Chicago White Sox

Diaz is arguably the most valuable reliever in baseball and not just some “closer” like you’re making him out to be. I also think it’s a bit disingenuous to call both these guys “excellent” prospects and I say that as a big Kelenic fan. I honestly believe the Mets could turn around right now and trade Diaz for a much better package with at least one true blue chipper. Whether taking on Cano at effectively $60M offsets that I don’t know, but it definitely helped them get a discount on the prospect capital.

It’s rumored the Yankees would do Gary Sanchez straight up for him. If that’s the case, I think the Marlins will do much better here than with their other trades.

And is six years younger.

He’s worth his salary in isolation, but if I plan on giving Machado, Anderson, & Moncada 150 starts each I’d rather just give the role to Rondon and use the money elsewhere.

The Garfien podcast has some of it.

Hahn made it very clear they won’t be making moves Iike that in his presser yesterday.

Will be interesting to see how Yolmer fits if we add Machado though. To me, he becomes too expensive of a backup if the infield is Manny, Tim, & Yoan unless they plan to use him in the OF some.

I’d rather go with a bounce-back guy like Cody Allen if possible. We have a ton of young arms that will be pushing for jobs over the next two seasons and I’d rather not go three years for big money on a reliever. CL: Allen SU: Colome SU: Fry MR: Jones MR: Bummer/Frare MR: Hamilton LR: Covey/Banuelos

There’s definitely some truth to that and I consider it a big positive for Hahn.

It really is disgusting. It’s one thing to turn the other cheek to what they’re doing, but to actually praise them for this charade? Is Ken really this naive, because this comes off like he’s on the take.

Yup, given all our young pitching, I’m very glad Hahn is placing some priority on defense at the catcher’s spot. After that recent Athletic article, I honestly thought we were going to keep Omar.

Reading up on the trade, very interesting to see how Mariners fans think they fleeced us while the Fangraphs community generally feels we won the trade.

You must not visit SoxMachine / SSS much because they still b**** about it endlessly to this day.

Lol...praising Theo for not wanting to cut his former blue chip prospect is hilarious.

If you’re gonna hit a woman, just be honest about it!

I’m not sure what Comcast/NBCSports would be willing to pay, but having a quality on-field product and the Cubs potentially leaving puts us in a nice spot.

100% agree. If our front office is worth a damn, they’re looking at the big picture and planning accordingly. Just like our long-term lease is of significant value, maximizing the value of our next local TV deal is of the utmost importantance. If we can add a whale like Harper or Machado and build a roster that can be semi-competitive in 2019, that’s going to look very attractive to Comcast / other media providers and greatly improve our ability to negotiate a good TV deal. That long-term revenue stream is far more important than any amount we could possibly spend filling holes with veterans this offseason.

Yup, totally agree. But to your point, we have no idea if they’ll reinvest that excess cash into the team not.

Ellsbuy may be better than Engel, but that’s a low bar to cross and doesn’t account for the $45M difference in salary over the next two seasons.

Very true.

I love this line of thinking, but I’d probably go after Dozier first.

Eloy is worth more than Realmoto, but I agree Robert or Cease (plus others) would need to be in the trade.

Not trying to be a dick, but this trade would be done yesterday if that’s all it took. They’re going to get at least one blue chip centerpiece and this offer has none.

Those two things are one & the same. You’re right, 2018 was a disaster and both fans & media companies are probably losing interest. We need to do something big to build back some positive goodwill. Winning is a big part of that, but this franchise definitely needs a face which is why landing a whale is of the utmost importance. To your point, we can’t stop there, although I disagree B free agents are garbage. We have numerous spots on our roster that got replacement level production last year. There is low hanging fruit that can be addressed with short term financial commitments. Again, I know I’m in the minority here, but I’m happy to plug those gaps with solid veterans and put respectable roster in place. One that can contend if enough young take that next step forward.

Signing relievers isn’t what I’m referring when I talk about a market inefficiency. And 33 year old Anibal Sanchez coming off three bad seasons (and who they released before OD) doesn’t count as a B free agent.