moonslav59

We don't know for sure, if we are trying hard to stay under the $40M line or not. Assuming we are, is there any other teams out there that might trade for... $6.5M Moreland $5M Nunez $4.5M Vaz $3.6M Holt ($20.6M Porcello)? The idea is not to get anything worthwhile in return but to clear up budget space to sign or trade for a more pricey RP'er. We could also pitch in some of the contract money owed, if the savings gave us enough space to greatly improve our pen. I realize Moreland and Nunez are probably not highly sought after, but maybe some team might take one plus $2-3M. Would losing Holt or Vaz be too much of a loss to make improving the pen worth it? I know losing Porcello would have to mean we get something in return plus the budget space to maybe sign 2 guys, Any ideas? I don't think I trust Leon to be a 120+ game catcher or Swihart to catch 40+ games. With Pedey's health always in question, is leaving 2B and back up IF to Nunez, Lin & Hernandez by trading Holt an option? I'm not seeing an easy way to improve the pen without going over the $40M line. We can take a baby step by maybe trading Swihart, Chavis and another prospect for a low cost RP'er and then save the $5M for a summer trade, but some here think that is way to risky for a team as good as we are everywhere else but the pen.

I'm not sure if messing with Betts in any way is a good thing.

The Phillies might be real good with an addition like M or H. They can spend even more after one of them.

Yes, we're about $5-6M under the $40M line. That's probably what we want to keep for summer pick-ups. If the $40M line is a cut-off, we are very restricted and probably can't even afford Cody Allen. We could try and cut some salary ($4M Vax, $5M Nunez, $6.5M Moreland, $20.6M Porcello), but then we open up a new hole. More likely, we go over, maybe by as little as possible, but with an eye out for an eventual reset after 2019 or possibly 2020. I'm still not sure signing anyone to a deal longer than 1 year is in the books, but if a bargain falls into our laps, we can do it, and we can then make a trade when it is reset time. Let's see what DD can do under these circumstances.

Well. we now have Eovaldi & Pearce for a full year.

That's what I've thought all along. The total picture of the Yanks vs Sox pens is not only that the Sox have lost CK & JK, it is this... The Yanks lose Robertson and gain Kahnle & Britton for a full season. The Sox lose CK & JK and gain Brasier and Thornburg (and maybe Wright/Johnson/Velazquez to the pen) for a full season (and Poyner, if needed).

Agreed. Tulo is still in the plans, at least and until Didi returns.

The Yanks pen is better than ours, but it might be worse than 2018 due to the loss of Robertson. They are worse than us in other areas. We are not done with our pen.

Just signed... shortstop Xander Bogaerts ($12MM) and outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. ($8.55MM) have agreed to big salaries.

Updated Competitive Balance Tax Budget $Millions 31.0 Price 22.0 JDM 20.6 Porcello 20.0 Betts 18.5 Sandoval 17.0 Eovaldi 15.0 Sale 13.8 Pedroia 12.0 Bogaerts 8.6 Bradley 6.5 Moreland 6.3 Pearce 5.0 Nunez 4.5 Vaz 4.3 Rodriguez ~3.5 Holt ~3.3 Barnes 2.5 Leon 1.8 Thornburg 1.8 Wright 1.3 Hembree 1.2 Workman 0.9 Swihart ~4 Other 18 players on 40 man roster 14.5 Player Benefits TOTAL: ~$240M (That's $34M over the tax line already- leaving us maybe about $6M for further additions, if we try to stay under the $40M line.)

I think 3 is most likely with 2 as an insurance policy.

Or, Bird/Voit, or they move Andujar to DH.

The Red Sox have agreed to a $2.475MM salary with catcher Sandy Leon, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter links). Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, meanwhile, is slated to earn $4.3MM.

I was hoping the Yanks got Machado, and his contract strangled them for a decade,

"Weakness" vs weakest area on a team are not the same thing. We had the 9th best pen fWAR in MLB last year and were just 0.2 from 7th best. Being top tier (out of 3 tiers) is not a weakness. One could argue our weakness was Catcher offense, 2B everything & 3B defense.

Sure seems to work that way, but how many stories are told, if true,of players losing a ton but still have $20M remaining. It's not a story, so it is never told.

Brandon Workman and the Red Sox settled at $1.15MM, tweets Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. The second-time-eligible righty is controlled through the 2020 campaign and had been projected at $1.4MM. The Red Sox and Blake Swihart settled on a one-year deal worth $910K, tweets Murray. That checks in south of his $1.1MM projection. As a Super Two player who’s arbitration-eligible for the first time, Swihart will be arb-eligible three more times and is controlled through 2022.

Yanks get DJ LeMahieu at $24M/2. Does this mean no Machado?

Wonder how the odds look after the Yanks get Machado and the Dodger get Harper.

My top 10 for the day.... 1. D Hernandez 2. B. Mata 3. D Feltman 4. T Casas 5. J Groome 6. B Dalbec 7. A Flores 8. T Lakins 9. M Chavis (to be traded) 10. D Diaz

They could use one big boost.

Maybe he's waiting out one option before pulling the trigger on a trade.

Red Sox reliever Heath Hembree will receive a $1,312,500 salary next year, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter link). Starter Steven Wright checks in just a shade higher, at $1.375MM, per Nightengale (via Twitter). Both players had projected in this range, with Swartz pegging $1.2MM for the former and $1.4MM for the latter. It’s Hembree’s first time through the process and Wright’s second. -MLBTR

Just to divert the conversation to something actually about baseball: Steamer 2019 Projections Severino: 4.5 WAR Paxton: 4.0 WAR Tanaka: 2.6 WAR Happ: 2.8 WAR CC: 1.2 WAR Gray/German/Lasagna: 1.2 WAR 16.3 Total for SPs Sale: 6.1 WAR Price: 3.1 WAR Eovaldi: 2.7 WAR Porcello: 2.6 WAR ERod: 1.9 WAR Velazquez/Wright/Johnson: 0.3 WAR 16.7 Total WAR for SPs Don't show this to Jacko or BillyBabe!

Would you be shocked if he traded more prospects for a low-cost solid closer, instead?