jacksonianmarch

I never ignore someone. But I will call out BS when I see it. You’re not going to stop watching because JD wants more money. That’s just naive. The guy was one of the best hitters in baseball last year. He’s in his prime. He wants to be paid like prime hitters. Is he making stupid money, yes. Is he trying to get market value, yes. Don’t be a dolt

Bye Felicia

JBJ will light the world on fire for two months and will be the equivalent of Rey Ordonez the other 4.

The interesting thing here was the blasts from the past on here. I didn't realize soxfanforsyth has been gone from the site for nearly a year and a half

I am going with June as well, allowing for no setbacks. You cannot rush this type of procedure. If you do, swelling ensues and it becomes a failed procedure

Splitting the gate effectively forces a well run team to even the playing field with a poorly run one. I don’t like that idea. Socialism in pro sports isn’t always a good thing, you have to have a free market to some degree. I’m entirely fine with the parity now compared to years past. Every team has made the playoffs in the last 10 years, which wasn’t the case in the prior 10. Now I think the players need to work to alleviate some of the undue burden added onto the larger market teams which should open their wallets a bit more. We are seeing the effects of attacking the large markets this offseason. When the free agent market bidders aren’t large markets, the offers are lower, and the market stagnates. If the lux tax were $20 mil higher, then NY and LA would have already signed someone

Groome will be 19 for most of the 2018 season and has a max of 55IP in a season to this point. My anticipation is he will have an innings cap around 100-110. It will be hard for him to traverse A and A+ ball with that innings cap.

You cannot do a salary floor in baseball because the owners would then ask for a hard cap. If I were the players union, I’d ask for a zero penalty phase for signing FAs. Reward the losing team with comp picks, but no damage comes to the signing team. And the steroids out of the game, I’d push for changes to the 6 years of service time. Maybe make it 5 yrs with an option for a sixth year for the average salary of the top 3 earning players at the position. This would allow more guys who aren’t in the top tier to hit the market and allow the top tier guys to get paid handsomely in their last year of control.

The smaller markets are waiting out these free agents, there’s no big fish to swoop in and steal them. Boston can wait on JD as they know the Yankees aren’t waiting to sign him. Heck, Hosmer’s choices are SD or KC

It was a great agreement for small markets because the prices will drop on marquee FAs which will in turn drop the prices of the guys the small markets sign as well. By focusing so much on the small markets, the larger markets have effectively decided to follow prospect development instead of big money signings.

We live in a capitalist society. MLB FA is the epitome of capitalism

I’m reading multiple agents talking about collusion and hearing about players boycotting ST (which they legally cannot do) due to the slowdown in the FA market. Well, I’m sorry, but you guys agreed to this CBA. The penalties attached to QO signees are even more onerous. Yes a 1st round loss is big, but now a 2nd rounder, a 5th rounder and huge INtL money forfeitures to sign a QO’d FA are more than most teams are willing to fork over, especially when considering now that the teams will then have to pay the contract and the taxes associated with it. The CBA disproportionately discriminated against the big market clubs. Now, all of the large markets outside of Boston are trying to stay away from the lux tax cap because next years FAs are ridiculous and also the large market clubs are the ones who get hurt the most with lost INTL funds since they’re the most active down in the DR and VZ. So you have LA, NYY, CHC and other large market clubs on the sideline waiting for next offseason. You’re got other large markets not wanting to be penalized for signing players and now the players are bitching? You agreed to this CBA. Now you have to live with it

Ellsbury posted a positive UZR/150 in CF as recent as 2016, so it’s not that he cannot play the position. He’s at best average and more likely slightly below average defensively in CF. He scored a 1.6WAR last yr in 2/3 a season which would put him at 2.4 WAR if projected over a full season. He has value. He’s just not nearly as valuable as the other OFers on this club

I wouldn't use the term "blocked kids". Kopech and Espinosa weren't blocked. When you dealt Margot, you didn't know if Bradley was for real or not. Also, Beni had just been drafted, so there was still an open OF slot. Moncada could have slotted over to 3b or pushed Xander to 3b. Shaw would have started for you last year. There wasn't a single prospect dealt that couldn't have been fit onto your squad.

The big contracts drag the market upward. When the cost to get a #1 increases by $5 mil, the cost to get a #4 would rise maybe $1-2 mil per year.

Scouts are only a part of it. The guy pulling the trigger on those deals is different. And how do you know they are the same scouts? I am not doubting you, I am just wondering how you know it is the same? Scouts move from team to team and usually from administration to administration

This is an entirely new administration. The "mojo" built with Theo and Ben is gone. DD has proven he could build in the past, but he has been far more the leveler in recent years. The Tigers farm was in tatters when he was shown the door.

Exactly, nothing will kill a pitching prospect's confidence like pitching in Colorado Springs. My comment was mostly based on the lack of prospects in the middle. Guys in A ball typically were drafted the year or two prior or signed in the INTL ranks 2-3 years prior. The depth just isn't there. In years prior, the sox had a stable of prospects at those ranks. This is more a knock on Ben for 2015 and DD for 2016

Moon, that is the problem. Consider this. The sox did a lot of damage on the INTL market with Moncada, Margot, Devers, and Espinosa. Mata falls in line there, but Flores was a big catch in that ilk and now he is gone sadly. Where is the rest of the INTL development? There is a real dearth of INTL talent that really should be there. The sox had a nice system going there and now it seems to have dried up. Here is how you look at the farm DSL-SS are guys who are fresh to being a pro, but they show promise A-A+ are guys who are now starting to show production with their promise AA-AAA are starting to show polish on top of their production and promise. The sox did deal off a lot of guys in the AA-AAA range and with their positive finishes in the standings, have brought in less draft level talent. They did bring in some interesting pieces, but Hunter Greene isn't walking through that door if you know what I mean. Your upper levels are expectedly depleted. What you don't see is the depth of prospects in the A-A+ level that had been there previously. You've got some guys with ceiling in the DSL-SS range (Houck, Brannen, Scherff, etc) but you are really missing the cadre of prospects in the middle there. That tells me that not only has DD skimmed the top of the prospect levels for trades, but the 2015-2016 (sans Beni mind you) haven't brought you the next wave like it should have.

Also, if I were to deal KRob, I would absolutely look to bring back a top prospect. KRob had a dynamite season last year. I could see a match with the Cardinals

I anticipate that the Ellsbury market might heat up once JD signs and once the secondary pieces move. I do think we can offload Ellsbury, but his NTC will be an issue. I know we will likely have to eat 2/3 of his contract and might use a prospect to get that down to 1/2. Either way, nothing will move until JD, Morrison, Duda, and everyone else moves.

You could say that about practically any prospect. Mata has the highest upside of the group when you consider youth and size as well. He's probably the most likely to be a top 100

He’s a bit better than Kuzma as that guy had no hit tool or power. But let’s be honest, the guy sucks

Yankees made a signing! Danny Espinosa, um, yeah, I'm not excited at all. He has power, but cannot hit for average, doesn't walk and K's a ton. He does play good defense at 2b, so he can be a s***** veteran fallback option should every other Yankee 2b get Ebola

What I meant and what people mean when they use the term cliff is that you're trying to keep the band together with far, far less wiggle room financially. If the sox sign JD and somehow let HRam's option vest (like if JD ends up in LF and one of your OFers is dealt off), then you wont be able to keep Pom or Kimbrel. I anticipate the sox will get JD and either platoon Hanley with Moreland or if they don't get JD, sign Duda or Morrison to platoon with Hanley in the DH spot. As it stands, I don't think the sox re-sign either Kimbrel or Pom, but I expect them to replace them both on the open market with cheaper options. If Pomeranz comes out and repeats 2017, he will get $20 mil plus per annum. I expect the same from Kimbrel when he re-sets the record for closers. Davis set the mark this year after being shaky last yr and hurt.