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This happens every year. Many of the mid and lower tier free agents don’t get signed until way late in the offseason. Teams know that the players will get desperate and accept a cheap deal. Why would January 20th be some sort of hard cutoff? Spring Training games officially start on February 20th.

It sure is. (NSFW...FYI)

Do you have any idea how many free agents remain unsigned?

I would think most teams rosters are set by now. Or will be by Jan. 20. So are we good enough to go .500 yet? Sox won't be making any moves after Jan. 20. They never do. We're nearing the end of another mostly silent offseason. Once Feb hits it's play ball.

Some people actually wanted this bum. Turning 33 next month. PEDs or not, he would have been a garbage signing. Even worse now knowing that he would miss half the season and be without the benefit of the PEDs.

We'll see how it all shakes out. Injuries will also play a big part in how the season goes and the Sox track record the last several years hasn't been great in that department. I just hope they don't lose 100+ games again this season.

I’m not super attached to Lee by any means, but I can live with him on the team if his presence means that Teel and Quero will be in the lineup together consistently.

A little off topic, but is this an actual team/fan thing?

If some of the guys like Meidroth, Vargas, Sosa, Quero and Baldwin don't turn into (at least) average, 2 bWAR players, if Colson and Teel don't grow into 4+ bWAR dudes, if they can't develop a couple of 3+ bWAR starting pitchers, then what are we even doing? All I'm describing is natural development. Sure, Colson may play a full season and put up 2.5 WAR. That would be a step back. But imagining that nobody's going to improve beyond replacement level just seems unrealistic. I think this team is roughly a 75+ win team at this point. If the kids continue to develop, as you noted, if some of these young arms become effective or find some success quickly, a .500 record wouldn't surprise me.

MLB NBC just announced their 20 game Sunday Night Baseball package for the coming year. Don't hold your breath looking for the Sox on it...because they aren't. 😉

Agreed and the other benefit is that Illinois taxpayers won't be on the hook.

Wow. He was on PEDs? And that bad?

I'll say this, I obviously hope you're right and I'm wrong!

Max Kepler 80 game PED suspension.

I certainly think some guys will regress vs. their 2H production, but a lot of that is already reflected in the Steamer projections I highlighted above. But generally speaking, I do expect talented young players to get better over time. And that very much holds true on the defensive side of the ball for catchers and guys that are still somewhat new to positions like Baldwin (and maybe Vargas). Overall, I’m very optimistic about the positional group, but would like to see one more OF addition to improve the floor of the team. The pitching doesn’t look good on paper right now, but there is a tremendous of young arms that could enter the mix at some point and change the calculus. I am also very high on Burke (I know you are not) and view Kay as a complete wild card who could perform better than most think. All that being said, I still think another SP and RP is needed. This bullpen could actually be decent with Newcomb and one more high leverage arm added to the pen. Ultimately, you think there is zero chance of competing next year while I think with a few more additions there is some theoretical chance of being a fringe playoff team. By no means do I think it’s likely, but W-L records are highly impacted by luck and if we have some good news go our way and have a few breakthrough performances next year it might just be possible.

Thank you! The Bears have spent most of the last 3 decades fielding very mediocre and frequently getting embarrassed by their arch rivals. This is only their 7th playoff appearance in 30 years. ...and yet, fans in Chicago are as rabid about the Bears as ever (even before this year's resurgence). Let's get real. While they'd much prefer ending up in Arlington Heights, having a stadium in Gary/Hammond isn't going to slow their popularity.

Why would they have to do away with the song? Is the state going to sue them? Its going to be Illinoisians in an Indiana stadium cheering for Illinois' most popular football team. People will continue to sing the song aside from a couple butthurt reddit bros. The Dutch national anthem sings about honoring the King of Spain, who hasnt controlled the country for centuries. I think Chicagoans will be fine.

A sub .200 hitter with a 30% K-rate is the last thing the Sox need in LF. Lee's value is his defense behind the plate - moving him off that makes him completely worthless.

100%. It doesn't matter where the stadium is. If Illinois really has no interest in discussing Bears situation in 2026, I honestly think they move to Indiana. Agreed. I'd actually prefer it living in the south burbs.

I'd be surprised if Quero moves. They'll need a ton in return to move him and I'm not sure the offers will match that yet. Pitchers don't love throwing to Korey Lee

Ah got it. That makes sense. And Indiana is a petty state. It's the reason they keep spending money on the succession plan knowing damned well it would never happen. It's all for show, which is why the Bears are an attractive target.

He's saying that Indiana would see a larger benefit than Illinois since they are going from 0 to 1 rather than 1 to 1.

Not even close. The Bears can go 0-for the next ten years and they will remain popular.

They would get just as many sell outs in Hammond as they would in Arlington Heights.