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I disagree, I feel fully confident in saying when harper signs it will seem like there is no market outside one team, and yet that team will still be giving him a record breaking contract.

examples here. It seems very good that sox are on this small island with machado, but it's foolish to assume that can't change and making signing at it's most optimal cost as the main goal rather than getting the player.

I'm not sure I agree with this. It sounds optimal, but it also assumes certainty on the bolded. Because there is a threat that the player decides against going with best long term deal for optimal short term deal with right team. A 30 year old catcher just reportedly turned down 5 for 60 in order to sign 1 for 18. Now 40 million is not 160 million, but considering the age and same injury risk, it is a gap great enough to say it was crazy not to accept the highest total dollar amount. I'd prioritize getting manny over getting manny at the optimal price. 7 for 210 would be fantastic, but 7 for 240 would not cause considerably more stress to payroll. At some point it does, but why would philly go with a first offer of 350 mill to bryce harper? There is a benefit to setting the level that is clearly higher, and not just on the precipice of acceptably highest bid. Now, the separate part of this the wisdom of continuously signing 5-6 contracts every year that everyone says "Well, couldn't hurt" for players that mainly serve as "more likely not to be terrible" than "likely to be good". For 41 or 42 million we acquired alonso, jay, herrerra, colome, and nova. This is incredibly dragged down by just how influential the signings/acqs of alonso and jay are to machado, but if it turns out they were not and it was a gamble to save money off the back that didn't pay off, I would call that the most hahn offseason class ever. A bunch of individually acceptable contracts that grouped as a whole are somehow worse than the sum of its parts.

This is the story the white Sox themselves prefer.

so, I'm very positive that we will sign machado and think it's going to be franchise altering. But allow me to be negative for a second... I don't understand why sox are so frugal in fighting the margins of the Machado deal but at the same time so willing to pay for replacement level production elsewhere. Our payroll is somehow 80 million for a frankly garbage roster. The As are at 67 million, and you look at it and you see the lack of 7.5 for colomes, 9 for novas, 8.5 for herreras, etc etc and it stands out. Those may be normal market value for those players, but I would bet we barely scrape by in those players paying for their own production. I really hope when our young players arrive we can stop overpaying for depth and using leftover cash to buy impactful pieces only. Anyway again, I'm very excited. I think Hahn is still pretty bad at FA though.

prepare to be shocked. He may go back to astros for 1 year for all we know, stay with what's working.

I don't think it would be toward sox, I think it would be toward manny, trying to show they aren't gonna just wait for him. That said, I don't see any clear winners here. I think people in philly may have convinced the owner whose available, the plan, and now people are excited and just blabbing.

Not machado related but if I was phillies I would not be thrilled with paying late career arrietta and keuchel. Keuchel at this point could be getting a 1 year deal for all we know though.

I could see boras plants. He likes to deal with owners and stoke with their emotional desire to make big splashes. This plays with fan expectation. OR It's a real leak from excited owner or whatever to that group.

Depends on their pitching staying healthy, I could see it being close. I could see a bunch of braves falling slightly back from last year. Tough division though.

Philly really should sign Kimbrel though if they are up on this stupid money thing.

Heyman knows not tweeting even nonsense about these two is leaving retweets on the table.

Okay. Glad that's over.

I was pleased with Lisle addition, but overall after last year I would have liked/expected some outside additions from proven player development staffs. There isn't anyone I'd single out, and maybe this internal development works, but I'd like some more proven voices.

324 with 17 posts now that I have that info.

Aw man, did that freakin pump me up.

OTOH, maybe JR being involved and seeing the actual issues will communicate more effectively to him what's needed to sign.

I think this is really on the nose. JR meets at initial meeting, lets team bang it out, keeping close but never overcommitting, when market has cleared taking over.

Ugh, just delete my account.

PUT YOUR MOTHA F**!*!* SIGNATURE ON THA MOTHA F$*%!#(* CONTRACT

I mean obviously.

Former. I totally buy that over weekend some verbal figures of 8/250 started to go out but nothing formal, and manny's side shopped info immediately to try and get people to match and go higher, and so sox said "we never agreed to that" and tried to re-anchor. And when it's all said and done he'll sign for 8 / 260-270 as people have said.

So it's been like 100 days (I think, Machado has me losing sense of time) and I'm still incredibly bummed.

I think the thing is he is pretty raw in both. Much more developed in football. He was a big gamble in baseball, he basically came on during one spring, but didn't have much of a track record.