Chicago White Sox

God I hate Philly ever since they cock blocked us Wheeler.

Which is weird because the Kimbrel move was going for the jugular. Seems odd to make that move if things weren’t coming in the offseason.

Wasn’t he going through some personal and/or COVID related issues the past couple seasons?

And this why we can’t settle with a bunch of bullpen & bench signings. The Blue Jays are getting better and also have an amazing young core. The same applies to the Mariners. Eventually the Tigers & Royals could take a leap if enough of their young talent hits. Stop fucking around and add that left-handed power bat and acquire a starter that pushes Keuchel to the bullpen. The best way to extent our competing window is through deep playoff runs and elevated payrolls as it will take several years for the farm system to be rebuilt.

Real talk, but what teams could be in on Conforto? Like how big could his market be? It feels like the Winkler trade and Suzuki signing with Padres (if it happens) would help our chances immensely.

Exactly, which why Harrison’s buyout counts against the CBT as well.

You sure about that? Then why is Hendriks’ luxury tax number $18M?

I asked this question the other day, but no one was able to confirm. However, from a luxury tax perspective, does it count against this year’s cap?

We’ve signed three multi-year contracts this offseason, they just so happen to be for a utility guy and two relievers that make $22M combined. With any semblance of a farm system, that money right there covers 2 1/2 years of Conforto. That’s the problem.

Moose is their main bad contract but it’s almost too bad to take on.

Got bad news for you about that little guy…

Reds are straight giving players away, we should be exploring what it would take to get Mahle right now.

Very true. I’m confident they’re pursuing some of these guys, but you never know if Hahn will actually be able to reel in the fish.

It will be super frustrating. Like I still don’t get committing 3/$16M to Leury when we have a guy in Romy Gonzalez more or less ready and can do many of the same things. Not only that, but we got multiple guys coming up behind him with utility infielder projections like Yogurt, Sosa, & even Popeye if he doesn’t leap into an everyday option. I have less of a problem with the bullpen additions, but they highlight the absolute failure that is our minor league system. Have no other options but to buy expensive setup men when all your relief prospects crash & burn. Our failures to develop arks has proven costly.

Fair point.

Oh brother

I wouldn’t say awful, but I’d give it a C-. The bullpen and bench are the only areas that you can argue are stronger than they were last year (with the bench gains driven mostly by internal development). The rotation right now is in worse shape and the lineup is basically the same. I’m hoping the the moves made so far are of the low hanging variety and a more impactful move or two will occur over the next week or so. So far, Hahn has yet to show a desire to push some chips in like he did at the deadline, but the pieces that can help us are still out there so zero reason to panic just yet. That being said, I’ve got my pitchfork on standby just in case ?

Where you seeing this?

They’ve spent nearly $30M on relievers and utility men. Those are the spots a halfway decent farm system should pump out repeatedly. Unfortunately our failures in that area are coming back to bite us.

Why is that?

We really need Freeman & Correa to sign so the market gets moving.

Nope not yet.

Why does Oakland want him?

So level setting on what someone like Sean Manaea might cost. Sonny Gray with two years of team control just went for a late 2021 1st round pick. Chris Bassitt with only one year of control went for a 2020 overslot 2nd round pick and an older, late bloomer arm. What’s fascinating is I’d probably argue that the A’s got the superior package, although Petty offers far more upside than Ginn. Regardless, neither headliner was a top 100 type yet, but has the ceiling to become one with time. The challenge is the Sox don’t have a ton of guys with that type of pedigree. Jared Kelly would be the closest as his $3M bonus was actually larger than both Ginn & Petty’s and he was a higher regarded prospect by most publications heading into each of their respective drafts. The problem for him was a disastrous 2021 season that was both short on health and results. Could he headline a trade for Manaea? Maybe if the A’s were high on him pre-draft, but you’d potentially be selling him for $0.50 on the dollar. Besides Kelly, maybe you could make a argument for Matthew Thompson plus a decent secondary piece, but he like Kelly posted poor results in 2021 and his value has taken a hit, even if his athleticism & projectability remain there. I think Vera could easily headline a Manaea trade, but the Sox aren’t moving him now when he a chance to be a top 50 prospect in a year or two. Dalquist & Burke, our next two best pitching prospects, aren’t going to be enough to headline this type of trade. Honestly, that leaves positional guys and out of all of them I really think Burger makes the most sense. The A’s are likely to lose both Olson & Chapman in the near future and will need to help to replace the power they provide. Zack Gelof will certainly be in the mix, but having another guy that can fill in at 3B, 1B, & DH makes a ton of sense. To me, Sheets flashed enough last season to be worth more than one year of Manaea, especially with the NL getting the DH now. And Colas is in a similar boat to Vera where it’s difficult to move him now when his value is likely to jump after a year statewide. Burger plus an arm like Jason Bilous seems like a reasonable package for both sides.

Carlos Martinez to the Giants on a minor league deal worth $2.5M plus incentives. I’d have to imagine Velasquez’s deal would be for a smaller guaranteed amount.