Over the last 4 seasons Martinez has averaged about 130 games per. Stanton is at about 120. Health isn't much of a separator for these two.JD Martinez is fairly injury prone too, no? And last season is the best he will ever have.
Over the last 4 seasons Martinez has averaged about 130 games per. Stanton is at about 120. Health isn't much of a separator for these two.JD Martinez is fairly injury prone too, no? And last season is the best he will ever have.
Which would also require extending that all-in factor there to us spending a whole heck of a lot more total $$$ on payroll then we have in the past though. If anything these early target rumors seem to be offering a surface impression that a willingness to do that, at least on the grander scale, might not exist. More so (imo) then they are the possibility that's he's already viewing a Martinez/Stanton acquisition as some given and is simply shopping around for an accompanying move first.If they are going to sign a QO free agent like Santana and punt on the draft and IFA period next year, might as well go all the way and make sure they land either Stanton or JD Martinez too.
They only have less than $500,000 to offer Otani in bonus money. Others can offer in the $3.5 million range. Unless he specifically wants to come here and will take less money, the odds of him coming here are extremely low.Is it possible that the Red Sox are planning on making a legitimate bid for Otani? If so, they may be factoring that into their initial offseason efforts, knowing that they want to at least leave a DH slot open to entice Otani to hit as a DH between starts. Their reported interest in both Morrision and Santana would seem to run counter to that position, but I just wanted to throw it out there for general consideration. Sorry if this has been speculated on elsewhere.
They only have less than $500,000 to offer Otani in bonus money. Others can offer in the $3.5 million range. Unless he specifically wants to come here and will take less money, the odds of him coming here are extremely low.
I cannot get enthused about bringing another Rays player to Boston.
Sources: Red Sox meeting Logan Morrison’s reps today in addition to Carlos Santana’s reps. Bat search off ground on Day 1 at GM meetings. Healthy Morrison hit career-high 38 home runs in ’17
One wonders if having personal access to Papi, Pedro, Sale, Price and Porcello might help him specifically want to come here.They only have less than $500,000 to offer Otani in bonus money. Others can offer in the $3.5 million range. Unless he specifically wants to come here and will take less money, the odds of him coming here are extremely low.
Nobody made any assumptions. Re-read the above. They use words like "might", "can't imagine" or "probably." Nobody said anything was definite.I think maybe we should avoid making assumptions about what motivates Otani. It's easy to assume that having other Japanese stars on the roster might be attractive to a prospective Japanese transfer to the MLB, but that might not be the case. It's perfectly possible that Otani would be more motivated to compete against Tanaka than to play with him. It's also possible that his impression and relationship with the coaching staff might be more important to him than teammates. Or the reverse might be true.
Isn't there at least a chance that, under the circumstances, MLB will re-credit the bonus money the Sox paid to Daniel Flores back to the bonus pool (for bonus pool calculation only - the family obviously gets to keep the money)? I've read some speculation to this effect.They only have less than $500,000 to offer Otani in bonus money. Others can offer in the $3.5 million range. Unless he specifically wants to come here and will take less money, the odds of him coming here are extremely low.
I'm hating this possibility the more I think about it. Better case reality scenario Morrison picks back up hitting at his second half rate of .231/.333/.452, maybe gives us a couple more HR then we got out of Moreland, and we still basically end up right back where we started next winter. Just with some extra and likely to be untradeable salary baggage to go along with that Hanley option that this essentially helped push across.
Sources: Red Sox meeting Logan Morrison’s reps today in addition to Carlos Santana’s reps. Bat search off ground on Day 1 at GM meetings. Healthy Morrison hit career-high 38 home runs in ’17
They'd actually lose the DH as soon as he came in to pitch. The pitcher (obviously himself while in the game) would need to bat in the lineup spot of the DH. If he pitches the 7th and then Carson Smith comes in the 8th, you're going to need to burn bench players every time the pitcher's spot is due up. (NL style baseball)So .. interesting scenario if they get Otani .. he's a DH on days he doesn't pitch. But what if he's a reliever? He starts the game as DH and goes in to pitch in , let's say the 7th. I assume this means the Sox forfeit the DH when , or if Otani leaves the game?
It could be a little messy getting him warmed up in time. Not saying they should use him that way .. just they could. This also opens an extra roster spot.
One doesn't have to be stating something as definite to be making a case based entirely on assumptions/speculation.Nobody made any assumptions. Re-read the above. They use words like "might", "can't imagine" or "probably." Nobody said anything was definite.
I don't think there's any chance. How can mlb set that precedent? Yes this situation is incredibly tragic and probably wasn't possible to foresee, but if I'm a team with a big chunk of my IFA pool left and the Red Sox are credited the $3.1M and then win the bidding on Otani with it, I'm going to lose my shit over it.Isn't there at least a chance that, under the circumstances, MLB will re-credit the bonus money the Sox paid to Daniel Flores back to the bonus pool (for bonus pool calculation only - the family obviously gets to keep the money)? I've read some speculation to this effect.
I don't think this is true. If I'm him, choosing to leave a ~200M contract on the table by coming over now instead of 2 years from now doesn't mean the bonus pool money isn't important at all. In fact, I'm probably ruling out anyone who can't offer at least two million. If he's made between 3 and 4 million in Japan, an additional 2-3 million in the signing bonus is about as good a hedge against flameout or injury getting in the way of a big contract as he's gonna get. You can live comfortably in a lot of places on $6M. Not quite as easy to do on 3.I think people understate the Red Sox resources to go after Ohtani
International bonus money of course is not an important factor now as we are talking 1-2 million difference between teams.
http://www.gammonsdaily.com/peter-gammons-mvps-cys-otani-swihart-the-orioles-and-more-november-notes/(Sale's) work ethic was a model for other Red Sox pitchers, then after the playoffs he took his responsibility to another level. He called scouting director Mike Rikard and asked about Jason Groome, the 19-year old lefthanded pitcher who was Boston’s first pick in the 2016 draft, but went through an up-and-down season in 2017 because of injuries and a trial that sent his father to jail.
Sale was told Groome lives at a condo in Ft. Myers and works out at the Red Sox complex. Sale lives in the next town to Ft. Myers, got Groome’s number from Rikard and now is working out with the teenage pitcher, overseeing his offseason conditioning program.
Maybe compromise and allow Boston to sell off prospects to get the money back?I don't think there's any chance. How can mlb set that precedent? Yes this situation is incredibly tragic and probably wasn't possible to foresee, but if I'm a team with a big chunk of my IFA pool left and the Red Sox are credited the $3.1M and then win the bidding on Otani with it, I'm going to lose my shit over it.
International players who already signed and those who WERE thinking of signing here would love this idea huh? Sox would never be able to sign anyone else. Why would you come here knowing it's only until someone the Sox want more is available then they sell you off?Maybe compromise and allow Boston to sell off prospects to get the money back?
Yeah, because the idea of selling and trading prospects is such an alien concept. Never happened before in the history of baseball.International players who already signed and those who WERE thinking of signing here would love this idea huh? Sox would never be able to sign anyone else. Why would you come here knowing it's only until someone the Sox want more is available then they sell you off?
I misunderstood what he meant. I thought he meant selling off the signings to recoup that money.Yeah, because the idea of selling and trading prospects is such an alien concept. Never happened before in the history of baseball.
I don't think nighthob was suggesting what amounts to reneging on other international signings so much as perhaps lifting or making an exception to the limitation on how much additional international bonus money a team can trade for. The Sox made two trades in July exclusively for more bonus money (Nick Longhi to the Reds, Imeldo Diaz and Stanley Espinal to the Cardinals) and pretty much maxed out how much they had to spend on international free agents.
I think nighthob is suggesting they be allowed to exceed the existing cap to acquire the equivalent of Flores's bonus from other teams (if there's enough out there to acquire). Wouldn't require trading any of their international signings necessarily. It could be other minor leaguers or even players off the 40-man roster if they saw fit. Doubt it will happen but it's not all that outlandish a proposal.
I see your point, but the Sox should seek a remedy. Maybe you get SOMETHING from MLB, even if you get half of it back, and it's spread out over three years. It wouldn't make a difference with Otani, but adding an extra half-million to the pool for each of the next three years gets you a extra player or two or three.I don't think there's any chance. How can mlb set that precedent? Yes this situation is incredibly tragic and probably wasn't possible to foresee, but if I'm a team with a big chunk of my IFA pool left and the Red Sox are credited the $3.1M and then win the bidding on Otani with it, I'm going to lose my shit over it.
The current international signing rules allow teams to buy up to 75% of their total. Boston had previously done this selling off prospects to Cincinnati and St. Louis for extra money to devote to international signings. So I don’t really see why allowing Boston to trade for the cap space used to sign the player that died would prevent them from ever signing anyone again.International players who already signed and those who WERE thinking of signing here would love this idea huh? Sox would never be able to sign anyone else. Why would you come here knowing it's only until someone the Sox want more is available then they sell you off?
It wouldn't prevent them. I already said I was wrong, and misunderstood what you said. I thought when you said "to get back the money" you meant the money you paid to the International prospect who just signed here and you just sold off "to get back the money". You were talking about getting back the Flores money when you said that.The current international signing rules allow teams to buy up to 75% of their total. Boston had previously done this selling off prospects to Cincinnati and St. Louis for extra money to devote to international signings. So I don’t really see why allowing Boston to trade for the cap space used to sign the player that died would prevent them from ever signing anyone again.
EDIT: What RedHawksFan said.
Swihart playing 2B may be for the same reason Chavis is apparently going to get some reps there. They want to try and find a way to utilize these players internally to feed some minimum contract production into an otherwise bloated (and about to require extensions) payroll. If they can find a second baseman to eventually replace Pedroia who can be that bounce around the field utility type who happens to have a decent bat internally, that would obviously be preferable to signing a free agent.Man - talk about serious dead time this time of year, though this is somewhat expected given the Boras factor, Jetes taking his time on Stanton and it being pre December meetings.
Interesting note from Gammons on Swihart potentially learning 2B. I'm reading that to mean that Nunez may be pricing himself out, since they have only mentioned internal Pedey replacement options so far.
http://www.rotoworld.com/player/mlb/6689/blake-swihart
I kind of want that to be an area they skimp on so they can use that money on offense and maybe the one bullpen piece.
I would think Kendrick would be a lot more likely to accept a part time role than Nunez accepting a one year deal but could be wrong. He would be fine and possibly cheaper.Swihart playing 2B may be for the same reason Chavis is apparently going to get some reps there. They want to try and find a way to utilize these players internally to feed some minimum contract production into an otherwise bloated (and about to require extensions) payroll. If they can find a second baseman to eventually replace Pedroia who can be that bounce around the field utility type who happens to have a decent bat internally, that would obviously be preferable to signing a free agent.
And I don't think this precludes a one year deal for a guy like Nunez (or someone else) as Chavis hasn't used any options yet and Swihart could exist in tandem with a Nunez type for a year if he can offer a passable glove at a few positions. Having a bench of something like Leon, Swihart (C, 1B, LF, 2B), Nunez (whole IF and LF) and either a base stealing weapon or a late inning defensive replacement with a light bat would be an interesting way to move into 2018. But only if they think Swihart can hit again.
They could also be planning to break camp with Swihart in a role like that with the intention being to cut him if he's lost at the plate after a month or two.
Swihart played SS and 3B in high school. If he can transform himself into a general backup IF/C/corner OF he's a really valuable player.Interesting note from Gammons on Swihart potentially learning 2B. I'm reading that to mean that Nunez may be pricing himself out, since they have only mentioned internal Pedey replacement options so far.
Maybe he's the next Ben Zobrist (a late-blooming switch hitter who still had just 318 PA and a career slash of .202/.237/.281 on his 27th birthday, which Swihart won't hit till a year from next April).Swihart played SS and 3B in high school. If he can transform himself into a general backup IF/C/corner OF he's a really valuable player.
Are we sure they still like Leon? I suppose he qualifies as a good backup, seems well-liked and good defensively, but his offense fell (back) off the cliff. I'm sure they will keep him around and see what happens but Swihart has to be a hedge against Sandy's bat being toast.It's really desperation time for Swihart since he's out of options and they've got a catching tandem they like, so I expect he is going to be tried anywhere they think he can get innings. If they can turn him into a Brandon Inge type (utility guy who can catch), that could be valuable to a team with this kind of payroll. If they find him a position he can defend as well as Inge did at 3B, all the better.
Don't some vastly disproportionate number of players who make it to the majors play shortstop in high school? That wouldn't seem to signal very much in and of itself in Swihart's case.Swihart played SS and 3B in high school. If he can transform himself into a general backup IF/C/corner OF he's a really valuable player.