jacksonianmarch

The interesting thing about these rankings is also the depth. There are 8 teams with 30+ prospects, yet BAL is third to last and the Yanks come in at 21. That’s due to the young depth in the systems. The Yanks lost a lot of high end talent to graduation and trades but they’re starting to replenish at the lower levels. Baltimore was devoid of talent until making some moves at the deadline and having a high pick last year. The Sox only have 20 prospects that they graded out, meaning they don’t have impact guys and don’t have depth. They’re 29th in projected WAR (stupid stat) but 28th in actual prospect numbers. Couple that with the lack of proximity and you’ve got a pretty dead farm system.

The only guy I’d deal Andujar for is Thor. DeGrom is old. MadBum has the cred, but lots of miles and a shoulder injury. Kluber and Carrasco are also older. If we are gonna deal an all star level bat that doesn’t strike out much, we better get a guy we can put at #1 and forget about it for a few years

I hate the "3 finalists" thing as if drawing it out will make us more intrigued. Give Mookie his damn award, he earned it

2019 is going to be a little less talent laden if you don't bring back Eo, Kimbrel and Kelly (which almost everyone doesn't expect the latter 2). But the 2019 team will be strong enough to likely enter the year as favorites or at the very least title contenders. Enjoy it.

From when the sox got him, Moreland had 40 more AB's even though Moreland was nursing an injury. Pearce wouldn't have even been in position to be a hero if Moreland hadn't tweaked a hamstring.

Pearce has been better vs Righties than Moreland over the past 3 seasons. It didn't stop Cora from starting Moreland almost exclusively against RHP

I disagree on the "neighborhood" play. They have to have something unique. Coming back to Boston is a guarantee that he will play the short side of a platoon. He will get offers where he is gonna start against everyone. His experience and production could easily carve out a COF, 1B, or DH role on another squad. He would need to get a total package in Boston that guarantees him more years and more total dollars. Think about it. If he is offered a 1 yr deal in Baltimore to show the kids how it's done, he'd start 150 games injuries aside. He would take that over a 1 yr deal in Boston just because his value will rise. If he gets a 2 yr deal in Cleveland to be their everyday 1b, he'd take that over a 2 yr deal to be a platoon man in Boston. The sox need to offer him a larger package over a longer term for him to type cast himself into a lower earning role. Like I said before, I see him signing a 2 yr $15 mil deal on the open market to start. Maybe the sox give him a 3 yr $18 mil deal. Saves $1.5 mil AAV and offers Pearce an extra year and $3 mil more for his age 38 season. You're not getting him on a 1 yr deal unless he truly takes a discount

The Sox are gonna need to outlast other offers as he’s gonna be stuck in a platoon role.

3 $18mil would absolutely get it done. He turns 36 in 2019. If he signed a 2 yr $15 deal, he’d be 38 in his first year after the deal expires. What’s the chance he earns $3 mil as a 38 yr old platoon man? Pretty low.

Yankees are doing "extensive" background work on Manny Machado. I think his punk act has turned some people off to how good he is. He has posted 6+ WAR in 3 of the last 4 seasons. He has hit 33 or more HRs in 4 straight. His walk rate hit a career high in 2018 at 9.9%. His K rate dropped to a career low at 14.7%. He crossed the 100 RBI mark for the first time in his career. His defensive numbers weren't as good in 2018 as he was playing SS, where he is more below average than anything else. But as a 3B, he is a gold glove caliber defender. Surprisingly, he also stole 14 bases. He doesn't fix the right handedness of our lineup and clearly has some maturing to do, but at 26 yrs old and already an MVP caliber player, he would be a welcome addition. If we do sign him, we would not need to surrender any picks as he was dealt in season. With Didi on the shelf, adding him would lineup as follows for the beginning 1. Torres 2B 2. Judge RF 3. Machado SS 4. Hicks CF 5. Stanton DH 6. Andujar 3B 7. Voit 1B 8. Sanchez C 9. Gardner LF When Didi returns, Andujar will be either pushed to 1b or DH and Stanton would move to LF. 1. Torres 2B 2. Judge RF 3. Machado 3B 4. Gregorius SS 5. Stanton LF 6. Hicks CF 7. Andujar 1B 8. Sanchez C 9. Voit DH That is a hell of a deep lineup

If you want to drive down Pearce's AAV, you're gonna have to increase his years. It is that simple. If Pearce is gonna sign a 1 yr deal, it will be with a team he can play a lot for to try and maximize his intake the following season.

At least you are aware of your idiocy

Continues to get dumber

Harper’s UZR/150 in RF was identical to Martinez’ in 2017. I am wondering if Harper was afraid to really go for it in his contract year. He was clearly pressing. I wonder if Boras was in his ear about not getting hurt

Astros and Yankees are prime suitors for Paxton. Gonna be interesting. Pairing Paxton with Verlander and Cole will make the Astros even tougher

That’s a pretty dumb retort

Crawford made absolutely no sense and to me, was not a Theo move. Every offensive move Theo made seemed to have OBP and pitches per AB factored in and the sox were mostly a plodding team without big time speed aside from Ellsbury. Crawford didn't take pitches. Crawford didn't walk at all. Crawford was getting to an age where his speed was slowing. CC, to me, couldn't have been made by Theo. It has no hallmarks of a money ball approach

Gray has produced far better than people are willing to give him credit for I think mostly because he is a Yankee now and because in Oakland, he played half his games where the fecal matter ends up on the field. His away numbers were stellar in 2018. And if you remove Fenway from his away numbers, they look even better. His ERA away from NY and Boston was 2.59. The kid can pitch, he is just a literal head case incapable of playing in a big market. Milwaukee, SD, lineup for him. He will be dominant out there

We certainly could close the gap by adding a player, but I doubt that's the way we roll. Our lineup is deep without our 1b producing. We have one guy with all the promise but a body of glass and a baseball nerd's dream in Voit who hadn't gotten a chance until the end of 2018. My guess is Cashman doesn't mess with that too much. But if Cashman wanted to upset the apple cart a bit, he would probably prefer Donaldson, just because the acquisition cost would be lower

There's hoping and wishing and then there is reasonably predicting. Teams that don't win like to pick off the players from teams that do. It is just as much about picking off talent as it is about picking off experience. There is a premium that gets paid by other organizations for players coming off a big post season. I know some of you are saying that the post season isn't looked at by the GM's, but that's total BS. Eovaldi looked like a guy getting a 1yr deal with an option at the end of 2018 regular season. Now he is a guy who is expected to see 3 guaranteed years and that is all due to a 22IP sample size in October. Same can be said for Pearce, who came into the POs as a platoon guy and left as a WS MVP. Now, if Pearce was a guy who had a long career and made a ton of money, then I'd say he would probably forgo the extra cash to return to Boston. But he hasn't. Based on his career earnings, he has made $24 mil. That is probably enough to set him up for life, except when you exclude taxes, living, etc. I am not crying poor for him, not in the least, but he has one more shot at maybe doubling that total. He is gonna take it.

Pearce has actually been pretty good over the last 5 seasons. Two of those were clunkers. Two seasons between 1.6 and 2 WAR in part time and one season of 4.5 WAR. He is coming off a solid year with a ridiculous finish and brings veteran leadership to a club. He’s the perfect guy for a rebuilding club to bring in and show the kids how it’s done. Having a ring and WS MVP in his trophy case helps add legitimacy to him. He will sign with a team nobody expects and for more money and years than what the Sox can offer

I’d be more inclined to say it is gonna happen.

I think I said this before, but I see two teams who will be in on Pearce. I see the Orioles offering a two year deal to mentor the youth movement. His credibility as a WS MVP could be very useful on a team now devoid of leadership. I could also see Cleveland going for him and moving EE to FT DH. I think there’s no earthly way he signs a one year deal. He’s gonna get two year offers

His numbers get skewed due to being in Oakland. His best season was a sub 3 ERA in 208IP with a 7.3:2 K:BB. That being said, a #2 starter is probably more like it. Funny thing is, he wasn’t a choker in Oakland. That didn’t start til he came to NY. This is why I think a move to the NL is gonna happen. Get him as far away from NY and Boston as possible.

So the initial returns on the first two weeks of the offseason are about depth, IMO. Gardner adds depth to the OF as well as speed. CC adds depth to the rotation. We know that many more dominos are to fall, but the chatter right now is about Swiss Army knife players and pitching, notable Corbin, Happ and the trade market. News came out yesterday that the Yanks have engaged the Mariners and the Guardians about their available pitching. James Paxton and Corbin are very similar in peripherals minus one major difference, HR rate. Paxton in 2017 had a Corbin 2018 like HR rate. Corbin 2017 had a Paxton 2018 HR rate. My concern with Paxton on this area is that he pitched half his games in a canyon with Corbin pitched half of his in a homer prone park. Also, Corbin is a year younger and a FA where the only charge will be a second round pick. Paxton is controlled for two years under arbitration. From a cost perspective, I understand trying to deal for Paxton, but from a talent cost perspective, I’d take Corbin all day long. The Guardians also came up. And while Carrasco and Kluber are aces, their age concerns me for regression. Neither is a true power pitcher, but it isn’t like they’re finesse guys either. Both sit in the 92-93 mph range and have great command of a deep arsenal. While I’d love to have either, the talent acquisition cost would be huge and we would be getting a player at the end of their expected prime based on age. Also, Sonny Gray’s market has heated up considerably. The Padres look like a possible target due to their deep farm and big ballpark. Gray could be had likely for one top prospect and some filler. If he goes to SD, reclaims his ace status and is moved at the deadline, he could be worth far more. We shall see, but clearly teams are seeing the splits and the stuff and aren’t scared off to this point