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No one else can offer him 11 mil in reality. Tampa would punt 5+ signings to save a million bucks to do it.

And if the Sox make him the nominal offer, they get the 2nd overall pick as well as their regular 1st rounder in next year's draft.

That's what I thought. That's why I didn't understand this talk of "what if the Rays have a deal with him for more money."

No, which is why this discussion is pointless. The Sox will sign the top pick in the draft, regardless of who it is.

But they can't do anything if the Sox pick him. What, he chooses to go back to college over a $1mil difference?

Even if he has "demands", he has no leverage if they pick him 1st. If he wants 11m but they offer 10m, all he can do is go back to college which is a HUGE gamble.

I’m going to champion this for @Chicago White Sox’s sake. Verdugo is the perfect signing for this team. He hits righties, plays good defense in the corners, has a good arm, isn’t an absolute injury-prone relic like Tauchman, and will likely sign for not much more than the veteran minimum. Tauchman can go to Japan or Korea where he belongs.

The idea is they would have an above slot agreement at 2 on hand. But yes, I’m sure I’m overthinking.

It won’t happen. This is overthinking.

They will know his demands when they draft him. Also keep in mind the slot difference between pick 1 and 2 is almost a million dollars. If someone demands full slot and overplays their hand and drops from 1 to 2, they cost themselves a lot of money.

How can they even do that? If the Sox draft him, he either takes the deal or takes a massive gamble on going back to college to make $1-2 mil more on his contract next year? While delaying his free agency timeline by an entire year.

And even just the extra money they get in the top slot for the 5% overage adds up to some decent cash cash, let alone what they can save under slot.

He definitely sees an opportunity to start here. DFAd but chose free agency. Could have gone where he wanted. “Invitation to camp” basically means an opportunity not to play himself off the team

Not worried yet. It’s not really their style. Sox can just take the player. He’ll sign. Only potential issue is not knowing how much you have throughout rest of draft.

How do all those words you typed have anything to do with the post you quoted? We were discussing how players can sometimes struggle in AAA and then succeed in the majors, like Colson. It had nothing to do with using Smith in the bullpen.

So true. From $150+ million dollar contract estimates to not being worth $21 million a year and $63 million total if he hits all incentives due to the opt-outs in his deal. Meanwhile, the Sox just gave $20 million plus a potential $2 million dollar buyout to a player no team will give up anything of value for. 🤣

He’s just another Jim Parque (now that he’s gone)

Or if he is cooking and looking that good you deal him at the deadline for prospects. Downside of those deals is if they aren’t good then you are stuck. Such one sided deal to a player. Boras sucks just like JR sucks.

Already moved on to Kelenic 🥹

No I don't think they've handled Taylor appropriately thus far. I dont know where it stated i did. Nor did my post you referenced say anything about the decision to possibly use Hagen in the pen. I think that decision is unique to each player. And im not privy enough to his development to make a completely accurate decision but I've never been a fan of taking a starter, making them a relief pitcher, then a starter again. Does it work sometimes? Sure but I feel like it could throw an unnecessary wrench in development as well.

Have you missed all the kvetching around here over Taylor starting his MLB career in the bullpen to ramp up his innings?

I'm sorry but I have to use some serious sarcasm here: You're right, starting out in the bullpen just destroyed Chris Sale and Garrett Crochet. Oh my God! It ruined both of them and their careers! I am surprised that so many people are against this. Do the fans here have no sense of history, no memory of Sale and Crochet? I've been thinking the Sox should move him up for the bullpen since watching him in the AFL. He is a strikeout machine, and since the Barons' playoff run and in the AFL, his walk problem has really improved (or become less bad). Plus the White Sox really need help from the left side in the bullpen. Plus, with a quality bullpen (Get a closer, Getz), I think there is a very real possibility that the White Sox will be competitive next year. (My definition of competitive is to win around 75 games and be able to claim you're in the hunt for the last wild card spot into early September) Plus, I want to go one step further: After you put Hagen in the bullpen, now you can start working on making Grant Taylor the starter that he wants to be and should be. Are we not worried about Taylor's psychological makeup at this point in his career? Only Hagen's?

How about Alex Verdugo on a cheap one-year deal coming off a bad year? He has usually hit righties fairly well in his career and I believe he is known for playing pretty good defense in the corners with a strong arm. He’s still only 29 and made $1.5 million with the Braves last year so I doubt he’s in line for a raise after last season. Seems like he would be a better stopgap than Tauchman that could actually stay healthy and may actually net a prospect if he has a good first half, until the eventual Braden Montgomery callup. What other team could potentially give Verdugo starting time in their corners, if Benintendi is truly going to spend most of his time at DH? He probably doesn’t have many options at this point. If Derek Hill can potentially get $900K, Verdugo has to be worth more than that guaranteed. Better than wasting it on another volatile reliever. I’m just done with the old man Tauchman experience. He will get injured again. It’s inevitable.

Let’s be honest. He signed with the team that made him the best offer.