CWSpalehoseCWS

I don't necessarily discount the fact they checked with his camp. There's a good chance they are trying to bring in a few guys on ST invites so they don't have to move anyone else off the 40-man. I don't see a fit unless they plan on keeping Madrigal down far longer than I imagined they would.

Covey is not gone yet. Much more likely they can be roommates in Charlotte.

Charlotte needed an IF that could play SS. This is the Goins move of 2020. Seems like he and Cuthbert might battle it out for the 26th man.

I just don't see them using Bryant to get under the luxury tax, and I think teams are going to balk at the asking price for him.

This moves Sano to 1B too. He was a -6.7 UZR at 3B last season. Twins essentially locked up their 1B for 3yrs/$30M. That's a bargain for a guy who put up 34 HR's last season and is no longer is a liability in the field.

Arenado to St. Louis, Bryant stays put. Cubs won't have the guts to trade him.

The amount of money I pissed away watching his starts in person... good riddance.

I agree Frank is a little low on this list for my liking, but I will hold my judgement until they release the full list. Thomas is going to be limited because he was a 1B. I’m sure defense is being taken into consideration.

Only 1.5M?! Yikes. He literally must have taken the only MLB deal he could get.

Same. Everything prior comes off as regurgitated tea leaves.

Short video, but I thought this was pretty neat. I always liked Burr, hope to see him get back to the majors at some point.

Ruiz has 1 option remaining.

Givens. Not sure what the ask would be, but it is Baltimore.

Gotta give this guy credit. I don't know how anyone can pretend for so long.

Yep. None of these options are overwhelmingly better than what they currently have. Lots of over-the-hill, 30+ arms that aren’t even guaranteed to be better than the current pen. sure they have the past track record, but there’s guys like Strop, Cishek, and Rondon that have injury concerns or major drop offs compared to their career norms. I think the Sox are working toward a trade for a younger arm that has a little more upside than what’s left on the market. No reason to go full panic mode in January.

Is there a time limit to how long a team has to announce something? I would think teams aren’t allowed to sit on these types of things for too long.

Isn’t Garcia technically the 4th OF in case of an injury? I’m not saying they shouldn’t go out and add a guy if he’s available, but Garcia more than proved he’s capable of filling in last season.

He also kind of got hit around in the WS. I think the Sox may have dodged a bullet (assuming they actually were in on him). Plus, I don't know that many 38 year old [effective] relievers still around.

I don't think we have to worry about Engel being anything more than the 26th man. He has value as a pinch-runner and defensive sub. Anything more than that and something has gone horribly wrong. I agree with you regarding Leury/Mendick. They might be good enough in a platoon role, but I think it depends on how the Sox view Garcia heading into this season. He could also serve as the weak-side platoon option for Mazara in RF. At least the Sox have a couple different directions to go. They are lucky Garcia is flexible enough to be utilized all over.

Ok, I’m officially pumped for baseball to start. Great move, love he’ll be able to start with the team out of the gates. This is gonna be such a fun season.

I think if you initiated a floor, then you end up seeing far more teams trying to remain at or around the floor than the ceiling. Using your earlier example of $100M as a floor base, only 6 teams were under that in terms of their total payrolls for 2019 (this includes injuries, etc). So it doesn't change anything in that regard. What's funny is for years the owners wanted a salary CAP only to be denied by the MLBPA. I don't think you would get either side agreeing to it now, especially the owners.

A CAP/Floor system will not fix anything. Giving teams a floor when they already penny-pinch would not be a good idea IMO. You'll see more veterans screwed out of their paydays. You technically already have a CAP system in place with the Luxury Tax. There's nothing from stopping teams from going over it, and despite minimal penalties, they still choose not to do so. If you want to see teams spending again, get rid of the Luxury Tax. Then you fall right back into super team days of the Dodgers and Yankees. Not sure there is an answer that doesn't cause another problem down the road.

He's quickly growing on me as a favorite. Seems like a perfect signing for this team.

They aren't really broke, they are just refusing to go any more over the luxury tax threshold. It's understandable from a business perspective, but also very confusing because it is causing their window to close rapidly. Especially because of the amount of money that was pumped into the area surrounding the park.

I don't think I like the idea of giving up Stiever for Diaz.