MLB 2016

[tepista]

they paid a large Price and nothing was on Sale.

[Inder]

Moreland to Red Sox.

[Boddington]

Yikes...they are going to be in the same luxury tax hell as the Dodgers in 2018 with the CBA's new 90% tax rate for the worst offenders, if they don't find takers for some of their most worst 40-man roster overpays soon enough. This is a GFIN move...but that assumes that the post-Papi '17 team is really a GFIN-caliber roster. Moncada was a big-salary jettison, but his 100%-taxable signing bonus is non-transactable to the Meth Sox so that's sunk cost for however many years it's still got deferred payments on it (EDIT: apparently that's $11M each of the next 3 years).

For their sake Pomagranate needs to be healthy enough to deal without eating excess cash. That would be enough to keep the ledger from tipping too far into the danger zone. However, he certainly wasn't last year when it looked like you might as well pencil him in preemptively for the TJ surgery.

What makes you say that? There's every reason to believe someone like Buchholz is coming off the books in this ridiculously poor FA market, which would negate Sale's salary. I doubt we have any large signings in mind after this, especially if there's some feeling that Panda can at least hold down 3B. Our outfield is so stocked with surplus value it's stupid. Pedroia is a very team friendly contract for his production and defensive value. Yeah, Hanley and Panda make a lot, but at least HanRam can provide value, and maybe Panda will come back. I doubt the Sox are going to be in the situation the Dodgers are or the Yankees were. We already know we're not going to be involved in the Machado/Harper/Whomeverelse bidding wars except to drive up the price for the Yankees. I'd love one of them, but the contracts are going to be 10/$350 or 10/$400 and no thank you. I'll let you guys have that.

[Rat Patrol]

Yikes...they are going to be in the same luxury tax hell as the Dodgers in 2018 with the CBA's new 90% tax rate for the worst offenders, if they don't find takers for some of their most worst 40-man roster overpays soon enough. This is a GFIN move...but that assumes that the post-Papi '17 team is really a GFIN-caliber roster. Moncada was a big-salary jettison, but his 100%-taxable signing bonus is non-transactable to the Meth Sox so that's sunk cost for however many years it's still got deferred payments on it (EDIT: apparently that's $11M each of the next 3 years).

For their sake Pomagranate needs to be healthy enough to deal without eating excess cash. That would be enough to keep the ledger from tipping too far into the danger zone. However, he certainly wasn't last year when it looked like you might as well pencil him in preemptively for the TJ surgery.

What makes you say that? There's every reason to believe someone like Buchholz is coming off the books in this ridiculously poor FA market, which would negate Sale's salary. I doubt we have any large signings in mind after this, especially if there's some feeling that Panda can at least hold down 3B. Our outfield is so stocked with surplus value it's stupid. Pedroia is a very team friendly contract for his production and defensive value. Yeah, Hanley and Panda make a lot, but at least HanRam can provide value, and maybe Panda will come back. I doubt the Sox are going to be in the situation the Dodgers are or the Yankees were. We already know we're not going to be involved in the Machado/Harper/Whomeverelse bidding wars except to drive up the price for the Yankees. I'd love one of them, but the contracts are going to be 10/$350 or 10/$400 and no thank you. I'll let you guys have that.

Buchholz's option was already picked up. He's already on the books. And the balance of Moncada's deal (excluding $1.5M MLB base salary) is on the books for next 3 years @ $11M per.

[Boddington]

Yikes...they are going to be in the same luxury tax hell as the Dodgers in 2018 with the CBA's new 90% tax rate for the worst offenders, if they don't find takers for some of their most worst 40-man roster overpays soon enough. This is a GFIN move...but that assumes that the post-Papi '17 team is really a GFIN-caliber roster. Moncada was a big-salary jettison, but his 100%-taxable signing bonus is non-transactable to the Meth Sox so that's sunk cost for however many years it's still got deferred payments on it (EDIT: apparently that's $11M each of the next 3 years).

For their sake Pomagranate needs to be healthy enough to deal without eating excess cash. That would be enough to keep the ledger from tipping too far into the danger zone. However, he certainly wasn't last year when it looked like you might as well pencil him in preemptively for the TJ surgery.

What makes you say that? There's every reason to believe someone like Buchholz is coming off the books in this ridiculously poor FA market, which would negate Sale's salary. I doubt we have any large signings in mind after this, especially if there's some feeling that Panda can at least hold down 3B. Our outfield is so stocked with surplus value it's stupid. Pedroia is a very team friendly contract for his production and defensive value. Yeah, Hanley and Panda make a lot, but at least HanRam can provide value, and maybe Panda will come back. I doubt the Sox are going to be in the situation the Dodgers are or the Yankees were. We already know we're not going to be involved in the Machado/Harper/Whomeverelse bidding wars except to drive up the price for the Yankees. I'd love one of them, but the contracts are going to be 10/$350 or 10/$400 and no thank you. I'll let you guys have that.

Buchholz's option was already picked up. He's already on the books. And the balance of Moncada's deal (excluding $1.5M MLB base salary) is on the books for next 3 years.

I expect we'll trade Buchholz in a salary dump for some AA reliever. I understand what our salary commitments are. I don't expect we'll deal with luxury tax hell at all.

[Rat Patrol]

Yikes...they are going to be in the same luxury tax hell as the Dodgers in 2018 with the CBA's new 90% tax rate for the worst offenders, if they don't find takers for some of their most worst 40-man roster overpays soon enough. This is a GFIN move...but that assumes that the post-Papi '17 team is really a GFIN-caliber roster. Moncada was a big-salary jettison, but his 100%-taxable signing bonus is non-transactable to the Meth Sox so that's sunk cost for however many years it's still got deferred payments on it (EDIT: apparently that's $11M each of the next 3 years).

For their sake Pomagranate needs to be healthy enough to deal without eating excess cash. That would be enough to keep the ledger from tipping too far into the danger zone. However, he certainly wasn't last year when it looked like you might as well pencil him in preemptively for the TJ surgery.

What makes you say that? There's every reason to believe someone like Buchholz is coming off the books in this ridiculously poor FA market, which would negate Sale's salary. I doubt we have any large signings in mind after this, especially if there's some feeling that Panda can at least hold down 3B. Our outfield is so stocked with surplus value it's stupid. Pedroia is a very team friendly contract for his production and defensive value. Yeah, Hanley and Panda make a lot, but at least HanRam can provide value, and maybe Panda will come back. I doubt the Sox are going to be in the situation the Dodgers are or the Yankees were. We already know we're not going to be involved in the Machado/Harper/Whomeverelse bidding wars except to drive up the price for the Yankees. I'd love one of them, but the contracts are going to be 10/$350 or 10/$400 and no thank you. I'll let you guys have that.

Buchholz's option was already picked up. He's already on the books. And the balance of Moncada's deal (excluding $1.5M MLB base salary) is on the books for next 3 years.

I expect we'll trade Buchholz in a salary dump for some AA reliever. I understand what our salary commitments are. I don't expect we'll deal with luxury tax hell at all.

As of today they're currently $15M below the 50% tax rate with only 11 players signed. Still too early for team-control contracts and arb-eligibles, so they're going to be over by a minimum $10-15M just on re-signs without a single additional vet contract. So either they get somebody to eat 75% or more of Squirrels' or Pomagranate's deals (unlikely) or they will get dinged for north of $90M in tax this year. 2018's when the doomsday 92% rate kicks in for repeat offenders sitting at >$235M of taxable contracts. Dodgers are effed hard already. Sox, if they can't shed one/both of those extra pitcher deals without eating money, will have to strain to hold the line next offseason because if Mookie or X get fat arb contracts they're sitting on the cusp of $235M right there and really have to dump hard just to stay inside the bounds of the 50% threshold.

Yankees officially go under the threshold this coming summer with Sabbathia and all their deferred $$$ coming off clean (plus Matt Holliday's only on a 1-year deal), so unless they sign Trout or Harper or something insane like that next year they come completely off the repeat-offender list in 12 months and get a reboot on overages without getting dinged. So only LAD and BOS currently project at risk for the 50% or doomsday thresholds.


I mean...all good if they truly are a GFIN '17 team. But injury or two could upend that by midseason if GFIN is not in the cards w/o making more deadline acquisitions. They won't be able to dump salary at that point without eating it, won't be able to add much salary to plug holes. So don't write off the risk if things don't go as planned; it's not at all trivial. Max-risk, max-reward. The risk is that if vet contracts don't perform to expectations such that they can be swapped around at ⅔ or better, they'll get fucked up so bad by hitting the 92% threshold at the time when the team-control kids are arb-eligible that the relief in a Sandoval or Ramirez contract coming off the books will do nothing to offset the crushing burden of a $215M tax bill. All their 8-figure 40-man salaries have to perform at close to their value for it to work...and pretty much the only way that happens is if they really, truly are pennant favorites in 2017.

This is exactly why the Yankees went for the mega-flush and have stacked the deck on getting every stray dollar to expire in '17. It's no longer worth it to be a repeat offender scraping the top of the scale unless you're got multiple-title potential in said roster. And, quite frankly, the Dodgers are smoking crack if they think that's them so it'll probably never be worth it ever for anyone to risk the 92% tax.

[Wolter]

*Kermit sipping tea*

As long as Sale stays in the AL, I'm ok with this, since for reasons of pure spite, the White Sox apparently absolutely refused to even entertain a Cubs offer.

[Inder]

Desmond to... the Rockies? Why not.

[tepista]

*Kermit sipping tea*

As long as Sale stays in the AL, I'm ok with this, since for reasons of pure spite, the White Sox apparently absolutely refused to even entertain a Cubs offer.

What, you guys win the WS and now you're tying to IMPROVE? What the hell?

by the way Wolt, history isn't over yet obviously, but Cubs fans haven't been nearly as annoying as I anticipated.

[Wolter]

*Kermit sipping tea*

As long as Sale stays in the AL, I'm ok with this, since for reasons of pure spite, the White Sox apparently absolutely refused to even entertain a Cubs offer.

What, you guys win the WS and now you're tying to IMPROVE? What the hell?

by the way Wolt, history isn't over yet obviously, but Cubs fans haven't been nearly as annoying as I anticipated.

Stupid Trump stole our thunder.

[tepista]

Stupid Trump stole our thunder.

Good point

[Wolter]

Stupid Trump stole our thunder.

Good point

Also, how could we ever be as irritating as Boston and St. Louis fans?

[tepista]

Stupid Trump stole our thunder.

Good point

Also, how could we ever be as irritating as Boston and St. Louis fans?

You wouldn't think those two could surpass New York, but here we are.

[Inder]

Eaton to NATSTOWN.

The Jays have signed Brett Oberholtzer.

[tepista]

The Jays have signed Brett Oberholtzer.

He was insignificant in a half a season with us, so i'm sure he'll star for you.