Lillian

What are the prospects of Price being able to pitch, this season? Does anyone have an update on his health?

Conceptually, this idea of taking on another team's burdensome contract, in order to fill both the SP and RF holes, is very intriguing. With the cost of acquiring free agent pitchers having gotten out of hand, why not attempt to exploit the fact that a few teams need to dump some salary? The Sox are in the enviable position of having lots of payroll flexibility, and lack the Minor League depth, to use as trade bait. It seems like a logical strategy. If signing a free agent pitcher is almost certainly going to require committing to more years, than can reasonably be expected to be sufficiently productive, why not at least limit the number of years of potentially sunk cost. For example, David Price may not be worth much in the 3RD and final year of his existing contract, but at least it might only be one year. By contrast, some of these 5 and 7 year deals may end up being sunk costs, for more than a year, or two. Moreover, any pitcher on a long term, expensive contract, is a huge risk, considering how fragile pitchers are, especially in this era. Given the inherent risk, the fewer years, the lower the risk. There is a principle worth remembering, from the investment world i.e.; "Motivated sellers, usually have a greater sense of urgency than motivated buyers". A buyer has the luxury of being able to patiently wait for an attractive opportunity. By contrast, an owner, who is "stuck" with an undesirable asset, is usually in a much more desperate circumstance, especially when other pressing financial needs are factored into the equation. Think Mr. Bloom, in Boston.

This is all very bizarre. Do the other front offices, around the League, have these kinds of theatrics and drama, associated with their acquisitions? These last two off seasons have been just nuts: 1) Pederson - Deal pending but is ostensibly canceled because of leaks. 2) Machado - Going to the Sox, right up until the last moment, and then ends up in San Diego, which was never reported to even be in the running. 3) Wheeler - Supposedly coming to the South Side, after being offered $122 Million, but signs with the Phillies, for less money!!! 4) Now, Ozuna, with the owner commenting on his unawareness of any interest in the player. Reminds me of when Tori Hunter was coming to the Sox, right up until the point, when he went elsewhere. Wake me up when it's over.

That is correct, I believe. If it were past tense, it would be firmó, or ha firmado, which is "has signed".

The translation of the Spanish, in the tweet is: Marcell Ozuna would sign with the White Sox. It's the conditional verb form. The future tense would be "firmará"

That looks pretty realistic and appealing to me, although I question why they would need Gennett.

Wow, that is way off. That's less than $15 Million per year. I guess they're not worth paying much attention to, regarding projected salaries. Never mind.

I don't know. Why, are they notoriously bad with their projections?

A few days ago, MLB TradeRumors had projected Ozuna to sign for something around 3 years, $45 Million. That would be great with me. Then sign Ryu plus anyone who could be a 5TH starter and call it an off season. That is, of course, unless his arm really is shot.

Wow, I didn't remember that. That is really strange. How do you give a Gold Glove to a guy who didn't even play the position? Are you sure?

He just turned 29, last month. Why do you contend that his best years are behind him?

For the Ozuna haters; here are his projected stats vs. RH pitching, over a full 162 games last year, during which time he missed 32 games: vs RHP as RHB 649 460 568 141 26 1 32 97 0 0 79 127 .249 .341 .473 .814 I'll take those numbers, (26 doubles, 32 homers, 97 RBI's and a .341 OBP) versus RH pitching and that was not as good as his 2017 season. I realize that those are projected stats, over 162 games, but it provides some perspective, since he missed 32 games.

Yes, that is what I read. It's a very important question. If his arm has recovered, he would be adequate in RF, but if his arm is shot, how is it even feasible to play him there?

If that is really the case, then he cannot be a viable candidate for RF, period!!! I wonder what happened. the update I read, last Spring, said that his arm was progressing nicely. What is the normal prognosis, following the kind of shoulder surgery, Ozuna had last winter? A couple more things to note about Ozuna: 1) He missed the entire month of July, last year, and still hit 29 homers, with 89 RBI's. 2) His 2018 was understandably difficult, while he was dealing with his shoulder condition, for which he had to have surgery. 3) He will playing in his age 29 season, this year.

I'm surprised to learn that. How did he ever win a gold glove?

My understanding is that Ozuna had a strong arm, before his shoulder condition, which led to surgery. I read where he was throwing much better, last Spring, but I can't seem to find any recent updates, regarding his recovery. If he is close to being back to normal, his arm is not a problem and he has always been considered a good defensive outfielder.

Are those projections for 6 years? $36 to $38 Million AAV sounds about right, given today's environment.

I'd rather have Ozuna than Castellanos, for the following reasons: 1) Ozuna has been a better hitter, against RH pitching, than Castellanos, . I'd prefer a LH hitter, but if not, at least he should be really good vs. RH pitching. 2) He is a better defender. As we've all recognised, Eloy in LF means that the right fielder should not be another negative defender. 3) I assume that he will cost a little less than Castellanos. My greatest reservation is concern over how complete his recovery has been, since his shoulder surgery. If it won't continue to affect his arm, which is a big part of a right fielder's defense, he should be a more than adequate defensive right fielder.

Monthly Stats over the last 3 seasons, in which he seemed pretty consistently good. Last year he missed July and had a terrible September, but was pretty good, outside of that: it G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ April/March 23 23 98 88 11 26 3 0 6 21 0 0 9 26 .295 .357 .534 .891 47 3 0 0 1 1 1 .351 92 144 May 28 28 121 108 18 37 5 0 8 18 0 1 13 20 .343 .413 .611 1.024 66 4 0 0 0 2 1 .363 121 171 June 27 26 109 101 16 30 5 0 6 15 0 0 8 24 .297 .349 .525 .873 53 3 0 0 0 0 0 .338 89 125 July 26 25 113 105 15 31 11 1 4 27 0 0 8 30 .295 .345 .533 .878 56 4 0 0 0 0 0 .380 89 130 August 28 28 121 102 15 32 3 0 7 22 1 2 18 17 .314 .413 .549 .962 56 1 0 0 1 1 0 .316 110 153 Sept/Oct 27 25 117 109 18 35 3 1 6 21 0 0 8 27 .321 .368 .532 .900 58 3 0 0 0 0 0 .382 95 141 Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ April/March 25 25 112 108 8 27 3 0 2 17 0 0 3 27 .250 .268 .333 .601 36 3 0 0 1 0 2 .313 59 67 May 25 23 100 88 12 24 3 0 1 6 2 0 11 15 .273 .354 .341 .694 30 3 0 0 0 0 2 .319 88 94 June 27 27 110 102 12 34 2 1 7 21 0 0 6 19 .333 .373 .578 .951 59 0 1 0 1 0 0 .351 148 161 July 26 26 112 105 11 22 2 0 3 14 0 0 6 19 .210 .250 .314 .564 33 2 0 0 1 1 0 .226 49 52 August 20 20 87 81 9 26 3 1 3 11 0 0 5 10 .321 .368 .494 .862 40 1 1 0 0 1 1 .338 127 134 Sept/Oct 25 25 107 98 17 30 3 0 7 19 1 0 7 20 .306 .355 .551 .906 54 1 1 0 1 0 0 .319 137 149 Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ April/March 27 27 114 100 24 26 5 0 10 28 3 0 13 25 .260 .351 .610 .961 61 5 1 0 0 2 1 .246 135 154 May 27 27 117 106 17 24 7 0 6 22 1 0 10 22 .226 .291 .462 .753 49 6 0 0 1 0 0 .228 86 98 June 24 23 95 87 11 26 3 0 4 12 4 1 8 21 .299 .358 .471 .829 41 1 0 0 0 0 0 .355 108 118 August 26 26 106 92 16 26 5 1 4 15 4 0 14 22 .283 .377 .489 .866 45 3 0 0 0 0 1 .333 117 123 Sept/Oct 26 26 117 100 12 16 3 0 5 12 0 1 17 24 .160 .282 .340 .622 34 6 0 0 0 0 2 .155 57 69

Just to clarify Ryu's injury history with the Dodgers. Did I miss any and is there any reason to assume that any of these problems will recur? I'm just asking. 2014 - Pitched 26 games for the Dodgers in 2014, despite missing time with various injuries. 2015 - He started the season on the disabled list and despite reporting himself pain free in April, the Dodgers decided to take a cautious route with him as he had shoulder pain sporadically during the previous season. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list on May 4 and the Dodgers noted a lack of velocity in his bullpen session soon afterwards, causing his rehab to be shut down. He decided to have surgery on the shoulder to alleviate the problem. The surgery revealed that he needed his left shoulder labrum repaired, which was done on May 21, ending his chances of pitching during the 2015 season. 2016 - Ryu eventually rejoined the Dodgers on July 7, 2016. However, he reported elbow discomfort after the game and was placed back on the disabled list. On September 28, he underwent debridement surgery on his left elbow. 2017 - ??? 2018 - Made 6 starts before landing on the disabled list with a groin injury. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list on June 2nd. 2019 - Healthy with no serious, or lengthy injuries.

I assume that suggests one, or the other, regarding Wheeler and Strasburg, not both. That is unless Ray is right about lots of bluster.

Regarding the speculation that, in addition to his price tag, Villar's character might be a reason that he is unwanted, this article seems to refute that notion: https://www.camdenchat.com/2019/8/30/20840248/jonathan-villar-is-having-a-breakout-season

Here's one more option, which I left out of the list of possibilities: Let him play 2ND, and keep Madrigal at AAA most of the season. If the Sox are not in the race, he might be decent trade bait, at the trade deadline. That would delay Madrigal's service time, reduce the overall cost of Villar and perhaps even net a prospect.

And remember, He's a better hitter from the left side, which would also help the Sox.

Because we can't seem to find one. If you can find a good one, I'm all for that, as well. Sharing your concerns for financial constraints, I'm reluctant to advocate signing a right fielder, to a long term contract. Villar will be a free agent after this coming season, so he fits the time frame. Perhaps by 2021, one of the promising farm hands will emerge to take his place.