caulfield12

“Shipping Brandon Nimmo to Texas created so much attention around the opening in left field that it's easy to forget that the Mets have needed a legitimate starting center fielder for over a year now…Sure, he could always just throw Steve Cohen's money at Kyle Tucker. If that's off the table, though, why not Robert? There really isn't anyone else available (aside from Tucker) with his upside, and his excellent defense in center would allow Benge to shine in a corner and give New York quality gloves alongside Juan Soto. Plus, the Mets have exactly the pitching depth that Chicago reportedly covets,” Landers wrote. yahoosports.com Except they won't trade Teng or Sproat for Robert even if the White Sox wrote a $20 million check...

Michael Baumann evaluates what kind of player McNeil still is and how he fits in the Athletics lineup as McNeil as the “Metsodous” continues. (Damn. I wish I’d thought of that word first.) Ken Rosenthal looks at where the Mets go next and how a toxic clubhouse seems to be driving these moves. (The Athletic sub. req.) Plus other MLB notes. “What they’ve done tells you how big a s— show their clubhouse was,” said one rival executive who was granted anonymity for his candor. “The guessing is over. It was a disaster.” Anthony DiComo writes about where the Mets might go from here. Lex Pryor writes that the Mets are seemingly adrift without a plan at the moment. Mets currently searching for someone better than Mark Vientos...Bregman or Okamoto fit here, maybe Willi Castro or Luis Rengifo? Moncada nah. Also, Stearns is going to have to assess the impacts positively and negatively of adding Robert Jr., into that mix with both Soto and Lindor at odds.

Everyone pretty much knew Danks was completely shot after that injury. Benintendi can still play everyday, just not that well. And the White Sox didn't have significant debt back then, either. (Leury Hendriks Keuchel all parts of that debt picture.)

He's really the only speedy player the Sox have after Robert. (Not going to count Hill yet.)

"Joe Kelly will no longer be a big league pitcher, but don’t call him retired. That’s what he implied when speaking on Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast, and stated that the title of retired doesn’t sit right when discussing the end of an active playing career. Retiring is something my grandmother did. That’s so disrespectful. I’m sorry to all you out there watching that work real jobs— you guys deserve to retire— but athletes don’t. We just stop f****** playing. It’s used for people who served in the military, it’s used for people who work until they’re 65.“ yahoosports.com

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/articles/nationals-agree-contract-ex-cubs-183629949.html Matt Mervis to Nats (hometown team) https://www.newsweek.com/sports/mlb/all-star-slugger-urged-to-ditch-braves-for-guardians-after-6-seasons-in-atlanta-11268681 https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/3-mlb-free-agents-new-york-yankees-should-target-amid-slow-offseason Yankees targets lol? Murakami Bellinger Kopech The only reporting on Kopech recently is a SFG interest...have already dealt with a similar pitcher in Hicks over there.

Mets sign Mike Baumann to split contract/terms undisclosed pending physical? "It would be quite a shock if Baumann landed a major league deal. The 30-year-old spent the 2025 season with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He wasn’t exactly dominant over there. He tossed 15 innings at the top NPB level with a 4.20 earned run average and 11 innings in the minors with a 4.09 ERA.” Chris Getz will be all over him if he's later released AND AND AND Murakami really enjoyed him as a teammate. Would likely go to Charlotte as a depth piece/roster insurance.

The Fairbanks deal might very easily be worth $13.5 million. "Per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the deal includes a $1MM signing bonus and another $1MM in incentives based on appearances. Fairbanks will also receive a bonus of $500,000 if he is traded. The deal is pending a physical." Who was the reporter that had the Marlins offering in the mid teens first? And which reporter kept insisting it wouldn't be more than single digits? That turned out to be wholly inaccurate. Also: Tatsuya Imai is now at ten days and counting (next Friday) and right now nobody has a clue where either he or Okamoto are going. If he were to come down below $100 million....nah, JR hates pitching contracts over three years in length. Okamoto might be coming under 3/$50 million now as well. $40-45 million for 3 years sounds about right?

4 When given a 5 point scale, it's very easy to give 3.5/5. Which counts as a positive at rottentomatoes, but not exactly a wholehearted endorsement. Kpop Demon Hunters is the best movie of the year. My students kept on pushing me to watch it and talking about it so much that I finally gave in and acquiesced. Train Dreams is pretty darned close to #1, and that has a lot of historicity to it, as well as the two fun Sisu movies. There's also the Chinese film Dead to Rights, about the Nanjing 1937 massacre, and Last Samurai Standing, which I think is the best 8 episode action show of the year. Finally, there's The Diplomat, which was recommended in the TV section, blew through three seasons in just two days.

JR usually believes in forcing players or coaches to perform until at least that final contract year hits. Unfortunately. Maybe Leury was the lone exception, but that was a tiny AAV in play there.

At least $60-75 million of the debt is being paid off by Ishbia. Nobody knows the exact numbers, like they have put out there in Minnesota.

Dream on lol. He was willing to give an $8 million per year discount? Not even Carlos Rodriguez could pull that off...and they were pretty close apparently.

With Boras as his agent? For what terms? 5/$70 ???

The movies section has died and people are always looking for things to watch during the holidays.

They also already have TJ Friedl...so someone would need to move to a corner.

It all depends on what they do with Buxton (no trade clause would have to be waived), Ryan and Lopez. Offensive talent...they might have the edge overall, even with Murakami. Bullpen was totally gutted, so a bit behind the Sox, who have a deficit in speed/athleticism and defense still.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/articles/5-contenders-already-cemented-bad-003505696.html Padres Guardians Reds Pirates Marlins Cubs all stuck in baseball purgatory. Some Cubs' fans even worried they might have All Star game offer withdrawn.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/articles/5-contenders-already-cemented-bad-003505696.html At least I have an excuse. Recently retired at 56, but wife is working tomorrow and son has a normal school day in China...actually a ton of homework to get through, including memorizing Chinese and English passages and doing algebra, geometry and trig in Grade 5. And I just blew #1 seed in fantasy football playoffs due to Mahomes Kelce Judkins...so don't really care much about #3/4 finish. Avatar 3 2.5 Wake Up Dead Man 3.5 Sisu 1 3.25 Sisu 2 Road to Revenge 3.75 Bugonia 3.5 Influencer 3.5 Influencers 2.75 The Housemaid 3.5 Zootopia 3.25 Nuremberg 3.5 Sentimental Value 3.5

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/mlbtr-podcast-three-way-trade-murakamis-short-term-deal-and-willson-contreras-to-boston.html 25:40-45:00 specifically on Murakami Fascinating discussion about alteady trading Murakami in 2025 if he has 20+ bombs and striking out less than 30%...how/if that would impact future Japanese FAs. Writers not really considering Ishbia money down the line making Chicago a Top 8-10 FA destination. Both writers still predicting Twins over Sox in 2025 for fourth place...but open to White Sox being more competitive in 2027 Argues the Marlins Pirates Reds will look like idiots....or even the Mets for giving Polanco more money to play 1B.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/articles/aaron-judge-sends-message-bryce-183652735.html

There's no need to have someone creating content if you go back to 2000-2012. Winning and success will make for a much more divergent and lively message board. Heck, lots of Japanese fans might want to interact with the White Sox somehow now. This board could even make money and draw Japanese advertising and marketing. Just contact Japanese White Sox scout Satoshi Takahasi. https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Satoshi_Takahashi_(03) Interview him, interview Tadahito and ask how SoxTalk can reach out to young fans across Japan and through TikTok. Engagement should flow in all directions from the Murakami signing.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/reaction-munetaka-murakami-lesson-white-230127540.html "You have to spend money to make money" According to Drotto.com, the average primary-market ticket price was $54 (and much higher on the secondary market). That number might even be conservative, but let’s take it at face value. Multiply $54 by the number of tickets sold at Dodger Stadium in 2025, and you’re looking at over $216.6 million in ticket revenue alone. That’s more than two-thirds of the Dodgers’ payroll, which sat around $338 million in 2025—and that’s just ticket sales. No TV revenue. No jersey sales. No parking. No food. No beer. No postseason home games during yet another World Series run. Sometimes, in the baseball business, you have to spend money to make money. https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1imot2w/npb_yakults_munetaka_murakami_has_been_making/&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjn5qyenNaRAxVdmmoFHTpaA6cQFnoECAUQAg&usg=AOvVaw3FFDvLqZLILgC8GxmZ-pD3 Donaiya baseball gloves switch from Mizuno https://www.amazon.com/Munetaka-Murakami-Swallows-Japanese-Heavyweight/dp/B0FQPFJD79 https://www.sportsworldchicago.com/munetaka-murakami-chicago-white-sox-alternate-jersey-by-nike/%3Fsrsltid%3DAfmBOoqxeO395j-2FQvSUAWOV5uRQQYdWxnPTgC73OhEEbMAArfFkAtD&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjMpqaxntaRAxV0cDwKHROqOP0QFnoECAQQAg&usg=AOvVaw2AhdxIxgq4PIqXD8Lyk4m4 "Within 48 hours of his No. 17 Dodgers jersey going on sale through Fanatics, it became the best-selling sports jersey in history, surpassing Lionel Messi. A massive contract? Absolutely. Worth every penny? Without question. Some owners understand this. Others simply don’t."

"Prior to signing Ohtani, the Dodgers hired Lorenzo Sciarrino as their senior vice president of global partnerships. The role called for Sciarrino to lead the team’s global sponsorship department, supervising and engineering franchise partnerships with businesses domestically and internationally. With Ohtani in the fold, Sciarrino’s job was surely made easier as numerous partnership deals were announced early in the year. This included deals with All Nippon Airways, Kinoshita Group, Tsukiji Gindaco (concessions/food/catering), AFEELA, Yakult (milk products), THK, Kosé Corporation (cosmetics/skincare), Daiso, Kowa Company, Ltd. (beverages), and Toyo Tires, among others." New Balance/Gatorade https://dodgerblue.com/dodgers-added-70-million-in-sponsorship-revenue-after-signing-shohei-ohtani/2025/01/10/ Kinoshita Group is a prominent Japanese conglomerate involved in construction, real estate, healthcare, and notably, a wide range of arts and sports sponsorships, including major tennis tournaments (Japan Open), figure skating events (Kinoshita Group Cup), film production, and supporting ballet companies like the Paris Opera Ballet and The Royal Ballet School. https://m.yelp.com/biz/tsukiji-gindaco-los-angeles&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwiyxNTxmtaRAxU1mWoFHaJbHAoQFnoECAIQAg&usg=AOvVaw0my4Rratp89Rw0Ca9tFaKB Afeela is the brand name for a new electric vehicle (EV) from Sony Honda Mobility, a joint venture combining Sony's tech/entertainment with Honda's auto engineering, aiming for a "mobility partner" experience. Another day, yet another Japanese corporate marketing agreement with the Dodgers, this time with Tokyo-based machine parts manufacturer THK. https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-los-angeles-dodgers-and-daiso-enter-into-multi-year-partnership&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwiX6K7Bm9aRAxU8nSYFHfCXCcYQFnoECA4QAg&usg=AOvVaw2435eZRFe8ff7fALiBzDHb https://www.bevnet.com/news/2025/kowa-builds-u-s-beverage-lineup-with-shohei-ohtani/&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwj0jcrYm9aRAxVXkmoFHf53LPcQFnoECAcQAg&usg=AOvVaw2QdXWJxPey6IUBM_6n6K0-

The media added, "No player generates as much advertising revenue as Ohtani ($100 million). According to Sportico's rankings, Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies recorded the second-highest advertising revenue after Ohtani, but that amount is only $10 million (14.7 billion won)." This is a tenfold difference. Harper is also a superstar representing Major League Baseball, but it has been reaffirmed that Ohtani is the "superstar among superstars." The Tokyo opening series was, quite literally, a stage for Ohtani, by Ohtani, and for Ohtani. As Edman mentioned earlier, billboards featuring Ohtani's face could be seen anywhere, and Japanese fans, without exception, purchased and wore Ohtani's jersey as well as the Dodgers' blue merchandise. According to the American economic magazine Forbes, the Dodgers earned $70 million in new sponsorship revenue thanks to Ohtani last year. Furthermore, Ohtani personally has been earning extra money by filming over 20 advertisements across various industries. This is the Ohtani effect that always exceeds expectations." https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-sports/2025/03/21/MLO53JMFZJDTLF4MOXF2PLFZHE/

There aren’t a ton of options remaining in free agency. The Cards could kick the tires on a one-year deal for Miguel Andujar or Austin Hays, each of whom is coming off a big season with the platoon advantage. Old friend Tommy Pham is coming off a middling season against lefties but carries a .261/.368/.434 line in those situations over his career. Chas McCormick hasn’t hit in either of the past two years. He has a 20-homer season with a .273/.353/.489 showing in 2023 on his résumé. The Cardinals could also look into a switch-hitting utility option like Willi Castro or Luis Rengifo. mlbtraderumors.com