Chicago White Sox

Wow, not surprised they sold high on Narvaez, but the target is a bit strange. To me, this pretty clearly indicates we plan on being active this winter and putting together a competitive team. No other reason to trade for a reliever with two years of control.

I agree, I think if he gets non-tendered it’s because of the roster spot.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they non-tendered Davidson, although given the salary is so small & not fully guaranteed I’m leaning they will.

I just think $8M is more than Avi will get on the market and with only one year of control left, tendering him doesn’t make any sense IMO. I’m hoping the Sox are looking at an upgrade, but even if they’d be content with him for one more season simply let him test the market and then try to resign for like $5M.

Rising TV deals > sagging attendance.

Shit, I think you’re right. Does that mean we got back half of the money we owed Castillo last year?

The Mets taking on Canó is reducing the prospect haul, not adding to it. And a 36 year guy just busted for PEDs would make me pretty nervous about his next five seasons. BTW, I’m pretty sure the Mariners still had to pay Cano’s salary while he was suspended, but it goes to the league rather than the player.

Alright, with the non-tender deadline tonight at 7pm CST, I figured we could use a thread for final predictions & news as it comes in. The Sox have six players eligible for arbitration. Unless your name is Ron, three of these guys are no-brainers: Jose Abreu, Yolmer Sanchez, & Carlos Rodon. That leaves three guys on the bubble: Avi Garcia, Luery Garcia, & Matt Davidson. So of the three bubble guys, who do you think gets tendered vs. non-tendered? My predictions are below: Avisail Garcia – $8.0M - Non-tendered Matt Davidson – $2.4M - Tendered Leury Garcia – $1.9M - Tendered

Ignoring the source, I’m going to say it seems incredibly unlikely the Mariners would close/announce three different deals on one day, including a complicated, multi-player blockbuster.

It makes more sense when you realize they hired an agent with no front office experience to be their GM. I’m waiting to see the final terms of the deal, but as currently rumored this deal is insanity.

Exactly / end debate.

I wonder if Van Wagenen is the new Dave Stewart.

Montreal?

Bingo, it’s already been hinted at by Manfred.

Who is they? The White Sox. They wouldn’t move to Portland bro.

Sounds like they want to trade him now and replace him with a free agent.

I still don’t get why you think this matters. What is the difference between saying “take $xM or we’ll non-tender you” and non-tendering a player & then offering $xM? How exactly does the outcome change for the player?

Rosenthal just wrote an article speculating the Yankees might pass on Machado in hopes of landing Arenado next year. I personally think they will be in the mix, but I don’t see them being ridiculously aggressive to land him. I do think the Phillies are dangerous, but I don’t see them landing both Harper & Machado. If there was ever an opportunity for us to land a whale, now is the time IMO.

I’m not sure expecting Jon Gray to breakout into a legit #2 outside of Coors and Lopez to become a solid #3 starter is that much of a stretch. Development isn’t linear and talented young guys can take massive leaps in short periods of time. I simply believe in both of those guys, especially Lopez who I watched pitch a good 20+ times last year and saw the necessary adjustments. The one guy I don’t believe in is Giolito and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him post respectable #5 starter numbers next year. If not, I fully expect Cease to be ready for a rotation spot in the 2nd half. And as I mentioned previously, my plan isn’t to go all-in on 2019. I have no interest in trading for a TOR starter just yet. But I do like the possibility of a 2020 rotation that features Corbin, Gray, Lopez, Cease, & Kopech with Giolito & Dunning potentially in the mix. But again, I’m willing to believe some of our young guys will develop into quality pitchers even if doesn’t happen immediately in year one.

We weren’t getting Yelich for that tier of guys as it would have required at least one blue-chipper and that didn’t make a ton of sense at that point in time. If rumors are true, it does sound like Hahn explored the opportunity.

Lol...I don’t even know why I waste my time with you. Everything is so black & white and if it’s not Balta’s way then it’s obviously wrong. In my particular case, I’m banking on young starters getting better which does happen from time to time and a guy with a proven track record bouncing back after an injury fillled season. But I know they weren’t good last year so they can’t possibly be good going forward. And no, I have no interest in trading my assets for a front line guy. We have money to burn and can spend in the interim, but I’m keeping my prospects for another year to see how the first wave shakes out and who from the second wave will be ready to contribute in 2020. If enough goes right, great we have a competitive team in 2019. If not, we’re better prepared for 2020 and have a few one-year guys (Dozier, Pomeranz, & Allen) that we hopefully flipped.

How is the Sox offering a take it or leave it offer not player friendly? Would the player be better off never getting an offer to consider? Where is a grievance coming from exactly? At a bare minimum, I’m sure there are examples of injured arb-eligible players who took more than a 20% reduction to stick with their organization.

And I won’t stop until it happens! But I 100% agree speed plays up better in CF vs. 2B. However, part of the allure of moving Moncada to the OF is taking advantage of his 70 grade arm, which is wasted to an extent at 2B.

What in the world is a “sub-arbitration” contract?

I’m confused here. Arbitration eligible players do not have to go to arbitration and can agree to any contract the club offers if they so choose. If the player rejects the offer, the team has the right to non-tender. How is this an issue?