9 hours ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

You already mentioned this but all the free agents are too old for this team.  I would sooner see the Sox look for a team that wants to dump a bloated veteran contract and have that team pay the Sox in prospect(s) to take on their bad deal.

It’s crazy, there is like no pitcher under 30

9 hours ago, SoxAce said:

Just put money in the farm system. That is the future heartbeat of this organization. 

I’m sorry but you need to read the card he gave.

7 hours ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Ok, so what are you doing with the other 158 million?

Exactly . Plus the OP said player. Why does anyone bothers putting parameters when people ignore them ? 

 

7 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Exactly . Plus the OP said player. Why does anyone bothers putting parameters when people ignore them ? 

 

That’s fair.  I agree this thread mostly ignored the parameters.  There’s no single player I would spend $160M this offseason (or would reasonably sign with us for that amount).  

17 minutes ago, champagne030 said:

That’s fair.  I agree this thread mostly ignored the parameters.  There’s no single player I would spend $160M this offseason (or would reasonably sign with us for that amount).  

I'd spend the $80M it would take to get Naylor, then buy $80M worth of Rogaine to get the hair back on my head. And my legs, too. 

7 hours ago, champagne030 said:

I'm not crying.  The tissues are for you not accepting the guy running the show is neck deep why we suck.  Sure, Jerry is most at fault, but to hitch hopes to a guy that has failed miserably at his job seems silly.  And you really, REALLY need to squint to see the horizon 4 years down the road.

The next time I see you do any analysis will be the 1st. It's always the short term . To successful people 4 years is nothing.

 The ground is being lain for the future of the franchise. 

JR is entirely to blame. Give me your list of what Getz has sucked at since he became GM. Is the team not supposed to suck when the franchise bottomed out ? Could he have prevented the record breaking season. Probably but 121 or 110 losses hardly makes a difference except in how loud the fans cry. Has Getz yet traded away a Tatis, Jr or Marcus Semien right before the last rebuild started ? 

Getz hasnt even been given enough rope to screw things up. He's not being given any money . So all he can do is make some trades , make some good hires and build the infrastructure. Im not on an island here with my views. It's pretty common among people who do independent Sox podcasts that there are good things happening .I am a very well informed fan about things happening. Now of course I'm listening to Gene Watson and Paul Janish and others who only have  belief that they are on the right track being interviewed by Chuck Garfien and others on CHSN. But there are examples all over the field of good things going on. 

To successful people you need a plan if you start at the bottom and aren't getting any money. 

Watson talked about how Getz came to him and asked him what he thought of Crochet being a starting pitcher . Have you ever even considered that Getz and the people he hired had anything to do with Crochet becoming a Starter, their plan to get him to the top of his game, keep him healthy and then to ultimately make a quality trade ? That was something no fan could've ever predicted happening . 

How about how the Sox hiree like Fuller and the R&D department not only got Colson refocused on his process and confidence and then as a finishing touch shortly after he was promoted recommended the torpedo bat.

What about the huge success in the Rule 5 draft with Shane Smith and Vasil ? Isn't that another example of better scouting and development ?  

Didn't Vargas and Sosa becoming league average players when they both vouldve continued on their failure projectories mean things are working ?

How about putting the rest of the rookies in a nurturing yet accountable and supportive environment to enable them to  be productive ? Was that not a good thing happening as an organization? 

What about Birmingham's 2 straight AA championships ? Is that not a tangible thing that shows they can develop winning players and attitudes ? 

It's so easy to be cynical when youre surrounded by it. But as executives,  and coaches you all want to be pulling on the same rope as far as developing a winning mindset.

 

https://www.mlb.com/news/colson-montgomery-homers-in-white-sox-win-over-guardians

“My first at-bat was my first time using it. I guess I like the bat or the bat likes me,” Montgomery said. “I would like to think that if you just give me a bat, I’ll be fine, but some guys have their special thing with certain bats, and I just feel comfortable with it.

“Once I got it, I felt it was pretty natural. When I had to use a normal bat, I felt like there was too much weight at the end. It kind of made me out and around and pull happy, I guess. When I have a torpedo in my hand, I guess I feel tight to the ball and can let the ball track a little bit more and I can whip it to the zone faster."

 

Ten home runs from that point in August over his next 21 games.

14 consecutive without a homer in September and a boatload of Ks.

Then three in his last six games.

The very definition of streaky.

Now he's going to have to even it out over 150+ games playing against more tough lefty starters as well.

It will be interesting to see how sustainable that success will be.

Edited October 11, 2025Oct 11 by caulfield12

18 hours ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Given how Tucker cratered in the second half and was hurt I could see him resigning with the Cubs on a one year prove it deal for like 20-25 million.

No chance tucker needs to take a prove it deal and at 25 million? Guy is going to sign for 400+.

15 hours ago, bmags said:

It’s crazy, there is like no pitcher under 30

I looked at the list and it’s ridiculous.

https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/mlb-free-agents-2025-2026.html

1 hour ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

No chance tucker needs to take a prove it deal and at 25 million? Guy is going to sign for 400+.

I'd be surprised if he got that much given his injury history the past two seasons, but we'll see. 

On 10/10/2025 at 2:38 PM, southsider2k5 said:

Figure out the next thing, not the last thing.

This.

It’s endlessly amusing to see “they’re going to start using analytics”.  Great, they finally got around to seeing Moneyball 15 years too late.

Do something useful, not something that brings you within 10 years of what everyone else is already doing.

16 hours ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

The next time I see you do any analysis will be the 1st. It's always the short term . To successful people 4 years is nothing.

 The ground is being lain for the future of the franchise. 

JR is entirely to blame. Give me your list of what Getz has sucked at since he became GM. Is the team not supposed to suck when the franchise bottomed out ? Could he have prevented the record breaking season. Probably but 121 or 110 losses hardly makes a difference except in how loud the fans cry. Has Getz yet traded away a Tatis, Jr or Marcus Semien right before the last rebuild started ? 

Getz hasnt even been given enough rope to screw things up. He's not being given any money . So all he can do is make some trades , make some good hires and build the infrastructure. Im not on an island here with my views. It's pretty common among people who do independent Sox podcasts that there are good things happening .I am a very well informed fan about things happening. Now of course I'm listening to Gene Watson and Paul Janish and others who only have  belief that they are on the right track being interviewed by Chuck Garfien and others on CHSN. But there are examples all over the field of good things going on. 

To successful people you need a plan if you start at the bottom and aren't getting any money. 

Watson talked about how Getz came to him and asked him what he thought of Crochet being a starting pitcher . Have you ever even considered that Getz and the people he hired had anything to do with Crochet becoming a Starter, their plan to get him to the top of his game, keep him healthy and then to ultimately make a quality trade ? That was something no fan could've ever predicted happening . 

How about how the Sox hiree like Fuller and the R&D department not only got Colson refocused on his process and confidence and then as a finishing touch shortly after he was promoted recommended the torpedo bat.

What about the huge success in the Rule 5 draft with Shane Smith and Vasil ? Isn't that another example of better scouting and development ?  

Didn't Vargas and Sosa becoming league average players when they both vouldve continued on their failure projectories mean things are working ?

How about putting the rest of the rookies in a nurturing yet accountable and supportive environment to enable them to  be productive ? Was that not a good thing happening as an organization? 

What about Birmingham's 2 straight AA championships ? Is that not a tangible thing that shows they can develop winning players and attitudes ? 

It's so easy to be cynical when youre surrounded by it. But as executives,  and coaches you all want to be pulling on the same rope as far as developing a winning mindset.

 

I stopped listening to the Watson podcast as soon as he talked about how fortunate they were to have LaRussa so involved.

10 minutes ago, TheBooneLoganEra said:

I stopped listening to the Watson podcast as soon as he talked about how fortunate they were to have LaRussa so involved.

These shows are the same ones who just spent years calling Katz the pitcher whisperer, and Santos a future manager based on what the team was feeding them... yet hasn't asked what happened and why so far after they were unceremoniously dumped.  It's the same ones who praised the last administration until they got fired, and then promptly switched sides. 

You'll have to excuse me if I don't take everything the Sox tell their reporters to report at face value.

The healine of this thread  is "If Ishbia gave us one early present WHO would it be"? ............Himself as the new owner.

Nm

Edited October 12, 2025Oct 12 by fathom

On 10/10/2025 at 12:19 PM, Falstaff said:

$160 million

Josh Naylor: UFA, $60 million 4 yr contract 

Shane Bieber: opts out of player option, $75 million 3 yr contract

Devin Williams: UFA, $10 million 2 yr contract

Adrian Houser: UFA, $15 million 2yr contract

 

Seattle easily beats that offer to keep him. I'll be shocked if he signs for less than a 20M AAV.

3.1 fWAR is worth roughly $21-24 million on the FA market...that's pretty darned good for 1B/DH.

Since Jerry is still the controlling owner — and likely pocketing a majority of Ishbia’s cash infusions anyway — I’m not even going to bother mentioning the big-name free agents like Kyle Tucker, Kyle Schwarber, Cody Bellinger, or Pete Alonso. The White Sox always seem to lean toward the cheaper, less impactful “B-listers.”

That said, I’d be pretty happy with a Josh Naylor signing. He’s only 28 years old, brings a strong lefty bat, and actually fits the team’s timeline a lot better than most of the star names out there.

On 10/11/2025 at 12:43 AM, caulfield12 said:

https://www.mlb.com/news/colson-montgomery-homers-in-white-sox-win-over-guardians

“My first at-bat was my first time using it. I guess I like the bat or the bat likes me,” Montgomery said. “I would like to think that if you just give me a bat, I’ll be fine, but some guys have their special thing with certain bats, and I just feel comfortable with it.

“Once I got it, I felt it was pretty natural. When I had to use a normal bat, I felt like there was too much weight at the end. It kind of made me out and around and pull happy, I guess. When I have a torpedo in my hand, I guess I feel tight to the ball and can let the ball track a little bit more and I can whip it to the zone faster."

 

Ten home runs from that point in August over his next 21 games.

14 consecutive without a homer in September and a boatload of Ks.

Then three in his last six games.

The very definition of streaky.

Now he's going to have to even it out over 150+ games playing against more tough lefty starters as well.

It will be interesting to see how sustainable that success will be.

The very definition of baseball and being a rookie. 

You can't get 3 hits every 10 ABs and 10 HRs every 110 AB. Sometime you'll get more, sometime less. Most hit better at home . All hit better without nagging injuries. Sometimes you get a bunch of fat pitches and sometimes you always seem to fall behind in counts or get ahead. Sometimes you get more walks, more hits more HRs . Sometimes you K more, walk less and you hit line drives that get caught. The fan and player both have to stay even keeled , let things play out, get decent sample sizes, be mindful of injuries. 

On 10/11/2025 at 2:15 PM, TheBooneLoganEra said:

I stopped listening to the Watson podcast as soon as he talked about how fortunate they were to have LaRussa so involved.

Yea not everything is as we wish it to be. But sometimes between naps and synapses failing grandfathers can come up with the odd pearls .

Years of devoting your life to baseball means something to people in the game. Mistakes at the end dont invalidates everything else you have to offer .  Even Ozzie Guillen is a dinosaur who laughs at all the computer stuff in the game now .

7 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Yea not everything is as we wish it to be. But sometimes between naps and synapses failing grandfathers can come up with the odd pearls .

Years of devoting your life to baseball means something to people in the game. Mistakes at the end dont invalidates everything else you have to offer .  Even Ozzie Guillen is a dinosaur who laughs at all the computer stuff in the game now .

It's fun to pretend that sitting on the internet and eating Twinkies gives me special perspective about baseball that being a HOF manager doesn't. The guy would take naps in the dugout and still wrung a playoff series out of a group that would disintegrate two years later. 

. 

9 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

It's fun to pretend that sitting on the internet and eating Twinkies gives me special perspective about baseball that being a HOF manager doesn't. The guy would take naps in the dugout and still wrung a playoff series out of a group that would disintegrate two years later. 

. 

That team played well until Moncada, Eloy, and Robert came back. Was much more fun to watch.

12 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

It's fun to pretend that sitting on the internet and eating Twinkies gives me special perspective about baseball that being a HOF manager doesn't. The guy would take naps in the dugout and still wrung a playoff series out of a group that would disintegrate two years later. 

. 

Dude inherited a rising playoff team that self-destructed under his watch.  That isn't the flex you think it is.

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

Dude inherited a rising playoff team that self-destructed under his watch.  That isn't the flex you think it is.

The flex is that even if he's old school, he's not stupid compared to the people criticizing him. 

18 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

The flex is that even if he's old school, he's not stupid compared to the people criticizing him. 

That is his record in recent years, if that's a flex, so be it.  The Sox fell apart under his watch.  There were also collapses in Arizona and Anaheim.