caulfield12

Yikes, Moncada. About time to wake up. At least Jimenez looks nothing like his 2021 post injury form, and Robert playing like an MBP favorite already.

Capitalistic algorithms! They're so annoying in style/structure haven’t even once looked at what the ads were actually promoting.

Engel hitting clean-up? Are we trading him, too? Showcase of health?

He’s going to argue the recent extension…and his influence bringing Robert into the fold as well.

Too early to call Pollock a success. Psychologically, just getting Kimbrel away from the Sox, maybe that aspect of it.

Any team winning without Acuna and Ozuna…by definition, there’s going to be luck involved. It’s just that the Braves have/had that proven track record as a franchise ever since the 90’s. We have just 2005 and the first half of 2006 where everything went right…but 2000-2012, in general. Still, if you look at all those rebuilds (including the Braves), they all have done better than the Sox in the June draft (can re-argue Cubs vs. Sox) and Latin America, in general.

They wanted guys who miss bats, so Gray/Archer was clearly a step up from Happ and Shoemaker. Which pairing Cueto belongs with is certainly up for debate.

Hosmer, I mean

Except Lynn is now unsurprisingly hurt and Grandal was last year. Those are fine, albeit quite expensive and not the Braves under the radar moves. That would be more like a McCann or Narvaez acquisition. We shall see soon enough with the veteran relievers, Pollock and Harrison...how much they actually have left in the tank. Finally, David Robertson was fine, but paid like a truly elite closer when he wasn't quite that in reality.

How much would the Dodgers have to pay as a subsidy for Sox fans to countenance that? I bet the number for tolerating Bauer would have ticked up considerably in the last 7-10 days. Might as well add Matt Harvey for more unimpeachable character guys.

The White Sox won't agree to take $30 million and pay Hosmer $30 million when they already have five 1B/DH types on the roster. Myers is a nonstarter with Pollock. But he's left handed at least, lol.

The only player/s they would possibly want would be Vaughn/Sheets for 1B/DH if they can somehow jettison Hosmer. Voit's there as well now. I can just imagine the outcry if it was Vaughn dealt...

LOL. What gives anyone a reason to believe Rick Hahn will execute the right moves for veterans like that when he hasn't succeeded with eight (from your Braves 2021 list) total in over a decade?

Wouldn't be shocked if SD held on to Manaea and gave up on Paddack...who still has value attached due to his years of control and perceived upside with a change of scenery. Fwiw, Gore got rocked and really looked rattled yesterday...not sure he ever reaches his lofty expectations with SD. Lefties are like that. Late bloomers.

Balta was obviously one. We were already comparing with Semien at that point. (Better not get too confident...one of the mods is due for the IL too with the way this last week or so has unfolded.)

Other than the Astros, who they also had a surprising "earlier than expected breakthrough season"...the Cubs and Royals both peaked in Years 1-3 of their contention windows. KC actually had just two, but 98% of Sox fans would trade two World Series in 2022-23 for five to seven consecutive divisions without advancing. If there's such a thing as due...this should be the year if they want to keep the train on the tracks.

The White Sox, who drafted him originally.

Pitcher of the Month? Hard to do that starting from ground zero building his arm load/capacity up in that amount of time.

How do you explain Narvaez and McCann...those would rank in the Top 5-6 of a generation of Hahn finds.

You're still left with 33 fWAR from Bryant, plus meaningful contributions from Schwarber, Happ and Cease. Measured against Vaughn, Madrigal, Crochet, Sheets and Burger. Vaughn has to be close to a super star.

It all depends if you count Rodon as a rebuild draft pick. He was drafted while they were still going with the stars and scrubs approach to team building. That's 33 fWAR that would have to come from Vaughn, Sheets, Burger and Crochet. Obviously that requires Vaughn being a Top 3-5 AL 1B and then some. More like JD Martinez, Manny Ramirez or prime Nelson Cruz.

Most of the national sports headlines are saying mid May return, fwiw.

I simply said Crochet was not on the active roster. That's inarguable, and Balta has already pointed out the uphill battle he faces to get to 10 fWAR if everything goes absolutely perfectly the rest of his Sox career. Last time I checked, Happ was healthy. At any rate, we definitely don't want to compare the Royals and especially the Astros w/ Sox drafts. Kris Bryant's production alone likely eclipses all the contributions from Sox rebuild draft picks.

Taking Abrams over Vaughn would have been ballsy, but it remains a mystery why we haven't gone after athletes who can play CF, middle infield and catcher after all the success with Tim Anderson. Collins was one of the most unathletic catchers in recent memory. Madrigal was always going to have physical limitations. Same with Vaughn and Sheets. It's almost like they are totally reliant on Cubans and Anderson to supply athleticism...now it's Colas and Cespedes. Hopefully Montgomery is the next Corey Seager, but that's a huge ask out of him.

I should have given them credit for Rizzo and Contreras as well. Almora was clearly a bust. Schwarber and Cease became quite valuable for different reasons. In some ways, the jury is still out on Ian Happ. Pierce Johnson has been a serviceable reliever. The White Sox just as easily could have spent $15 million on any FA RFer, still had Madrigal and saved $5.5 million on Harrison. It remains to seen with Pollock, but Friedman knows what he's doing in LA. For all the mentions of Bellinger, he was never a realistic possibility for numerous reasons. With the Rays, he had an uncanny knack for moving players one year early instead of one year too late.