MLB

[Coach]

The Tigers are saving all of their money so they can re-sign Verlander in 2039.

The Red Sox got burned when they lost out on Abreu, so I think they were the more desperate team, especially after their lack of an offseason and the shit season we're going through right now....

[Fuck You Jobu]

If you were to give the Cy Young Award to the pitcher with the highest WAR and the MVP to the position player with the highest WAR, Bonds would have won eleven MVPs. And seven of them would have been while he still weighed like 185 pounds.

Still doesn't mean he wasn't juicing then.

You're a fucking idiot if you believe that.

[BigRedLedbetter]

If you were to give the Cy Young Award to the pitcher with the highest WAR and the MVP to the position player with the highest WAR, Bonds would have won eleven MVPs. And seven of them would have been while he still weighed like 185 pounds.

Still doesn't mean he wasn't juicing then.

You're a fucking idiot if you believe that.

[philpritchard]

$12 million a year is a lot for someone like Castillo, but getting potentially high-end, major league ready talent signed for nothing but money is always a win, regardless of bust potential.

[BigRedLedbetter]

$12 million a year is a lot for someone like Castillo, but getting potentially high-end, major league ready talent signed for nothing but money is always a win, regardless of bust potential.

I don't know as much about this kid as I did Chapman, Abreu, etc. I heard he doesn't have superstar potential but maybe good everyday player/borderline all star. He looks the part.

I'm still bummed the Rangers didn't get Abreu.

[Norah]

$12 million a year is a lot for someone like Castillo, but getting potentially high-end, major league ready talent signed for nothing but money is always a win, regardless of bust potential.

I don't know as much about this kid as I did Chapman, Abreu, etc. I heard he doesn't have superstar potential but maybe good everyday player/borderline all star. He looks the part.

I'm still bummed the Rangers didn't get Abreu.

His power is questionable. But that could mean he's Rajai Davis or Andrew McCutchen. So who knows, really.

[BigRedLedbetter]

$12 million a year is a lot for someone like Castillo, but getting potentially high-end, major league ready talent signed for nothing but money is always a win, regardless of bust potential.

I don't know as much about this kid as I did Chapman, Abreu, etc. I heard he doesn't have superstar potential but maybe good everyday player/borderline all star. He looks the part.

I'm still bummed the Rangers didn't get Abreu.

His power is questionable. But that could mean he's Rajai Davis or Andrew McCutchen. So who knows, really.

Apparently he is great defensively. If you guys are giving up on Bradley he has value/upside and someone will want him.

One would think Betts gets a shot to play OF everyday in 2015.

[numbers]

$12 million a year is a lot for someone like Castillo, but getting potentially high-end, major league ready talent signed for nothing but money is always a win, regardless of bust potential.

I don't know as much about this kid as I did Chapman, Abreu, etc. I heard he doesn't have superstar potential but maybe good everyday player/borderline all star. He looks the part.

I'm still bummed the Rangers didn't get Abreu.

His power is questionable. But that could mean he's Rajai Davis or Andrew McCutchen. So who knows, really.

Apparently he is great defensively. If you guys are giving up on Bradley he has value/upside and someone will want him.

One would think Betts gets a shot to play OF everyday in 2015.

I dont see how Betts gets that shot unless they move Craig or Cespedes. Right now they go into next year with Castillo, Cespedes, and Craig as starters. Then you've got Victorino, Bradley, and Betts, not to mention other guys like Holt.

[Coach]

EDIT: Here's a nice story that sums things up. Cap hit (for luxury tax) is $10.36 mil per year and he's on his way to Boston for a physical and then to play this year. Wow, there's a reason to watch again.

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/i ... y-castillo

Red Sox land Rusney Castillo

BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox have come to terms on a seven-year, $72.5 million deal for Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo, a team source said Friday.

The contract is a record number in total dollars paid for a free-agent amateur. Castillo was en route to Boston on Friday, according to ESPN's Pedro Gomez, and was expected to undergo a physical on Saturday.

The contract begins this season, the source said, which makes the average annual value of the deal (for luxury-tax purposes) $10.36 million, a tick below the $11.3 million AAV of the six-year, $68 million deal that Cuban slugger Jose Abreu signed with the Chicago White Sox last winter. Castillo's deal runs through the 2020 season.

The Red Sox, who last winter were outbid for Abreu, won what became a furious bidding war for Castillo, 27, whose workout last month in Miami was attended by 28 major league teams. Castillo subsequently conducted private workouts for a number of teams, including the Red Sox, who in the end, according to multiple sources, held off a strong bid from the Detroit Tigers.

In coming to terms with Castillo, whom the Red Sox project as a center or right fielder, Boston has completed a remarkable transformation of an outfield that had ranked as one of the weakest offensively in club history.

The Red Sox executed trades at the deadline for outfielders Yoenis Cespedes (Oakland) and Allen Craig (St. Louis), and with holdovers Daniel Nava and Shane Victorino expected to be ready for spring training after undergoing back surgery, Boston now has an outfield crowded with experienced veterans.

The Red Sox spent much of the season with rookie Jackie Bradley Jr. playing center field and converted two other rookie infielders, Brock Holt and Mookie Betts, into outfielders. Bradley, a superb defender who hit just .216, was sent down to the minors this week, with Betts recalled to take his place. Holt, who has played every position in the infield and outfield, has served as the team's leadoff hitter since mid-May.

The flurry of activity, which cost the Red Sox pitchers Jon Lester and John Lackey in the Cespedes and Craig deals, comes less than two years after the Red Sox hit the reset button in spectacular fashion, unloading stars Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett in an August deal to the Los Angeles Dodgers that freed up nearly $260 million in salary and netted the Red Sox two promising young pitchers in Rubby De La Rosa, who is currently in the Red Sox's rotation, and Allen Webster, who is in Triple-A Pawtucket and has already had multiple big league call-ups.

According to one major league talent evaluator, Castillo's power and bat tools were not as evident as they were with Abreu, but he also brings plus speed to the table and average-to-above-average defense.

Initially, according to a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations, the Red Sox did not expect the bidding for Castillo to approach Abreu's salary level, but fueled by strong competition from other clubs that included the Tigers and reportedly the Yankees, Phillies, Mariners and Giants, the dollars surpassed those of Abreu, whose 32 home runs are tied with Miami's Giancarlo Stanton for second in the majors, one behind Baltimore's Nelson Cruz.

Castillo, who is listed at 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds (205 pounds in some reports), played five seasons for Ciego de Avila in Cuba's top league, Serie Nacional, and was regarded as one of the top base stealers in Cuba. He ultimately inherited the job as the national team's center fielder after the defections of Cespedes and Leonys Martin, now with the Texas Rangers.

His coming-out performance came in the World Cup in Panama in October 2011, when he batted .512 (21-for-41) with eight extra-base hits in 10 games, including two home runs.

Castillo was notably absent from the team that represented Cuba in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. According to Baseball America, before he defected last December, Castillo was suspended from the national team for a "violation of the code of ethics of revolutionary baseball," an indication that he had tried to defect before.

Cespedes told WEEI.com earlier this month that Castillo was "very comparable to [Yasiel] Puig. Obviously a different height and size, but very similar qualities." ESPN.com's Jayson Stark spoke to another talent evaluator who compared Castillo to Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen.

Castillo represents Boston's second major signing of a Cuban defector in recent years. The Red Sox also signed shortstop Jose Iglesias, who last July went to the Tigers in a three-way deal that netted the Red Sox pitcher Jake Peavy.

Because Castillo is older than 23 and played five seasons professionally in Cuba, he is exempt from international signing-bonus pools. Castillo is represented by Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports.

[Norah]

I can't wait until Mike Stanton is playing for the Red Sox.

[BigRedLedbetter]

$12 million a year is a lot for someone like Castillo, but getting potentially high-end, major league ready talent signed for nothing but money is always a win, regardless of bust potential.

I don't know as much about this kid as I did Chapman, Abreu, etc. I heard he doesn't have superstar potential but maybe good everyday player/borderline all star. He looks the part.

I'm still bummed the Rangers didn't get Abreu.

His power is questionable. But that could mean he's Rajai Davis or Andrew McCutchen. So who knows, really.

Apparently he is great defensively. If you guys are giving up on Bradley he has value/upside and someone will want him.

One would think Betts gets a shot to play OF everyday in 2015.

I dont see how Betts gets that shot unless they move Craig or Cespedes. Right now they go into next year with Castillo, Cespedes, and Craig as starters. Then you've got Victorino, Bradley, and Betts, not to mention other guys like Holt.

Forgot about Craig. Hmmm. It'd be weird to leave Betts in the minors all year. It'll be an interesting offseason for sure.

I can see Stanton on the Red Sox or Rangers next year. Both have the farm to get him.

[philpritchard]

I can't wait until Mike Stanton is playing for the Red Sox.

[BigRedLedbetter]

I can't wait until Mike Stanton is playing for the Red Sox.

Well played haha.

I still call him (current player) Mike Stanton.

[Lament]

If you were to give the Cy Young Award to the pitcher with the highest WAR and the MVP to the position player with the highest WAR, Bonds would have won eleven MVPs. And seven of them would have been while he still weighed like 185 pounds.

Still doesn't mean he wasn't juicing then.

You're a fucking idiot if you believe that.

I would have no problem telling you that you're a fucking idiot if you believe that in person as well. I have no idea what the hell that has to do with "toughness."

[Bammer]

Would someone please explain the Hunter Pence thing?

[BigRedLedbetter]

Would someone please explain the Hunter Pence thing?

He plays right field for the Giants.

[Bammer]

[Simple Torture]

[Norah]

[BigRedLedbetter]

Another bad outing from Price too.