The Sox are perfectly positioned to take on a bad contract having an almost non existent estimated payroll and the expectation of another below average year. In exchange they would also get a good prospect from a team. What are the more attractive options out there for them?

I think the one I would want is to take on the entirety of Chatwood's contract from the Cubs and demand Ian Happ as well. The Sox have a need for a starter for this year and most likely the beginning of 2020. Chatwood can sit there and suck in the fifth spot similar to Shields. Happ could fit in as starter in right and the Sox could non tender Avi. The added contract would be close to a wash with the non tender.

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

OK.....what would the Cubs be getting in return?

A player a low level prospect and capital to spend on Harper and/or Machado.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Maybe the Sox can pay Heyward the $20million that Elmhurst Steve says it would take him to opt out of his deal.

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Sox are getting Machado

They should try. He seems like the safer choice. Harper's floor concerns me.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Two things:

1. Shit
2. Nothing

Cubs are actively looking for payroll relief. That is their incentive. Sox send them Ron Schuler's daughter or that kid they drafted as a make a wish gesture last year.

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

Chatwood only has two years left. They would need to take Heyward back for Happ.

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They could pillage the Yankees for Ellsbury.

They have the flexibility to take on Ellsbury and Chatwood. Land a hunk from the Yanks and either Happ or Schwarber from Cubs.

Chatwood and his older brother played for me in Mickey Mantle baseball while in high school. Great kid and family. I love the kids.

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An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

The next Fernando Tatis Jr.

No way lightning strikes twice and they bumble fuck their way into another top prospect in baseball.

Mariners are doing this and getting pretty nice returns. Why the Sox never did this I cannot understand, but the time for taking on bad money has passed. They have no starting pitching and half the lineup is literally who. The prospect cupboard is basically done, you've Madrigal and Jimenez then maybe Rutherford/Adolfo in 2020, plus the 2019 pick. Not nearly enough to fill the holes.

Have to maximize their free agent money almost perfectly, meaning no bad contracts they are obligated to play, just to compete for the Central.

The Sox did a statistical analysis of every hitter in their minor league system based on future runs created and the results were Eloy and Collins 1-2 by a mile. The drop to #3 was “alarming”. Injuries to Adolfo and Robert played a part but those two are head and shoulders the best hitters in the system.

Robert is a non-prospect. Adolfo could easily ascend to stud status.

I still like Rutherford and Madrigal to be useful all-around players.

That's crazy talk.

He doesn't play baseball ever.

He showed very well in the Arizona fall league.

Good for him. He'll be out for 30 games by the end of ST.

Could you expand on this? What were they projecting, what happened after Collins? Anything with the Pitchers?

what pitchers?

They were projecting who will create the most runs at the big league level based on their minor league numbers. Eloy, Collins then the next guy was below league average. I wasn't told about a pitching analysis.

Adolfo and Rutherford are still at such embryonic stages of their development that one nice season could totally alter their profiles. And Madrigal was clearly just way past his exhaustion point for most of his stint in the minors. But I agree with anyone who says the Sox minor league system is probably no longer in the top half of baseball once Eloy graduates.

The Sox stink at advanced analysis so this is a good sign

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

Better hope the blind squirrel didn't find a nut.

That's not a bad thought, but if Chatwood has 3 more years, at $12M, and the White Sox are a team that does have a limited budget (compared to the Cubs), how much "bad" salary can they take on without this impacting their ability to actually compete?

The concept makes a lot of sense though. Cubs get more financial flexibility by getting rid of a bad contract. White Sox get a good young player back and have to take on bad money.

Where did you read this or find out about this? If Collins is their 2nd best hitting prospect, they'd better dip heavily into free agency.

I know stuff about stuff.

It's probably true. Doesn't mean Robert, Rutherford, and Madrigal are garbage.