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Tayron Guerrero and Kodi Medeiros have cleared waivers and we're outrighted to Triple A Charlotte — Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) January 10, 2020 Already posted by @Sleepy Harold in the Encarnacion thread, but probably worth its own thread. Two interesting arms that both could appear in Chicago in 2020 are retained in the organization. Good news.

Lol, says the guy who also complains about Covey getting opportunities. Having depth is important. I wouldn't have a batted an eye if Medeiros or Guerrero were claimed, but its definitely nice to have them around. Between those two and Burr and Frare, there are some interesting pen arms, 3/4 with MLB experience and the other a former 1st rounder, who the Sox could have lost all for nothing. Instead they are all sitting in AAA as insurance. Its certainly not huge news, but its a nice development for the org whether you agree or not.

Maybe actual sleeves

yea, I think he has real sources... he's gotten some stuff right and other stuff really close that was confirmed by others. At the very least, its a fun twitter follow.

This is a good way of summing it up. Engel > Maybin if the role is simply being a late inning defense and running guy. But Maybin > Engel when one of the starting OFs gets hurt and misses 3 weeks, and it’s quite likely that such a scenario occurs next year. So a cheap one year investment in Maybin would be wise IMO

That is the likely reason for considering Maybin. Engel is a better role player but he would be unacceptable as a full time outfielder if Robert, Mazara or Eloy had to go on the DL for an extended time. So , yes to Maybin if they can get him. There may not be enough room on the roster for Engel if the Sox sign Maybin and start the season with Mendick at second. Engel is borderline major league material so this should not be a major issue if it comes to that.

Maybin may not be good platoon partner for Mazara, but he would be a direct full-time upgrade...

You want Cameron Maybin to be your late-game defensive replacement? He's not a good defender though? I know people are tired of Engel because he represents a bad period in White Sox baseball, but he'd be a fantastic 4th outfielder. He's an elite defender and baserunner. This team has plenty of offensive firepower now.

I’m really glad the Sox didn’t trade Cease for 2 years of Syndergaard.

I am pretty sure someone wrote a caulfield bot and this is the result.

Who the hell chooses the handle of some obscure reliever to tweet MLB rumors?

Is Kevin Pillar still available? I'd rather have him than Maybon, that is if they're intent on replacing Engel.

Followed bye Dye's single.... I love it

Fair enough, I'll defer to your thoughts here.

Congrats on quoting one year.. What were his 10 years prior?

Don't really see the fit with Maybin, to be honest.

He didn't piggy back off Jimmy's tweet - FS posted an article on Jan 1 before Cishek's piece breaking down the extension talks. On the morning of 1/1, MLBnetwork reported that extension talks with Robert had picked up steam. Progress on the contract was made at the winter meetings according to Hahn, and frame work had been hashed out by the time Jimmy reported it. Cishek takes tea leaves and reports them. He also said the Sox were closing in on Will Harris and 1 hour later Harris signed with the Nats. Then he shifted and Chisek it was. He threw a bunch of shit against the wall, and he got a few things right. That's the nature of fake sources - Incarcerated Bob has mastered the art.

No doubt Y2Jimmy had sources, but he first reported back on 12/23. Fake Cishek said the sides were close on 1/1 and he was extended on 1/2, and that was the first time he mentioned a Robert extension. If he was only piggybacking off Jimmy, why didn’t he do it much earlier?

Maybe I'm missing something but all I see is him piggybacking off a lot of mlb writer talk. He has thrown a lot out there that can't really be verified (the cease trade talk, McCann and Collins possibly being traded) i dunno

Not baffling Ray-Ray.. Religious and social issues are paramount in politics and always will be. Core beliefs are indoctrinated into young children before they are able to process data with any substantial life experience and learning. It's also why no one can tell us not to be White Sox fans. We weren't born this way, but most of us got indoctrinated shortly thereafter and our allegiance will never change.

Assuming the Sox are done with major off-season aquisitions I'd like to see grades for each individual move. Abreu extension: C- I don't hate Jose Abreu but I thought the QO was exactly what he should have got and ended with. I'm not a fan of essentially giving him a 3 year deal which will include his age 34 and 35 seasons in the heart of contention. With Vaughn likely up in 2021, Abreu's extension locks him in as our DH as he ages, instead of leaving some roster flexibility for a more impactful bat. Grandal signing: A I liked the idea of Grandal as a target but I thought the FO would look at him as a luxury and not a need. This is a great signing in every way and the aggressiveness the Sox attacked him with was fantastic. Grandal breaks up the handedness and adds great OBP and decent power to the lineup. Defensively he should be extremely impactful to our young staff. Mazara trade: D Thanks, I hate it. I've argued this up and down multiple times on here and this move is still ass. If being 24 was a skillset I might feel more neutral than negative but it's not. I don't care that they traded Walker. I don't care if anybody in the minors after Vaughn is traded as long as it is for impact. Mazara, unfortunately, has not done much of anything impactful. He's a shitty fielder and will be reduced to a platoon role. This is not a win now move in any way, shape, or form. This is a move you make when you are a rebuilding team as Mazara has been replacement level his 4 year career and was a legitimate non-tender candidate for the Rangers. There were multiple other OF's available that would have added a lot more to the table than Mazara. Using the excuse that he'll be our #8 hitter or he's an upgrade from last year is not valid. He has been at best a 4th OF on a winning team in his career. Keuchel signing: C Keuchel does some nice...or different things for our rotation. Soft tossing lefty that lives low and has the pedigree and mentality to be a nice addition. I didn't want anything to do with Keuchel before FA started as his peripheral numbers have been declining as he has aged. I was also thinking we would strike a deal with a pitcher with more upside and #2 potential. Unfortunately that didn't happen and now our bearded friend will likely be our #2, for now. He gives you innings if nothing else and shouldn't be a bad signing as he is still effective enough to give you 2-2.5 WAR. At the time he was signed I wanted him more than Ryu as Keuchel can stay on the field. Don't mistake it though, one of Kopech/Cease/Lopez now HAS to really ramp it up with a rotation spot locked up for the next 3-4 years. Gio G signing: B+ I like this signing and think it's ALMOST perfect assuming he's a placeholder and insurance. Gio still has some in the tank I think and should be good for what he'll be asked to do as Kopech gets back. EE signing: B+ This guy fucks still at the plate even in his twilight years and has an ingrained hatred for Twins pitching. On it's face the move is win now and he should add 30+ bombs to a club that was power starved last year. My gripe with this is that I would have prefered to use the DH spot with a combination of Abreu/Grandal/Collins/McCann to keep their bats in the lineup while staying fresh and to add more position versatility to bench. Luis Robert extension: A++++ Easily my favorite move of the offseason. Not a lot to say about this if you have been paying attention. Lineup wise we will be nearly full strength OD by extending our most electric prospect. Cishek signing: B I'm a fan of this move in every way. Cishek was a work horse for the Cubs the last 2 years. Unfortunately he got stung in the second half last year because Joe Maddon leans on guys TOO hard sometimes. Cishek should help shorten the game and be a strong 7th inning guy. He does a good job at inducing soft contact which is why he outperforms FIP nearly every year. Not a big strikeout guy but hopefully will be very effective with a more "reduced role" with us. I would have given this an A if he was a secondary piece to a more high leverage arm. Overall: B to B- I think the FO deserves a lot of credit for how this offseason turned out and some of the money was actually spent. I think the Robert extension and locking up Grandal were the 2 most important things they did. Unfortunately Keuchel doesn't move the needle too much either way I don't think, the Abreu extension is highly questionable from a roster construction standpoint going forward, and Mazara could be another waste in RF and was not really an actual upgrade vs the league. I think the secondary moves with EE, Cishek, Gio will prove to be pretty impactful this year. I'd love to be more optimistic but for THIS year I don't think they did enough to surpass the Twins, which means we likely won't be a WC with the A's and Rays just being better teams right now. I do think we will be playing meaningful baseball in August and September though for the first time in a long time which will at least keep us relevant. Nice job Rick and Kenny. Exciting times for Sox fans.

I’d give higher grades to both the Abreu extension and keuchel signing. I’d probably give abreu a B- and keuchels a B+.

Except he ended up with just an astronomically better career.

Cause he’s a Mariners fan and created the account four years ago when Cishek pitched there

Glad we've signed a potential eighth inning guy. Not to beat the dead horse, but Ricky has some pieces to work with this year. I hope Hahn pulls the trigger quickly and fires Ricky and/or Coop if it is warranted early. Look ... our team is used to LOSING. But there's no reason to come out losing this season and being 10 back in mid May with all these additions. All positions have good bodies to fill them. As much as I want an Avi in RF, I can't argue that our new 24 year old is a possible sensation out there. We got hitting additions; we got pitching additions. I think Ricky is a nice representative of our franchise and I love the fact he's a GREAT communicator in more than one language. And I love Coop in theory. But it's time to WIN and if our pitching blows and our W/L sucks early, please fire Ricky. As far as this post ... again, Hahn looks like the real deal. I despised the tank job/rebuild but on paper we should be ready to rock a bit. No more laughingstocks of the AL. Just.Win.Please.

Good news. Guys like this aren’t ideal for a 40 man roster spot, but are nice depth for a AAA roster. Plenty of teams would like these guys as AAA depth if they that was an option.

Honestly, this just sold me. If any of our starting OFs need an IL stint, Engel's shortcomings are quickly exposed. If Leury is going to be more backup INF over OF, Maybin does make a lot of sense.

Except he hasn’t. He hasn’t gotten everything right, but even someone with sources doesn’t always get it right. I wouldn’t consider him reporting Sox were in on Harris as spamming, Sox could very well have been, and looking at the deal he signed it’s obvious Sox wouldn’t have beaten that. I will also say that while Jimmy was first to report Sox and Robert were talking extension, fake Cishek was first to report the two sides were close to a deal.

With pot now legalized, it could make for some trippy live game viewing experiences.

Do you know what $15 an hour is for a full time worker? 30 grand before taxes Is it that hard to want people to make at LEAST that? An apartment in Chicago is on the low end $1000. Utilities are another 300 a month on the low end. Access to the internet is at least $80 a month(phone or home service). Food for a single person is at least $200. A car payment is at least $200. Gas is likely $50 a week or more. At $15 an hour, you would make $2400 a month pre-tax. In this example, your low end costs are $1980. you have $420 left over to save or spend. Now imagine those same costs making $7.25(the national minumum wage). You would earn $1160 pre tax, and be in the red $820.

Maybin has had 10x the career of Milledge

Maybin has a World Series Ring which is important. Maybin is a decent hitter. Maybin will be 33 in April. Engel is a better fielder and really good late inning replacement in the field. Engel's hitting up to this point is way below average. Engel just turned 28 years old. I'd keep Engel. His hustle and defense are more of what we need and he is younger than Maybin. The video of Maybin watching a HR that fell short instead of hustling around the bases makes me want the guy that hustles every play, like Aaron Rowand, and that is Engel.

I'd be shocked if Mendick stays on the MLB roster once Madrigal arrives. In fact, I'd be a little surprised if he even makes the OD roster as I think they'll add a IF on a 1 year deal. But no, the Sox aren't going to have a 5 man bench.

I also believe Cease was shopped, although I’m not sure about Thor. However, I don’t think the Sox would’ve made any win-now trade without truly believing they could extend the piece they got in return.

I absolutely believe Cease was dangled

This isn’t true. James reported the Robert talks, then over a week later Cishek said they were close, then 24 hours later the deal was announced. There was no national reporter who said they were close before Cishek did

Ra Ray is 100% correct on this. Adam can come in and steal a base late in a game and give you outstanding OF play. How many times have we watched this in the playoffs with guys like Jarrod Dyson and others.

Couldn't agree more. Engel seems like a pretty ideal (realistic) 4th outfielder IMO

Selfishly, I would love another African American ballplayer on this team.

Those were the best relievers on the market and the only ones that made sense for the Sox who were interested in relievers and had stated such to Merkin. He didn't call the Robert extension - Jimmy reported it, and then another national writer said they were making progress and right after that he tweeted it out. He also was NOT the first person to report the Mazara trade as has been cited here. He piggybacked off another national writer - might have been Nightengale, I can't remember for sure - and that was that. I followed the guy to see if he was first on anything after he was originally cited here - I also follow all the national/local writers for most teams. He was never first, and frequently piggy backed all his reports of national and local reports.

The guy has sources. He said the Sox main RP targets were Harris and Cishek, and Diaz via trade. After Harris was signed he predicted Cishek to Sox and he was sign a couple days after. While they may have been an easy guess, he also called the Robert extension being very close right before the signing announced. The most telling of all was when he called the Mazara trade 20 minutes before announced when no one else had sources. It’s really not that crazy to think someone have sources connected to the org and are trying to make a name for themselves on Twitter.

Has the Not Steve Cishek account gotten something right that forces us all to post his rumor tweets

It would not have been one for one, thats for sure

No, he’s definitely not in the minority. 2 years of control does not help the Sox with long-term success and winning.

Lavine is a guy who scores on a bad team. That's all. I don't think he is a bad person or a cancer but he does not take this team or anyone around him to the next level. and he is fucking awful in crunch time

cant wait til Lavine is gone. I honestly have no use for any of these players. There is no plan B for when they realize that Lavine is at best a useful piece for a contender. They will trade him away for a bunch of bullshit, rinse and repeat. And Jason will tell me it all looks like it's moving In the right direction LOL

Kenny Williams career record as White Sox GM 1080-1026. Dave Dombrowksi record as Tigers GM 1082-1123. Dombrowski is a great builder of sustained success in Detroit. Kenny Williams is a hack who knows nothing. Signed, Sox talk.

I'd like to see AJ and Frank as guests this year with Jason. I think Jason could keep those guys talking enough to make it interesting. Stone is cool but he walks all over Jason, Jason doesn't realize it, and they end up bullshitting each other for 20 seconds meanwhile the game is going on. Overall this year I hope that Jason realizes it's no longer a rebuild year and that the focus should be on the field 100% when it's a close game. Sure yak it up when it's a 10-1 laugher but Jason too often is doing his corn dog shit from pitch 1. There will be big games this year, big important games. Let's see if Jason can step up into that atmosphere.

The Sox had the best offer for Wheeler, theres no point in bashing them for that. He did not want to play here, its that simple. Move on

They are playing the bad part of the schedule now. I'm sure the "utterly dominating" part will end once they start facing good teams