Chicago White Sox

Their offseason moves have been strictly about maintaining a competitive roster for 2019 and have nothing to do with freeing up enough cash for Lindor. You’re really reaching if you think they can now suddenly afford a $300M extension for him.

We all know Machado would love to play for the Yankees, but let’s say we offer him 10/$350M while New York only offers him 8/$240M. How could he look his wife in the eyes and tell her he’s passing on all that guaranteed money and the chance to play with her brother for a period of time? To me, if the Yankees decide they’re unwilling to overpay for his services, then we can actually win this thing.

Good stuff Jack. You’re a really sharp guy and that will stand out if you can control the pessimism and be a bit more rational.

Bears clinch the North and Parkman is strangely silent. Hmmm...

Formal offers haven’t been submitted, but you can be certain rough ranges have been exchanged. Machado’s agent isn’t going to due a site visit for a club that doesn’t intend a significant offer.

Sorry Buster, but we don’t believe you bud.

I agree, although I bet Machado’s agent purposely left a day open in the middle to create the illusion of a mystery team being involved.

Mystery team on Tuesday?

Yeah, seems like SS would be temporary, at least in 2019. Didi is a free agent after next year so theoretically they could open it up for him.

You’re really over-thinking this.

Marlins are totally going to get too greedy and botch this.

This tweet is a few days old, but still summarizes where I think things stand for Harper, especially the part about the Dodgers.

It all depends on money, but Heyman sure makes it sound like we’re in a stronger position than Philly.

It’s going to be a fascinating battle!

Right now, we’re probably looking at Jimenez in LF, Engel in CF, & Palka in RF with Leury as a backup in some capacity (4th OF or UT) and Nicky down in AAA. I wouldn’t be surprised if they add some cheap vet to the mix either.

I think you’re looking at his defensive value which is negative because of the 1B positional adjustment. His UZR/150 has been positive all but one year and he has a reputation of being a pretty good defensive 1B from what I recall.

Radio or tweet?

Exactly. Adding Harper before they move some OFs puts them in a tough spot from a negotiating standpoint. It could happen, but seems a bit unlikely.

And I still think all these Dodgers rumors are coming out of Boras’ camp with the intention to put pressure on us and the Phillies.

How did you find this out of curiosity?

He may hate DHing, but that’s without question the best spot for him given his poor defense. And his career splits are nearly identical between 1B & DH, which eliminates the uncertainty of whether he can handle the role. I’d probably let Abreu play 1B against LHP (with Alonso on the bench), but that should be it for him.

There’s the sales pitch right there!

Has it been confirmed that Machado is coming to Chicago tomorrow? If so, maybe we should change the thread title to help generate some discussion.

I believe it’s effectively a 4% to 5% difference, which on $350M would be roughly $14M to $18M. It’s not an immaterial amount by any means.