Official Offseason Thread #3/World Baseball Classic edition

[Fly]

Anyone know what type of deal it would take to sign Dariel Alvarez? 24 year old cuban defect who is reported to be able to play all 3 OF positions and is hitting .317/.335/.465 in the Mexican League.

It's a shame Cespedes didn't become a free agent this season... wouldn't he have been perfect.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...z-aledmis-diaz

Looks like their both a few year away at least.

[ATL#22]

Anyone know what type of deal it would take to sign Dariel Alvarez? 24 year old cuban defect who is reported to be able to play all 3 OF positions and is hitting .317/.335/.465 in the Mexican League.

It's a shame Cespedes didn't become a free agent this season... wouldn't he have been perfect.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...z-aledmis-diaz

I know and at the time I though Oakland overpaid for Cespedes. .368 wOBA corner OF for 9 million is a steal. Right now 9 million will barely get you Cody Ross.

[SB75]

I know and at the time I though Oakland overpaid for Cespedes. .368 wOBA corner OF for 9 million is a steal. Right now 9 million will barely get you Cody Ross.

Yup....... Even I wasn't willing to spend that much for Cespedes and gasped a bit at the price, that's after being one of his biggest cheerleaders and wanting him for most of the off-season. A well placed and timed risk by the A's.

[westside]

Well lets just see how these next few days pan out.

[Jon93405]

Too bad Laroche isn't a LF... and right handed... and can run a 4.4 40.

[NBA_Starter]

I just have a feeling Bourn will be a Cub.

[westside]

I just have a feeling Bourn will be a Cub.

I've seen crazier things happen. Its not impossible. I think it will come down to texas and chicago. Texas isn't that interested, so maybe chicago.

[iamaj]

I think he goes to Seattle.

[rtgthree]

If Kung Fu Panda 2 is all everyone on these boards is building him up to be, we could start him at third, put Prado at 2B, Gattis in LF, and Uggs could swing out of his shoes off the bench. I'm cool with that. Better than having a hole all year at 2B.....

If Gattis and Francisco hit that well, then I wouldn't have the slightest problem benching Uggla. But I'd say it's pretty unlikely that both Francisco and Gattis outhit Uggla.

Anyone know what type of deal it would take to sign Dariel Alvarez? 24 year old cuban defect who is reported to be able to play all 3 OF positions and is hitting .317/.335/.465 in the Mexican League.

Probably not much. He's not even in the same league as Cespedes, given that he's only putting up a .335 OBP in a league that's essentially equivalent to Triple-A. I know that Cuban defectors are the hip thing now with Cespedes and Yasiel Puig, but the fact is that most of them are Quad-A types at best.

I just have a feeling Bourn will be a Cub.

I think it's seriously time to start thinking about what the maximum deal would be that the Braves should offer Bourn. I still think Boras will magic a big payday out of nowhere, but if the price really is falling, what would be reasonable for the Braves to bid? Four years and $52 million, maybe? It's hard to imagine that taking a one-year "pillow contract" would be a good idea for Bourn, given that he just had the best year of his career by WAR and he's past the point where it would be reasonable to expect continued skill growth.

[ATL#22]

I'm still not fond of 2 CF's

[chipurmunki]

someone laughed at 14/year for bourn. how is 4-52 any different. i, for one, favor a 4-52 contract for bourn, but i think it's absurd when one idea is ridiculed, then someone else says the same thing and suddenly it's not only feasible, but the best thing since white on rice.

[rtgthree]

I'm still not fond of 2 CF's

Why not? The runs saved by the extra good defense all count.

someone laughed at 14/year for bourn. how is 4-52 any different. i, for one, favor a 4-52 contract for bourn, but i think it's absurd when one idea is ridiculed, then someone else says the same thing and suddenly it's not only feasible, but the best thing since white on rice.

It's always fun to invent things someone else said and then ridicule them for it, isn't it?

1) Please quote where I ever "laughed at" $14 million per year for Bourn. The contracts that I have discussed for Bourn have always been five years and $75 million or greater, since that's what I thought (and still think) Bourn will get. At those prices, no way.

2) Please quote where I ever said that 4 years and $52 million is "the best thing since white on rice." I said, "4 years and 52 million, maybe" with a question mark at the end. In case you're not familiar with a question mark, it suggests uncertainty.

Either way, my opposition to re-signing Bourn (or to acquiring any player, for that matter) is never absolute. It's always contextual, with price being the main context. At 5/75, it's a no-go. At 4/52, you're talking about 30% less money, and crucially, you're also not talking about a fifth year. Length is the bigger concern for me, far more than annual value. I really wanted to put 3/39 on there, but that still just sounded too far-fetched.

[robdizzle3]

I read on Twitter that the Marlins are listening to offers on Stanton

[Fly]

I read on Twitter that the Marlins are listening to offers on Stanton

There's no package we could realistically offer for him.

[ATL#22]

Why not? The runs saved by the extra good defense all count.
.

I think his offense would already be weak there and if his offense declined at all it would be tough to keep a black whole in LF.