BlackSox13

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 08:16 AM) Good. That would force the Sox to get Cespedes, who I want more than Gordo anyway. Same here. Come on Royals, do the White Sox a favor and sign Gordon already. Jose Abreu, get on the phone and tell Cespedes to quit stalling and just sign with the Sox already.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 06:46 AM) Would his arm play in RF? For comparisons sake, according to fangraphs Avi's arm strength was rated a 5.3 in '15 while Fowler rated at -1.2. Does not look like Fowler has the arm. Turning Fowler into a strictly RHH, moving him to RF where he's never played and giving up a comp pick does not sound like good ideas. Could go horribly wrong fast.

I don't see anything to be concerned about. It seems the Sox are deep enough into negotiations to where they will get one last chance to make a counter-offer before the FA signs. All part of the negotiating process. Gonna go ahead and guess the Orioles sign Davis, Royals sign Gordon, Angels sign Upton, Sox sign Cespedes.

Sounding more and more like the Giants are out of the running for one Upton/Cespedes/Gordon. http://www.hngn.com/articles/166514/201601...o-expensive.htm "Rumors have linked the Giants to high-profile options such as Yoenis Cespedes, Justin Upton and Alex Gordon, but it's been said the team doesn't want to add another enormous long-term deal to their payroll. All three aforementioned names are looking for annual salaries in the $20 million range. Their prices may decrease, but perhaps it won't be enough to entice San Francisco."

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 12:58 PM) I really don't see the Giants being big threats. The Orioles if they loose out on davis have supposedly are more interested in upton. Tho the Orioles owner like davis so much he's willing to give him every opportunity to come back. That supposed offer they withdrew is still kinda there. Angels don't want to hit the luxury tax and they are so right handed that might take them away from Cespedes. Only real team I see could be threats on Cespedes is tigers. Unless the tigers decide to go into the luxury tax, I don't think they are really threat. Here's how Detroit's finances break down. Committed contracts/retained salaries for 11 players: 151.4M Speculated arbitration salaries for 5 players: 17.3 Cost for 8 league minimum players : 4M Leaving one spot open for a FA signing, that's a total of 172M+ for 24 players. IMHO, either the tigers are bluffing in their interest or are being used by agents to drive the prices up.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 12:45 PM) That's why I don't think the Giants are the biggest threat to sign him, he's a much bigger risk in that park. This and the Giants payroll is sitting around 165M so IHMO, the Giants look at one of the 2nd tier free agent outfielders. If the Giants signed one of the big three it would put their payroll right around the luxury tax threshold and wouldn't allow any wiggle room for mid-season acquisitions without going into luxury tax territory.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 12:39 PM) This is why I like Cespedes more cause he hasn't fully been in a homerun park. Playing at the Cell could easily see him maintain 30+ homers. Maybe even more. Ya no doubt about it. Being in a lineup with Abreu and Frazier could enhance that as well. With Baltimore in desperate need of pitching, I think they sign a pitcher, Alvarez and one of the 2nd tier FA outfielders. Baltimore has money but they also have multiple holes so I'm guessing they spread the money out to fill those holes. This would help the Sox tremendously in the Sox negotiations with Cespedes. Or so I hope.

Could be good news for Sox fans. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2604907...-with-right-fit "Apart from a two-month stint in Boston at the end of 2014, Cespedes has spent his career playing home games in parks that aren't known to be power-friendly. First there was O.co Coliseum, and then came Comerica Park and Citi Field. Per ESPN.com's park factors, all three tend to rate as either neutral or unfriendly parks for power hitters. Giving Cespedes a more power-friendly home ballpark to play in, therefore, could go a long way toward making sure his 2015 power breakout has some staying power. And this, naturally, is where it becomes easy to draw a line in the sand between his suitors. On one side, you have the Angels and Giants. Because it would mainly involve gambling on Cespedes' power, both clubs should be wary of signing him—even if it were at a discounted rate. Angel Stadium of Anaheim and AT&T Park are noted death traps for power hitters. As such, neither club would be putting Cespedes in a good position to continue his power-based breakout."

Interesting breakdown on Cespedes' potential value and contract. http://www.si.com/mlb/2016/01/05/whats-he-...des-free-agency "What's He Really Worth: Can Yoenis Cespedes get Heyward-sized deal?"

QUOTE (reiks12 @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 03:51 AM) Reminder that Fister was traded for a Furbush

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 11:18 PM) Honestly if they really are interested in giving Fister a major league deal, it means they don't think much of Johnson. You might be onto something there. It could explain the rumors earlier in the off season with the Sox shopping Johnson.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 06:39 PM) Am I the only person who loves Django? Nope, I fricken love that movie and have watched it countless times and in fact watched with my wife again just last week. Imo, great acting all all the way around. For me, Django is right up there with Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction. All three movies are #1's for me.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 10:31 PM) Isn't this the time when posters are supposed to start complaining "if he doesn't want to come here, the sox shouldn't give him the deal." Wait for it....

QUOTE (hi8is @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 10:08 PM) Si Gracias señor poop-meister.

Am I wrong for not wanting this guy? I read earlier today his velocity was down to 86 last season. Are there any indicators that might show his velocity will return?

QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 09:51 PM) Updates from Rabbit: Yup. Not sure they get their "first choice" but they're happy w/ the way "their" market has developed to this point. @georgyjj09 @HHS1DPU teams are leaving the players out to dry because there are no aggressors forcing their hand. Market will move in tim @georgyjj09 @HHS1DPU basically supply and demand but when once an OF signs teams will start to show their hands. Until then, they wait eorgyjj09 @HHS1DPU I've heard they've moved hardest after Gordon. That's all things considered: $, compensation, fit, years, profile, etc. 7:40 PM - 4 Jan 2016 @HHS1DPU he's trying to get the best deal for himself. KC has been active with other outfielders though. Well done sir and thank you for posting this.

QUOTE (Al Lopez's Ghost @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 09:41 PM) Rabbit tweeted something a little while ago. Sorry don't know how to import it. Said the Sox were happy the way. The market is going, but might not get their first choice. IIRC. Gordon is the Sox first choice with Cespedes as their second. Anyone know if I remember this correctly?

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 08:18 PM) I thought the the January summit last year was pitchers. Also, where's Laroche? It's still hunting season.

No kidding. Avi should be the first one there. Good to see Davidson will be there too. Never give up Matt.

QUOTE (Saufley @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 05:58 PM) It sure would be nice to see LaRoche have a good spring training and follow that up throughout the year. What a plus that would be for our 2016 season. One can hope. LaRoche will get a chance to show the Sox something in ST so its up to him. Maybe adding Frazier, Lawrie and one of the free agents to the lineup will somehow help him. Would be nice if he could be the left handed power bat the middle of the order needs. At this point, hope is all we have for LaRoche. He was so bad in '15 I think he will improve to some extent, its just a matter of how much.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 10:38 AM) Wow, I hadn't compared their numbers before, but Danks last three years aren't that far off of what Happ has typically done. Maybe Danks isn't as overpaid as we all thought. Plus, factor in the cost of pitching went up this winter so as long as Danks continues to pitch the way he has or better he's definitely worth closer to his '16 salary.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 10:34 AM) It might be in the best interest of the Sox to throw some crazy AAV numbers to these guys over a three year deal. After all, a 3-4 year deal would be in line for when the contracts for our core players starts to run out. Abreu (2019), Sale (2019), Quintana (2020), Eaton (2021), and Rodon (2021). I agree. Personally, I wouldn't go more than three for Gordon but I am biased in that I don't really want him in the first place. As for Cespedes, Garfien said over the weekend that Cespedes had only been offered a three year deal to this point so I think for now, the Sox are going with the flow by taking their three year stance but are willing to go four guaranteed years and maybe even a fifth year mutual option with buy out. But that's a wild guess on my part and should be taken with a grain of salt, as they say.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 10:17 AM) Wasn't the Royals offer 12-13 million per year though? Yes, I think it was along the lines of 4/50-54M IIRC.

As long as Danks stays healthy and at least pitches the way he has or better, he will easily find work next winter and the pitching FA market will be much thinner than this year's which should help too. He won't be pitching for the Sox but he will be pitching for some MLB team. In a perfect world. Danks pitches well enough for the Sox to offer a QO, Danks rejects it and the Sox get a comp pick from the team that signs him. Remember, I did say in a perfect world.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Jan 3, 2016 -> 10:59 PM) In my opinion I'd say our situation is worse with LaRoche since we are trying to compete while worst case scenario for them is they keep them on the bench for one year. They aren't winning or losing their division despite having them or not having them. Plus taking them on for a year helped them get rid of Chris Johnson's 2 remaining seasons. And combined they make $29 mil this year with the Indians paying 10 of that so only 19 mill. I think they will end up eating some money and moving Bourn while just eating Swisher's remaining one year (what they did with Quentin) or just keeping him on the bench. The Sox can do the same with LaRoche and utilize him in a late inning bench roll (PH/1B defense) while still trying to compete. IMHO, LaRoche's 13M is better than Swisher and Bourn's combined 19M. It's not so much LaRoche's salary is single handedly handcuffing the Sox, its the overall money spent last winter on a combination of three free agents. 2016 salaries for those free agents are 13M for LaRoche, 14M for Melky, 12M for Robertson. That's 39M for just three players which accounts for 1/3 of the overall payroll at this time. Don't get me wrong, I'm really not complaining about those signings last winter as its all in hindsight now. Just pointing out that those contracts on their own aren't bad, its when they add up that creates a problem. That's alot of money for just three players on a roster of 25.