Balta1701

I don't disagree but we should be able to get something of use for Yolmer, he's at least comparable to Eduardo Escobar and he's cheaper over the next 3 years.

Personally I was surprised that they brought in the steroid abuser last offseason rather than rushing one of the guys to the big leagues, but given what we saw last year, they've already brought in a catcher to make sure those guys have the time they need, so I would be surprised and disappointed if they did not do so again. Backup catchers are available cheaply, and they should absolutely go get one.

He'll only be in the $4-$5 million range this year and I'd be ok with that as a backup at least to start the year, but I would imagine that they would watch for more opportunities to move him.

The last time he was in the rotation for a full season was 2015 and he's never made more than 25 starts in a season, and it's not like he was an incredible starter - I would stick with the bullpen on this one.

Either he replaces Garcia and they hope his defense improves or they Davidson him. He sure seemed worth a shot at the DH spot to me and god am I sick of the White Sox spending money at that position after the last decade.

I don't wish to speak ill of the dead but this is over the top. This comment is also not related to politics. I would suggest some googling and I won't say more.

They did not get better today. They saved $10 million and 2 roster spots. That alone doesn't make them a whole lot better. What they do with those roster spots could make them better. But only if they use it well.

I think you're thinking of Riley Cooper, from the Eagles.

Cain and Yelich were over 30, non star free agent signings? I guess Jhoulys Chacin counts

Supposedly the advanced stats really liked his defense, but that of course was before the playoffs.

So after the world series does Grandal count as a strong or weak defensive catcher?

Logan Morrison, Zach Duke, Anibal Sanchez.

Isn't that what the Twins tried to do last year?

Bah, if the price is $1 million too high for us does that really hurt us right now? He made a little less than Avi this year, so that means the Reds didn't want to pay him $6 or $7 million in arbitration. If we have to bid $5 for him instead of $4, is that a huge loss to us?

He wound up signing for $13 million, that's probably a little lower than I think I would have guessed for him, but not by much.

I want to see Davidson go to the Dodgers or Brewers because I want to see someone use him as a pinch hitter then come out to pitch the first out of an inning against a righty.

Generally not a fan of this at all. One question I haven't seen answered - aside from Grandal, if we wanted a backup catcher to play part time behind steroid dude and thought that Zavala wasn't yet ready as he isn't, who is available that could be a cheap backup catcher?

If you were the Mets and you couldn't get 2 elite guys now...wouldn't you wait for the trade deadline instead?

If you were the Mets, wouldn't you prefer 2 elite guys to 6 mid-level guys?

If they weren't locked into a contract for the next 10 years on that stadium, we might actually be talking about this. The Rays seem an obvious candidate, maybe Oakland as well, those are the 2 main stadium issues right now.

In 2014, Avi missed more than 1/2 the season because he dove for a ball incorrectly and shredded his shoulder after none of the coaches could be bothered to teach him how to slide through all of spring training. He made it back at the end of the year. In 2016 he hit the 15 day Disabled list with a knee injury. In 2017 he hit the 10 day DL with a thumb injury. Also, isn't it true that Nate Jones will only make $2.6 million this year, that the White Sox had an option to pick up at a lower dollar value if he did get hurt?

But you're counting on ALL of them to have breakout or bounce back seasons. THAT is the problem. One of those 4 or 5 guys will probably actually break out or bounce back and be solid, but if 2 or 3 of them do? That's practically miraculous. If only 1 of them has a bounce back season, you're talking about a bottom 5 ERA in the AL and a below .500 team. You need so many breakouts and bounce backs that its unbelievable. That's why I keep saying you would credit the coaching because that would be a spectacular job. Get yourself a #1 starter, and be ready to drop Pomeranz or Giolito into the bullpen, and now you actually have a rotation that can hang with people.

Just so someone says it - in the past page I've seen starting rotations of Rodon/Lopez/Giolito/E Santana/Pomeranz and Corbin/Gray/Lopez/Giolito/Pomeranz. For people talking about $140 million rosters - my word those are pathetic on paper. 2 guys with ERAs about 4, injury issues, 1 guy with an ERA about 5, 2 guys with ERAs about 6, and one guy who missed almost the entire season and put up an ERA of 8. If those rotations actually turn out any good then you should extend Coop for life and triple his salary. If you guys really believe in the rest of the roster you put together, which you might have good reason to - stop being scared and put some of your minor league talent up for sale on the trade market. The trade market for pitching is shaping up decently right now with the Indians and Mets both already shopping front line guys.

Is this a defense of avi or a reason to get rid of him?

If the White Sox offered him a 20% pay cut in arbitration, the White Sox would lose in arbitration and whatever number Avi Garcia's side submitted would be his salary next year. Most likely, their side would submit $8-9 million or so. Arbitrators follow the previous precedent and there is very little precedent for guys taking substantial salary cuts year over year in arbitration, so if the White Sox submitted that as their offer, Garcia's side wouldn't even negotiate because they would know that the White Sox would lose. Second point - From what you say I don't think Avi applies because the White Sox did not actually go to arbitration with him, it was not heard by an arbitration panel - instead he signed a 1 year deal with the team to avoid the arbitration panel.