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He has been a starter the past 4 years, as crazy as that sounds. He's below average player for sure, but as it stands right now he's their 8th hitter, and you could do worse than having a 1.4 WAR player at that spot. If they land Didi, he's a great fit as a backup IF for them. I think the bigger question mark is Votto, because boy did father time hit him hard last year, and he's due for another 4/$100M

If Senzel comes near his ceiling and and Aquino is 80% of what he was last season, that's a good enough lineup. On the pitching side, they have 4 really good SPs, and Alex Wood would most likely resign as the 5th starter also.

Unfortunately the conversation WILL start with Robert. The closest comp to Hader is Chapman and in many ways he’s more valuable in that he’s truly a multi-inning closer, and he has a lot of control left. And if I’m not mistaken, at the time of trade Torres was already a mid season top 10 guy, or close to it. It was a huge overpay for half a season of Chapman, but for 4 years of Hader (even considering his likely unprecedented RP arb cost), that will be the starting price.

I have a feeling Wheeler negotiations will drag on for a while and hope the Sox are focused on adding their second starter in parallel, be it Wood, Gio, Roark, etc., while others are focused on the Big 3. Also, just selfishly speaking, we need another signing announced soon to keep the stove hot.

You could do worse than Keuchel as your 2nd SP addition after Wheeler.

Absorb Archer’s 2/$20M by trading prospects, or pay 2/$26M for Keuchel and no prospects? The answer is pretty easy on that one.

You’re not going to game the system this way, no one is going to trade a good controllable SP for Madrigal alone. Madrigal and Cease maybe. Also I think most of the controllable assets available in the trade market are position players, so there will be competitive bidding either way.

I dont know how anyone who follows baseball closely would post those numbers without questioning it. Here's the an FAQ of TJS on MLB.com How often do pitchers suffer another arm injury after having Tommy John surgery? "...Another recent study from the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) concluded that 19% of Tommy John patients will have a subsequent elbow surgery and 25% will have shoulder surgery." Can someone have Tommy John surgery twice? "Yes. There have been several studies recently on pitchers who have to undergo a second Tommy John surgery, often called a UCL Revision. Although still relatively uncommon, there seems to be an increase in the number of revisions over the past five years. Previous studies have shown only 2-4 percent of pitchers had revisions but more recent studies indicate an increase in that rate to 10-12 percent in Major League pitchers..." It would have been more believable if the average duration until the 2nd TJS is 4.5 years for those that actually required a revision. Also to put it in context, since the success rate of TJS in recent years is close to 80%, you're still more likely to have a failed first TJS than to require a revision surgery.

Caufield gonna be Caufield.

That tweet was from Shingo Takatsu’s uncle. Very possible he has legitimate source.

I don’t understand the notion of trotting out a 110 wRC+ bat at every position as the only way to build a team. If you could save $$ at RF (let’s be honest, none of the RF options are that great this year) to build up your bullpen or get another notable starter alongside Wheeler, you’d at least think on it. Pillar has averaged 2 WAR/year for the last 4 years and improves OF defense compares to many other RF options. And taking a closer look, I think you could even get him for 1/$6 or 2/$11, and if you could get him for cheap and pair with a offensive minded platoon, say Matt Joyce, there is a lot of surplus value right there. Plus, I think Pillar would have been the 8th or 9th hitter on the team anyways.

Had it not been for his fluky .218 BABIP he’d have had an .250/20HR and 2 WAR+ season. He’s another one I’d surprised to get non tendered. Bats both sides, plays multiple positions and draws walks, he’ll be a great fit.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/11/2019-non-tender-candidates-mlb-2019.html If we sign Wheeler, I would look at some non tendered players to fill out some holes. RF - Pillar 2/$15M 2B/Util - Profar 2/$9M SP - Tyler Anderson 1/$2M with $4M team option Though I have a hard time seeing Giants nontendering Anderson having just claimed him last month, nonetheless Pillar and Profar could be cheap, under the radar options.

For 2/$6M I'd bring him back.

Hot stove season and TDL is where wannabe insiders make names for themselves. Don’t fall for clickbaits again until the ink is dry.

Sox has learned to operate in stealth mode. If it’s leaked rumors, I don’t have as much confidence in them actually carrying through.

I am late to this, the but money WILL be spent!

We’d have been up 9-0 after first 3 series had we have a more competent kicker. But obviously that’s a footnote now after the Trubisky benching.

Never heard of him, but he sounds more credible than an Australian baseball blogger.

Your comment here makes a case to sign a elite SP in FA. Good pitching and great pitching is the difference between a good playoff team and a great playoff team.

When Madrigal comes up, I prefer him as the primary 1B over Abreu.

If Robert comes up in May, he would a shot at a 3/4 WAR season. He was one I was being more conservative with. Heck if his fielding at CF is as good as advertised, he'd be a 2 WAR player even with below average offense. But with his raw offensive approach and injury history, I thought it made more sense to be more conservative with his projection. Anything more we could get from him only makes the 2020 team stronger.

My key takeaways are: 1) You could make the playoffs with a core group of good players and a few stars (see Rays, A's, Twins), which the Sox are set up to do if they push payroll to $130M . However these teams are not setup to go far in the playoffs, see those 3 teams in 2019. Only 2005 White Sox and 2015 Royals are recent exceptions off the top of my head. 2) It is an interesting debating between having star position players vs star pitchers. e.g. Cole or Betts for $35M+ AAV. Huge investment in pitchers are obviously more risky as pointed out throughout this thread but it is also absolutely necessary to have a strong rotation to go far in postseason, as witnessed by the Nats and Astros. Yankees and Twins had a historically good offense but flamed out in postseason. I don't see Giolito being the ace of a WS team 3) If we do not acquire a star via FA, it puts some much more pressure on Moncada, Robert and Kopech to reach their potential as star players, and we supplement with good players via FA. If two of these players do not become elite players and we fail to acquire one via FA, then that's where this rebuild is ultimately a failure (in the sense that it will only be a WC or first round exit team)

Bat wise Encarnacion is better, but Moose's positional versatility is something we could definitely use. It is because that he out-WAR EE 2.8 to 2.5. That plus age difference and LH bat, Moose gets the nod for me.

His defensive value at 1B last season for the innings played is lower than the positional adjusted defensive value at DH for the same playing time. So moving to DH would definitely have had a positive impact on his WAR. Not sure by how much exactly however.