ChiSox59

Sox currently holding 24 pitchers and 16 position players on the 40 man. It almost certainly has to be a pitcher. Murfee or Scholtens make the most sense, but obviously Murfee was just claimed, and Sox liked Scholtens enough to hold him on the roster all last year. Obviously this isn't a good roster, but you're getting to the point where you're going to have to cut interesting young guys you recently brought in if you continue to acquire middling veteran talent. This also hamstrings the Sox availability to be aggressive on the waiver wire, which frankly is one of their competitive advantages from being so awful.

Bannister obviously likes Gilbert. I don't think Combs is worth much hand wringing but it's a bizarre strategy they're employing giving up young players for 30+ year old relievers.

I think that is dumb. Guy threw 88 innings last year, and 115 in his pro career. He's not ready for an every 5th day spot on a major league rotation. Get him up to 120-130 this year in the minors, then call him up in May 2026. But yah, you're probably right - if this regime is anything like the previous, we'll see him before he's ready.

I get the stance. I wouldn't be mad about a Q reunion. I think Davis, Cannon and Thorpe should hold their own though. We already have Bryce Wilson around to eat some starts. I think the group of Burke, Nastrini and Bush should get plenty of chances for starts, but am less confident it would go well.

Well, nothing like giving them the punted 2025 season to earn that experience. There will absolutely be a learning curve. This team will be awful. May as well let these guys cut their teeth and see how has the potential to be a part of the next meaningful rotation.

I don't really have much interest in adding to the group at the major league level at this point. Give Martin, Cannon, Thorpe, Burke, Nastrini, Bush, Adams and Iriarte as many starts as possible. Maybe even sprinkle Carela into that group towards the latter half. Some pretty interesting arms in there, IMO. With hopefully top end arms in Schultz and Smith filling in the top of the rotation by mid 2026, I think we can find 3-4 mid rotations arms from that aforementioned group.

Good thing he has three more years of control, so plenty of time to regain value and be moveable.

I don't really know that he's a DFA guy. He wasn't DFA to my knowledge, and probably has some value coming off a really solid season due to all the cheap control even at his age. Certainly fair to question why you'd trade an 18 year old pitcher with solid DSL results for a low upside reliever in the Sox current circumstances.

Terrible news. Really enjoyed Vinnie's coverage of the Sox.

+100. Zero reason for either of them to be on the team until mid May at the earliest.

The sox are the laughing stock of MLB, but man, the O's are stupid. I got so much joy out of watching them get swept out of the first round this season, and 2025 isn't going to be any better. That simply isn't a play-off caliber pitching staff.

I don't think so. It all depends on the offers really. If they aren't there, you're better off betting on a better performance April-June, and cashing in then. Now if you can get a really good up the middle prospect now, and a supporting piece or two, then sure.

While Teel is an awkward fit, catchers that can hit and field are pretty damn valuable. Sox now have 2 of them, and 2 of the top 6-7 catching prospects in the game. Not beyond the realm of possibility one could be moved for an up the middle talent this offseason or at a future date. Its a good problem to have, albeit, still have lots of holes to fill.

Also, can we now officially mock the people that were convinced the Sox were going to dump Beni in this deal?

This feels about right. Nice return. All four are legit pieces. Two top 50-60 types. 3 position players. No absolute fliers. Crochet is nasty, but him pitching every 5th day the next two years does this club no good at all. And the injury risk is significant, no one will convince me otherwise.

Isnt Ramos a better defender at 3B than Vargas?

The coverage has been super boring. But may just be because my interest is at an all time low for obvious reasons.

Then play your likely AAAA players in RF instead of blocking them to maybe acquire more AAAA and 40 man fodder later.

Not sure if serious or not, but these guys at all 26/27 and have already played in big leagues. None of them would be getting rushed at this point, and the Sox need to figure out what they have with each of Fletcher, Deloach and Colas this season. Even if you want to assume the Sox are done with Colas (which him remaining on the 40 man would potentially suggest otherwise), it still applies to the other two. Even if we somehow get A+ version of Tauchman from April-June, you're getting (at best) at backend top 30 flyer or a AAAA type. Just play the fringe guys and see what we have. It doesn't make any sense within the context of the whole roster and where things stand. That being said, Tauchman is a big leaguer, is probably better than all three of those guys and I can't imagine costs more than $3-4M. So its not like this is some brutal move, it just doesn't make a lot of sense considering the circumstances.

Why? I'd rather give at bats to Fletcher, DeLoach and Colas.

Robert has a fWAR/162 of 4.35. Bohm's is 2.08. Plus, Robert has an extra year of control. Both can be non-tendered and/or bought out in case of major injury or fall off. They aren't close to comparable values no matter how much you try.

I am not shaming the Dodgers, but when 1 of 30 teams buys ALL the free agents, its not exactly a competitive atmosphere. I wish my team did what they do.

I disagree. I will leave it at that.

Why am I retaining him? Because his career fWAR/162 is 4.35 - including his god awful 2024 and other long stretches where he hasn't look like a big leaguer. He is just reaching his prime years. He's unlikely to ever give you 145+ games, but he doesn't need to do that to easily be worth $20M in today's game. He's a game changing talent that is obviously extremely streaky, but if the streak comes early in 2025 (or 26), we're sitting on the most sought after position player at the deadline. And if you want to assume Robert just is what he is, he's still a very good CF with a lot of pop, and the ability to carry a team for weeks if he gets hot. On an actual contender with legitimate protection around him, I am certain he would be much closer to the 23 version than 24.

Baseball is broken.