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I can't answer that with any degree of knowledge so I'll just guess. I've made previous posts on JR perhaps not liking the whole IFA system regarding how exploitative it is towards very young players who get surrounded by people looking to ride their talents for cash. In light of that argument my guess is JR is sympathetic to how Jose Abreu ended up getting out of Cuba, leaving his family behind , not seeing his son for a while and the dangerous and frightening journey it was. In spite of all that he is not bitter, is quite humble and a leader and perhaps had a lot to do with Robert signing and Moncada 's assimilation/comfort . You cannot compare any of that to American born players even though I'm sure there are some American hard luck stories out there .

I think there's a pretty equal amount of people sympathetic or not upset to the signing as there are people who think it's terrible. The people not overly upset don't see the money as all that wasteful and can see the value of or even approve of the "kind" nature of the deal. For the rest it's all about the bottom line and applying that to creating the best team possible.

Unfortunately there's not much of a pipeline anymore. The Dodgers became much more involved with signing Cubans than the Sos were. Not sure if it's paying off for the Dodgers. The Sox haven't really shown us they are that interested in signing anyone besides the big names like Abreu and Robert recently. Maybe they made an effort for the Gurriel brothers but I can't recall it. They just haven't used International free agency to it's full advantage. It might mean something with a player like Grandal or other major leaguers but money is always the determining factor. Grandal was born in Havana, Cuba, where he He emigrated to the United States with his mother, step-father, and maternal grandparents at age 10 "the easy way," through the lottery system. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasmani_Grandal

If winning the Central is a priority how do you feel about when Kopech, Robert and Madrigal are all starting the season in the minors ? Combined that may be over 50 games that valuable members of the team aren't contributing to winning the Central .Even if Collins is on the 26 man roster do you think he'd be getting more than 2 starts a week at DH/C/1B with Grandal, McCann Abreu others given DH duty on an occasional basis.

I'm a little sad that Hawk is no longer around to talk about our very own Yas..

Not to quibble but reigning batting champ vs. unproven rookie ? Maybe Future Madrigal yes but current Madrigal you put at the bottom of the lineup to take any pressure off of him. In no way shape or form will Timmy be 9th in the lineup.

Happy Birthday Slugger.

According to a NY guy , also a link posted since the Grandal signing yes he is . Go back a few pages . You'll find it.

I don't think there are necessarily divided camps. I totally understood the importance of Grandal yet I posted scenarios with and without him because I always thought pitching should be priority one. But this is a great signing and there is still room for a guy like Wheeler and maybe a MIley. It might limit other position player signings however. Probably won't spend on a DH now and RF might not be a high priority either.

Nah Flavum is a true blue Sox fan through and through. One of the top posters here for many years. He just doesn't like cheaters. He isn't the vindictive silly guy who would do that.

Tony said Castellanos is 100% on the Sox radar.

Or we may just hear "we signed he 2 biggest contracts in franchise history this year."

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Gio was hurt a lot last year by poor pitch framing. I know Grandal can't catch every game but our best pitcher becomes even better with Grandal. If Gio stills likes McCann after knowing those facts yea McCann will still be his personal catcher.

Steve Stone is going to be on High Heat soon with Christopher Mad Dog Russo for those who have the MLB Network.

And helps every single pitcher he catches since stats have shown Gio and Lopez were among the pitchers hurt the most by framing.

Your wish and many others here has been granted.

I think it just means he has a buddy with the Sox who told him the Sox signed Grandal before it hit the media since he put the eyeballs in the Grandal thread just a few minutes before it was announced.

3 4 5 in the lineup could be all Cuban or 3 4 5 6 when you add Robert. Abreu must be stoked . Hell anyone expecing to be on the Sox in 2020 should be stoked including other free agents.

Last year Grandal signed a 1 year $18.25M contract with the Brewers, 4/$73M is exactly $18.25M a year.

We should also keep in mind that the most attractive offer to Wheeler might include an opt out after, lets say, his 2nd year of any contract in case he turns into an injury free Cy Young candidate , This is one of the reasons why I have been advocating it could be necessary to get another multi year pitcher so each one could be kept for a minimum of 2 years at which point we will have a clearer picture of how the young arms are doing. If we somehow end up with an embarassmnt of rihes either one of the 2 multi year guys could be traded before they reach free agency again.

Oh look I can use stats too and the most recent ones which should count way more than when he was at A and AA. The Sox had him up for a cup of coffee in June and July . He sucked. So he went back down to AAA to work on a few things. So in July at AAA after being sent back down he hit 43 AB , .349 BA , .453 OBP , .488 SLG , .941 OPS . Pretty impressive but he was just getting warmed up for August. 80 AB, .338 BA , .455 OBP .763 SLG , 1.217 OPS .Monster numbers , These numbers are just ridiculously awesome even if it was for just 80 ABS . Combine it with July making it 123 AB's and they are still crazy good. His last 8 games with the Sox 34 AB, .276 BA , .382 OBP , .552 SLG , .934 OPS . His full season stats at AAA BA .282 , 403 OBP, .548 Slg , .951 OPS. I'd hardly call that "not a very good hitter." If Collins can hit ,240 have an OBP of ,350 and hit 25 HR's he basically is Yasmani Grandal as a hitter without the switch hitting .We should all be hoping he can be a good enough catcher defensively to be the catcher of the future .

I could see Rendon getting $35M AAV if he's serious about not playing after age 35 . 5yrs @ $35M would be $175M

Are people answering no.1 based on all free agents signed by all teams or just what the Sox will do ? I mean i'm surprised seeing so many no's for #1 if that applies to every free agent contract signed in all of baseball.