caulfield12

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/

Multiply the thread views by 6 or 7 and you have the total season attendance for 2018.

Pippen's son is the second wave...

As long as Kris Humphries isn't part of the package.

Might sell more tickets than Moustakas and Pollock. Definitely more Instagram likes and followers. Yahoo News would have at least 2~3 stories on the Sox per week.

Kyle Murray

They are just going to dump Turner? He's the heart and soul of that team, in many ways.

What would the consensus SoxTalk results be for the Fulmer, Collins, Burdi and Burger picks? Couldn't be much worse. That's also on Hostetler....unless you buy into the storyline that Hahn was forced into Shields and Burdi from on high to compete in 2016 without significantly adding to payroll.

How many successful teams haven't been able to buy out at least 1~2 years of free agency with 3 or more of their younger players?

Would any of them get similar or higher positions with other MLB or NBA teams? At one point, the Blue Jays wanted Williams, although it might have been a ploy to move up higher in the Sox hierarchy.

Basically the exact same thing we’re hearing about the Sox, minus the stupid money quote... Philadelphia is right to court Machado and Harper hard because coming out of this winter without either of them would be a disappointment. With stupid money to spend there’s no reason one of these superstars shouldn’t end up in Phillies pinstripes. If the Phillies do land Harper they could use one of their young outfielders as trade bait for a left-handed pitcher. They could also sign Mike Moustakas to replace Maikel Franco at third and swap Franco to a team like the Padres, who have wanted him for years. Should Machado sign with Philadelphia another outfielder such as A.J. Pollock could be signed. Franco would more than likely be moved to make room for Machado at third base. Buckle up, because the next week could be very interesting for the Phillies.

https://thatballsouttahere.com/2019/01/12/phillies-rumor-team-las-vegas-courting-bryce-harper-today/ Looks like more plane-stalking...regarding the Harper meetings in LV.

Guess the next big news to hit today will be any hints from the Boras camp...then the Phillies’ fans can be down in the dumps when no contract is signed. Although at this point, I guess we’re 50% rooting for Harper to sign with Philly, right?

I’m not sure how well those talking points will go over at SoxFest if they end up getting shut out.

This whole idea of magical presentations winning over players/agents....well, it might have worked with Luis Robert, but it still comes down to opening the checkbook.

Or the Theranos board meeting before the WSJ story hit...