1 hour ago, fathom said:

Think it might in the Athletic today that the Sox lowered their return from the Mets due to the Mets taking on the whole deal.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7007520/2026/01/30/mets-mlb-offseason-overhaul-bo-bichette/

"After agreeing to a deal with Bichette, the Mets informed Chicago they were willing to absorb all of Robert’s salary ($20 million for 2026), which lowered the asking price to Acuna and minor-league pitcher Truman Pauley."

4 minutes ago, 77 Hitmen said:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7007520/2026/01/30/mets-mlb-offseason-overhaul-bo-bichette/

"After agreeing to a deal with Bichette, the Mets informed Chicago they were willing to absorb all of Robert’s salary ($20 million for 2026), which lowered the asking price to Acuna and minor-league pitcher Truman Pauley."

I wonder what the half price and full pick up returns were.

1 hour ago, Harry Chappas said:

Of course they did.  Needed that extra money for 30+ old reliever.  Ah, the White Sox. 

 

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

But of course.

 

1 hour ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

Jerry strikes again…

The Sox have one of the lowest payrolls in MLB and yet, Jerry wants to accept a lower return in talent from this trade so that he doesn't have to pay ANY of Robert's salary.  

Ridiculous, but very much expected.  The Ishbia era can't arrive soon enough for us Sox fans.  

3 minutes ago, 77 Hitmen said:

 

 

The Sox have one of the lowest payrolls in MLB and yet, Jerry wants to accept a lower return in talent from this trade so that he doesn't have to pay ANY of Robert's salary.  

Ridiculous, but very much expected.  The Ishbia era can't arrive soon enough for us Sox fans.  

This is exactly why I am still skeptical about the White Sox going forward.   If we are still taking the cheapest way out in key returns,  at best you are still prolonging this rebuild, at worst, you aren't going to be able to get to the talent critical mass you need to overtake the division.  This apparently has not changed at all.

57 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

I wonder what the half price and full pick up returns were.

I would assume not that much more interesting to the Sox. We know Jerry values saving money very highly, so I'd guess the rumors we've heard about the Sox asking price on trades being super high was due to what the Sox wanted if they ate half of Robert's contract.

59 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

I wonder what the half price and full pick up returns were.

I doubt it was much of a difference.

2 minutes ago, almagest said:

I would assume not that much more interesting to the Sox. We know Jerry values saving money very highly, so I'd guess the rumors we've heard about the Sox asking price on trades being super high was due to what the Sox wanted if they ate half of Robert's contract.

If the reports of a "high ask" are really accurate,  that means they absolutely collapsed their price in negotiations,  because what we got wasn't that.  

At the start of the teardown the following players were under control for the following returns or lack their of:

Jose Abreu: MVPito was kept through the deadline. Ultimately the Sox kept a fan favorite and made the wise decision to let the Astros pay him. Excellent move

Dylan Cease: Cease was under Arb control until this offseason where he was paid. Knowing now that Cease likely wasn’t going to extend and that he got the deal. He was traded with 2 years of cheap control after the 2023 season. Hindsight says his value would’ve been highest after his breakout 2022 campaign. The Sox dealt him for Iriarte, Wilson, Zavala, and Thorpe. Both Iriarte and Thorpe have had cups of coffee. I think Thorpe has the best chance of saving this deal. He had a nasty 2024 before TJ ended his 2025 season. Overall this was a missed opportunity for the Sox although there is hope yet. 
 

Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez: after a let down 2022 season, Giolito didn’t has as much value. I have no issue with the Sox running it back with him. At the 2023 deadline he was flipped to the Angels along with Reynaldo Lopez for Edgar Quiero and Ky Bush. Lopez eventually found success after leaving as a starter in free agency although he was hurt last year. Not sure about the long term viability of him as a starter but ultimate ly I’m not holding it against the Sox. This was a BRUTAL trade from the Angels perspective. They gave up on both for money issues and gave up a great catching prospect in Quero and a possible rotation depth piece in Bush. Bush is now 26 and hit a wall in AAA, but is still a legitimate prospect. It was a great trade at the time and aged well even with Lopez’s emergence. 
 

Tim Anderson: fell off a cliff by the time it was okay to give up on a guy that was a fan favorite. In another universe he doesn’t get punch by Jram and is still a star. 
 

yoan Moncada: Moncada was another guy with a big 2021 that fell off before it was time to get value for him. Not sure it wouldve been palatable to trade  him after his 4 win 2021 season. 
 

Garrett Crochet: this is the most controversial IMO. Crochet was traded after proving himself as a starter in 2024. He had two years of control left when the Sox traded him for Teel, Montgomery, and Meidroth. At the time of the trade it was a strong return and all 3 had excellent first years with the Sox. Teel and Meidroth look like multi win big leaguers and Montgomery gives the Sox a high potential outfielder that fills a huge system need. The “controversy” is from the Red Sox side of the trade. They extended Crochet with a 6 year 170M that buys 4 years of free agency for 115M. At this point he’ll almost definitely opt out for the last 2. It was a risky extension at the time and it seems like the Sox didn’t want to give it, but now is one of the better deals in baseball. Crochet was a 6 WAR pitcher and Cy runner up that threw 200+ innings. Would have been a great extension to have made, but given the risk the return has made it palatable to very solid. The alternative is that he got hurt and you missed out on 3 cost controlled big leaguers 2 with legit star upside and another with a multi win floor. 
 

Lance Lynn: The Sox moved him in a contract year. He was another guy that fell off after 2021 not allowing the Sox to extract value. He went from Cy-3 to a high 3 ERA pitcher worth 0.7 war in 2022. That may have been the time to trade him as he had a disasterous 2023. He was still able to be moved with Joe Kelly for Nastrini (disappointment) and Leasure who is a solid back end bullpen piece. Given his value at the time it was a solid return but just tough to get so little for him. 
 

Robert: Fresh in the memory. We’ll see what value Acuna has. It seems like he has the inside track to the everyday CF role. Probably the most obvious case of holding someone too long as the Sox were clearly rebuilding during his breakout year. Still, it was understandable to keep a core piece. The cards just fell poorly. 
 

Vaughn and Madrigal: madrigal was flipped at the perfect time, Kimbrel just didn’t work out. Vaughn seems to be a missed development opportunity but I’m not going to fault the Sox for anything other than the outfield experiment. 
 

Gregory Santos: cost controlled stud reliever. He has been hit with injuries since he was traded so it’s hard to remember that he was a a big trade chip at the time. The return was Prelander Berroa and Zach Deloach. Berroa was the main return and even through he was hurt last year has shown upside as a reliever. 
 

Kimbrel and bummer: 2 relievers that appear to have yielded no usable return long term. Soroka still has upside but not for the Sox. 
 

Collins: a lot of promise but ultimately flipped for Reese McGuire. 

burger: top pick, hasn’t quite burned the Sox but Eder didn’t work out 

So in total you have: 
 

lynn, Robert, cease, crochet, bummer, santos, Kimbrel, Vaughn, giolito, and Lopez out and let Pito, Tim Anderson, and Moncada walk. Other losses include Kelly, Burger and Collins. 
 

in return: Teel, Acuna Montgomery, Meidroth, Berroa, Leasure, Nastrini, Iriarte, Thorpe, Quero, and Bush. 
 

Teel, Meidroth, Quero Acuna and Leasure are big league contributors. Montgomery is a high upside prospect. 
 

of the group of pitchers, Thorpe has the most upside and could be a contributor this year . Berroa has a very good shot at being a bullpen contributor. Nistrini, Bush, and Irarte have something to prove. 
 

The Sox added talent through the draft and Rule V which I consider to be part of the rebuild and not the teardown. The Crochet Return (+Quero) does a lot of heavy lifting. Thorpe picking up where he left off would be a huge help, because it would be rough to not get a single cost controlled above average starter for Crochet, Cease, Lynn and Giolito. If Hagen and Schultz work out it’ll be less of an issue it’s just expensive to get good innings in free agency. 

11 minutes ago, FriendlyNorthsider said:

At the start of the teardown the following players were under control for the following returns or lack their of:

Jose Abreu: MVPito was kept through the deadline. Ultimately the Sox kept a fan favorite and made the wise decision to let the Astros pay him. Excellent move

Dylan Cease: Cease was under Arb control until this offseason where he was paid. Knowing now that Cease likely wasn’t going to extend and that he got the deal. He was traded with 2 years of cheap control after the 2023 season. Hindsight says his value would’ve been highest after his breakout 2022 campaign. The Sox dealt him for Iriarte, Wilson, Zavala, and Thorpe. Both Iriarte and Thorpe have had cups of coffee. I think Thorpe has the best chance of saving this deal. He had a nasty 2024 before TJ ended his 2025 season. Overall this was a missed opportunity for the Sox although there is hope yet. 
 

Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez: after a let down 2022 season, Giolito didn’t has as much value. I have no issue with the Sox running it back with him. At the 2023 deadline he was flipped to the Angels along with Reynaldo Lopez for Edgar Quiero and Ky Bush. Lopez eventually found success after leaving as a starter in free agency although he was hurt last year. Not sure about the long term viability of him as a starter but ultimate ly I’m not holding it against the Sox. This was a BRUTAL trade from the Angels perspective. They gave up on both for money issues and gave up a great catching prospect in Quero and a possible rotation depth piece in Bush. Bush is now 26 and hit a wall in AAA, but is still a legitimate prospect. It was a great trade at the time and aged well even with Lopez’s emergence. 
 

Tim Anderson: fell off a cliff by the time it was okay to give up on a guy that was a fan favorite. In another universe he doesn’t get punch by Jram and is still a star. 
 

yoan Moncada: Moncada was another guy with a big 2021 that fell off before it was time to get value for him. Not sure it wouldve been palatable to trade  him after his 4 win 2021 season. 
 

Garrett Crochet: this is the most controversial IMO. Crochet was traded after proving himself as a starter in 2024. He had two years of control left when the Sox traded him for Teel, Montgomery, and Meidroth. At the time of the trade it was a strong return and all 3 had excellent first years with the Sox. Teel and Meidroth look like multi win big leaguers and Montgomery gives the Sox a high potential outfielder that fills a huge system need. The “controversy” is from the Red Sox side of the trade. They extended Crochet with a 6 year 170M that buys 4 years of free agency for 115M. At this point he’ll almost definitely opt out for the last 2. It was a risky extension at the time and it seems like the Sox didn’t want to give it, but now is one of the better deals in baseball. Crochet was a 6 WAR pitcher and Cy runner up that threw 200+ innings. Would have been a great extension to have made, but given the risk the return has made it palatable to very solid. The alternative is that he got hurt and you missed out on 3 cost controlled big leaguers 2 with legit star upside and another with a multi win floor. 
 

Lance Lynn: The Sox moved him in a contract year. He was another guy that fell off after 2021 not allowing the Sox to extract value. He went from Cy-3 to a high 3 ERA pitcher worth 0.7 war in 2022. That may have been the time to trade him as he had a disasterous 2023. He was still able to be moved with Joe Kelly for Nastrini (disappointment) and Leasure who is a solid back end bullpen piece. Given his value at the time it was a solid return but just tough to get so little for him. 
 

Robert: Fresh in the memory. We’ll see what value Acuna has. It seems like he has the inside track to the everyday CF role. Probably the most obvious case of holding someone too long as the Sox were clearly rebuilding during his breakout year. Still, it was understandable to keep a core piece. The cards just fell poorly. 
 

Vaughn and Madrigal: madrigal was flipped at the perfect time, Kimbrel just didn’t work out. Vaughn seems to be a missed development opportunity but I’m not going to fault the Sox for anything other than the outfield experiment. 
 

Gregory Santos: cost controlled stud reliever. He has been hit with injuries since he was traded so it’s hard to remember that he was a a big trade chip at the time. The return was Prelander Berroa and Zach Deloach. Berroa was the main return and even through he was hurt last year has shown upside as a reliever. 
 

Kimbrel and bummer: 2 relievers that appear to have yielded no usable return long term. Soroka still has upside but not for the Sox. 
 

Collins: a lot of promise but ultimately flipped for Reese McGuire. 

burger: top pick, hasn’t quite burned the Sox but Eder didn’t work out 

So in total you have: 
 

lynn, Robert, cease, crochet, bummer, santos, Kimbrel, Vaughn, giolito, and Lopez out and let Pito, Tim Anderson, and Moncada walk. Other losses include Kelly, Burger and Collins. 
 

in return: Teel, Acuna Montgomery, Meidroth, Berroa, Leasure, Nastrini, Iriarte, Thorpe, Quero, and Bush. 
 

Teel, Meidroth, Quero Acuna and Leasure are big league contributors. Montgomery is a high upside prospect. 
 

of the group of pitchers, Thorpe has the most upside and could be a contributor this year . Berroa has a very good shot at being a bullpen contributor. Nistrini, Bush, and Irarte have something to prove. 
 

The Sox added talent through the draft and Rule V which I consider to be part of the rebuild and not the teardown. The Crochet Return (+Quero) does a lot of heavy lifting. Thorpe picking up where he left off would be a huge help, because it would be rough to not get a single cost controlled above average starter for Crochet, Cease, Lynn and Giolito. If Hagen and Schultz work out it’ll be less of an issue it’s just expensive to get good innings in free agency. 

You forgot Eloy (though I can't blame you with how little he played ha)

5 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

You forgot Eloy (though I can't blame you with how little he played ha)

Very true. Eloy’s best years were during competitive baseball. There was a window to move him at the deadline in 2023 (had an 800+ OPS and a hot July). Ultimately a missed opportunity and the least excusable between him, TA and Abreu. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Whisox05 said:

 

 

4 of those were in one game, but take that one away, and it's still 4 HR in 38 games, which extrapolates out to 17 HRs/162.

4 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

4 of those were in one game, but take that one away, and it's still 4 HR in 38 games, which extrapolates out to 17 HRs/162.

Is the Venezuelan Winter League on par with the MLB in terms of difficulty?

2 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

Is the Venezuelan Winter League on par with the MLB in terms of difficulty?

Doubt it. I'd guess somewhere between AA and AAA. Lots of fodder with the odd rehabbing prospect pitcher. 

Like, if you look at Acuña's Lara team, there really aren't many MLB "players", just guys who got some run, or are out of the game. 

2025-26 Cardenales de Lara Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

18 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

Doubt it. I'd guess somewhere between AA and AAA. Lots of fodder with the odd rehabbing prospect pitcher. 

Like, if you look at Acuña's Lara team, there really aren't many MLB "players", just guys who got some run, or are out of the game. 

2025-26 Cardenales de Lara Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

Rangel Ravelo, a name from the past.

On 2/3/2026 at 1:29 PM, WhiteSox2023 said:

Rangel Ravelo, a name from the past.

Permanently blocked by Abreu.

4 minutes ago, oldsox said:

Permanently blocked by Abreu.

At least he was utilized in a trade…

December 9, 2014:  Traded by the Chicago White Sox with Chris Bassitt, Josh Phegley and Marcus Semien to the Oakland Athletics for Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa.

Actually, nevermind…

6 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

At least he was utilized in a trade…

December 9, 2014:  Traded by the Chicago White Sox with Chris Bassitt, Josh Phegley and Marcus Semien to the Oakland Athletics for Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa.

Actually, nevermind…

This is the trade that makes me the angriest of them all. Oakland got like 40+ WAR out of Bassitt and Semien. Just complete malpractice in identifying the true value of your players.

Edited February 4Feb 4 by almagest

11 minutes ago, almagest said:

This is the trade that makes me the angriest of them all. Oakland got like 40+ WAR out of Bassitt and Semien. Just complete malpractice in identifying the true value of your players.

And the worst part is that it was all for a guy on a 1-year deal.  Every Sox fan knew at the time that the Sox would have no shot at resigning Samardzija.  He ended up having a crappy season for the Sox and still got paid 5/$90 from the Giants.  But Hahn did say getting Ynoa as well was a key to the trade.  🤣

Edited February 4Feb 4 by WhiteSox2023

1 hour ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

And the worst part is that it was all for a guy on a 1-year deal.  Every Sox fan knew at the time that the Sox would have no shot at resigning Samardzija.  He ended up having a crappy season for the Sox and still got paid 5/$90 from the Giants.  But Hahn did say getting Ynoa as well was a key to the trade.  🤣

Yep. Hahn said he would not have made the trade without Ynoa. Like he out-negotiated the Oakland GM. Hahn can put that one on his resume'.

Let me get this straight.  Getz traded our most talented player, a 5-tool (now 4-tool?) star CF who can’t seem to hit for avg anymore but still has HR power (Robert Jr.).  In exchange, the Sox get a promising Single-A pitcher (Pauley) and a highly rated, rookie 2B who doesn’t hit for avg but may have some power (Acuna), despite having signed rookie starting 2B (Meidroth) the previous season.  Then Getz spent Robert’s $20 million salary on an avg WAR (0.0) pitcher (Dominquez).  He also let go one of our best hitters (Tauchman), who last year was tied for 2nd with team position players in WAR (1.9) at a bargain salary.  I doubt Getz’ competence.

On 2/4/2026 at 1:46 PM, WhiteSox2023 said:

At least he was utilized in a trade…

December 9, 2014:  Traded by the Chicago White Sox with Chris Bassitt, Josh Phegley and Marcus Semien to the Oakland Athletics for Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa.

Actually, nevermind…

God what a terrible trade. This and Tatis. 

lol im now remembering i started this thread title in caps because i literally was excited

On 2/3/2026 at 1:08 PM, WhiteSox2023 said:

Is the Venezuelan Winter League on par with the MLB in terms of difficulty?

Not a chance.  

	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB
VEWL	69	293	243	67	74	12	4	11	49	30	5	37	51	.305	.405	.523	.928	127	8	7	2	4	1
MLB	109	233	214	36	53	9	1	3	14	16	2	14	43	.248	.299	.341	.640	73	7	2	2	1	0

Edited February 8Feb 8 by SouthChicagoBorn
added stats for Luisangel Acuña

Why does Getz keep saying over and over Acuna is a switch hitter, when he is not? Getz looking incompetent in interviews.

Edited February 12Feb 12 by Soxfest