The Sox have never paid anyone $75M. What would make people think they’d commit to paying Soto the $500M+ he’s looking to be paid?

33 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Fully agree.  I’d be willing to do Vaughn+++, but it can’t be Montgomery or Colas as the plusses (and I’d be hesitant to give up Vera).  That means something like Vaughn, Sosa or Popeye, Ramos or Kath, and some young arm (Mena, Thompson, Kelley, etc.).  Probably not enough for the Nationals, but Vaughn is as about as good of a centerpiece that I think someone would be willing to offer.

Just not enough depth to pull it off. Not enough top talent. If Sox make a trade with the Nats, it’s going to hurt.

Edited July 24, 20223 yr by Bob Sacamano

24 minutes ago, Timmy U said:

4 years of Vaughn + Ramos + J. Rodriguez + Mena + Jared Kelley for 2 years of Soto, who says no?  Who should say no?

The big question to me is what is 4 1/2 years of Vaughn worth right now?  I’d have to imagine at least two blue chip prospects plus a third interesting piece.  None of the other guys in your proposed package are top 100 prospects (although I think Ramos is close), so the Nationals really have to like Vaughn or feel they can spin him off in the off-season for a haul.

I proposed something similar and felt like it was a little short, but I can’t imagine too many teams are going to offer substantially more.  The problem is all it takes is one Preller to do something crazy and we’re quickly out of the ballgame.

36 minutes ago, Rey21 said:

In regards to defense I think all of us would be ok with Adam Engel in CF if that means Juan Soto is the starting RF. 

Yeah, I don’t think many people are going to agree with you on trading Robert here. 

21 minutes ago, Middle Buffalo said:

The Sox have never paid anyone $75M. What would make people think they’d commit to paying Soto the $500M+ he’s looking to be paid?

No one does. Hence why you’re only getting him for 2 1/3 seasons. 

1 hour ago, Timmy U said:

4 years of Vaughn + Ramos + J. Rodriguez + Mena + Jared Kelley for 2 years of Soto, who says no?  Who should say no?

WAS says no easily.  That’s very light outside of Vaughn. 

24 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

Yeah, I don’t think many people are going to agree with you on trading Robert here. 

I’d make Robert the centerpiece but the rest of the deal would be lighter and you’d absolutely have to extend Soto so you have him locked in for 10-15 years. 

Yankees might be up to something as Sweeney and Dominguez pulled from their games

Just now, fathom said:

Yankees might be up to something as Sweeney and Dominguez pulled from their games

That’s a steep price to pay for Benintendi ?

So let’s say the Sox acquired Soto for Vaughn+++.  How would you construct the lineup?  I feel like I’d bat him 2nd and then do something like this.

1. Anderson, SS
2. Soto, RF*
3. Robert, CF
4. Abreu, 1B
5. Jimenez, DH
6. Grandal, C#
7. Pollock, LF
8. Moncada, 3B#
9. Big Energy, 2B

I know it’s not going to happen, but it’s crazy how much adding one elite left-handed bat transforms the entire lineup.

10 hours ago, Middle Buffalo said:

The Sox have never paid anyone $75M. What would make people think they’d commit to paying Soto the $500M+ he’s looking to be paid?

This. This team is never going to land the big name player until JR is gone.

July 24: Cards a frontrunner for Soto?
"According to MLB Network insiders Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman in an article for the New York Post, the Cardinals are viewed by rival executives as frontrunners for landing Soto before the Aug. 2 Trade Deadline. Heyman and Sherman add that potential Soto suitors have been told that the Nationals are currently focused on just one or two teams, and St. Louis is thought to be one of those teams.

 

The Cardinals have a strong farm system and several good young position players at the Major League level. Washington has made it known that the return for Soto will need to be four or five young players -- some combination of players with low MLB service time and top prospects.

St. Louis is in a two-team race with the Brewers in the NL Central, and already have a pair of MVP candidates in the lineup -- Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. For a right-handed-heavy lineup, adding the left-handed Soto in between Goldschmidt and Arenado could be a game-changer in that division.

The Post report also suggests the Cardinals may not have to take on a large contract the Nats are trying to unload -- namely, that of left-hander Patrick Corbin -- because of the strong corps of young players, both at the big league and Minor League levels."

 

source: mlb.com

Edited July 25, 20223 yr by caulfield12

Colas is raking at AA. Bring him up and give him a shot.

1 hour ago, tray said:

Colas is raking at AA. Bring him up and give him a shot.

It's just 24 AB's but he is 11 for 24 (.458 ) with 3 HR's and 2 Doubles and and OPS of 1.417.

A bit too early for an MLB call up but then again the bar for fielding and hitting is pretty low in the Sox OF. It's pretty easy even now to imagine his LHB and fielding ahead of Sheets, Pollock and Engel. I'd hate to see him traded unless it was for a big upgrade and that doesn't mean Happ.

50 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

It's just 24 AB's but he is 11 for 24 (.458 ) with 3 HR's and 2 Doubles and and OPS of 1.417.

A bit too early for an MLB call up but then again the bar for fielding and hitting is pretty low in the Sox OF. It's pretty easy even now to imagine his LHB and fielding ahead of Sheets, Pollock and Engel. I'd hate to see him traded unless it was for a big upgrade and that doesn't mean Happ.

It’s crazy how many ABs Sheets has gotten simply because he is LH and strong.  And in the fat of the order.  

I would definitely circle the cards. I left Rosenthal's latest extremely unconvinced by his Padres arguments. Rizzo's group are still pretty good scouts, and they may favor players not annointed by the prospect numbers.

7 hours ago, Jerksticks said:

It’s crazy how many ABs Sheets has gotten simply because he is LH and strong.  And in the fat of the order.  

Yes.  I don't think there is any question that Colas is better than Sheets -- Today.  Not to mention down the road.  If our GM's think we still have a legitimate shot at playoffs, they owe it to everyone to put the best players on the field.

18 minutes ago, bmags said:

I would definitely circle the cards. I left Rosenthal's latest extremely unconvinced by his Padres arguments. Rizzo's group are still pretty good scouts, and they may favor players not annointed by the prospect numbers.

Cardinals have so much young talent it’s crazy.  I agree they seem like the favorite assuming there is interest there.

Cardinals finally getting bold with Arenado Goldschmidt and possibly Soto.

For the last thirty years or so, they tended to stay away from big name players in a mid tier payroll range, avoiding costly extensions for vets, even Pujols. 

McGwire and Holliday stick out as rare exceptions...

13 teams “in the running”. The Sox aren’t one of those teams.

https://www.mlb.com/news/executives-weigh-in-on-juan-soto-trade-possibilities

Edited July 25, 20223 yr by dohnut

Great BA article today. Won't provide everything in the article, but TLDR:

Quote

Below is every instance in the last 30 years that a team acquired a top-three MVP finisher OR a back-to-back Top 10 MVP finisher within two years of the player earning those distinctions. Soto fits both descriptions as the NL MVP runner-up a year ago and a top-10 MVP finisher each of the last three years.

In 13 of the 17 instances such a trade occurred, the team acquiring the star came out significantly ahead. Even in the other four cases, it was more of an even trade than a clear loss for the team acquiring the star.

For teams acquiring a star position player, the price has almost always been worth it in the last 30 years. For teams trading away players of that caliber, history shows it’s important to manage expectations: no matter how many years of control are left, no matter how touted the young big leaguers or prospects acquired in return are, no matter how much money is saved, teams overwhelmingly don’t win trades when they deal players at that level. In all but the rarest cases, the best they can hope for is that the deal comes out even.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/teams-rarely-regret-cost-of-trading-for-a-star-position-player/

Edited July 25, 20223 yr by DirtySox

1 hour ago, dohnut said:

13 teams “in the running”. The Sox aren’t one of those teams.

https://www.mlb.com/news/executives-weigh-in-on-juan-soto-trade-possibilities

this is what hurts to me. I know the sox aren't getting soto for a million reasons. What I dislike is that i'd much rather sox save bullets for players like these than the million marginal players that end up being so expensive for them. They add up. When Turner became available, the sox weren't there. When Betts was available, the sox weren't there. And of course, not getting them gave them the flexibility to add *chortles*.

I remember post Abreu signing, where we heard a lot about how even though they were unlikely, Sox were pushing hard to get Tanaka offering different creative deals. I really miss and just wish they still had that in them.

Because now it's the sox still being supremely confident that they know better than the rest of the league, and they don't.

1 minute ago, DirtySox said:

Great BA article today. Won't provide everything in the article, but TLDR:

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/teams-rarely-regret-cost-of-trading-for-a-star-position-player/

I knew I liked you.

If the Cards acquire Soto though, can we please stop giving them comp picks and instead give them to the true charity case of the MLB, the white sox?

Change the CBA to be "competitive balance picks go to the ten smallest markets by metro population or any team owned by Jerry Reinsdorf"

1 hour ago, dohnut said:

13 teams “in the running”. The Sox aren’t one of those teams.

https://www.mlb.com/news/executives-weigh-in-on-juan-soto-trade-possibilities

This is so frustrating.  I wonder if Hahn and Co even know who Soto is.  Maybe they don't watch NL games or interleague games, or all star games, or read anything about baseball.  Ignorance is the only reason to not be in on acquiring one of the best players in the game that clearly fit a need and your teams competitive window.