ChiSox59

WOW. Stop the b****ing, fellas.

Give Strasburg $200M over 6 years.

Like every single baseball reporter over the last 48 hours.

Its been well document that the Sox had an offer on the table of 5/$100M-$110M.

5/$100M was my max. Was willing to stretch to 5/$115, full well knowing that it could blow up. It sucks to lose out on Wheeler, but I don't think this is the end of the world.

Meh. Doesn't really fit our window of when we'd need him most with his suspension.

Hate it all you want, but McCann is a lifetime .269/.331/.481 (136 OPS+) against LHP. I assume he'll catch alot against LHP with Grandal at DH/1B, but he is likely going to get some DH starts against LHP. Especially if the RF we add is a lefty (like Joc or Peralta) in which case Leury will likely already be in the OF a lot on those days, which means you can't shift Eloy to DH against LHP on a regular basis.

Yes, he is injured a lot. I do think you have to at least consider the fact that LAD has been LOADED with SP during his tenure, and likely took it alot easier on him than other orgs would have. I think he would have thrown more innings / made more starts for pretty much every other org. But yes, he's fragile. No denying that. I do think that risk will be priced in though - whereas Wheeler has also been injured alot, and seemingly there will be no discount whatsoever for that risk.

Maybe the fact that he has a career ERA of 2.98 and career FIP of 3.32. Ryu is really good. Yes he is an injury risk. But even if he only starts 20-25 games for you, he's going to be a very good pitcher for you when he's on the mound. His injury history will also depress his market, so his price tag shouldn't be outrageous. I'd prefer Wheeler over Ryu all things being equal. But if one costs 6/$130M and the other costs 3/$55M-60M, I am taking Ryu.

This one played out weird.

Fair enough. Almost a decade ago now, and obviously things have changed significantly since then leading to the narratives that we're discussing but that is a fair signing to comp to Grandal.

Find a stop gap RF for a year. Joc is an option. David Peralta is an option. Kole Calhoun is an option. There are others. With Abreu in the fold for three more years for sure now, signing Castellanos locks in one of, if not THE, worst OF defense in the league. With a young pitching staff, that is a just a horrible situation. Trade spare parts for a 1 year stop gap, or sign a guy on 1 year deal. There are several (in addition to Betts) high end RF FA next offseason. Fill that gap long term then.

I sure hope not. Would be such a bad long term play.

When is the last time the Sox went out and signed a top 5 free agent - who was arguably the best position player fit on the market for the org - to a record breaking contract by outbidding their competition before Thanksgiving?

Yah, its so easy to say who cares about years 5-6. But the people who say that will definitely care when years 5 and 6 come around.

Yah, I mean obviously you don't sign high end FAs for surplus value. But there is just no upside in a deal like that. Sox need SP. Sox need to stick their neck out a bit on Wheeler. But they also cannot afford to massively overpay a guy. If he ends up producing like 6-8 WAR over the course of a 6 year $130M contract, that could be a serious hindrance to this upcoming contention window from 2020-2025.

To me, it all depends on the price. If he signs elsewhere for 5/$115M or less, I'd be pretty disappointed. I have previously said 5/$100M would be my max on Wheeler, I would be willing to stretch to 5/$115M to make it happened. If it starts getting much over $23M AAV for 5 years or more, and you just have the looks of what could be a very bad contract if Wheeler doesn't continue his 18-19 performance.

I agree, but it is a step in the right direction. It is is certainly better than sitting here today with Grandal having signed elsewhere. Let's not forget Thanksgiving was less than a week ago, the winter meetings have not even occurred yet, and all of the major FAs are still available outside of Grandal. The sky is not falling because other teams are also interested in Wheeler.

Not really. I think the Sox dispelled a lot of narratives with the Grandal signing, and I fully expect them to sign at least 1 more impact FA this offseason. Cole was never going to happen - but yes, we all know that signing the most unattainable FA on the market was the only way you'd be pleased with the offseason.

To date, the Sox have signed the most premium FA that has been signed this offseason. So maybe its time to put this narrative away for the season, even if someone decides to give Zack Wheeler a stupid amount of money and he signs elsewhere.

I don't see any realistic scenario that Straburg signs for 5/$175M if Wheeler is truly approaching Corbin territory. edit: and if that is realistic, signing Wheeler for anything over $110M is insane. Just give it to Strasburg.

Ryu very well get less than half of what the Sox have already offered to Wheeler. so try again buddy.

It’s well documented the Sox already have an offer on the table for 5/$100M+. Which is an aggressive offer. I’m sure they have some wiggle room, but at some point you have to draw the line in sand when you’re talking about a good but definitely not elite pitcher.

Stoppppp

At double the years and more than twice the cost?