C Yasmani Grandal signs with White Sox - 4 years $73 million

[Eye Black]

Looks like Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs was the closest among the following sites providing contract predictions...

 

Yasmani Grandal Free Agent Contract Predictions

 

MLB Trade Rumors: 4 years, $68 million ($17 million AAV)

 

The Athletic (Jim Bowden): 3 years, $57 million ($19 million AAV)

 

Fangraphs (Kiley McDaniel): 4 years, $70 million ($17.5 million AAV)

 

Fangraphs (Crowdsource): 3 years, $48 million ($16 million AAV)

 

New York Post: 4 years, $65 million ($16.25 million AAV)

 

SB Nation: 3 years, $50 million ($16.66 million AAV)

 

Bleacher Report: 4 years, $90 million ($22.5 million AAV)

[Lathund]

To me this is right around the upper limits of what I'd have been OK with. Would've been the kind of deal that carried a lot of risk towards the end, but I'm confident Grandal will be a very productive player for at least the next two years alongside Yelich so if the club is trying to win in 2020 and 2021 it'd have been a good deal still.

 

However now with Grandal, Moustakas, Anderson, Thames all gone, it'll be exciting to see what the team does with all this payroll room. I don't expect a Rendon or Cole or anything quite like that, but could see some pretty good players signing. Let's first see what they do at catcher. Manny is a good catcher, his issue has been a lack of playing time (Through minor injuries or by virtue of Grandal being there), but on a per rate basis he's an above average starter at the position. So there are different ways they can go; spend big at catcher, or just get someone who complements Manny well and instead focus on 3B/SS/SP.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I'll get in before anyone else:

 

Please, no, we should not trade for James McCann. Unless he is a juiced ball mastermind, he will not put up anything close to a .359 BABIP again this year.

 

Yeah, his jump in offensive production last year seems a little excessive. Still, he's a solid trade chip for the White Sox now, unless they plan on keeping him around as Yasmani's backup.

[JimH5]

Lots of payroll coming off the books. This better mean something big is in the works.

 

The White Sox also had been running a very low payroll and this might finally have been their time to strike.

 

Understood. But I'm done counting coins on behalf of the Brewers Front Office. They could have afforded Grandal at that salary.

 

And with the assumption that Arcia is returning at SS, it's important to get offense from other positions, and Grandal did that really well last year.

[Jopal78]

Anybody pundit who thought he was going to take a pay cut wasn’t paying attention. A guy who says he’s paying it forward for the people behind him isn’t going to take less AAV. Too bad, he was a great player. Stearns probably going for pitching and defense this off season

[JohnBriggs12]

Grandal and the White Sox were a perfect fit. White Sox badly need both a LH bat and OBP. Grandal provides both. The young core of their team won't start getting expensive for 3-4 years so they could overpay. Stearns has work to do I'd be all over Moose and Didi and they should have room for Pomeranz and a starter too

[bill hAll Star]

Lots of payroll coming off the books. This better mean something big is in the works.

 

The White Sox also had been running a very low payroll and this might finally have been their time to strike.

 

Understood. But I'm done counting coins on behalf of the Brewers Front Office. They could have afforded Grandal at that salary.

 

And with the assumption that Arcia is returning at SS, it's important to get offense from other positions, and Grandal did that really well last year.

 

I will be shocked if the Brewers are not running a $120+ million payroll next year. If they aren't by opening day (barring some weird rebuild-on-the-fly that is universally accepted (but won't happen)), I will be in line with you.

[jerichoholicninja]

No way the Brewers should have done this deal. Probably no way the White Sox should have either. I guess the AL Central is kind of open with the Royals and Tigers being terrible, the Indians sort of exiting a window of having a really good team, and the Twins not quite there yet. Still by the time the Sox are actually competitive, Yaz probably isn't much of a hitter anymore and is just dead weight. If you have the money you need to spend it these days so you don't get called out for not trying, even if it's to the detriment of your franchise.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

 

Nice sentiment from Yaz.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

This is about what I thought it would take to keep him. I would have liked in next year, not so sure I would in 2022.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

The guaranteed $73 million that he signed for just makes the fact that Stearns was able to get him on a one-year deal and squeeze a career year out of him at an equal per year average all the more of a master stroke.

 

It's fun cheering for a team that is run well.

[torts]

good luck Yaz, give some of that money to Moose!

[patrickgpe]

I think for 18 MM, you can get Lyles, Moose, and a vet backup catcher. I think that is a way smarter use of the money.

[homer]

Rumor that Sox are going after Zack Wheeler too.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I'm a tad leery of Moustakas. I've loved him as a Brewer, but he is 31 and at least doesn't look like he's in super duper shape. Just seems like a guy that fall off quickly and you may have gotten the best out of him already.

[patrickgpe]

I'd do 2/20 for Moose, it wouldnt' hurt the franchise much at all. 6MM for Lyies, 2 MM for a backup catcher.

[bill hAll Star]

No way the Brewers should have done this deal. Probably no way the White Sox should have either. I guess the AL Central is kind of open with the Royals and Tigers being terrible, the Indians sort of exiting a window of having a really good team, and the Twins not quite there yet. Still by the time the Sox are actually competitive, Yaz probably isn't much of a hitter anymore and is just dead weight. If you have the money you need to spend it these days so you don't get called out for not trying, even if it's to the detriment of your franchise.

 

I think if the Sox sign another pitcher or two (they still have a very low payroll) they can definitely be competitive.

 

They need Eloy to take a step, but:

 

Robert, Yasmani, Eloy, Abreu, Anderson, maybe Madrigal, Moncada is a pretty formidable offense.

 

Giolito needs help in the rotation. They have some decent bullpen pieces.

[JohnBriggs12]

I think for 18 MM, you can get Lyles, Moose, and a vet backup catcher. I think that is a way smarter use of the money.

 

I think they could afford those 3 and Grandal They need those 3 plus Pomeranz and Gregorious. An upgrade at SS is needed to offset the downgrade at catcher

[adambr2]

I don't think Nottingham is the answer. I'd love for him to prove me wrong.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I feel pretty confident Pina will be the answer in 2020, it just might not be a very good one. But he's probably "fine."

[adambr2]

I feel pretty confident Pina will be the answer in 2020, it just might not be a very good one. But he's probably "fine."

 

Pina is fine for 50% of the starts. I'd like to find an equally competent option for the other 50%.

[TURBO]

So as of now we are looking at a bottom of the order, 6-9, as this:

 

6. Shaw

7. Pina

8. Arcia

9. Pitcher

 

UUGGGHHH!

 

And that is not taking into account that we don't have a 1B to speak of yet.

 

CF Cain

RF Yelich

2B Hiura

1B ? (Braun)

LF Braun (Grisham)

3B Shaw

C Pina

SS Arcia

P Pitcher

 

THAT is UGLY! I can't even come up with a fake line-up, just bad.

 

There needs to be something on the horizon, or offensively, this team is going to blow!

[Devinep]

I feel pretty confident Pina will be the answer in 2020, it just might not be a very good one. But he's probably "fine."

 

Getting a solid complement is a must though. Ideally a LHB like Vogt or Castro

[PeaveyFury]

They could have afforded Grandal at that salary.

 

Just because they chould doesn't mean they should.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I'm not really freaking out about the lineup yet. A bat is getting plugged in there somewhere.