caulfield12

Isn't Tanaka either deciding between the Yankees for 1-2 years and going back to Japan on a rich 3-4 year deal to finish his career there?

Extending Lynn seems to be "nice dream," especially if they're pretty sure Giolito isn't amenable to the good 'ol hometown discount...but not putting money into the back of the rotation when it's clearly the biggest area of uncertainty or volatility and you already had one of the better bullpens in the league with the addition of Crochet, well, we'll just have to wait and see I guess.

Can Hector at least confirm that Cruz is in the DR?

Between guns/violence, the state of K-12 public education (along with rising university costs), social inequality/disparity, climate change/environment and fixing ObamaCare, as well as our ailing/aging public infrastructure, Covid-19, institutional racism, police reform...we've got a ton of issues to address. Right now, everything in the US pretty much comes with a caveat, YES, BUT...

Cruz or Odorizzi just make too much sense. Take away from the Twins, simultaneously add to the White Sox probability of winning the division.

Vaughn is one of the top rated prospects in baseball, and he's a HUGE need for Milwaukee right now. Most importantly, he's going to be cheap for his first four years. And Heuer solidifies that bullpen if they trade Hader. The fact of the matter is that Kopech and Crochet give you so many different possible outcomes in terms of innings pitched. At the very least, Lopez seems to have a rubber arm and is a decent change of scenery candidate if there ever was one.

Obviously, Milwaukee would ask for Cease (first), assuming Kopech/Crochet were off the table. The question is whether or not they would settle for Lopez, especially with his salary about to start rising. It's simply that there's is almost zero likelihood of trading Kopech or Crochet, so those two would be the most likely to go...and, all indications this offseason are that the Sox feel very confident about Cease being able to turn things around with a new pitching coach and approach.

So no Kyle Lewis, either?

If you're willing to go Vaughn, Lopez/Cease and Heuer...you might have a deal. It all depends on how highly Milwaukee scouts value those two pitchers (as opposed to Kopech/Crochet.) That said, would still prefer to go just Cruz and Richards and give the youngsters another year to define themselves. Don't need to make an "all in" move just yet...at least until the trade deadline. Of course, that means another $25 million or so in spending, so not counting on BOTH those guys. But at least ONE would be nice.

Milwaukee's going to need at least ONE pitcher who can compete this year if they're dreaming of staying in the NL Central race. Houser can be really good, but Lindbloom and Lauer is shaky as it gets as a 4/5 on a playoff-competitive team. At the very least, it would have to be Lopez/Cease and Vaughn (and perhaps one more piece.)

Otoh, believing America is great as is and still isn’t in need of significant improvement is what led to the last five years. One side, trying to preserve the 1950’s, the other embracing a more diverse culture representative of all Americans. If you’re a woman, minority, immigrant, non-Christian, LGBTQ...maybe America hasn’t been so great. In fact, we’re having an argument today about no longer referring to immigrants as “aliens,” and, when you imagine being referred to in that way, you perhaps wouldn’t feel very welcome, either.

Colombia is a beautiful country with great, welcoming people, and I feel much safer there than in certain areas of Chicago. I certainly feel the very worst that will happen to a tourist these days is robbery or kidnapping, because there’s so much more focus on what happens to tourists there than, say, Thailand, which has one of the higher tourist homicide rates as well as road death rates. Colombia is safer than Costa Rica and even Panama, two of the more trendy retirement destinations the last 20 years or so. Putting it in comparison to Somalia doesn’t make sense. Pretty much all of the Asian 2nd/3rd world countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia have done a much better job with Covid-19...or Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, because they all treat masking much more seriously after SARS. Otoh, Brazil, India and Mexico haven’t fared very well at all...

Best of the remaining options, after Odorizzi: Paxton 1/$10 Taijuan Walker 2/$16 Richards 2/$16 Wainright 1/$6 Porcello 1/$5 Hamels 1/$5 C.Archer 1/$4 Btw, MLB Trade Rumors had Springer to the White Sox, 5/$125...pretty damned close, except the White Sox aspect.

Sure, but these are the White Sox, so we always have to be pragmatic/realistic, right? And we can cite examples like Abreu, Luis Robert, Hendriks, David Robertson, Yasmani Grandal, Adam Dunn...of the team's willingness to spend. If that fails, "coming close" to signing Torii Hunter, Tanaka, Manny Machado or Alex Gordon, lol.

This is how you end up with a bloated payroll, overpaying for veterans, especially at positions like DH and 1B. And Ozuna would play LF, relegating Jimenez to DH probably before you really want to give up on him as at least a semi-competent fielder. Just not a big fan of overspending for past production in free agency...let someone else give a Brantley+ contract to Ozuna. Vaughn's cheap production his first 3-4 years with the White Sox will offset giving someone like Giolito an extension. It's possible that ship has already sailed, or will with another fine year from Lucas. But at least you have the flexibility to spend it on another starting pitcher, as offense isn't our most critical need at the moment.

This whole thing never made much sense. It was just an offshoot of the annual rumors over the last 2-3 off seasons about maximizing a return for Hader before 1) he became too expensive, or 2) his arm/shoulder/elbow wore out. That and the fact we've traded something like 4-5 veteran middle relievers and Saladino meant some type of partnership was plausible or reasonable. Not unlike the same concern Sox fans had for years about Chris Sale...which were finally realized with the Carmines.

That doesn't quite seem like an accurate description of how that Milwaukee front office and ownership group works together...it would certainly be worthwhile to look into if the White Sox were willing to overpay, but how often does that happen these days when there's even more of an emphasis or focus on younger, cost-controlled players in their first 3-4 seasons.

Or Jermaine Dye for Homer Bailey...

Sign Richards, keep looking at veteran catching options (plus defenders) and scouring the bargain bins for our own version of Steve Pearce to add to the DH mix.

He's unlikely to be a difference maker. Too many options out there with more dominant stuff. A decade ago, he would have had a place.

You agree to centerpieces or at least the pool of them to choose from first... like the Sale deal with Moncada, Devers and possibly Benintendi. Going backwards doesn't make much sense.

Burdi or vet waived in ST.

The Brewers don't have a pressing need for any of those players in 2021. None of them are going to be in the top five asks, which would be Vaughn, Kopech, Cease, Crochet and Lopez.

But Narvaez's defensive stats improved appreciably when he first went over to Seattle. Urias hasn't hit yet, but is a former Top 25-30 MiLB prospect, they're not suddenly going to trade one of their best assets (Burnes) for another player with a seemingly limited ceiling. Swapping out Avi and Cain for JBJ and Mazara simply treads water...perhaps they can shave $5-10 off payroll, but the Brewers aren't going to do that because they're not in desperate financial straits.

If you have $20-25 million extra to spend on payroll, sure...all things considered, they're better off waiting to see the progress of Vaughn/Cease/Crochet/Kopech and making a deal for additional help at the deadline. They also have a lot less to worry about with the Indians rebuilding, once again. And who knows, maybe Lopez can figure things out with a new pitching coach and reset to his approach.