caulfield12

Basically, fans can only take the East Coast teams at all seriously at this juncture. That leaves the Dodgers and maybe the Mariners all alone in the West...at least until the Giants decide they're actually a large market team. Maybe the Tigers, at least until they package Skubal for prospects.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/dodgers-have-discussed-tyler-glasnow-in-trade-talks.html

1.1 fWaR is worth just $7-8 million in free agency and very little to the next Sox playoff team. If C.Montgomery Teel and S.Smith don't continue to progress and Meidroth actually leads the team, the rebuild is already in danger of flattening out before it even really gets started. Which puts all the pressure squarely on Braden and that #1 2026 pick. Otoh, Colson and Teel are 2026 All-Stars and both Schultz and Hagen come around and they could really have something. OFC the main unavoidable dilemma is adding that one key impact hitter in FA to put them over the top, in the $125-175 million contract range.

"That leaves one opening for a handful of players. Collins, Perkins and former first-round pick Garrett Mitchell would battle for playing time if they’re all on the roster. The Brewers have speedster Brandon Lockridge as a fifth outfielder and took a flier on Akil Baddoo on a split contract. They all have minor league options, so it’s not necessary to force a trade. There’s enough depth that they’re willing to move someone for help elsewhere on the roster. Rosenthal and Sammon write that Milwaukee could target a relief pitcher with minor league options who’d provide additional flexibility for a team that leans heavily on its bullpen." https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/brewers-open-to-trading-from-outfield-depth.html Not sure the Brewers would go for either Leasure or Taylor to replace Megill (if they do in fact trade him as rumored.) Collins has regression written all over him...and Perkins looks like more of a useful fourth OF but not a regular.

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-2025-2026-free-agents-trades-offseason-transaction-tracker Tigers and now Royals w/ Garcia extension the only ones actually trying to get better at this point.

Reds had the perfect opportunity to sign hometown kid Schwarber and passed. They were one legit middle of the order hitter away. Will probably end up trading Hunter Greene for prospects instead.

I'd check the weather reports ten days in advance....50/50 getting games in that time of the year.

How do you see Getz saving face now unless it means the Sox take the risk of wasting all $20 million going into the regular season with Robert? Is the prospect going to be so amazing it's worth losing 3-4 months of at bats for?

The Great and Mighty Getz Has Spoken

Let's repeat. The NYPost political/opinion conservative bent has nothing at all to do with their sports reporting...which is 100 times more informative and comprehensive than the Trib or Sun-Times now. Each day there are at least three separate original stories on issues of sporting interest, both NY ones and nationally-focused.

This retort from Rosenthal about Sox sending money along came quickly. Probably means $5-7 million, so what was the point of the option in the first place if that's how much they need to send the other way? Is his value even a projected 2 fWAR to other teams...? Or are they going to get back the equivalent useless contract...like an AJ Pollock, after QOing Kimbrel? Sigh.

Has Getz even named Taylor as the closer over Leasure?

In the end, it would have mattered not in the least if Tauchman played last year, or Baldwin. They really never should have brought Baldwin up in the first place the prior year and skipped him over AAA. Sox rush prospect...he inevitably struggles and eventually becomes a utility candidate. Said player never quite gets an extended run of playing time, at least not enough to determine what they actually have in him.

Rangers are reportedly open to trading Seager for a haul, and generally looking to be cutting back on payroll.

Fairbanks might even get three years at this rate. I guess everyone will criticized the Rays, then, for underestimating his potential market/demand?

It's embarrassing just to have to spend this much time discussing V.Capra in the first place...

My Clemente rookie card might just be worth slightly more...or 1968 Ryan. Although 2-3 years ago I atempted to corner the market on ONeil Cruz rookie cards, to no avail.

But Gilbert once threw a no-hitter in the actual, like, major leagues.

Blue Jays Phillies Yankees Mets Red Sox Braves... Baltimore, remains to be seen after Alonso. Likely a trade of position prospects for pitching. Seems everyone else is pulling back on spending.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/phillies-to-sign-bryse-wilson.html

The Blue Jays are in agreement with free agent reliever Tyler Rogers on a three-year, $37MM contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The deal includes an $11MM vesting option for the 2029 season. The signing is still pending a physical.

Because he is the only closer left on the market and approximately six to ten teams still need a closer with Robert Suarez off the board and Luke Weaver the next viable choice. The Tigers are going to run a payroll more than twice where TB is at when all is said and done. At any rate, supply and demand, market forces, etc. The invisible hand or animal spirits. Call it whatever you want. So we can add a third aspect to the ongoing bet/s. Luis Robert is going nowhere before OD without money or prospect/s going along with him to mitigate acquiring team's risk.

So why is he now going to receive $20+ million and two years? Angel Pagan received two years and $20 million at a more advanced age and with much less closing experience. Whereas Fairbanks has 75 saves across the last three years... And Brandon Finnegan just got $19 million for two years with a very spotty record as a closer... It's a different version of the Robert conundrum. Is he actually worth the $20 million salary and sending xyz prospect back in return? Where's anything written about free agency that is exhaustively and objectively informative and yet doesn't provide any interpretation or subjective opinion??? Then why even have a discussion board? If you want to keep arguing that you're right definitively...then all there is to do is WAIT for the signing to be announced and then you can simply apply your own spin/interpretation at that point. "according to Ken Rosenthal no teams had interest in Fairbanks at 1/$11M at the time of the non-tender." So the Rays contacted every team in baseball and offered him in trade for $11 million? Of course not. The Rays would lose leverage in that case....until a team decided they actually needed him when supply/demand forces kicked in, making it more immediate/pressing. Why not just wait until he cost just FA money instead of $11 million AND additional prospects??? By this argument, Luis Robert has very little chance of going anywhere because no teams feel confident he's still a 3+ fWAR player after 2024 and 2025. Unless the White Sox first kick in additional talent or a cash subsidy. JR needs to dump his salary more desperately than other teams want to take the risk of adding him and assuming that full $20 million contract.

https://www.si.com/mlb/rays/onsi/news/mlb-insider-reveals-why-rays-never-traded-pete-fairbanks-in-recent-years Something has obviously changed one month later when the supply of experienced closers has dwindled down to one. The Rays didn’t want to take the risk on Nov. 12 that he might get hurt or not perform and that they might be stuck like the Sox were with Robert for the full season…representing a good chunk of the season’s payroll. That said, they just inked Steven Matz for about the same amount of money and we don’t know if anyone else valued him that highly, either. Matz isn’t even a closer, he’s a LH swingman the Cardinals didn’t want to keep.

https://southsideshowdown.com/white-sox-might-be-priced-out-of-closer-market-after-latest-bullpen-signings