jacksonianmarch

You’re stuck with Sale until he proves he’s healthy. Nobody is gonna pay prospect capital and the salary for the broken down version of Sale pre-TJS. If TJS was all he needed and his shoulder issue is behind him, then I could see the Sox moving him. Imagine he comes back chucking 97 and hitting corners? He’d return an immense haul of talent. But there’s a very real chance that person doesn’t exist anymore due to the shoulder. We will see

Yanks are apparently intent on resetting again this year. In doing so, I’d assume they’ll spend again after 2021, and Thor will be a free agent.

You need to be in reality here. They were a team that was passed by the Yanks and Rays. They had a desolate farm. They were overweight with bad contracts. If they brought in a Sandy Alderson, I would say you're gonna spend your way into contention. You got Bloom, a guy who is known as a master trader and builder. He is a value guy. You don't get value from the top of the FA market. I think Bloom has done a phenomenal job, and this isnt because I am a Yankee fan. He hasnt invested in any bad deals. He got rid of an underwater contract and 1 year of an MVP caliber player and got a top 100 prospect and a near AS level OFer with 5 years of control. He dealt off a clearly declining Workman and actually got some real talent. He dealt off Pillar and actually got some talent. I have been really impressed by his trades. His draft was reasonable, not knock it out of the park, but added some good talent. He has held onto his prospects. But if you think the sox are gonna contend in 21 and likely 22, then you're out of your mind. If you want predictions, I have some... The sox will nurture ERod back to health and trade him for a good haul The sox will deal off or re-sign Xander to a new deal by the end of 2021. He will not go into 2022 with only one year of control. If dealt, JMart will be part of the deal Devers will get dealt away within the next 2 years. Devers value is way higher as a 3b, and before he ages out of the position, Bloom will cash in and get pitching capital The sox will sign no major FAs this offseason, one mid level FA next offseason and be enormous players in the FA market after 22. The sox will not make the playoffs in 21 or 22, but will be a PO contender in 23 and a WS contender 24 and onward

Ding ding ding. For the sox, these are the type of moves you make with an eye towards dealing at the deadline. For the sox, if Kluber was good, they could use the $6-7 mil or so (pre-ASB) as an investment in a prospect package. If he sucked, then you only lose money and it's a 1 year deal. I do not dislike this move for the Yanks in terms of upside and commitment. I dislike the idea that he will be leaned on as if he is a constant, which he clearly is not

Perez is a body who can fill a rotation slot and not vomit all over himself every time he goes the slab.

Cole is on the Yanks. He should go 32 and 200+

Bloom wants to be Friedman. You won’t see any long term stuff this offseason. You’ll see short term deals for guys who can be sold off. You don’t hire Bloom to sign big name FAs. You hire Bloom to rebuild and he is already doing an excellent job of that.

He was averaging 92 in his last ace level season. To be at 90 in January is pretty good. I love the idea of Kluber. I don’t like the idea of relying on Kluber. If the Yanks re-signed Masa and then got Kluber, I’m in. But Kluber is 36 and coming off two major arm injuries, one of which was a fluke, the other an overuse injury. Right now he’s a 3 in our rotation. I’d rather he be a 4 or 5 with a 6th pitcher being totally ready. As it stands... 1. Cole 2. Montgomery 3. Kluber 4. German 5. Garcia 6. Schmidt/King/Nelson/Gil Severino to return around the ASB. Lots of potential. Also a chance it turns into a dumpster fire. I’d rather we have used the $11 mil and maybe added to it and brought in someone with a better chance of making it through the whole year

Yanks sign Kluber. I hope he can stay healthy.

Richards is an awesome call. He was solid last year. He was averaging 95 mph on his FB. He has been an ace in the AL. I think he will sign a pillow contract somewhere. Boston could definitely do worse than him. Heck, so could the Yanks

If he can stay healthy with a full off-season, full spring and appropriate ramp up, then he will earn his keep. His issue is health and he has been awful with that the last 2 years

Lots of momentum for him to be a commissioner one day

Rumor is that this will allow the Yanks to sign Kluber at $6-$8 mil for one season. They’re expected to be a finalist for his services. I’m not gonna lie, I’d rather someone with more durability and less upside so our pen isn’t gassed by July. We have Severino coming back mid season and our lineup and pen are good enough to sustain a mid 4’s ERA pitcher and win a bunch with him as long as he can give some length. But Kluber is a total wild card. He’s a guy you sign to be your #5 with a couple options in the 6 and 7 slot. While we have some talented kids that are close to big league ready, we don’t have the bulk of the rotation of a standard title contender. And kids usually do better when there is a strong base of the rotation already to take the expectation pressure off of them. Right now you’ve got Cole and Montgomery as the only real big leaguers who aren’t coming off a layoff or aren’t rookies. German won’t have started a game in 19 months by April. Garcia is a kid. Schmidt is a kid. It would be best if you could add a reliable guy to Cole and Montgomery. Kluber isn’t that. Then again, he’s the best high upside value on the market. This is a big time gamble for a title contending team if they go this route

That’s a sunk cost. When he’s 38, we will likely be in a rebuild window. I thought, for sure, he’d be $20-$25 mil AAV. The fact that he’s at $15 mil AAV allows for other additions

DJ thought he would get a $125 mil for 5. $90 mil for 6 is a steal, especially since it pushes the AAV down to $15 mil

Run it back Yanks. Rumor has it the Yanks may be offering a 6 year deal here at the same money they were going to offer for a 5 year deal. DJ likely knows that he isnt gonna make anything as a 38 year old, but this allows the Yanks to drop the AAV.

I think the Yanks have already told him to move on. There was a report early in the offseason that said the yanks already told him they were moving on. That could be BS in the end. My bet is the Yanks make a trade or sign a rebounding veteran. Not that I don’t think they need another good starter, but that’s what I think they’re gonna do at this juncture. Cashman might finally be getting the autonomy to do his own negotiations. We shall see how he does

Rumors starting to project a Japan return for Tanaka

ERod is another story entirely. His issue will be recovering his conditioning and repeating his mechanics. He’s got the better chance between he and Sale of having a fully productive 2021, but I do wonder if there will be extra precautions taken. Very few players play after an episode of myocarditis. With covid being a new disease, I bet he’s monitored to the hilt

There’s ready and able and then there’s most likely to be effective. He should be healthy enough to pitch in May (14 months or so post surgery). Unless Bloom’s goal is to shed his contract, I’d hold him back if 2021 doesn’t look like a banner year. He’s got a lot of miles on his arm, a recent surgical procedure and a shoulder injury that sapped effectiveness before hand. I’d avoid having him burn through in a year that the Sox seem destined to finish lower in the standings. I’d treat 2021 as the year to get him right so he can take the ball opening day 2022

There’s almost no point to throwing any sort of prediction out there with Beni in it. When all the pundits say he’s getting moved, they’re usually right. I also keep hearing the baseball pundits talking about why they’re selling low. Bloom may feel his body type won’t age well. His drop in foot speed over three years is alarming for a 24-26 year old. I keep hearing the Marlins as a destination. They’ve got some young pitching. I’ll be intrigued as to who gets fleeced by Bloom this time around

and moving him to the most demanding OF position may mitigate that. For his career, Verdugo is a plus LFer, below average RFer and minus CFer defensively. I wonder if it has anything to do with his arm, but playing him in CF does you no defensive favors

You’d want defense to groom your staff. You don’t want to have Chavis and his negative WaR and absolutely horrendous 2b defense screwing with your staff

If the final offseason roster looks like another punted year, then I pull back on the Chris sale reigns a bit and have him got for it around the ASB. If the Sox make additions and look like they’re ready to compete, then I’d let his progress dictate a timeline.

This whole offseason hasn’t been enlightening. MLB Hot stove used to be great. Then again, lots of things that used to be great aren’t anymore. Sign of the times I guess