Thad Bosley

My glee in watching Cubs fans witness Jimenez and Cease contribute mightily to our next championship will far outweigh any disappointment with what Tatis does with San Diego.

Ahhhh, now it’s juiced balls. Got it.

I love Stoney as an announcer, but I definitely feel his tweets this offseason are very calculated. Which I don’t mind at all, because I’m finding them both informative and indicative to a degree of what to expect this offseason.

NOT dealing with Boras has been to the organization’s detriment. He represents more premium talent in the game than any other agent. NOT dealing with him has put the team at a competitive disadvantage for attaining that premium talent.

Of course he does. He’s quite close with Reinsdorf. His tweets are well-prepared. There is a big name pitcher coming our way - probably Wheeler - and a RF, as Stone indicates in his tweet. That’s likely Castellanos, but who knows. That could turn out to be the big surprise of the offseason.

We locked in the guy who just drove in more runs than anyone in Major League Baseball this year, save one, for a mere three years, as our future DH, for years 33-35 of his life. Not years 35-38, or anything like that. All of this “falling of the cliff” nonsense is just that - nonsense - until he gives indication of that offensively. Will the Sox potentially overpay for his production over the next three years? Yeah, maybe. But certainly not enough for anyone to get their undies in a bunch over. And again, what are the comps for a player like Abreu who “declines hard” or “falls off a cliff” at his age?

People are acting as if the Sox repurposed the Machado contract and gave it to Abreu. How in the world is this $50M going to even remotely cripple this organization over JUST the next three years, given the current payroll level and the cost-controlled nature of our future stars over that same timeframe? Does this contract preclude us from pursuing the likes of Cole, Strasburg, and/or Rendon this offseason? NO. Does it automatically eliminate us from the Betts sweepstakes next year? NO. Year three? Oh, maybe, I guess, but that would probably be only likely if we actually signed one of those aforementioned whales. Wake me up when the team payroll actually gets close to the league MEDIAN payroll before whining about the impact of this contract over the next three years.

Yes, I expect the Sox to bow out of the Cole/Strasburg sweepstakes any minute now as a result of this oh-so-crippling contract.

Do you have any examples of players comparable to Jose who "lost it fast" beginning at age 33? Not saying you're wrong, but I'm trying to think of someone who went off the cliff as quickly as you are suggesting he could. I can't call to mind any such examples. Seems like there are many more examples of DH type guys who go well into their late 30s continuing to bomb the ball.

Grandal’s contract now represents the largest contract ever handed out by the team, just besting the previous one given to Abreu by $5M. Yet if you add Grandal’s & Abreu’s contracts together, you’ll see that the total is still less than the largest single contracts given out by 19 other teams. And, in fact, 25 other teams have given larger contracts than the one Grandal just signed. So a great signing and a wonderful addition to this team at this time, but still a ways to go on “The money will be spent” promise.

He's now indicating on Twitter that pitching is next, so that probably does mean a Wheeler signing could soon be in the offing!

I think we are one of only a few select teams who can absorb the 2019 salary, be able to afford the next contract, AND be able to put together a package of prospects that would interest the BoSox. You need all three criterion in place for this trade to happen. The Dodgers could do it, and maybe the Cardinals and Braves, but I think that could be it. So if Boston is really that motivated to trade Betts for salary relief (and with the Yanks likely not in the mix), the White Sox seemingly would be uniquely positioned to make a deal happen.

The only scenario I can see where we might have an advantage over other teams is the Sox' ability to take on another big contract (like David Price's, for example) along with Betts. I'd rather do that than part with any of these elite prospects it's taken so long to accumulate and develop.

Maybe. I don't know how you know this for sure, but I guess it's a possibility. But it doesn't matter if they are above or under the radar. To get Cole, they'll have to pay top dollar and beat out the usual big spenders. That hasn't been in Reinsdorf's wheelhouse to do so the past four decades, if you haven't noticed. Not for a pitcher, anyway.

Good point, Poppy!

Because Scott Merkin and Steve Stone have both publicly stated that the Sox would not be pursuing Cole. So couple that with tweets that don't mention the Sox in on the guy, and that's why I think the Sox aren't taking a seat at the table. Now maybe that changes at some point, and I hope that it will, but at this point in time, it doesn't appear the team will be competing for Cole's services.

Agreed. It's a bit disappointing that the Sox are apparently not taking a "seat at the table" and at least trying to pursue this guy, what with the team's unprecedented financial flexibility. I mean, I thought Hahn said the team would compete for the premium talent once the time was right to do so. The time is now right to do so, yet, where are the White Sox with regards to Cole? Why can the Rangers, Phillies, and Giants have a seat at this table, and not the Sox?

Castellanos is just not a viable option for the Sox, IMO, given his sub-par defense. Our young pitchers and whoever we pick up via free agency just cannot have terrible defense on both OF corners for the next few years.

The narrative will be a very positive one when that happens, as he’ll be lauded for having led the team through the tough times, with that eventual reward of making it to the promised land of postseason play.

Let’s hope! After all, Jose is the team leader in the clubhouse for a reason. The more players the Sox have who comport themselves the way Jose has all these years, with his work ethic and positive attitude, the better the team’s chances.

“Short-term suffering”? Have they forgotten the four miserable years preceding the rebuild, AND the fact George W. Bush was still in office the last time this team made the playoffs? They’re going to need better thought out go-to lines than this type of gobbledegook if they want to re-establish credibility with the fan base.

He'll be back, and it's going to happen soon. He'll be back either with a 2 year contract with an option, or maybe even a 3 year deal, one or the other. That should be pretty obvious by now based on what we've seen hinted at and signaled by both sides. Meanwhile, Jose will be our version of Washingon's Ryan Zimmerman as the long-time face of the franchise when the team makes it back to the World Series at some point in our competitive window.

If Moncada moves off of third, it won’t be to go back to second. He’d shift to the outfield.

What’s your view on Puig if playing on a team where Jose Abreu is the clubhouse leader? Any chance his potential could be optimized playing in this what seems to be a very Latin-friendly environment on the team? Just trying to think of any valid reason one might be inclined to go over one year with this guy.