caulfield12

Successfully? Well, it’s unlikely to improve with Vizquel gone.

It wasn’t even half...but I guess ten’s of random Twitter screen shots of supposed “insiders” is also cause of unabated excitement. Of course, almost everyone now claims to be an insider of some sort. It’s just that only 5-10% are actually accurate, which in all likelihood is worse than even weather forecasters.

As 26th man, he better improve his “steal on demand” in late innings capability.

Reddick sucks...but at $8-9 million, who knows between him and Calhoun who’s the better value. Of course, in that case of a subsidy from Houston, we’re going to have to surrenders some second/third tier prospects like Burdi, Fulmer and Hansen.

As noted previously, Pederson at least gives you positional flexibility to stick him in CF preventing (hopefully) more Engel appearances.

Reddick is still under contract with Astros, $13 million...so money would be coming over with him from Houston, at least $3-4, touching $5 million. Dickerson, Nimmo and Scooter Gennett shout-outs.

Polanco/Reddick the other lower cost options to acquire due to contract...Benintendi, probably not AS cheap as previously imagined. Calhoun still the likeliest individual FA name.

Sweaty Freddy Garcia 2005 AL Central Division champs version? Still have mine, although the heat transfer press on is quickly losing its luster. Josh Donaldson is next predicted big-name signing, fwiw. Wheeler is the next listed. Zack Wheeler, RHP, age 29 There is a sentiment in the industry that he could sign as early as the Winter Meetings. He’s drawing broad interest, from the Phillies, White Sox, Twins, Padres and Angels, among others. MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthal recently reported that the Reds are also pursuing Wheeler. Wheeler didn’t pitch in the Majors during the 2015 and ’16 seasons, while undergoing (and recovering from) Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. He also missed time this year due to shoulder fatigue. Because of those factors, it’s unclear whether clubs will be comfortable offering a contract of five guaranteed years. That said, over the past two years he is 12th in MLB with a total of 377 2/3 innings pitched, which should put some of the concerns about his durability to rest. And his combined 8.9 WAR during that stretch (per FanGraphs) ranks ninth, ahead of former Mets teammate Noah Syndergaard (8.5) and even Strasburg (8.1). Wheeler will be less expensive to sign than Strasburg or Cole, so he appeals to teams -- like the White Sox, Angels and Padres -- that want to preserve resources to pursue offensive upgrades as well. https://www.mlb.com/news/next-mlb-free-agent-to-sign?partnerId=zh-20191127-156907-47943&query_id=1026&bt_ee=anG01a33VbOatev%2FEUXlgwRRFvds0mG%2BwzvgATKPsCGnqjeZp1AUTYdcQzWH%2B4oI&bt_ts=1574857937186 So it’s Phillies, Padres, Mets (low probability), Reds on NL side, Twins, Yankees, Astros, Angels, White Sox in AL. Up to nine total teams mentioned so far.

I do think a player with 2-3 years of arbitration control...either a pitcher or RF, or both...are realistic. Maybe just not some of the high-profile names we’re currently imagining, at least on the pitching side. Of course, if we miss out on Wheeler, all bets are off.

And trade half our system away in the process without having long-term control of either...?

Not in China. Working day like normal in a British/Cambridge/CIE international school. In fact, students are just getting their notifications about Oxford and Cambridge interviews and booking flights to Heathrow between next week and X-Mas.

Mike Cameron definitely coming out of retirement to play with his son on the Tigers and face Parque Margarine 4-5 times...

Since nothing actually happened... https://sports.yahoo.com/much-might-zack-wheeler-cost-185142660.html Wheeler won't command the same kind of gargantuan deals that Cole and Strasburg end up signing. But he won't come cheap, either. The White Sox just gave out the richest deal in franchise history when they signed Yasmani Grandal to a four-year contract last week. They might need to break that record in order to land Wheeler. Would they? Historically, they haven't rushed to hand out lengthy contracts to starting pitchers, and while Rick Hahn has been keen on smashing any and every preconceived notion about his team he can find - the idea the White Sox aren't willing to spend fell by the wayside with the Grandal deal - he acknowledged why any team might be hesitant to sign starting pitchers to such contracts. He also kept with his theme of the offseason, suggesting actions speak louder than words, as well as keeping the door open to every kind of move. "With all these moves, free-agent moves, specifically with pitching, it's going to come down to pricing and what's accessible and what's the price and what level of risk we're willing to bear," Hahn said during the GM meetings earlier this month in Arizona. "There's a heightened level of risk with free-agent starting-pitching signings. It's just the nature of the category. "But anything I say right now about ‘we're willing to do X' or ‘you'll see us do this,' it's meaningless until we actually do it. So if we actually go out and convert on a free-agent pitching target, we'll talk about how we wound up with the term and why." ..... The Nathan Eovaldi deal with Boston was their comp in season. I believe that was four (years) and $68 million. I believe at this point, given where the pitching market is at, Wheeler's bar is going to be raised from that quite a bit," Martino said. "If you're not getting Gerrit Cole, I don't know where you turn for a potentially really high-end guy other than Wheeler. So I think he could get into the $100 million territory at this point, based on the way the market's going. "I don't think it will eliminate competition overall for him because there's a lot of teams that need pitching and want an upgrade, whether it's the White Sox, the Reds, the Angels, the Padres. And these are teams that sometimes have been having trouble convincing players to take their money. So they've got checks to write, it's just a matter of where's Wheeler going to choose. "So I do think it will continue to be a robust market, even at a pretty high number for a guy who's really good but doesn't have a super long track record." https://fansided.com/2019/11/26/twins-whatever-it-takes-sign-zack-wheeler/ https://fansided.com/2019/11/25/five-most-likely-landing-spots-zack-wheeler/5/ Wheeler listed as #1 likelihood to end up signing with White Sox, Reds 5th, Mets 4th, Astros 3rd, Yankees 2nd. No Angels or Twins. Padres. Not sure where the idea about Angels or Padres not being able to land premiere free agents is coming from...since the Angels won the Ohtani sweepstakes, after all.

Jacoby Ellsbury/Yankees, anyone? PETA? DEA if they pluralized it accidentally... Anything to dump that contract and free up another $10ish million.

Do we really need three Wheeler threads? With “We’re Back” it almost reads like four, if someone just popped in here casually.

Keuchel seems like he would be an absolute disaster in the heart of the summer at GRF...I know Atlanta has even more dramatic weather from June-August, but really want nothing to do with him unless the price is an absolute bargain...and there's too many other teams looking for pitching for that to occur, realistically.

If Robert/Moncada WERE to sign extensions (and they would go well beyond the end of Abreu's Sox career, in all likelihood)....or ANOTHER Cuban free agent were to come on board, then it starts to make a lot more sense. We can always imagine that Grandal would have beeen much more comfortable knowing that 3 year deal was almost finalized for Abreu, rather than anticipating his imminent departure as soon as he joined the team...even as early as the trade deadline. That has to be at least one significant aspect of all this.

Four guys doesn't include Hamels? It feels like even Hamels (coming off his rebound season in 2019) is going to get close to $13-15 million, or maybe more...and for that price, I'd rather sign two more versatile Drew Pomeranz's. Just have a feeling, like with Bumgarner...that Hamels would be a much better fit in the NL.

I'm sure it means the White Sox, unless he's a closet Cleveland Indians' fan holding out hope they can keep it together for the next two seasons before they're forced to trade Lindor and/or Jose Ramirez.

Other than the Mauer contract, I can't recall in the last 20 years the Twins breaking the bank for anyone. They're even more "penurious" than the White Sox, typically. Mauer was $184 million, and that practically tanked the franchise....well, maybe not for a decade, but 2011-2016 were really BLEAK years for Twins' fans. Let's not forget that the Twins were one of the top bidders for Yu Darvish before he picked the Cubs. http://www.startribune.com/twins-definitely-could-use-a-big-free-agent-but-history-shows-the-perils/563300722/ Left brain: Most of the biggest contracts in baseball history were busts, or disappointments. The biggest contract in Twins history — the $184 million Joe Mauer signed for — contributed to a near-decade team slump. The Twins should never weigh themselves down with that kind of contract again. Right brain: Imagine what one great pitcher could do for a team that won 101 games without a true ace. Imagine facing the Yankees with someone like Gerrit Cole pitching Game 1, followed by Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi. LB: That’s the thing about free-agent spending — it always sounds good at the time. Remember: The conventional wisdom surrounding Mauer was that the Twins couldn’t afford to not sign him. They would have looked cheap and shortsighted. Then they signed him, and looked foolish and shortsighted. Last winter, the Phillies and Padres spent a combined $630 million on Bryce Harper and Manny Machado and missed the playoffs; Harper’s old team, the Nationals, made it to the World Series. Craig Kimbrel, the most accomplished closer on the market, signed midseason with the Cubs, who missed the playoffs. The 11 biggest contracts in MLB history have combined to win one World Series while the player was under that contract — in 2009, when Alex Rodriguez won a ring with the Yankees. The Los Angeles Dodgers outspend almost everyone and haven’t won a title since 1988. The Yankees have won one since 2000. RB: All true. So is this: The four teams that made it to the League Championship Series this year ranked in the top eight in payroll. The Nationals made it to the World Series without Harper, in part, because they spent big on Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin in free agency. And Harper and Machado could still prove valuable if they can elevate their franchises in the future. RB: But you’ve got to try, and the Twins could win it all with the right addition. Why don’t the Pohlads just spend more? LB: They’re businesspeople. They have invested heavily in growing the front office and analytics department, they pay their people well, they invest their own money in keeping Target Field among the best sports venues in the world, and they generally spend when their general manager asks them to. Their GMs know that if they spend the wrong amount on the wrong player, they’re putting their job on the line. Successful businesspeople don’t make a habit out of losing money or spending recklessly. RB: As owners who received public funding for their ballpark and thus have had the value of their franchise increased, don’t they owe it to the public to do everything they can to win? LB: Yes. The question is whether spending hundreds of millions on fragile assets is the best way to win. RB: I’m sick of you sticking up for billionaires. LB: I’m sick of your unwillingness to accept the way the real world works. RB: Let’s go back to not talking to each other.

The biggest concern is whether Collins can maintain his offensive rhythm without regular playing time...that said, if he's facing mostly favorable pitching match-ups (and almost no LHP), it will allow him to build up some confidence, not unlike how Ozzie protected Viciedo against tough RHP before his first (and best) full season in 2012.

Except we don't know that, 100%. We just know that it's open to being renegotiated in five year's time. One can make two assumptions...that the deal is fronting them more money than past ratings would merit (allowing the White Sox to significantly increase payroll?), investing in creating a better entertainment product from 2020-24, or; NBC Universal wants the protection on the back end of the deal that if the rebuild is a flop, they're not stuck paying the White Sox above-market rates over 20-25 years for a team that's put together some of the worst 2-3 year local ratings since the Astros in the beginning of their rebuild.

Don’t think he would be happy in the AL game, giving up his hitting and seems very comfortable on the West Coast.

Usain Bolt is still unsigned after his aborted soccer career. Could take down Dyson and Gore as designated PR’s like Rodney McCray back in the day. With the extra roster spot, you can actually consider it...as a late innings weapon.

I’m not one of the Millennials, but would guess it means that Madrigal used his boyish good looks and earnest charisma to swoop in and steal your gf or wife away. Although the addition of the literal man part sounds a bit aggressive/assertive. So everyone will clap back and break the Internet like a recent Liz Hurley or Salma Hayek bikini post. Before men had the VS Fashion Show. Now, there is only this. The last bastion of civilization.