Alright Alright Alright!
In my scenario, there is a good balance of raising payroll for current folks while also not trading away the future as has been the Sox MO in the last 20 years. :-( The biggest thing here is that the Sox bring on some legit star power and ease the attention off of their prospects so they can grow outside of the spotlight. So...here goes...
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Alex Colomé, $10.3M – !Me gusta!
- Yolmer Sánchez, $6.2M – !No me gusta!
- James McCann, $4.9M – !Me gusta!
- Carlos Rodon, $4.5M – !Me gusta!
- Leury García, $4M – !Me gusta!
- Evan Marshall, $1.3M – !Me gusta!
- Josh Osich, $1M – !No me gusta!
- Ryan Goins, $900K – !No me gusta!
I don't think there's too much to argue about here. Osich is a can-take-or-leave for me.
CLUB OPTIONS
- Welington Castillo: $8 million/$500,000 buyout – Hot garbage. No.
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
- Jose Abreu (made $16M in 2019) – Re-sign, 3/$34 million ($15m year 1, $11m year 2, $8m year 3)
- Iván Nova (made $9,166,167 in 2019) – No.
- Jon Jay (made $4M in 2019) – Hard no.
- Hector Santiago (made $2M in 2019 on split contract) – Hard no.
Abreu is a no brainer and it's hard to believe he isn't coming back. I don't love the 1b defense but it could be worse.
FREE AGENTS
No. 1: Gerrit Cole, 9 years/$260 million (35m years 1-4, 25m years 5-8, 20m year 9), player opt-out after six years.
No. 2: JD Martinez, 4 years/$68m (20m year 1, 18m years 2-3, 15m year 4). Imagine the protection for the Sox' other hitters when a legit MVP-hitter is here.
No. 3: Hyun-Jin Ryn, 5 years/$70 million ($20m year 1, $15m years 2-3, $10m years 4-5). Becomes a rotation piece for the first few years. If age catches up, he could be a swingman or switch to a setup role to preserve his aging arm.
No. 4: Steve Cishek, 2 years/$7.5million ($4m year 1, $3.5m year 2). Up and down 2019 but good enough to take a chance on him as a 7th inning RHRP.
No 5: Francisco Liriano, 1 year/$5million. A good vet and LHP for the bullpen. Eases the burden on Bummer and we don't have to rely on Fry so much if at all.
TRADES
No. 1: Reynaldo Lopez, Blake Rutherford, and Bernardo Flores to Pittsburgh for Starling Marte and $5m of Marte's salary. The Pirates actually have some hitters but have hot garbage for pitching. Lopez and Flores give their rotation some depth prospects/talent and they have a record of developing outfielders; they'd probably find Rutherford worth a flyer. Marte gives the Sox a strong RF with speed and power for the next two years.
SUMMARY
Starting Lineup
CF – Luis Robert ($550k)
3B – Yoan Moncada ($600k)
DH - JD Martinez ($20m)
LF – Eloy Jimenez ($2.33m)
1B – Jose Abreu ($15m)
RF - Starling Marte ($6.5m)
C – James McCann ($4.9m)
SS – Tim Anderson ($4m)
2B – Nick Madrigal ($550k)
Bench
UT – Leury Garcia ($4m)
IF – Danny Mendick ($550k)
C/1B/DH - Zach Collins ($550k)
OF - Adam Engel ($570k)
Rotation
RHP – Gerrit Cole ($35m)
RHP – Lucas Giolito ($600k)
RHP – Hyun-Jin Ryu ($20m)
LHP – Dylan Cease ($550)
RHP – Michael Kopech ($550) (or Liriano to start the year if Kopech not ready)
Bullpen
RHP – Alex Colome ($10.3m)
LHP - Francisco Liriano ($5m)
RHP - Steve Cishek ($4m)
LHP – Aaron Bummer ($550k)
LHP – Jace Fry ($575k)
RHP – Evan Marshall ($1.3m)
RHP – Kelvin Herrera ($8.5m)
RHP – Jimmy Cordero ($550k)
Final words: Veteran presence is decently balanced here with youth. A couple weakpoints could be seen in a backup/3rd catcher (could be Zavala or could pick up a vet from the street mid-season a la Widger). Rodon comes back later in the year for swingman/bullpen work.
TOTAL PAYROLL: about $138m
