JUSTgottaBELIEVE

So you think they’ll have more wins and playoff appearances than the Sox over the next 5 years? The rest of that stuff doesn’t matter.

@caulfield12 and @Dick Allen seem to think the Padres are in a better position for success over the next 5 years than the White Sox. OTH, I feel very confident that the White Sox will have more wins and playoff appearances than the Padres over that time span. This is not because of their respective young cores per se but the White Sox’ tremendous financial flexibility this winter as well as upcoming winters (rather than having blown their wad on Hosmer, Machado, Myers).

Exactly. To get anywhere close to that number, the White Sox could sign Cole and JDM while bringing Abreu back. If they did that and still only won 70 games next season, I can’t imagine the White Sox front office being ok with it.

Padres already went on their free agent shopping spree while the White Sox haven’t. That’s why expectations in San Diego are already heightened. If the White Sox sign the equivalent free agent dollars of Machado and Hosmer this winter ($444M) and only win 70 games next season, you better believe heads will roll next offseason...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/padres/story/2019-09-30/padres-ron-fowler-apologizes-fans-heads-will-roll-myers-hedges%3f_amp=true

Padres are in a tough spot with these contracts. They built a great farm but their decisions with a few of these big contracts will ultimately decrease their chances of sustained success.

2017/2018 offseason Machado deju vu. And the answer is still no, don’t do it (even though I like this player much better than Machado).

Back in April I suggested the Sox offer him a 10/$200M extension effective starting 2019 season. I’m no longer confident he would accept such an offer.

No kidding. That proposal is brutal from the White Sox perspective. Imagine trading Giolito+ for one year of Machado a couple years back. Man, that would have been terrible.

Yeesh, and you’d likely be the only GM willing to do so.

So again, if next season is comparable to this season it would still have been fine if the Sox signed him? That’s a low bar to set for a $300M player imo. I guess time will tell but he’s certainly not off to a great start with that contract. He did recently buy a ridiculous mansion in Miami so he’s got that going for him at least,

Ok, guess you were one of the few then. Obviously, the front office wasn’t thinking this way based on the free agent pursuits.

Harper was always the better target! Felt like I was yelling at a wall all last winter. Don’t understand why no one else could see it.

Let me just ask this to the Machado apologists, at what point will you admit the Sox dodged a major bullet by missing on him? If his 2020 and 2021 seasons are comparable to his 2019 season will that be the turning point? Just curious because if the Sox had given him the same contract as the Padres, and he just had the season he had, Hahn and Kenny would be getting roasted right now.

If he’s underperforming already, what are years 6 thru 10 going to look like?

I’d expect more than that from a guy that just accepted a $300M contract. Hell, I expect more than that from whoever the Sox sign as their top pitching acquisition this winter and it sure as hell will be at a cost well south of $300M.

Ouch, missed that one. Looks like their major FA additions are done for a few years.

Needed game 162 and a big weekend to get there (considering he was at 2.6 fWAR on Friday) but Manny finally made it to 3.0 fWAR. Best of luck to the Padres and AJ Preller moving forward with two underperforming players in Machado and Hosmer.

He’s 27 and his OPS the last 4 seasons are 827, 811, 854, 863 in order. That’s the appeal.

Come on man. I’ve been saying it for a year now. JDM 1, Castallenos 2 (if JDM doesn’t opt out).

Like Machado, Grandal is another guy I don’t trust once he gets paid.

This board’s obsession with Grandal is nearly matching last winter’s obsession with Machado. Pass. Pitching should be priority #1, #2, and #3 followed by RF and DH. They’re fine at catcher for next season just like they were fine at infield this season. No reason to spend big bucks on that position with McCann back and Collins waiting in the wings.

There’s only two Red Sox players the White Sox should be targeting this winter and Chris isn’t one of them.

I think they’ll roll with McCann and Collins next year at catcher. I think his bat has potential but I really don’t want to see Collins spending much time at 1b or DH next season. Again, we don’t know when Vaughn will be ready. Presumably, it will be sometime in 2021 but you never know with injuries, performance, etc. It doesn’t hurt to have a little depth for once and Abreu will serve as a relatively cheap insurance policy in that regard (I’m assuming he gets ~$12M/yr). Even if Vaughn is up in 2021, you’re only talking about a logjam for a few months of the season. I don’t see it as a huge problem when JDM can play some outfield and Abreu and Vaughn can share 1b duties. Can’t remember the last time this team had too many hitters but it would be a nice problem to have.