ChiSox59

Pretty sure Palka has at least one option left. Even if the Sox sign Harper, he can play LF until Eloy come up and then go to AAA, or be used as a bench bat.

He is getting the major league min no matter where he goes.

And you’d at best be in like 5th place with these offers. Not even worth extending the offer at those dollar amounts.

Kind of hope the Sox explore Tulo at 3B. Who knows I’d hes healthy, but for $550k, why not? Sounds like he wants to go to the west coast, but he’s have a nice opportunity with the Sox to regain some value. Even if the Sox get MM, you either release Tulo or use him as a bench piece until he is needed to fill in the infield. Thoughts?

Ya dude, you’re wrong here. It’s clearly not worth me spending more time explaining.

No, it’s not. The team is in charge of who gets at bats. If they don’t want him to reach it, he won’t reach it. This isn’t rocket science.

Dude it’s a vesting option. The only way it will vest as if he hits 526 at bats, the only way he’s going to hit that is if he is playing extremely well and the Sox want it to be hit. Alonso will be platooned.

Alex Call is a 24 year old corner OF that isn’t great defensively and is coming off a AA season OPSing just over .700 with minimal power. At best, he’s in the backend of the Sox top 40 prospects and he has at least 8 OF prospects ahead of him. Sure, maybe he turns into a Brandon Guyer type, that that is about his ceiling. He’s one more poor AA season away from being a lost cause. I’ve already laid out in this thread this morning why Alonso is a better bet than Palka in 2019. And I think Palka still gets plenty of at bats if we miss on Harper.

Sure, that works too. Though I doubt we see that happen.

They can easily trade him if MM doesn’t sign. And then it’s like it never happened. Again, Alonso is on a market value deal and is a well respected vet. And it’s a 1 year deal - the Sox will make sure he doesn’t hit 526 at bats unless they want the option to best because he is raking.

1. It does improve the team. Incrementally, sure, but it improves 1B defense and Alonso is better than Palka. 2. The $9M wasn’t going to be deposited into an account named “Future Free Agency Fund”. Dollars are fungible, and this wasn’t going to be reallocated to future years. Not how it works. Couldn’t be less concerned about paying a solid major league veteran his market rate. The White Sox have a $1.25 to spend and they just spent away 9 pennies. Big fucking deal.

Agreed. I don’t even think it needs to be $50M each season, but difference between $50 and $45 or whatever is micenuts. Point remains - that type of deal probably gets it done and likely doesn’t hamstring the organization for a decade. Gives us a 5 year window to make this thing happen.

I like Palka, but Alonso is an upgrade. He’s also better at 1B than Abreu. He does improve he team, and he’s not very expensive. I didn’t like the McCann move at all because he isn’t good at anything, and if you wanted a guy that isn’t good at anything, sign a few minor league deals and let the best of bunch have the backup role until Seby is ready. I have zero qualms about The Alonso move. I love the effort. And let’s be real, there’s a decent chance Palka is terrible in 2019. I like the guy a lot and am rooting for him, but he’s already a low OBP, terrible defender and home run or nothing guy, and that was with a very surprising rookie campaign.

Plus, if the Sox don’t get Machado, and they decide to be bad again for some reason, they could easily give Alonso away, and poof! The $9M is back, and put Palka back as everyday DH. He could also turn in a nice first half and return a better prospect than Call. Its really not a concern of mine.

The Sox payroll WITH Alonso is still projected to be one of the smallest in the league. $9M is nothing - who cares? The Sox gave up a guy that was never going to be a long term piece for them. I think the only one making the “joke” is you. Ken Rosenthal was just saying the other day that he projected some “savvy” team would do this. If the Yankees or Phillies did it, you’d be lauding the move.

I’m not upset about it. Dude is due $9M, not some huge sum. He put up 2.4 fWAR in 2017, but fell at .7 in 2018. He’s paid what he’s worth, and could be a nice value if he bounces back to 2017 levels. i don’t see the harm in this move at all.

I imagine the Sox will now be in the market for a right handed bat to platoon with Alonso. He struggles against LHP, and obviously Palka cannot be his platoon mate.

You’re going a bit far with this take dude. Yonder Alonso is a proven and legitimate major leaguer, not some Indy ball bum. No one is going to give a shit about Alonso if the Sox somehow fail to sign MM, and why do you even care if they do?

The Sox can absolutely afford both, especially if the contracts are frontloaded and structured with advantageous opt outs. But uncle Jerry better be prepared to up the payroll over $150M. its unlikely, but getting one helps the offs of getting another. What better may to prove to these guys you aren’t messing around.

Fair, I’ll take one for the team!

Hey, that includes me!!!

As for the trade, why the heck not? A little repetitive with Palka, but as others have said, even if this moves our chances with Machado from 10% to 15%, why not? Palka was fun last year and all, but Alonso is a much better bet to be better next year, and we can still put Palka in a corner if need be. I like the move, If we strike out on the whales, you just use Alonso as a part time player. Sox have tons of payroll room, so I am not concerned about the $9M. Go get em Rick!

Just read this entire thread. Wow. Caulfield, put down the bottle, log off Soxtalk and go to bed.

No, actually he wasn't. I looked it up. I know. Here is a link for your education: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/q/quintjo01.shtml