Sox the "front-runners" for Imai

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

1 hour ago, Capn12 said:

OK, lets not confuse 'trying this offseason' and 'signing a guy to a short term deal because long term interest wasn't there from anyone'.

 

This is still the same organization, until at least 2029.

"Same organization" or worse in some respects since JR is a lot less likely to allow too much spending with the imminent work stoppage and and even more risk adverse than before to make sure his son's sale of the franchise to the Ishbia  family goes as smooth as possible. So bottom line concerns yes still the same or worse.

However the "trying"  part shouldnt be overlooked. Unless you're blind the progress is easy to see . Lots of wins behind the scenes that were unexpected with media darlings like Bannister , Venable, Rodriguez & perhaps Keller joining the front office and special emphasis on scouting & player development which paid off quickly with the Mune signing.

 The Shane Smith and Colson Montgomery on field success were mostly unexpected. Especially Montgomery who was being called a bust here by quite a few. Ryan Fuller was credited with taking Colson away from the expectations to perform in games and refocused him on his process. Also a win that motion capture/ analytics may have led to suggesting the torpedo bat. After that little switch it was bombs away. These are things that a bad team in a position to have some advantages took them and produced better than expected results. It gives me hope that whatever holes in Murakami's swing that frightened so many teams can be properly addressed by the Sox and we end up with a Thome or Schwarber type .Remember his power and exit velocities may have been muted by a very real dead ball era in Japan.

It's not as if having the Top Rule 5 had historically produced even good MLB players.

Hopefully the new DR Academy with Rodriguez and Keller in charge can produce some results in producing alternative sources of talent that the Sox well had always been dry  on (DR talent) much like the Pacific Rim well had also gone dry. So in some respects with the emphasis on building culture, communication, infrastructure and PD it's not the same old Sox. They are ramping up for the ownership change.

 

[Chicago White Sox]

Dead silent today on the Imai front, but I still expect a deal to be agreed to and leaked before the end of the day.  When I first saw the rumor yesterday, I sort of brushed it off almost immediately as being unrealistic given Jerry’s hatred of giving out long -term contracts to pitchers.  However, the more I think about our current situation and the player himself, the more I feel this might actually be doable for us.  I strongly believe our competitive window will officially open by 2027 with an outside chance of getting lucky this year with the right mix of roster additions.  As such, proactively going out and signing a soon to be 28 year old RH pitcher to anchor a young rotation that should eventually feature lefties in Schultz, Smith, & possibly Oppor makes all the sense in the world.  Financially, we know they are shopping in the mid tier SP range and Imai would probably be at the very top of that market.  If the price is a little lower than expected, and perhaps teams aren’t ready to commit to him when bigger fish are available in free agency, I could see our ownership group stretching a bit for the upgrade.  Add in the marketing value of having a second big Japanese player and all of sudden it may be hard for us to pass on this opportunity.  I guess we’ll find out soon enough though.

[Quin]

6 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Dead silent today on the Imai front, but I still expect a deal to be agreed to and leaked before the end of the day.  When I first saw the rumor yesterday, I sort of brushed it off almost immediately as being unrealistic given Jerry’s hatred of giving out long -term contracts to pitchers.  However, the more I think about our current situation and the player himself, the more I feel this might actually be doable for us.  I strongly believe our competitive window will officially open by 2027 with an outside chance of getting lucky this year with the right mix of roster additions.  As such, proactively going out and signing a soon to be 28 year old RH pitcher to anchor a young rotation that should eventually feature lefties in Schultz, Smith, & possibly Oppor makes all the sense in the world.  Financially, we know they are shopping in the mid tier SP range and Imai would probably be at the very top of that market.  If the price is a little lower than expected, and perhaps teams aren’t ready to commit to him when bigger fish are available in free agency, I could see our ownership group stretching a bit for the upgrade.  Add in the marketing value of having a second big Japanese player and all of sudden it may be hard for us to pass on this opportunity.  I guess we’ll find out soon enough though.

Probably because someone isn't manifesting hard enough.

[Autumn Dreamin]

 

[Lip Man 1]

6 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Dead silent today on the Imai front, but I still expect a deal to be agreed to and leaked before the end of the day.  When I first saw the rumor yesterday, I sort of brushed it off almost immediately as being unrealistic given Jerry’s hatred of giving out long -term contracts to pitchers.  However, the more I think about our current situation and the player himself, the more I feel this might actually be doable for us.  I strongly believe our competitive window will officially open by 2027 with an outside chance of getting lucky this year with the right mix of roster additions.  As such, proactively going out and signing a soon to be 28 year old RH pitcher to anchor a young rotation that should eventually feature lefties in Schultz, Smith, & possibly Oppor makes all the sense in the world.  Financially, we know they are shopping in the mid tier SP range and Imai would probably be at the very top of that market.  If the price is a little lower than expected, and perhaps teams aren’t ready to commit to him when bigger fish are available in free agency, I could see our ownership group stretching a bit for the upgrade.  Add in the marketing value of having a second big Japanese player and all of sudden it may be hard for us to pass on this opportunity.  I guess we’ll find out soon enough though.

It would be a wonderful get but I continue to think the labor unrest and lockout is going to factor into the thinking here and moving forward with significant investments.

There are no guarantees there will even be a season in 2027 if owners continue to chase a salary cap. 

[Chicago White Sox]

9 minutes ago, Quin said:

Probably because someone isn't manifesting hard enough.

I did google Times of India and Imai in hopes there would be a Sox rumor there, but alas they are sleeping at the wheel right now!

[Chicago White Sox]

13 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

It would be a wonderful get but I continue to think the labor unrest and lockout is going to factor into the thinking here and moving forward with significant investments.

There are no guarantees there will even be a season in 2027 if owners continue to chase a salary cap. 

Why would it matter?  If there is a lockout or strike, it’s not like they have to pay him during a stoppage.

[ChiSoxFanMike]

Imai makes so much sense for this team. Only 27, no QO attached, Sox need more pitching, continue building a Japanese pipeline. I just fear he will be too “expensive”. Guess we’ll find out soon enough either way.

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

29 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Dead silent today on the Imai front, but I still expect a deal to be agreed to and leaked before the end of the day.  When I first saw the rumor yesterday, I sort of brushed it off almost immediately as being unrealistic given Jerry’s hatred of giving out long -term contracts to pitchers.  However, the more I think about our current situation and the player himself, the more I feel this might actually be doable for us.  I strongly believe our competitive window will officially open by 2027 with an outside chance of getting lucky this year with the right mix of roster additions.  As such, proactively going out and signing a soon to be 28 year old RH pitcher to anchor a young rotation that should eventually feature lefties in Schultz, Smith, & possibly Oppor makes all the sense in the world.  Financially, we know they are shopping in the mid tier SP range and Imai would probably be at the very top of that market.  If the price is a little lower than expected, and perhaps teams aren’t ready to commit to him when bigger fish are available in free agency, I could see our ownership group stretching a bit for the upgrade.  Add in the marketing value of having a second big Japanese player and all of sudden it may be hard for us to pass on this opportunity.  I guess we’ll find out soon enough though.

I need some of whatever youre smoking

[wegner]

3 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I need some of whatever youre smoking

And quickly before the sin taxes go up more in 2026

[Chicago White Sox]

5 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I need some of whatever youre smoking

Why does this seem so far fetched?  Fangraphs’ crowd sourcing projects a 4/$64M deal and you’re looking at another $11M in posting fees.  That’s basically the size of Benintendi contract and the number of years are within Reinsdorf territory.

[Lip Man 1]

24 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Why would it matter?  If there is a lockout or strike, it’s not like they have to pay him during a stoppage.

It depends on how the contract is written. Guys actually have been paid during labor situations. And that could be something his agents are demanding. 

[DirtySox]

 

 

[DirtySox]

Fwiw I just listened in and it sounds like there isn't much of anything out there on where Imai ends up. Says the Cubs are a mystery, nothing brewing with the Yankees or Phillies. Also doesn't think the White Sox are overly likely. 

[SoCalChiSox]

If NBB says it isn't happening then it isn't happening. I wish he would also tell us what's going on with Robert and the extent to which we will be otherwise active in the SP market aside from getting some #4 type SP in a Robert trade.

[fathom]

14 minutes ago, SoCalChiSox said:

If NBB says it isn't happening then it isn't happening. I wish he would also tell us what's going on with Robert and the extent to which we will be otherwise active in the SP market aside from getting some #4 type SP in a Robert trade.

He keeps saying they want to trade Robert but the market for him has been awful for two years 

[WhiteSox2023]

9 minutes ago, fathom said:

He keeps saying they want to trade Robert but the market for him has been awful for two years 

Well, we only keep hearing about the same two teams’ supposed interest (Reds and Mets) and a deal hasn’t been made in those two years so that likely tracks.

Edited 40 minutes ago by WhiteSox2023

[southsider2k5]

9 minutes ago, fathom said:

He keeps saying they want to trade Robert but the market for him has been awful for two years 

And yet we brought him back.  Again.

[WhiteSox2023]

1 minute ago, southsider2k5 said:

And yet we brought him back.  Again.

It’s going to pay off in the end…

[SoCalChiSox]

5 minutes ago, fathom said:

He keeps saying they want to trade Robert but the market for him has been awful for two years 

If we are trying to be reasonably competitive this year, maybe we should just keep him as he will be better, even in 100 games than whoever is likely to be the replacement.

If we don't care about winning this year, I'd just take Petty straight up for Robert plus like 8m or so pitched in. I don't think endlessly haggling for this pick and minor league corner OF (if reports from questionable sources are true) is really worth it if in fact the market is that bad. I realize there is still alot of time left in the offseason, but at some point other teams will address needs elsewhere and then we will get screwed again. I don't think Getz is going to get one over on Stearns either, they can easily write a check to solve any problem. 

[Chicago White Sox]

57 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

It depends on how the contract is written. Guys actually have been paid during labor situations. And that could be something his agents are demanding. 

I don’t think that’s how a CBA works

[WhiteSox2023]

2 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

I don’t think that’s how a CBA works

During a lockout, players can only receive payments for pre-existing obligations like deferred money, signing bonuses, or option buyouts.  They don’t receive their regular season salaries.

[Chicago White Sox]

2 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

During a lockout, players can only receive payments for pre-existing obligations like deferred money, signing bonuses, or option buyouts.  They don’t receive their regular season salaries.

Exactly

[WhiteSox2023]

55 minutes ago, DirtySox said:

Fwiw I just listened in and it sounds like there isn't much of anything out there on where Imai ends up. Says the Cubs are a mystery, nothing brewing with the Yankees or Phillies. Also doesn't think the White Sox are overly likely. 

They did say Imai has to take a physical with whatever team he signs with so they think we should hear news of where he is signing possibly within the next 24 hours.  But yeah, Robert Murray didn’t think the White Sox are likely.

Edited 25 minutes ago by WhiteSox2023