Jack Parkman

Hence why I said rumored. I have no idea whether or not there is any validity to it. Like Tony said, his agent is Boras so he's going to the open market. Same reason why the Sox should trade Rodon if he gets good this season.

If I were a baseball player, Scott Boras would be my agent. Hands down. I don't ever begrudge a player for getting theirs. Ever.

That hurts their development. The issue is that poor OF defense could affect the ability of the young pitching staff to, you know, complete 5-6 innings.

Logically, I agree. I think you're going to see these players hit the open market under almost every circumstance though. If you bring them up when they're ready, they might be more amenable to an extension. You screw them, they're going to FA no matter what. If you want to pay up, be my guest, but they won't re-sign before testing FA.

Nobody yet, but Kris Bryant is rumored to not be interested in re-signing with the Cubs under any circumstances due to it.

What if they get hurt throwing more pitches?

It isn't about the hitters it's about the pitchers.

If they're going to roll with Eloy, Jay and Palka in the OF.....That's just brutal. You almost have to start Engel in CF, and it makes me want to barf just typing that. The OF defense is a joke right now. An absolute joke. And that is an understatement. They have HS quality D in the OF right now. It is just a fucking joke.

Think about the pitchers!! Why won't anybody think about the pitchers? RF defense with Palka there would be absolutely brutal. Singles would become doubles, doubles triples, and even outs could become doubles or triples. You can add a half run to everyone's ERA with Palka in RF. That is why I'm ok with CarGo.

This is the issue that not enough people care about: Regardless of the timeline, Let's say Moncada breaks out this year and Lopez becomes Carlos Carrasco. They're both free agents after the 2023 season as the CBA stands right now. The reason why the Cubs were able to sustain an iota of success is that Rizzo, Arrieta, and Lester were already in place the MOMENT that Bryant came up. Not only that, but Bryant needed zero development time and was MVP in his 2nd season. When you have any sort of extended development at the MLB level, your window shrinks immensely. Should the Sox window actually not open until 2021, there is a distinct possibility that it slams shut in 2024. At this point you're looking at a Royals-style do or die 3 year window, and that is even if it works at all. Once they have their core, they should maximize that window. Trade guys that are on the cusp of the majors for players that can help from 2021-23, because that is pretty much all they're going to have. This organization has proven that they don't pay market value for anyone, so if the players the Sox have don't sign away years of FA like Sale and Quintana did, they're going to be in deep shit sooner rather than later. It is entirely possible that there are a bunch of best case scenarios with certain players and they never eclipse 90 wins or sniff the playoffs. It is 100% possible they only have a year or two window, if one opens at all. Lopez and Moncada have to start doing things this year, otherwise they should be moved for whatever they can get in order to kick the can down the road a bit.

Don't do this to me, bmags. I can't get my hopes up on this one one bit. My expectation is that Harper signs elsewhere. I won't allow myself to get any sort of excited. Nope Can't do it.

It's on mlb.com, which does require MLB.tv. I don't know when they require you to renew it, because I had it through T Mobile Tuesdays last year and they usually offer it through that the Tuesday before OD.

The question is the following: Is it a free webcast? EDIT: I looked it up, the answer is no.

I always saw him as a potential 3 hitter, because I believe if the dude makes contact he's a 30/30 guy multiple times. He also has such a good eye that I could see him as a .370+ OBP guy as well. Go look at Jose Ramirez's stats from the last couple years. That is Moncada's ceiling. To be honest, if not Trout, I could see Moncada as being the next threat for 40/40. Yes, I do believe he has that much power.

Is this available on Whitesox.com or Giants.com?

Don't forget that Moncada is a switch hitter and is better from the left side. Back to Harper though, If the Sox were actually serious they would have gone to Boras and offered 10/335 last week and it would be over. He'd be at Camelback with the guys. Even though Machado was the better positional fit, I've always believed Harper was the superior offensive player. I just refuse to believe that it is even possible they pull this off based on the incompetence they showed in the Machado sweepstakes.

He won't sign for that. 10/330 and he signs tomorrow. If they're serious, just bite the bullet and do it. They're not though, so they won't. Dammit I don't even want to go there. This was much easier when the accepted fact was that the Sox were out on BH.

I completely agree here, but I think he's their most likely target because he's been here before. Even though I love me some Sale, he's probably never going to win a Cy Young for that reason. I knew it when he was here, and it remains the truth. I'd go with Cole over him if I had to pick. I could have told anyone with a brain that he's probably going to be Kershaw part deux in the playoffs when he was with the Sox.

That's pretty accurate actually. I think they're more likely to go after Sale or Cole next year than anyone else.

Nice. LOL. I'm fine whether they're a mid market team or a small market team, but be honest with the fans and run your baseball ops intelligently, whichever lane they may pick. Either way, the need to spend more money on 7/2 FA, player development and analytics. How much they need to spend on each is dependent on which lane they want to take. Right now, yes, I'd agree they're taking the breakdown lane. They aren't willing to do what is necessary to compete, period. They're just being a really dumb organization all around.

Not that it matters all that much, because he'll probably re-sign with the Rockies, and I'd doubt the Sox would spend the money anyway, but Arenado is only 15 months older than Machado, FWIW.

Deep down I knew that them missing for being cheap was a possibility. The only reason that I had even a glimmer of hope was because I thought that he had no other option that was even willing to go to 30M AAV over an 8 year deal.

No but as bad as Moncada was last year he was still a 2 WAR player.

Dude, I wasn't taken in either. I never truly believed they'd land Machado. I did trust Hahn when he said that he'd make a "competitive offer". The issue is his idea of a "competitive offer" had no basis in reality. That is why I'm upset. They could have missed for any other reason than money and it would have been acceptable, especially with what the final number ended up being.

It isn't a requirement, but it really helps.