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If the season is going well they can.

From a WAR perspective, the collective output of some of the worst bats who saw considerable playing time - Vaughn, Rojas, Palacios, Amaya put up a whopping -6.0 WAR, while Civale and Cannon accounted for another -1.0 WAR on the starting pitching side. Replacing those with Murakami, and current projected bench players Sosa, Lee, Hill who all were on positive side of the WAR ledger, along with Kay who should at least be better than Civale or Cannon, could be a 10 WAR swing in itself. What I had noted in the OP, beyond Kay, we need a solid #2 or 3 type of guy along with another late inning high leverage arm to make this at least a respectable staff. Of course, a bit part of getting back to playing winning baseball would rely some of the other young, core guys taking another step forward, and building a winning and competitive culture in the clubhouse to maximize the talent on the roster. This to me would be the biggest factor in how fast this team can get back on track. I was using the 2022 Orioles as an example, but of course that level of win increase doesn’t happen often. However I do see the pieces being in place along with 1 or 2 more key FA additions that could make it a possibility.

They have quite a few levers to create material cap space, some of which just require minor moves around JJ and Edmunds contract (not even getting rid of them). And if they also have ability to make tweaks to Moore's as well (or trade him). Kmet has some flexibility in his deal too (or ability to trade). JJ same way. Than in another year - they have flexibility in terms of Jarett and the Colts guy being far more moveable, plus Edmunds deal coming off the books, so it isn't as if they are just pushing chips out a year.

lol. I just noticed Fajardo was in the deal. Actually a pretty good return for STL rather than a pure salary dump.

A 2 year, $34 million deal, making less than Benitendi and less than 5% of Ohtani, is not proof that he is not cheap. The point still stands.

Or on a more optimistic note: Add some guys that may be worth keeping in July?

I absolutely think this is fair. I would have done that for Abdul Carter. Maybe I would have regretted it given some of the leadership challenges he's faced, but he is an elite level talent and while I acknowledge there is always risk getting an unknown player, the value of that contract is not lost on me. Quite frankly - I almost prefer it, knowing what we are trying to accomplish here and if you do it right, you could trade up for a high end 1st round end and at the same time give a 2 year deal to Hendrickson.

I think we’re stuck with him for at least half of this season. I do think at some point they might consider cutting him.

This. Add some guys that may be worth moving in July

I'm excited...would be nice if they had a few more solid moves - even if it meant signing a player or two to decent money that could be good flip candidates. It isn't like losing really helps the club this upcoming season given they can't pick in the top 10.

Pereira is worth a gamble as the weak side platoon partner for Baldwin in RF. No guarantee there obviously, but he’s the exact type of player we should be taking a chance on for that role. The others I’m unsure on. I think people here are writing off Mead way too early though. He’s another guy I feel could eventually rotate in at a few spots against LHP, but he’s very redundant with Sosa. If we keep Robert, then Hill doesn’t do much for me. I think Lee is fine as a backup catcher, but he won’t serve much purpose other than injury insurance. I do think Antonacci will be a key bench piece by the 2nd half of the season. And one of our corner OFs will likely he delegated to a reserve role once Braden comes up. With the versatility of certain guys, I feel ok about a learn bench. But to me, that is assuming Sosa is the 10th man and playing quite frequently.

Looks to me that this lineup could be very good. Add Braden Montgomery in that lineup sometime in 2026 could make the lineup even better.

I'm told the Bears are meeting with the Indiana officials on January 6. I would think if Indiana comes up with the money package the Bears are looking for and Illinois doesn't, the Bears will go to Indiana. The latest thing I've heard is the Bears should try to purchase Soldier Field from the Park District , knock it down and build the dome stadium at the site. I think we're going to find out soon what the Bears are going to do. They want to start building the new stadium in 2026.

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We can all stand to take a hint from Muni

Star power. Charisma. 25. Confidence. But not quite cockiness. Self assured. Big personality. WBC warrior. Perfect leader to go along with Teel, Colson, Braden and Roch Cholowsky. Finally this team is building an identity in Chicago after three years of dystopian wasteland. Let’s f’n go!!! If that doesn’t fire you up, watch Sisu 1 and Sisu 2: Road to Revenge

Yeah, they were way off on that projection.

The Dodgers already have Golden from KPop Demon Hunters This should be the 2026 White Sox song…no more AC-DC, lol

this was really unexpected...and amazing. Mlbtraderumors had him as the #4 FA with a 8/180 deal prediction. I get the stats at FBs above 93...but so many MLB pitchers dont have the off-speed movement so common in Japan that I think he will be able to focus a bit more on the heaters...or just become really efficient at crushing bad curves and sliders.

I would agree, but the Sox aren't going to eat $30+ million. I also don't think he's tradable in any scenario except where the Sox take on a worse player/more risk. Unfortunately I think he's the DH/LF for 2026.

I've been saying for a while - the Sox played at a 70-win pace after the ASB. I thought just a couple of acquisitions could augment the growth of the 'core' to push them up to 75 wins, or thereabouts. If they follow through with a mid-level, established starter, maybe keep or replace Robert with an ML average OF and everything breaks right for them, I would not be surprised by 81-83 wins. But that's like buying 5 scratch-offs and having all 5 hit. Kay could certainly be a step up from Cannon/Burke/Gomez, but replicating Fedde's 24 is a huge ask. Even Houser's total output paced over a full season would be Christmas morning. To be competitive, a couple of Smith/Davis/Burke/Schultz/Hagen would really have to blow up and become dominant. And then Monty/Teel would have to look like 4-WAR contributors over a season. Vargas/Baldwin/Murakami/Meidroth would all have to step up and be above average. The bullpen would have to snap to, and Leasure/Taylor/Vasil/Wikelman - all get solid, maybe with a closer pushing them all into slightly lower leverage rolls. That's asking Getz to check every item off his todo list, every one of them hitting, and most (if not all) of the 'established' starters continuing to progress - and then they could get over 85 wins and get knocked out in the first round.

Presser has me fired up. Mune ends it by saying "let's get to work." Guys who have accomplished what he has want to be good. I believe he'll work hard to make adjustments to eventually be good. It may be like Ohtani where it takes a little time and the Sox may not get his absolute peak, but I love the storyline. Much better than hoping O'Hearn's fade will be gradual, as far as entertainment value.

Would be great if they could bring Tadahito over for part of Spring Training…. Gene Honda…”infamous 2005 World Series team” Oops. Getz could have done a better job articulating the team’s ultimate strategic vision in embracing Japan/Asia, but he has some time to reflect further and get to work on it.

https://youtu.be/NRxPxJV20ZI?si=OMwMS31xVI-xz7K4 Part 2

I agree on Sosa, but don’t agree on Benintendi. He can’t field at all and has bat is basically league average at this point. I guess he could fit as a role player, but I’d rather go find a LF upgrade and cut ties altogether. Again, I just don’t see a great role for him if we are planning to use Quero as our primary DH.