Eminor3rd

It says the Angels will sign Cole Hamels

Nomar Mazara is the Rangers version of Avisail Garcia.

He just broke his toe in the Premier 12 tourney a couple days ago. High contact, good discipline, tons of doubles and sneaky line drive homer pop. Five time golden glove CF, but everyone agrees he’s lost a step or two. Taller nori aoki with more power and better defense.

A couple thoughts: 1. I think Madison Bumgarner is going to be a big mistake for someone if he gets that kind of money. He’s a once dominant guy who has had a great career, but he’s in clear decline and his regression has been masked by his home park for the past couple years. The velo is down, the fly balls are up, and I think he would be an awful match for us. I would rather sign every other pitcher in his tier, especially for that money. Odorizzi especially, and maybe even Ryu or Keuchel at the lower prices they should command. 2.) I think Tsutsugoh will get a touch more than that, but not too much. And I love the idea of it as well — it’s a low risk solution to a big hole we have that has some real upside. I think he’s more likely a AAAA guy than an above average MLb hitter, but the latter is very possible. And I feel more confident about it now that I’ve seen some of his exit velos. The ship has sailed, unfortunately, on Yuki Yanagita. He signed a three year extension prior to this season, he’s already 31, and he’s starting to get really banged up. He lost most of this year to leg injuries and didn’t look like himself when he got back. Legs and back have been haunting him the past few years. It’s too bad; what a fun player to watch. I don’t think anyone on earth swings harder than he does, lol. The guy to watch for, on the position player side, is Seiya Suzuki. He’s the best hitter in the league right now, he’s only 25, and although it’s a corner profile, he’s considered a tick above average defensively. Elite plate discipline, great bat control and power, esteemed teammate. Won this years HR derby. And I think there’s a chance the Carp may actually post him over the next year or two. Him and Masataka Yoshida are the two hitters that I think are actually likely to be truly above average MLb guys right away, but Yoshida’s defense is worse and he’s had some injury problems himself. But man, that bat speed. 3. I would much rather get Ozuna than Puig at that price. I’m okay with Puig as an idea, but his inconsistency bothers me on more than a two year deal.

I don’t see the point of overpaying an injury-prone, mid-30s third baseman to convince him to change positions to be a short term stopgap for two of our top prospects (Vaughn, Collins) when a short-term stopgap already exists (Jose Abreu) and is loved in the clubhouse. Yeah he’s a bit better than a Abreu, but let’s spend the money on pitching instead.

QO working as intended. It’s there to steal leverage from players in negotiations, under the guise of “competitive balance.” This is JR using one of his tailor made weapons. Ill be surprised if Jose doesn’t sign a two or three year deal at $12-15m AAV. And, if he doesn’t, it’ll be a big signal that the White Sox probably are actually going to try to trade for JD Martinez lol.

wat

I’d have to think this virtually guarantees Abreu is back for next year, unless it is the result of some catastrophic falling out during negotiations.

Place... mats?

Oh. I think I get what you mean now. I thought you meant #2 as in a back up plan to wheeler

Those guys don’t even belong within two tiers of each other

Add Eric Thames to the list of affordable short term DH options that would move the needle for the lineup but leave the big money for other acquisitions, and not stand in the way of prospects in case they start to force their way into the MLB

Wheeler has been quietly very good and very healthy for two seasons now. I would be thrilled if the White Sox got him. However, I think a ton of teams are looking at him as a more affordable alternative to Cole/Stras, meaning he likely won’t actually end up all that affordable.

They closed that loophole

I like the dude; I dont think he’d come cheap

If they are freeing up money, that presumably includes letting Gardner go to free agency. Given how injury prone all of their outfielders have been, if Gardner goes, they NEED Tauchman, because like Gardner, he can fake CF in a pinch much better than Frazier can. Catcher isn't really unclear -- it's Gary Sanchez and Kyle Higashioka, if Romine isn't resigned First base isn't really unclear -- it's Luke Voit and Mike Ford.

Yeah, fair take, unfortunately.

EE on a one year deal might make a lot more sense than JDM on a four or five year deal. You wouldn’t lock yourself into $100m for a declining player, and you leave the opportunity for Andrew Vaughn to play in 2021. JDM 2019: 139 wRC+ EE 2019: 129 wRC+

This team is slowly turning into the fucking Orioles

They didn’t get Corbin because his price exceed what they thought his value was. Cashman said it at the time and reiterated it the other day. Which is how the White a Sox can get Cole. We seem to assume that we can’t have because the Yankees will always outbid us. That’s not true — the Yankees will bid as high as they believe he’s worth to them. The White Sox can beat that if they want to.

Trust me, the Yankees will get what they need to get. People seem to have this conception that the Yankees like to spend money simply because they have so much of it, and so it then follows logically that if it looks like they’ll run out, that’s when they’ll stop. Yet year in and year out, everyone seems baffled at the end of the offseason either because the Yankees spent way more than expected or way less. But when you look at it, the pattern is really extremely simple: When have the Yankees spent a ton in free agency? When they’ve needed to in order to meet the needs of their roster. Why didn’t they spend on Machado last year when they could have? Because they didn’t need a third baseman or a shortstop. Why not Harper? Because they didn’t need a corner OF/DH. They needed pitching, and they went and got it. Cashman said at the beginning of the offseason that he needed two starters. Come opening day, he had Paxton and Happ. One was a trade, one was a signing, but he got them. Given Sabathia’s retirement and German’s likely suspension/dismissal, this offseason is probably going to be the same. The Yankees are going to get a couple starters, and as usual, all available options will be on the table for them. This year, that may mean snatching one of the big free agents.

The problem with the White Sox and the trade market isn’t that they don’t have the necessary ammo, it’s that they still need all of that ammo for their own team. There’s talent, but there’s not a surplus of talent, when you consider the holes still on the roster. What they DO have in surplus is (theoretical) payroll space. That’s why they need to use free agency to get better.

Yankees are gonna get pitching.

Someone please add to the megathread, I don’t think I can.

This ^