KiwiSox

Guys! Thrilled to announce JON JAY has joined your beloved South Side Baseballer Club! btw we also got this Manny Machado fella for $275m thought we'd squeeze that news in there later fellas

Yea but compared to the NFL...I mean the status that comes with being a first-round pick vs being a minor league baseball player. Its not even close.

I dont think he falls past 10.

Such a natural decision for Murray though. Get to walk right into an NFL starting job making the same money he would have in baseball (inb4 guaranteed money--NOBODY gives up on first-round QB's, he'll see his entire rookie contract) but he wont have to deal with the minors riding the bus and all that bullshit. QB's are so protected in the NFL too, the risk of serious lasting injury is pretty low.

God this saga is annoying.

Well that aged poorly. Still I think the Sox are really in on Harper and just because things aren't in the media does not mean they aren't happening.

I thought this was going to go until at least Spring Training with the Sox and Phillies being used to drag the Yankees along. By all indications they weren't willing to get even close to what was expected.

Certainly seems like this is the situation.

If the Yankees are truly out this should be settled quickly. Shocked they tapped out this early.

Wellness check on Dan Clark?

Well see I dont believe anything that's "out there".

As far as I'm concerned the Harper-to-Washington talk is meaningless. No way Boras is willing to sign until he sees at least one of the White Sox or Phillies get desperate after swinging out on Machado. I still deep down think Sox have a better chance with Harper than Machado.

Eh, even if there is barely a single decent starting pitcher in this org that is healthy to start the year the over here feels attainable. Sox have like five years of bad breaks and shitty luck just bursting to reverse itself. I'm not saying ninety wins, but seventy-five? I could them getting a few more than that. The division is putrid, Cleveland hemorrhaged a bunch of talent and KC and Detroit are likely both going to be even worse. All it would take is the Sox developing a skill at beating the division (they wouldn't even have to be much more than .333 against everyone else) and they get to the high-seventies. I see this as a pretty easy over bet even if the Sox dont get Machado or Harper, which in my heart of hearts I dont think is happening anyways but surely could.

I fully expect Machado to not sign, fans to lament the Alonso and Jay signings and then Alonso and Jay both have All-Star caliber years for the White Sox. Baseball.

Not great. Would rather have Ottavino.

?at people who still fall for this.

People just gonna keep falling for this garbage forever and ever.

I didn't think being a White Sox fan could get much worse than enduring a handful of totally lost seasons and trading a first ballot HOFer for a 2b who cant hit and a rhp who needs TJ. Turns out insult had not yet be laid on top of injury until now.

Well that depends...

There is no way to enter this fray while keeping your reputation in tact. They'll stay distant.

Awesome for us, not awesome for the Phillies. One of the Sox, Yankees and Phillies are going back to their fans empty handed with a lot of questions. Anything less than Harper/Machado is unacceptable, I dont think anyone is even close to conceding.

I have a feeling the same types cycle we witnessed today is jussssst enough to keep teams thinking they've got a shot. Someone said this time next week the Phillies will be the favorite, then the Yankees, then the Sox again...on and on until Machado's people think they have gotten the absolute best offer they can possibly get. Nobody drops out if they still think "Ok, only $15m more we got him!" Could result in a situation where it clogs the whole market until then.

Yet as long as they think they have a punching chance with Machado they will stay in the race for the best player that can make the biggest difference on their team. These are two 26 year old bonafide superstars entering the prime of their prime. I hope you're right and at least one of them signs though.

You think the market for players like Manny Machado and Bryce Harper will ever go away? They could wait to sign into the regular season if they wanted to.

Because this is a game these agents are playing and they have no reason to put ink to paper anytime before April. I hope I am wrong, but nobody seems to eagar to wrap this up in a reasonable amount of time.