WhiteSox2023

I think this is the point. Seems like it would’ve made more sense to pair either Stassi or Maldonado with Korey Lee. At least Lee has some youth on his side. Ironically, Stassi and Maldonado are the type of backup catchers Sox fans wanted when the team was actually in competition for the division and playoffs.

Getz has talked about improving the defense numerous times. Jerry even came out and said David Eckstein was one of his favorite players when he promoted Getz. Getz has since acquired a bunch of young pitchers, along with all defense and no bat position players (similar to Jerry’s favorite player), including two catchers. None of the bats he acquired can hit a lick but they may be able to support the development of a young pitcher. I don’t understand why Tray thinks your idea on Getz’s plan is outrageous. I don’t think any of it will be very successful but with Jerry as the owner looking to cut payroll, I don’t think Getz has a prayer of doing much in the way of improving a terrible roster.

I doubt this guy ever plays another MLB game. He seemingly fled to the DR to avoid charges in Florida, didn’t he? His career is going to end faster than Addison Russell’s.

Indeed. Maybe if he would’ve signed for $2 to $3 million, but he got $10.5 million from the Jays.

Fedde / Mets — okay, one other team was interested. My mistake. Soroka has pitched a total of 46 innings since 2019. He didn’t even pitch in 2021 or 2022. You are delusional if you think any team was paying him $9 million for 2024, considering his injury history. Two lauded catchers, one who didn’t even play last year in Stassi and one who the Astros finally dumped in Maldonado after his pitch framing and arm fell off big time. And finally, Paul DeJong who hasn’t OPS’ed above .674 or hit 20 homeruns since his single All-Star season with the Cardinals back in 2019.

Getz is already proving to be a poor GM by dumpster diving for crappy veterans that no other team wants and that won’t make much of a difference in the Sox second straight march to 100 losses. Congrats, you win… I guess? Nah, more like we all lose. ?

Unless there’s injuries in Spring Training, I would put my money on all three starting opening day since the Sox have no one else at SS until Montgomery is ready and the other two are Getz’s Royals boys. I doubt ST performance even matters for them.

Imagine working this hard to defend a guy that Jerry literally handed a job to. An owner who has run a team that has been an epic failure for almost two decades. The odds of Getz being a wizard GM, after being hand-picked by Jerry and while working under the limitations of Jerry as an owner are overwhelming, yet there are two posters who think he will make it happen. Impressive. I sure wouldn’t put my money on Getz, not even a dollar cuz I only have 50 cents like Kenny!

Okay @TheFutureIsNear, what can the Sox get for $3 million?

I know one thing — Getz sure didn’t help develop a single mediocre catcher worth making his 2024 roster, after having to acquire washed-up bums like Stassi and Maldonado. I guess he didn’t have much faith in his development of Carlos Perez.

Exactly. Getz is a part of the overall Sox suckage that has occurred over the last few years, just as Kenny and Hahn were. “Developing” some AAAA players doesn’t give him any bonus points. And yes, many Sox fans think it was ridiculous how Reinsdorf gifted him a huge promotion without a legitimate GM search with interviews.

De-emphasis on any of Getz’s acquisitions being able to hit major league pitching. Which is more important? I’ll let you decide. But when the 2024 Sox are nearing 100 losses again, I think we’ll all know the answer.

And there’s no way a player regresses by the age of 37…

So who puts up the best slash line in 2024? Benintendi, DeJong, Little Nicky, or Maldonado? Good god, we are actually starting these four bums.

One thing that will never change with the White Sox, no matter who is in charge. The neverending search to sign cheap over-the-hill veteran players hoping they can squeeze one more productive season out of them, yet it never happens and they end up cutting these guys and eating a few million by the end of their contracts. I wonder when and if the Sox will ever learn that this strategy barely ever works for them.

Wow, he really is. When you know your team is going to lose around 100 games, how can you even stoop to the level of hyping up a dirt cheap acquisition of a 37 year old catcher that was finally dumped by the team that favored him most?

Agreed, but my point was that the Astros likely know Maldonado is done so they moved on. ”Statcast graded him as the worst pitch framer among qualified backstops. He only threw out 14% of attempted basestealers, roughly six percentage points below the league mark. That’s perhaps more a reflection of the Houston pitching staff than Maldonado, as Statcast ranked him 23rd among 81 catchers (minimum 10 throws) in average pop time to second base.”

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/white-sox-martin-maldonado-nearing-agreement.html

The Astros decided to dump Maldonado for Caratini. That’s pretty much all that anyone needs to know. But I’m sure Getz is right over the Astros, haha.

And to what end? All of these great gloves can’t hit and they are all older vets that will not be a part of any winning Sox team. So what is the goal here? Worry about developing defense in your own minor league system. What does acquiring a bunch of old veterans on short-term deals accomplish? So Getz can say, “hey look, I improved our team defense!” in only one offseason? All of these guys will be gone before the next contending Sox team arrives.

I think both of these make sense. The Braves are paying for almost all of Stassi’s salary. The Sox literally acquired him for a minimum salary price. #2 aligns with the rumors that the Sox are looking for a big pitching return, which is going to be annoying if they don’t get two positional prospects back for Cease.

Agreed. In what will be a losing year, there isn’t any reason not to see what Korey Lee can do. One could argue that Maldonado could be traded at the deadline but realistically a 37 year old backup catcher isn’t going to bring anything back.

“I like the way you think. Interested in a job?”

The only positive. This rumored bad move came true which will prevent a much worse rumored move from happening.