Chicago White Sox

Lol...praising Theo for not wanting to cut his former blue chip prospect is hilarious.

If you’re gonna hit a woman, just be honest about it!

I’m not sure what Comcast/NBCSports would be willing to pay, but having a quality on-field product and the Cubs potentially leaving puts us in a nice spot.

100% agree. If our front office is worth a damn, they’re looking at the big picture and planning accordingly. Just like our long-term lease is of significant value, maximizing the value of our next local TV deal is of the utmost importantance. If we can add a whale like Harper or Machado and build a roster that can be semi-competitive in 2019, that’s going to look very attractive to Comcast / other media providers and greatly improve our ability to negotiate a good TV deal. That long-term revenue stream is far more important than any amount we could possibly spend filling holes with veterans this offseason.

Yup, totally agree. But to your point, we have no idea if they’ll reinvest that excess cash into the team not.

Ellsbuy may be better than Engel, but that’s a low bar to cross and doesn’t account for the $45M difference in salary over the next two seasons.

Very true.

I love this line of thinking, but I’d probably go after Dozier first.

Eloy is worth more than Realmoto, but I agree Robert or Cease (plus others) would need to be in the trade.

Not trying to be a dick, but this trade would be done yesterday if that’s all it took. They’re going to get at least one blue chip centerpiece and this offer has none.

Those two things are one & the same. You’re right, 2018 was a disaster and both fans & media companies are probably losing interest. We need to do something big to build back some positive goodwill. Winning is a big part of that, but this franchise definitely needs a face which is why landing a whale is of the utmost importance. To your point, we can’t stop there, although I disagree B free agents are garbage. We have numerous spots on our roster that got replacement level production last year. There is low hanging fruit that can be addressed with short term financial commitments. Again, I know I’m in the minority here, but I’m happy to plug those gaps with solid veterans and put respectable roster in place. One that can contend if enough young take that next step forward.

Signing relievers isn’t what I’m referring when I talk about a market inefficiency. And 33 year old Anibal Sanchez coming off three bad seasons (and who they released before OD) doesn’t count as a B free agent.

I know I’m in the minority here, but I truly believe accelerating the rebuild is about the TV deal and making sure the fanbase doesn’t lose interest in the team. Adding a bunch of B free agents will help, but adding a whale has always been the #1 goal for this offseason. We know because our front office was willing to think outside the box (right or wrong) and potentially add Machado to a 100 loss roster. This is the first time in my entire fandom that I truly believe the hunt for a whale is real.

I mean, they obviously didn’t sign a whale (not that you suggested they did), but who did they sign other than Lynn & Reed?

They could probably add $100M and break-even from a P&L perspective. Our TV revenue alone is over $100M I believe.

They can’t be that stupid. We need a god damn whale and then several B guys on short-term deals. There is a market inefficiency right now with non-star, over 30 free agents. We should take advantage of that, but only if we plan (hope) to sign Harper or Machado.

FIFY

Do you like Hahn now?! ?

What’s the penalty for signing Grandal assuming we land Harper?

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I think it comes down to roster spots. I really feel like we’re going a bunch of additions in free agency.

100% agree, assuming Avi is non-tendered.

I’m saying Colome is cheaper than the closer options in free agency.

I don’t think he’s quite there just yet. I believe he was banged up for a while at AAA, so maybe that explains some of his offensive struggles. I’d still make him force the issue and not just hand him the job.

Which they were obviously going to add. But perhaps they felt they were better off getting a cheaper closer option and using the savings toward the rotation or offense.