Chicago White Sox

But the reality is the only two options aren’t keeping Kimbrel or trading him for Segura. There are other options and ones that hopefully don’t require us taking $14.5am in salary: .

First off, it’s nothing but love Cali. But I must say that anything we can get for Kimbrel without eating money is a huge win. If picking up his option saves us $1M and gets us a reliever like Dominguez then we should all applaud Rick Hahn. The cost we paid for Craig originally is a sunk cost and nothing we can do will make up for it. Just got to move forward with the best move that optimizes our chances to win in 2022 even if it reiterates the Kimbrel trade was a massive L.

What we gave up for Kimbrel is completely irrelevant to the current decision. Are we trying to win a World Series next year or is pretending the Kimbrel trade wasn’t a disaster more important? Like I said, I want to dump Kimbrel for the best return that takes on the least amount of money possible. I would then reinvest that money into RF and the rotation. Regarding Escobar, I’m just saying I’d rather just sign him for $10M than pick up Kimbrel’s option in order to land Segura. I’d still rather prioritize other needs because $14M+ for a 2 to 2.5 win 2B isn’t a huge value with what 2B are going for right now.

Fully agree. Just sign Escobar for $10M and get 25 much needed bombs.

Under no circumstance should Segura push Tim or Robert out of the 1 or 2 spot. They are both significantly better hitters than Segura.

I’d simply rather prioritize resources towards RF & SP. I’m not a huge Kemp fan by any means, but if I can get Conforto and a legit SP I will happily go cheap elsewhere. That’s why I’d rather move Kimbrel for a cheap controllable reliever than take on a bunch of salary. And why do they have to get more than Dominguez if they eat no money?

No money going out, so not expecting a ton for Kimbrel. A bullpen arm with upside and options is more than sufficient for me if we don’t have to eat any cash. Dominguez is coming back from injury, but has a pretty highly ceiling. And yes Kemp has a nice year, but the dude literally has zero power and little track record of plus offensive performance. I doubt he costs too much, but perhaps Sosa is too light (I actually really like Sosa though). I’d be willing to throw another prospect in if need be.

Not to be a hater, but I don’t get the Wendle love. Great glove but the bat leaves a lot to be desired.

Exactly my point. What kind of contract does Iglesias get? Plus you have to give up a pick. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather have Iglesias if I could have for 1/$16M, but the cost will be substantially higher than that.

With James saying he could see payroll going up to $200M, I've gone ahead and created a revised offseason plan. Without going into much deal, I'd go all-in on on Scherzer and Conforto and go cheap everywhere else. Payroll would come in just shy of $200M and I think it would be the best roster in the AL. I think every free agent contract is fair, I think the trades are realistic, and I'm even eating $7M of Dallas' salary to move him. Tell me where I'm wrong or what you dislike about the plan?

$190M plus?! Oh shit. Thanks for sharing bud!

James - Great stuff as usual! Where do you see the payroll ultimately landing? Around $180M or so? I know the article is about us landing one impact free agent, but does that change if we can move Kimbrel? What if we can dump Keuchel on someone while eating $8M or less? Just wondering if there could be room for two sizable additions or if I’m getting way too greedy as usual.

Scherzer at $30M/year would be the biggest no brainer of all time, just worried he’s gets much closer to $40M a year. Regardless, I like the way Tony is thinking here! After him, give me Conforto over Semien. I love Marcus, but I’d rather invest big dollars in RF and a guy who has a longer tracker record of hitting RHP.

Remember, only his value with the White Sox counts right?

Alright, if you were a GM and in desperate need of a closer, who would you rather have? Player A: 70.0 IP | 13.2 K/9 | 2.83 FIP | 97th % xwOBA | 2.0 fWAR | 2.62 High Lev FIP Player B: 59.2 IP | 15.1 K/9 | 2.43 FIP | 98th % xwOBA | 2.2 fWAR | 0.74 High Lev FIP

I’d rather spend $10M on Eduardo Escobar than trade Kimbrel for Segura. Both are very similar players, but Escobar provides much more power while Segura offer superior on-base abilities. Ultimately if I’m looking to add a 9th place hitter to this lineup, I’d rather have the guy who can run into 25 bombs than a guy who gets on base more frequently, especially if it saves me $4M in the process. And Rick specifically mentioned power as something they would need to continue adding.

Clint Frazier DFAed?! No idea why they didn’t trade him after the 2020 season.

?…will be interesting to see what this is for.

I mean, he’s semi-passable starting pitching depth that we don’t have a lot of. But I guess if they’re optimistic Stiever & Lambert can return to form you can make the argument he’d be 10th on the depth chart so not a huge deal.

I really think Conforto is our #1 target this offseason.

The Twins are year away from getting a 2nd round pick for losing Buxton and you want to give them two cheap cornerstones they can build around? I have no idea what comparison you are trying to draw to Hernandez & Kimbrel. Also, you think two cheap, high potential pieces off our major league roster is comparable to what the Dodgers gave up for Betts?

He’ll also make $31M or so less than Max next year.

My god either you’ve lost your mind or have added the Twins to your list of favorites alongside the Royals & Twins. Not one single Sox fan will ever say “how come we didn’t trade Andrew Vaughn, Garrett Crochet, and two minor leagues to a divisional rival for one year of Bryan Buxton” even if the dude becomes Mike Trout. Like where do you come up with this stuff?

Craig Kimbrel on the Phillies’ wishlist per Heyman. Definitely think it’s going to happen.