caulfield12

No more than Jared Kelenic will save the Mariners... I have noticed the Tatis criticisms have quieted down with him almost back to his previous form...especially after such a long layoff and playing GG level defense at a completely new position.

https://sports.yahoo.com/rays-bench-star-wander-franco-for-at-least-2-games-for-not-being-the-best-teammate-205229398.html

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/hern-ndez-shohei-ohtani-wont-120054097.html

The Bulls and Sox are pretty much identical, except the Sox fans are not dumb enough to support a terrible product...versus one of the best-attended teams in the business. Not even having a new toy/draft pick to play with is even more disheartening.

It would be a lot like when the Rangers offered ARod that massive deal. No way in hell the Sox could build a team around him. And Sox fans would quickly grow weary of supporting a team with just one or two superstars. The novelty would wear off quickly and then all the talk would turn to potential trades...same issues the much better financed Angels have been dealing with for 2-3 years now. They actually have a GENUINELY tough call deciding what to do in LAA land compared to any decision tree/matrix that Hahn faces.

That's almost spending as much as the Padres did on Machado Tatis and Bogaerts to get Ohtani and Giolito. That's even crazier, actually, with the volatility of pitchers with one TJS behind them and then the added risk of pitching well into their 30s.

They already have #4 whether he wants it or not.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CLE/2023.s HTML The Cleveland Guardians used 12 different starters last year...and 11 already in less than half a season in 2023. Imagine how ugly the results would be right now if the White Sox were missing two starters... let alone trading Gio and/or Lynn? They would truly be looking at 66-74 wins in that scenario. In what's supposed to be years 4-5 to basically complete their competitive window. Complete and utter failure.

It goes all the way back to Sale, Ring and Poreda. Sale worked out for the Sox, obviously...but that's five relievers drafted in the first round to fill immediate needs at the big league level. I bet there's not a single other team to draft that many (collegiate) relievers that high in the draft...over such a time frame.

The ONLY thing that would work is bringing in Garcia, Contreras and all those 9-10 buy low free agents and Bobby Jenks after dumping three big salaries like the 2004-05 cycle. Sox simply don't have the prospects to dream of pulling off the equivalent of a Freddy Garcia trade unless it's moving core pieces off the current roster that would cripple the depth.

No those were the biggest one year improvements in baseball history. There's not going to be a clear answer because you haven't previsely defined solid system or high priced free agents. The 1997 and 2003 Marlins tend to fit one of each, for example. But you should specify Top 5 Baseball America farm system or Top 10 and free agent spending in inflation adjusted dollars with a base year at least. Let's say the equivalent of at least $150 million in future contracts for one offseason? $500 million in new spending over 3? It's way too vague.

Brooks Boyer and Hahn would love for more than 2-3% of the fan.base to believe in something so farcical they would buy season tickets just based on the possibility of it happening... like with Machado.

Pretty sure Baseball America didn't exist until the early 1980's... But the answer seems to partially be steroids.

+35 - 1998–99 Diamondbacks (from 65 wins to 100 in their second MLB season) +33 - 1935–36 Boston Braves (from 38 wins in Babe Ruth’s last season to 71) +33 - 1945–46 Boston Red Sox (from 71 wins to 104 - seems like they might have been missing an important player in 1945, Ted somebody. Of course the whole league was different in 1946 as the “wartime players” left the game and the likes of Williams and DiMaggio returned.) +33 - 1988–89 Baltimore Orioles (from 54 wins and an 0–21 start to 87 wins)

He had a pretty middling start for the Guardians...or whatever team had just recently claimed him this year. Pretty sure if they were absolutely in love with him after watching firsthand they wouldn't have let him go to bring up Gavin Williams, with Triston McKenzie already out another 4-6 weeks and possibly the entire season. Has been with three teams the past 1 1/2 seasons.

Pretty sure you can stick a fork in them. Trade Soto Hader Snell...listen on Darvish. Record in one run and extra innings abysmal... total opposite of last year. Same thing has happened to the Mariners, pretty much.

Odds are almost even having a bottom ten payroll to make the playoffs compared to being a Top Ten payroll. Pretty sure it would shift to 6/12 if the Guardians end up overtaking the Twins again. That's pretty incredible.

Which cities of Pitt Balt Cincy Detroit Milwaukee Cleveland (basically the Rust Belt) are doing demonstrably better than the 70s 80s 90s??? Washington has unique advantages due to Northern VA suburbs, corporate/government connections.

Worse call than Rangers' game last night just happened to Twins. Didn't matter. Twins walk off.

Baltimore/Washington seems pretty obvious...although it would be better for MLB if the two teams flipped rosters because Balt peaked as a city in the 80s and 90s.

On TB...they would already be looking to trade him before he hit arbitration.

Minn -2 CLE -3 Sigh. Were -7 not that long ago but then the schedule toughened up again.

Sure, but they already passed up opportunities to extend him...so he will eventually end up in the same boat as Giolito, followed by Cease and Kopech. Does it really make sense to rebuild for just a limited 1-2 year window?

Yeah...Charlotte and Nashville might both be a tad small. Orlando has been floated numerous times and sustaining an MLB franchide with 81 home games in LV or Orlando just doesn't seem like a sure fire strategy either. Football works with such a limited schedule of home games to sell.

That will certainly work for a 4th or 5th place team in the AL or NL Central. The problem is they will lose him after six years just as he's starting to figure things out because of all the missed development time and two seasons in the outfield.