PREAMBLE
Time to spend
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
Write “tender” or “non-tender” after each player and their projected 2020 salaries. Feel free to offer explanation afterward if necessary.
- Alex Colomé, $10.3M- Tender
- Yolmer Sánchez, $6.2M- Non Tender
- James McCann, $4.9M- Tender
- Carlos Rodon, $4.5M- Tender
- Leury García, $4M- Tender
- Evan Marshall, $1.3M- Tender
- Josh Osich, $1M- Tender
- Ryan Goins, $900K- Non Tender
Pretty straight forward. Osich was the only one I really had to think about, but in the end he did have a decent year and its only 1M.
CLUB OPTIONS
Write “pick up” or “decline” after the option.
- Welington Castillo: $8 million/$500,000 buyout- Decline
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
Try to retain, or let go?
- Jose Abreu (made $16M in 2019)- Retain(see below)
- Iván Nova (made $9,166,167 in 2019)- Let go
- Jon Jay (made $4M in 2019)- Let go
- Hector Santiago (made $2M in 2019 on split contract)- Let go
FREE AGENTS
List three free-agent targets you’d pursue during the offseason, with a reasonable contract. A good example of a bad idea:
No. 1: Jose Abreu (two years, $26 million). Based on prior contracts for 1B(Mitch Moreland and Daniel Murphy) 13M per looked on par. I'm sure the sox will give him more than hes worth at this stage in his career though. Abreu seems committed to staying and while hes now a below average defender, he can still hit. We can worry about a new 1B later.
No. 2: Zack Wheeler (Five years, $100 million). A top of the rotation pitcher to pair with Giolito is an absolute must. Cole is looking at a record contract and likely priced himself far, far, far out of Jerry's comfort zone. Eovaldi got 4/68 last year and hes far worse than wheeler so even this offer may come up short.
No. 3: Yasmani Grandal (Four years, $72 million). Sox should have signed him long term last year. Probably the biggest need on this team outside a top end SP has to be catcher. I hated the James McCann signing. He looked to be proving me wrong until he turned back into James McCann in the second half. The sox cannot go into 2020 without getting Grandal. And no Collins is not a catcher.
No. 4: Scooter Gennett(One year, $4 million). Insurance for Nick Madrigal. I'm not as high as most on Madrigal as he seems more like a 2 war player with his power probably limited to 5HR's and not walking enough. Gennett is a year removed from a 4.5 fWar season and I'd gladly add another year if needed.
No. 5: Fransisco Liriano(One year, $3 million). Depth until Kopech comes back. Also have Flores in the mix.
TRADES
Propose trades that you think sound reasonable for both sides, and the rationale behind them. A good example of a bad idea:
No. 1: Trade Zack Collins, Andrew Vaughn, Jonathan Stiever, and Luis Mieses to the Texas Rangers for Joey Gallo and Jose Leclerc.
Texas has to realize its time to rebuild. They missed the playoffs this year and are in a tough division with Angels, Athletics, and Astros. There's no chance Lance Lynn repeats this years performance, and Pence and Choo's value coming almost exclusively from a hot start. In return they get an MLB ready 1B/DH, a future MLB 1B/DH and top 25 prospect, the sox top pitching prospect(not including Kopech), and a lottery ticket OF. The Sox get a LH power hitting bat hitting his prime who was surprisingly decent defensively. Along with Gallo they also get young bullpen arm in Leclerc who provides some insurance in case Colome regresses(which is probably likely).
No. 2: Trade Dane Dunning, Steele Walker and Yermin Mercedes to the Baltimore Orioles for Trey Mancini.
Baltimore needs an influx of talent in the minors. The Orioles get Dunning who was looking to push for a rotation spot until TJ sidelined him. They also get the Sox top OF prospect, and a MLB ready DH lottery ticket. DH has been a black hole for the Sox and Mancini is signed cheap for the next 3 years.
SUMMARY:
C: Grandal(18M)
1B: Abreu(13M)
2B: Gennett(4M)
SS: Anderson(4M)
3B: Moncada(650K)
LF: Jimenez(2.3M)
CF: Robert(560K)
RF: Gallo(4M)
DH: Mancini(5.7M)
Bench:
McCann(4.9M)
Madrigal(560K)
Garcia(4M)
Engel(600K)
SP: Giolito(650k)
SP: Wheeler(20M)
SP: Liriano(3M)/Kopech(580K)/Rodon(4.5M)
SP: Cease(560K)
SP: Lopez(600k)
RP: Bummer(600K)
RP: Leclerc(2.75M)
RP: Colome(10.3M)
RP: Herrera(8.5M)
RP: Fry(570K)
RP: Marshall(1.3M)
RP: Osich(1M)
RP: Cordero(580K)
This roster comes out to about 118M. Personally I think they need to pony up and give a record contract to Cole, but its just unlikely Jerry would ever be open to that.
This roster upgrades the 4 worst positions for the Sox:
C: Huge upgrade with Grandal with both the bat and defensively. Allows McCann to catch 1-2x per week.
2B: Gennett can hopefully rebound to 2018 form and would give insurance in the case Madrigal never is able to hit for any power and walk.
RF: Gallo was just starting to tap into his peak and is a massive upgrade over Palka, Garcia, Cordell, etc.
DH: A complete dumpster fire is now a strength.
This team is roughly around a 88-92 win team with the upgrades alone. If the sox get decent production from Eloy and Robert it could be even better.
