Lillian

Frankly, at this point, I really don't much care how much the Sox spend on their acquisition for another starter. I just want them to get someone, who is acceptable and capable of filling a role, as a middle, to bottom half, arm in the rotation. I would be satisfied with Keuchel, Ryu or Price. My greater concern has been the idea that they would make a trade and give up prospects, upon whom we are counting, to keep this competitive window open. Our top starters are going to have to come from Giolito, Cease and, or Kopech. Knowing that there will be bonafide Major Leaguers, in the 4 & 5 spots, and that there will now be some depth, is reassuring.

So, where does the payroll stand now?

Interesting to note that every player acquired, so far this off season, is another Latino. Grandal, Mazara, Gonzales, Cuthbert and resigned Abreu. Gee, maybe Lindor is next. Just kidding. Anderson and Madrigal might be the only two regular position players, who don't speak perfect Spanish. Isn't Madrigal's father a Latino, as well? Madrigal is a Spanish name for several different towns, in Spain.

If I remember correctly, his calling card has always been "very good defense," at third and I'm pretty sure his arm is better than Yolmer's. Nevertheless, it's a Minor League signing.

The reason that I chose Keuchel and Nova as my personal choices, to target for the rotation, is that they are both a change of pace from our fireballing starters. Kopech, Cease and Lopez all throw hard. Moreover, maybe Nova could teach his cutter and Keuchel could help some of our guys to induce more ground balls. Of course, I would have much preferred Cole and Strasburg, but that was never going to happen, not even half of that fantasy. They're also both pretty durable.

I have not given any credence to the speculation that Bloom asked for either Vaughn, or Madrigal. I have no idea. My statement about the Red Sox having unreasonable demands was based solely on Bloom's public pronouncements, regarding the kind of deal he is suggesting for Price.

I am correct, in assuming that signing Keuchel will not require giving up a draft pick, right?

At this point, it doesn't look like Bloom is going to come to his senses. His demands seem quite unreasonable. In any case, our Sox don't need another outfielder. Leury and Engel can be used as late inning, defensive replacements, or even a platoon with Mazara, at almost no cost. I hope they sign Keuchel, Nova and a reliever and call it an off season. Keuchel at 4/$70 M Nova for 1 year at ???

I suppose that one could have that perspective. However, if I were Nicky, and a Yankee fan posted such a meme, I would simply chalk it up to a fan of a rival team, in a gesture of bravado, boasting of dominance and superiority. What might hurt more is the thought that my own team's fans think so little of me. I understand, it's easy to forget that players are just people, with feelings. Delmonico seems like such a genuinely good kid and one who has experienced some difficult life challenges, off the field. The good part is that a lot of fans here seem to have embraced his return to the organization and wish him well, myself included.

I'm glad to learn that you didn't send it to Nicky. However, it's still out there and easy enough for him to see. I hope that he would take as just good natured humor. One can imagine that it wouldn't be the most welcoming thing for him to view. He seems like such a nice kid and I love his story.

My hope is, that in a year or two, the challenge will be to choose from the long list of White Sox stars, to put on such a Meme. Who would be our best 2 marquee players? Would it be Giolito, Moncada, Robert, Anderson, Abreu, Grandal, Kopech, Cease or even Madrigal, or Vaughn?

Perhaps, but I fail to see the humor. Moreover, how can it be both "wrong" and "true"? Could have just as easily put a couple of Yankee bench players, or even Minor Leaguers, next to Giolito & Moncada, or Eloy. That would be comparable. If anyone hates this franchise that much, why not just root for another team? I grew up hating the Yankees, back in the days when Al Lopez' Go, Go Sox had to swallow finishing in 2ND place, behind the Yankees, almost every year. I'm excited about the youth on this team, and am patiently waiting to see what else the front office can do to assemble a competitive roster. I like our players, both for their baseball and their character. If a fair weather fan doesn't share that view, please just go root for another team. This negativity is getting pretty old. Condemning the front office, for a "failed" off season, before Christmas, is just unfair. It may not end up being as satisfying as we had hoped, but it's too soon to judge. My comment is not meant to be directed at anyone, in particular, but rather toward the general tone of negativity. Pessimism and skepticism are one thing, but unfair and premature complete condemnation, are just ridiculous.

All I will say is, if any team is dumb enough to accept the kind of deal that Boston is proposing, it better not be the White Sox. I will be really shocked if Bloom gets the kind of deal, for which he is asking.

What the writer fails to recognise is that the $23 Million per year, which Boston needs to reduce their payroll, is worth more than that, to the Red Sox, because of the Luxury Tax. The fact that other teams know that means that Boston is hardly in the driver's seat, as this writer asserts. Therefore, even if a team can justify paying Price $23 Million per year, on a 3 year deal, they have to recognize that they don't need to. Exactly how much is the Luxury Tax for the Red Sox, at this point? Never mind, I found this: In 2020, they face a bigger potential burden. Every dollar spent above $208 million would be taxed at a 50 percent rate; the next thresholds are 62 percent for anything over $228 million, and 95 percent beyond $248 million. If the Red Sox stay below the first threshold, however, they will reset their tax rate, with the base rate falling back to 20 percent.

The article concludes the following: "Finding a team willing to pay Price a total of $70 million over three years, $23.33 million annually) would largely solve what is considered to be a complex issue." Does anyone realistically believe that Boston is going to find a team willing to take on that contract, without including any more than just $26 Million? I'm not buying it, at least not without the Red Sox including another player.

I'm beginning to suspect that Hahn has a deal in place with Bloom. Otherwise, it does appear that they aren't getting anything, other than a bottom of the rotation starter. It also wouldn't surprise me if they bring back Nova, who had expressed a strong desire to return.

Indications that Bloom is negotiating, albeit; in public: Initial offer: Trade Price and his entire contract, for another team's prospects. First update: Doesn't want to include any other players, but agrees to pay down a part of Price's contract. Still looking for something back from the other team. Stay tuned for more concessions. ??? I hadn't thought about that. Good point. Let's hope that they learned their lesson, and they might be well advised to inform Bloom of their acquired wisdom: "We made that mistake, but we won't do it again".

Good point. If they really think they could use two, sign one now and continue to negotiate with Bloom, for Price.

I wouldn't take any statement from Boston at face value, with perhaps the one exception of something that represents a concession. The stated "demands" are likely merely posturing. I continue to believe that Bloom's #1 priority is offloading salary obligations. If he can dump $96 million, in one transaction, I think that he might consider that a success. From Hahn's perspective, he may be just as happy to take Price and money, but I suspect Bloom would favor not having to include $60 million, as that does not satisfy his primary objective. I can see why he would suggest that. He may be trying to look less desperate to be offloading salary. That would be a smart negotiating tactic. However, think about it; the whole point of trading Price and the biggest reason Bloom was brought in, was to get the team payroll under control. Adding $60 million to the deal does not go nearly as far toward achieving those objectives.

Ok, we are beginning to make progress. Bloom continues to "insist" that they don't want to attach prospects, however they appear to be openly recognizing that Price's value is considerably less than his contract. So, now we have established two critical factors; 1) Bloom admits that Price is worth substantially less than his contract and 2) that he is desperate to unload salary. Any buyer should be asking Boston what they can do to make it attractive for a team to accommodate their pressing need to unload that contract. Sending anything of value back to Boston shouldn't even be in the discussion. I suspect that the most enticing offer to Bloom would be one which did not ask for the contract to be paid down. If I were Hahn, I would tell Bloom the following: We understand that you really want to offload a considerable amount of salary obligations. We agree with your statement that David Price is worth less than the $96 million contract. You concede that it's at leat $36 million dollars more than Price's value. We have consulted various analytics, which assert that it is closer to $50 million over his value. How much would you value being able to reduce your payroll by $96 million, over the next 3 years? We would be willing to take that entire contract off your hands, but we would need to receive enough value back, in return. Which player, or players can you offer to include in the deal, in order to fairly compensate us for the overpayment on Price's contract? You have stated that you do not want to include prospects. We would consider an established player, instead of prospects, if said player's value, is at least as high as his salary, plus the approximately $50 million of excess cost to us, in relieving you of your ageing pitcher and your obligation to pay his contract. If Bloom wants to negotiate. the only points worthy of discussion are the exact amount of the excess cost, over value, of Price's contract and exactly which player we would accept from Boston, to be included in the trade.

That's what Boston says. Count me as a cynic. I'll believe it, when I see it.

It's hard to comprehend why anyone would think that a team should be willing to include any decent prospect, in a deal for Price and Benintendi. Even if the analytics are off slightly, there is no rational argument for a team to agree to take that awful Price contract, without Boston adding something of value, and without requiring any player in return. I assume that every front office is aware of the analytics and gives them credence. Therefore, I will be shocked if Bloom gets his way. Moreover, I suspect that every GM realizes that they can bargain from a position of strength. As I've repeatedly stated, the buyer has the leverage here. It's the seller who needs to get this done. My questions are; how many teams would accept Price and Benintendi, while agreeing to not demand any money back, and if there aren't any teams willing to do that, how much more might a team be able to squeeze out of Boston? I understand that there is always the possibility that Boston would agree to add some money to the deal, in order to get Price's contract moved, or even to acquire some prospects. However, I suspect that Bloom would prefer to get the maximum salary relief, which is apparently the primary motivation for the deal, to begin with.

In the Dombrowski era, the Red Sox would be spending, to keep pace with the Yankees. However, their new GM was brought in to get their fiscal house in order. For the first time, in a long time, it appears that Boston will not be spending recklessly. The money they do spend is apparently intended to be allocated toward things like retaining Betts. It is clear that shedding Price's contract is a high priority. That is the most important point.

I know which other teams are reportedly interested. The question is; are they smart enough to understand that it's a buyer's market, for Price, because Boston needs to unload salary?

Is the consensus here that, if Price were a free agent, with no qualifying offer attached, that he would get approximately $20 million per year, if it were a 3 year deal? If so, then Bloom has to know that Boston is either going to have to add a player, or money, to get a team to bite. I hope that other GM's understand that. It's not only about his value, it's about the degree to which the seller is motivated. It is obvious that Bloom is highly motivated.