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Not sure I understand why it should be sad or embarrassing that the Sox found value in their Rule 5 guys last year, when finding value that other teams didn't see or couldn't realize is exactly what they should be doing with their timeline and plethora of available innings/ABs? Basically every avenue of player acquisition other than drafting 1.1 involves your organization committing an amount of roster space, development time, draft position, money, etc. to a player that other orgs didn't think was worth it at the time. Is getting a surprise hit in the mid rounds of the draft "sad" because a player other teams passed on ended up outplaying existing options in your system? Or is it possible that being correctly ahead of the "market" on a player is a good thing actually? Maybe even key for a team in this position? Like sure, I guess in a dream world the Sox just have a rotation of 5 WAR aces with no room for Smith. In a world where the Sox aren't losing 100, he's not their "ace" or all star. But it's odd to talk like he's a bottom 5 SP who would never crack a single other MLB rotation. He was an above replacement level player on a team in dire need of them, so I don't get why we should be using the Brewers' particular 40 man machinations as a demerit against his production. Almost every piece of Rule 5 coverage leading into yesterday hat tipped the Sox for finding two objectively solid pieces last year, but on here nabbing a fine starter for $100k and a versatile reliever for free is a shame for the Sox because...they should have already had better players? Because another team was willing to gamble on leaving them available in a Rule 5 draft where few players get taken and even fewer stick? Improve the roster but also never acquire talent that other teams didn't see first is an awfully tough needle to thread.

What am I missing? Soxtalk is now mad at the team because Shane Smith was good?

The fact that the Sox have had to get so many guys from the Rule 5 draft may point to problems while Getz was farm director, but it also underlines how low the org was when he took over. He inherited almost zero talent in the majors or minors. This rebuild was always gonna be super painful no matter who they put in charge.

I mean, they had a SP in Crochet that is leagues better than Smith, but we are rebuilding and traded him in the offseason to add multiple positional pieces. We also had three major league ready SP’s go down with TJS in spring training, which is super fluky and certainly hurt our SP depth to start the season.

If they take a pitcher I will lose my god damn mind.

I do not think Colson is going to be wasted at 1B when at bare minimum he can play a capable SS and likely a plus 3B. Him and Roch will almost certainly be the left side of our infield come 2027. If Carlson’s bat develops then maybe he pushes one of those two elsewhere, but that probably doesn’t happen until 2029 at the earliest. Bonemer is the tougher one to figure out. He’s only played the left side of the infield so far in his minor league career, but I don’t see why he couldn’t handle 2B theoretically. The other option for Caleb would likely be LF, especially since we don’t have any significant OF prospects outside of Braden. Regardless, this group of positional prospects is very exciting now if you assume Roch is the dude at 1.1 next year.

Real Estate in Manhattan is super expensive for a reason. I am fortunate enough to live there now. Pretty great honestly.

I think it's very silly and in some contexts a bit dishonest to pretend that 40 man roster management consists of just writing down your 40 best players and walking away. Many (most?) teams don’t have full 40’s right now, and it’s not because every org only has ~37 valuable players and regards all of their eligible but unrostered prospects as org detritus. Plenty of players who don't get taken in the Rule 5 would absolutely get snapped up if available in a trade or on waivers where they don't come with Rule 5 restrictions. Part of the reason they don't get protected is to reduce the risk of needing to waive/option them or someone else later. The question for Rule 5 protection isn't simply "is this a good enough player to keep in my org?" There's a finite number of 40 man spots, everyone in the league knows exactly how many there are, and using one for Rule 5 protection early in the offseason involves a long list of competing considerations. What is the risk of another team committing a season-long roster spot to this player (as you said, very low) historically? In contrast, what is the chance that protecting them forces a riskier move when managing my roster later? Is Player A more or less likely to be claimed in the Rule 5 (where they can't be optioned) than Player B (who can be optioned) is on waivers? With my current 40 man balance, do I need rostered depth more in some places than others? Is this player's route to my opening day 26 more likely to be blocked, forcing an option year on my end that lowers their future control/value? And so on. Most means of player acquisition are about value mismatches. Improving the Sox roster will inherently require acquiring players that have more value here than where they are coming from, but a player's value on your roster compared to their value on another is influenced by all sorts of things other than "they didn't think the player was good enough." Also, sometimes teams are just wrong in their evaluations entirely (and the wrong team isn't always the Sox!) Garrett Whitlock (2.4 WAR last season) pitched in the playoffs for Boston in the same year they picked him up in the Rule 5 draft, and I doubt any fans watching were embarrassed by it. I similarly doubt they were sad about fellow Rule 5 pick Justin Slaten leading their bullpen in ERA in his first year there. Both guys are still rostered, not because Boston has had years of a desolate farm with no depth, but because they successfully found value where those guys' original teams didn't and found money spends just as well. I don't think they (or anyone really) should feel bad for getting "too much" Rule 5 production. If anything, they should get bonus points because it freed them up to spend more capital in other ways, like grabbing Crochet.

Unfortunately many here refuse to accept that Getz has made some structural improvements to the organization and that the fruits of those labors will not be seen overnight. As such, it’s easy to blame Getz for a lot of the shortcomings he inherited with the major league roster and focus on the bad. And don’t get me wrong, he’s certainly partly to blame for our PD failures but he also didn’t get to set the budgets and make the investments in data & technology needed to modernize his function. The reality is Smith & Vasil should be viewed as huge wins and early signs that the foundational work is starting to pay off.

Sure. But I think if the Brewers knew how Smith would perform they would have protected him. A more accurate way to look at it would be the #1 starter and all star for the Sox would have been a #3/#4 starter and NOT an all star on about 25 other teams. To discount the success Smith had just to say how much the Sox suck is not fair to Smith.

How stupid are the Guardians, to guarantee a roster spot to a guy that a 121 loss team wouldn't even protect? Worst run organization in MLB.

Couple of things. In the end the lottery rules seemed to have favored the White Sox. They got #1 because they were #10 last year and Colorado was bumped. The year they would have had #1 (2025) was an average class and they look to have ended up with a decent enough guy that it did not matter that they moved to 10. C. Montgomery will be at 1B when Roch comes up. As for development Roch sliding in for 2027 (maybe) while Carlson's timeline is 2029 which by then the Meidroth's, Antonacci's and Bonemer will have been figured out. There is a path to not being embarrassing which is something. The brightest thing to me is the timing, if these guys pop will be about the time JR kind of leaves the building and maybe they don't need to be flipped.

Or you know, our shitty owner could just be shitty like he always has been.

Here we go again with subtle hints/ insinuations/accusations that somehow somewhere in the coaching structure lies the fault of the injuries. Of course no concrete evidence but hey lets troll the hopeful fans again. I'm embarassed some of you still call yourself Sox fans. Again this a jab you wont see anywhere else except perhaps a Cubs forum. Even now with more posters starting to voice more hopeful opinions we still get the awkward machinations of conspiracy theorists hellbent on promoting the despair/inept narrative.

Depends on the additions. A legit closer would provide far more value than their projected WAR given who they’re replacing. Regardless, the bulk of improvement needs to come from the young guys. I’m happy with smaller scale additions in FA this offseason to improve the floor and take some pressure off the kids.

In a nutshell yes. Before it was the Sox scouting sucks so u get a scouting and some development wins in an afterthought draft that hardly ever produces talent but since youre still so pissed off and embarassed about 2024 you have to find another reason to be embarassed rather than acknowledge that things could be looking up. That is some unique reasoning to hate your favorite baseball team that you won't find anywhere else but Toxtalk or maybe from Cubs fans .

Johan Santana had a WAR of zero his rookie year, which was 11th on their team. If it was the same as Shane Smith's that year, he'd have been their 4th best pitcher. You can really tell a Getz apologists by how defensive they get when you make a basic joke about building your team through the Rule 5 draft.

Yeah, I would have traded him yesterday if the plan going perfect was for it to take 4 years of service time (without injury!) for him to be a reliable starter every 5th day.

To be fair, it is embarrassing. Baddoo is terrible.

Indeed. This shouldn’t be like when we had high hopes for Andrew Vaughn at #3. We should finally get our Bobby Witt Jr. at #1.

You're supposed to feel deeply ashamed because the All-Star selection from a team that just lost 121 games wasn't one of the best players in the game with first round pedigree and home developed. I generally feel sad for people who feel the need to castigate others for not feeling properly embarrassed about nebulous things.

Why is it embarrassing for the White Sox that they took him in Rule 5 last year? If anyone should be embarrassed, its the Brewers.

That's some Olympic-level spin Simpsons Bill Clinton GIFfrom Simpsons GIFs

Everybody planning out the middle infield is forgetting one player - The Chairman of the Board (Sam Antonacci). He's an on base MACHINE. He tore up the AFL and continued with his impressive on base skills. You compare the numbers in the minors, and his statline looks awfully similar to Wade Boggs. Mark by words, Sam will be a stud. At very least he will be a strong super sub for the infield.

I hear you. Gene Watson was on CHGO yesterday with Sean Anderson and was explaining how these 2 picks are very similar or the equivalent to 3rd round picks out of college because of the age. And that the Sox do have a plan in place to help both of them to succeed here. Now. Whether they do is another question. Actually, I find the second pick as the one with the greater chance to stick around all year in the bullpen.

It's been explained pretty thoroughly that Colson went to Arizona as a mental reboot, and to work 1 on 1 with Fuller on his swing. Here's a SouthSideShowdown post that references multiple Merkin reports at the time, none of which mention any lingering back problems. The Chicago White Sox are pulling struggling top 5 prospect Colson Montgomery from game action

Harry, if there were no lottery, Sox would have picked #1 in 2025 and #2 in 2026,

I personally like Emerson more because his ceiling is alittle higher than Roch. And as much as I love the young guys we have now and in the system we are heavily lacking in the speed department. Just do not have that dynamic game breaker on the basepaths yet.

They claim they aren’t keeping Taylor in the bullpen long-term and instead are just ramping him up as a multi-inning reliever this year. I personally don’t like the plan, especially since we are burning service time, but I also don’t think it automatically condemns him to a reliever role forever. If they felt he was a long-term reliever, they would almost certainly make his closer.

The fact that you don't realize how embarrassing it is to have your All-Star and "best player" for the first half be the 41st man on other teams is hilarious at bare minimum.

Link them up with our new "grip expert" pitching coach. Honestly fairly excited about the 26 season. Getting the draft hit and the bonuses from just being so damn bad record wise have us primed to rebound to regular bad with some real upside assuming the 27 season happens.

BA is high on Alberto. Don't let him gamble. 2. White Sox — Jedixson Paez, RHP, Red Sox What he does well: Paez has arguably the best control of any pitcher available in the Rule 5 draft. He fills the zone and walks no one. Often Rule 5 picks can’t make the team because MLB managers don’t trust them to throw strikes. That should not be an issue for Paez. What he needs to work on: Paez’s stuff is fringy, and when he tried to ramp up the stuff in 2025, he ended up missing much of the season with a calf injury. He has yet to pitch above High-A, so he’s about to face a massive jump in quality of hitters. How he could fit on an MLB roster: Paez’s control gives him a chance to come to White Sox camp as an arm who could start or pitch in the bullpen. But he’ll have to show he isn’t overwhelmed by the significant jump to the big leagues. 13. White Sox — Alexander Alberto, RHP, Rays What he does well: Alberto is the best arm to be taken in the Rule 5 draft. He can throw a 100 mph cut-fastball, offering a minor glimpse of Emmanuel Clase-level stuff. What he needs to work on: Alberto has yet to reach Double-A and has only logged 35 career High-A innings. So while he has MLB-caliber stuff, his experience is far from it. Alberto will need to cram multiple years of development into one spring training. How he could fit on an MLB roster: The White Sox are a perfect fit for Alberto. They should be able to accept some bad outings as he adjusts to the major leagues. If they can be patient, he has high-leverage reliever stuff.

As someone who left NJ for eastern NC, I hated ever going into the city. I prefer my 1.3 acres, inground pool, 3000 SF house, 1000 SF woodshop and only the sound of animals at night on my outdoor patio while I drink my bourbon, smoke my cigar and watch the sox blow the game in the 9th while I cuss JR with nobody to hear me but the coyotes and deer. All for a fraction of the cost of Manhattan. But it's really personal preference. Glad you enjoy it.

I like Pallette, he might even eventually have a MLB career. But he hasn't demonstrated the level of command one would require to succeed at this level. If you're willing to claim guys on waivers and make multiple R5 picks there is no shortage of dudes with stuff that lack MLB level command. We have 3-5 guys on the system right now have have legit big league stuff, but don't have anywhere near the command to succeed. If you just keep recycling these guys eventually you'll hit on one or five. Pallette should have been given a chance last year as it was time to recycle half the bullpen. I don't really have an issue losing a guy like him because they're fairly replaceable, but if you just keep the 40 man loaded with these dudes that show no progress or have demonstrated elite levels of failures then what's the plan? Wheres the strategy? If you're gonna just fill the 40 man roster with garage and let it rot you might as well do it with your home grown garage, at least there's sentimental value behind it.

So the Sox are investing in a closer while keeping Grant Taylor in the bullpen. Make it make sense.

No bueno. 1B will be much better than CF or 3B for protecting his back. Corner OF at least a possibility.

Neither guy selected today has thrown an inning in AA, not expecting much. Should have protected Pallette.

most teams have s%*# players somewhere on the 26 and 40 man. But bad teams like the sox have been don't have any stars and lack even average regulars. I'm not going to get that upset about back end s%*#, at least as someone noted they seem to be churning through them faster. that said, find some fucking good players.

Carlson is a better defender, thus you might want to keep him at SS; on the other hand, there are a lot more left-handed hitters these days so maybe you want your best defender at 2b. I’d think, if everyone pans out, Colson moves to 1b (back issues and stuff) and Cholo goes to 3b. Assuming they pick him. Grady seems more like a 2b

Brady Aiken vs Carlos Rodon. Don't over think it just because dude is more of a known commodity.

Mead, Cowles, Hudson, Hill et al and you don't protect Palette? Palette was a 2nd rounder only 3 years ago.

Alexander Alberto and Alexander Albertus?! Are they acquiring players alphabetically.

I’m not going to lose sleep over losing Pallette, but not protecting him didn’t make any sense to me. It’s not like they have so much talent that there’s a roster crunch. Whatever.

Pretty high probability that Palette is walking 6-7 per 9 in the bigs and he's back in the Sox system by mid season. He may find his way into a MLB bullpen eventually, but his command still needs a lot of work.

For whatever reason, the regime didn't think much of Palette. First to drop him from starting so quickly, and then with as many awful pitchers as we rostered, to not call him up late last year, and then to not protect him with 5 roster slots to spare.

I hate that we didn’t protect him

There's never a "good value" in a FA signing. Value isn't the reason you sign premium FAs. It's to win and signal that you're trying.

They can turn their fortunes around by plugging Luis Robert into CF.

Meidroth at 2nd, Roch at SS, Colson at 3B and Bonemer in LF? that feels like a group ready for 2027...which is why Roch should be picked over any 17/18 year old prep.