SCCWS

Will Machado or Harper look at suitors and see who will bat around them for some protection? Obviously if they go to an established contender, that would not be an issue. But if the White Sox are meeting with them, in the middle of a rebuild, would they be concerned that teams could pitch around them if the rest of the lineup is weak. Abreu behind them might help as opposed to Palka who they probably never heard of . But then again, maybe these guys could care less about the lineup. Just a thought.

He had an outstanding September but a mediocre August. If Boston is not all in after him in the coming weeks, I would back away as well.

Since 2019 is a rebuilding year, you could put him in the rotation and let him have a year of limited pitch counts to build his stamina some more and then turn him loose in 2020. But the Yankees( and even the Red Sox) may be a contender for him.

You could be right but usually on a team for every guy who has a career year, someone else has a dwon year or goes out for a big chunk of time w an injury. Hopefully for the Sox, the young players( Moncada, Anderson, Rodon, Giolito and Lopez all improve 1-2 WAR

Really good work. creative roster. My only complaint is that I would say you have put some WAR values very high on a few players. If you put their average WAR numbers for their careers, it might be more realistic. For example, I can see Anderson a 3 but you have Moncada going from a 2 to a 4. Machado and Corbin at 6 would be high based on their performance last year. Rodon would be also having a decent bump up. I love Jimenez but 3.5 is a very good 1st year. I would probably shave off 6-7 WAR overall. But who knows how this will play out.

Think rose-tinted glasses. Now, moving on to closer, Kimbrel wants a 6 year deal ...................................

I agree with him being a perfect utility guy. But if he can't really stay healthy, he is not a perfect utility player.

With sagging attendance, baseball should not be expanding. But money makes decisions. Two new expansion teams will help them water down the product even more. Tampa Bay was a poor expansion choice and a new stadium will not solve their attendance woes.

Not sure what your definition of generational talent is. Machado so far is a .282 lifetime batter after 7 seasons. He is an excellent defensive player. Has never won an MVP. Machado usually is a Top 10 in AL voting before this season. I would say Mike Trout is the AL generational player right now and guys like Machado, Judge, Betts will be chasing him. I am not sure on Harper. His 2015 was a monster but his .249 average last year is a little concerning. If the Sox had 2 or 3 solid positional pieces in place already, I think it would be a better shot going for one of them. So one question, if the budget is $400 Mil, would you rather spend $400 mil on Machado or Harper or spread the risk and fill 3 or 4 spots with the $400. on the next tier down.

They are pretty rare. There are elite closers but long term may be tough. Diaz had a hell of a year but I would think he is a gamble being long term. Kimbrel may be the closest to elite long term but even he was a little shaky down the stretch.

There is a connection though to having a good rotation to take the pressure off the bullpen. But in a rebuild, you have to go with young pitchers who tend to be more 5 inning guys than 7 inning. Hopefully we see Rodon, Lopez and Gio pitch a little deeper into games so the pen can get some help.

I think though some players may take the lesser offer( if close in number) to play for a contender. Somewhat different, since he had a contract,, but we saw Stanton hold the Marlins hostage last year when his list was only 4 contenders. I think Harper will take the best deal but I see Machado wanting to play for a contender after seeing Baltimore vs LA.

Eovaldi is only 28. If you sign him for 4 years, he could be a key SP in the next pennant run. But obviously his arm/health is the question whether they want to take a run at him. If he is good, who cares who he blocks?

I think one factor will be Eovaldi's feeling at being a 4/5 in Boston. He has a World Championship but due to numbers ended up in the bullpen in WS. Maybe he will want to go somewhere that he can be a 2/3 starter.

Agree but the timing is coming at a bad time. If you overpay one of these two and the rebuild does not produce enough talent to challenge for a WS then they will be forced to add other big FA contracts. If Eloy, Moncada and Robert were all up and producing and 2 -3 pitchers were in place, it is a no-brainer. The other option is to wait and fill open slots in 2020/21 with 3-4 high quality FA signings a step down from these two.

Also because the organization has tabbed him as a top of the order hitter.

So you want Robert to skip AAA and most of AA if he gets off to a good start in AA next spring????

Damn: I just told my grand-daughther last week that having fun is more important than winning. Affixed to the backstop of the St. Anthony Little League Stadium in Utica, NY was a small and not terribly pretty sign that simply said: "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game." https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnzogby/2013/03/08/its-how-you-play-the-game/#5586339133b7

Drop the word "top" and this is okay. They can use an innings eater.

I would love to see them trade him for a young 3B, C or CF. But I think Abreu's trade value is low . Maybe wait to early next season and he may improve his trade stock.

I think you left out one factor. Ability to compete for a World Series. I posted a few weeks ago that different things affect FA. I don't know how important is it for a player to want to go to a team that will compete next year. Machad , for example, is coming from a near miss. Will he be content to go to an organization that hopes it is a few years away?. Cano went out to Seattle when they were down so some players will gamble on a team 's future. But most seem to want to go to a situation where there are pieces in place and they put them over the top. Hopefully Machado/Harper see the chance to be the top player that a team builds around.

Every organization goes through injuries especially w pitchers. There are probably 50+ players between the ML roster and A ball that some segment of fans are following. Luckily we are still in the early rebuild and not counting on guys like Kopech and Burdi to be contributors next year.

Agree as long as they are paying enough to attract the right people. I would assume they will.

I think he is their #1 starter next year. I would guess there will be a plan developed as to how to strengthen his arm for the off-season and in-season for next year.