2017 International Signings

[daggins]

f*** the patriarchy.

f*** (f***) Trump.

Embrace Globalization

 

Legalize Ranch

 

Investigate 311!

[caulfield12]

Not sure where Joshua is going...but the fact is that many of us (including myself!) have probably deserved at least a 5-10 day ban more than once. If anything, the mods here are TOO reasonable.

 

And surely the political jokes have been pushed to the precipice, but life is too short to hold a grudge against a comment riddled with obvious sarcasm.

[Boopa1219]

Investigate 311!

 

Bird Up (dah... Dah... DAH)

[Y2Jimmy0]

I didn't really want to derail the thread to play into the victim complexes at work here, but when it comes to what the leadership group does here, I do take offense to this.

 

That whole idea is just silly. It is actually not very easy to actually get punished on Soxtalk. We pass out warnings like Tylenol instead of suspending people. We shutdown threads instead of suspending people. Most people who do get suspended are passing the same line multiple times over a period of time to get punished. It takes an insane amount of pushing it to get punished beyond a suspension. Heck over the time that Soxtalk has been around, we have probably let at least 10 people who have been banned for life come back to Soxtalk on a second or third chance. A few of them are still around today.

 

NO one is getting punished for a throw away comment. That isn't reality, and the fact that people might actually believe garbage like that is true does a gigantic disservice to everyone who is involved in day to day management of this board. People put a lot of time into Soxtalk to keep it going. The fact that this message board is still around and thriving in 2017 when the message board has in general gone the way of the dinosaur is a testament to the work that everyone here does. A post like this is complete slap in the face to the entire staff of Soxtalk, and I don't take it kindly. If that is really how you view this board, I think you are in the wrong place.

 

For my own sake, it was a throw away comment meant to be an absurdity used to demonstrate and contrast between possibility and probability based on history. I personally didn't anticipate someone's feelings actually being hurt by that statement, as I thought it was obvious enough where I didn't need to mark it in green text for the sarcasm-impaired. I definitely didn't think the second joke would lead to a real life personal attack. Obviously there are a couple of people who I need to be mindful of getting upset very easily around here, and will from now on.

 

And as always, if you do really have a problem with something, instead of derailing the discussion into someone much worse than what the comment did, PM someone and talk to them about instead of doing exactly what you are getting upset about in the first place, and flushing a thread down the toilet even worse than was already done. No matter what the perspection of the initial post was, posts like this only further degrade the integrity of the discussion.

 

 

I've disagree with you for pretty much this entire thread and on a lot of things pertaining to the rebuild. How on earth have we kept it civil?

[bmags]

Sure will be an interesting signing period.

[Sleepy Harold]

Rob Young @RobertHYoung

now

Without commenting specifically on Luis Robert, Hahn theoretically is open to going beyond caps and pay penalties for a special talent

 

 

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Rob Young @RobertHYoung

now

Without commenting specifically on Luis Robert, Hahn theoretically is open to going beyond caps and pay penalties for a special talent

 

Considering we are in the last period you can do that in, as long as the owner is willing to pay, they can definitely get him.

[Chicago White Sox]

I am very, very confident Robert ends up with the Sox regardless of which signing period he ends up falling into. He is a special talent that would fit in nicely with our second wave of prospects (Kopech, Hansen, Dunning, Collins, Basabe, Call, Fisher, etc.) & would be a huge PR win for the front office as we progress deeper into the rebuild.

[Rowand44]

I am very, very confident Robert ends up with the Sox regardless of which signing period he ends up falling into. He is a special talent that would fit in nicely with our second wave of prospects (Kopech, Hansen, Dunning, Collins, Basabe, Call, Fisher, etc.) & would be a huge PR win for the front office as we progress deeper into the rebuild.

I won't go as far as you but I'm definitely confident that they'll be a player in this either way.

[Bob Sacamano]

I won't go as far as you but I'm definitely confident that they'll be a player in this either way.

 

Yeah really depends on how high bidding goes.

[Soxfest]

Great year to go all in do it.

[Bob Sacamano]

Great year to go all in do it.

 

Well technically they should have already gone all in on the international spending if it was going to come down to this but oh well. Nothing you can really do at this point.

Edited March 23, 2017 by soxfan2014

[Chicago White Sox]

Yeah really depends on how high bidding goes.

Why does that matter though? Given how little we've spent in Latin America over the last 12 months, I'd wager we have more cash available for a move like this than any of the clubs we're up against. If ownership & the front office decide that enduring the penalties is worth it, then I think we immediately become the favorite to land Robert. And I put a lot of faith in Badler considering us one of the favorites. IMO, it just seems too much of a coincidence that we haven't been linked to any of the major targets in next year's class. There really appears to be smoke here.

[Chicago White Sox]

Well technically they should have already gone all in on the international spending if it was going to come down to this but oh well. Nothing you can really do at this point.

The problem may have been they were 100% in on Robert and simply weren't sure which class he'd end up in. If that were the case, they obviously couldn't go all in on the 2016-17 class.

[steveno89]

The problem may have been they were 100% in on Robert and simply weren't sure which class he'd end up in. If that were the case, they obviously couldn't go all in on the 2016-17 class.

 

Sox might be thinking the MLB will intentionally drag its feet on clearing Robert, making him a part of next year's class

 

In which case it would be smart of the Sox not to go crazy prior to him becoming a free agent

 

You would have to think Chicago would be an attractive destination with all the young talent we are assembling?

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

Why does that matter though? Given how little we've spent in Latin America over the last 12 months, I'd wager we have more cash available for a move like this than any of the clubs we're up against. If ownership & the front office decide that enduring the penalties is worth it, then I think we immediately become the favorite to land Robert. And I put a lot of faith in Badler considering us one of the favorites. IMO, it just seems too much of a coincidence that we haven't been linked to any of the major targets in next year's class. There really appears to be smoke here.

While I have discounted the Sox chances at getting Roberts somewhere in this thread, it is odd and potentially very bad if the Sox are indeed "in" 100% on Roberts. To put all your eggs into one basket is extremely risky. If they don't get him then what ? Then they get table scraps or nothing and that is totally unacceptable at any time but especially now when they have the money to spend on international prospects.

[maggsmaggs]

I won't go as far as you but I'm definitely confident that they'll be a player in this either way.

This. They are gonna try, but they do not have the resources like some other teams.

[Chicago White Sox]

While I have discounted the Sox chances at getting Roberts somewhere in this thread, it is odd and potentially very bad if the Sox are indeed "in" 100% on Roberts. To put all your eggs into one basket is extremely risky. If they don't get him then what ? Then they get table scraps or nothing and that is totally unacceptable at any time but especially now when they have the money to spend on international prospects.

Robert is the #2 international prospect in baseball right now. It's not like we're talking about some random 16 year old Dominican here, this kid has a solid chance of being an impact player and in the the not too distant future. I guess I'd much rather go big on one elite talent then sign several of the B & C tier amateur free agents like we have been doing. IMO, our current strategy hasn't been very fruitful, although it's obviously still early with some of these kids. And we'd still be able to sign a bunch of guys for under $300k and trade our excess budget for statewide prospects. To me, it's an easy decision, but I can understand where you're coming from.

[Chicago White Sox]

This. They are gonna try, but they do not have the resources like some other teams.

What resources do we not have exactly? Our major league payroll is going to be like 24th in baseball. We've also spent way less on amateur free agents than most of the teams we'd be competing with for Robert. I'd wager we have more cash to work with than most of the teams in the hunt for Robert. It all comes down to whether or not we're willing to endure the penalties that come with signing Robert and based on Hahn's quote the answer is yes.

[Y2Jimmy0]

What resources do we not have exactly? Our major league payroll is going to be like 24th in baseball. We've also spent way less on amateur free agents than most of the teams we'd be competing with for Robert. I'd wager we have more cash to work with than most of the teams in the hunt for Robert. It all comes down to whether or not we're willing to endure the penalties that come with signing Robert and based on Hahn's quote the answer is yes.

 

 

I personally feel like the White Sox are the favorites to land him. It makes too much sense. Ben Badler linked the Sox and he's the best insider when it comes to this stuff. If he's cleared prior to June 15, White Sox can pay him whatever they want and probably won't miss out on much in next year's class because they aren't linked to anyone anyway. If he's cleared after June 15, they aren't linked to anyone for next period and can just use all their money to sign him. If they weren't pretty much going all in for him then their strategy wouldn't make any sense which is why I've been basically reading the tea leaves on this.

[Y2Jimmy0]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...cWbQlzUdxqFJ.97

 

The latest on Luis Robert from Ben Badler. Robert will have his first open showcase in the Dominican Republic on Thursday. Sox still mentioned as the team that comes up frequently in connection with Robert.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

Robert is the #2 international prospect in baseball right now. It's not like we're talking about some random 16 year old Dominican here, this kid has a solid chance of being an impact player and in the the not too distant future. I guess I'd much rather go big on one elite talent then sign several of the B & C tier amateur free agents like we have been doing. IMO, our current strategy hasn't been very fruitful, although it's obviously still early with some of these kids. And we'd still be able to sign a bunch of guys for under $300k and trade our excess budget for statewide prospects. To me, it's an easy decision, but I can understand where you're coming from.

The main problem lies in competing with some very rich organizations who can simply outbid the Sox taking the bidding to a place where the Sox feel uncomfortable. Now I am not hip to exactly which signing period will limit spending ,but if neither does, I can't see the Sox spending 30M+ on a prospect especially when you can always spend somewhere around $2 million on some of the better albeit very young prospects if you trust your scouts.

 

The current top Red Sox prospect Rafael Devers cost $1.5M as a 16 yr old. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of other stories like that out there. Those under 300K guys are "you get what you pay for" and "scraping the bottom of the barrel" signees.

 

I am all for going after Roberts but will be miffed if they don't get him and the Sox walk away with bupkis.

[Y2Jimmy0]

The main problem lies in competing with some very rich organizations who can simply outbid the Sox taking the bidding to a place where the Sox feel uncomfortable. Now I am not hip to exactly which signing period will limit spending ,but if neither does, I can't see the Sox spending 30M+ on a prospect especially when you can always spend somewhere around $2 million on some of the better albeit very young prospects if you trust your scouts.

 

The current top Red Sox prospect Rafael Devers cost $1.5M as a 16 yr old. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of other stories like that out there. Those under 300K guys are "you get what you pay for" and "scraping the bottom of the barrel" signees.

 

I am all for going after Roberts but will be miffed if they don't get him and the Sox walk away with bupkis.

 

 

They really aren't competing with very rich organizations. If they want Robert, they can go get him. It's that simple. I've outlined how in multiple posts and even wrote an article for FutureSox about the prospects of doing so.

[Dick Allen]

They really aren't competing with very rich organizations. If they want Robert, they can go get him. It's that simple. I've outlined how in multiple posts and even wrote an article for FutureSox about the prospects of doing so.

Yes, there are some of the bigger spenders are out either way. It all depends on what he gets. If he gets what Moncada got, $30 million plus $30 million penalty, I'd be shocked the Sox won the bidding. But Boston can't offer that. Who can?

 

If he is as good as many think, he fits in perfectly with any team, and is exactly the type of player the White Sox are looking to add. Acquiring him is like having an extra #1/1 pick in the draft or an extra ace to trade.

[steveno89]

Yes, there are some of the bigger spenders are out either way. It all depends on what he gets. If he gets what Moncada got, $30 million plus $30 million penalty, I'd be shocked the Sox won the bidding. But Boston can't offer that. Who can?

 

If he is as good as many think, he fits in perfectly with any team, and is exactly the type of player the White Sox are looking to add. Acquiring him is like having an extra #1/1 pick in the draft or an extra ace to trade.

 

Very likely that the MLB drags its feet and does not clear Robert prior to June 15th. I think the league frowns upon a team just going nuts in international free agency, hence the new model

 

Sox will be in the mix either way for him