hogan873

Interesting. ?

Yeah, not better. But the team was so bad last year, and there were quite a few guys who gave up and had bad attitudes. This year's team will look better and will probably win a few more games. I was so disillusioned at the end of last season that I'm actually looking forward to seeing this hodgepodge of veterans and newbies and scrubs.

I’ll say this much about Getz: He has completely flipped the roster. This team looks very different.

Yeah, I wasn’t thinking of him in place of Sheets. However, I suppose he could make the team over Sheets. There’s no way they’d carry both, right? Right? *insert scared face emoji here*

Fine because I don’t see how there’s a place for him.

The only one I recognize is Kopech. He looks pretty jacked. Hopefully he's also worked on pitching in the off season.

I think they will try their hardest to have it ready for the 2030 season. They'll have to get the process going very soon, and then need every minute of the next 6 years.

Did Knebel have surgery after the 2022 season? I couldn't find anything other than he had a torn shoulder capsule. He seemed to have a nice career beforehand. Leone looks like another guy who could be a decent bullpen option, but the Sox are really loaded up on BP arms.

Cool to see Mendick getting an invite. He has a real chance to make the 26-man, especially as a bench piece. I remember seeing Chavez take the mound for the Cubs in 2022, and I thought, "Who is that old bastard?" But he had a great season last year. Wouldn't be surprised to see him be part of the bullpen this year.

It seems like the majority of Sox fans are excited about this possibility, but there is a part of the fanbase that will always complain about everything. Whining and stomping around about parking at a stadium that hasn't been built and throwing fits about the thought of maybe using public transportation is wild. Let's see what happens if and when the stadium is built before throwing our hands in the air and saying the team just move to Nashville. Sorry, I'm being hyperbolic. But I swear some people would complain about the taxes if they were given a million dollars.

At this point, I don't care that the team is going to suck. This has been a long-ass winter, and I'm ready for baseball. Up until the past few years, I didn't pay much attention to spring training. Now that the Sox have some potentially exciting prospects, it will be interesting to follow what goes on in ST.

It's definitely worth the hassle vs. driving to the park, finding parking, and dealing with traffic leaving after the game. The new stadium would be literally right next to the Rock Island Metra tracks, and it wouldn't surprise me if they add a stop right at (or very close to) the stadium. They could add later departures on game nights, too. If this stadium is built, the Sox and the city will do something to help with parking and/or public transportation.

In the details, there are plans to reimagine the site of the current stadium. This looks like a great project. Let’s hope this happens.

Yeah, that's true. I wonder, though, if the Sox not picking up his option and no team signing him yet has humbled him?

I really thought TA would have been signed by now. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the Sox bring him back on a one year couple million dollar deal. Have him play SS and 2B. If he can get even close to what he used to be, he could be flipped at the deadline, as others have mentioned. I still believe his poor performance last year was more due to his off-field issues.

About who? They had no one on the roster with any record of success playing right field. Went into the season with the idea Colas and Sheets in right.

They'll be better than last year. There was a bad culture on last year's team, and that does have an effect on performance of a team. They won't be dramatically better than last year, but they'll win more games.

This trade should all but guarantee Gavin Sheets never steps foot in the outfield again, and that's a good thing. Fletcher, right now, is probably the starting right fielder. Right field was a huge question mark for years, and it hasn't been addressed until now. If Fletcher end up even close to the first iteration of Adam Eaton, this is a huge win for the Sox. If he's a serviceable right fielder slightly above replacement level, it's still a win.

I just want to see him make a great catch and jump up with that mad look on his face…in a Sox uniform.

But you also don't sell your $1000 hutch for $500 when there's still time for someone to come along and give you $800. Just because the Sox have the upper hand doesn't mean Cease would have been traded. No one has offered what the Sox want and what Cease is worth.

Getz knows that he has the upper hand in any negotiation for Cease. There are still teams that need pitching and could/should be willing to part with what Getz wants in return. There's less pressure on the Sox to deal Cease than there is on other teams to add a pitcher that could be crucial to their season and post-season hopes. If Cease is with the Sox on opening day and has even a decent first half, he will still command a haul in return if traded.

If this does indeed significantly lessen the chances Cease is traded, I'm still okay with not trading him to Baltimore for a likely sub-par return. I get the injury risk involved by keeping him, but that's not a reason to give in and take a bad return. Looking at what Milwaukee got back, and even considering the extra year on Cease, I don't think a deal was ever close with Baltimore. This move could push the Yankees or Red Sox to go after Cease, or maybe a team in the now wide open NL Central steps up. Regardless, Getz did a good job of not giving in. Let's see what happens over the next few weeks...and into the season of it comes to that.

Seems like a very light return for Milwaukee. This board would have melted down if Cease was traded for that package.

They added the 35th Street stop, and it is heavily used on game days. I believe they'd add a stop at or near the new stadium, and it would probably be timed to open around the same time the stadium does.