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I do not see Robert getting traded, as it would likely mean they sold low on him Sox are better off keeping him and hoping that he rebuilds his trade value

Huh? $20M is a fair price even if Robert is basically what he is. He's an absolute bargain if he's 3-5 WAR player.

Why in the world would we want two years of Bohm? Do a three way trade if necessary, but holy s%*# Getz him and Lux don’t do s%*# for us.

Well, as long as you're popping up: This tweet was hysterical and everyone else can chill.

Clearly. He should be here, squabbling with other posters about Austin Slater instead.

If Getz cheaps out on Robert — either by selling low or not picking up an option while payroll is reaching A's/Rays levels — then all he is is dancing monkey.

JFC Walker was terrible last year (7.12 xERA) and his velocity was also down. Might be better gambling on Benintendi’s bouncing back that Walker.

He had like a 137 wRC+ against LHP over a four year period, I wouldn’t call that a fringe major leaguer but rather a useful platoon bat. That being said, he obviously could be cooked at this point.

Actually he has very little job security. If Getz was anything other than a moron, he'd realize he's one very old man not waking up the next morning away from being unemployable in baseball unless he actually makes some decent decisions. If he truly feels no pressure than he's an even bigger idiot than we think.

Rightfully so.

Honestly, what's even the point in spending $ in free agency this offseason? They should just see what they have with the fringe guys.

Probably need to start a Luis Robert trade discussion thread.

Can we stop with this nonsense? We have no reason to believe (yet) that Slater was anything but their #1 target for a weak-side platoon OF role. If this ends up being their most expensive free agent addition then flame away, but it seems very apparent to me that Slater’s comment should be taken in the context of his specific role.

I'm more concerned with Bohm's controllable seasons. Just doesn't make sense for a timeline fit,

Jerry hasn’t even played in the shallow pool the past couple years, and when he did we wound up with Benintendi. And 5-years, $75 million is only a big signing to a handful of teams, the Sox being one of them.

Temu Bay Rays

Good idea. I should do that.

I read Bowdens article on Crochet market and here are my thoughts:

I'm calling him Roberts until he's elite again.

I need Christ Getz in my card game. He'd fold every time.

Sure, but we don’t have to pick up the option for another year, so why not wait and see what his first half looks like? There is zero reason to dump him now and this idea that we wouldn’t pick up a $20M option if he put up say a 5 win season because we think he might be “Moncada 2.0” is crazy. Let’s see how does with a new coaching staff and Fuller in place. I’d rather get nothing for him after the upcoming season than rush to trade him for scraps right now.

I would be really impressed if the Sox could manage to be the worst team in the history of baseball in back to back years.

Austin Hays would be worth a gamble.

I think there is also an aspect where fans need to adjust expectations. Teams just aren’t unloading top prospects like they used to

Cool, so Getz will cave in February and give away Robert for pennies on the dollar like he did Cease. All because cheap-ass Jerry is hellbent on shedding any large or longterm payroll commitments.

Trading Robert while his value is arguably at its lowest would be a bad move I doubt the offers would be all that good right now, why settle? If he has a solid first half he could be an attractiove deadline trade piece

As damn well they should.

Bohm is worth his projected $8.5M salary, so you’d almost certainly be taking less prospects with his inclusion. I think the reality would love use him instead of additional prospects and then replace him via free agency.

Jim Bowden, who is a clown, was asked about a package including Kjerstad and Beavers from the O's and sounded very sure that for Crochet it would require ONE of Basallo or Mayo. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5946068/2024/11/25/mlb-trade-scenarios-rumors-crochet-arenado/

I fully agree. But I would say the optics of a $2M signing being our biggest and only real addition would be bad. I still think they add a couple more pieces to fill out the roster, but zero reason to sign C tier free agents to block the fringe prospects we already have in place like DeLoach, Fletcher, Sosa, & Lee IMO.

Is this a real post?

Yeah I don't love Bohm coming over. He can be a third piece if the Sox are throwing in some other garbage or something, but he can't be one of the 2 (I'm assuming) big "pieces" of this trade.

Perfect - Caleb played great, offense looked good…draft pick looks great and most young players and relevant players trending ok. Oh and Flus will be for sure gone. The locker room has to stay strong so they can keep building things but Caleb played really well.

I Like Mike™

This honestly has to be a bit

Bears still saying that want the stadium on the lakefront. Politicians still laughing at that idea. Their plan, which requires upwards of $1 billion in public funding, drew cheers from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson — and cold shoulders from state lawmakers in Springfield. https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears/bears-stadium/2024/11/25/bears-stadium-arlington-heights-lakefront-michael-reese-soldier-field The Bears (and White Sox) will get nothing and like it.

Think I started here and then went to Twitter after. I still lurk here from time to time, especially in the offseason. Good way to read through rumors all in one place.

Dreaming of Whales....part 2

Our payroll is ridiculously low and below where we ever were during the past rebuild if you adjust for inflation. Even for Jerry it would be absolutely ridiculous to dump Robert right now now for scraps to rock a $50M payroll.

Figured it was time a thread for random White Sox rumors of highly questionable nature but fun to discuss. First one I’ve seen comes good ‘ole Orlando, I mean Bartolo’s Colonoscopy. He claims the Sox have interest in Jakob Junis and that he’s one of their top targets. Again, probably a complete fabrication but figured I’d share nonetheless.

Cease did not pitch like a TOR starter in 2023 and he only really showed that potential in 2022, so no matter how much fans or the White Sox valued him as one, other teams didn't. The Sox got roughly fair value for him - the question now is if they picked the right prospects to fill that value.

Nah....if he actually does a good job at being a GM rather than bring a mindless bootlicker he could have a future in baseball post Jerry. Evidently he doesn't care about that, though.

Wow. I understand the risk of Robert getting injured or tanking again in the first half. Then you are facing a $20 million dollar option for 2026. But is there no end to this team’s cheapness? Their guaranteed payroll for 2025 is at like $66 million right now. Selling him low doesn’t do much for this team either.

Agreed. Makes no sense. Bohm does nothing for a rebuilding team and we have like 3-4 3B and no true SS. Crawford would be a fun replacement for Robert in CF, but replace Bohm with another big piece. Miller (Law thinks he will stick at SS) and Crawford would do it, but PHI won't include both.

Yep, more ridiculous trade targets. Two years of these two guys does absolutely nothing for this team.

The second biggest recent draft success after Anderson is arguably Burger... who was essentially written off by the Sox, he succeeded largely due to his own initiative. At the very least, he can at least be considered a dangerous hitter who can make very solid contact based on EV, albeit one who Ks too much and doesn't walk enough and is defensively limited.

I call a smart hitter someone who combines their physical gifts , with knowledge of hitting ,being good at recognizing pitch sequences, hitting in various counts, game preparedness like knowing the pitchers repertoire and tendencies. Eyesight is very important in recognizing spin and processing that info in fractions of seconds to decide the swing path to make the ball hit the sweet spot and drive it. It's all done so quickly on every pitch and requires quick reflexes. and perhaps a quicker mind. Even then you have to gain experience and deal with your failures most at bats. Imagine all the different ways hitters hold a bat ,all the different stances and swing mechanisms strides, toe tap. Ttsr can literally make millions of combined changes to how he swings the bat. For example where you hold your hands .It can be anywhere from waist high to above your head. Add that to all the ways to tilt the bat, stride . Then their are proper hitting mechanics. Finding the right combo of things to do that unlocks you to be better is like finding a needle in a haystack for some and comes more naturally to others. Personally I'd give prospects every eye test under the sun to test depth perception, color blindness, peripheral vision. Since livh colored eyes are more sensitive to light Id see if sunglasses are ever a for different colored eyes or if their are better sunglasses for artificial light like for night games. It's said Ted Williams had 20/10 vision. But that's the extent most of us ever hear about vision. Test seems like an extremely important thing to do every year to every player.Slight worsening of vision could lead to bad results for hitters just as improved vision in sunlight and artificial light may improve hitting. Hitting a baseball well is like sophisticated targetting systems in the military. It all starts with how well you see the moving target.

The hit tool is the hardest tool to project especially for international and HS guys because everyone who has a half decent swing and good athleticism can hit .400 as long the pitching is bad enough. I'm hitting .400 in my beer league every year too:). In pitching 95 is 95 but in hitting the result is extremely dependent on the pitcher that you face. College hitters have less variance and bust rate but also less upside when you get past best first couple college bat picks (typically a college second rounder or late first rounder will make mlb has a bench/utility bat ceiling while a hs bat in that range could be a good player or bust out in AA with a 40 % k rate. Pitching of course also busts a lot, here it is more about injuries and also ability to throw strikes or hold your stuff through a pro schedule (every 5 days instead of once a week often velo drops). With the sox hitting it was imo a combination of bad development and prioritizing safety over upside. Sheets for example really isn't that much of a disappointment, his bat is mlb bench quality (got a little unlucky with babip), problem is that he is a 1b/emergency outfielder with a bench bat.