White Sox tender Derek Hill, non-tender Cam Booser, Tim Elko, & Mike Tauchman

[The Beast]

1 hour ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

Status quo.  Being cheap and bad.

So they should dump Robert and Benintendi during the season and sign some free agents? Like the goal can’t be to bottom out payroll if they want to have any attendance at all. And actually turn around this organization. There has to be a plan unless the plan is move to Nashville and spend then, or spend only when the strike gets resolved.

[WhiteSox2023]

37 minutes ago, The Beast said:

So they should dump Robert and Benintendi during the season and sign some free agents? Like the goal can’t be to bottom out payroll if they want to have any attendance at all. And actually turn around this organization. There has to be a plan unless the plan is move to Nashville and spend then, or spend only when the strike gets resolved.

It’s pretty obvious that Getz only picked up Robert’s option so he can possibly increase his value and be dealt for prospects that help in the rebuild.  It’s also obvious that the Sox would dump Benintendi in a second if any team was willing to take on all of most of his contract.  No one wants him.  This is the state of a team with an owner that is on the way out.  Jerry has no incentive (in his own mind) to spend money on payroll.  He is simply using the rebuild excuse to not spend and he has never cared all that much about winning anyways.

Edited Sunday at 03:52 AM by WhiteSox2023

[Lip Man 1]

1 hour ago, The Beast said:

So they should dump Robert and Benintendi during the season and sign some free agents? Like the goal can’t be to bottom out payroll if they want to have any attendance at all. And actually turn around this organization. There has to be a plan unless the plan is move to Nashville and spend then, or spend only when the strike gets resolved.

Ishbia has made it clear they aren't moving to Nashville...the second part of your comment is what is going on. 

Also to be clear it's not a strike, the owners are going to lock out the players.

[WBWSF]

7 hours ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Ishbia has made it clear they aren't moving to Nashville...the second part of your comment is what is going on. 

Also to be clear it's not a strike, the owners are going to lock out the players.

I can't understand why the owners would lock out the players. The players union is never going to agree to a salary cap so what would be the purpose of a lock out?

[PaleAleSox]

Having a work stoppage the year before your tv deal is up would be quite the stupid move. 

[southsider2k5]

2 hours ago, PaleAleSox said:

Having a work stoppage the year before your tv deal is up would be quite the stupid move. 

MLB: Hold my  Chardonnay peasant

 

[The Beast]

10 hours ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Ishbia has made it clear they aren't moving to Nashville...the second part of your comment is what is going on. 

Also to be clear it's not a strike, the owners are going to lock out the players.

It’s so aggravating to see them go so cheap with signings like Taylor and DeJong. Revenue losses can only make sense for so long. Let’s hope for signings like Garfien, Fletcher and McKnight predicted. Are the lack of signings because they don’t want to pay players during the work stoppage or because they’ll get a better price when it is resolved?

[nrockway]

3 hours ago, PaleAleSox said:

Having a work stoppage the year before your tv deal is up would be quite the stupid move. 

Right, locking the players out immediately after signing several short term, 3-year long TV deals strikes me as...unlikely. I'm not sure the networks agree to such a deal if they feel a lockout is imminent.

To me, the salary cap stuff is simply posturing, the owners will almost certainly move away from that position to get some other concession from the union.

[Lip Man 1]

1 hour ago, nrockway said:

Right, locking the players out immediately after signing several short term, 3-year long TV deals strikes me as...unlikely. I'm not sure the networks agree to such a deal if they feel a lockout is imminent.

To me, the salary cap stuff is simply posturing, the owners will almost certainly move away from that position to get some other concession from the union.

Since when have baseball owners done logical things in regards to labor relations with the MLBPA?

Just look at their history.

 

 

 

[Lip Man 1]

4 hours ago, WBWSF said:

I can't understand why the owners would lock out the players. The players union is never going to agree to a salary cap so what would be the purpose of a lock out?

Because the owners are stupid?

There are always a few who think that "breaking" the MLBPA is just around the corner. 

[nrockway]

2 hours ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Since when have baseball owners done logical things in regards to labor relations with the MLBPA?

Just look at their history.

 

 

 

But what about the network side of things? I think ESPN's deal is valued at $550mil a year, that's a lot of money to give up for an impending lockout. Of course, perhaps the networks don't pay MLB if no games are played, I don't know how all of that works. Still, doing a short term deal that is long enough to extend beyond the current CBA leads me to think the owners do not want to risk a lockout. I don't think it's to due with labor relations but rather alienating the biggest cashcow they have.

[WestEddy]

50 minutes ago, nrockway said:

But what about the network side of things? I think ESPN's deal is valued at $550mil a year, that's a lot of money to give up for an impending lockout. Of course, perhaps the networks don't pay MLB if no games are played, I don't know how all of that works. Still, doing a short term deal that is long enough to extend beyond the current CBA leads me to think the owners do not want to risk a lockout. I don't think it's to due with labor relations but rather alienating the biggest cashcow they have.

I think it's simplistic to just say the owners are stupid. The owners are multi-billionaires and CEOs. They're going to act in their own interests. The players had gotten their pockets picked for a decade or so, allowing the owners to claw back control in exchange for better post-game food spreads and better hot tubs. 

I agree with you that the owners might puff out their chests, get all tough to cancel all the winter meetings, and then they'll magically come to agreement in the middle of March for a quick 3-week spring training, then a full season. I believe they'll hold up the salary cap, and trade that away for more rule changes and pilferage around the edges. 

[kitekrazy]

On 11/30/2025 at 10:00 AM, Lip Man 1 said:

Since when have baseball owners done logical things in regards to labor relations with the MLBPA?

Just look at their history.

 

 

 

on the flip side they are like congressmen inflating the price for mediocre and below pitching. 

[WestEddy]

39 minutes ago, kitekrazy said:

on the flip side they are like congressmen inflating the price for mediocre and below pitching. 

The Giants just announced they'd be looking into the cheaper mid-level pitching market this winter, which is probably what a dozen other teams are doing, and will price Houser, Ponce and guys like that out of their own reach. 

[Tnetennba]

On 11/29/2025 at 9:16 PM, WhiteSox2023 said:

I think another team will be paying for Robert sooner rather than later and they are only paying Benintendi because they have to.  The opening day payroll is going to be embarrassingly low.

If only they had the capacity to feel embarrassment.