Quote:
Originally Posted by NoOne
i'd guess heyward, but it depends on your market. you don't need a huge market to support a 200m payroll in 'good' times. you can work around a 30m contract when you have a mostly younger team. however, if you have a currently expensive payroll, i'd avoid stanton without a doubt. (assuming you are not the yankees or dodgers or something - then spend like a drunken sailor!).
be willing to miss out on a couple of stanton's good years, so that you don't get stuck holding the bill for an aged, overpaid player and so that you get at least something worthwhile in return.
i'm not familiar with the real player ratings anymore. if betts is a high obp guy, i'd say you want the power over another similar player like pizzano.
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Thank you, that's quite helpful. The Red Sox are a high-budget team; right now my payroll is 182 million and I have about 20 million in remaining room. That will tail off substantially for 2018--I have an option on Bautista (with a 2 mil buyout) that I'll likely decline, and Gordon's only got 1 year left, so I'll just make him a QO and be happy whether he stays or goes.
However, while I just extended Boagerts long term, Swihart and Betts are going to be arb eligible after this season, and Sano the year after, and I'd like to lock them all down if I can. I also have Yu Darvish in my rotation, whose very reasonable deal will be coming due, and I want to have the cash to re-sign him and still make a run at someone in 2018.
Given all of that, Heyward's deal could be absorbed pretty easily (it's only 9 mil more than Castillo's, and for the same years), while Stanton's might be a challenge.
And yes, Betts is a high OBP guy. In fact, Goldschmidt was the only player on my team who hit more than 17 HR in 2015 (though Sano hit 14 in 40% of a season, and Bautista might return to form). So Pizzano wouldn't help much in that area.