That's the deal you want to sign Cespdes on but if he wanted to stay with the Mets there's not much you can do. There is still move out there that can really improve the team. Hopefully they can match up with Colorado on a Blackmon deal.

I wouldn't give him $27.5MM for a year either.

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Sox probably win a WC with him, they should have tossed 4-100 @ him. Gordon and Cespedes tested the water n didn't get offers they thought so they settled to stay.

_________________

I could see Hahn trading for Deaza, Mets don't need him now.

_________________

The point is the Sox cut off the supply of minor league position players to Chicago for 2 years and all they have to show for it is Todd Frazier, a compensation pick and holes all around the diamond.

The thought was if the Sox were going to sacrifice three players who could've contributed in 2016 for Frazier that they would be replaced in free agency. Didn't happen. I'd rather have:

1 Eaton
2 Semien
3 Abreu
4 Melky
5 Lawrie
6 LaRoche
7 Trayce
8 Micah
9 Navarro/Avila/<a catcher>

Than what the Sox have now.

No one needs De Aza.

Fuck this.

81 wins at best. Those two good moves over the winter end up meaningless without the additional move.

They have enough talent not to suck. Yeah!

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

They have upgraded 2nd, 3rd, and catcher. They are betting that Eaton, Melky, Garcia, and LaRoche have more normal years.

I can see where they think they are better, if you drink the Kool-Aid.

_________________

Shark is probably addition by subtraction with the starting rotation as well.

I could see them making a trade for an OF.

_________________

What?

Adam Eaton just played his best season of baseball. And it was his only true 'full season' as a starter.

What is a normal year for Melky? Starting the synthetic testosterone in January instead of May?

_________________
Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Guess you don't remember what a bad start they had? By the time the two of them started hitting, the Sox were out of it.

_________________

Guess you don't remember the great finish they had. If they would have reversed their first and second halves, the Sox still aren't in the playoffs.

Over the course of a season, performance tends to normalize. Sure, next year Eaton might not have such cold months...but he also might not have such hot months. I fully expect Adam Eaton to be consistent from year to year and he had just under a .800 OPS. The Sox don't expect better, and don't need better.

Other players need to step up....the ones doing their jobs shouldn't have to carry 20 teammates.

_________________
Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

IMU making sense.

Maybe Hahn is just hoping that the Sox are a year early

_________________

Eaton had a shit year defensively, and he can't run the bases too well, but he still finished with a 3.6 WAR - that says a lot. A .360 OBP and 51 extra-base hits is pretty damn respectable out of the leadoff slot.

I think that he can be an adequate defender, but his issues on the basepaths are indicative of bad instincts, and he's already 27, so I don't know if he can improve much going forward.

_________________

If I wanted Adam Eaton's dashboard on Fangraphs I'd just go to Fangraphs.

But great input man! Hey, can you tell me if Mike Trout is any good?

Don't get your panties in a bunch. A lot of people think that Eaton had a shit year. I'm just trying to defend the midget.

_________________

ZiPs projections are out for White Sox:

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2016-zips-projections-chicago-white-sox/

I don't care for its projections but love the player comps.

Some notable ones from the article:
Adam Eaton - Johnny Damon
Jose Abreu - Willie Horton
Jake Peter (who?) - Martin Prado
Avi Garcia - Matt Murton (!!!!)

Chris Sale - Ron Guidry
Jose Quintana - John Candelaria
Carlos Rodon - Mark Langston

I don't care who is batting, if I have Guidry, Candelaria, and Langston I've got a World Series contender in any era.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

You mean Mark ("17 Loss") Langston?

No, I mean 179-158 Mark Langston.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I'm sick of the Rick Hahn ALS society. This team still sucks. you take the worst group of position players in MLB and add Frazier and Lowrie and you still have a below average group. the easiest positions to fill in baseball are DH and corner outfield. they've done nothing to fill those gaping holes. morons.

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

it's very easy to forget about both Eaton and Melky 2nd half seasons when their 1st half of the season was PATHETIC. They played well after nothing mattered and played like shit when it DID matter. Wake me when they contribute when it matters. At least LaRoche was consistently bad for the full season.

The 2016 roster looks bad and I don't think anyone that was traded away drives an improvement.

_________________

You would give Cub fans so much crap for saying anything like this.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

No, I wouldn't. I'm not saying the Sox have Guidry, Langston, and Candelaria. I'm reading it. I find ZIPS absurd.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I dont disagree.

This cant even be a "pitching and defense" team because, aside from the colossal defensive improvement at 3rd, this team is probably worse than last year's defensively. And the 4-5 in the rotation suck. Cant hit, cant field, a few good starting pitchers and an average bullpen with an elite closer.

I hate "Losing Pitcher" John Danks, but realistically, how many number 5 guys do you think are stronger?

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Is Danks #5 ? or is Erik Johnson #5 and Danks #4.... But if Danks is #5 how about Jaime Garcia StL, Joe Ross Wash or Jason Hammel CHC all are number 5's and all are better than Danks.

_________________

Edit- bigfan and I posted this at the exact same time

Danks isn't the 5, he's the 4. The 5 is Erik Johnson, you may remember him getting fucking demolished and having a mental breakdown. Ruh roh. I'd be fine with Danks as the 5 and Erik Johnson as a backup plan, but both of them is not good.

The Sox probably traded starters at 2nd, RF and a possible rotation arm (this year even!) for Frazier. I'm not sure they are a better team after that trade.

Garcia is better if he can stay healthy. Ross doesn't even have 100 innings. And I would bet Hammel does not have as good a year as Danks.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I would love to see what John Danks could do in the NL. He has a knack for mysteriously stringing together lots of outs without doing anything extraordinary in regards to his pitching. Its not like Buehrle either, Buehrle could locate, had that cutter and changed the pace on hitters. Danks is just an average, bad pitcher.