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Sale and Quintana are both free agents after the 2019 season . The Sox could go after one or both if they want to next off season. Keeping them would mean no rebuild no Moncada, Kopech, Eloy, Cease and Basabe.

If they have no shot at Machado or Harper does it make sense to go after Corbin now? If you can't get Machdo or Harper they might ad well stay the course get another high draft pick and wait for Kopech to heal, Cease and Dunning to arrive f they need pitching Happ, Poemeranz etc. will be cheaper and others available next year.

Maybe they wanted Zunino because he is a really good backstop. Top 1-7 in many defensive categories and pitchers do better with him back there, For a young staff Zunino is a great catcher, Can't hit a lick though.

I saw nothing too damaging. I don't really understand the last paragraph, It looks like more quotes by Showalter but then it has sections of it in brackets. Is that the writer inserting his own translation to gaps that Showalter didnt fill in ? Seems weird to me that if it's a direct quote why use the brackets ?

I don't mean to contradict you. It's just it highly debatable when exactly a baseball players prime is and how long it lasts. If age 27 is truly entering their primes what would you call all their fantastic seasons before ? Harper had his best season by far at age 22. If that turns out to be his best season of his career wouldn't you then say that was his prime ? It's hard to imagine him having an even better year than he did that year. He has had 2 1.000+ OPS seasons age 22 and 24. If he is entering his prime now at 27 do you expect better seasons or seasons in line with his age 22 and 24 seasons ? These thing vary from player to player. There's been a lot of studies trying to pin down a prime but its all still pretty debatable. Many time a players prime turns out to be when they were healthiest. That isn't the same thing as when a player reaches a physical peak combined with the knowledge gained from experiencing MLB for a few years. Things also change dramatically changing leagues or even changing divisions. When you play the majority of your games in one league or division. the pitching is different every year, teams are better or worse. . Some players need an adjustment period . Others do not. Go look at that age 22 season he had when he was named MVP. 198 OPS + . No other seasons above a 156 OPS+ . I'd sure be happy with a 160+ but don't go expecting him to put up 198 OPS+ just because he's turning 27 and 28.

Write Rick Hahn a letter and ask him when he's trying to sell Machado on playing for the White Sox if he's going to say " Gee whiz Manny we really really want you but only if you give us 5 extra minutes by hustling out every routine ground ball and fly out and pop up by sprinting as hard as you can." Thank you and goodnight.

They already have Encarnacion signed through 2019 and they probably want him gone if the downsizing they do is to be successful.

In my mind the most likely team to sign Harper also along with the Phillies.

Not against hustling just not be naive to the fact that a bunch of guys slow up on balls that appear to be outs which they probably are 98% of the time. Your point is still moot . Would you rather have a much less talented players who gives 100% or a guys like Machado who get 5/6 WAR a year his way ? If you don't like his lack of hustle when you see it boo him. But I think you will be cheering lot more than booing if we are fortunate enough to get him.

I agree but will Harper and or Machado agree? That's the key. They might only take the Sox seriously if they show them the window isn't 2+ years away.

Just to be accurate they are not entering their primes. I don't see how you could expect either one to have better seasons than they have already put up the last five years. I'd say they are and have been in their primes with a reasonable expectation to continue those kinds of years for another 3-5 years.

I don't think its prudent either but I can see the improbable happening. As Sox fans the improbable happening is what we have to hang our hats on most years.

That's what I figured Plus I wouldn't require any props for being a visionary.

I've been arguing in the other thread about Eloy that the Sox really could be looking to open the window sooner. We're now seeing the Sox interest in Machado/Harper starting and relief pitching, A really good off season along with Cleveland FA losses and looking to move some salary and you never know how it all turns out in 2019. Cleveland isn't looking to rebuild but they will be a lot less formidable .

I'll give it 1-5% .Still very long odds but I'm open to the possibility . If they do make the playoffs I'm sure you would happily have your "0 chance" post shown all around here.

I'm not arguing that but with some FA agent signings , a good Eloy and improvement from Moncada ,and some other youngsters it's not impossible, Improbable ? Hell yes . We can revisit this in February when you are most likely right but until then I can dream a little.

If you had read the rest of my posts I mentioned Machado, 2 starters maybe 2 relievers, adding at the deadline and Moncada improvement ..If Hahn says it could be at the beginning of the season why can't I ? If its just lip service by Hahn I'm sure if he's willing to spend a lot this off season he has envisioned that the window could open sooner than expected . Having Eloy for 14 or so games might make a difference it might not, probably wont . There are plenty of people on the board drooling at the slight possibility of getting Machado and Harper . All I'm saying is get one, then the pitching and go from there and see how the rest of the off season goes. Right now nothing is written in stone.

Well at least you aren't dismissing it completely now , That's all I ask.

And i would have agreed with that a few weeks ago but now there's talk of adding Machado and some starting pitching. All depends on how the off season goes. I think there's a 95% chance it's April 15th . Just throwing possibilities out there . Gotta find the silver lining where I can.

Well i did edit what you quoted to include an unlikely death in that time. So much can happen in 6 years I'd rather take his early years than bank on still being in contention 6 years down the road . Its most likely that when the window opens we'll be lucky to contend for a world title in 3 of those years with the less likely scenario being at the end of his contract. So if the window opens in 2019 make the most of it. Again I really don't see it happening next year but it could. I'll talk to you more about it when I see how the off season goes. In all likelihood it'll be best to wait til April 15th.

I'm not sure because if the window is open right away it might not be open for that 7th year. Alot can happen by his last year. You never know if a player can make it that far if he drives around the DR a lot in the off season.

They could be if its a close race . Most serious contenders do don't they because of injuries or weaknesses or bolstering depth. Even the mighty Red So did with Eovaldi and Pearce and those guys were vital adds. Depends on what you have left to spend.

And if someone had made that argument it would be but I didn't. No matter what you say you cannot condense what I said into that one sentence. If you want to quote what I said and respond to it go ahead. If you are going to use your own words to paraphrase and hyperbolize what I said to make your weak argument look stronger and get a few laughs I can handle it . But know this, a person who has to resort to insults and lies in an otherwise civil discourse to directly turn it into a war of words is reprehensible.

You don't play as many games as Manny does without dogging it at some point. How many times do you see players getting hurt sprinting to 1st base, running the bases and sliding I would imagine many many many times we have seen it. I don't know what your point is anyway. If you think Machado is a worthwhile acquisition for the Sox your point about him not hustling is moot.

But having Trout/Eloy in for 2 weeks or 2 really hot weeks versus his replacement could theoretically.