Balta1701

My version is play for the trade deadline. Right now, almost everyone on the White Sox has their value depressed other than Dylan Cease. This includes, in my eyes, Hendriks. On top of that, the roster is a mess. There is 1 OF on the roster who might play 120 games if we're lucky and 1 rookie. They lost ~10 WAR to free agency from a team that, on paper, was below .500 if not for the back end of their bullpen. And their schedule will not be as soft as last year's. There is a path to them competing for a wild card, but even if they do everything right, the hole they have is so deep that it's bloody unlikely that they will actually have a genuine shot. So...play for time. If they are legitimately in 4th place, ok fine don't do this. On paper, it just isn't likely, so take advantage of what does happen. Some guys are almost certain to be better by the trade deadline. Some guys are almost certain not to be. Some guys will get closer to their contracts ending. If you're a .500 team at the trade deadline, I don't care if you are only 3 games out of the wild card, you have 2 starters under contract for 2024, play for the future. Trade whoever you can trade for nearly full value. Hopefully Giolito and Hendriks have good first halves, maybe Anderson as well. Clear those guys out, move Lynn and Clevinger if they're having a good first half. Moncada, maybe? He's not under control for that long, so if he's movable maybe you clear the salary. Kelly, Graveman, Lopez, whoever else can be moved. Maybe you seriously listen on offers for Cease, but they have to be really good. If they don't do this, the White Sox's mess is equally bad next offseason to where they are right now. Yes, they clear Grandal's contract. However, they have 2 starters under control. If they want to keep Lynn, they have an option on him, but keeping Lynn, Anderson, and Hendriks puts something like $150 million on the books! If they have come out of this season with a bunch of additional players, even if they're not great, and they've saved some money this year and they get themselves out of the hole for next offseason. Maybe then at least they have a shot, if their 4th and 5th starter and 1 OF are found in moves like that, then maybe they can spend $20 million on a starter and actually have a strong roster. On the other hand, if things go as poorly as last year with guys like Robert and Eloy, they have a head start on the harder decision of rebuilding, which will really be the only option if they're sitting there after another season with a negative run differential.

The key part to all of this remains having a competitive team be willing to give up multiple years of a cost-controlled position player for an expensive closer. I can't say that it won't happen, but GMs on competitive rosters don't get there by making desperate overpay trades for closers in the offseason, especially not ones that hurt their lineup that day. They might do it at the trade deadline and pay a lot for one then (again though without giving up a big league player), but for the most part in the offseason they sign relievers as needed while understanding that they don't know how their bullpen will shake out during the first half.

Go for it. Here's a hint - I loved the Kimbrel deal at the time. I made the same mistake as Rick Hahn and didn't look at any of his advanced stats, just assumed he was back to dominant. Plenty to work with right there. And what's the difference between Boagerts and Anderson? Xander would be a guy they would control for a number of years, and it would only cost them a second round pick. Anderson would require sending back serious legitimate talent, and they would only control him for two years. It's not even whether it's lopsided or not, it's that it makes no sense. It's like proposing to the Phillies that they trade Harper to your team - it makes no sense, the Phillies aren't subtracting key pieces from their lineup right now no matter how lopsided the offer is.

I can't say the Phillies won't overpay, but much like Lux, that's a pretty big overpay from them.

On top of that, they're not thought out. The Diamondbacks have no need to send out guys they control for multiple years for a pitcher who is a free agent in 1 year. Is Giolito going to put them over the top next year? With the Dodgers, Padres, and Giants in that division? C'mon man.

No one mentions it because it makes no sense for them to acquire a guy with only 2 years of control with the Dodgers and Padres in that division until they are loaded with a lot of guys breaking out.

This...is the plan.

If you're cutting payroll, trading an all star for guys who aren't even in the Dodgers top 10 prospects to fill roster holes, playing 3 rookies in your starting 9 (1 of whom is a borderline top 100 prospect in baseball), and you say you're not rebuilding, I got news for you.

They already are 8 deep in their bullpen, so if somehow everyone is healthy at the end of spring training that will probably send Lambert down. Hendriks, Kelly, Graveman, Lopez, Diekmann, Bummer, Ruiz (all on major league deals, although technically I think Bummer may still have an option remaining). Lambert (options available). Foster has options available I believe as well, and midseason it is likely Crochet has some availability. Unless they trade someone, they have no room for anyone who isn't on a minor league deal or doesn't have options remaining.

Yup. #15 overall pick and Kelly for a 27 year old at A ball, Reinsdorf is thrilled because he actually saves $13 million.

I would have gone with Quintana both because he's probably a better bet to be healthy but also because there's some contrast with the rest of the rotation. Literally everyone there is a righty trying to throw a mid 90s fastball and mixing in various degrees of sliders and curveballs. A couple guys with 2 seamers or cutters, a couple changeups that aren't great. I actually do think this was one thing that helped Cueto last year. Having a lefty in the rotation would be a nice change of pace at least, and I bet Cleveland had "the White Sox have 6 lefty starters" in mind when they signed Bell.

I believe we saw a quote from some professional gambler last offseason saying that they totally gave up betting on those because it was just plain impossible to guess.

The idea that teams were going to overpay for our guys because closers are awesome or whatever the other reasons are was always going to run into a brick wall of reality. I would actually be somewhat surprised if the front office bought into that, because sometimes RH has to actually be on the phone with other GMs and that should make it harder to delude onesself. If they want to move salary from this roster they need a plan for rebuilding. They aren't getting major pieces that will be difference makers on a big league squad back for anyone from their big league club other than Robert or Cease. They aren't going to make themselves vastly better by making the bullpen worse to add an outfielder at the same price. They're stuck because if they want to compete and can't blow past this budget, piecemeal additions are all they can do.

76ers have made the playoffs 5 straight seasons and advanced to the 2nd round 4 times. While there's obviously been some issues and they haven't met the goal of being a title winning team, that's still way better than the White Sox's results. The Pirates - I'm not sure they count as they're pretty much perennially rebuilding. They certainly could spend more money than they do and they had some front office and coaching issues (see the way they treated Gerrit Cole), but the Pirates are never going to be pushing up against the luxury tax, they are always going to be a team that peaks for a couple years then has a long reloading process afterwards - unless they could get to a Tampa Bay level of player development. They're like the Royals in that regard.

Eloy’s salary this year is only $6.5 million. That’s probably still less than Gallo gets and maybe half of a Benintendi.

If they were going to do this they would be doing it by now. The obvious mid-market pitchers who you might sign with that money to replace Giolito are leaving the market right now. The reliever market is genuinely dwindling and they’re not going to trade Hendriks to leave their bullpen open. They’re not going to trade all those guys away and start a new rebuild after the winter meetings are already over either.

You say that like it’s a bad thing. A higher degree of professionalism from the team employees, who treat Ti like a billion dollar business? A recognition that maintaining a strong revenue stream requires people to have interest in your product? An understanding that this is an undervalued asset in the third biggest media market in the country, with solid growth potential that is being wasted? I don’t ask the White Sox to be stupid with their spending. They don’t need to dig the same hole that Detroit’s owner did with that Cabrera extension. I understand teams need to rebuild sometimes. What I want is a team that is smart and wants to push its revenue and franchise value higher by building its fan base long term. Just stop being dumb, frankly. It’s a billion dollar business run like a child’s toy right now.

2 of the top 3 free agents and a whole bunch of mid level guys signed this week. Besides teams that got signings done, you also had teams like the Giants and Padres who were clearly making strong offers for guys. Plenty of activity for the year.

He probably won’t be cranking home runs at an impressive rate at that age. But if you get a couple more MVP quality seasons and a couple playoff births at the front end, doesn’t that pay for the entire deal? Especially in New York, keep the TVs on in September and October and keep fans in the seats and it’s worth tens of millions a year.

Once? So if I can come up with other times the White Sox have made deals of more expensive veterans for younger guys who have made their debuts but who have years of control remaining then we can put this to bed? Ok. Hector Santiago for Adam Eaton. Matt Davidson for Addison Reed. Of course, both of those happened in a year where the white Sox were rebuilding and put up the white flag in the offseason. Just like a Hendriks deal would.

Betcha he stole 100 in 2003. Anyway, still strikes me as hard to declare that one of the more famous franchise reshaping moves in their history is not like them.

Yeah like that time one team famously traded big slow and more expensive bat Carlos Lee for a young Scott Podsednik coming off a 100 steal campaign. THe White Sox never do moves like that.

Well that wasn’t bad.

Adam Engel was definitely not a gold glove fielder the last couple years, particularly last year. The injuries have cost him range and we saw how focused he was at making routine plays.