caulfield12

That will be the argument used against you....that you can't count on or rely upon it again in 2022. But there you have at least three organizations in Houston, New York and Boston who aren't afraid to put their money where their mouth is...there's no way you can argue that any of those guys are significantly less risky (and some, moreso) than Carlos Rodon. And part of it's also the the psychological side of things, the message it sends to your fan base...that we don't believe in our own homegrown player more than say, Craig Kimbrel, who was an absolute train-wreck with the White Sox and had very little if nothing to do with their 2021 playoff appearance. If there are DEFINITELY teams out there willing to spend that $18.4 million (and the Dodgers would be another, Giants letting DeSclafini and Alex Wood go have money to spend, along with Posey retirement)...there's not at least 6-8 teams out there that would be interested in Rodon? As it stands now, the only 50% convincing argument I've seen for Kimbrel is matching up with the Phillies, but there aren't many more teams, and the Phillies got by well enough at the back end going cheap/er, they just need to improve their 6th-8th inning guys and can spend a lot less than $16 million to accomplish that.

Based on 2021, wouldn't we make that same argument (but even moreso) about Dallas Keuchel at least 2 if not 3-4 years past his true prime with the Astros???

Re-discovering Lopez is just like finding a brand-new starter...or that Crochet will be the next Chris Sale, SOMEDAY.

Why would they allow Carlos Rodon to throw 99.7 mph in October if they were legitimately concerned about his shoulder? Or they already knew they were going to let him go without the QO well before the playoffs, and knew that there was almost no (organizational) risk on that low salary with no future financial commitment? Basically, that the player/agent knew the only way for him to get a decent deal was to demonstrate a return to peak velocity...? Because he didn't (seemingly) throw a ton of sliders in those 2 1/3 IP, which would be one obvious sign/indication of an injury...?

This whole thing is predicated on the White Sox being able to add one of about (at best) five starting pitchers who will likely be even more expensive than $20+ million. OR 2) the usual suspect Tier B/C dumpster diving for another veteran FA that ended up with us signing Eaton on the position player side. Of course, internal improvements and health from all the young players (and playing time, too) would be great. But it's not really going to drive a bunch of people on the fence and go out and put down deposits for White Sox season tickets. Kimbrel (instead of homegrown Carlos Rodon) temporarily on the payroll certainly won't. Of course, there's always the old Kenny Williams/Riverboat Gambler....adjustments/retooling on the fly in June/July philosophy.

What does Kate think about Chicago?

Loiaza is out of prison now...Q or Hector Santiago, probably. Convert Hendriks back to starting, close with Kimbrel...trade Kimbrel again at ASB with Hendricks back to closer. Lol.

Great, another 150-200 page tease thread....with food guys, Twitter, that Clark guy and Hector again.

Well, we read Kimbrel, Hernandez and Eduardo Escobar so well last deadline...might as well expect whatever is the opposite to occur just out of sheer luck. Which also means Rodon, Madrigal and Heuer all will inevitably be...terrible? Somehow I have a feeling we can't count on adding three All-Stars for 2022 unless they are already on the roster.

The real offseason won't legitimately start until Kimbrel is off the books...so we might be in for a long wait, especially if Conforto accepts the QO from NYM.

We all need to fly SWA more frequently to get Sox talk insider info...

He was a Top 3 starter in the AL the first half....so was Lynn. But sure, Contreras was only the best pitcher in baseball for four months over 2005-06 and it was enough to push them over the top.

Unless Jimenez, Robert and Grandal are all Top 10-15 AL MVP candidates next year, we are not nearly as strong as we were on August 15th...or Vaughn puts up a massive sophomore campaign.

They knew that Lynn and Rodon would both be leading the AL Cy Young race at the end of July...? Then we have no worries, we are basically the Giants going forward. Everything is currently pinned on Cease and Kopech being TOR starters, a Keuchel rebound and/or perfect health and continuing miracles from Lopez. The Braves lost two members of their rotation and pitched over it, for example.

With Rodon and Madrigal gone, as well as Fulmer, Burdi and Collins (likely), that leaves only TA, Crochet, Vaughn and Burger to carry banner for Sox first rounders... Also, next time the White Sox farm system breaks out of the Bottom 10? Likely to be at least 7-8 years from now, 6 if we are being really generous about ability to recover, and/or pessimistic about the length of the current window and divisional opponents.

Once every fifteen or twenty years move, like Jenks and Loiaza.

Angels likely to now turn around and work out a multi-year deal for Iglesias...fwiw.

They're definitely not going to dump a Top 3 NL pitcher to assume Kimbrel's deal....kind of counterproductive.

Another NY Post article today that I won’t open since not willing to subscribe….basically predicated on losing Wheeler to NL East rival and speculating those two teams could kill two birds with one stone taking him away from the Mets.

Strength coach Allen Thomas let go The contract of strength and conditioning coordinator Allen Thomas is not being renewed as the Sox “re-image” that department, Hahn said. Thomas was in his 18th season, one in which the Sox were riddled by injuries. “Availability’s a big part of winning, and it’s important for us to find a way to maximize their availability,” Hahn said. “Sometimes stuff just happens. We realize that. But we want to make sure we’re doing everything within our power to keep guys healthy, keep them on the field and keep them productive. Which, again, has led us to reexamining what we’re doing in that area.” https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2021/11/5/22765466/white-sox-make-five-roster-moves

https://nypost.com/2021/11/06/mets-give-qualifying-offer-to-michael-conforto-noah-syndergaard/ Conforto and Syndegaard offered, Post seems mostly concerned about Nationals and Phillies…

Nobody would look at his age, his declining velocities, and statistics as a whole over the last four full seasons and conclude he should still be the third highest paid reliever in the sport…would they?

Huge scandal tmrw if Rodon isn't offered the QO and TLR telegraphed it ahead of time to a random SWA ticket buyer. Of course, that's much more likely than TLR saying they have the basic framework in place for a 2-3 year extension.

Define "some." Sure, just like $16 million could buy the equivalent of five Carlos Rodon's last offseason if you could only identify them correctly... Or more likely two Adam Eaton's.

Three years after what the Cubs just went through going through over a four year stint when he was much closer to his prime? I could see two years OR just one with huge incentives kicking it during that year to pay $15 million plus and a big jump for the second year if he pitched like that 2021 first half again. The irony is they ended up getting a better return for Kimbrel than Darvish. Timing.