moonslav59

MLBTRs... Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., right-hander Clay Buchholz, left-hander Drew Pomeranz, corner infielder Travis Shaw and catcher Blake Swihart could end up on the move this offseason if president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tries to upgrade the team’s roster through trades, writes Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. The soon-to-be 27-year-old Bradley is easily the most appealing member of the group, and his name came up in trade talks involving White Sox aces Chris Sale and Jose Quintana over the summer. Another member of the potentially rebuilding White Sox – closer David Robertson – could pique the Red Sox’s interest this offseason, suggests Mastrodonato, who wonders if Chicago would accept Swihart in return. If the CWS do go into rebuild mode, I still think they match up very well with our biggest needs: 1) Quality set up guy (Robertson) 2) One year 3B bridge to Moncada/Devers (Frazier) 3) Ace upgrade (Quintana or Sale) If Swihart is a match for Robertson, they may like 5 years of team control from Shaw for 1 year of Frazier, if we add 5 years of Hembree (out of options). That leaves what to give to get Quintana. I think they'll demand JBJ, but if we can sign Beltran, we can move Beni to CF. Add Moncadaa nd maybe Pomeranz or Buch, who they could flip for more prospects, and I think we'd be close to a deal. 1) Beni CF 2) Pedey 2B 3) Betts RF 4) Beltran LF/DH 5) HanRAm 1B/DH 6) Frazier 3B 7) Bogey 3B 8) Pablo DH/Young LF 9) Leon/Vaz C Utility: Holt & Hernandez SP: Quintana, Porcello, Price, ERod, Wright, POm or Buch RP: Kimbrel, Robertson, Smith, Ross, Kelly, Barnes, Abad

Teams rarely trade away players right before their recently signed extension takes affect. Many feel the Rays won't trade int he division either. I think we'd have to blow the Rays away to get Longoria and a pitcher, especially if it's Archer. That being said, Longoria will make $13M next year. That's a great deal, but it's still a lot for the Rays. It's 20% of their projected 2017 budget. They need help at a lot of positions, so a massive quantity for quality type trade might make some sense for the Rays, especially when everyone they get would have 4-6+ years of team control. Players like Moncada or Devers, Ockimey, Shaw or Travis, Basabe, Dubon or Chatham and guys like Owens, Johnson, Barnes, Hembree, Scott. To get Archer added to the deal, we'd have to include Kopech and/or Groome plus others.

As much as I disliked the Espi trade, I still like Pomeranz. I'd certainly kick the tires, but the guy has only had a half season of top of rotation-like pitching. I'm not sure how much to gamble on his future. He'll turn 30 just after his last year of control with us (2018). I might look for a 2-3 year extension, but I'm not sure at what cost. $10M a year?

When comparing the Tigers prospects to the Sox prospects from 2002 to 2015, I couldn't help bu be amazed at this: From 2003 to 2014, the Sox had at leat 8 of their top 10 prospects reach MLB status.http://www.thebaseballcube.com/prospects/byTeam.asp?T=5 The only players not to make MLB were: 2003: Billy Simon (7) and Josh Thigpen (10) 2004: Chad Spann (6), Juan Cedeno (9) 2005: Luis Soto (7) 2006: none 2007: Bryce Cox (7), Jason Place (10) 2008: Oscar Tejada 99) 2009: Westmoreland (7), M Almanzar (8) 2010: Westmoreland (1), D Gibson (10) 2011: none 2012: Brandon Jacobs (6) was traded for Matt Thornton 2013: none 2014: T Ball (10) 2015: R Devers (6)- will probably make MLB. The Tigers have had this... http://www.thebaseballcube.com/prospects/byTeam.asp?T=11

Okay, no problem. When you countered my post using the word "obsession", I assumed you were responding about me and not just to me and others.

The Sox have had 4 players ranked in the top 10 since 2002: HanRam, Buch, Bogey & Moncada. They've had 42 different players in the top 100 since 2002. The Tigers: 16.

I did a little research, and I apologize if it is not as complete as it should be, but these are the top prospects DD acquired while with the tigers from 2002-2015: 6th C Maybin (10th pick of 2005 draft) 8th Verlander (2nd pick of 2004 draft) 10th A Miller (6th pick of 2006 draft) 21st Porcello (27th pick in 2007) 21st Jacob Turner (9th pick in 2009) 35th J Zumaya (320th pick in 2002) 36th Kyle Sleeth (3rd pick in 2003) 47th Michael Fulmer (44th pick in 2011 by NYM) 47th Casey Crosby (181st in 2007) 57th Granderson (80th pick in 2002) 65th N Castellanos (44th pick in 2010) 74th Av. Garcia (not drafted) 76th A Jackson (259th pick in 2005) 84th Devon Travis (424th in 2012) 95th B Rondin (not drafted) 98th Brent Clevlen (49th pick in 2002) Notables never ranked in top 100: 20th pick 2013: Jonathon Crawford 21st pick 2008: Ryan Perry 22nd pick 2015: Beau Burrows 23rd pick 2014: Derek Hill Prospects inherited: J Bonderman, O Infante, B Inge 68th pick 2010: Drew Smyly

I've never defended his attitude or his weight issues. I absolutely hated the signing from the first second onwards. I'm not letting that hatred of the signing or his weight issues or attitude issues interfere with my opinion on what to do going forward. Releasing him at this point throws away a chance, however remote, of him being our best option at 3B next season. Travis Shaw is a huge gamble. Holt's failure at 3B was a major reason we signed Pablo in the first place. Trading him and paying $30M or his $58M owed might not be a bad idea with the luxury tax increase likely not to be a much as expected, but even that might be a pipe dream. It looks like we might be only $15M under the new luxury tax. Adding $4-6M to that is not going to net us a difference maker. As much as it might suck, waiting it out on Pablo seems like our best chance at fixing the 3B issue, or maybe at least filling the LH'd platoon DH slot opposite Young. I'm not holding my breath. I'm not counting on anything from Pablo. I've suggested numerous trades and signings to net us a 3Bman.

How many great prospects did DD ever acquire while with the Tigers? I don't know, but if it was only a handful, and he traded some away in bad trades, then it make him look much worse than if he has 15 great prospects and only made one bad trade from the whole group.

I just don't get the obsession with assigning blame. If you feel the need to do so, I can understand why the buck stops with the man. What matters to me, is where he's at right now, and if his head is in the right place. We're paying him mega bucks, so it's worth giving him a look & see this spring. It's not like we have any great options at 3B right now anyways.

My guess is, if we got Longoria, Moncada would be part of the deal along with Swihart. To expand the deal to get a good starter, we'd be talking a blockbuster package.

I seriously doubt he gets $19M x 2, which is what VMart will make. I'm not saying I'd go that high for Beltran, but I'd rather pay him that than trade anything of value for VMart and pay the same.

Thanks. I knew someone would step forward with the details.

Word is, the limit will only rise to $200M as the league is willing to give up the comp pick for qualifying offer FAs- which is a huge give-away. The league wants the players to agree to an international draft.

I guess you don't believe that eating disorders are diseases. They are also diseases that can be cured. Yeah, we can blame Pablo for not "getting help" earlier, if that's what floats your boat, but I'm not giving up on Pablo. He'll get a chance to show what he looks like first, and then to show if he can still play at or near the level he showed in SF (as a fat guy, I might add).

Talk is the luxury tax limit may only go up to $200M. If the Sox try to stay near the limit, they will not have much to spend this winter, unless they are able to dump salary some where. I have us close to $185M right now. That doesn't leave enough room to sign just Beltran and G Holland.

Why trade players for VMart? Just sign Beltran.

No love for Sox killer Longoria?

I'm still against the deal, but your point is well taken. At the time, it looked like $13M a year was close to FA money for a closer- that was what bothered me most. We gave up several good prospects for a closer that others got by just signing them. (Although there were no top closers on the FA market that year.).

Maybe he can be converted to a RP'er.

I'm no expert on the history of Tiger prospects. The only one that jumps out is Andrew Miller,but they got Miggy (& Willis) for him, so it's hard to criticize that one.

MLB Offers To Remove Draft Pick Forfeiture In Next CBA By Charlie Wilmoth | November 26, 2016 at 3:52pm CDT A lockout is still a possibility as the league and the union negotiate the next CBA in advance of Thursday’s deadline, but there are strong hopes it can be avoided after MLB offered to remove the current system of draft pick forfeiture associated with the qualifying offer, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports writes. Such a change would make MLB free agency “the freest free agency in sports,” in the words of one of Heyman’s sources. In return, the league wants the players to agree to an international draft. Under the current system, if a player refuses a qualifying offer, interested teams must give up a top draft choice to sign him. The players dislike this rule because it reduces the market value of players on the edges of the qualifying offer system — including, in recent years, players like Ian Desmond, Kendrys Morales, Stephen Drew and Nelson Cruz. Recently, players such as Neil Walker, Jeremy Hellickson and Brett Anderson have accepted qualifying offers, receiving less long-term security than they perhaps would have gotten on the open market. The players also do not like the idea of an international draft, which would affect prospects throughout Latin America. Heyman writes, though, that draft pick forfeiture is considerably more costly to them than an international draft would be, particularly since a significant percentage of international bonuses go to players who don’t make the Majors. Still, there are other topics that must be resolved, Heyman notes. One issue is the luxury tax threshold — the league has reportedly agreed to increase it from $189MM to $200MM, but the two sides have not agreed on a final number. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal had previously reported that a lockout was a possibility. Reporting since then from Buster Olney and Jayson Stark of ESPN has suggested that there was reason for optimism that a deal could be completed.

I know what you mean, and your point is well founded. There are too many examples of Lars Andersons who made it to #17 in BA rankings and flamed out badly. Sam Travis does seem to deserve a longer look after the injury setback, and he has a significant chance of becoming a FT'er in MLB, but I don't see any indication of him being close to a sure bet. I'm hopeful but doubtful. I do think Beni is very close to a sure bet. I think Moncada is as close to a sure bet of becoming a good hitter in MLB as you can be, but his defense is what is keeping him down. Devers is a little more sketchy, but his upside is enormous, and he has "shown it" on the farm. Kopech is getting very impressive reviews. He may climb way up in the midseason rankings. Basabe is nearing the point of determination. Groome is still highly speculative.

Why not get a guy like Cain who may turn things around? If he doesn't, we're even with just giving the other team $30M. If we come up against a roster crunch, then we can just cut or trade Cain away.

Yes, it was easy to understand, but if he never had great prospects to wrongly trade away, then what do we learn, if we discover he never traded away or hardly ever did trade away a prospect that went on to do great things?