The fact they have the same agent is interesting also.  If for some reason Lozano said that if Hahn gets Yonder and that will make Manny choose them, that's a good way to have the Sox never negotiate with you again if he backtracks.

7 minutes ago, soxfan2014 said:

Isn't he meeting 5 other teams over the next few weeks? I don't think it'll happen Monday.

Not buying 6 teams. I think that is agentspeak. 

I went into this offseason believing both were possible - that we could “be on the verge of seeing a historic offseason.”

Not at all saying it’s happening... just see this as possible.

Many laughed when I said that, now not so much. ?

If the Sox land one of these guys, it makes this a much more attractive free agents destination than it currently is. They know it and they're pulling out all the stops on it. 

1 minute ago, iamshack said:

Not buying 6 teams. I think that is agentspeak. 

Same. It's gotta be the Yankees, Phillies, and Sox.

1 minute ago, hi8is said:

I went into this offseason believing both were possible - that we could “be on the verge of seeing a historic offseason.”

Not at all saying it’s happening... just see this as possible.

Many laughed when I said that, now not so much. ?

I wish but I really don't think they'd like to play with each other. Harper wants to build his brand and be "the guy". 

42 minutes ago, CWSpalehoseCWS said:

This is really odd if you ask me. Sox now have Castillo and Alonso almost specifically just for recruiting Manny. If the Sox don't land one of Harper/Manny they are absolutely going to look foolish to the rest of MLB.

Was Castillo signed last year with the specific intent to help the signing of Machado this year? really?

Someone else already mentioned it, but Hahn’s comments on this trade are going to be hilarious as fuck.

2 minutes ago, fathom said:

The fact they have the same agent is interesting also.  If for some reason Lozano said that if Hahn gets Yonder and that will make Manny choose them, that's a good way to have the Sox never negotiate with you again if he backtracks.

Yeah this is a good point. You are selling me. I had a really hard time believing that this was actually a powerful tool to sign him. But the Hahn quote and agent thing, that would be pretty brutal to mislead on when you have other clients and this team happens to be one of the few with money and desire to spend soon.

7 minutes ago, soxfan2014 said:

Are you fucking serious? You really don't get it? Dear lord.

I do. But it wasn’t necessary to do first.

With this move, I believe the 40-Man is now 100% full.

1 minute ago, whitesoxwinner said:

I wish but I really don't think they'd like to play with each other. Harper wants to build his brand and be "the guy". 

He would also want to win though.  Machado would help him win.  Harper would still have brand.

I'll join the pessimist train.

First, Alonso sucks. Look at bWAR and OPS- he's basically Davidson.

Second, I don't buy the BIL thing at all. A soon-to-be gazillionaire is going to determine where he plays for a good portion of the rest of his career based on his journeyman brother-in-law? No f'in way. Ever heard of this thing called a "jet"?

Third, this another of Rick Hahn's hedges. Fail on Harper, fail on Machado, but, "after much analysis and heartache, we determined that a major signing was not right for this franchise at this time, and decided to stay the course with the long-term development of our prospects." Our decision to trade for two other scrubs and sign one backs me up here. We're hedging and acquiring the second rate guys so management can shrug and say we tried.

I'll be happy to eat crow.

Just now, bmags said:

Yeah this is a good point. You are selling me. I had a really hard time believing that this was actually a powerful tool to sign him. But the Hahn quote and agent thing, that would be pretty brutal to mislead on when you have other clients and this team happens to be one of the few with money and desire to spend soon.

Like has there even been a case before where a player (making 9 million dollars)was acquired just to try and help recruit someone?  That's the type of stuff that SHOULD get a GM fired immediately if it doesn't pan out.  Also, have we ever figured out who Eddie Robinson in this FA class is?  I know Grandal was Boozer.

2 minutes ago, Saufley said:

Was Castillo signed last year with the specific intent to help the signing of Machado this year? really?

I doubt that was the main reason, but there was a story around SoxFest where someone asked him if he would recruit Machado.

3 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

I do. But it wasn’t necessary to do first.

No you clearly don't. The point is to bring him in to help bring Machado here. How does that make sense to do the trade after?

Edited December 15, 20187 yr by soxfan2014

12 minutes ago, Soxbadger said:

2 years ago barely anyone would have believed Sox would be in the hunt to get Machado or Harper, now it seems they are.

Even if they miss you are talking about moonshot free agents on their first try. The expectation should be failure. How many teams miss out on top tier free agents every year, even the Red Sox and Yankees.

The Yankees also hit on these often enough. We don't. Hahn and company haven't earned the understanding that Yanks and Red Sox fans ought to give to their leadership cadres.

2 minutes ago, Saufley said:

Was Castillo signed last year with the specific intent to help the signing of Machado this year? really?

LOL.

Hahn as genius-savant.

That’s why we had Michael Ynoa, to guarantee the signing of Robert.

Just now, caulfield12 said:

LOL.

Hahn as genius-savant.

That’s why we had Michael Ynoa, to guarantee the signing of Robert.

Have a night caulfield, have a night.

3 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

I do. But it wasn’t necessary to do first.

Dude, you have no fucking clue if that’s true.

2 minutes ago, fathom said:

Like has there even been a case before where a player (making 9 million dollars)was acquired just to try and help recruit someone?  That's the type of stuff that SHOULD get a GM fired immediately if it doesn't pan out.  Also, have we ever figured out who Eddie Robinson in this FA class is?  I know Grandal was Boozer.

It would have been Corbin honestly

1 minute ago, soxfan2014 said:

No you clearly don't. The point is to bring him in to help bring Machado here. How does that make sense to do the trade after?

The Indians were still going to be desperate to trade him, next week, next month or next March 1st.

Also, this is now 4 for 4 in terms of the media not having any idea that the Sox were about to make a move

I don't think there's any back channel communication here, I just think they brought him in because it might boost their chances from like 5% to 7%.

Just now, bmags said:

It would have been Corbin honestly

I'm thinking Pollock