Another point I think is important - I'll minimize all the other aspects of Manny Machado not working hard or having a bad personality or having bad hair or whatever other point people want to use to insult him for not being like them. But if Manny Machado wants to come to a team and insist that he needs to be the SS and him getting that position is so important that the team needs to shuffle 4 players around to make it happen - that's a much bigger attitude red flag than anything else I've seen.

What's going to happen in a couple years when he loses a step, is no longer even a tolerable SS, the team has drafted a SS candidate, and Machado refuses to move? Manny Machado now makes the lineup card out?

Just offer the most money (tack on a couple more years if they are truly offering 7 right now, tell him he's playing 3B, and be done with this. 

1 minute ago, ptatc said:

Not that simple, if they want to sign him.

True.  We're hearing, at least, that he prefers SS but would play 3B.  It makes the most sense to have him play 3B for the Sox, but if push came to shove and playing SS was a deal breaker, I'm sure the Sox would make it work.

1 minute ago, caulfield12 said:

If we can keep him healthy...granted, Robert’s injuries this year were mostly related to base running.  He played the majority of his time in LF for Cuba and in Series Nacional, definitely has the speed/range for CF and a strong but not Adolfo-esque arm for RF.

 

You can't use health as an excuse to worry about Robert while people are telling me that Madrigal's ridiculously bad ground ball rate and lack of power aren't a worry because he was just banged up and that's not a problem for Madrigal. 

Just now, southsider2k5 said:

Tim Anderson has the tools to be a top tier defensive SS. No one else in the Sox system can say that. He has great range and a cannon of an arm. He keeps getting better at it.

I absolutely hate the idea of moving Timmy off of SS for an inferior defensive player. 

Agreed. But they may not have a choice if they want Manny. Maybe it would change after a year. This situation was another reason I would prefer Harper. Since the beginning  I said Anerson would need to move to CF if they acquired Machado.

3 minutes ago, ptatc said:

Not that simple, if they want to sign him.

Once he is under contract, he can either play 3B or grab some bench

Just now, hogan873 said:

True.  We're hearing, at least, that he prefers SS but would play 3B.  It makes the most sense to have him play 3B for the Sox, but if push came to shove and playing SS was a deal breaker, I'm sure the Sox would make it work.

Offer a few extra dollars and ask "would you play 3B now?"

2 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Tim Anderson has the tools to be a top tier defensive SS. No one else in the Sox system can say that. He has great range and a cannon of an arm. He keeps getting better at it.

I absolutely hate the idea of moving Timmy off of SS for an inferior defensive player. 

My sentiments, exactly!!

2 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Tim Anderson has the tools to be a top tier defensive SS. No one else in the Sox system can say that. He has great range and a cannon of an arm. He keeps getting better at it.

I absolutely hate the idea of moving Timmy off of SS for an inferior defensive player. 

I agree.  He still makes some errors, and some bad ones at times, but he's getting better and really looks like he could be a Gold Glover there.

Anderson was an excellent point guard...in some ways, his skill set and physical resiliency (not wearing down too much from stealing so many bases) would seemingly make him the better candidate for CF.

That said, he was really playing much better the second half of the season...almost Gold Glove level, were he on a media favorite team.

Am I the only one that thinks Manny wants to play SS for the next 5 years or so to help his HOF chances?

I'd prefer Machado at 3B for obvious reasons but what if they played him at SS and signed a 2B like Asdrubal Cabrera (111 wRC+ last year ) and another SP like Ervin Santana? Is this a wildcard contender?

 

1. Moncada 3B

2. Cabrera 2B

3. Machado SS

4. Abreu 1B/DH

5. Alonso 1B/DH

6. Jimenez LF

7. Castillo C 

8. Jay RF

9. Anderson CF 

Rotation

1. Rodon LHP

2. Lopez RHP

3. Santana RHP

4. Nova RHP

5. Giolito RHP

Bullpen 

Colome (RHP)

Herrera (RHP)

Fry (LHP)

Jones (RHP)

Hamilton (RHP)

Frare (LHP)

Covey (RHP) 

Manny probably pitched in high school.  At least coach doesn't think he wants to come here to close games.  

Just now, caulfield12 said:

Anderson was an excellent point guard...in some ways, his skill set and physical resiliency (not wearing down too much from stealing so many bases) would seemingly make him the better candidate for CF.

That said, he was really playing much better the second half of the season...almost Gold Glove level, were he on a media favorite team.

Which the Sox would be with Manny on board.  Well, maybe not a media favorite, but they would get a lot more attention.

Just now, Y2Jimmy0 said:

I'd prefer Machado at 3B for obvious reasons but what if they played him at SS and signed a 2B like Asdrubal Cabrera (111 wRC+ last year ) and another SP like Ervin Santana? Is this a wildcard contender?

Not unless your top 10 cy young contenders include Rodon, Lopez, and Giolito, and Don Cooper goes down as the greatest pitching coach in human history while we're at it.

3 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Another point I think is important - I'll minimize all the other aspects of Manny Machado not working hard or having a bad personality or having bad hair or whatever other point people want to use to insult him for not being like them. But if Manny Machado wants to come to a team and insist that he needs to be the SS and him getting that position is so important that the team needs to shuffle 4 players around to make it happen - that's a much bigger attitude red flag than anything else I've seen.

What's going to happen in a couple years when he loses a step, is no longer even a tolerable SS, the team has drafted a SS candidate, and Machado refuses to move? Manny Machado now makes the lineup card out?

Interesting post of calling out people criticizing him for not being like them, yet you go on to criticize him in your way. Would your criticism not be part of the bad personality variety? He is definitely a player that has strengths and weaknesses.

Chances are if you can play SS in the major leagues, you can probably play a number of positions. It's not a 100% lock, but a pretty good chance.

 

He didn't play SS, but Craig Biggio was a catcher and outfielder before he became a 2B then he went back to the OF full time, before returning to 2B, and he made the HOF. . Robin Yount moved to CF. Tim Raines was a 2B. 

2 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

You can't use health as an excuse to worry about Robert while people are telling me that Madrigal's ridiculously bad ground ball rate and lack of power aren't a worry because he was just banged up and that's not a problem for Madrigal. 

Madrigal wouldn’t be the first college prospect to underwhelm with power during their post draft season though. That is a thing. And scouts that have actually watched Madrigal say he’s effective at tapping into power so I’ll trust them more than half season numbers.

I actually think Anderson could be a superior CF.  He shows a lot of quickness moving side to side.

1 minute ago, Dick Allen said:

Chances are if you can play SS in the major leagues, you can probably play a number of positions. It's not a 100% lock, but a pretty good chance.

 

He didn't play SS, but Craig Biggio was a catcher and outfielder before he became a 2B then he went back to the OF full time, before returning to 2B, and he made the HOF. . Robin Yount moved to CF. Tim Raines was a 2B. 

Yeah honestly, fans in general should give some of these players more credit when it comes to talk about being able to play multiple positions.

2 minutes ago, fathom said:

Am I the only one that thinks Manny wants to play SS for the next 5 years or so to help his HOF chances?

Good call. His bat is more impressive there. It would be interesting to see how WAR projects him at each position as voters are starting to shift their focus for stats.

Just now, soxfan2014 said:

Yeah honestly, fans in general should give some of these players more credit when it comes to talk about being able to play multiple positions.

As soon as Sox drafted Madrigal, we knew position changes were inevitable.

Just now, fathom said:

As soon as Sox drafted Madrigal, we knew position changes were inevitable.

No doubt. However as they said at that, having too many good players is a good problem.

Moving any player on the MLB roster in anticipation of Madrigal's arrival is nuts. Let's see the kid crack a .400 slugging with wood bats before we move the superior prospect to a new position.

4 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

I'd prefer Machado at 3B for obvious reasons but what if they played him at SS and signed a 2B like Asdrubal Cabrera (111 wRC+ last year ) and another SP like Ervin Santana? Is this a wildcard contender?

 

1. Moncada 3B

2. Cabrera 2B

3. Machado SS

4. Abreu 1B/DH

5. Alonso 1B/DH

6. Jimenez LF

7. Castillo C 

8. Jay RF

9. Anderson CF 

Rotation

1. Rodon LHP

2. Lopez RHP

3. Santana RHP

4. Nova RHP

5. Giolito RHP

Bullpen 

Colome (RHP)

Herrera (RHP)

Fry (LHP)

Jones (RHP)

Hamilton (RHP)

Frare (LHP)

Covey (RHP) 

We would then have the majority of WBC representatives...goodbye, Tim Anderson.   On the plus side, we can convert half of Miami and Latin America into White Sox fans.