moonslav59

I don't think Harper is worth $300M/12 let alone $300M/10. I agree on him, but his age does mean he should get more than other FAs with his numbers at age 30 or 31. Machado plays SS and is young. I'm not sure anyone's really worth $300M/10, but Machado looks better than some of the top contracts given out in the past, when you count in positional value. Even if the Sox had $300M to spend, I wouldn't give him $200M.

I think their ages is what a lot of the hype is about. Both are pretty young by FA standards, and most of the worst long term deals were given to older or much older stars/

We probably trade whichever one brings us the most in return, unless we really have faith in that one being our FT 1Bman in 2020.

I think Chavis gets traded for a RP'er, and we hope for Dalbec to rise or get a cheap 1Bman for 2020.

1. Who will DD get for a closer this year or will he just go with the pen as it is currently configured and bring up one or two minor leaguers to fill it out? I think DD will acquire one decent to significant RP'er, who may or may not have much closer experience. It probably will be via trade (Chavis/Swihart?). 2. Will Pedey's knee be in good enough shape to allow him to play a significant amount of the season at 2nd base? If not, then will DD make a move? We'll never know about Pedey. He could go down at any minute. I don't think we make a deal, until we see how Nunez looks and if Holt is still strong. At worst, we make a similar trade as the Kinsler one in July. 3. How will the catching situation be resolved? Pretty much it is assumed we will only keep 2 on the roster, but how will that be decided? I don't see this as an issue. I think Vaz is the starter. Leon is Sale's caddy. He probably should be Price's caddy, too. That would make Vaz the 60% starter with Leon getting 40%. Maybe Vaz catches half Price's starts making him the 70% starter. Swihart comes to ST'ing maybe needing to win a job as a utility player with the added bonus of being able to catch when needed, or if we PH for 2 catchers in a game. The 25th slot goes to Swihart, Lin or Chavis if a 1Bman is hurt). I think Vaz will come closer to his 2017 numbers on offense than his 2018 ones, but I'm fine with our catchers' performance of 2018, despite the poor offense all around..

.791

Yuk! (LOL)

I don't think that anyone watching from a distance liked what they saw with respect to that incident... I kinda- sorta did.

When I first heard about the incident, I laughed. When I saw the uniforms, I thought they were awful. I never saw the incident as a ding on Sale's character or clubhouse influence- plus or minus.

That's what I was thinking, so maybe we shouldn't be so quick to anoint Devers the 2020 1Bman, until we find out a few things. 1) Does Devers improve enough at 3B in 2019 that we want to keep him there or give him more time to get adequate? 2) Will Chavis prove he can play a major role at the big league level by 2020? 3) Will Dalbec prove he can play a major role at the big league level by 2020? We may end up having to sign a corner IF'er next winter, even if we reset.

I didn't mean to bring up the uniform cutting as a topic of debate, but when things are slow, it happens. The way I had hoped the conversation would lead to is how hard it is for fans (and GMs, too) to really know what kind of clubhouse effect any player will have on a team. I remember some being worried about Sale' effect based on this incident. I remember how much people praised Josh Beckett for bringing his "winning attitude" to the 2007 Red Sox. The guy was on pace for becoming one of the best playoff pitchers of all time. Then, suddenly, he's a cancer. I'm not doubting player attitudes matter, but it is hard to judge from very close up, let alone as far away as us fans are.

Yes, and it makes me think the $175/7 is untrue. I'm not sure about the reported Nats offer, or if it still on the table. I also heard the Nats did not want to go above $25M/yr, so if they did offer $300M, it must have been $300M/12.

He turns 27 in July and rates to have about 2-3 years "in prime." He may then have 2-3 years of near prime, but he may start declining after 2-3 years. His age and position do make him seem like the best candidate to break the record for the highest contract ever, but his attitude might get in the way. 9 year deal: 2-3 prime 2-3 near/post prime 3-4 post prime but not necessarily a drag on the team & budget

For 2020, the main choice might come down to who is a better defender? Devers or Chavis (If Dalbec passes Chavis, I think he would win 3B and Devers would move to 1B.)

Is the report that the Nats offered $300M fake news, too?

Probably right, but who knows. It never bothered me what he did. I just remember some being worried about Sale's character or negative clubhouse influence.

I thought it was kinds funny. Plus, those uniforms deserved to be chopped up.

I never knew, if CK would be on or off, too.

I do, too, but I did about Nunez after re re-signed him before 2018.

One could argue not bringing back CJ & JK is "breaking" it.

No disrespect intended, but his streak became a detriment to the team goal of winning.

Who is the DH, or is this an NL team?

...and he was not all that great on defense towards the middle and end of his career.

Unless Sale gets hurt or flames out late season, he's going to get a mega deal. I hope he gets it, too. I'd love for him to stay with us, but I'm thinking it might have to come down to him vs Betts. Keeping them both, with Priced also on the books, will make it very difficult to fill out the rest of the roster with high quality (or high enough) to compete in a serious way year after year. Maybe we can.It would be nice. If someone can show me a reasonable way to do it, I'm all in.

Very well said, and I still can't believe some were worried about his character based on the cutting up his uniform.