Leaderboard

Spending their Cash Considerations on Ass Considerations

It's not your fault. Just the usual suspects plus a mod that have their ears perk up like a german sheppard if something positive is uttered and here we go down memory lane.

How the hell did this thread turn into this bullshit again?

There is one easy way to do that. Cut him.

Who asked?

I would like to see Grant Taylor get a shot at starting with all the new bullpen additions coming on board.

That's pretty much how I feel about this team. I completely get others optimism, there are a lot of things I am excited to watch this season, but this team still isn't any good on paper and most likely in practice as well. It's really just a snarky way of saying they're bad but at least they are moving in the right direction, which to me seems like a perfect description for the team currently.

They bought a time machine this offseason too. Wow. 😉

The White Sox offseason grade and Getz’s offseason grade are two different things. Once you consider the ownerships budget constraints I think it has been better than a C. Dominguez is a solid choice for a leverage reliever. Not all relievers want to go to a non-contending team. There’s always a chance you’ll have to move at the deadline which is a downside so you pretty much have to outbid everyone else. Domínguez is an interesting pitcher. A wild stat is that he tied for first in the MLB in wild pitches despite throwing 79+ less innings than the guys he tied with. He has pitched well in two World Series though and it’s hard to touch him let alone square up on him. If you’re going to take a chance on a guy why not a guy with serious upside. Murakami was just an A+ move any way you look at it. He has a TON of swing and miss in his game but even the projections that have him with a disgusting 37% K rate (Adam Dunn maxed out at 35.7%) still have him as an above average hitter (117 OPS+). The power is very real so it’s a hell of a lottery ticket if the swing and miss is just regular bad. The contract was solid. If things go well this year you have an opportunity to try and extend him. If he’s set on free agency, he’d be a great trade chip. Zero risk move and one of my favorite of any team this offseason. Hayes is a fine pickup. Nothing special, but this class didn’t have much to offer. Bader doesn’t move the needle for me Conforto would’ve been disgusting. Hayes is a solid weak side platoon player without a ton of upside for more, but it was a short and cheap deal so why not. The Robert deal was not my favorite, but not really for reasons under Getz’s control. I would’ve preferred eating money for an addition prospect or a higher tier one, but maybe that wasn’t even on the table. I also think there wasn’t much downside to seeing if Robert could pick up where he left off last year and put together a good start before you traded him. Ultimately it depends on how you feel about Acuna. If Getz loves Acuna then you don’t pass up the opportunity. Acuna has a realistic path to being a multi-win player. He’s fast, he’s got a glove, and he can swing hard. If the arm plays in center then he’ll be a plus out there. I don’t know if the power will ever develop but if he can ways to get on base (bunting against bad matchups could help) his offensive value will be fine. The Hicks trade I’m also fine with. I think the clear A offseason would’ve involved going above and beyond for Imai but it takes two to tango and who knows if that was possible. Hicks was another guy near the top of the wild pitch leaderboard. He has solid stuff and had good not great results in his first year starting. Last year was a disaster but that’s why you’re playing him 2 yrs/16M. Thats pretty much the going rate for a 5th starter/swingman at this point and Hicks has more upside than that. You also came out on seemingly the right end of the prospect swap as Sandlin seems to have some juice. The Anthony Kay move is fun. Kay has been starting in Japan the past two years and has already gotten the innings under his belt to give the Sox a full workload this year. He had a 1.74ERA which is great even by NPB standards where no one scores runs. The contract was cheap and even came with a club option for a third year which I love. I’m not sure he has star potential but his command is better and getting 150 solid innings from him doesn’t seem out of the question. Wade, Kelenic, and the other moves couldn’t interest me less. But I’d rather the young guys get the at bats anyway. We’ll see if Paez is able to stick with the team. Rule V has already been solid for the Sox so give it another shot I guess. Given the budget Getz had that’s not a C offseason. Kay and Hicks are cheap inning eaters with some upside. The Club option on Kay is very Hahn like and really gives that deal some major upside for helping the team once the core is ready. Murakami was an A+ move. I’m not in love with Acuna but I see the vision. Domínguez is a good upside pickup. If he gets his control to just sort of bad instead of 1st percentile you have a solid closer/trade piece. Im at about an A-/B+ for Getz and a B-/C+ for the Sox. My main critique of Getz is on the Robert deal but there is so much I don’t know that it’s hard to really ding him. Imai would’ve been a fun upside play if that was on the table and would have been worth missing out on Domínguez or Hayes. Seeing Getz with a budget would be fun because I think he’s a solid GM. The Sox as a whole get dinged because of Reinsdorf is cheap and doesn’t care about winning or the fans.

Yes. One of the best purchases I've ever made.

I don't think anyone is doing victory laps. I think most say its improving but is still bad. They were all positive moves. Building through development takes time. There really isn't an alternative when they have a restrictive budget.

Why? Biggest expense would probably be renting a car or ubers. So say 300 for a 5 day trip. Lodging is cheap down there, can get a place in Tempe for $100 a night or so that's decent. So 500 there. Flight maybe a couple hundred so about 1K plus your tickets and other expenses. Obviously this is cheaper if you're splitting things with a friend or whoever. Tickets are usually like 10-30 bucks and after the first couple innings nobody is checking stubs, can move right behind the plate if you want. The games are whatever but seeing guys warm up, work on the back fields, work with coaches, being around all the other fans in great weather -- that stuff is totally worth it. The weather in early March down there is just about perfect, usually mid 70s with good but not overbearing sun. Nights can get a bit chilly but usually no worse than low 50s.

I mean the Sox pretty much bought themselves a prospect or three by picking up Hicks like this. I know this is Getz, but he is already telling people that Sandlin could be a mid-season starter. Hicks seems like the type of reliever that should have a market at the deadline. at least of a mid tier prospect kind of guy, and if you can push him back into his pre-2025 work, probably around a top 10 system guy. For what we are giving up, and the cash we are getting back to cover him, even if Sandlin busts, this is a solidly thought out deal.

Don’t hate this move in the slightest. Would’ve hated it if Leasure was in the deal. stuff wise there is a good pitcher somewhere in there. He was +110 last year. Being in a spot where he can focus on process over results will help him. The Boston situation was toxic with the Devers connection. Not that they don’t have a great pitching program, he’s just relearning process since converting to being a reliever. The Sox can also decide to use an opener for him. Taylor does very well against lefties so that could be a good combination. It’s a way to let Taylor get a controlled ramp up in innings and allow Hicks to get better matchups and boost his confidence.

Fegan said the PTBNL going to the Red Sox is an org guy the Sox were likely to release, so no concern there.

It was a fine offseason given where we are. Not going to be a quick process.

Pretty curious to see how this shakes out

I stand corrected. Sure a lot of love for KW.😄

That would be my guess. That's how things roll under Jerry Reinsdorf, if you're not a total loyalist, you're blacklisted. If you ARE a total loyalist, there's surely some important position for you in the front office.

This is the way I look at it. He is doing something different and that is welcome. Whether or not it works will determine how long he should stay. I know I have more patience than most but it is intriguing.

The process that led to Getz’s hire was garbage. And whether he’ll end up a good GM or not is too early to say. But the idea that everyone in the Sox was terrible at their job is not true. Shirley is an example of a talented employee who Getz has smartly kept. That being said, Getz has fired a fuckton of former Sox employees who he felt weren’t good at their jobs and not because of KW or Hahn. Haber gone. Paddy gone. KW Jr gone. Koenig and the former analytics group…gone. Pro scouting staff…mostly gone. The list goes on and on. Again, Getz may ultimately prove bad, but his performance as GM should not be defined by his results as our Player Development lead.

But they've spent more, sometimes significantly more, in past seasons. Trouble was, they typically spent money on the wrong players. Now they have a very small budget but are spending the money a little more smartly.

Brooks boyer should be out on his ass right now .. wow

Just that elder millennial style that was fresh 20 years ago and now just comes across as trying way too hard. Yea, not only is this over the top, it's factually wrong as well. Sosa is nothing like Leury as a player and if the Sox had more 1.5 WAR types instead of replacement level or worse FA signings maybe Hahn is still in charge.

Who the hell wrote this article? It was really weird reading it. Sounded like a frat boy writing it via AI.

I disagree with the above and say its super worth it. Granted, my parents moved out there 9 years ago, but the stadiums are fun to walk around. You can go see minor league games in the backfields - sometimes you'll run into scouts or FO personnel. I was talking to Kenny one year while watching a backfield game. Bring a camera and move around - unless you're going to a Dodgers game, it isn't packed and tickets shouldn't be pricey. Go check out other stadiums. One thing you should absolutely do: Do a pre-dawn hike (or drive up a mountain - there are a few where you can drive like 90% of the hike) and catch a sunrise overlooking Phoenix.

Agreed. Every single person I have talked to about going to spring training describes it as one of the ultimate experiences for huge baseball fans.

I absolutely loved it when I went. Went to some other stadiums too which aren't all too far. The game is a mere distraction but its awesome just walking around or sitting in the outfield grass.

If you have never been to Spring Training, I would suggest going it's a good time. The one thing that was really expensive was renting a car so unless they have lowered the prices be prepared to get hit with all sorts of fees. Camelback Park is also a must see, you can roam around the complex before the game. I would suggest that you go to a Sox game at other parks, there are some beautiful parks that are worth seeing.

JR likes cash considerations even more than David Eckstein.

Thanks for sharing!

If the WSox exceed their budget - the amount they can spend before risking loan defaults, late payments, and other financial issues, where would the money come from to cover excess spending ? The point about the low budget is an old grind that fans of the WSox and other teams often engage in to voice frustration when mega player contracts are not taken on by corporate ownership/shareholders. I understand that fans have an expectation that shareholders spend millions of their own money to gamble on multi-year mega-million dollar player contracts. Unfortunately, that is not the way it works in MLB or in most other businesses. Simply stated - the Sox have to stay within spending limits in order to survive. Moving forward, the WSox have to make more money in order to spend more money. Hopefully, a winning team this season and beyond will increase revenues and remove the financial constraints that Getz is under.

For the record I’ve been fine with all their moves. It just shouldn’t have taken a Luis Robert salary dump deal to make them when the collection of guys is pretty “meh” overall. Like you might as well have eaten $15M and taken best offer.

It has been 0 Days since your favorite franchise did something embarrassing.

Chris Getz isn't a weak ass dork like them.

It's fun. You get to escape the last blast of winter and go hang out with a bunch of fellow baseball fans in the sun. I've been a few times, latest was 2019. I might go down for a few days this year, still working on planning something around that area in March. They have a bunch of kid friendly stuff at most the parks as well, they do a good job with it overall and it's a big month tourist wise so all the places are geared up and ready.

I really believe the Sox want to keep Benintendi out of the outfield as much as possible this year.

I look forward to not watching them. Nothing but smoke here.

Embarrassing is right. The Sox are currently 27th in MLB payroll even after all of these moves that had to happen after the Robert money was freed up.

I am just glad it actually happened.

I will again say it’s embarrassing they had to wait to deal Robet to make THESE moves.

Update post latest moves: Lineup: 1B: Murakami (L) 2B: Meidroth (R) SS: C. Montgomery (L) 3B: Vargas (R) LF: Baldwin (S) CF: Acuña (R) RF: Hays (R) DH: Quero (S) CA: Teel (L) Bench: BC: Lee (R) IF: Sosa (R) OF: Pereira (R) OF: Benintendi (L) Rotation: Smith (R) Martin (R) Kay (L) Burke (R) Newcomb (L) Bullpen: CL: Dominguez (R) SU: Taylor (R) SU: Leasure (R) MR: Hicks (R) MR: Eisert (L) MR: Vasil (R) MR: Gilbert (L) LR: Paez (R) DFA or Returned: IF: Mead (R) OF: Hill (R) RP: Alberto (R) RP: Hudson (L)

Well, Getz actually did spend the Robert money. Two relievers and a lottery ticket prospect isn’t a bad outcome, considering the realistic options that were in the table.

Here you go:

I don’t care how the White Sox feel. I hope they feel bad. I will cheer for wins and excellence. Faith is earned.

This was in the MLB prospect write up and kinda scares me. "but also missed time with oblique and forearm strains.

Who’s excited to overdraft to every bad game Roch has this year? I know I am.

Won't be flipping anyone when you are up 5 games in the central at the deadline.

We no longer have the lowest projection at all three outfield positions. We have passed the Rockies in Left Field!