WestEddy

Jacob Meyers for Jon Cannon. Pull the trigger!!

Do you like his writing style in this article? Why do you keep reading the same article?

From MayoClinic.org Raynaud's disease - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

SoxMachine with day 1 notes: White Sox open Winter Meetings with brighter days still out of view - Sox Machine - Sox still looking to add starting pitching - Tauchman described as "lost, for the time being" by Venable - Getz not inclined to use Schultz, Hagen Smith or McDougal from bullpen

I don't think you could handle the NY media.

Being able to describe in great detail the insides of his pockets that he pulls out when the lunch check comes.

Wait, when was it announced that Taylor is going to be in the bullpen for the rest of his White Sox tenure? You're not just making that up based on nothing, are you?

The Sox have been pretty clear with how they were going to handle Taylor. The 100 inning plateau, spread over 33 starts means they're throwing a bullpen game every 5. It makes perfect sense to bring Taylor along similar to the way they used Vasil this last season.

You argued that the White Sox have so much talent in the minors. Can you explain what you're talking about, then? You seem to be arguing both sides of the issue, that the Sox have talent, but they don't.

The Sox offered Wheeler over $100M. They offered Machado close to $300M.

Can't? There's some hyperbole for you. They developed Fraser Ellard, then he got injured and retired. They've got Tyler Schweitzer, Tommy Vail and Shane Murphy hitting AAA this year. Garrett Schoenle. Jake Palisch. Notice, if you will, that none of those names are foreign. And I'm not sure what not being expected to compete has to do with development. Not being divisional favorites allowed them to give Brandon Eisert and a few others some runway. You need quantity to pump out "specialists". Failed starters become your bullpen arms. Tapping the international market will help them out in that area.

Who ever said we have "so much talent" in the minors? International prospect procurement has been a joke for years, now. And we shouldn't expect that half to be pumping for another few years.

And calling it a "package" is generous. If they paid down Robert's salary, maybe they could get a low level OF and an interesting arm.

Robert wouldn't be getting moved for salary relief. If the Sox wanted to get out from under his contract, all they'd have to do was not select his option. He'd be getting moved for a player package that filled holes and pumped cheap talent into the next competitive window. Robert has played more than 110 games once in 5 seasons. So making his ceiling conditional on him being healthy is relatively meaningless. If a good return isn't out there, again, I have no problem with the Sox holding and playing Robert. But he would be getting traded at the deadline, then. Just because we're a "major market" team doesn't mean we have to make bad decisions.

Cedrick Mullins is going to give the Rays most of that for about $7M. If Luis Robert is who he has appeared to be these last two years, he doesn't even give you the production of an average major leaguer. If he tops out at a 2-3 WAR player, sure, you're paying him Free Agency prices for that at $20M. If you get what he gave you for weeks upon weeks at a time over the last 2 years, that's horrible. Robert is not the last chance to watch star potential. Colson and Teel give you that right now. The Sox will not extend Robert, and it's not because Reinsdorf is cheap. Scott Boras is his agent, and he will try the market. If he does max out his 2-3 WAR ceiling over the next two seasons, he'll most likely test out the market and be paid handsomely for his production. And again, Robert is no longer one of the best players on the team. Okay, maybe one of the best, but that's not a compliment for this team. If you put him on the Phillies, he's a nice, complimentary player, maybe even part of an expanded platoon. Grant you, I'd have no problem with the Sox keeping him and running him out in CF at least through July, at most through the end of 2027. But I think it's time to move on from him if he brings back players of value.

And right now, Robert's an expensive version of what we would turn around and pick up for $5M or so.

Boob has been messing up a lot, lately...

I've read elsewhere in reporting that the Sox still plan to add another SP. The field for the #4 & #5 spots shouldn't just be Davitt, Cannon and Burke. Their Rule 5 pick should be in the mix, along with another FA with something to prove. Jim or James at SoxMachine mentioned they could see the Sox targeting a SP in the Rule 5, then using him like Vasil out of the BP. Wild that we could have 3 100 IP relievers there. I think Robert gets moved. Quero and Sosa definitely have to be on the block.

Schedule for the next week: (this has been cribbed from MLBTR - The 2025-26 Offseason Begins - MLB Trade Rumors) DECEMBER 7-10: Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida. The Winter Meetings are the offseason’s busiest few days and annually feature ample free agent and trade activity. DECEMBER 7: Hall of Fame Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee announcement. Formerly known as the Veterans Committee, the 16-person panel votes on eight candidates who were not previously inducted into Cooperstown by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The eight candidates under consideration are usually announced in early November; those who receive at least 12 votes on December 7 are elected to the Hall of Fame. This year’s committee will consider only players whose greatest contributions came in the 1980s or later. DECEMBER 9: Amateur draft lottery. The White Sox have the best chance of securing the first overall pick at 27.8% (h/t to Baseball America). The Rockies, Nationals and Angels are not allowed to pick higher than 10th. The CBA prohibits teams from having lottery picks in three straight years, which rules out Colorado. Clubs that do not receive revenue sharing cannot pick in the lottery in consecutive seasons, ruling out Washington and Los Angeles. DECEMBER 10: The Rule 5 draft will conclude the Winter Meetings. Players selected must stay on their new teams’ active rosters for the entire ’26 season or be offered back to their original organization. DECEMBER 15: Closing of the 2025 signing period for international amateurs.

SoxMachine Spare Parts column kicking off the winter meetings: Spare Parts: Convening at the winter meetings - Sox Machine - They link to a Baseball America list of every Rule 5 eligible player. Sox players available are... Adam Hackenberg, Adisyn Coffey, Aldrin Batista, Arxy Hernandez, Ben Peoples, Chase Plymell, Connor McCullough, Drake Logan, Dre Baker, Drew McDaniel, Eric Adler, Gabriel Rodriguez, Garrett Schoenle, Jacob Burke, Jared Kelley, Jarold Rosado, Jordan Sprinkle, Juan Gonzalez, Madison Jeffrey, Mario Camilletti, Mark McLaughlin, Mason Adams, Michael Turner, Nick Altermatt, Peyton Pallette, Ricardo Brizuela, Samuel Zavala, Shane Murphy, Tyler Schweitzer, Wes Kath, Wilber Sanchez, Zach DeLoach - Jim links to an Athletic article that discusses the death of the double due to positioning - He also links to an interesting Athletic article on how teams evaluate players' make-up

Patrick Wisdom seems like a really dumb idea. The Sox want a lefty bat. Even with the diminished expectations for a guy like him, I still think his production would be a let-down.

Lamond Pope writes a "3 questions" article about the Winter meetings. Chicago White Sox: 3 questions entering the winter meetings Of note: - “It’s very truthful that we are not shopping him (Luis Robert), because we’re very comfortable having him in a White Sox uniform, knowing what he’s capable of doing. Now if it makes sense for both parties to work out a deal, then so be it. But we’re planning on him being in uniform for us next year.” - “To have three guys who can be quality catchers at the major-league level. There could be a time for reallocation or repurpose to make the roster a little bit more functional. Is that time now? I don’t think so. I don’t. But down the road, you never know.” - While it remains to be seen how the rotation shakes out, Getz said both Mike Vasil and Grant Taylor will remain in their relief roles. - “We have an ability to cover those positions and be fairly productive,” Getz said of the corner spots, “but I think there’s going to be some opportunity in just balancing that attack a little bit better (with a lefty bat).

Oh, sure. I'm just jonesin' for any kind of rumor at this point.