caulfield12

Brilliant quote, Hahn. Might actually require more than two playoff victories in six or seven attempts though. You do realize the Guardians and Twins aren't far behind the Sox minor league system and they're already pretty good RIGHT now at the major league level? Detroit has a fine farm system, the best pitcher in baseball and the seemingly willingness to spend more money. And a playoff series victory under their belts? KC has Witt Jr and an actual big league starting rotation.

What good do all those pitchers along with Kopech Rodon Lopez Giolito Lopez Quintana do besides help other teams in the postseason and make us the unofficial feeder team for MLB? Balt still had Kjerstad Mayo and Basallo to work with as well. Balt has/had the best position prospect depth chart of any team in baseball the last decade. None of them have butter yet and Hendersion's an e sports cover star transcending Tim Anderson by miles.

I never said ALL lol. It's not like positive and normative arguments in Econ 101. Not everything is black and white. But a majority of the board will at least be interested unless watching Cease develop over all those years meant nothing at all to Sox fans.

Grayson Rodriguez has that potential still and Bradish was a solid 2 in 2023 before injury. Eflin will be just fine albeit not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. 2024 was all about the offense collapsing in the post season.

That's just it. Stabilizing the entire youngish/inexperienced infield for one season and flipping him for younger talent down the line. Risk/reward, opportunity cost/marginal utility...like holding onto Robert into the start of the season. JR would only see the downside risk of that kind of move. That's why he's stuck in last place.

Shame I should feel over Chris Getz and the current sorry state of the White Sox? That's what basically forced me to start following other teams in the first place...total boredom with the Sox. I honestly am more interested in the six women's players (#1-2 recruit in country, Matt Harpring's kid) visiting Iowa City for USC/JuJu match up this Sunday than anything the Sox are doing right now. Or watching the stock market bounce all around the place like a Tasmanian devil. Also more interesting.

To play half your season at High A Tampa in front of 5000-7500 fans on average....and four to five hours further away from Korea??? Limited marketing ties with Korea compared to West Coast of US? Let's not forget all the hurricanes. He knows a trade to a contender is more likely with the flexibility of that contract...providing built-in protections for both sides.

Jays Mariners Angels Mets...one team will crack. Bregman likely back to Houston...leaving Carlos Estevez and Flaherty. With Cease and King on trade market...Flaherty's situation increasingly complicated SS his performance has bounce around so much but still relatively young.

"The Rays used Jose Caballero and Taylor Walls at shortstop last season and are expected to do the same this year before the return of Kim. Their infield already was a strength, with first baseman Yandy Diaz, second baseman Brandon Lowe and star-in-the-making Junior Caminero at third, with Christopher Morel, Curtis Mead, Jonathan Aranda and Richie Palacios also capable to playing on the dirt." That's eight infielders by my count the White Sox could be looking at for possible improvements...not counting Caminero for obvious reasons.

Not as much as Hays...but we still don't have an everyday SS in sight. He has a 3ish fWAR by late July and he's an?incredibly valuable community on the trade market compared to a deJong. "The deal, which will pay Kim $13 million this season, is the most Tampa Bay has guaranteed in free agency for a position player since signing outfielder Greg Vaughn for four years and $34 million in 1999. Before the partial tear of his right labrum required surgery, Kim was expected to land a free agent deal in the nine-figure range. With his opt-out, he can join a free agent class next year that's thin on infielders, with shortstop Bo Bichette and second baseman Luis Arraez the only players of Kim's caliber." https://global.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/43614016/sources-ha-seong-kim-rays-agree-2-year-29m-deal

https://sports.yahoo.com/chiefs-officiating-a-look-at-the-key-controversies-surrounding-kansas-city-this-season-163843973.html

When Cease is on a team competing with the Sox for a better trade return than what Getz got for two years of Dylan it will be just as much a talking point as Fedde Vargas Luke Keachsall.

They definitely will when Cease King Suarez Cronenworth Arraez and probably even Tatis Jr. get auctioned off to the highest bidders. Teams like LAD or Jays or Orioles or even the Twins...who have already been talking to Preller about trades. Might as well take Paddack back lol. At any rate, they will be the last example for years of a medium or small market team spending over $300 million on payroll...at least until a massive financial restructuring of the sport takes place. It might actually have worked until the owner died and RSN deals became unsustainable.

The Adames massive contract is the one that would scare me to death 2-3 years from now. It's going to look just like Bogaerts in that much bigger stadium/outfield that suppresses offense. The upside is the 4.5-6.0 fWAR guy from 2023 worth a pretty penny in a trade flip for prospects to a contender if the Rays get buried early. A lot depends on Caminero breaking out this season for them.

https://www.tampabay.com/sports/rays/2025/01/29/rays-agree-2-year-deal-with-former-gold-glove-winner/ Kim is projected to be available sometime in May now...

https://www.gaslampball.com/2025/1/28/24353543/good-morning-san-diego-sheel-seidler-comments-on-the-record#comments "They essentially have two choices: Fight over the team in court for the next five years. or Sell the team, then fight over the proceeds for the next five years. Hopefully they cash out and fight over the cash..."

Half that money in cash considerations for a Sox intl prospect and Getz has himself a deal for Brasier IMO. Brasier would be what Steven Wilson was intended to be last season, a veteran stabilizer/shock absorber.

Sasaki=Mahomes Daniels Stroud on rookie deals, the PPI pick for RoY while Sox are picking nowhere close to 1-2-3. Twins would mean doubling the payroll when it's $100 million less minus Benintendi and Robert Jr.

Banda's only $1 million...Yates Treinen Kopech and Vesia make up their back end now, with the pressure of carrying 6-7 starters also falling on that pen. Phillips is going nowhere for now. It's either Brasier or Banda. Just depends on the best possible deal they work out...White Sox could also "buy" Taylor for LAD prospects but they already added Rojas instead.

"The Dodgers are now on track for a $379 million payroll, per Fangraphs' estimate, which would be the largest payroll in MLB history. The 110% CBT surcharge would mean this deal is more like a $27.3 million pact for them. Yates is coming off one of the best seasons in baseball by a reliever, with a 1.17 ERA that ranked behind only Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase for the best mark among relievers." https://sports.yahoo.com/dodgers-add-closer-kirby-yates-pushing-payroll-to-estimated-379-million-report-030528286.html Still doesn't include Enrique Hernandez and Clayton Kershaw...pushing them over $400 million soon enough and then the 3B Murakami contract for next off season. Plus the best Japanese starting FA pitcher available at the end of NPB season...so let's say/project $450 million, roughly.

The shoulder and falling from his 2023 fWAR peak and nearing 30. Might still miss first 2-3 months of the season.

Yet Chiefs are 5/6 Super Bowls now and everyone just lands the supposed parity of the NFL...same as hen Brady won 6 with NE. That parity tends to be in teams 2-22 though. Whereas in MLB, you now ha e a clearly defined Top 12...maybe the DBacks at 13 if they can afford the likes of Montgomery Bumgarner Burnes, and a bottom 17 with SD now sinking into oblivion.

See Crede, Joe.

Unlocking the Asian/Japanese market a huge key for untapped revenues... Why nobody has created a "Korean team" is beyond me...Giants might be the closest now with CF Woo if he can produce to justify that hefty contract. Could have gone with HaSeong Kim over Adames, for example.

The Rays and infielder Ha-Seong Kim have agreed to a two-year, $29MM contract, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal includes an opt-out after the first season for the Boras Corporation client. Kim will make $13MM this year and could unlock another $2MM via incentives, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. If he doesn’t opt out, he’ll make $16MM in 2026. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/rays-to-sign-ha-seong-kim.html White Sox now only ahead of the Marlins' payroll number in the high $60 million range...