caulfield12

"Speaking of Tommy John rehab, second-round pick Blake Larson was on the backfields Monday sporting the large black supportive brace that has become a common sight in baseball over the past decade. Newly 19, fresh off a high school workload and already tasked with adding overall strength this year, the White Sox aren’t viewing this as a disastrous setback in Larson’s build up and development. But while TJ might be somewhat inevitable, it’s obviously not ideal." https://soxmachine.com/2025/02/white-sox-hold-first-full-squad-workout-for-a-team-thats-not-close-to-complete/

“This is my team right now, I’m just getting ready to fight for this team,” Robert said via interpreter. “It has been my team throughout my whole professional career in the US, right? I think it would be beautiful to have experienced playing for just one team, the team that gave me the opportunity to make my dream come true and the team that I’m trying to help past this moment and hopefully play for this team when we are ready to compete. I think that would be a really beautiful story. But like I said before, that’s something I can’t control.” https://soxmachine.com/2025/02/white-sox-hold-first-full-squad-workout-for-a-team-thats-not-close-to-complete/

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/cubs-chris-flexen-agree-to-minor-league-deal.html Cubs sign Chris Flexen...terms pending Padres signed Yuli Gurriel...looks like no guaranteed money, but they still need a 1B/DH bat...Gain Sheets in the mix as well. Waiting for JD Martinez to come down in price?

Ball did appeal, and as Daryl Van Schouwen reported on Friday, the Illinois Appellate Court’s First District reversed the ruling, reviving the lawsuit. You can read the opinion here, which sided with Ball on two procedural points. One is that the lower court “prematurely resolved factual issues in favor of the White Sox and improperly shifted the White Sox’s initial burden onto Ball.” The other is that Ball is contesting the validity of the termination agreement, alleging that the White Sox misrepresented the reason for firing him. If that turned out to be true, the agreement wouldn’t be valid regardless of whether Ball signed it, and the motion to dismiss can’t be used to authorize a “fact-based ‘mini-trial’ on whether the plaintiff can support his allegations.” Former White Sox athletic trainer's lawsuit revived on two procedural points...Hahn no longer one of the specified defendants. https://soxmachine.com/2025/02/bobby-jenks-battling-stage-4-stomach-cancer/

I give up too...the White Sox having nothing interesting going on has absolutely destroyed me as a fan. I will come back whenever they have a .500 record at the trade deadline. I will be happier simply playing fantasy baseball and following the rest of the teams in baseball that actually care about their fans. Save your energy. Maybe the Mariners will finally add some pitching. For now, Padres and Dodgers at least have a plan to make the post season before 2027/28. I will just read Fegan...that enough.

"Beyond the Crochet blockbuster, the White Sox acted roughly as you’d expect a team in their position to act. They held on to their higher-profile trade candidate in Luis Robert Jr., hoping he can reestablish his value in 2025 and eventually net a Crochet-esque return in the not-so-distant future. They signed a handful of veterans on one-year deals, players who could be flipped in July to contenders seeking reinforcements. Their payroll has plummeted to one of the lowest marks in the league. Hopefully the White Sox can avoid being historically awful again in 2025, but there is a lot more losing to come for this team. That’s by design, though, and the focus must remain on building an infrastructure at all levels of the organization that can better support a winning team at some point down the line. By those standards, this winter has generally gone according to plan." — Shusterman https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb-offseason-grades-grading-every-teams-winter-from-an-a-for-the-dodgers-to-fs-for-the-mariners-and-padres-221333389.html M's and Padres an F but that would change after article written Sox a B ranking Will consider Wikkie Gonzalez the fourth best pitching prospect until proven otherwise. Or fifth...if you include Burke.

"He is fitting in beautifully so far and handling all that comes with being a busy student-athlete. Every couple of weeks, senior catcher Charlie Saum counts on hearing from Sasaki with an invite to In-N-Out Burger, the freshman having learned long ago the hip items to order — a double-double burger and animal-style fries, of course. Now, the 6-foot, 275-pound slugging first baseman is set to make his Stanford debut Friday at Cal State Fullerton and play his first home game one week later against Washington." https://apnews.com/article/stanford-rintaro-sasaki-japanese-prospect-cb8716b5bfa9dfa86c3497d2179aa8a5&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjTspajzMaLAxU7avUHHeATIsYQFnoECAoQAg&usg=AOvVaw0Ee1OP8YEUEFepUEsGcstd

www.prepbaseballreport.com/news/PBR/rintaro-sasaki--the-mlbdl-experience-and-data-dive&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjTspajzMaLAxU7avUHHeATIsYQFnoECAMQAg&usg=AOvVaw1rY2aJD3tkr9JHfk1QGqDt

https://soxmachine.com/2019/12/reports-white-sox-actually-try-publicly-fail-to-land-zack-wheeler/ I guess it's because the original bidding range was supposed to be $70-90 million that I remembered it that way... So we have one example...where a contract for Wheeler instead of Keuchel would/could have changed the course of the franchise, possibly.

Garfien also lists Vargas at 3B/1B and not second. We shall see. https://www.mlb.com/news/gus-varland-fun-social-media-white-sox “Who the hell is this guy? Varland having fun w/ social media…”

Machado we kept sabotaging those deals over extra years and incentives on the final decline years. Harper not really. Wheeler signed for $80-90 million that first Phillies contract. Masahiro Tanaka...??? It was claimed we made second or third highest bid. A-Rod to Rangers deal...distant second or third.

Here it is...

Miami guess is off...color scheme fairly similar

Robert: Did you get a chance to see Grant Taylor in the AFL? If so, what are your thoughts on what you saw? 12:30 Eric A Longenhagen: Buncha times. Raw but understandably so given how little he’s pitched. Flashed three plus pitches, I’m in, he’ll be a top 100 guy. mas: Locally Sourced Arizona Fall League Notes: Grant Taylor and Connor Phillips Are Nasty | FanGraphs Baseball

https://www.google.com.hk/url?q=https://athlonsports.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/tokyo-series-ticket-prices-soar-pricing-out-many-fans&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjtq-XT8cWLAxXSHTQIHSfxOOwQFnoECAQQAg&usg=AOvVaw2ahqQk9I0JH8iz8p_ueQ85 $20,822 highest current ticket price for Tokyo Series...which easily eclipses the highest World Series price last October Cubs/Dodgers also the only match up for the opening day of spring training games next Thurs

"Was I disappointed? I don't think I would characterize my emotions that way," Harris said of Bregman's choice to sign with the Red Sox. "I would say we want players who want to be here. I say it a lot because I mean it. We want players who want to be Tigers. We made a very compelling offer to Alex Bregman, but he chose to sign somewhere else. That's fine. We knew that was a possibility throughout this process and we planned for that outcome. We're fortunate to be in this spot where we have an owner in Chris [Ilitch] who gives us the flexibility to chase the lead free agents. We're going to land those guys sometimes, like we did with Jack Flaherty. Sometimes we're not, and that's fine." Scott Harris of Tigers doing KW impersonation https://www.si.com/mlb/tigers-president-addresses-team-missing-out-alex-bregman-free-agency https://www.si.com/mlb/cardinals-nolan-arenado-insider-floats-nl-rival-potential-trade-partner Cubs for Arenado?

Baldwin would be gone to get regular AAA Charlotte at-bats...the Taylor question is trickier since they don't really need five outfielders. You'd theoretically have to choose between Amaya/Drury...and Drury can't play SS and Baldwin once again needs to play regularly (best utility profile). Vargas could also back up all four IF positions but you don't want him at SS more than 12-15 games per year. Ramos can also back up every single infield position, too. They could instead go with Gallo at 1B/DH to provide more pop with no Robert.

2007 Indians win it all and it's really hard to justify... https://www.forbes.com/sites/larryfleisher/2025/02/11/cc-sabathia-entering-the-hall-of-fame-as-a-new-york-yankee-is-hardly-surprising/#:~:text=Sabathia won 106 games in eight and a,a seven-game ALCS to the Boston Red Sox. "Sabathia won 106 games in eight and a half seasons with Cleveland, which reached the postseason in his rookie season in 2001 and in 2007 when they beat the Yankees before losing three elimination games in a seven-game ALCS to the Boston Red Sox. It was the latter postseason year where he won his only CY Young by beating out Josh Beckett by a 119-86 margin."

That's a Miami Hurricanes baseball team cap, right?

The organization announced plans to reduce season-ticket prices for the 2025 campaign by an average of 10%. It’s too early to know the full impact of that decision, but Boyer said, “The fan reaction was certainly a tip of the cap. We have all the data. We know what the people are selling their tickets for on the secondary market. That decision was an easy one when you realize what our fans have been through.” https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/09/16/franchises/&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjA-rr4nsWLAxWzw8kDHXwGE-0QFnoECAAQAg&usg=AOvVaw0ctqATZ0z_tdsdVrYOSnbZ Some pretty uncharacteristically blunt statements from Boyer...

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/02/13/more-art-of-the-possible-from-a-j-prellers-padres-who-restock-25-rotation-at-bargain-prices/

Big question is whether you really need both Amaya and Drury. Drury definitely can't play SS. Gallo just might sneak onto the roster depending on Spring results... Ramos Meidroth Fletcher Colas DeLoach to AAA sounds about right.

“I’m expecting a lot from Davis,” said pitching coach Ethan Katz. “Especially now being removed from Tommy John...(now) having a normal offseason.” Martin left his last start of 2022 with bicep soreness after an ERA-wrecking season finale outing, and was still very much in the throes of rehabbing from Tommy John surgery this time last season. So training without restrictions at the PitchingWRX facility in his native Oklahoma over the offseason was a lot more normal, and a lot more active... Solid write up on Davis Martin's positives, lots of detail and quotes...rotating DH looks the most likely for now...Gallo brought in more for 1B/DH at-bats. https://soxmachine.com/2025/02/davis-martin-readying-for-a-starring-role-in-white-sox-rotation/

Corona (Ca) High needs to broadcast their games haha I received a couple of texts from trusted folks covering college baseball and MLB Draft this morning. Josh Nelson SoxMachine 1) If Billy Carlson falls to #10, either something is wrong with him or this draft class is a lot better than expected (A LOT of love for Carlson) 2) I should add OK State OF Nolan Schubart to the Watch Board. To finally answer your question, I would rank my Watch Board as likeliest White Sox picks: 1) Brendan Summerhill, OF 2) Luke Stevenson, C 3) Cameron Appenzeller,

"According to a source, Ragans received a $250,000 signing bonus and will make $1 million this season. His salary jumps up to $4.5 million in ‘26 – what would have been his first arb-eligible season – and then $7.5 million in ‘27. If Ragans – who finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting in 2024 – wins the Cy Young this year or next, his ‘27 salary rises to $8 million." Royals' Cole Ragans locks in/guarantees most of his arb years, protects against possibility of third TJS surgery. mlbtraderumors.com https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article300373334.html#storylink=mainstage_lead