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Y'all can pay $2 to FutureSox for all the free content you get. It's incredibly poor taste to ask the author to give you paid content for free. FutureSox isn't BA, BP, FanGraphs, or ESPN. It's posters here operating on a shoestring budget to bring you A+++ quality content specifically for the team you love.

Probably asking for a smaller commission. Expect an extension shortly.

I am only one fan, but if they add any more teams to the playoffs, I will lose interest. The regular season is supposed to mean something. This will only cheapen it. One thing that was great about MLB is that it was different than other sports. Making it similar to the NBA of NHL is a dumb idea. And playing the World Series on the eve of November is also dumb. MLB can shove this crap.

Excited to see Kopech and Madrigal very much even if it won't be right away. Super excited to see Robert , You keep hearing about the speed, power and fielding and the stats back it all up. Just to throw a little tidbit out there; Robert was the 1st minor leaguer since 1961 who was 30/30 (HR's and Stolen bases) +300 Total bases.

Rob Mackowiak

He said it again today on Chuck’s podcast (must listen). I still think Holt is an amazing fit though.

And Hahn did say in an interview at Soxfest (I think?) That it is a 2 way street. I think they have kicked the tires on some of these guys. But They're just not interested knowing Madrigal is about ready.

I pick and choose what I pay for as well. I pay for The Athletic because it's awesome. ESPN comes with my Disney Plus subscription and I have to have Baseball America. FutureSox is basically still free. Everything we did before, we are still doing. It's rankings week. Our patreon subscribers are getting separate articles with each of our individual rankings all week. They will also get insider content and weekly podcasts all year. I completely understand not paying for it. I get it. I have a good international source and I'm the only person who has published the names of the 6 players I listed today. I'm sure that will come out eventually and when we do the International Preview, there will be more info on them free for all to consume. For now though, the only people who will see the names are patreon subscribers or someone that takes the names from the post and puts them somewhere. I'm a teacher. That's my full time career. I don't need the money. The site does though and every little bit helps.

How does it really stop tanking though? Teams like the Royals, Tigers, Orioles, Marlins, and Pirates still aren't competing even if 14 teams make the playoffs. I don't really see how it changes anything. Maybe a few more of the .500ish teams hold onto expiring assets as you head into July in hopes of grabbing one of the last playoff spots, but in reality, this change would do nothing to stop tanking, and would greatly diminish the importance of regular season for all but the #1 seeds.

You’re the only person on the planet to do this.

Hopefully an extension is next!

I was nervous that this was going to say Boras when I clicked in here.

A Moncada extension would be great, but i am also down to just enjoy the fuck outta Moncada for the next 4 seasons. I don’t think we’re getting much of a discount at this point, and I can’t blame the guy. At some point it just makes sense to let it play out for both sides.

I agree with you on Holt.

Already signed with the Padres.

Manny Banuelos signed with the Mariners; hate to see such a talent leave the organization.

Nobody wants to come play 2B for the Sox knowing that a top 20 MLB prospect is penciled in for 500 PA after April is up. Furthermore, they aren't going to add anybody to the 40 man wily nily from this point until hopefully sometime around 2026. For those two reasons you're unlikely to see anybody brought in but a minor league invite.

They project the Sox at about 83 wins. https://www.baseballprospectus.com/standings/#ale

I'm cool with them adding another wild card team in each league. Do 2 Wild Card games and the 2 teams with the best record in the league get to face the winner of each of those games. It expands the post-season a bit without going too overboard. And this works even better when the league goes from 30 to 32 teams. Go back to 2 divisions in each league and then you would have the first place team in each league as the "best record" teams and then the top 4 teams after that get to do a one-game playoff. Or make it a best of 3 series.

I've convinced myself that this is a good idea, as long as it is cheap and they can cut him if there are any issues. Grandal has already backed him and I wouldn't hate for him to be the guy that gets regular at bats if/when Eloy or Mazara go down with injury.

You can't go over the limit anymore. The international market is hard capped now. The Sox should have like $5.6-$5.8 million to spend. Vera is getting $1.5 million and 6 additional signings are getting like $1.8 million. That doesn't leave much for Colas.

So the Sox will be able to get Colas and this kid without going over the limit? Is there someone out there next year worth the penalty for going over? Good to see them spending the money regardless. This pitcher looks like he might have a 1/4 shot to be a decent 3rd starter and if not looks like he projects as a decent middle reliever if his fastball plays up a bit out of the pen.

I agree with this. I always think its such a misrepresentation when playoffs roll around. In the regular season you have to survive on SP depth and your 4/5 guys are very integral part of winning 100 games. But then you get to the playoffs and theres so many off days that teams just basically play their top 3 SP. Thats how you end up with the Nationals winning it all ... not saying they weren't deserving ... but that's the recipe right now. Get yourself a 3 headed monster and you can win the WS.

I don't have the info handy, but it seems to me purely off recollection we've seen a decent amount of two games series the last couple seasons, no? Certainly more than we've seen from 2000-2015 range.

Agreed. I actually really like a more balanced schedule, and think that change should be made. Play each team in opposite league 4 times (2 home, 2 away). 60 games. Play each team in your division 13 times (7 home, 6 away; alternating seasons). 52 games. Play each time in other intra-league divisions 5 times (3 home, 2 away; alternating seasons). 50 games. That, or something similar, would be so much better, and is also good for the sport and the fans for all teams to play each season.

So you're a team that wins 100 games. Some other team in the AL wins 101, so you get the two seed. You now have to beat the 7 seed that went 83-79 and has two stud SP in a three game series. Anything can happen in a 3 game series. That 100 win team shouldn't have to play that 83 win team in a 3 game, loser goes home, series. And if that two seed is lucky enough to advance, you are now guaranteed to play the better of the two teams remaining, or perhaps even get to play the #1 seed if they own you. Its fucking stupid. This idea sucks donkey balls.

Nothing that's ever been free will cost anything now either. Patreon subscribers will receive extra stuff and extra perks throughout the season.

The NBA system is fine, people just dont understand its purpose. Only half the teams make it, and they play 7 game series now. The top 3 teams in each conference are essentially rewarded with lesser opponents to tune up for difficult series that follow. It's like in college basketball how the top 3 seeds get tune ups. Baseball playoffs are rough because the top two teams typically play opponents just as good as they are in the first round. Since only 4 teams make the playoffs, you are only allowing the elites to play. The same is true for the NFL to a lesser degree. This is why you really don't know who is gonna win it all.

14 teams making the playoffs is gross. What is even more gross is getting 2nd in the AL and then matching up with the 6th place team in a 3 game series. Anything can happen in a 3 game series in baseball, and this would devalue the regular season so damn much. I hate it. I hated adding a 2nd WC, and I hate this even more. If you're going to go this route, you have to ditch divisions and leagues, and go to a full balanced schedule.

Anyone making any trips to see any Sox prospects this year? I live in a suburb just north of Charlotte so I’m about 15 miles from the Knights ballpark, 25 miles from Kannapolis and about 70 miles from Winston-Salem. Should be some good prospects in the Carolinas again this year. Looking forward to the season!

Alright, I expect you to "lose interest" in the playoffs should the Sox benefit from this change ever. Go ahead, try. The regular season will still mean something. You will usually need to win more games than to lose to earn a playoff chance. I'd argue it doesn't cheapen the regular season at all. More teams will decide to compete since there will be more spots available. What's cheapening the regular season right now is teams like the Royals, Tigers, Orioles and what was our beloved White Sox for several years giving away free wins to other teams by fielding garbage teams. In your opinion, what cheapens the regular season more? Teams who basically forfeit games or adding more playoff spots, giving incentive to teams to compete? I'd argue for the former. MLB is still different from other sports in so many ways. It is still great, it is still going to be great, and unless they add hoops or ice to the ballparks, will still be able to differentiate itself plenty from the NBA or NHL.

Are any of the 6 names worth being excited about?

I don't really do video games anymore, but probably will buy the show this year. When does it come out?

Just remember, most other teams will add similar amounts of talent via Latin America and the draft though. It’s not like we have bigger bonus pools and additional picks to quickly narrow the gap. It’s going to take hitting big on a couple of classes before we are back to being middle of the pack IMO. Hopefully the 2019 draft is the start of that.

Expand the roster to 30 players and eliminate off days. Let's make this shit a real war of attrition!

Mark me down as rolling with the "I would be very surprised if this happens" clique.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/driveline-baseball-buys-pitching-sensor-company/ I'm sure this won't be a viral post, but thought it was worth noting that Driveline BAseball acquired Motus Global. Driveline is pretty popular and we know about it, but Motus Global was where Ben Hansen worked as VP of Biomechanics and Innovation. Ben Hansen was hired by the sox to be there Senior Biomechanical Engineer, as excellently detailed by @Y2Jimmy0 in the article below. That hire was a bit under the radar, but I'm not sure it isn't as big a move forward for this organization as Driveline's Boddy moving to Cincinnati. It is excellent to have someone this familiar with the new tech and how to instruct with it in Hansen. http://futuresox.com/index.php/2020/02/03/brave-new-world-white-sox-enter-the-realm-of-biomechanics/ Massive kudos to Getz as well as KW and Hahn for finally putting pieces into place here. If you are into the player development news for the sox, this winter has been incredibly informative. There is also this great piece from Fegan: https://theathletic.com/1577744/2020/02/05/fixing-fegan-an-up-close-look-at-how-two-white-sox-coaches-can-help-hitters/ https://theathletic.com/1563110/2020/01/27/we-look-at-the-numbers-every-day-white-sox-tout-technology-usage-in-scouting-player-development/

So you've been a baseball fan for a long time and always thought the left side of the infield was in front of a place they call Right Field while the right side of the infield was in front of Left Field ? Always thought it was kind of self explanatory but hey now you know ; Some times our brains betray us. As a kid and not knowing much about death and having some relatives who threw around words like babushka and klotzskis, I'd often hear the term "who died and left you boss" ? I thought died and left was one foreign word in German or something. Diedundtlefft. I eventually figured it out .

Moncada, Engel, Madrigal and Mazara also in camp. Chomping at the bit.

Players with a .400 obp last season: Mike Trout (.438) Christian Yelich (.429) Alex Bregman (.432) Anthony Rendon (.412) Cody Bellinger (.406) Juan Soto (.401)

I kind of loathe the NBA style "everyone gets in" mentality. It really dilutes the regular season importance. I know I sound like a crabby old person but I think the butter zone was 4 per league for me. 3 division winners a 1 wild card. I see why they expanded but it should still mean something to get in.

Vera likely falls in the same range as Thompson/Dalquist

I assume it's going to be treated as a minor league. Talent drain could really hurt them unless players know they have a shot at the NFL from the XFL, then that might help if they don't want to sit on a practice squad for a year or play Arena football/in the CFL. I think the XFL is going to need to get really creative with recruiting some under the radar players from small schools or develop a reputation as a great place to learn how to transition to the NFL, otherwise they'll just fail in a year or two again.

Also helps being available for vet minimum vs. asking for several million dollars.

this is how you fire a team up at halftime

You're talking about a very small portion of the population 😄

Can't wait to see (our best player) Moncada bunting again like last year.

A manager loses 20 games on his own?

Parasite was great. There was so much going on and it incorporated to many different themes.