WestEddy

I agree. Adding on, looking at the guys they just "picked up" for nothing, Houser, Civale, Perez, Bryce Wilson, Gomez - Bryce Wilson is the only one who truly sucked for them. I don't think they're going to have trouble finding innings floating around on the free agent market or the waiver wire. They can fix guys.

The game changes. Hahn was a "genius" when he tied up Quintana, Sale and Eaton to those contracts, then was a dupe when he tried replicating the same template on Robert, Yoan and Eloy. I don't think they're overpaying him by much. They don't have a CF in the upper minors. He's a nice risk to take. If he turns in his regular last two years of ho-hum, for them, that's solid if he can stay on the field. If he finds his old self, maybe somebody panics in July and gives them a guy or two.

I really don't have opinions about the two hires. I've read interesting things about them. It seems that Getz isn't quite the micromanager that KW/Hahn were. This looks like Bannister/Fuller/Venable running the things they're supposed to.

Maybe it's just instinct. Or not realizing bags were loaded and there was a force out, not a tag play.

Thank you. You're proving my point. I agree with you, this was best left unsaid.

You're kidding, right? Like, you're struggling to argue with anything. People here still openly weep about Reinsdorf saying this wasn't a rebuild. They still act like they're paralyzed by confusion over that remark. "We have a seat at the table" is posted at least once every couple of days here. Tell me how "Anybody would have great interest in Ohtani" helps anybody. Jerry also doesn't need you whining because he didn't give you another punch line to whine about for the next 6 years. It's a good thing that Chris Getz is doing such a great job pointing this franchise in the right direction that you only have nonsense to complain about anymore.

No, it wasn't. They were staring into the jaws of another rebuild just then. It would have been pathetic to pay lip service to pursuing a player who would have zero interest in their situation at that time, or for the next 5 years. People get mad because the front office won't "tell them the truth", yet when they do, they fall on the ground and weep for hurt feelings.

Hope/dePaula would be a smarter move than tying up tons of money in Tucker. And Murakami's kind of an unknown at this point.

Wait a minute. Do you actually mean to say that when the White Sox were heading for a 100-loss season in 2023, when they had no hope for a salvageable 2024, when Reinsdorf had just fired his GM and VPBO were looking at another rebuild, and then said, no, we won't be bidding on Ohtani, THAT drove him to sign with the Dodgers? LMFAO!! No, the White Sox haven't been active in the Asian market, much. The Dodgers have a legacy right now. There was a whole debate about how Sasaki didn't even seriously entertain any other teams' offers. Every single player transaction in the league doesn't have to be Jerry Reinsdorf's fault.

You seem to be picking other things to argue that nobody mentioned so that you don't have to address the unassailable points I made. That's okay. The White Sox minor league rankings have been used as one of the primary supports or foundations of the rebuild over the last 2-3 years. Since you keep circling around to bringing up the White Sox, I've noticed you seem truly anxious that the White Sox don't have a can't miss All-Star at every position in the high minors right now to ensure they'll start a dynasty, soon. And that they don't have a good 6-10 can't miss ace starters lined up to account for some injuries. It just seems weird that a truly elite system in the game doesn't have an heir apparent for the outfield ready to take over this next season. One would think they'd have 3 top 20 in the game prospects at AAA fight it out in spring training. You said, "You're making the argument that Betts, Freeman, Teoscar, Muncy (soon to be replaced by Murakami) and Ohtani should be blamed for wanting to play there." No, I'm not. I've never said that. You just said that. I'm not you posting on your account. How many teams can produce prospects to displace three former/current MVPs including the greatest player in the history lol??? Nobody's asking for them to kick people off the team and sub in minor leaguers. If they had home-grown, perennial All-Stars at a position, they wouldn't have to go out and sign a free agent. It's one thing to develop guys that listicle writers fall in love with and overhype. It's quite another to develop a team that grows and graduates together.

moved

As I think you intended, I have little idea what you're going on about here. The Dodgers did not develop Sasaki. The White Sox did not develop Abreu or Alexei. Actually, yes, the Dodgers do have a plethora of rotation openings. Because they grind all of their starters down, they'll probably have three more TJS's in spring training, and they'll be rushing this year's TJS's back early. We're talking about the Dodgers. I'm not sure why you keep needing to compare them to the White Sox. Maybe you can compare them to some high school baseball team and "win" even more. LOL. Of course the Dodgers have a very good minor league system. As I've said a few times, I would think they'd have more positional starters than 2 (smith and pages) in the lineup, for as elite as they're supposed to be. They're probably going to make a play for Tucker this off-season. Weird how they don't have someone to step in for much cheaper. I'm avoiding Smith and Pages so much, I've alluded to or mentioned them in every post. Sure, Wroblewski or Sheehan or that "etc" guy would be starting for the White Sox. So is Jon Cannon. Good company. LA's prospects are generally over-hyped. Like the Yankees. I'm not sure who's blaming them for anything. They sent a nice prospect package to the Red Sox, and none of them did much. That should tell you how important minor league rankings are. I don't see many prospect ranking banners flying in the ball parks I've been to.

1) I consider the Dodgers more dangerous to baseball, not AS MUCH because of the free agent spending, but because they seem to be a desired destination for Japanese players. Before you start a "why shouldn't they" argument, that's why we have an amateur draft, and international spending limits, so that all the best players can't just sign with the Dodgers and Yankees. 2) Kim and Sasaki aren't "rookies". You don't generally act impressed with starting pitchers who wind up in the bullpen because they couldn't dominate as starters. Why should that be different with other teams? 3) I would expect a team that is the greatest in drafting, signing and developing players to have more than 2 home grown players in their lineup, and any of their main starting pitchers to be home grown. I understand that they traded from their own farm system to acquire Betts, Edman and others, but that also highlights the folly of ranking systems. Nobody from the Betts return is a significant producer. Vargas in still a work in progress. Michael Busch might be the best prospect they traded in the last 10 years. For every Corey Seager, there's more Joc Pedersons, guys who are just slightly above average regulars. That's great, teams need them, but every player coming out of the Dodgers' system isn't at the level of the best position player they produced in the last couple of decades. I understand that an important function of a farm system is to create players other teams want, regardless of what they become. 4) Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin aren't part of any collection of anything right now. May was a nice prospect who never had sustained success, Gonsolin had one nice year, and is yet another example of how the Dodgers chew through pitchers like rats on your asbestos siding. Kershaw was drafted 20 years ago and isn't indicative of what is going on with the Dodgers right now, just as Chris Sale isn't an example of the current White Sox development apparatus.

Imagine responding to the actual content of a post instead of having to use everything as a vehicle to tell us how you hate a baseball team owner.

I was rooting for the Jays, just because. The Dodgers are now the evil empire, but it's not as much about spending as it's the top Japanese players wanting to sign with the Dodgers. For all I hear that the Dodgers do everything elite, only two members of their offensive lineup are home grown, and their top 4 starting pitchers are free agents.

Sure, the owner gets that honor. But fan perception is that the owner is furniture who spends money. When a team wins, the fans will politely boo the owner at the parade. When they don't, fans actively call for a sale. Peruse any Mariners chat, and, while not the majority, there is a definite sample of people who barrel in and yell that the Mariners will never win until they get a new owner who spends money. And they've got Julio Rodriguez under control through 2034 on a $119M contract, Raliegh through 2031 on a $105M contract, and Luis Castillo through 2028 on a $108M contract. The Mariners have 8 top 100 prospects in MLB rankings, and Bleacher Report just ranked their minor league system #1 in the game this September.

Off-season calendar at MLBTR - The 2025-26 Offseason Begins - MLB Trade Rumors

Well, the off-season starts tomorrow morning. Getz is supposed to name the hitting and pitching coaches by the beginning of the week, as per Fegan.

I feel the game just swung in LA's favor here.

Fluff piece on McDougal: 'Punched in the mouth' in '24, McDougal counter-punched in breakout 2025

Yeah, he snapped to, and was uncharacteristically good for short stretches this year. I just feel like he's got the big one (the career ending TJS) waiting for him.

Baseball Reference says it's a mutual option. I'm just not sure the White Sox would pick him back up for $10M.

I don't know, Holden. Why don't you introduce a motion to move in committee?

There's a nice round table about an article James Fegan wrote this week about possible free agent pursuits this offseason: Podcast: 2025-26 Offseason Plan Project Kickoff - Sox Machine Fegan article on free agents in Sox' price range: The White Sox need an innings-eater or two; let's pick some favorites - Sox Machine

Breakdown of John Brebbia's 2025 on a Braves' blog, if you dare... 2025 Atlanta Braves Player Review: John Brebbia | Battery Power