iortiz

I think that teams which are interested in Hummus and mostly AL teams are more worried about the package/value of prospects involved than the 30 games that this guy has pitched against the AL. Also, I would bet that Amaro has plenty of teams which want to trade for Hummus. I think he is in a very good to position to ask for top value. This is a stud we are talking about here. On the other hand and If you ask me, I do not see the Red Sox giving up Blake, Betts, Owens, etc. and I do not see Amaro asking for less... So I don't think it is going to happen.

His profile is ok to me. The money is ok. The track record against the AL doesn't worry to me; the size is not significative. What I do not like about this, is that you have to throw a package around at least one top prospect. I would have signed a FA but If they trade for Hamels, even if they give up a top prospect, I'll be oks.

My girlfriend is from Colombia and she loves white rice served with platano macho frito. She literally can't eat without rice haha. I love botanas of frijoles refritos with cheese served with pico de gallo, guacamole and totopos.

In most part of LA we eat rice and beans. Not sure why he got offended.

what false assessment?

If I remember well they could have signed Bourn for less money and let him walk.

...and I'm making an opinion about their strategy as well, what is the big deal?

I heard that as well at ESPNdeportes. Guillermo Celis said that he is ready if the Red Sox need him.

mmm I'm not sure about that since they tried to resign Lester but they shitted the bed. Even if that is the strategy I do not share it at some extent when you look at guys like Shields. Weren't you all-in for Shields as well and all-in for Lester?.

Last year they did not transmitted all the RS ST games at MLB.TV. I think they only transmit 3 or 4 ST games per day.

They are stuck at INT signings, aren't they? Hopefully I'm death wrong and this staff keep us competitive, but if they s*** the bed, maybe and just maybe the strategy will change regarding pitching.

To me, it is very unbalanced... but time will tell, though. For the record... I'm not stay fixated on "high-profile and $ free agents" at all. As I said Lester at 125 and Shields at 75 would not hurt anybody here.

Time to buy MLB.TV... does anybody know which RS ST games will be transmitted at mlb.tv ?

Do not take me wrong, I want to keep both. In fact I'm against trading top prospects mostly when you are not the A's, KCR or TBR which do not have money. Since Lackey, they haven't paid big dollar tickets for a No.1. and a lot of FA have come and go with several profiles and $ attached to them. This year is a clear example. Maybe they are a bit hesitant because they do not want to s*** the bed again like Theo did with D-K or Lackey. Not sure who are the "right" profile FA to sign if so, for them. The "There are good FA pitchers available next year who won't cost top prospects" argument have been beaten a lot since I've been here and have never happened. As I said, If this experiment becomes a nightmare, the good thing will be that they finally will likely grab a couple of solid pitchers while balancing the roster as I've been suggesting.

...They don’t need him to become a superstar to justify this price; the $63 million commitment works if his most likely outcome is a good-not-great player, with significant bust potential but also some slight chance of turning into a superstar. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/why-63-million-for-yoan-moncada-makes-sense/#more-177546

Yoan Moncada’s Reported Deal With Red Sox Opens More Doors For Boston Read more at: http://nesn.com/2015/02/yoan-moncadas-reported-deal-with-red-sox-opens-more-doors-for-boston/ The Red Sox reportedly agreed to a contract Monday with Cuban prospect Yoan Moncada. The 19-year-old immediately becomes the organization’s top prospect and gives Boston added flexibility in potential trades. In short, the opportunity was too good to pass up despite the Red Sox reportedly shelling out $63 million for a relatively unknown quantity. Not only is Boston adding a potential star, but the team also is striking while the iron is hot given some of the variables at play. By all accounts, Moncada is a stud, which obviously trumps everything when explaining such an investment. He’ll need some seasoning in the minors, but Moncada, who turns 20 in May, is a five-tool player with the potential to become the league’s best Cuban product. That’s saying something when you consider the recent influx of Cuban talent — Yoenis Cespedes, Yasiel Puig, Jose Abreu, Aroldis Chapman, Rusney Castillo, etc. — across Major League Baseball. Player comparisons are tricky, and finding a major leaguer comparable to Moncada is especially difficult because there are so few players in the world who possess his all-around skill set. Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano’s name has been tossed around when discussing Moncada’s potential, though, and Baseball America’s Ben Badler told NESN.com on Sunday that he doesn’t hate the comparison. (Stop drooling, Red Sox fans.) Will Moncada, a switch-hitter, eventually overtake Cano for the title of best second baseman in baseball? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The kid can’t even legally buy a drink in the United States. But Moncada’s ridiculously high ceiling — he might have been the top pick in the MLB draft if eligible — is enough to capture any team’s attention, especially those with pockets deep enough to play a $63 million hand. As with anything, timing is everything. And this offseason marked the perfect time for the Red Sox to push all of their chips into the middle of the table. Moncada projects as a second baseman — third base and center field are two other potential destinations — and the Red Sox already have a pretty good one, but this is the type of deal you make now and figure out later. After all, who knows what can happen before Moncada is deemed major league-ready? Moncada, unlike the aforementioned Cuban players, was subject to MLB’s international signing guidelines, meaning he couldn’t sign a major league contract because he is not yet 23 years old and did not play in a Cuban professional league for at least five seasons. The Red Sox already blew past their roughly $3 million international bonus pool by signing pitching prospects Christopher Acosta and Anderson Espinoza last July, which actually made a pursuit of Moncada even more palatable. Exceeding the $3 million threshold meant the Red Sox would need to pay a 100 percent tax on any signing bonus committed to an international free agent this signing period. It’s significant in that a $31.5 million deal with Moncada became a $63 million investment, but it’s insignificant in that any team would have blown past its bonus pool in signing the Cuban prospect. The key piece of information here is that the Red Sox after June 15 are not allowed to award a signing bonus of more than $300,000 to any player subject to MLB’s international guidelines over the next two years because they exceeded their bonus pool for 2014. In other words, there was plenty of incentive to go all-in this offseason because Boston won’t be a major player on the international market again until at least 2017. The Red Sox clearly are focused on winning now, and Moncada could indirectly aid that effort. While the Red Sox might be content stockpiling young talent, the addition of Moncada means Boston, in theory, could be more aggressive in parting with other highly regarded prospects, perhaps to land an ace. Does that mean Cole Hamels or Jordan Zimmermann is walking through that door because the Red Sox farm system just got that much deeper? Not necessarily. But signing Moncada creates even more possibilities as far as building potential trade packages. The Moncada sweepstakes was intense, unique and fun. Now, the Red Sox are primed to reap the benefits of emerging victorious. Read more at: http://nesn.com/2015/02/yoan-moncadas-reported-deal-with-red-sox-opens-more-doors-for-boston

I still do not understand why Atlanta gave that contract to this guy.

Not sure if even a package involving both, could make the Hammels or any other No 1. Trade done. I think you would need a bigger name to make it done, reason why I thought in X.

Well, I just tried to link this signing with a possible trade scenario for a No. 1 and since HaMMels talks were/are out there, and at some extent linked with our team, I thought that it could be a posibility (loooong shot) and the first name that came to my head was XB (since I wouldn't trade Betts or Blake)... Anyway, hopefully this kid is the real deal as everybody is saying.

As I said I would live with that black hole at SS (...and still to be seen) if that meant landing Hammels or other No.1, since I see our current offense protecting that bat regardless the name at SS and I expect at least an average performance from Castillo and Vazquez... but again, that's me.

I know, but I simply put that possibility if they planned to trade XB and then put M at SS or this new kid or whoever at some point. Do not take me wrong, I do want XB, but I'd rather trade X than Betts or Blake if Hammels is the name.

what do u mean

mmmm if that meant trade for Hammels, I could live with another 2014 XB with Marrero at SS, since the actual offense could protect his bat.

That's what I thought. It wil be interesting what could happen next weeks. If this kid takes some ABs in ST and performs as JBJ did, It will be interesting what they are going to do with him.

If the name were Betts, I'd stay away. Wonder what would happen if XB didn't perfom as expected by TDL...