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They spent because they still expect to make a profit . I pretty sure I heard that because of the strike season ticket sales were down and there's been no push in spending to excite the fan base into buying more season tickets. If attendance, ad revenue and other sources of income suffer because of this it's going to show up at the trade deadline and the same thing that happened this off season will happen again next off season.

I didn't say that because of arbitration. I said to anyone shocked that the Sox are too stupid to know when they will be perceived as petty and cheap. I don't think they are a stupid FO. I think JR is a bottom line and profit oriented kind of guy and anyone who knows that is never shocked by anything they do regarding saving money.

No he meant 26 because he said April is like an extension of the offseason and after April it's expected the rosters go back to 26.

I've been in Dodgers and Angels land for over 40 years now and I hardly pay any attention to them beyond the same way I always did as a baseball fan. I'm a White Sox fan . That will never change. I just push all the other stuff way down and just write about it here and just root for the players to be their best selves on the field. I am highly critical of the front office/ownership but stay out of game threads because they are highly critical of the players.

I need a "sad" emoji for this post. I feel bad for you. Empathy , man, empathy.

At least now you know why I wanted Rodon so much. I figured he was one of a few FA's with high upside who could be had in the Reinsdorf price range.

The fans only know what they read in the newspapers. He's a pretty ruthless business man. And I do agree with GREEDY that negotiating is a tricky thing. It's like the more you give in the more they want because then you are soft and soft people are easier to manipulate. The old saying "Give an inch , take a mile" was never truer .

You aren't fooling me, this is your try at the reverse jinx isn't it ? " Once I conceded It's bound to happen !!!! "

The fact that anyone is shocked by this is what's shocking.

Hahn is the one who talked about Vaughn in Charlotte first. They can gain an extra year if he does go down. That's why you see it being brought up. I don't think it will happen but it could. While I agree about Conforto, I'll just wait and see. But for the record I think I said back in November or December the Sox wouldn't sign him. Vaughn will play LF. Maybe Eloy plays LF 3/4 of the time and Vaughn only 1/4 . It's all contingent on how the whole Kimbrel fiasco plays out and if it somehow brings us back any other legit defensive RF who doesn't suck offensively. If you don't think Vaughn is going to get many 1B or LF AB's then that leaves RF and DH to get him AB's . What if he's a bigger disaster in RF than we expect,or the Sox do end up with a LH RF not named Conforto and Sheets is hitting and Vaughn isn't hitting RH's well so not getting as many AB's as he needs. That's why people talk about sending him down along with gaining the extra year of control.

A game thread is a game thread is a game thread. Rinse and repeat. ST vs Regular season makes no difference.

For the Sox I like any player who appears to have a chance to be good defensively and offensively. And frankly I would prefer guys who are already good on defense. A guys offensive upticks come at unknown intervals. You can't make non athletic guys into good defenders because they lack the tools but you can make bad hitters into good hitters if they have the bat speed, some patience and intelligence.

Engel and Sox settled @ $2M , expected was $2.2M from MLBTR model.

It's possible that some trades like Manea and Montas are being held up to see what they make in Arbitration today. Meadows, Nimmo also in that group. This would provide more accurate salary info for teams close to the CBT like the Sox. Giolito also in that group so have to figure his raise will also affect the bottom line. Expected raises may already be built into a CBT model for teams but exact numbers a little more helpful.

I know what it was. It was the same guys at the helm that created the mess in the 1st place, bolstered by Reinsdorf's bromance with TLR . All we kept hearing about is how the Sox upgraded so much behind the scenes. Better scouting and development, more slo mo camera's ,more biomechanics, Katz the new pitching savior and on and on. But when it came time to actually use all that stuff in regards to handling Rodon it was the same old story. Big hard throwing stud getting stronger as the game went on , finishing strong, throwing a complete game no hitter. Never mind the fact that he pitched only 42 innings the previous 2 years combined or that his health was at stake. Nope just treat him like Sandy Koufax. Burn him up, then he becomes the fall guy for being the same old Rodon, too injury prone to give a QO or a contract. Fans don't look at how we actually used him. All they see is Rodon not able to pitch as usual and we endlessly debate about how unstable he is and Sox management knows him best and the front office walks away scot-free to pump more guff into our heads about lineup balance, better defense and more starting pitching as goals for the off season.

Imagine that, the Sox management team lacking enough foresight to prevent Rodon from burning out too early.Nothing was really at stake anyway, just a World Series.

Agreed . This why most of the trade speculation around here revolves around Vaughn, Sheets and more recently Eloy. Too many out of position players , too many 1B /DH types, too right handed, not enough Starting pitching, and too many bad choices. I've been trying to take on the task in my head of getting better defensively getting more LH via taking on salary or trading some of those guys. Most people are attached to certain young guys be it Vaughn, Crochet, Eloy or Sheets and don't want to mess with their upsides but in essence it has to be done. Without a strong farm it's hard to be competitive in trades so some trades to fill glaring holes would be painful. So many want it all to be pain free. Plenty here didn't want Rodon back or to give him a QO. That involves risk and gnashing of teeth. Losing Rodon and Tepera, stating the need to trade Kimbrel and moving Kopech and Crochet into different roles were the 1st steps that the bullpen became TLR/Hahn/Reinsdorf's primary concern because it could be addressed with less money. Bad choices all the way around. So bad in fact that the whole process has , so far, yielded no results regarding starting pitching , defense and balancing the lineup which were Hahn's stated goals . It's pretty mind boggling, but if you believe in the past as an indicator of the future from them, not totally unexpected.

I might have to go all the way back to my proposed Cano trade ?

OK I said I wasn't up for it but I couldn't help myself so I proposed 2 different trades.

Dodgers probably have 7 top 100 prospects if you take into account how many publications make those list. I have no idea how many the Sox might have 0 ? 1?

Lets say Eloy and Bellinger both reach the peak of their games in 2022. $17M for 7 WAR would be a bargain but since you're trading Eloy and his $7M this year it's really only $10M. What's Eloy worth in WAR if he reaches his peak Value with his defense, 4 WAR ? If Dodgers throw in a top prospect like Diego Cartaya , Miguel Vargas or Bobby Miller plus a lower rated prospect, I'd be fine with trading Eloy's upside offense, 5 years, and terrible defense for Bellingers upside WAR, 2 yrs and very good defense plus a TOP 100 prospect and someone else in the Dodgers TOP 30. The winner of that trade depends on who stays healthier. So it could backfire if Eloy stays healthy (ha) and Bellinger doesn't.

Ok I'm spitballing of course so I'm open to other opinions and most proposed trades, in that vein, are unlikely. An Eloy for Marte and Varsho may improve the White Sox though. I know that's up for debate. Marte has had some injury problems the last 2 years but is a pretty good 2nd baseman and outfielder while Varsho is a pretty good OF /C . Marte is a switch hitter while Varsho is LH and displays decent upside with his bat. Improve OF and 2b defense and gets the Sox more left handed. Eloy for Bellinger is 2 often injured guys . One can't play the OF and Bellinger's upside is 7 WAR, very good in the OF and 1st base. Eloy has 5 years left and Bellinger just 2. Improve's the defense and provides more upside in WAR than Eloy . Dodgers would have to make up for the difference in years with a very good prospect or 2 of which they have plenty . Also gives the Dodgers some cost certainty and CBT relief.

All true but if you wait and he gets injured again for a good part of the season we'll keep waiting for that upside while he becomes worth even less. Him playing DH more would mitigate some of that injury downside but theoretically isn't he worth more as a LF than as a DH ? Eloy so far has been an injury magnet. Plenty of times it involved playing the OF but he's also had minor injuries from sliding into home, getting hit by a foul ball in the dugout and celebrating Gio's no hitter. Trading him would open up LF for Vaughn . Maybe trading him gets someone good and LH for RF . Eloy still has plenty of value from his upside and contract extension so it might be selling low but not that low. Maybe Arizona Ketel Marte and Daulton Varsho would improve the Sox.

I think that would be a serious miscalculation on Conforto's or Boras' part. I think Conforto hasn't signed because of the 1 bad year more than the extra draft pick, though both play a role. Conforto needs to play a full season this year and do well to reestablish his worth. July is when the draft pick compensation is removed ? That's a long time to just expect him to ramp right up to his old self and 1 injury where he misses a month screws up that plan even more.

I agree with all of this. A Conforto deal must have an opt . The problem with an opt out after 1 year is that he has the draft pick attached to him so teams aren't exactly lining up to give him that opt out after 1 . He's between a rock and a hard place. Anyone willing to go 4 yrs on him won't want an opt out after just 1 yr. I'm pretty confident he is looking for 4 years. He already bet on himself once if its true the Mets offered him $100M prior to the 2021 and he refused it. He then proceeded to get injured and play badly. Unless he's got too much pride, he won't do that again because 2 straight years of underwhelming performance would crush his worth.