maxjusttyped

According to Jeff Passan (wouldn't shock me if you also know details on this as well), the Sox were 1 day away from signing both Tatis and Juan Soto https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/coverstory032621/welcome-juan-soto-mlb

I also find it impossible to believe the Sox would have been "close" to signing a ~150M+ contract and it wouldn't have leaked out anywhere.

In James Fegan's "White Sox anxiety survey results", he dropped this nugget I found interesting " The White Sox nearly added their starting second baseman before the lockout, so there are some outward signs of their agreement about the state of affairs. " https://theathletic.com/3036138/2021/12/27/white-sox-anxiety-index-survey-results-second-base-tops-list-of-biggest-offseason-concerns/

Definitely not thread worthy under most circumstances, perhaps the mods will determine it still isn't even during a lockout.

Sox picked the wrong draft to finally pass on Carson Fulmer.

The latter two options strike me as realistic, but I'd be surprised if the Sox add a pitcher as good as Rodon. I'm hoping to be wrong, of course.

I don't think Suzuki is signing to be a 4th outfielder. Stanton has DH filled, RF is locked in with Judge, the options for where Suzuki plays start to look limited if they add him to their current roster.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/12/yankees-blue-jays-red-sox-reportedly-most-aggressive-suitors-for-seiya-suzuki.html Yankees sign Suzuki and then flip Gallo for Kimbrel+? It's probably wishful thinking, but a trade for Gallo might be realistic if they're pursuing other outfielders.

Forcing the Sox into a corner where they're forced to spend on someone good wouldn't be the worst outcome in the world

I would much, much rather have Story or Bryant. I think Conforto fits better and I'm not sure he'll be a worse player over the next few years anyways. But I am not going to complain if the Sox sign Castellanos.

Must be nice. Good thing there's no room for Bryant or Story on the Sox anyways.

I wouldn't complain because I think the most likely outcome for this off-season is 1 or 2 year deals around the margins, but if the money is there to spend, Castellanos is not the guy to splurge on.

The only way to make the Kimbrel trade even worse would be dumping another potential long-term piece because you want to (mostly) get out of his salary. The package you listed doesn't seem unrealistic, but I think it would be another awful trade. There's no way I'd use Burger in a deal that doesn't significantly improve the club in 2022. I know projections (listed below are the Steamer projections on fangraphs) aren't everyone's cup of tea, so take these fwiw: Jean Seagura: .279/.337/.419 102 wRC+ 2.5 WAR 141 games Jake Burger: 255/.306/.464 108 wRC+ 2.2 WAR (prorated out his projection to 141 games) ZIPS also has Burger in the 2 WAR range if he were given every day playing time. Segura is obliviously a much safer bet, he fills an obvious need, but I don't think it's crazy that Burger outperforms Segura in '22 if he's given the playing time to do so.

I thought the Kimbrel trade was vomit inducing bad from the moment it happened, but if you're right about his market being *that* cold, then the Sox might as well keep him. Very few relievers are capable of striking out 40% of guys in a season like Kimbrel just did. The most likely outcome for next season is that he's going to be fine. With that said, if they can actually get Segura, then do it. Upper minors pitching depth from the Dodgers? Do it. To the Mets for McNeil? Sign me up. I wouldn't be picky, but if you're just dumping him for salary relief that doesn't make any sense to me at all.

It's pretty bleak that this is the best outcome we can imagine for 2B right now

There was a point in September when the Rays had the best record in the AL, AAA, High-A, and Low-A. They are so far ahead of nearly every organization at scouting and player dev it's insane.

Insane that the Rays have so much depth they're giving away ML ready prospects or ~2+ WAR guys because they don't have room for them

If Tampa was insisting on Luis Robert in the deal, then credit to Hahn for sticking to his guns 😄

Wendle would have been an ideal fit on this roster. It's tough to make trades when you have a bad farm system, but I'd imagine Wendle went for something the Sox could afford.

No idea if they're interested or not, but I hope the Dodgers signing Hudson doesn't take them out of the reliever market. They are by far my preferred Kimbrel destination.

I haven't read a single positive scouting report on Yoelqui since he signed. That would be asinine. But would the Sox really want to give up a pick for 1 year of Conforto? If they're going to sign him, it seems like a multi year deal makes the most sense.

Maybe they'll surprise us, but the fact we all know Baez or Story isn't realistic is embarrassing.

The Yankees signed a player to the highest AAV contract in history (until Scherzer) 2 off-seasons ago. Last year, they resigned DJ LeMahieu to what would be the biggest contract in White Sox history. They've been running one of the highest payrolls in baseball for as long as we've been alive. They're always spending at the top of the market. The Sox, well... I know it's easy for me to say, but Yankees fans shouldn't have 1% of the frustration Sox fans do with how willing their owners are to spend.