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The five pieces the Braves gave up will bring a lot of name recognition, but I’m not sure any of them had a role in Atlanta next season besides Lopez. The trade opens up three spots on the club’s 40-man roster, which stands at 37. Michael Soroka will always be cheered for in Atlanta, but he was out of minor league options and was likely to be non-tendered on Friday given his extensive injury history. Michael will now have the opportunity to pitch every fifth day with the White Sox and hopefully regain the command that made him a special pitcher early in his career. Go get ‘em, kid. Jared Shuster showed in a couple of brief stints this past season that he lacks the stuff to get big league hitters out with any kind of consistency. After three years in Double-A and Triple-A, it’s safe to say the Braves aren’t taking a risk in moving on from the 25-year-old lefty. The same can be echoed for Braden Shewmake, who will turn 26 next month and posted a .705 OPS in Gwinnett this past season. The one surprise of the deal is Nicky Lopez, who is expected to earn $4 million in arbitration next season as the club’s primary backup infielder. Lopez is superb with the glove and runs the bases well, but he would rarely play in 2024 short of an injury to Albies or Arcia. Trading away Lopez does mean the club will need to add a utility infielder this winter. https://www.batterypower.com/2023/11/17/23965055/braves-trade-aaron-bummer-white-sox-michael-soroka

Three new names from the previous article… Connor Onion, who grew up in La Grange and lives in Chicago, also figures to be considered. He works for Big Ten Network and ESPN and called minor-league baseball from 2017 to 2022, including the Kane County Cougars when they were in the Diamondbacks’ system (2018-19). Two potential candidates with name recognition are Chris and Stefan Caray, the twin sons of former Cubs announcer Chip Caray and the great-grandsons of the late Harry Caray, who called Sox and Cubs games. For the last two seasons, the identical twins have called games together for the Diamondbacks’ Double-A affiliate, the Amarillo Sod Poodles, in the Texas League. It’s unknown whether they’re a package deal or if they’re willing to work apart.

Vaughn still has hair?

Romy and Remillard lol?

Why would KC benefit from an almost $30 million one year deal with Moncada? Perez has more value from a PR and marketing standpoint not even playing....just sitting in the dugout in a KC uniform as a player-manager.

Saved a good chunk of money that won't be reinvested...

Granderson for 5th outfielder next...

Now down to Crochet and Banks in the pen (LH side)...maybe one more name that didn't exactly distinguish himself 2nd half last year.

Reds' owner wasn't that far off Fisher's burning in effigy status before 2022...then an injection of exciting young talent turned everything around. Play an entertaining brand of competitive baseball and anything is possible, even in the smallest markets.

Who can Getz and Grifol blame for poor performance (other than Moncada and Eloy) when almost all of their so called bad attitude guys are gone but the team is still worse by a long shot in 2024??? Poor fan support? No discernible home field advantage?

F--k Boyer (again) This was during their supposed "championship window" as well. Sounds eerily reminiscent of Hahn defense mechanism...quoting broadcasting award.

Rangers and Padres also have these "all in one" destination site plans in place...Arlington already had at last park. Braves come to mind here as well. KC currently targeting such a plan with three different downtown spots under consideration.

Chances for astronaut arguably higher with an AI fix/solution imagined at some point.

TA is gone. JR has never spent $80 million...let alone 5X that. He would perceive situation as very unlikely playoff run not unlike situation in Anaheim. Plus the Cubs were already in his previous top 7...only two of those teams outside the West Coast. Not sure if NYY or Boston the other. Zero chance. Cubs just hired Counsell to help go after Ohtani as well as former Brewers and fellow NL Central players.

A lot of talk Ohtani will sign before Winter Meetings...of course MLB might prefer the timing be delayed for then https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38841002/shohei-ohtani-free-agent-latest-news-updates-analysis

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38905458/shohei-ohtani-free-agent-chicago-cubs-cody-bellinger Cubs not likely to go after Bellinger unless Ohtani falls through... The timing could finally be right for a Cubs-Ohtani union. "Ohtani would own Wrigley Field, literally," one NL scout joked about his potential salary. "He'd own Chicago, for sure." The Cubs are also in on Japanese pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga -- the latter has already spent time in Chicago -- according to sources familiar with the situation. They also have an eye on Milwaukee starter Corbin Burnes, in case the Brewers begin to subtract -- and Milwaukee is willing to trade with the team that just pilfered its manager. The Cubs would like to acquire a starter after Marcus Stroman opted out of his deal recently -- though young pitching is a sudden strength for the #2 ranked MiLB organization. Minor league righty Cade Horton could end up being the top pitching prospect in baseball next year, according to McDaniel. But the big fish is still Ohtani. Like all his suitors so far, the Cubs are keeping their strategy close to the vest.

Just making this the catch-all for non Sox related offseason stuff... by Shaun O'Neill MLB.com With Peter Seidler, there was no “yeah, but …” He set a World Series championship as a goal and backed his words with actions. Period. He promised a first-class fan experience at Petco Park and delivered. Period. He was curious about his adopted city and constantly sought more knowledge about it. Period. He was kind, friendly and respectful to all those he encountered. Period. He sought solutions for the toughest problems and did not assign blame. Period. He was relentlessly optimistic -- about the Padres, about baseball, about homelessness issues, about the city. Period. Peter Seidler, the Padres’ owner and chairman, will be dearly missed. That was clear to those who knew him, and then became evident to all by the reaction to his death Tuesday. Pitchers Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove joined the many fans who paid their respects at Petco Park. Darvish was eloquent on social media. “My heart hurts with the unfortunate news of Peter Seidler’s passing,” Darvish wrote. “I’m sure everyone that knew him would agree with me when I say Peter was a truly wonderful human being and being in his presence was always a blessing. “He was a teacher of life and taught me countless lessons from all the interactions we had. May his beautiful soul rest in peace.” Padres fans should be commended for not waiting until after Seidler’s death to express their fondness for him. A scan of Petco Park during a game -- almost always a full ballpark in 2023 -- would bring sightings of multiple “Seidler” jerseys. That is a rare thing in pro sports for fans to feel so connected with an owner that they customize jerseys in his honor. In April, Padres fans broke into a “Peter! Peter! Peter!” serenade when he was spotted strolling in the stands … in Arizona! We know he heard the chant. Here’s hoping he felt it, too.

Going to have to do a fire sale...they might be much better off dumping Bogaerts OR Machado along with a Soto trade asap. All depends on what LAD SFG and AZ end up doing. But they don't have enough pitching/bullpen to compete. Also wouldn't be shocked to see Quantrill go back there.

Moncada Robert and TA constantly having numerous injury problems? Pretty much three anti Vaughn/Burger types.

Wouldn't keeping powerless fugureheads in Getz and Grifol in place be the strangely counterintuitive way of essentially asserting we're running an open house and have no clue how to go about fixing things ourselves?

Not to mention Cal Berkeley and Stanford from the Pac 12.

Recalls Greg being upset with Thome, Dunn, Gallo, etc., not bunting down 3B line every PA.

Obviously the previous ties with Nintendo corporation, proximity to home, beautiful park (not great for hitters though) and trendy city…Ichiro’s legacy and the long history of previous Japanese pitchers. They really do need one more high impact hitter in that lineup. Also have a feeling he would have just a bit more anonymity there in Pacific NW. Recent socio-cultural trends though in Portland and Seattle might not be to his personal liking. Seems to be a bit more conservative/traditional in terms of his personality…

But the iconic nature of Wrigley and Fenway also includes built-in high profile Japanese teammates…that’s not insignificant. And the way the stadium plays through the summer months. In a way, those two places are kind of like the current Disneylands of MLB…so it’s not shocking the most entertaining player in the world would naturally be drawn there. Red Sox with a long long history of Japanese pitchers going back to Dice K and numerous relievers over time.

Luis Robert pretty much the only answer there…or Colson doing an 85-90% impression of Corey Seager while remaining healthy over multiple seasons with Robert as well. There’s your Sox versions of Semien and Seager. The problem here is the rest of the team, just like 2016…and losing Burger simply due to the burdensome Moncada and Benintendi contracts is even more annoying by the day.