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There is a certain value in the opt out that shouldn’t be ignored. Of course, is there any reason Chicago and Philadelphia would be adverse to putting in an opt out? This feature is talked about on this board like it’s exclusive to the Yankees. Really it’s a good idea for any team to use one in most high profile mega-contracts...

Also, it’s December...

Exactly my point. If the Yankees are not the highest bidder, they will not be the winning bidder. Cashman has made grat moves and bad moves, which is par for the course for any GM who actually makes moves. That he has lasted do long in NY through multiple Stenbrenners is proof of how well he does his job. But I was never commenting about him, despite the hyperbole...

The cap room requirement depends on what the closer makes. If the Sox look into AJ Minter or Josh Heder, the money is not so much. The cost in prospects, however, might be. A buy-low opportunity like Corey Knebel seems more like a better fit in terms of low salary, lesser (but not non-existent) prospect cost. But the trade-off there is he was not so good in 2018 (after a stellar 2017)...

The fact that Theo signed Ortiz really does show he wasn’t all that content with Giambi. Pedro May have recommended Ortiz - the type of recommendation that happens everyday in the MLB off-season- but Theo still listened and did his due diligence and then signed Ortiz. The way people like to retell the story, one would think Pedro kidnapped Theo and hid him in the basement while Pedro personally negotiated with Ortiz’ agent....

I think he will go in with the best option he can this season. But unlike fans, the GM can’t always and shouldn’t always just go for it . As a fan we can think “ the window is closing soon!! Let’s not pinch pennies.” But the GM really can’t always do that, and sometimes he has to do things like pinch pennies today in order to keep that window open for another year or two. If signing Kimbrel today, for example, means losing Bogaerts at the end of the season, is it worth it? And will you be thinking that if the 2020 season really misses Bogaerts? If you complained at all at any point in 2014, you’re lying if you say “Kimbrel is worth it if we win it all.”...

And you can tell Kimmi that until you’re blue in the face. But she isn’t the one looking into the discount closer market. We also shouldn’t play the game that “most expensive” or “most experienced” means “best.” Jim Johnson is an experienced closer. Shawn Kelley is an experienced closer. Matt Barnes is not. Does this mean Johnson and Kelley are better options than Barnes?

Ok one last time. Jackpot said again “Machado wants to be a Yankee and will take less money to become one.” I made a comment that it really is amazing how many players Yankee fans seem to think will take discounts to wear pinstripes yet they still seem to pay a lot. This isn’t about Red Sox spending. This comment also wasn’t about Yankee spending or Cashman or Cherington. It was a comment about Yankee fans and their perception of all the discounts they’ll be getting from free agents...

Exactly. Those are negotiating plots on both sides. The Yankees are among a few teams capable and willing to pay ungodly amounts to players. So while the White Sox and Phillies give a max offer that might actually be a max offer, Machado says “I want to be a Yankee” often enough to get the Yankees to increase their offer. Cashman then stalls because he doesn’t want to have to. If Machado was so publicly overt about a desire to play in NY and take less money to do so, why would Philadelphia and Chicago bother bidding on him at all? What do you think his agent is saying in those meetings?

But my point - is Machado saying he wants to be a Yankee because he wants to be a Yankee? Or because he wants the Yankees to increase their offer, knowing they’re normally very heavy spenders? That he hasn’t signed with the Yankees yet does support my point that when he says he wants to be a Yankee, what he really means is he wants to be paid like one....

I love the threat at the end. Whether or not the Sox spend (which I didn’t deny), the Yankees do and have at or near the top for roughly 30 years. Really my comment was more about how Yankee fans always seem to think every MLB free agent is dying to come play for the Yankees and willing to do so for less money than they want from everyone else. Not one of you ever seems to think that the reason free agents openly embrace the Yankees in the media is that the club has a reputation for paying extremely well, something that aligns with most free agent’s goals. Maybe one or two really want to be Yankees, but most just say it publicly to entice the Yankees to stay in the bidding. These guys do hire agents for a reason and that reason is actually NOT to make less money playing in New York, shocking as that sounds. This is also the reason the Yankees (along with fellow big spenders the Red Sox and Dodgers) are on most no-trade clauses. When a player comes to New York or Boston, he wants to be paid accordingly and not be paid in Padres dollars or Marlins dollars. The NTC allows them to ask for the differential to waive it. Didn’t you ever wonder why so many players who were willing to take less to play for the Yankees would sign elsewhere and then also add the Yankees to their NTC lists? I know this conflicts with your prediction that Machado is going to ignore larger offers from two teams who have pledged to outbid the Yankees...

I have my doubts about Brasier. The guy is 31 and has been bouncing around the minors for more than a full decade. And that he suddenly has figured out what it takes to not only make the majors, but to excel there? That he is a flash in the pan is a serious possibility....

Which ones? And the answer is clearly NOT Durbin Feltman, as he was not added to the 40-man roster with space still available. I think DD brings in a reliever or two, and that number depends on whether or not Thornburg has anything left...

Because Dombrowski is apparently saying a top notch closer is not in the budget...

No idea about Thornburg, but the fact DD offered arbitration does mean he’s probably in better shape Than I realize. And as for the Sox pen, I would prefer Ottavino and Kelly over Kimbrel, given the anticipated contracts...

This is why I think the Yankees must be the worst run organization in sports. They’ve had payrolls at or near the highest in the league for the past 3 decades despite that every player in MLB is clearly willing to take less money to play for them...

I’d rather have two lights out set up guys than one lights out closer...

I think by the time most pitchers get to the majors, the whole concept of dealing with pressure is in their past. If you can’t do it, you’re not in the majors anyway. As for the last three, none of us knows if there’s more pressure than or not. And saying “most people “ in the game would agree” is 100% conjecture. You didn’t ask any of them and I didn’t expect you to. The whole idea of extra pressure in the role seems to only be supporters by the short leash typically given to new closers. Blow a save? Next! Most closers’ numbers seem to be consistent with any they had as non-closing relievers and the ones that differ usually only do so per sample size...

Kimbrel isn’t signing a deal for fewer years than Joe Kelly did, unless the AAV is through the roof. The market for relievers is crazy, but close to last year. That means Kimbrel is likely to find someone willing to pay him somewhere among Davis, Chapman and Jansen type money. The complete lack of (public) interest in Cody Allen has me thinking he might be the market bottom sneak target. But that could change any minute now. Brad Brach is looking like King of the Discount Closers, if it comes to that...

But it’s not just about the ninth inning. And the logic of “closing isn’t easy” is based on what? Not like any of us have been out in the ninth inning with men on base and Mike Trout up. How is closing different than any other non-mop up relief role? Really, I’d rather see a high leverage pitcher. The game isn’t always on the line in the ninth. It isn’t. A 3-run lead means a pitcher has to get 3 outs before giving up 3 runs. This is something every major league caliber pitcher can do the overwhelming majority of the time. But protecting a 1 run lead with men on second and third, one out and the 3-4-5 hitters up? Now THAT is a job for Kimbrel or whoever. And don’t pinch the pennies there...

For all this talk about relief pitcher prices, the market seems better for closers than in previous years. Pitchers like Familia are barely paid barely better than set up guys like Joe Kelly...

If the Sox do, it won’t be because of any of these signings...

That’s a mighty big gamble for a player labeled a future superstar. Which of Ramírez, Weems or Jerez justifies that risk? Heck, what player drafted by any team in those rounds would have justified that gamble? The Occam’s Razor of the whole idea is they liked those players better than Betts at the time. But Betts became a superstar on his own....

It proved the old adage “If you stand still, you’re roadkill.” It was a tough offseason to make improvements because the majority of the roster was under contract for another year or two and getting too old to make deals. One thing that really hurt that team was a foolish belief that Will Middlebrooks didn’t suck, as it required I -season moves that compromised bringing up younger players and eventually lead to the horrific signing of Pablo Sandoval. The failure of Garin Cecchini in the upper minors also didn’t help. I’ve said it many times - Middlebrooks should have been dealt for Peavy.

And yet the Sox still took Jordan Weems, Noe Ramírez, and Williams Jerez ahead of him...