It’s possible his agent told him to put together a wish list for his new destination because he knew teams would basically pour everything out to get him.  

If Machado is as family oriented as people are saying, it’s possible that playing with his brother-in-law was a desire of his.  Maybe he was willing to defer the amount of Alonso’s salary off his new mega contract to fulfil that desire—who knows what’s all included in a contract like this.

With both players sharing the same agent, it could have been a goal to try to make happen.  Since it did, I’m liking that the Sox are the team trying to make it happen.  Goes a long way in establishing the trust in a long-term player/organization relationship.  

10 minutes ago, whitesoxwinner said:

Uh we are in the Indians division and represent a greater threat to their chances at the playoffs if we sign machado

Look, I agree with you. I’m not trying to argue the other side. I’m just trying to present the other side because I don’t think it’s as ridiculous of a question as it might seem. If Machado signs with the Yankees, the Indians’ chances of winning the 2019 World Series go down. If he signs with the Sox, I don’t think their chances change. Of course, this would be a long term deal, and that’s why I ultimately agree with you. 

2 hours ago, Balta1701 said:

Nicky is a reasonable piece to be on the opening day roster because the White Sox will need someone convenient to send down to Charlotte on April 15, preferably someone who plays an OF position. 

Sure, but if they sign Harper or bring in any other OF, spots are going to be hard to come by. 

He and Palka both having options is nice. 

6 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

And it is a creative outside of the box method of making yourself stand out in the crowd as being willing to do whatever it takes to make you feel welcome. 

Not only are the White Sox willing to offer money,  but they are also willing to surround you with the people you want to be around during the baseball season. 

How someone can view this as anything other than a good thing is mindboggling. 

Is that how you construct an MLB 25 man roster now?  By allocating one or two precious spots to friends or family members of the team’s superstars?  

Just now, Fan O'Faust said:

Is that how you construct an MLB 25 man roster now?  By allocating one or two precious spots to friends or family members of the team’s superstars?  

We could use your method and tell him about the decades of suck that make you a fan.

1 minute ago, southsider2k5 said:

We could use your method and tell him about the decades of suck that make you a fan.

Brushing aside your predictable asinine comment, it just seems odd you think it “creative, out of the box thinking”, as you put it, to set aside a roster spot for someone primarily because it would be a feel good for a superstar on the team. Not sure I’ve ever heard this line of thinking before.  

7 minutes ago, Fan O'Faust said:

Is that how you construct an MLB 25 man roster now?  By allocating one or two precious spots to friends or family members of the team’s superstars?  

personal relationships matter in sports like anything else and the "pot odds" if you will here are huge for the Sox.  They've already invested A LOT of the rebuild in making a big FA push this offseason for a Whale.  What's a rather meaningless prospect like Call and 9 million or so dollars when they've already pushed so many chips into the pot?

BREAKING: Chicago White Sox hire Manny Machado's elementary  school teacher Olivia Delarosa as team librarian. Rick Hahn calls it "one of the most important moves of the off season".

#ChicagoWhiteSox #ReadingIsFundamental

3 minutes ago, skooch said:

BREAKING: Chicago White Sox hire Manny Machado's elementary  school teacher Olivia Delarosa as team librarian. Rick Hahn calls it "one of the most important moves of the off season".

#ChicagoWhiteSox #ReadingIsFundamental

Dont overlook the importance of this. Machada is known to be an avid reader. A lover of the classics.

1 hour ago, Fan O'Faust said:

Is that how you construct an MLB 25 man roster now?  By allocating one or two precious spots to friends or family members of the team’s superstars?  

I’m not really thrilled about it because I don’t like players calling the shots.  But...times are a little different and Jerry cares a lot about his players.  We’ve done this before for Ozzie and John Danks.  But in this case, Alonso isn’t quite a blow off player.  He’s another Todd Frazier—a capable MLB player and can contribute at a level that matches his market.  

It could very well be that we are on the verge of something huge—where a move like this, spending 9 million just to make it known how much we care about a player’s wishes...could trigger a domino of signings that could transform the franchise in a big way.  

Hopefully it will all make sense soon!

Or it could be a Landry Fields - Steve Nash situation where we are stuck with Alonso for two years and Machado signs with the Yankees/Phillies anyways.

 

Edited December 16, 20187 yr by wrathofhahn

22 hours ago, fathom said:

Maybe I’m being naive, but it’s not like Hahn and Manny’s agent haven’t talked. I have a very hard time thinking this was done just to increase the chance by 1%. If this was any other team getting Yonder, we would have locked the thread for manny 

That's what I'm screaming. There is no way the Sox did this without thinking it will have a pretty significant impact. Like you said, it's not like they haven't talked. I'm sure one side or the other brought up Alonso at some point and the White Sox got the deal done to show how serious they are about making Manny happy. 

But, as others have said, this may also mean the Sox are feeling less confident about Harper if they are willing to lose Alex Call and add a decent chunk of change and help out a rival.

1 hour ago, Fan O'Faust said:

Brushing aside your predictable asinine comment, it just seems odd you think it “creative, out of the box thinking”, as you put it, to set aside a roster spot for someone primarily because it would be a feel good for a superstar on the team. Not sure I’ve ever heard this line of thinking before.  

You have never heard of players wanting to play on the same team with their friends? Do the LeBron led Miami Heat not register with you? 

The problem is that (seemingly) Ventura and Renteria aren’t/weren’t the kind of managers to deal well with clubhouse cliques.

Ozzie was the last manager who got all the various groups to integrate well with each other, partly by taking media attention and focus off the players and putting on himself (Maddon is somewhat similar.)

After all the issues in Baltimore and Washington last year, you wonder how much the manager factors into the decision.  Yes, the obvious caveat that the most money wins out 90-95% of the time.

1 hour ago, ChiliIrishHammock24 said:

That's what I'm screaming. There is no way the Sox did this without thinking it will have a pretty significant impact. Like you said, it's not like they haven't talked. I'm sure one side or the other brought up Alonso at some point and the White Sox got the deal done to show how serious they are about making Manny happy. 

But, as others have said, this may also mean the Sox are feeling less confident about Harper if they are willing to lose Alex Call and add a decent chunk of change and help out a rival.

Its Alex Call. He wasn't ready to be promoted to Charlotte and there's a logjam of outfielders more deserving of that Birminagham roster spot. 

Given Abreu's injuries and the shitty first base defense we witnessed from multiple players at that position last season,  I like the Alonzo trade. 

1 hour ago, ChiliIrishHammock24 said:

That's what I'm screaming. There is no way the Sox did this without thinking it will have a pretty significant impact. Like you said, it's not like they haven't talked. I'm sure one side or the other brought up Alonso at some point and the White Sox got the deal done to show how serious they are about making Manny happy. 

But, as others have said, this may also mean the Sox are feeling less confident about Harper if they are willing to lose Alex Call and add a decent chunk of change and help out a rival.

Hahn for some reason felt it necessary to dance around the trade with writers today, denying it had anything to do with Manny. He just thought Alonso was a great fit , yet he never discussed him with Cleveland until he was on his way home from the winter meetings, They has set up the Manny meeting then, so I think he knew what he was doing, and throwing $9 million at a prayer is nothing the Sox voluntarily do. He had an inkling.

8 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

Hahn for some reason felt it necessary to dance around the trade with writers today, denying it had anything to do with Manny. He just thought Alonso was a great fit , yet he never discussed him with Cleveland until he was on his way home from the winter meetings, They has set up the Manny meeting then, so I think he knew what he was doing, and throwing $9 million at a prayer is nothing the Sox voluntarily do. He had an inkling.

No doubt. Its public speak he has to say

 

1 hour ago, wrathofhahn said:

Or it could be a Landry Fields - Steve Nash situation where we are stuck with Alonso for two years and Machado signs with the Yankees/Phillies anyways.

 

For the love of god just stop.  Alonso won’t be here for two years unless he is absolutely crushing it.

Absolutely hysterical stuff from Philly:

 

I've Had Just About Enough Of The Chicago White Sox

14 minutes ago, Ross Gload Fan said:

Absolutely hysterical stuff from Philly:

 

I've Had Just About Enough Of The Chicago White Sox

That's a funny take on the situation.

9 minutes ago, Mr. Showtime said:

That's a funny take on the situation.

He at least remembers we won the World Series in '05 so he's already better than ESPN. 

1 hour ago, Dick Allen said:

Hahn for some reason felt it necessary to dance around the trade with writers today, denying it had anything to do with Manny. He just thought Alonso was a great fit , yet he never discussed him with Cleveland until he was on his way home from the winter meetings, They has set up the Manny meeting then, so I think he knew what he was doing, and throwing $9 million at a prayer is nothing the Sox voluntarily do. He had an inkling.

And don’t forget he said he was trying to sign him last offseason, which was also when they tried to get Manny and impress him with the environment.

Very good article at MLB.com looking back at which teams exactly are signing players to "mega-deals". Losing teams often are getting these guys as much as winning ones it seems:

https://www.mlb.com/news/harper-machado-and-history-of-mlb-mega-deals/c-301873580?tid=282421090

 

1 hour ago, fathom said:

And don’t forget he said he was trying to sign him last offseason, which was also when they tried to get Manny and impress him with the environment.

I mean, it would be pretty disrespectful to say “yeah Alonso is really just here to entice his brother in law”, so I’m not really expecting Hahn to slight Alonso by doing that and then meeting with manny.

1 hour ago, Ross Gload Fan said:

Absolutely hysterical stuff from Philly:

 

I've Had Just About Enough Of The Chicago White Sox

The Phillies phans are realizing Chicago has a second baseball team DO YOU KNOW HOW VALUABLE THIS MARKETING IS?! WE MIGHT GET A VISIT FROM GRITTY.