TheFutureIsNear

The obsession with former players is really weird. Forget a guy with legit potential like Sosa…I’m not even sure there’s any guarantee Madrigal would be more productive than Hansel Alberto next year. IF (he doesn’t) Hahn wanted to give up assets for a 2B he could do a lot better than Madrigal

Strengthening and stretching his arm out is 1 thing…but he would also have to develop a consistent 3rd pitch at the same time. He’s been pretty much a 2 pitch pitcher since college. Not saying it would be an impossible task, but just saying that I don’t think endurance is his only hurdle.

I understand it’s Fegan saying it and I’m also not claiming to be an expert…but I find it hard to believe both Kopech and Clevinger won’t be expected to be a full go for this season. Obviously whether it actually happens once the season starts it’s a different story. But Clevinger is almost a full 2 years removed from TJ and threw 115 innings last year. Why would he be on a limit of any kind? And an early October 2022 meniscus surgery is going to interrupt Kopech’s ability to pitch in 2023? If so there’s a much bigger problem, I don’t see how meniscus surgery could be that big of a deal. Don’t get me wrong tho, our SP depth is alarming regardless and Hahn should 100% be doing something about it.

So Jazz possibly became available…did the Sox suddenly gain something to trade? It would make 0 sense to empty out what little assets we have in the minors for a 2B that doesn’t make us a WS contender.

Pretty good twitter thread from Jordan Lazowski from Soxon35th breaking this down

He’s 30 now so doubt there’s any potential left, but Chad Kuhl is a name I wouldn’t hate being brought in on a minor league deal. Was once 1/2 decent and I always liked his stuff…although I see his FB has already dropped a couple MPH so maybe there’s a reason he’s been bad. Joe Ross is another. Had his 2nd TJ in may of last year so who knows what you would get, but if he can pitch in AAA by June/July it might not be the worst gamble.

Honestly don’t know how it works with announcers, but do both guys have a contract? Is it normal for a team to announce that their broadcasters are coming back? Seems like it would be implied unless theres a bigger issue (like Stone retiring) that we aren’t aware of?

Not saying I agree with it, but I think people are kidding themselves thinking the 4th OF’er hasn’t already been signed. It’s going to most likely be Marisnick like it or not. Clearly Marisnick, Hamilton and Reyes were signed to battle it out for the 4th OF’er spot…maybe Haseley gets a shot too.

Hopes of Duvall are gone https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/01/red-sox-to-sign-adam-duvall.html

IF this rumor were to be true (big if)…does that mean they know something contrary to Grandal’s back improving that we’ve been seeing? Because Seby is out of options correct? Can’t see any possibility of carrying 3 catchers

It is a minor league deal according to mlbtraderumors https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/01/white-sox-sign-hanser-alberto-infielder.html Could be worse as a bench piece, will be interesting to see how the overlap of him and Luery work.

Yes, if a legit 4th OFer is brought in it would work. But if it goes the way it’s looking and it’s Marisnick/Reyes/Hamilton I don’t think it would. At least in my opinion. All too soft of hitters. I know our options aren’t plentiful or great, but I’d still want a better pinch hitter on the bench. In a scenario where we need a pinch hitter I wouldn’t feel good about any of those guys needing to drive the ball.

The problem with giving Odor, or any other 2B option left, a major league deal is that it seems almost impossible to have 3 of Luery, Odor(or whoever) and 1 of Sosa/Romy on the roster at once. Unfortunately we are stuck with Luery’s bad contract as a backup IF so giving Odor a major league deal almost promises him the starting job. Can’t have a bench of Luery, Romy, Marisnick, and Sebby. No idea what his market is, but if Odor could be had on a NRI deal I’d be all for it.

Yeah I’d love to see how those #’s make sense. Can’t be factoring in all revenue streams. There’s 0% chance teams like the Yankees, Phillies and Dodgers aren’t making $ somehow. I don’t care how rich these owners are, there’s no way they are willingly losing 10’s of millions every year. Then again, maybe it’s just a business strategy to report losses for tax purposes? I’m not smart enough/too broke to fully understand how that works tho

Boy that’s not a lot at all. I don’t think Soto is great or a closer on a legit WS contender, but figured he’d bring back 1 legit prospect.

I’m not 100% against Andrus in general. But I am 100% against giving him a 2 year deal that all but guarantees him the starting 2B job without competition. I actually think the biggest knock against signing Andrus doesn’t even have to do with him…it’s Leury. In a perfect world Andrus would be a good bench piece that gets a crack at the starting 2B job in spring training. Unfortunately Luery and his bad contract already occupy the backup INF spots and I don’t see a world where you can keep Andrus and Luery without 1 starting pretty much everyday. Personally I just don’t see Andrus as a good enough everyday player to take away the ability for Sosa/Romy to compete for the job. Especially when we are talking $6M vs league minimum

2 years 12 mil for Andrus is an awful deal no matter where he plays. He had a hot month or so but his larger sample size going back to 2018 is right on par with Leury. No idea why people are so terrified that we can’t get .240 BA with a .700 OPS production out of Romy/Sosa. Continuously blocking young players with mediocre (at best) production isn’t the direction this team should be going.

They have to be put on the 40 man roster 1st correct? Don’t get me wrong, we still have some fat to trim imo, but with the 40 man roster currently at 39 how many of Reyes, Hamilton, and Marisnick are going to stick after Spring training? My guess is at most 2 with Marisnick and Hamilton probably battling for 1 spot.

I’m getting the feeling that the odds of us signing a legit 4th OF’er are dwindling. Throw a bunch of warm bodies at the problem and see if anything sticks seems to be the plan.

Again, aside from guys like Nimmo, Turner and Carlos…who would you have signed and or traded for? And isn’t saying that I “accept the White Sox way” just another way of saying that I accept reality? What do you think I/you can do about it? Do you go outside and b**** about the cold every single day, or have you accepted it and try to make the best of it? Personally I’m the latter, I’m not going to go into every thread bitching about how bad ownership is. We all know it.

I agree with most/all of this. We can all b**** and moan about more than a handful of things Hahn and the front office have done/not don’t in the past 2-3 years. But right now? Short of saying the Sox should have signed Nimmo, Turner or Carlos I struggle to point to many/any moves made that make me think “the Sox really missed out.” Especially in RF, again, short of signing Nimmo I’m not sure there was a move to be made that justifies blocking Colas. Even 2B, would Segura have been nice? Sure, but is the difference between Segura and seeing what we have in Romy/Sosa going to make or break this year? I highly doubt it. Not sure what other legit 2B we could get either. And not sure what was expected out of a 5th starter, but Clevinger was a perfectly logical fit with upside. Now there are definitely still moves to be made to round out this roster (viable 4th OF’er and SP depth at least) and if they aren’t made I totally understand and will participate in the bitching.

Does Jerry even know the luxury tax exists? Can’t imagine that’s a thought that has ever crossed his mind. Hopefully backloading the deal was the front office trying to squeeze 1 last addition into the budget.

With those who are in more in tune to the payroll…does the only $8M (11 with bonus) in ‘23 affect how things were projected? If what I’ve read is correct we were like $3-5M away from keeping the payroll the same as last year. Does this put us at more like $5-10M to spend(In theory)? I’m assuming people were factoring his payroll hit at $16M in those projections?

OF- already agreed that we need a quality 4th OF’er. Kiermaier is the only realistic viable option that signed. Duvall is the best option but Pillar or JBJ aren’t horrible options. Raimel Tapia still kinda intrigues me , but not sure if his D would cut it in CF. 2B- Seguar was the only viable realistic option that has signed. Would he have been nice? Sure, but is our season going to come down to the difference between Segura vs Sosa/Romy? I’ll take my chances on that. SP- This is a discussion I’ve had with a couple different people already…but what legit MLB starters you’d feel comfortable with are signing as the 6th starter for the Sox? The answer is none. Our SP depth is going to have to come from minor league signings. This is a lot more of a poor development problem than it is lack of moves right now. C- Yeah I can’t argue that Grandal is a huge risk. That 1 unfortunately kinda is what it is because of Grandal’s contract. And I’ll pose the question again- other than Kiermaier and Segura what realistic deals that have been signed are you lamenting the Sox for not doing?

I’m not arguing at all that there is a strong need for a 4th of’er that can play CF…but who are the guys that signed already you think we missed out on? Nimmo, Bellinger, and Kiermaier were the only 3 options I see and out of those the only real argument is Kiermaier in terms of being realistic. And personally I’m not too torn up about missing out on him for $9mil. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I have a ton of faith in Hahn, but I can’t blame him YET for the roster not being complete.