SCCWS

Supposedly his source is the executive buyer of urinal cakes for a ML team on the West Coast.

I would agree other than I would change the players to the agents. I am sure the agents have a framework from the players as to teams and money. Then the players wait till the agent says he has the best deal for them. Supposedly these agents are also big rivals. There is so much "fodder" out there but I don't think we have seen any comments/quotes from either player in a while.

FWIW--I would say Tuesday or Wednesday. Tomorrow will still be NFL talk on Today's games and next week's match-ups.

Maybe the mystery team is in Japan.

I would think Tuesday/Wednesday would be optimal considering the attention the NFL Playoffs get.

But Soxtalk is terrible framing pitches.

Eagles are in the Playoffs. Not sure about Machado and his agent. But Boras waited to announce JD Martinez last year until the bulk of the media had descended on Florida for ST.

I think the Tuesday/Wednesday window seems more likely. Boras for one will want full attention, not the big story after the NFL Playoffs.

There are media people everywhere voicing there opinions ( most probably just hunches). But the ESPN FA update article on Sunday/Monday had the Nats as the favorite for Harper.

Nice analysis. One note is that there is probably a lot of BS that has been floated. But Jon Heyman posted when this all started, that Manny said he wanted to return to a team the East Coast. Like the demand to play SS, we don't know how high that is on his wish list.

I think we have to let this play out before we judge Manny. This is the age of the athlete calling the shots if they have enough status. Lebron, Antonio Brown and Jimmy Butler are a few examples where the team did not come first. If Manny is upfront and says SS is his desire, then the GM needs to determine if he is worth the disruption. If the Phillies and Sox are the finalists and both say 3B or nothing, then Manny may have to fins another "cheaper" option

Agree. Often a SS is the best overall athlete on a team.

I think he would increase attendance by 4-5,000 because the team would be more competitive and stay in WC race till late summer.

These are two great opportunities but if they lose out this year, then hopefully next year they can get a few sharks instead of a whale. If we don't get either Machado or Harper, maybe Eloy turns out to be a whale and Hahn spends the money next year filling holes. But fire Kenny now and if the roster is no better after 2019, fire Hahn.

Not sure where you heard those rumblings but I haven't seen any. Chris Sale really seems to stays out of the spotlight in New England. This article popped up last month: Sale is open to extension talks, sources told NBC Sports Boston, with indications that he is more open to those talks than most players of his caliber would be when sitting just a year away from free agency. It’s unclear if there’s any movement on that front yet, with one team source noting that extensions generally brew later in the offseason. Now there are rumblings Betts will eventually test the open market. https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/red-sox/could-healthy-chris-sale-be-candidate-contract-extension

Saw a piece yesterday that the two agents are also rivals and neither wants to give in first. Not exactly the best thing for their clients it would seem.

I am not looking at the defensive side. He was switched to 3B in AA for the last 10 games and he struggled. He then struggled in the field, w the bat and even had a couple of big mental mistakes when he was called up. Immediately after the trade, Hahn came out and said he was moving him back to 2B. You can guess why. Then after this season, Moncada said he hopes to stay at 2B and Hahn said he finally looks comfortable playing the position. If he did not have offensive issues, a move to 3B makes sense to me. But until he seems comfortable at the plate, I think another change in position may have a negative impact on his overall mental approach.

I don't like to jump too far ahead, but is it a given Moncada is the better choice over Anderson to move to 3B. Moncada's brief stint in Boston at 3B was not successful.

FWIW---Last winter, JD Martinez was rumored to be signing w the Red Sox for quite a while. But it didn't become official to late February. He was a Boras guy.

Agree w are desperate for Manny but does he want to play for us? Only time will tell.

Maybe the White Sox are also closing down the upper deck like the Rays.

Corbin is also 29 so maybe he went in feeling this could be his last shot at big money so the 6 years as well as the $40 sold him. We will soon find out what will sway the big 2. My concern is a star hitter may want protection in the lineup so he has a better chance of producing. Will getting the biggest contract be a deciding factor for Machado or Harper since some superstars have such a big ego? If money is the deciding factor, what cities/teams offer the best endorsement deals? Does either prefer playing for a winner versus going to a rebuild? I would think the agent wants every buck they can get for their pockets so they may try and sell the contract over the location. I think way back, Machado said he preferred East Coast. Was that true? Does the ballpark .roster, coaching staff etc. have any affect. Do their wives care and if so do the players care what their wives think? Has JR asked Michael Jordan to speak to both to show that a superstar can thrive in Chicago? Have either talked to Chris Sale about uniforms?

FWIW---Longtime beat writer Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe is usually a pretty good source on baseball. He does not list the White Sox as finalists for either Machado or Harper. Otherwise he has a lot of baseball stuff in today's Globe. https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2018/12/29/baseball-top-free-agents-this-year-and-beyond/a538V444ifBDiTkVE3BNjI/story.html

I don't see them leaving Chicago. Maybe moving in the fences w a short right field porch for Harper and a short left field wall for Machado.

HUH????