Morosi: Jarren Duran Would Be A "Great Fit" With Detroit Tigers

[moonslav59]

19 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Every contract for the best player in the game is going to be insane from here on out. 

If we aren't willing to go a little crazy, we'll never sign the best players in baseball ever again. 

The problem with this is that if JH whiffs on a big FA signing, nothing is lost. If we trade key pieces for Skubal and JH fails to meet his demands, we lose a lot for a one year window boost- grand as it is.

I don't trust JH to do it. Why should we?

We can all sit here and pontificate about why he can and should, but he just plain doesn't go large and long anymore. Okay, Devers and Crochet were, so maybe I'm wrong but the risk of him bumbling this is too scary for my liking.

[Hitch]

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

The problem with this is that if JH whiffs on a big FA signing, nothing is lost. If we trade key pieces for Skubal and JH fails to meet his demands, we lose a lot for a one year window boost- grand as it is.

I don't trust JH to do it. Why should we?

We can all sit here and pontificate about why he can and should, but he just plain doesn't go large and long anymore. Okay, Devers and Crochet were, so maybe I'm wrong but the risk of him bumbling this is too scary for my liking.

People talk. Boras will let the Sox know exactly what the number is (if there is one) before we traded for him. They can decide if they're comfortable with it or not.

This idea that we would only be able to know what it would cost after a trade is for the birds.

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, Hitch said:

People talk. Boras will let the Sox know exactly what the number is (if there is one) before we traded for him. They can decide if they're comfortable with it or not.

This idea that we would only be able to know what it would cost after a trade is for the birds.

If BORA$$ can be trusted, I might be okay with the idea, but I still come down to this:

If we will play what the Mets and Dodgers will pay, why not just wait and outbid them next winter. Trade the pieces needed to get Skubal for someone else, and in 2027, we have both Skubal and the guy we get this winter for the haul that would have been needed to get Skubal.

[Hugh2]

40 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

The problem with this is that if JH whiffs on a big FA signing, nothing is lost. If we trade key pieces for Skubal and JH fails to meet his demands, we lose a lot for a one year window boost- grand as it is.

I don't trust JH to do it. Why should we?

We can all sit here and pontificate about why he can and should, but he just plain doesn't go large and long anymore. Okay, Devers and Crochet were, so maybe I'm wrong but the risk of him bumbling this is too scary for my liking.

What do you mean nothing is lost? they signed David Price to a record contract whiffing big time and that, I feel, has completely changed how they have approached free agency and pitchers moving forward.  A lot the success they had in 2018 came from guys they already had in their system before they whiffed. 

There is certainly 100% ramifications if you whiff on a big free agent.  Although I would argue a billionare investor shouldn't get spooked by a bad signing.  If you sign big names you're going to have booms and busts. 

[Hitch]

22 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

If BORA$$ can be trusted, I might be okay with the idea, but I still come down to this:

If we will play what the Mets and Dodgers will pay, why not just wait and outbid them next winter. Trade the pieces needed to get Skubal for someone else, and in 2027, we have both Skubal and the guy we get this winter for the haul that would have been needed to get Skubal.

Because we can't out bid the Mets in free agency and these things don't happen in a vacuum. If they say it's 400m now and we tell Boras we will go to it, the Mets could say okay we'll go $450m next year if you wait, but with the possibility of a long/potentially season ending work stoppage to come, it makes plenty of sense to say I'll take the guaranteed money right now, especially for the enormous figure it'll be. And if there is a year long stoppage of even half the season, who says he gets anywhere near that figure again. I'd rather we tie him up now and pay the prosect price rather than the alternative. 

Again though it all feels very unlikely, and I don't expect us to go there.

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Hitch said:

Because we can't out bid the Mets in free agency

Yes they can.

[Hugh2]

It will be interesting to see when the first 1 billion dollar player will be. 

A lot of it depends on WHEN the right guy gets to free agency.  

Teams are just going to spend much more on a elite 26 year old than they would an elite 30 year old. If everything is 100% equal the younger guy gets paid so much more. 

Using the last decade of mlb player salary inflation, IF a Juan Soto type were to reach free agency, we would get the first one billion dollar player not next offseason, but the one afterwards.  So, heading into the 2028 year.  That's pretty crazy to think about. 

400 mil don't seem too crazy now. 

[Hitch]

41 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Yes they can.

They really can't. If the Mets decide they want him no matter the cost, we're not outbidding them. 

Should we spend more? Absolutely. Can we outbid the richest guy in the sport? No.

[mvp 78]

14 minutes ago, Hitch said:

They really can't. If the Mets decide they want him no matter the cost, we're not outbidding them. 

Should we spend more? Absolutely. Can we outbid the richest guy in the sport? No.

Per reports, Cohen is losing money on the Mets. JH is not losing money. He chooses to not spend on the Sox. He can outbid Cohen if he wants. Mets have been outbid before. 

[notin]

3 hours ago, Hitch said:

People talk. Boras will let the Sox know exactly what the number is (if there is one) before we traded for him. They can decide if they're comfortable with it or not.

This idea that we would only be able to know what it would cost after a trade is for the birds.

I think if Boras did that, it might constitute tampering…

[Hitch]

12 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Per reports, Cohen is losing money on the Mets. JH is not losing money. He chooses to not spend on the Sox. He can outbid Cohen if he wants. Mets have been outbid before. 

Of course he's losing money. he's bidding 700m for players like Soto and telling Boras, "let us know the price and add 50m on top". If he wants them you're not out bidding him. 

There's wealth, and then there's Cohen.

Also, owners shouldn't be losing money, organisations should exist in their financial ecosystem. The problem is that too many owners are not getting anywhere near their ceiling. But the fact that Cohen doesn't care tells you all you need to know about bidding wars if they really want a player.

[Hitch]

2 minutes ago, notin said:

I think if Boras did that, it might constitute tampering…

But we're not naive enough to think it doesn't go on right? Alex Speier said as much a few days ago on 310 to Left. They all pass info around. 

[mvp 78]

9 minutes ago, notin said:

I think if Boras did that, it might constitute tampering…

And for the most part, it's ignored if done prior to an agreed upon trade. 

[mvp 78]

10 minutes ago, Hitch said:

But we're not naive enough to think it doesn't go on right? Alex Speier said as much a few days ago on 310 to Left. They all pass info around. 

Sox could also try to work out a negotiating window prior to finalizing the deal like the Roy Halladay to Phillies trade.

https://www.mlb.com/news/how-the-phillies-traded-for-roy-halladay

[notin]

10 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Sox could also try to work out a negotiating window prior to finalizing the deal like the Roy Halladay to Phillies trade.

https://www.mlb.com/news/how-the-phillies-traded-for-roy-halladay

That’s part of any trade, and not the same as just having an off-the-record conversation with Boras, which was what the post was alluding to.  It’s also not done much any more, if at all..,

[notin]

20 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

And for the most part, it's ignored if done prior to an agreed upon trade. 

The Sox certainly wouldn’t be able to hold him to anything…

[notin]

27 minutes ago, Hitch said:

But we're not naive enough to think it doesn't go on right? Alex Speier said as much a few days ago on 310 to Left. They all pass info around. 

I do think Boras abides by the rules.  He gains nothing by telling Boston a number and potentially weakens his position in this case…

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, Hugh2 said:

What do you mean nothing is lost? they signed David Price to a record contract whiffing big time and that, I feel, has completely changed how they have approached free agency and pitchers moving forward.  A lot the success they had in 2018 came from guys they already had in their system before they whiffed. 

There is certainly 100% ramifications if you whiff on a big free agent.  Although I would argue a billionare investor shouldn't get spooked by a bad signing.  If you sign big names you're going to have booms and busts. 

Huh? I totally agree much can be lost. I'm not for signing a FA pitcher, this winter.

I do not see a big risk in Skubal being a bust after we extend him. My worry is, JH won't pay enough to extend him, and if he did, then why not just outbid everyone before 2027 and keep the players we'd need to trade for him in '26.

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, Hitch said:

Because we can't out bid the Mets in free agency and these things don't happen in a vacuum. If they say it's 400m now and we tell Boras we will go to it, the Mets could say okay we'll go $450m next year if you wait, but with the possibility of a long/potentially season ending work stoppage to come, it makes plenty of sense to say I'll take the guaranteed money right now, especially for the enormous figure it'll be. And if there is a year long stoppage of even half the season, who says he gets anywhere near that figure again. I'd rather we tie him up now and pay the prosect price rather than the alternative. 

Again though it all feels very unlikely, and I don't expect us to go there.

I have zero trust JH will extend Skubal. My point is, if he agrees to extend him it will be at NYM prices, so then he can outbid them... in theory.

[moonslav59]

23 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Sox could also try to work out a negotiating window prior to finalizing the deal like the Roy Halladay to Phillies trade.

https://www.mlb.com/news/how-the-phillies-traded-for-roy-halladay

When is the last trade where this happened?

[Hugh2]

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Huh? I totally agree much can be lost. I'm not for signing a FA pitcher, this winter.

I do not see a big risk in Skubal being a bust after we extend him. My worry is, JH won't pay enough to extend him, and if he did, then why not just outbid everyone before 2027 and keep the players we'd need to trade for him in '26.

have you noticed how s***** free agency has been in recent years?

yeah we get a Ohtani and Soto, but besides a guy or two at the top the amount of impact players in free agency has dwindled down to bare bones. 

GUys sign extensions, and when they say they're not signing an extension but rather going to FA it's because they actually will sign an extension but they just want more money.  Going to FA is their leverage. 

There is a vERY VERY VERY real chance someone else comes in, trades for him AND signs him.  Of course, he might actually just go to FA.  

But I have ZERO problem giving up assets for him if we had a legit shot at extending him.  That's up to JH

[Hugh2]

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

When is the last trade where this happened?

I addressed this yesterday.  There's a difference between trading and immediately extending a guy and trading for him with an ideal of what his number is and hashing out the deal once he's in your organization. 

E.G. Crochet.  

[mvp 78]

17 minutes ago, notin said:

That’s part of any trade, and not the same as just having an off-the-record conversation with Boras, which was what the post was alluding to.  It’s also not done much any more, if at all..,

"That's part of any trade." 

"It's also not done much any more." 

🤔

[mvp 78]

7 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

When is the last trade where this happened?

I don't know. When was it? 

[Hitch]

23 minutes ago, notin said:

I do think Boras abides by the rules.  He gains nothing by telling Boston a number and potentially weakens his position in this case…

Apart from securing his client a whopping contract before what is expected to be a bitter work stoppage.

Swings and roundabouts and all that. Hard to see how everyone is seeing this impending work stoppage. 

[moonslav59]

44 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I don't know. When was it? 

So long ago, I'm not sure it will ever happen again.

I do think there was an unspoken deal made with AGon, and they announced the signing after the season started to avoid tax implications, but I'm not sure that one counts.

[Larry Cook]

On 11/11/2025 at 8:14 AM, notin said:

There are rumblings surrounding any potential free agent.  And sometimes rumblings around any star player on a small market team regardless of years.  See Greene, Hunter and Skenes, Paul.

 Ben says skenes will be a pirate in 2026! 
 

no word on Washington’s plans regarding McKenzie gore yet! 

[moonslav59]

51 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

have you noticed how s***** free agency has been in recent years?

 

Yes. I've documented it, posted about it and suggested we go the trade route on pitchers for many years because of it.

What did I say that makes you think I feel otherwise?

I'd love it, if we traded for Skubal and extended him. I'm just not sure the Crochet example is evidence JH will go super larger and longer on Skubal. I have zero trust in this. That is my reason.

Secondary, is the theory that trading for someone and then paying them NYM money seems like a bad idea. Just do the paying part and leave out the trade.

If someone else trades for Skubal and signs him for less than NYM money, I'll admit I was wrong, but even then, I'd still doubt that JH would have got it done.

 

[moonslav59]

55 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

I addressed this yesterday.  There's a difference between trading and immediately extending a guy and trading for him with an ideal of what his number is and hashing out the deal once he's in your organization. 

E.G. Crochet.  

That's not really an answer, and Skubal is no Crochet. Much of Crochet was unknown, and that's why he didn't get mega bucks.

[moonslav59]

How about this? Find out what Skubal told DET he wanted. Tell DET to sign him and here is what we'll give you once he signs.