caulfield12

ESPN.comWhat 2026 regular season means for Los Angeles DodgersL.A. is all about October. So what happens over the next six months? We separate fact from fiction.

Used to do this with just the lefty specialists. Now they're going after Toronto's RH hitters like Guerrero Okamoto etc.

Read the White Sox were 11th in payroll from 2004-2023 but the lowest return on investment in terms of attendance. Of course if you add Kyle Tucker now the Sox zoom up to...18th. And earlier if the off season the official Ohtani $70 million deal was higher than team payroll by $3 million. Adding CLE Miami and the Sox payrolls together gets you to about $235 million. Colorado Rockies: $118.3 million - Pittsburgh Pirates: $102 million + St. Louis Cardinals: $98.1 million + Minnesota Twins: $96.7 million N Athletics: $91.8 million + Tampa Bay Rays: $89.6 million N Washington Nationals: $87.9 millioN Chicago White Sox: $83.9 million N Miami Marlins: $79.4 million + Cleveland Guardians: $70 million + +=up ward trajectory N=neutral

The name that keeps coming to my mind when watching Griffin is a young Mike Trout. He’s big, athletic and makes everything on a baseball diamond look easy. Yes, they play different positions, but there’s something in the way he carries himself that leads me there. Bobby Witt Jr. is the closest comparison at his position. The new deal will give both sides security, as Griffin will make an average of $15.6 million over the length of the deal, and has security through his arbitration years and his first two potential years of free agency. He’ll be 28 and likely still in his prime when he’ll be eligible for free agency now. Yes, he’s giving up some potential short-term earning power, but it also protects him if his career goes sideways. For the Pirates, it locks up a player most feel is a can’t-miss star. The franchise selected Griffin with the No. 9 pick in the 2024 MLB draft out of Jackson Preparatory School in Flowood, Miss. He signed for $6.53 million but didn’t make his professional debut until 2025. Pittsburgh has already invested heavily in Griffin, so this new deal isn’t a surprise. It will keep him with the franchise through the 2035 season. ... Griffin is an outstanding athlete at 6’3” and 221 pounds, who possesses tons of power, elite speed, and an arm that plays all over the diamond. He shouldn’t be this good this young, but he is. A true unicorn prospect. It won’t be long before Pittsburgh has him locked into the lineup. Now he’ll be in the majors and locked in with the Pirates for a long time. https://www.si.com/mlb/why-pirates-record-breaking-konnor-griffin-contract-no-brainer

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48032977/mlb-2026-konnor-griffin-pittsburgh-pirates-no-1-prospect-opening-day-roster It doesn’t appear that anything is done or agreed to yet but it seems the two sides aren’t too far apart. Olney’s report frames Pittsburgh as hoping to get something done that is comparable to Corbin Carroll‘s $111MM eight-year deal with Arizona while Griffin’s camp is targeting Roman Anthony‘s $130MM eight-year pact with Boston. Given that the gap is less than $20MM, perhaps something can get done. A couple of weeks ago, Jon Heyman of The New York Post suggested the Pirates could be willing to get to the $110MM range. Last week, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the two sides had indeed discussed an eight-year deal worth $110MM. MLBtraderumors.com

Now they only need to get Skenes. But the tallest of tall tasks.

https://247sports.com/college/oklahoma-state/article/thoughts-on-oklahoma-state-womens-basketball-the-transfer-portal-and-next-season-279751263/ About OkState TN Iowa State women, but also Baylor under Scott Drew just years after an NCAA title.

Roch Cholowsky will be the first Sox $100 million contract if Isbia has any say in it at all....

But... Severino L.Butler Rooker Langeliers J.Wilson working on Kurtz but might be too late

Counting Scenes already haha? Hayes is just under Grandal/Benintendi...right there with Luis Robert Jr. who just came 1/4" from two consecutive walks in SF. LuBob just made a jumping attempt that would undoubtedly have put him on the Sox DL for 4-6 weeks.

Ke'Bryan Hayes signed a $70 million extension that didn't age well.

They really have to protect their bullpen if they're going to have 2-3 rookies debuting in the second half. Sandlin another outside of the Big 4, too.

Happened to my dorm-mate. Was with Houston during rebuild....lost his job during all those 100 loss seasons and as far as I understand is now working in college sports broadcasting, maybe Big 12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_Dolan Much more professional and polished than Schriffen.

Insane the White Sox can barely afford $34 million when the freakin' Pirates just gave a mere teenager in Konnor Griffin up to $140 million.

Second Pitt $100+ million contract after B.Reynolds. Buys out three years of FA. Will be free agent again at 28 similar to Juan Soto with Nats. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/pirates-to-make-huge-140-million-konnor-griffin-decision-for-next-nine-years/ar-AA201T43?ocid=BingNewsSerp

Guess you can compare it to the Braves when Avery Smoltz Glavine first came up....they took their lumps big time for ax season or two. Some might argue if a pitcher can survive Charlotte in one piece...they should be ready for the big leagues.

Mike Monaco was one...

5 Ks through three iP for Smith. Velocity down 1-2 mph. Looks he he's headed for five innings.

Not a well located 94.2 mph meatball from Smith. Luckily just a double. “Freddy Zamora advances to 3rd, on a throwing error by left fielder Dru Baker.” this sounds quite familiar

Don’t forget Ramírez always gets 30-40 stolen bases as well.

Lee back in Charlotte for now. Hagen 95-97.4 first inning.

https://nypost.com/2026/04/02/opinion/ditching-jaden-ivey-chicago-bulls-expose-nbas-hypocrisy/ This will be cheered by roughly 15-20% of SoxTalk. Put Vrabel in a very tough position with his future star RB. Locker rooms in NBA and NFL probably in 80/85% agreement with this opinion piece fwiw. (Just read political/religious beliefs one of the primary drivers behind Tennessee's Kim Caldwell losing almost her entire team to the transfer portal.)

Reminds me of SI April Fool's Day story about imaginary legend Syd Finch decades ago. George Plimpton wrote it, if I remember correctly.

Out but not before his guaranteed contract expires and more damage is done. At least no Pearl Harbor jokes like 1600 with Japanese PM. Yet.