spiderman

While I agree that's definitely been discussed, he'll also take the most money and then settle in with his new team.

Most believe that it will come down tot he most money, not the best situation or team most likely to win, etc All of the secondary reasons will be given once he eventually signs, but it would be a major surprise if he leaves money on the table.

It's a safe assumption that the White Sox are not going to be seriously thought of as a contender unless they shock everyone with a big signing. At best, they are a team that can drive the price up (at best considering most analysts that I have heard don't believe Reinsdorf would put the money needed to land one of these guys).

There appear to be people in the stands? Not realistic ?

Why not both? I keep hearing that they have no payroll, and young players. Why not give each $30 million a season (or whatever the number is)) for 5 years and give them outs after 3 years?

Who is Preller? Why would anyone expect to get something back for a bad starting pitcher who has money left on his remaining contract? Bad thought.

Nobody should be concerned given his struggles? Great thought.

Why not really? Why will he be fine?

A team like St.Louis would make sense for Shield in return for taking on his remaining salary (no prospects). Cardinals can probably use as much down the stretch to keep this moving although I wouldn't trust Shields in the least.

I would expect nothing back, literally nothing except for the savings from his contract.

This guy probably needs an off-season more than anything. Maybe he needs a few days off, but everyone should be concerned about him.

The players you mention have little/no trade value. Rodon does. Big difference between the two. What do you think you're going to get in a trade for Abreu, Avi, Sanchez or Shields? As much as Sox fans may like Abreu, the return will be underwhelming. From your response, you are implying that they have other large pieces. Who? Teams won't be willing to trade significant (or any) value for the players you have mentioned.

What is the level of concern here on Sale's health? Is it more likely that the Red Sox are going to be extremely cautious with him because they are a playoff lock and in major control of the AL East?

Carlos Rodon could be a potential gauge for how the White Sox feel about competing next year (and beyond). They have a 3 year window with him. Within that window, health will be a very large . risk and as the window begins to close, his future with the White Sox will begin to become a focus. If next season is another year of watching young talent develop (or not develop) at the major league level, Rodon's 1st of a 3 year window is probably lost. Realistically, next season, will be the first full year of their bigger prospects, and there's not guarantee that we won't continue to see more Fulmer type development from our top level prospects. Next season, assuming they don't make any any major league free agent splashes, this team is going to struggle. This is going to be a 90 loss team even with some improvement. If the White Sox can land 2 top 100 prospects for Roden, do they move their last large piece? That's going to be very interesting question. My initial guess is that the White Sox are going to keep Rodon, and start getting their top level prospects to the major league roster in early April.

Weren't the White Sox in the middle of the pack a few seasons ago in salary? Given the lack of salary commitments, and the flexibility, I don't see this coming into play for a few years. The question I have is if the White Sox want to "fast-track" the rebuild this off-season or wait until the 2020. A lot of these free agents may like the idea of a 4 year deal for huge money if it gives them another shot at free agency - the White Sox, if they really dove in, could offer 2 massive deals this off-season, and not impact future payroll. I sort of expect the White Sox to be only somewhat involved this off-season. It doesn't make sense to sign a 32 year old, but it does to sign a 27 year old if he fits into their long-term plans.

As much as it would be fun to see these kids up here in Chicago, this rebuild hasn't been a net positive in Year 2. F Fulmer sucks; Giolito is not a top of the rotation starter, and likely not a starter on a good team, Moncada shows signs, but is batting .220 and strikes out at an alarming rate....Lopez has fallen off after a strong start. Assuming Rodon finishes the season healthy, they have a huge off-season decision to make on him. If the White Sox go into next season with the same team, add a few stop gaps and plan on calling up a few of these young talents in mid-April, they may be better, but it's probably still a 90 loss team. It's probably fiscally sensible, yet frustrating, to not start the clock on any young players until needed. If the team isn't planning on spending this off-season (probably unlikely, but I wouldn't rule it out to kickstart this rebuild), next year will be the about seeing improvements from young talent.

Clearly too early to write him off, but this is VERY concerning. To date, he's not an impact player. Having tons of potential is great, but is it possible the White Sox got hoodwinked on the best prospect in baseball?

How fast is Madrigal expected to reach the majors and is he SS? I've heard CF mentioned more often for Moncada than 3B, but either way, its a bit concerning that MLB's #1 prospect does not look like a difference maker. It's early though and I'm not giving up on him. Anderson, in my opinion, is not a difference maker and will never be a plus player at SS. I do have an issue with making a Hosmer type investment IF this team isn't ready to contend.

Is Anderson solidifying his spot? Why can't the struggles of their younger players keep them from investing in free agency? I think it should. There's no reason to dive into free agency if the team isn't in position to contend next year (or year after), which is based on the progress of the younger talent. Is Moncada a good player? I'm concerned.

They need to see progress in their young talent this season. Plenty of time for that though. They have been playing better over the last 20 or so games and I expect it to continue with more talent on the way. If they finish the year with optimism around the young core, I fully expect the White Sox to make a major play at one of these free agents. They are going to have very low money on the payroll heading into next season. They could pay either of these guys $30-35 a season and give them another shot at free agency (whatever the free agent would prefer).

Are there any updates on this story or was this an overreaction to news reports that weren't fully vetted? There has been a lot of discussion as to why the White Sox would trade assets for a possible 1 year rental and/or if Machado/White Sox would be willing to come to an agreement on a large deal with other big market teams likely interested next off-season.... Should we expect any Machado news in the near future and/or at all?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 4, 2017 -> 10:11 AM) Only about $2 million for each of them. So what will his deal look like, once he signs? Sounds like we're talking a 4 year deal for 8-10 million for the teams that do have money to spend?

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 4, 2017 -> 09:54 AM) Cubs are limited to $300k too. 300K? How are the Cubs even a candidate? What can the Mariners or Giants offer?

Do clubs have any financial (other than their own) restrictions on what they can offer him? Does his money could out of the international pool? Is that how the Cubs are able to compete? Wouldn't the White Sox be limited to begin with?

Yep, no shocker. This off-season is about adding any possible reclamation type projects on 1 year deals with the hope of trading them in July. Everything else is about developing/playing the younger talent next year, promoting talent from within, etc. If the team develops enough, then next off-season could be the first year they start to dip into free agency for any holes, but I don't know if they will be looking for any upper echelon free agents still.