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Yeah they'd need to cut Edmunds and some other guys to make room for a guy making $30 million a year. Their current cap space next year is around $10 million and that's without re-signing guys like Byard. They can backload the contract and get creative, but they would then be pretty strapped for space the next few years.

"Could have been a press release" was something pretty funny I read. Sox have so little to be excited about... the comparison was hosting a signing press-conference for Jorge Polanco. Either way, hope Mune proves all the haters wrong and mashes like the Japanese Prince Fielder!

If he's putting up 1 WAR a season, he's probably worth around 2/$15. So, depending on what they're getting back, I'd think they'd have to kick in $15M. Maybe they'd take back a failed bullpen arm getting $7-10M.

Does anyone know how to watch the Murakami press conference?

I just meant if you were looking to dump him and kick in cash. Not necessarily take back a starter.

So much of the last rebuild had planned around the competitive window starting around 2020 when young guys like Moncada, Eloy, Robert, Cease, Kopech, and Dunning supplementing vets like Abreu, TA, Gio, and Reylo. But players failed to live up to the hype and/or stay healthy, clubhouse lacked leadership, team also got expensive quickly with no one from the farm ready to step up, and the window was slammed close before you know it. As for the current direction of this team, initially many had expected that this team couldn’t compete until 2028 at the earliest given the historically bad the 2024 team. Twelve months later, with the arrival of Colton, Teel, and Quero, supplemented by a couple of solid, if unspectacular young bats, in Vargas, Sosa, and Baldwin, and hitting a homerun with the Rule 5 pick of Smith, and top prospects poised for getting the call, Sox looks like they have a chance to compete by 2027. My question here is could the Sox be competitive even in 2026, play .500 or better ball and stay in the WC hunt for better part of the summer? Some of this could reactionary to having Murakami on the roster for next 2 years, and huge question mark on whether he even makes this team any better. But if say a couple of young hitters takes a step forward, the likes of Burke, Martin, and Cannon continue to put up 4.20 ish ERA despite questionable peripherals, and we get second half re-enforcements from likes of Braden, Schultz, Hagen, Thorpe, how far off is this team from being .500 team or slightly better? I’m using 2022 Orioles as a recent comp. They got a +31 win YoY (52 to 83) with arrival of Adley and increased contributions from younger guys having mini breakout (Santander, Urias, Mateo), and going from the worst rotation in the league to having a below average one. They then went on to win 101 games in 2023 with arrival of Gunnar. As it stands the 2026 Sox is sitting at $96M payroll factoring all the benefits, that’s about $40M lower than their 2024 OD payroll for context. It’s not crazy to imagine having room to spend on a #2 or 3 starter along with a late inning option to solidify the bullpen, especially with some level of financial backing from Ishbia this year. If we could do just that, this team could become competitive a lot sooner than we had originally thought, perhaps as early as this year. If there is one thing the last rebuild has taught us, expected the unexpected, the “competitive window” could come and go a lot sooner than what we’re planning for, we need to consistently accumulate assets at both major and minor league level to stretch this window and avoid spending years as a bottom feeder.

But doing a quick perusal of the league, there aren't a whole lot of overpaid, middling starters on teams' books. Luis Severino, maybe? A persistent rumor is that Toronto would like to move Jose Berrios, but they're not just going to dump his salary, as he's still pretty serviceable.

You must be thinking of a guy named John Lennon.

Presser at 11 on CHSN

Paging @ChiliIrishHammock24. Your expertise is needed. Get in here and give a nickname or be banned.

Which can always be done in the NFL. There is always a way to kick the can down the road, restructure deals. Usually at some point, there needs to be a "reset" to get rid of a bunch of bad money, Poles did that first year he got to the Bears (to fix the cap he inherited from Pace) but windows open and close so fast in the NFL, they have to take advantage now. You'd have to give up some serious capital to acquire a Garrett or Crosby, but the hope would be you're picking between 27-32 in the first round the next few years. There is no better time than this offseason to go all in.

Which never has to happen if Rick gets his first choice, Bryce Harper.

I just don't want to walk in those shoes. I'd rather guess at lottery numbers.

I think he’s a free agent a year sooner too. Probably have to kick in a little money to even it out though right? I was trying to think of somewhere with a small LF where he could fake it like Houston. But they still have that infield logjam that pushes Alvarez to LF sometimes,

Don't know about that, but James Fox said on the latest FutureSox podcast that he's hearing the Sox would take on money to trade Benintendi, like a Taijuan Walker type of contract, and then just plug him into the rotation.

How much many do the Sox have to kick in with Benintendi to get something worthwhile back?

I wish I was giddy about this. The only positive it is someone new. He's not a proven MLB player. If he fails I understand why Reinsdorf is reluctant to spend money. The organization is not good at scouting in the big leagues. If he is a success after one year I assume they will trade him. That's the typical pattern of budget teams. Small market fans are so conditioned to this. Those fans can never have nice things. I think that really hurts baseball.

I assume we can pretty much pencil someone else other than Luis in CF at this point

Yup. We’ve had a lot of signings go to s%*#, but thinking a light power, bad defending LF was the final piece was just terrible process and the final gift from an incompetent Rick Hahn.

God damn what a terrible signing that was. -0.2 fWAR in his three years with the Sox, and at BEST that ends up at like 1.5 at the end of his deal. The warning signs were there too after having his second best offensive season (121 wRC+), but with zero power, and only managing 2 fWAR.

I was completely against a Parson's, Garrett, Crosby move last year...this off-season it has to be on the table for the right offer. I also expect JJ and Moore to be potential "sweetener's" in such a trade. I don't like losing draft capital and clearly the most draft friendly route is to find a way to Hendrickson in - but coming off injury and being older, there is obviously some risk there, but Bears absolutely can move cap money around to make it happen and I am expecting they make a splash. That said - I'm also fine if they move up in the draft a bit and opt for a different route - but they got to find a way to address the pass rush. Fun place to be for sure and I'm just going to enjoy this one day and one game at a time! House money this year - keep the ride rolling!!!

They will have to do some pretty decent cap work to get a guy like that in here.

I kinda like having Chase hit lower and stacking the top with the best all around bats to give them the most ABs but there doesn’t feel like a natural guy to hit there. Kyle Teel maybe but I also think it’s weird having a Catcher hit leadoff lol

According to Popular Mechanics it was a Streeter garbage dump. This is is someone copying the original article which is paywalled. https://theyawningchasm.com/2021/08/02/the-pungent-history-of-americas-garbage-mountains/

No more line ups of 6 number 9 hitters.