Chicago White Sox

Sounds like 20k early votes in Dekalb which should give Ossoff a good 16k and greatly cut the gap, but damn this still seems very close.

Still not 100% convinced Ossoff pulls this off.

What am I missing with this?

130k vs 170k is troubling if true, especially for Ossoff

Agreed

I’m not sure I buy the Dodgers were this crazy threat for Hendriks, but Treinen signing is a good sign that the reliever market may start moving.

Man please pull this out Democrats. I don’t care what you’re politics are, but these Republicans that are trying undermine democracy need to lose all power.

I’m not saying it’s guaranteed, but he’s got elite bat to ball skills and that showed in the majors last year. Even with BABIP regression I expect him to be an above league average hitter and I expect the defense & base-running to play closer to expectations. If so, that provides a pretty nice floor despite a lack of ceiling. And this isn’t just my view, projections are also optimistic on him as Steamer & Zips have him at 2.6 & 2.2 fWAR respectively. Obviously we need to see him do it over the course of a full season, but there is reason to believe he can be an above-average 2B as soon as next year and that’s valuable.

100% agree that he’s the most expendable of the core guys because he lacks the ceiling those guys possess. I would totally be willing to move him in a trade if I can capture value and replace him with someone like Wong, but let’s not ignore the fact that Madrigal will be direct cheap for the foreseeable (not a guy who will make big bucks in arbitration) and won’t be at the decline phase of his career like Wong or Hernandez are likely approaching. So yes he’s replaceable to some extent, but it comes at a financial cost and with a higher risk player. All that being said, if he can be a main piece in a trade for a controllable starting pitcher I’m all for it.

I disagree with this notion that he’d be easy to upgrade over. Unless you overreact to a couple of blunders in a ridiculously small sample size, he’s probably going to be a 2.5 to 3.0 win 2B very soon and that’s with zero power whatsoever. I agree that finding a ~2 win 2B to replace him may not be that challenging, but you’re still likely looking at a downgrade. The real issue with Nick is he has shown zero reason to believe the power will eventually come, which means his ceiling is greatly limited to a good not great player.

Add a left-handed bat to the mix and the lineup is as good as any in the AL. Add Hendriks and you have one of the best bullpens on paper. Plus we already have three starters who finished in the top 10 for AL Cy Young along with two young arms that were previously top 30 prospects. Add another good starter (say Musgrove) and suddenly this team is in the discussion for best in the AL. The Blue Jays could get there too eventually, but I think we are clearly farther ahead of them at this time.

Do you really want to go up against the Yankees, Rays, & eventually Red Sox?

No offense, but evaluating pitchers in this day & age by their career numbers is stupid. Hendriks was bad as a starter, but was somewhat useful as a reliever all the way back since his Toronto days in 2015. Since then, he’s refined his arsenal by dropping his sinker & change-up and ramping up his 4 seamer usage. That 4-seamer has become one of the best in baseball due to an increase in velocity, spin rate, & carry. He’s a completely different pitcher now than he was just three years and what he did beforehand really doesn’t matter, especially his early starter days.

We are a title contender right now and only have a couple of holes left to fill. If Jerry is unwilling to spend big on a Bauer or Springer, the next best move is building the strongest bullpen possible. I get the risk that comes with reliever contracts, but Hendriks is a potential game-changer come October and is worth rolling the dice on IMO.

Why is he going to go back to sucking? What it is about his results in 2019 & 2020 that’s flukey or a red flag?

How do you know what the Blue Jays offered him and whether it’s more than us?

I’ll be honest, if winning is at all a factor to Hendriks, the White Sox are a no-brainer assuming the money is close. The Blue Jays have a ton of talent, but will have to battle the Yankees for the foreseeable future plus perpetual threats in Boston & Tampa. The Twins are obviously really good, but they aren’t the juggernaut New York and Cleveland is at least taking some step backward with Clevinger and eventually Lindor dealt. Outside of possibly the NL Central, there isn’t another division I’d rather be in right now.

Toronto is like 330+ miles from Montreal and is vastly different culturally. I’m not sure this is the end of world for us.

Sure, we can all be pissed if we miss out, but some people took the Wheeler stuff way too far

I will say that Ottawa & Quebec are very different, so not sure Canada alone is that big of deal, but obviously you never know.

I can’t wait until we lose him due to family reasons and several Soxtalk members hold a grudge for life.

The way I look at it the Sox have Giolito for three more years, Cease for five, Kopech & Crochet for six, and Stiever for potentially seven. You also have future free agents and draft picks that could factor into the mix. While I’d love to keep all of Kelley, Thompson, Dalquist, & Vera, the reality is one or two of these guys are likely to get moved at some point because they’re amongst our best prospects and aren’t major league ready, which makes them our most expandable currency. Plus in a Reinsdorf owned organization, the best way to see an increase in payroll is by winning and driving a jump in attendance. If we can actually make the playoffs a few years in a row, we might finally see payrolls approaching the luxury tax threshold and that alone would be worth giving up some potential future production.

Because Reinsdorf can offer a 4/$50M contract, win the sweepstakes, and feel like an absolute baller despite the fact he’s never signed anyone to a nine figure deal.

I’m not seeing the connection between Hendriks and giving up the next wave of pitchers.

I’m sure they don’t, but my guess is Beef either said a little too much that could put him out of favor with his source or he’s throwing some extra shit against the wall and is worried he’ll get outed on certain details (such as this visit with the Sox).