Chicago White Sox

If we don’t add anyone, then he’s the primary DH by default.

I’m hoping Rick does and realizes that his offseason sucks a fat you know what so far and that he better nut up and land Conforto.

When have they told us the opposite? When they told us they wanted to add power, add better left-handed balance, and improve the defense? Show me how they’ve addressed those needs so far this offseason.

And just to be fair, I fully agree that the bullpen needed to be addressed and I actually like both RP moves in isolation. But if those are the only moves we make then it’s a complete failure on Hahn’s part.

How about you don’t pick up Kimbrel’s option and don’t sign Leury to a ridiculous three year extension? Instead use Romy in the UT role. That’s $20.7M in savings right there if you assume a league minimum guy replaces Craig. And instead of giving Gravemen $8M for three years, go trade Jake Burger for a cost controlled reliever from a rebuilding team. There are ways to improve the bullpen and bench without spending $30M in free agency. And yes, I’m aware that Conforto isn’t just a 2022 investment. However, Gravemen & Leury’s salaries alone would cover $13.5M of Conforto’s 2023 & 2024 salary. Replacing Harrison after the 2022 season with a pr-arb guy saves another ~$5M. And Hendriks has a $0M CBT payroll figure come 2024 given the structure of his deal. Point is we can get pretty close right there and can always move guys as needed to free up the rest.

Fully agree…we may be capped out at the moment, but I find it impossible to believe Jerry told Hahn to temporarily go over budget while he looks to move Kimbrel. What happens if he gets injured? Do we have to trade one of our good players then? Would never happen in a million years. If anything, Hahn will dump Kimbrel and claim the savings will be used for mid-season additions. You know, why address known weaknesses in the offseason when you can a premium to address those same needs at the deadline.

When has Jerry ever allowed Hahn to go over budget with the caveat he needs to move a player later? That would be completely unprecedented territory and make the decision to pick up Kimbrel’s option in the first place even more nonsensical.

Fucking gross…Rick Hahn should be fired tomorrow if this is reflective of a championship window offseason.

There are other ways to buy prospects though. My point is if the market doesn’t view Kimbrel as being worth at least $16M on a one year deal then you’re destroying value by picking up his option. Now, if you’re saying there are teams who think he’s that valuable but simply can’t afford to fit his salary into their budget and are willing to give up a prospect in exchange for cash considerations then maybe you can still come out ahead. But man, I hate the concept of picking up an option and basically being forced to eat some money to move said player. Just seems too risky and bad process overall.

Then it was a massive mistake to pick up that option.

I’ll be honest, if we’re trying to trade a $16M catcher that only a few teams can afford and are specifically looking for a young catcher in return then we’re really going to struggle to get a trade down. Very few organizations have to soon-to-be-ready MLB catchers that are readily expendable.

It’s going to be painful watching him overused.

Has there been a single rumor / connection to the Red Sox?

Absolute insanity we gave Leury a three year deal at a player friendly rate.

So you think aren’t interested at all then?

They brought Nick Ciuffo in on a minor league deal, but I’m sure we’re all hoping for something better.

Cubs get Smyly

You guys underestimate Boras, he’s a good quality dude once you get to know him

No idea who this is, but claiming Rangers involved and speculates White Sox

Well sure, but maybe he felt compelled to do us a solid after not extending Carlos a QO

Hopefully that means he’s already got a deal in place with the Sox and they’re just waiting for Hahn to free up a roster spot by trading Kimbrel ?

It’s remarkable there are basically no rumors on Conforto. Like you’d think Boras would be out there negotiating through the media.

Lol…I saw that earlier and just shook my head.

I agree, to me we’re approaching now or never time. As for what they’d give up, the Dodgers were prepared to give up something of value for him last year. Obviously he’s going to cost much less to acquire now, but I could see the Dodgers being interested in him at some small price. Most teams are going to look at his full body of work and see a guy that was a top 6 reliever in baseball despite two bad months. What that price remains to be seen. If it’s Bellinger, it’s only because the Dodgers view him as 1 to 2 win player next year who provides little to no surplus value. Obviously it’s a gamble to think you can out-scout the Dodgers, but if Conforto doesn’t happen I’d take my chances.

With Correa & Castellanos off the market, Story & Conforto should move fast. I’m really hoping things are settled by Monday.