harmony

I suspect the White Sox would prefer quality over quantity (and could get a higher-quality offer for Todd Frazier and David Robertson). Think of the return commanded last offseason by Craig Kimbrel, who was coming off a 1.5 fWAR season with two years and $25 million (or three years and $37 million) remaining on his contract. David Robertson is coming off a 1.0 fWAR season with two years and $25 million remaining on his contract. Steamer projects Robertson with a 2017 WAR of 1.2, the same WAR posted this year by Kimbrel. The market for top-tier relievers has not tanked in the past year and the inclusion of Todd Frazier pushes the price up further.

The prorated 2017 Steamer projections for Jason Castro, Sandy Leon, Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez are similar: JC 95 G, 1.1 WAR SL 90 G, 1.1 WAR BS 10 G, 0.1 WAR CV 44 G, 0.6 WAR According to many, WAR does not capture pitch-framing, which would give Castro the edge. I might choose to spread my risk across the three Red Sox catchers, but head-to-head I would likely choose Castro.

To be precise, the Red Sox added Rick Porcello and Justin Masterson four days after trading for Wade Miley in December 2014.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/jason-castro-is-a-step-in-the-right-direction-for-the-twins/#more-237637

Jason Castro was among baseball's best pitch framers this year: http://www.statcorner.com/CatcherReport.php ... and has been valued at $32.7 million over the past three seasons (after being valued at $32.2 million in 2013 alone): http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=8722&position=C#value Castro would likely be the Opening Day catcher for the Red Sox in 2017.

Blake Swihart has not played since June 4 after a lower left leg injury sidelined him for the second year in a row. Swihart is not without health concerns.

Blake Swihart and Henry Owens could be considered "human lottery tickets" as well.

And (reportedly) Kate Upton responds: Scroll down.

This Seattle fan is embarrassed he had forgotten about Steve Cishek's surgery: http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/mlb/seattle-mariners/mariners-insider-blog/article108851012.html http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/mariners-announce-surgical-updates-for-taijuan-walker-steve-cishek-and-tony-zych/

With Seattle reportedly in the market for a lefthanded reliever, I doubt the Mariners would trade six years of southpaw Ariel Miranda for one year of Clay Buchholz (much less add in Steve Cishek for a shortstop likely to be non-tendered by either team).

I don't see DH candidates of Nelson Cruz's caliber signing $28 million over two years. As noted, over the past three seasons Cruz has posted an OPS+ of 147 while David Ortiz posted an OPS+ of 148 over the same period. Cruz has been a righthand-hitting David Ortiz with some ability to play the field. My proposal is not realistic because Cruz is revered by Seattle fans, front office and teammates, especially dear friend Robinson Cano. I offered the proposal -- with all its moving parts -- as a brainteaser as we enter the Hot Stove season.

Would the Red Sox be interested in Nelson Cruz as a designated hitter? Over the past three seasons Cruz has posted a .286/.354/.549/.903 line with 127 home runs, 306 RBI and an OPS+ of 147. OK, I'm half joking, but consider this proposal: DH/OF Nelson Cruz (2 years, $28 million) OF Seth Smith (1 year, $7 million) RP Steve Cishek (1 year, $6 million) SP/RP Ariel Miranda (6 years) for OF Jackie Bradley (4 arbitration years) OF Chris Young (1 year, $6.5 million) SP Clay Buchholz (1 year, $13.5 million) SS Deven Marrero (nontender candidate) Smith would replace Bradley's lefthanded bat in an outfield with Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi. Brock Holt and/or Blake Swihart could serve as the fourth outfielder. Steamer projects Smith with a 2017 fWAR of 1.5 in 133 games while projecting Young with 0.5 fWAR in 120 games. This year Craig Kimbrel at 1.2 fWAR was the only Red Sox reliever to exceed Steve Cishek's fWAR of 0.9. Miranda, whom Steamer projects with 1.0 fWAR in 19 games, could be the lefthanded ace out of the bullpen while providing rotation depth. Steamer projects Buchholz with 1.7 fWAR in 23 games. Let me take cover before you fire off your responses.

Seattle needed a righthanded bat at first base and/or right field and Danny Valencia fits the bill. His noted defensive deficiencies are concentrated at third base where Gold Glove finalist Kyle Seager already has it covered for the Mariners. The M's had acquired Paul Blackburn and lefthand-hitting first baseman Dan Vogelbach for lefthander Mike Montgomery at the trade deadline. Every move Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto has made since September 2015 has made some sense although not all have worked out. Dipoto again is moving early in the offseason with the trades for Valencia and veteran catcher Carlos Ruiz.

Two to five years of Nate Jones, who posted 1.8 fWAR this year, is probably worth more than two years of David Robertson, who posted 1.0 fWAR this year.

A BP Boston blogger discusses a trade for White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier: http://boston.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/11/11/2017-offseason-oracle-a-different-type-of-white-sox-trade/ I question whether Blake Swihart, Mauricio Dubon, Williams Jerez and Henry Owens would be enough to land Frazier and two to five years of stud reliever Nate Jones (who probably has more trade value than Robertson or Frazier).

Would anyone trade 32-year-old starter Clay Buchholz, who is owed $13.5 million in the final year of his contract, for Falmouth native Steve Cishek, the 30-year-old Seattle reliever who is owed $6 million in the final year of his contract? This year Buchholz posted 0.5 fWAR while Cishek posted 0.9 fWAR. FanGraphs Depth Charts project 2017 fWAR of 1.7 for Buchholz and 0.8 for Cishek. Cishek could be an eighth-inning candidate with Carson Smith, another reliever who did not hold down the closer's role in Seattle.

To be precise, the Seattle Mariners had an OPS of .708 from the catcher's slot in 2016 (but .464 the previous year). I suspect the Mariners would keep Mike Zunino over Blake Swihart with veteran Carlos Ruiz as the backup.

I owe no one an answer but I provide relevant information to help a reader decide ... or not. No one should care about my opinion if I had one.

One report yesterday said the Red Sox are targeting a June 1 return for Carson Smith: http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/red-soxs-carson-smith-targeting-june-return/

I guess apple-to-apple would be Jarrod Saltalamacchia in November 2009 and Blake Swihart in November 2016. I suspect Saltalamacchia lost value between November 2009 and his trade on July 31, 2010, after playing only two games for Texas on April 5 and 7, 2010. At the time of the trade, Saltalamachia was a 2010 minor leaguer with 63 games at Oklahoma City. In other words, Saltalamacchia's value was higher in November 2009 than it was on July 31, 2010 (although Saltalamacchia missed the end of the 2009 season with a shoulder injury). Swihart's current value is certainly impacted by his June 4 ankle injury that ultimately required season-ending surgery. The injury marked the second straight year that Swihart had been sidelined with an injury at the left ankle or below. As one blogger wrote recently: http://bosoxinjection.com/2016/10/21/red-sox-new-big-bats-spell-doom-blake-swihart-2017/ As I have written, Swihart's performance in the first four months of 2017 should determine whether he has more, less or about the same trade value as Saltalamacchia had on July 31, 2010.

At the MLB level, Jarrod Saltalamacchia has a career OPS+ of 93 and a career wRC+ of 92 while Blake Swihart has a career OPS+ of 90 and a career wRC+ of 92: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/saltaja01.shtml http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=5557&position=C http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/swihabl01.shtml http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=13176&position=C

Compare the minor league slash lines of Blake Swihart and Jarrod Saltalamacchia: BS 1466 PA, .283/.340/.418/.758 JS 1961 PA, .269/.363/.455/.818 http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=swihar000bla http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=saltal001jar

Again, Blake Swihart may evolve into a top-tier catcher ... or not. I would note that at the trade deadline 2017 Swihart will be the same age Jarrod Saltalamacchia was on July 31, 2010, when the Rangers traded the switch-hitting catcher to the Red Sox for Chris McGuiness, Roman Mendez, Michael Thomas and cash. Baseball America once ranked Saltalamacchia No. 18 on its Top 100 prospect list. McGuiness and Thomas are apparently out of organized baseball while the 26-year-old Mendez had a decent 2016 season in the Pawtucket bullpen. Swihart's performance the first four months of 2017 should determine whether he has more, less or about the same value as Saltalamacchia did in 2010.

Steamer's early wRC+ projections have Blake Swihart at 86, Devin Mesoraco at 86, Mike Zunino at 91 and Travis d'Arnaud at 100 after the catchers peaked at No. 17, No. 16, No. 17 and No. 17, respectively, in Baseball America's Top 100 prospect rankings through the years. Setting aside any questions above defensive abilities, compare the minor league slash line for each catcher. Swihart may evolve into an All Star catcher ... or not.

Blake Swihart has a career wRC+ of 92 in 103 games despite a career BABIP of .357: http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=13176&position=C One system projects Swihart with a wRC+ of 86. That might be an acceptable number for a defensive whiz of a catcher but otherwise the red flags may scare off potential suitors.