ChiSox59

Would have to imagine a guy like Conforto is still subject to the previous CBA with respect to draft pick forfeiture. But obviously there isn't complete clarity on that at this point.

I'd like Pineda. Dude is entertaining to watch.

Can I interest you in a Cy Young Award winner?

I would love McNeil. Think his price tag would be significant tho, don't even think Kimbrel +Burger + Sheets gets them to take the call.

The Crochet to minors ship has sailed. I think they'll work to stretch him out some towards the back half of the season. Make some spots starts. Work multiple innings. Call in the Kopech role from 2021, but hopefully they commit to it a bit better. Not convinced Crochet is going to be a SP, but I think you at least have to try. While I definitely would have had all of Vaughn, Kopech and Crochet in the minors to start last season, they didn't, and they are not going to change courses on that at this point.

Haha I was kidding. You just spent all winter telling the whole board it was gonna be $212M and the Sox have no room.

Still think you're going to be disappointed on the SP. Fully expect Sox to go cheap FAs on 2B/SP depth. Could see a Tepera reunion at RP. Conforto is the big fish.

Was just about to ask the same thing.

I think they will end up in $225-$230m range increasing by $2.5M a year. Below inflation, but better than no increases. And from a Sox perspective removes most CBT concerns for next couple years.

Conforto in hand by the weekend? Me thinks so.

Balta will be disappointed to hear this.

12 team playoff. $725k min salary. $50M bonus pool. $230M CBT increasing $2.5M a year. Get it done.

Sure feels like this is getting achievable…

They want their main asks (higher min salary, higher CBT and closer to their $100M bonus pool to give the owners their 14 teams. Unfortunately, the garbage 14 team playoffs are happening. But it’s better than no baseball.

Turned in MLBN for first time in a couple months. Means nothing but the tone certainly seems like real progress is being made. Seems more positive than this am for sure.

You're basically arguing against the whole board and have resorted to essentially doing the exact thing you're telling everyone else they're doing. Might just need a few days to take a step away, but do you man!

Might be time to step away from Soxtalk man.

I feel like if this were true, we wouldn't be in this position. I do somewhat feel like this whole thing is overblown. I do see where both sides are coming from. I don't think raising the min salary to (say) $800k is unreasonable. I am sure there are a share of players who would happily continue on with the current set up. A cancelled season could certainly be devastating to some fringe players. But if the "vast majority" of players were on board with what the owners propose, we would not be in the position.

Welp, still early in the day but I was hoping for tweets discussing positive momentum in the early going.

I have a good feeling this gets figured out in next 48 hours. No one makes money if they don’t play. The agreement was always going to go down to the final hour. Mlb will meet in the middle on most issues by late tonight and we’ll have baseball March 31. At least that is what I am going to keep telling myself.

Best team fit since Yaz. No fucking brainer, really. Fully expect it to happen.

So the Braves, at least a top quarter franchise in the game, has a trailing 5 year profit of $27M. To use @Harry Chappas example of a $2B franchise, thats a 1.35% average return. Not that great. Don't get me wrong, I am not really advocating for billionaire owners to make more $. I just want baseball. But if the Braves are only raking in a 1.35% average annual return, what does that mean for the low level franchises?

Yeah, I mean $104M is a lot of money. But I figured an MLB franchise of that nature was raking in much more $.

Yep. Some very shortsighted decision making by the Sox in 21.

For the obvious reason that they both badly need innings. Kopech needs to throw 120+ innings this year. I suspect they'll use Crochet similarly to how they used Kopech last year and get him up around 70+ (assuming full season). If we play a 60 game season, neither are getting those totals. I don't worry too much about Kopech. He's going to an elite SP. Not sure Crochet ever makes it into the rotation tho.