caulfield12

What's going to be really hard to swallow is if Anthony and Campbell are complete studs in Boston and Mayer at least ends up as a 3-4 fWAR SS for 6-7 seasons. I'm thinking with Quero already in place...Raffaela might have been the more interesting choice, since we still don't have a plus SS, while Boston has two plus Story...who is more of a 2B at this point. Meidroth looks good on paper...BUT maybe like Madrigal, the reality of him will come up short at the big league level. Or simply Mayer and Montgomery/Abreu with no third piece. But you have to roll the dive on Braden's potential, ceiling not reached and the 2027-28 start of theoretically competitive window. Raffaela Duran Abreu all moves for "win now" teams https://www.fangraphs.com/players/jarren-duran/24617/stats?position=OF Duran had 2.0 fWAR combined for three years and then exploded to 6.7. 2.5 previous year...weren't going to trade him unless even the Red Sox didn't buy into a repeat. Raffaela is 24 and closer to Sox timeline but God knows if his offense ever matches the defensive profile. He will start season in CF apparently. David Hamilton (too old for White Sox) will start at 2B and quickly get pushed out by Campbell...Trevor Story hasn't been healthy for three years but will start season at short.

Would the Titans really take Abdul Carter over Ward (looking at latest ESPN mock)? ThE NFL is such a QB-centric league now...and everyone now knows Levis isn't the guy, except for soup commercials. Also, Deion Sanders' son and Raiders/Brady (#6) will be quite interesting to watch lol. Probably will end up leaving Colorado for Vegas after this upcoming NCAAF season. Depends what type of offense he has without his son, transfer QB and no Travis Hunter.

With a tv deal generating under $10 million compared to $67-72 million previously...maybe if they weren't classified as a large market team and getting an additional $75-100 million from the league like the Pirates or A's. They were only at $277 million in Forbes revenues...right there with the A's at the bottom. Obviously season tickets and corporate sponsorships/promotional partners must be way way down...so the only offset is the national media contract split and controlling all their own parking concessions souvenirs, especially Sox hat sales around the world.

They treated Doncic like he was coming out of the White Sox organization and totally out of control in terms of personal life, not taking coaching advice, unwilling to play defense since Kyrie has never been especially declined to defend. Or like he was Sean Kemp and uber talented but completely toxic. That's a huge risk that nobody in a new organization like a Pat Riley will be able to get him to toe the company line.

The argument last year is that nobody was giving out the type of Top 50 trade packages in position prospects...certainly at the deadline. Other than LAD and Boston, who has/had the requisite 2 studs on the position player side that trade would have entailed...with a lighter third piece? It doesn't work with MN because they still would have held onto Jenkins since the financial consequences of the Robert deal are/were harder for them to digest. E.Rodriguez and Keachsall weren't quite there yet as stud prospects. You'd have to look at the Top 100 a year ago...but hindsight is always 20/20. Mariners wouldn't have needed him for CF. Reds? Rays too cash-strapped...although they gave Kim their biggest deal weeks ago. Campbell didn't exist a year ago for Boston...Anthony and Mayer? Of course they didn't know the seasons Duran and Raffaela would have at that point. Cubs/Sox deals always complicated...and a year ago they had Bellinger coming off an MVP votes season.

They're going to eat how much left on his contract? Without Tucker...it really doesn't matter who the manager is for 2026. For who? Vogt? No way Ricketts eats $24 million...and the majority of Cubs fans realistically believe the owner is more responsible than the GM here, not unlike the situation in St. Louis right now.

Remember...Getz was going to turn things around immediately, no time could be wasted. Trading Robert and not being able to sell the fanbase the illusion oin instant competitiveness with a new manager coming in would have made JR look like a con man. And then his value would have still taken a hit...we're not the Rays. We don't sell high and get the timing right traditionally. Everyone would have assumed there was some issue with Robert to suddenly want to trade him after a year like that. Not to mention Getz couldn't have KNOWN Crochet would have that type of season and relieve some of the pressure on stocking the farm without a #1-2-3 pick in 2025 as well. Cease is a Top 5-10 pitcher in baseball by fWAR. Huge discrepancy in valuations between the two systems. In fact, Cease is number 5 there and only trails the likes of Sale Skubal Wheeler Ragans. Fedde is #17. Still ToR numbers but not accorded that respect or value in just 3-4 months back in the big leagues.

I would argue they look at the offense more like end of 2023...Wallner #9 RFer, healthy Buxton, healthy Correa, productive Miranda like last year, Royce Lewis healthy and productive, they have a formidable core group of guys there. Rotation is so so. Jeffers and Vazquez fell off a cliff in second half. Wild cards in Brooks Lee and Larnach. Lee had a ton of hype but didn't hit. Willi Castro an average SS. That's why a young starter (SWR or Matthews) and Larnach/Castro for Cease makes sense for both Twins and Padres because payroll numbers cancel out. SD covers LF, Bogaerts back to 2B and Castro much better at SS. Brooks shifts back to SS with Keachsall at 2B coming off surgery. Or Julien at second with his terrible defense but potent bat. Kiriloff retiring from baseball hurts their depth, Kepler is finally gone too.

https://www.si.com/mlb/twins/minnesota-twins-news/pecota-projections-have-twins-as-clear-favorites-in-al-central-in-2025-01jk6gg269mk&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwir8LW2jamLAxUdJ0QIHfulB2oQFnoECAAQAw&usg=AOvVaw3JLwlHOBvPb9AbIp0cbPBI And they have a bullpen, led by Griffix Jax and Jhoan Duran, that a different projection system believes is the best in baseball. If the Twins can stay relatively healthy in 2025, they should have a pretty good chance to win a weak division and return to the postseason.

https://www.mlb.com/news/ranking-mlb-world-series-rematches-for-2025

Can just imagine all the screaming if Judkins Henderson Hampton or Caleb Johnson end up with Chiefs. Guess it depends on how Hunt and Pacheco look in the SB...Hunt getting close to 30 a death sentence these days for primary backs unless third down guys like Austin Ekeler.

Getz is like a stock broker from twenty years ago paid for every transaction to churn the roster and chase returns but actually nothing seems to be changing except the Crochet and Giolito moves...still nothing to show for Burger/Vaughn/Madrigal.

Reds and Red Sox actually trying this year and not that fat off...Cubs are getting way too much love as well. SF Detroit CLE fans must not be too happy either. I would take Reds/Francona with those odds.

"As a prospect in the Mariners and White Sox systems, DeLoach was well-regarded not because of any standout individual tool but because he possessed average — or close to it — tools across the board. He’s an above-average runner who swiped 20 bags in 2024 and popped 23 homers in 2023. He walks in well over 10% of his plate appearances but has also fanned in more than a quarter of his plate appearances the past two seasons. DeLoach has experience at all three outfield spots. He can handle center in a pinch but is best suited in left field." mlbtraderumors.com

https://global.espn.com/nfl/draft2025/insider/story/_/id/43666616/2025-nfl-mock-draft-two-rounds-64-picks-matt-miller-senior-bowl

Minus the hype of being the best RH prep pitching prospect in the game...

https://global.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/43665573/indiana-fever-wnba-free-agency-2025-trades-caitlin-clark-aliyah-boston-bonner-cunningham-howard

"Reds (now Dodgers, 41st overall, CBR-A): This pick was already moved, as Cincinnati traded its selection along with outfield prospect Mike Sirota to Los Angeles in exchange for Gavin Lux." Seems like Cincy got fleeced big-time... https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/what-other-competitive-balance-round-draft-picks-could-be-traded-this-winter.html

https://www.si.com/nba/mavericks-deserve-blame-for-failing-luka-doncic-lakers-trade

"Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki: 30% strikeout rates We haven’t seen Sasaki in MLB yet, but given his professional career thus far, we know there will be plenty of strikeouts. To that point, he’s projected for a 31.6% strikeout rate. Snell is projected for a 31.0% strikeout rate and Glasnow at 30.7%. We know this Dodgers rotation has a chance to be fearsome, and here’s another way to quantify that potential. With Sasaki, Snell and Glasnow, the Dodgers have three pitchers projected for a 30% strikeout rate or higher. No team in MLB history has had three pitchers with at least a 30% strikeout rate and 75 innings pitched each in a season." https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-players-chasing-records-in-2025

https://sports.yahoo.com/no-matter-how-you-look-at-it-the-mavs-process-in-dealing-luka-doncic-makes-little-sense-201815743.html

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2025/02/02/indiana-fever-add-dewanna-bonner-to-caitlin-clark-best-lineup-in-wnba/78159641007/ Indiana Fever now have created a "super team" with the league also adding future franchises by the week... Yes, not technically NBA but no desire to start a whole new thread.

Not until 2027 or likelier 2028. It also requires JR to spend in FA as well...which is far from certain. A labor strike/confrontation after 2026 is quite possible if the Dodgers win three consecutive titles. 2000 and 2018/19 #1 milb systems certainly didn't guarantee a thing as you well know.

Remember when we (and KW/JR via proxy) used to blame the fans for lower attendance dragging down payroll? That's no longer an easily defensible position...except for 3 specific posters and PTAC/Texsox. Then recently, JR's crap about the lack of 3 million attendance years when that's literally impossible to achieve with a big chunk of the upper deck cut off. We're a lot closer to one million than three million right now, anyway...especially actual butts in the seats numbers.

2/$35 million... Tigers up to $135 million but they and the Twins ($140+ million) still in the 16-19 range for MLB...slightly below average.