Jolan560’s Offseason Plan
Arbitration-eligible (with projected salaries from MLBTR):
Explain the toughest calls if necessary:
The Avi Garcia experiment failed and were left with nothing but with another Dayan Viciedo but unlike Viciedo I can't see this guy tearing up the KBO anytime soon. He simply doesn't seem to have any tools except maybe a grade 50-55 arm.
I know people like Lawrie's electric personality but the guy offers little upside over Saladino and is more of an injury-risk and expensive. Doesn't make sense to keep him at that price.
Shuck sucked and now we have Tilson. No point in enduring another season of him.
Webb is coming off surgery and more than anything its the spot on the 40-man that is more valuable than him as a pitcher. Keep Webb around maybe next year he can come and give us more depth in AAA as he tries to work his way back.
Contract options (pick up or buy out)
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Matt Albers: $250,000 buyout – Buy-out. Amazing game against the Mets was one of the best moments I've ever had as a Sox fan but he struggled and is the wrong side of 30. I understand he's not expensive but let's give someone else the chance to break with the squad.
Impending free agents (re-sign, let go or qualifying offer)
Austin Jackson is an injury risk and we don't have the depth to cover for injury-prone individuals. I can seem him chasing a bench spot and a contender, I'm surprised that he's so young.
Morneau just doesn't seem like a fit anymore. He proved he can still play at a mediocre level and that being said I can't defend spending money on a mediocre aging declining veteran that is coming off a serious injury who doesn't even play the field.
Avila played acceptably while healthy but unfortunately he wasn't and Kevan Smith is not a guy I want to see catching every 3rd game.
Free agents
Wilin Rosario for $13M over 3 years. I don't know if he's really available coming from the KBO but I think this can be a sneaky good signing. Limited injury history and dons the tools of ignorance well enough to scare some baserunners. Good lefty splits, very good platoon option.
Nick Hundley for $5M over 1 years. Old veteran I'm counting on to just bide time until Collins devolops enough in the minors or were able to target a reasonable long term solution at catcher. Hopefully the lefty platoon with Rosario takes some of the stress off his body and allows him to stay healthy.
Brett Cecil for $9M over 2 years. He's a lefty who gets lefties out. 'Nuff said.
Josh Reddick for $23M over 3 years. Guy can't hit lefties but his ability to play OF should allow him to DH and occasionally give Melky/Eaton some rest. I'd prefer this KBO Guy but hey, we can dream right?
Trades
No. 1: Trade Chris Sale, Matt Davidson, David Robertson and Courtney Hawkins for Kenta Maeda, Yaisel Puig, Alex Wood, Alex Verdugo, Austin Barnes and O'Koyea Dickson
So at this point you guys can probably tell that I'm stretching things a little bit. Puig?!?!?! He solves our problem of not having a true CF and gives our offense some more versatility. I'm hoping that hooking up with fellow Cuban national Jose Abreu can rein in his behavior a little bit and keep him playing more consistently. Including Hawkins sweetens the package a bit as the LAD will be lacking corner OF help but overall I think Sale/Robertson address their most pressing needs while taking a distraction off their plate. Sale won't resign with the Sox and his contract expiring is essentially a countdown to him leaving the south side. That being said, it's fair to say the LAD may not take this deal, but given the rhetoric coming out of the organization around the trade deadline it seemed the Dodgers willing to almost give Puig away. I'm definitely not an expert on their front office and don't follow them as much but given their struggles in the playoffs I feel this package gives them two players they desperately need (especially given how Jansen is a FA) and two serviceable prospects that can compete at weak positions on their roster.
C Hundley/Rosario
1B Abreu
2B Saladino
3B Frazier
SS Anderson
LF Cabrera
CF Puig
RF Eaton
DH Reddick
Bench: Hundley/Rosario Sanchez, Dickson, Coats/Tilson
SP: Quintana, Maeda, Wood, Rodon, Gonzalez
Bullpen: Shields(Spot Starter), Jennings, Jones, Kahnle, Petricka, Putnam, Cecil
The issues revolve around the trade with LAD. Like I said I have no idea if that's reasonable or even possible however I do think Sale is a valuable trade piece who should be dealt for any package involving 3+ solid major league players. While our farm system doesn't benefit massively from this deal it doesn't cost us anybody that we won't be releasing in the next two years (Hawkins A.K.A Jared Mitchell, Matt Davidson a la Josh Fields). I do think this plan does have the benefit of allowing prospects like Tilson/Fulmer/Collins/Beck/Danish more time to develop.
At the major league level, Shields sits in the bullpen but I think that's more out of necessity given how I don't think any team will realistically take his salary on and our total lack of major league tested pitching depth at the AAA level. By signing reasonable free agents we can realistically continue to field a mediocre product while getting younger and improving the future upside of our organization. Personally, I would shop Quintana during the season based on how the team was playing and what playoff expectations were and that possible trade would be purely for prospects and seeing how many years of team control we have on him I'd expect that return to be significant.
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