Chicago White Sox

I agree, we need to land one of these guys no matter the cost.

It should or else teams would have a huge incentive to add tons of years for low salaries after an opt out. It would happen far more frequently.

Sorry, I framed that up poorly. Let’s say you agree to the below hypothetical deal: Years 1 - 4: $50M per Opt-out Year 5 - 10: $20M per That deal would have an AAV of $32M. For luxury tax purposes, if the player were to opt-out, there is no way the Dodgers would get away with only realizing a $32M hit those first four either. Either the structured deal above would be treated as two separate contracts for luxury tax purposes (as if the post opt-out term is an option) or this would be adjusted retrospectively. My guess is it’s the former because tax payers forfeit different draft picks when signing tendered free agents, but that’s just me speculating. Regardless, there should no way to game the system.

I actually don’t get it from the Dodgers perspective unless they get him for a steal. Teams like us are willing to pay a premium because of his intangibles and the potential revenue that come with. The Dodgers won’t reap those same benefits and on a standalone baseball move, $350M for Harper is somewhat ridiculous. Plus Friedman values depth / flexibility and has never signed a free agent to a $100M contract despite having the financial means with the Dodgers. I truly believe Bryce would love to go to LA, but I don’t see them coming close to what a team like the White Sox would offer. Just my option though.

Wouldn’t an opt-out potentially have huge luxury tax implications? If they front load a contract to minimize the AAV prior to the opt-out, surely there would be an adjustment if Bryce exited the contract to ensure the Dodgers contributed their fair share towards the luxury taxes. Just like with income taxes, there is no way to game the system.

The Familia stuff is news to me and would love to hear more about our pursuits there. Regardless, my argument isn’t about the Sox, but rather that the Phillies have yet to live up to “stupid spending” statement. That doesn’t mean they can’t go all out for Machado, but I don’t think we should just assume they’ll blow us out of the water. So far, they have been pretty measured in their pursuits.

Yup, amazing what a few suspensions can do for the quality of the site!

Exactly, they weren’t willing to blow out the competition for much more affordable targets, why do we think they’ll be any less measured when it comes to $300M+ deals? I have no doubts the Phillies are prepared to make a massive offer, but this idea they’ll do whatever it takes to land a whale is all speculation at this point. All teams have their limits and I think an Andy MacPhail led front office will hold his ground at some point.

The Cubs are operating as a business under the Ricketts and I know for a fact they have to adhere to a budget right now. They’d have to move significant salary to have any chance at Bryce. And I don’t think the Cubs make important decisions with much consideration for the Sox, they only care what’s in their best interests.

The Phillies got outbid for Corbin & Happ, maybe you need to rethink what “Philly ridiculous” means.

This is all true and I’m guessing he’d rather go elsewhere, but who else would offer as much as the Sox, especially if the Phillies are out? To me, it almost seems like we’re destined for an arranged marriage if he’s looking for top dollar.

They wouldn’t be wasting their time if they weren’t prepared to make a ridiculous offer, not when the Yankees are involved.

For who though?

But there is reason to believe both of these teams are adhering to budgetary issues in the short-run. The Dodgers also seem unwilling to take on a massive long-term commitment, which aligns with Friedman’s history as a GM.

Which is the most likely scenario. I still maintain all the Yankees (Machado) & Dodgers (Harper) hype/speculation is agents using the typical big spenders to force the team eager to spend to up their bids.

No one for Sox. Bryce to Dodgers and Machado to the Phillies.

Do they though? San Diego is barely a top 30 media market and he’d have to pay the ridiculous California state taxes for half his games. I just don’t see it, even if it’s close to Las Vegas.

Bowden did put that quote in his Athletic article last night about where the top 15 remaining free agents would go. How Jim Bowden has connections to Manny’s friends and whether there is any truth to those statements remain to be seen. My guess is this is simply a game of telephone ad Bowden is taking what someone else “heard” and acting like it’s first hand knowledge.

Better than the Cubs or Dodgers.

Wow, this should be interesting.

They have to be if Bowden included them in an article he wrote last night.

Those mystery teams are interesting. I no doubt believe he’d like to go to the Dodgers or Cubs, but if those guys aren’t willing to pony up would he rather play in San Diego or Atlanta over Chicago if the money was the same. That’s the part I’m struggling with is you’d think the are prepared to spend as much as anyone on Harper but who knows.

My thing about the Dodgers is it sounds like they have no interest in going 10 years, so Bryce would really have to pass on a ton of guaranteed money to go there. I just can’t see that happening if the Sox or another team in a decent market is willing to play ball.

Sounds like they didn’t even meet with him at the Winter Meetings right?

I don’t see why we wouldn’t do the same thing and it seems like Harper would much rather play in Chicago than Philly.