caulfield12

Sounds too close to Sirotka.

Planned/projected signing?

At least we are attempting to actually have an approach for the first time since the height of the Don Cooper years at the big league level.

Mets were in at around $10 million and two years. Still significantly less than Lynn Severino Montas, etc.

Reminiscent of Derek Holland...just don't feel ugh excitement at all but at least not Scholtens in the rotation. Inroads into Korea and Japan someday? Tigers already beating Sox there...handily.

Earned as in "backwards" luck for White Sox and Royals? De-earned? Dis-earned? Relegated?

KyYle wouldn't like it.

More likely Chase Rate Burns...no, didn't even both to look and see if he was a pitcher or hitter.

Screwed by Covid years. Screwed by union fights...self induced. Screwed by competitive balance in a massive market even though they have a bottom 2 all-time largest contract (along with the A's or Pirates.)

The reverse of this is the Padres going from a Top 3 system all the way down into the 20s desperately chasing a title. Elias watched what Preller did wrong, realizes he doesn't have the leeway to carry 6-7 $100+ million deals simultaneously and has to carefully approach each season just like the Rays do...knowing exactly when to dump aging vets for the next wave of youth. They can't really afford to be all-in when the risks are too high...the Blue Jays, Yankees and Red Sox, otoh, are under the constant pressure of expectations from their fan base and desperately need to win now. I you were Elias, with THAT owner...how convinced are you really that Dylan Cease absolutely puts you over the top? You might believe another elite/relatively cheap Mullins year is much more likely to lead to the promised land than wiping out approximately half your farm system for Cease AND Robert.

Maturity-wise he failed the final test kicking that Gatorade cooler and missing two months in the heat of a pennant race. There were already red flags all over the place within the organization.

Because he said virtually the exact same thing as Getz… Grifol obviously not directly naming guys like Moncada, Grandal, Eloy, Robert, perhaps Benintendi the first half. “I guess you can talk about it now, but you couldn’t talk about it at that time because it would probably give competitive advantage. A lot of it was that our guys were hurt. And we spoke prior to, ‘Whatever percent you’re available at today, that’s what I want you to give me.’ Those are things that I’m not going to go on the record after a game or prior to a game and say, ‘So and so can’t give me this because he’s nicked up.’ And that happened a ton, more than what I ever envisioned or have ever been a part of. “But these guys are talented, and I want them in the lineup. I said this over and over again, ‘I choose the bat over the legs. I’m not expecting so and so to run, because I choose the bat over the legs. If I didn’t, then I wouldn’t play them.’ That happened a lot. This is not an excuse. Injuries played a big part of that. “And then there were some lapses, too, there were some lapses of lack of focus. But I’m to blame for that, because I’m the one that’s got to fix that and address that. I’ve never hid from that. All I know is that we’re fixing it. Was it a lot? More than what I would want but not as much as the perception is. “I think the perception has been steadily increasing over the years, and it’s magnified. I don’t compare ourselves to any other club or anything like that, but it’s kind of the way of the game a little bit. But it’s not the way we envision our game. I’m not comparing myself to other teams, but it’s almost like, ‘Oh, this is how we’re supposed to play.’ No, it’s not how we’re supposed to play. And that’s something that I’m going to bear down on.” https://allchgo.com/1-on-1-with-pedro-grifol-white-sox-manager-talks-what-went-wrong-during-2023-season/

That’s the only way you can justify trading Robert…that you can get three 3-5 fWAR floor/ceiling guys for him…along with one complete wild card like a Basabe/Colas type. Basically there’s something you aren’t satisfied with in even your two best players. Flaws. Concerns. Potential makeup issues from being around Grandal/TA/Moncada/Eloy for some time now.

Certainly haven’t provided many reasons for Sox fans to shell out money for tickets this Christmas, at least not at this point.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/detroit-tigers-working-narrow-gap-111009978.html Tigers execs working hard to narrow gap and realistically target Japanese stars for first time in twenty years Note to White Sox, yes, it can be done with time and resources invested, dollop of determination on top

Not sure the 2019-2020 Twins are a great example (comp to 2023 Sox) since there was a pretty darned strong indication they already had key pieces in place… Other than Correa (not a win so far) and Buxton, the biggest difference makers were Sonny Gray, Royce Lewis, Pablo Lopez, Edouard Julien, Joe Ryan and Jhoan Duran, arguably. Three of those guys were already in their system and didn’t need to be added externally.

With Dylan Cease presumably gone, a deal for Robert Jr. would likely require a parcel of young studs on the mound. Morosi pointed to the Mariners as a logical trade partner. "The Mariners have the kind of pitching that the White Sox want," he said. "Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo — if it's Robert, you would even have to think about Logan Gilbert. That's the place to go for pitching." In an interview with NBC Sports Chicago's Chuck Garfien, MLB Network's Jon Morosi said he would not be surprised to see the White Sox move Robert Jr. this offseason. "I could see anybody [on the White Sox] getting traded," Morosi said. "When you underachieve by the magnitude that they did, I have a hard time saying these players are untouchable. "They're all obviously good major league players, but the composition of them did not work. The whole was much lesser than the sum of the parts for the White Sox in 2023. And when you have that kind of a team, you should have nothing that says these players are off limits. He also suggested that trading Robert Jr. would allow the White Sox to build their team up more quickly. "Look at the Twins three or four years ago," he said. "There was very little indication that they were going to be as good as they are right now, and I think it's important to keep an eye on those types of clubs and how quickly you can get better." https://www.yahoo.com/sports/mlb-insider-see-white-sox-030539068.html

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/cubs-one-mlbs-most-desperate-152126630.html

No hitter against Seattle forthcoming...

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/guardians-trade-rumors-emmanuel-clase.html If you look at where Clase and Duran (Twins) were 12 months ago...it's just incredible that the Guardians are already trying to dump him, but everything is starting to be about finances with that team after the RSN failure.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/11/erick-fedde-drawing-interest-from-mlb-clubs.html Merrill Kelly got a two-year, $5.5MM deal from Arizona going into 2019. A year later, Josh Lindblom got $9.125MM plus incentives over three years from the Brewers. Chris Flexen got $4.75MM over two years from the Mariners prior to 2021, plus a vesting option for 2023. Fedde may be able to top those figures through a combination of his superb season, his former prospect pedigree and inflation, but the guarantee still figures to be lighter than the top available arms.

Deacon Hill probably wants to enter the portal but nobody biting. Have never seen a QB with less instinctive touch when he throws the ball.

Until he gets hurt in typical Sox "everything that can go wrong will go wrong" 2023 fashion...another disadvantage is that he can't fatten up his stats too much beating up on the AL Central dregs (Royals and Tigers) as in past years with the unbalanced schedule.

No Scholtens? And the comeback of the inimitable Davis Martin? How soon they all forget.