JUSTgottaBELIEVE

No one wants to hear it but I’m a firm believer Machado was juicing. In fact, I believe more than half that Orioles team was. My fear was always that once Machado got paid, his offense would fall off (because who needs the juice when you’ve got $300M in the bank or in the case of Chris Davis $161M in the bank)

And you’re not? Lol.

And we’re not willing to pay Odorizzi a Lance Lynn type contract after he’s been “good” (even though he’s basically been the same pitcher his entire career high 3s, low 4s ERA) but we’re totally willing to hand out a $300M contract for a guy with questionable character traits coming off a career year and 2/6 of his full seasons prior to signing resulted in less than 3 fWAR?

You really think Wheeler gets $140M?? I say not a chance. Regarding Machado, if he’s putting together 3-3.5 fWAR/season during his “prime”, what’s he going to be doing in his 30s a few years from now?

Cole makes too much sense for this team. An even better fit than Machado given the uncertainty of the rotation next season (and beyond). Unfortunately, Jerry won’t spend the money for a stud like that, just like he was never going to spend the money for Machado Or Harper. So we’re left with some combination of Odorizzi, Ryu, Bumgarner, Wheeler, Strasburg. I’d gladly take two of those even if it’s the lower end guys like Odorizzi and Wheeler.

Gerrit Cole

I wanted the money spent just like everyone else (still do) but I wanted it spent on Harper, not Machado. He was always a much better fit for this team imo. I never understood why people thought Machado was the better fit when infield position players is the one relative strength of this team now and for the foreseeable future. RF is a gaping hole and a middle of the order, high on base, power lefty bat is so dearly missing right now.

I believe Machado posts ~10 fWAR his first 3 years of the deal, ~10 fWAR the next 5 years, and then ~2 fWAR the last 2 years. I believe Madrigal will be in the 18-22 fWAR range over his first 7 seasons. Again, just my opinion. So far Manny and his 110 wRC+ is making me look good.

What’s he at this year? 18th out of 23 qualified 3b in fWAR. I don’t know about you but totally seems worth $300M to me ?

So is paying $300M for a guy that will be lucky to produce 25 WAR over the course of his contract.

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Madrigal accumulated a higher WAR than Machado over the next 7 seasons (starting next year).

Not hindsight. I said this 6 months ago. Harper was the perfect fit. Lefty power, high on base guy that you can plug into the middle of the order and the Sox have no clear internal option for RF.

109 wRC+, on pace for 3.3 fWAR in one of his “prime” seasons. That’s pretty ordinary if you ask me. The second half of that 10 year deal is going to be downright ugly. I’m glad they have the $250M available to address many of the numerous holes still present on the MLB roster. Infield is one of the few strengths on the roster. Use the money to upgrade RF and pitching, pitching, and more pitching.

Remind me again, what was the point of breaking camp this year with Tatis on the MLB roster? He becomes a free agent just one year after Moncada.

His numbers since the demotion are bonkers. If he can sustain anywhere near that, he’s one of the top offensive catchers in the game.

The possibility of Collins developing into a young Brian McCann type offensive force would be a huge shot in the arm for this rebuild.

2 years/$24M, who says no to that offer Sox or Abreu?

If you’re worried about Vaughn’s minor league performance thus far, you’d be having a panic attack with what Rutschman has done thus far.

Damn, I wish Bryce was wearing a Sox uni

I’m willing to pay him 2 years at $12M AAV because I believe there is still upside in his bat and what better options do the Sox have?

He’s a career 859 OPS so it wouldn’t be shocking to see him in the 835-850 next season. Most people thought Paulie was done at a similar age back in 2008.

I agree. But a good base runner, solid defensive 1b that posts 800 OPS is better than ok. That’s quite good in fact. Abreu is best served as a DH but needs to be in the mid 800s to be valuable as a full time DH.

Balta said a 1b with a 800ish OPS is “ok” with good baserunning, and solid defense. My point is that’s much better than “ok.” That’s likely a 3-4 WAR player and that type of player is worth a lot on the open market even if they are 31 years old. Btw, Machado is down to 110 wRC+ this season, pretty much in line with Abreu. The only thing separating him is defensive value. Abreu hitting like he is with good baserunning and solid defense would be a very valuable player. Not $300M valuable even if he were 26/27 years old (Manny isn’t worth that either) but still valuable nonetheless.

Or New York

Forget good baserunning even... A 3b with a 800ish OPS paired with very good defense and below average base running is worth $300M on the open market (the average OPS for 3b league wide is nearly identical to 1b this season btw).