Chicago White Sox

I know, it just feels like nothing is happening.

These meetings are boring as fuck.

Rosenthal didn’t really say anything new, but he definitely put together a pretty convincing argument for us signing Harper. Really sounds like he’s ours for the taking if Uncle Jerry will spend.

Rosenthal on MLBN talking Sox right now.

Can we stop with the 4th grade bullshit guys?

I pretty much disagree with this entire post and am glad you are not GM.

Despite my issue with Omar’s small ball tendencies, he did seem to get a lot out of his guys last year. Given how loaded that AA roster will be, I do think this is a good move.

Which is why we shouldn’t be cheering for it. Don’t need the Yankees opening a hole at 3B.

Don’t forget platooning and stolen bases!!

I’m going to be so pissed if the Yankees get Thor. Like the Mets can’t be this stupid to make their market rival the clear favorite to win the World Series just so they can land the hottest name on the market.

WTF are the Mets thinking right now.

No, I’m arguing with this comment: ”They're not going to approach $150 million if they can't win consistently first.“

No offense, but this is just nonsense. Their revenue profile is different, their expense structure is different. There isn’t a one size fits all model for payroll spending. And furthermore, national TV money continues to grow & grow. I’d wager the Sox could support a $125M payroll right now and still make a profit. What the Astros did a few years ago has no bearing on us whatsoever.

Why do the Astros have anything to do with our spending potential?

It would be, but trying to think outside the box. Other than throwing hard, I don’t see anything else that interesting about Kelly.

I agree. Maybe they’re considering him as a starter?

I actually don’t disagree with any of his points, just thought it was funny how mad he actually was about this.

This Russo guy on MLBN is pretty pissed about Baines getting voted in.

I don’t get the Hamilton love. He’s a slightly better version of Adam Engel. I’d much rather use the $5M to $7M on a substantial upgrade or a high-end flip candidate.

Same issue that impacted Clarkin. If we decide we need his roster spot later and try to slip him through waivers, all it takes is a team to commit a 40 man roster spot to keep him. Right now, someone has to commit a 25 man roster for the entire season.

Your expectations are completely unrealistic IMO.

How does not dealing Abreu have anything to do with raiding the farm system? And yes the roster is lacking, which is why the priority is using our financial flexibility to land a whale. Not getting one of these guys will delay our timeline to compete and puts significant pressure on us to develop our all stars internally. Whatever scraps you can get for Jose isn’t worth that risk.

We can tender him a contract for the 2020 season, which greatly improves our chance of retaining him for another season. Regardless, it’s more about the optics. No one will be able to convince me that trading away Abreu helps our story that we want to be competitive in 2020.

We could sign both if we were prepared to become a luxury tax team, which seems completely unrealistic. I see us eventually being around a $150M payroll and that simply can’t support both of these guys.

You and others are missing the point. To convince a Harper or Machado to come play here, we need to make it clear that the rebuild is coming to an end. Trading our best hitter for a B prospects conveys the wrong the message. This isn’t about competing in 2019, it’s about proving to them that we plan to be serious by 2020. Dealing Abreu does the exact opposite.