harfman77

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 01:43 PM) Completely disagree, the 2016 INTL class is supposed to be the best it's been in years and Sox would not be willing to pay the overage fee on those contracts for Cuban as opposed to 16 kids in the Dominicans because of how expensive they are compared to theit LA counterparts They say every year is the best its been in years and if they are right this time it wont matter as many of those kids are already lined up on deals with teams for next July 2nd and the Sox are not going to come out with much more than they did this year. The Cubans are more expensive yes, but also have a higher probablity of being legitimate pieces because they are further along and some cases much further along in their development than the 16 year old kids signed out of LA.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 01:18 PM) Using a stop-gap free agent SP for a year or two until the younger guys are ready isn't really a bad idea. Wouldn't cost that much money, and if he performs well he becomes a trade asset at the deadline if you fall out of contention. No its not a bad idea, but I would like to use some of our internal guys and see if there is anything there. If not we can move on from them and if there is we either have a long term piece or a more valuable trade chip than a rental.

My off-season plan would be to just sit back and take our lumps next offseason in attempt to rebuild the roster in a more competitive manner. Offer Shark a QO Exercise option on Alexei Trade LaRoche and $6.5M to the Marlins for Marcel Ozuna Eaton to the Padres for Jose Rondon and Ryan Butler Quintana to the Red Sox for Rafael Devers, Henry Owens and Andrew Benintendi C Flowers 1B Abreu 2B Sanchez 3B Davidson SS Ramirez LF Garcia CF Ozuna RF Thompson DH Cabrera UTL Saladino BE Olt BE Shuck BE Brantly SP Sale SP Rodon SP Thompson SP Danks SP Samardjzia/Owens/Beck RP Robertson RP Petricka RP Jones RP Duke RP Jennings RP Webb RP Putnam As the season goes on I would try and move Melky and Alexei if they put up attractive numbers also Shark if he accepts the QO. I would start working Devers at 2B and Anderson in LF. The team maybe wins 70 games and nets another high draft pick to add to the cause. In two year your lineup is: C (Trade)/Flowers 1B Abreu 2B Devers 3B Michalzewski SS Rondon LF Anderson CF Benintendi RF Thompson/Free agent DH Garcia/free agent/trade/Draft Pick SP Sale SP Rodon SP Fulmer SP Johnson SP Draft pick/Montas/Danish

QUOTE (raBBit @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 12:44 PM) While I agree, I think Johnson replaces Samardzija and a FA would ultimately replace Quintana if he were to be moved. Fulmer can make his way into the rotation in a season where Danks in his last year of his contract. If the Sox are running with Sale/Rodon/FA/Johnson/Danks and are in the race and Fulmer is tearing up Charlotte you can move Danks to the bullpen because he's an impending FA. I dont think you would want a free agent to fill in the final hole in the rotation. At this point the team is still likely to be third in the division next year if not worse and one FA starter isn't going to make the difference. I would rather use Beck in the rotation to start the season and go from there when either Montas or Danish are ready. Save money in FA and use it in signing some of the young Cubans coming over.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 01:04 PM) Moving Eaton would only make sense if you could somehow fill two holes with him. Otherwise you're just opening up a new hole to fill another. I don't think the first scenario is at all likely. I think that Anderson can fill that hole when the team is ready to make a run so it is more taking from a position of strength to fill in an open spot.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 12:59 PM) They both have responsibilities that full under the umbrella of a "GM" but with the way baseball's front offices are moving should you be surprised? Jed Hoyer is the GM on the Northside and his name is barely uttered by the media. It's all Theo, Theo, Theo. Of course with the Sox there has been serious division between the FO and there is not fluid movement within the FO. That's a problem. So is the incessant loyal that's rampant throughout the organization. It's a just jaded argument. Did they retool after '13 spiraled away when they brought in Abreu, Eaton, Davidson and Garcia. It seems like they brought in a lot of young guys with the hopes they would become mainstays. Maybe they jumped the gun this past offseason, but that can be attributed to KW not Rick Hahn. Jumping the gun last offseason is what really hurt this team, without the money spent on free agents the season would not have seemed to be such a disappointment. Also giving up two prospects (draft choices) that could have been contributors is a bit painful. Unfortunately it looks as though KW is going to be back which is going to keep the team in the middle of building a winner and trying to go all in every year and leave the team in no mans land - not good enough to make the playoffs and not bad enough to make an impact in the draft.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 11:50 AM) Bad move. Eaton would bring you one player of value in return and open up a hole in CF and leadoff. Eaton and Abreu should be the only 2 guaranteed starters for next year. The rest of the positions could use changing or upgrading depending on the moves made. If in the course of upgrading they pick up a better CF you would move Eaton to left or right. This team is not likely to be much better next year, move Eaton while he has value, you can platoon Shuck and Thompson out there for the year. I think Anderson ends up in CF anyway so they might as well clear the spot while Eaton's value is high.

I think Q has to be moved, its really the only way that the Sox can improve the roster, yes you will take a hit in your rotation, but you need to do something to improve the offense and defense around otherwise you are just wasting the pitching. I think if Q does get traded it is going to be a pretty large deal, at least three teams as the teams that have the most use for him do not have the type of players to give up that the Sox need. Teams like the Dodgers and Red Sox make sense as they both will have holes in their rotation but the prospects/players that would be of interest to the Sox are holding down ML jobs which means to me that they will have to get a third team involved to take some prospects from one of those teams in return for some ML ready talent.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 12:41 PM) There is virtually no way to tell what a given pick will get you in 2016. The key is to get to 10th or better so that your pick is protected. Beyond that, this far from the draft, the difference between 8th and 9th (for example) is near zero. The real difference is in draft pool amounts, the difference in talent is negligible, however, every extra penny you can accrue to make a run at a guy like Michalzeski(?) or Spencer Adams, or Bryce Montes de Oca is valuable. The pick protection should really mean nothing in this offseason as there is no one that will receive a QO that the Sox should even consider.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Sep 24, 2015 -> 12:42 PM) I would wait to sign him till the 2016 signing period. The dude is pretty determined and that bodes well for his success and according to the picture of that accompanied the article, he is a physical specimen. Get him now, there are plenty of other young Cuban guys out there to make it worth your while to go over the limit this year and all alot closer to the majors then the guys the Sox would be signing on the next two July signing periods. Now is the perfect time to bust the limit with the abundance of players available, the depth of position players in the Sox system, and the impending international draft.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Sep 27, 2015 -> 11:01 AM) Again look at college football recruits Football recruits look like that at 18 not 16, unless you are talking about Leonard Fournette, than yes he looks like a freak of nature football recruit. The difference is that a physique like that does not translate as well as baseball as it does in football.

I think he needs to be extended a QO. He is not as bad as he had pitched in the second half. Not sure if he is having arm fatigue or what but he has not been right in a little while. If he declines the QO the Sox will be fine and move on with a draft asset, if he accepts you have him on a one year deal for him to redeem himself and try to make up for the tens of millions of dollars he cost himself this season. If he performs to his career numbers you can move him at the deadline if or hold on to him and make a run and extend a QO next season.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Sep 21, 2015 -> 12:33 PM) Maybe not, but they'd both play like s*** and we'd lose, so it doesn't matter. Where it matters is re-assigning the money owed to LaRoche to help in other areas like amateur signings and the ability to take on some money next summer if the team is in the race. If the Sox can move LaRoche over the winter I see no problem replacing his roster spot with DV's minor league deal. It allows the team to get Melky out of the OF more often, allows them to spell Abreu at 1B, and gives them some legit power on the bench.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 21, 2015 -> 09:17 AM) If Dayan Viciedo doesn't convince you that AAA numbers for veteran players are worthless, I don't know what will. Do people really think that he learned something during his 152 AAA PA's at Charlotte, that he didn't during his 1798 major league plate appearances? It could be that after getting released by the Sox and then falling on his face with the A's after being out of baseball for a bit was a wake up call to him that he needed to approach things differently. There are always stories of guys breaking out later in life after struggling for a while, its not a common situation but it does happen. If he doesn't show much you can throw him away again, its not like it is going to take a huge investment to keep him around.

QUOTE (Mike F. @ Sep 7, 2015 -> 08:03 PM) The Sox can't develop hitting anyway, even if they had the #1 pick. It would help if they drafted some hitters sometimes. It is an easy trap to fall into to say they can't develop hitters, but when have they really even tried? Yes Jared Mitchell and Keenyn Walker have been flops, other than that the Sox hitters have developed about as good as anyone else, the difference is that the Sox draft fewer hitters with top selections than the majority of teams. The Sox have been really good at drafting pitching though and have stuck with it, however, they are going to need to turn some of those pitchers over for hitters for the strategy they are employing to work successfully.

QUOTE (flavum @ Sep 1, 2015 -> 02:19 PM) Robinson Leyer, Brandon Brennan, Peter Tago, J.B. Wendelken, Keon Barnum, Nick Delmonico, Jake Peter,Courtney Hawkins https://twitter.com/SouthSidelarry AKA the list of guys we want to trade this winter.

QUOTE (coco1997 @ Aug 29, 2015 -> 05:38 PM) In all fairness, Epstein originally drafted Rizzo. He just found a way to get him back via trade once he took over the Cubs. By hiring the guy that traded Rizzo to him.

QUOTE (Knackattack @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 02:17 PM) We need to take into consideration that Heyward has been the best defensive RF in baseball and is going to be entering his physical prime over the course of this contract. If there was ever a guy to hand 150+ mil too it's him. Pass. I would much rather have Trayce when you take contracts into account and the step back Heyward will take in the AL. Trayce can provide top level defense in the OF, he will K a lot more than Heyward but also will give you a lot more power. Giving a guy like that $20M a season would cripple this franchise.

Johnson to LF, Melky gets some time at DH.

QUOTE (LDF @ Aug 24, 2015 -> 04:20 PM) Quinarvy, i would sign MB in a heartbeat, not unless he has a QO, is asking for 13 mil and esp if he wants a 3 yr contract. now with Q.... i am lost and i will wait until the season is over. I agree, his pitching is not going to degrade as quickly as a lot of other guys in the league and he could be a guy that is productive into his 40's. If receives a QO, I would not be interested, but on the open market I would do a three year deal with him especially with Danks contract rolling off the books after next season.

I dont feel that Q is going to have near the value on the trade market that some here expect.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Aug 19, 2015 -> 12:33 PM) Just because the organization hasn't had much successful fixing hitters, it doesn't mean you stop trying when the cost is virtually nothing. I am not sure he is better than anyone on the current 40 man roster, I am all for taking on flyers on guys with potential, but Choice is not good. He is in Davidson territory.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Aug 19, 2015 -> 12:28 PM) From what I can find, it looks like he wasn't added to the 40 man until September of 2013 when he was called up the Athletics. He would have then used an option in each of 2014 and 2015. He should have one option year left. He already spent more than 20 days in the minors this year so his option for this year was used and he should be able to be sent down. Not sure why they would DFA him. It looks like he has only appeared in one game and logged three innings at the ML level this season. That being said, he is not very good looking at the numbers he has put up the last couple of seasons. No reason to bring a guy like that in when we really dont have a good track record of fixing hitters.

I think when they bring him up, he will be in the bullpen and he will be brought in during specific situations that he can succeed in. I think he is trade bait at this point and the Sox are going to keep building his value.

I thought that he only had to go on the 40 man roster, not the 25 man. I thought the only way he would have to pass through waivers would be if he is out of options.