caulfield12

Past tense? Obviously, he's not breaking a story of the signing, but the passive/past voice is a bit jarring here. It's almost too overconfident, or too detached, I'm not sure which. In all likelihood, he's describing the process that got us to think point in the middle of January in the driver's seat for one of the two whales.

The problem is we've never brought back a former player on a HUGE contract...just those "career twilight" or "retire as a White Sox" one year types. With all the bad blood with KW, it's almost impossible to imagine happening, unless JR orders Hahn to try to cut a deal with Sale. Of course, the big problem is it seems insane to offer a six year deal at this point in his career (at $30-35 million per year) because the risk of an injury just seems to be off the charts...and he's barely made it to the end of so many previous seasons.

The White Sox were actually 8th in MLB for quality starts with 74. Probably the only positive stat we were Top 15 in. The Brewers were 26th with 51. The scary part is James Shields had 19. Lopez had 19, Giolito 15, Rodon 11 and Covey 6. Fulmer had 2, Santiago 1 and there must have been a "team" QS that's not individually credited. The difference is the Brewers had at least 7 starters they could count on to hold the game close and get it to the bullpen. We had, at best, 3 reliables, at any given point in the season. Pretty much every week, there were 40% of the starts that were borderline disasters.

From a health standpoint, CF would be the wrong choice. But that's the position that maximizes his value to the team. That said, you'd have to play Palka in RF with our current roster construction, unless we added someone like Adam Jones or Markakis at the last minute.

I guess Gonzalez, Pomeranz or Miley make a lot more sense if we're trying to compete than anything else...that starting rotation has been the biggest weakness, there's Giolito, constant health concerns about Rodon, etc. Ottavino would be NICE, but there's got to be 3-5 other teams who need him more desperately than the White Sox. Marwin Gonzalez just seems like he has the potential to disappoint, but he's not as old as I previously imagined.

Depends on how close it is to a $300 million commitment. If it's closer to $250 (unlikely), they could think about adding another player like Pollock, Marwin Gonzalez, etc. Keuchel's going to be too expensive, unless his market shrinks, which is highly improbable after the big dominoes start to fall. Of course, there's the possibility they go after Harper as well, but the Phillies are certainly going to throw at least $350 million at him, and we already have almost a full team of outfield prospects in the minors.

All we can do it speculate that they're currently somewhere in the $240 to $280 range (probably closer to $240 as their initial offer). Anything less than $30 million per year is simply not going to work, unless the Phillies were to sign Harper for an A-Rod contract in the next couple of weeks. Even then, other teams would probably be attracted to jump back in on Machado if the Phillies were already eliminated as a suitor (which a $340-360 million contract would likely do).

It's too dangerous NOT to. With the new broadcasting rights deal expiring after the 2024 season, the last thing they'd want is to be locked into a Heyward-like contract for another 5 years if the rebuild fails to lead to a consistent winner and their financial flexibility is dramatically decreased at that point. The ideal situation would actually be for Harper or Machado to lead the charge into the post-season, play well enough to opt out but then for the homegrown prospects to also be excelling and to get long-term extensions (around 2021-2022) to replace that singular large contract on the payroll. It also gives them more flexibility about a possible sale of the team in the future.

Pulling their offer to show they're 100% onboard the Harper/Boras train? That sounds like perhaps not the wisest decision...

An opt out after 3 would make a LOT more sense to the Phillies, especially if they fail to get Nola to extend into his 1st free agency year. For the White Sox, 4 is much more critical. That's ONE big advantage the Phillies have here, they really need him THIS year and NEXT, but they might not want to be tied into that contract if things don't go as well as planned or the Braves become a mini-dynasty.

https://www.thegoodphight.com/2019/1/9/18176222/phillies-manny-machado-bryce-harper-this-needs-to-be-over "This needs to be OVAH" (changed for Hawkism) Pretty decent article describing the roller coaster of emotions for Phillies' fans throughout the process...not unlike the situation for Sox fans the past 2 1/2 months.

What is the current status of AI/autonomous piloting? I imagine very few people in the next decade would feel comfortable getting onto a plane without a pilot, but it's quite possible that this will be a realistic option in the future, as long as there's a back-up mechanism for someone on the ground to land a plane with some type of catastrophic technological/communication failure.

The only thing I will say about the Machado market is that the Phillies simply can't afford to around wait forever for Machado to make a decision. They're trying to compete THIS year and NEXT year. They only have Nola for 3 more years, and Arrieta's getting long in the tooth as well. If they don't take advantage of their window (if there is one) now, then the Braves and Nationals will be ahead of them with the Marlins eventually rising on the rebuild and god knows what the Mets are doing (they're at least theoretically INTERESTING). But they're eventually going to have to turn to Plan B if it seems like Machado's not even going to be swayed by a 10-15% premium on what the White Sox are willing to pay. If the Phillies posture like they're going after Moustakas/Gonzalez and Pollock, it might be enough to keep either the White Sox or Phillies from paying north of $300 million...because if the Phillies feel that Machado is solidly in the White Sox camp, they might decide it's much wiser to spread that money around and still reserve their powder for the trade deadline, depending on how things break this season. They also run the risk of making Machado feel like a back-up or secondary option to Harper. Finally, the Nationals have a compelling interest here in retaining Harper, but if the Nationals do pull that off (bringing him back)...it's not a sure thing there will be enough time to react if Philly keeps waiting on the Machado camp to make a firm decision. It's pretty easy to imagine them going from "two birds in the hand" to nothing at all.

The one thing bringing Machado on board (even for just three years) would do is provide some needed credibility in the baseball world...it makes bringing in another stud Free Agent (there's a LONG list) that much easier, if they can just manage to land the first one and create a positive impression. Like most Sox fans though, anything less than 4 doesn't seem ideal...because there's so much uncertainty about 2020 being a competitive year or not, and it's also dependent to an extent on what the Indians and Twins do.

“The Phillies, according to a source, remain optimistic that they will end the offseason with either Harper or Machado on their roster.” I could swear they changed the headline from signing both to at least one at the Philadelphia Enquirer.

Pollock’s like a mini-Harper. Or similar to Eaton, as well. One year of 6.9 fWAR in 2015. The rest of his career, 2.3 2.9 0.5 2.2 and 2.5. Projected at 3.1 for his age 31 season. Basically, because he’s almost never healthy...his average outside of that one year is only 2.1. Nevertheless, it seems he can get at least 4 years for $56-60 million, a contract not too dissimilar from what we gave Melky Cabrera seemingly a decade ago. 5 and $80 seems too high, but we’ll see after Harper and Machado sign (well, at least one of them.) The wisdom of offering that with 7 outfielders in our Top 15 prospects isn’t clear. Only if we brought Pollock, Moustakas/Gonzalez and Grandal onto the roster could we legitimately hope to compete in 2019. "Let's just say if Pollock reaches a point where he'd be willing to accept the offer you've proposed (a one-year, $18 million to $20 million deal), the Braves would have the financial flexibility necessary to complete such a deal," Bowman writes. "But there is certainly plenty of reason to be concerned about the medical history of this outfielder, who fractured his right hand in 2014, fractured his elbow in '16, missed significant time with a groin strain in '17 and missed a portion of last year with a fractured left thumb. "At least two of these injuries (fractured elbow and fractured thumb) were a result of aggressive plays made in the field. Still, even if you're going to say these were freak injuries that likely won't occur again, before making any kind of significant commitment for one year or more, you have to account for the mounting lingering effects." The division-rival Mets had been rumored to be very interested in Pollock earlier in the offseason, but it appears unlikely he'll land in Queens. There have been multiple other clubs linked to Pollock, but possibly due to the fact that fellow outfielder Bryce Harper hasn't yet signed, nothing has materialized to this point. mlb.com

Nationals, Reds, Braves, Cardinals, Padres, Giants, Cubs, Dodgers Those are the most logical mystery teams for Harper.

Of course, the problem with waiting out Harper into February and March is it gives all of MLB more time to rearrange their payroll situations. It also, if Machado “only” signs for $280-300 million...opens things up for franchises who would never consider $350+ million but would be much more comfortable in the $325-335 million range for Harper Not only that, but the final shapes of rosters will be even more apparent as each day passes...if the White Sox don’t sign any other players, Machado’s Miami Sound Machine will turn into the flamingo pink-hued theme song from Miami Vice in terms of Bryce wanting to have anything to do with Hahn’s welcoming committee (but for the wrong free agent). Some other playoff-aspiring team that is getting outmaneuvered on the Tier B free agents will break financial discipline in the weeks before spring training, it seems inevitable. Another obvious point, Hahn can’t afford to dump all those veterans and bring in another set just to appeal to Harper’s camp...”double jeopardy” would set the front office and entire organization up for a year of intense ridicule.

https://sports.yahoo.com/phillies-meeting-bryce-harper-could-183406820.html Latest from Vinnie Duber If the Phillies want to spend that "stupid" money on Machado, why are they meeting with Harper? Rosenthal has a guess: "A contingent from the Phillies' front office is scheduled to meet with Harper in his native Las Vegas on Saturday. If the Phillies' preference is Machado, as some in the industry believe, then the meeting from their perspective might simply be a ploy to drive up the price for the Nationals, a division rival. Harper and Boras, in fact, might be proceeding with the same motivation." Oh really? The White Sox have recently been considered "long shots" on Harper and have, like the Phillies, been reported to be more "in" on Machado, who by everyone's guess is expected to sign before Harper, with Boras likely waiting to ensure his client gets the biggest payday of the offseason. But if the Phillies throw their "stupid" money at Machado and reel him away from the rest of the "Miami Baseball Brotherhood" on the South Side, then does the Harper derby get whittled down to two teams, with the White Sox as one of them?

The Brewers have eight starting pitchers, two dominant relievers...an MVP caliber player in Yelich, plus Cain, Aguilar, Grandal, Shaw and Braun. Even Arcia was really good down the stretch and into the playoffs. That’s much more than a team of middling veterans. Up the middle offensively might be their biggest weakness, and that changes dramatically with Bumgarner and Panik added.

http://www.philly.com/phillies/bryce-harper-phillies-free-agency-mlb-contract-20190113.html Phillies really confident....they will get at least one. Like the line about hiring Machado's gardener. For some reason, they are sure they will offer the most, the overconfidence here a bit strange, but it has been consistently present since the stupid money comment came out. The meeting ended as expected without Harper’s signing a contract, yet there are still ways for both parties to label it a success. Harper met with Middleton, general manager Matt Klentak, and manager Gabe Kapler for a few hours on Saturday afternoon before the Phillies' contingent flew back to Philadelphia. The Phillies, according to a source, remain optimistic that they will end the offseason with either Harper or Machado on their roster. ... The White Sox -- who already this winter acquired Machado’s brother-in-law and workout partner and could be looking to add his gardener - are the Phillies’ stiffest competitor to sign Machado. It would not be wise to ever dismiss the Yankees, but the momentum for Machado to land in the Bronx continued to fade on Friday when the Yankees signed second baseman D.J. Lemahieu. For Machado, it very well could be coming down to the Phillies and White Sox.

Leaks to drive down Harper market...they need Bryce a lot more than Manny.

Basically, this whole process is like Iowa or Iowa State recruiting against the powerhouses in the Big Ten and Big 12. The main difference is we recruited two close friends and have the attractiveness of Chicago on our side, as Richard Justice superbly pointed out with his article on the 7 positive factors that favor the Sox.

Buddy Bell was the worst.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/best-and-worst-moves-of-the-garpax-era-gallery/