caulfield12

The White Sox don't seem to care all that much about picks or they would have offered Rodon a QO...and the impact would likely be post-2024/25 regardless.

Repeating that isn't going to make it happen. They would go be us Pollock instead, and he would be injured for 65% of the season.

And a 10-15% cut from each year of his long term extension signed upon leaving the Sox at end of 2022.

Well, basically you have Mendick and whatever comes out of the DFA period this next week and at the end of April as rosters shrink down to normal numbers. But the odds are, at best, 1 in 4 that you're going to get a 1.5-2.0 fWAR 2B and 75% you're going to have to turn around and replace him again, just like Eaton and Mazara in RF. All those wasted contract dollars add up, to the point where it would have been much more effective to pay $10-15 million for a longer-term solution.

It would have been simple enough to sign Suzuki, even. (But no, we'd block Colas and Cespedes!!!) But at least you'd finally have some minor league depth that would allow you NOT to trade off the MLB roster at the TDL, opening up more holes on the roster. We tried to strengthen a gap in the levee, but three additional holes were sprung as a result. It's like those old black & whites of the Three Stooges bailing water out of a sinking boat. (I remember thinking all the way back in 2017 that we had too many utility infielders, as back then it was Lawrie, Leury, Saladino and Yolmer. Seems we haven't made significant progress since then, other than handing Leury a lifetime contract. Bring back one-year wonder Brent Lillibridge!!!)

0.3, -0.6, 0.3, 1.5 It's almost the complete opposite of Michael Conforto. We're totally ignoring his age 30-32 seasons (because that player has zero value for those seasons), then banking on a repeat of his age 33 season. I miss the days of extrapolating Madrigal numbers into 2-3 fWAR-ish seasons.

That seems like a perfectly valid reason not to add a LH hitter. The dreaded White Sox jinx at 2B, RF, DH, especially since 2011. Because if we do acquire players for these slots, they suddenly won't look like the numbers on the back of their baseball card anymore. Seems about as logical as our team-building approach in the last calendar year.

Finding patterns, links and connections between seemingly disparate elements at least has its advantages in personal finance/investing.

No Erstad, lol?

Lillian will be distraught.

But how many non Top 10-15 payroll teams would want Kimbrel at the TDL? How many of those same teams are not going to be eventual competitors at some point in the postseason? Let’s say he is 2021 first half Kimbrel, you basically can’t trade him because then he’s pitching the way and fitting into then pen the way he was supposed to LAST year. Unless you get an absolute haul, but then every team knows we want to clear payroll space as well. Hahn seems boxed in every direction you think this through. These flipping theoretically acquired prospects scenarios seem even more of a reach…

It’s not like they couldn’t get a 2B at the trade deadline…if Romy flopped. There are always a handful available at the deadline.

Veteran Grit, leadership and Energizer Bunny enthusiasm…

Looks like a really good chance of Riley Greene breaking camp with Tigers, Torkelson 50/50.

We would be better off with Gus “The Polka King” Polinski and Tom Paciorek in RF.

I voted D, and now feel I was being too kind, lol. I think the Bs and Cs are assumptions we have to do something at some point about starting pitching and Kimbrel…kind of like awarding a Nobel Prize for something that could theoretically happen in the future but is not guaranteed to actually transpire. D- should have been an option, although that connotes actually trying…whereas the grade would have been higher simply doing nothing but a QO for Rodon and declining the Kimbrel option and say signing Escobar or even Miller.

Leury (as DH), Harrison AND Engel at the bottom of the lineup…yuck! But we should trust this front office. Because they’ve clearly earned the benefit of the doubt this offseason (so far).

I’m going to trust the Giants’ sticker price tolerance over the Sox assessment at this point. For SF, they’re in a transition phase now with a lowered payroll (minus Posey) of strategically retooling on the fly in the toughest division outside the AL East. It’s almost like they are due for a mistake, with how well they’ve managed pitching assets and maximized what looks like an average or even below average everyday lineup offensively. But just two years makes a lot of sense with where that roster is vis a vis the Dodgers and Padres.

Well, it’s not like that money was ever going to be reallocated to Conforto regardless… But it’s just like the Sox to be haggling over $2-3 million only to get left holding the bag for 5x much. Hahn has to be 1) hoping and praying for closer issues or injuries from a team with a Top 10-15 payroll and 2) hoping that Kimbrel doesn’t go further south, become a daily distraction or even create some type of closer controversy if Hendriks blows 2-3 early saves. We’ve reached the point of making Kimbrel the closer again just to trade him (Hendriks volunteering to step aside) or a few even arguing they should now trade Hendriks in order to accommodate Kimbrel. They just keep compounding the original mistake many times over when the prudent move all along was to admit it was a bad fit (they can even assert it was an inspired, outside the box idea) and move on at only a $1 million loss for 2022.

Trade them Burger for Rodon, lol. I think Wade, Yaz, Belt and Flores are also hurt. Know that Wade has some type of knee injury…

Jekyll Island

Fathom, anti-fan concern or interest in the 2022 Cubs on a 1 to 10 scale? 2? 3? Just Suzuki, Stroman and Madrigal? What about Ricketts Family/crying poor/ownership and neighborhood redevelopment issues?

Nope, disqualified by plate appearances a long time ago. Have to root for Adolfo, Burger, etc.

They surely have run all the analytics a million times. Even being offered Kimbrel would not sway them because it would be too lengthy a salary commitment at premium dollars to be worth it...when closers are always available at the TDL for just 2-3 months of payroll outlay. You can't afford $16 million with an $82 million payroll. You really can't keep paying Kiermaier...especially post Franco deal. Finally, massive difference vs. Toronto/NYY/Boston and the comparatively tepid NL Central offenses.

They'd probably make the mistake of believing they were legitimately sincere...at least TLR would.