Chicago White Sox

The fact he spent $188M on players not named Jose Abreu and got -0.8 WAR for it? And whether we were tanking or not (which we weren’t that entire period), we should have gotten more bang for our buck and potentially turned something into a tradable asset. For example, I pushed hard for signing Lance Lynn during the 2019 offseason and that would have been a much better use of resources than signing Kelvin Herrera. Hell, we might have beaten the A’s in October had we used our free agent dollars more effectively. As I said previously, Hahn has made changes to our front office and scouting department and hopefully a more modernized approach leads to better results in free agency. So far so good with the Grandal & Keuchel signings and hopefully it’s a sign of things to come. But Hahn doesn’t get a free pass for a bad stretch of free agent signings.

Look, I’m no Hahn hater, but you’re basically siting the signing of Abreu as proof that Hahn has been good in free agency. That was an excellent signing that he should get credit for, but it was also a broader organizational decision. And besides that move, his track record was horrific before this past offseason. I know they’ve made some changes in pro scouting department and have obviously increased their usage of analytics, so there is reason to believe the old Rick Hahn is not necessarily the same one today. All that being said, his track record in free agency for the most part sucks and saying that doesn’t make one a hater, it makes them objective.

They definitely don’t need three relievers signed to major league contracts. I’d wager they add just one reliever and go with Bummer, Marshall, Crochet, Heuer, Foster, Fry, and probably have López compete against Lambert for the long reliever role. That’s all assuming they add two legit starters. If they add just one, I think they go sign a veteran swingman to provide some protection for Cease or whoever gets the final rotation spot.

Where are these numbers coming from?

Not trying to be a Hahn hater, but have you seen his free agent record prior to this past offseason? It’s epically bad outside of the original Abreu signing.

There is zero chance Mazara gets tendered. I’d say there is a tiny chance he’s brought back at like $3M to be a depth piece, but no way they pay him $6M after the year he just had. Also, the comparison to Moncada is laughable as Yoan has a well above-average track record while Nomar has been replacement level over his career.

Reddick put up a 87 wRC+ against RHP last year and is a poor defender. He is also 33 years old so it may only get worse from here. We can do better than Reddick IMO. Hell, call up the Dbacks and see if they’d give Calhoun away for a lottery ticket. I think there will be interesting older players available for basically just money if we’re willing to absorb contracts.

Wow, to be honest he was the one name that really surprised me on that list.

The McStann’s won’t be pleased that’s for sure

Dude, what a fantastic fucking article. Hands down the best piece on the manager hunt that I’ve come across and that’s saying something given how many beat writers follow the team. Well done and definitely keep it up! It’s nice to see SSS restore some of its past glory!

How do Hinch & Luhnow getting suspended affect the players who got off scot free?

You’ve literally spent more time ripping this dude than said dude spent ripping the cheating Astros.

Espada

I’d assume most, if not all are external candidates.

I really don’t think La Russa is getting the job. To me, it’s painfully obvious it will be Hinch.

Totally forgot he managed the A’s back in the day. Definitely someone worth talking to if you’re doing a complete interview process.

Got to be Quatraro

Why Thursday?

I thought $140M was a pretty reasonable target for 2021 with the potential for a little higher. I still think that’s possible depending on their view on fan attendance next year. The fact they are paying Ricky money not to manage the Sox next year has me optimistic. I don’t think there’s any chance they reduce payroll though as we still make plenty on our TV deals and don’t have any financing or debt that will will impact our near term cash flow and put us in a dangerous spot without fan revenue.

Fully agree. Just saying hopefully we can go sign someone at market value rather than trade for someone who may provide some surplus value.

I think our financial situation is much better than people probably realize. Obviously the pandemic will have an impact, but I think we’ll able our financial assets before we need to start trading our limited minor league capital.

Why is it silly? A bunch of players conducted one of the most elaborate cheating schemes in baseball history and weren’t punished at all despite being caught. What the fuck is wrong with people holding them accountable? I think it’s silly you think we should all pretend it didn’t happen or this is some kind of “moral preening”.

Chris Sale is not healthy though and we would never be able to sign a premier free agent again if we made this trade.

Who do you prefer of all the internal options? I can’t recall what you said on the FA Podcast other than leaving Teaford where he’s at.

About what?