn't a rule there's just the reality that only so many people can play at once and that defense and pitching also have something to do with the outcomes of most games. Too many DH types won't help the defense or the pitching. 5 guys would be classified as DH types. Abreu, Eloy, EE, Castellanos and I'll even throw Mazara in the mix to satisfy anyone who says they are equally bad in the OF. Good conversation . Thanks

Not to mention all the young pitchers they are banking on. That's a hell of a lot of players to hope have good seasons to think Castellanos will make much difference while sacrificing everything else they would have to sacrifice to get him.

No, roster construction, payroll and what the Sox have already done has me in this mindset The Sox will not be getting Castellanos. That is apparent . The Sox would have to punt either EE or Mazara. They are going to roll with those guys for the reasons I stated multiple times already. They made those moves because they could not wait to fill holes. They couldn't afford to wait to see if Castellanos market took a dump and if it did they couldn't know for sure they would sign him. Boras is his agent and it's pretty obvious because he hasn't signed that his defense and what Boras is asking for is a huge concern. The only concern with rebuilding is making sure we have enough pitching. We have enough bats, DH's,and bad defensive corner OF's. There's no room for another one. It's too late in the game to find a taker for EE or Mazara.

How do you know it'll bridge the gap ? Do you sacrifice a potential Mazara break out and the potential to be a valuable trade chip ? Do you sacrifice production from EE ? Someone will be sitting a lot. There's no way to know what their production would be if they are on the bench. Do you sacrifice payroll at the deadline ? Do you sacrifice a versatile bench player for the guy now sitting on the bench who can only either DH or play a bad corner OF ? Do you sacrifice pitcher's ERA , WHIP's. effectiveness and confidence ? If you want to continue to look at it in a vacuum go right ahead but there are logistics to every move you make that a simple "the dude can rake add him it's a no brainer" entails. So yea you do have to use your brain.

I was responding to @chitownsportsfan who said either a one or 2 year deal both make sense and I addressed both issues. Try reading both posts again before you make a comment that doesn't make sense . It's in my last sentence..... "having both of them will surely hurt monetarily either at the deadline or next year if you give him a 2 year contract."

Makes sense for what ? Bad defense? Stifling how much can be added to next years payroll ? Ending the chance for a Mazara breakout ? Are the playoffs in 2020 such a priority that you hurt the year or 2 beyond that by having less payroll flexibility ? If by some weird chance Castellanos signs with the Sox and he won't because the Sox also know it makes no sense for this year even if you think it does. The Sox have plenty of hitting if everyone does what we hope they do and even more if Mazara breaks out. They got Mazara for a reason and we know what that reason is, the possibility he hit's over 30 HR's and he's still inexpensive. There's no room for the both of them unless EE suddenly starts showing his age. You can't sit both Castellanos and Mazara . Do you think it's possible to trade EE now ? Can you sit EE on the bench to play Castellanos and Mazara at the same time ? Someone is going to be riding the pine a lot and DH or bad defensive players are not ideal bench pieces. You have no idea what will be available at the deadline or what it will cost. Relief pitchers won't cost much. Pitching will decide the Sox fate in 2020 not Castellanos, nor Mazara but having both of them will surely hurt monetarily either at the deadline or next year if you give him a 2 year contract.

That's a bit premature. Only by knowing what happens in 2020 do we know how the Sox approach 2021. If Mazara does break out we can keep him for another year or trade him , minor league players or a pitcher or all of them to fill needs along with FA possibilities.

For what purpose ? What is the end game ? Is Castellanos so much of an upgrade over Mazara for 2020 that it would make any difference ? Is Castellanos the key to winning or being a playoff team ? A World Series team ? No, that is still mostly dependent on the pitching and adding $15M now is $15M you can add at the trade deadline if by some miracle you get some outstanding starting pitching in which case Mazara's normal production would be fine.

Not just talking about Betts here . Yes he is a long shot for not just us but if Springer or Pederson are still around those are less costly items too that are good hitters and upgrades fielding.

OK yeah I was just throwing out a number to say it's even lower to start then $100M but I didn't want to go too low without knowing for sure which is why I asked.

OK thanks so I was right, around $100M post arb or around $90M pre arb. So as others have said besides me, it requires patience to see how 2020 plays out and Castellanos doesn't fit , As @ptatc and I said , let the young relievers develop and maybe the lost BP pieces can mostly be added internally and Kopech and the other young starters can keep advancing too and 2021-2023 is your window to win the World Series. I can't really count 2020 in that window unless the young starters show a lot of improvement by the All Star break and then we can add to the team if necessary. Less likely to add having Castellanos salary in the mix.

I know there will be those others things but the starting point is probably less than $100 maybe closer to $90 right ? You tell me. Is $150M payroll out of the question next year? $140M ?

We shall see. A lot of people thought we had a legit shot at Machado . Granted the payroll was lower then but you still would've had to make some signings around him anyway. Just replace Machado with Betts only now we get a for year a lot of young guys to get better. If Mazara sucks he's non-tendered ,if he hits 35 HR's trade him , Colome money gone, Encarnacion money gone. Herrera money gone. Gio Gonzales money gone. That's about $30M right there. Of course we'll need a few good bullpen pieces but again we can have a year to see if any of the ones in the system can become good

I don't know what you don't understand. It's the start of a new decade so people make All Decade teams in baseball. Many of the players who were the best of the 2010's decade only played 4/5/6/7 years in the last 10 but were so good that you can pick them as the best regardless of the years they played in the last 10. Everybody had their chance to say how bad the Sox drafted when the 2000's were reviewed. Ray Ray is just reviewing the decade as a whole therefore no 2009 only 2010-2019. Since the Sox. like a lot of other teams, don't find good draft picks every year you are only judging the guys who do appear to be good choices. If its 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 players in those many years it's still judging the whole decade because that's what writers, analysts do at the start of a new decade. They look back on the past decade.

It's not torture imagining a great player like Betts or even a pretty good one like Springer or Pederson in RF. It is torture thinking you signed Mazara and people want to dismiss his 30-40 HR potential and then sign another RF in Castellanos for 2 or 3 years on top of that while giving the young OF's in the system no chance to develop. Sox aren't winning a World Series this year unless the young starting pitching all miraculously pitches lights out along with Gio and Keuchel. It might also be torture trying to win a World Series with bad defense in both corners. The team needs a year to let things play out with too many young players. There's not a single reason to get Castellanos unless you are already punting on Mazara and somehow can get more for him than we gave up this late in the off season when TX couldn't earlier in the off season.

Easy answer if you don't think the Sox want to win a World Series. Keep the payroll in check this year. See what Mazara does. See how Kopech, Cease, Lopez Rodon and Dunning and minor league OF's do. Get Robert's and Madrigals feet wet. See how you end the season and then it becomes a lot more clear if Betts or Springer are a reality. A good hitting and fielding RF'er will be major step towards a World Series team.

I'll just agree with everything you say on the subject all the time. Without Castellanos I can still dream about Betts. With him I can't.

Solid win against the team directly in front of them for a playoff spot. Beat the Panthers and go into the break feeling good about yourselves and come out rested and ready to go. Congrats to Kane on 1000.

12 pts. in last 5 games and 28 in last 20. Undefeated Canadian road trip. Would like to see them beat Winnipeg at home today.