Bob Sacamano Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 (edited) 3 minutes ago, WestEddy said: I do not. I don't really see the point of Austin Hays, but they have him. I don't like the DFA of Drew Romo. This trade adds upside in exchange for taking on money. I find Sandlin and Hicks to be an unexciting return for taking on that money. I just don't feel the need to trash a move. And they're already done. My complaining isn't going to undo them. I'll root for the guys they have until they're gone. For the record I’ve been fine with all their moves. It just shouldn’t have taken a Luis Robert salary dump deal to make them when the collection of guys is pretty “meh” overall. Like you might as well have eaten $15M and taken best offer. Edited February 2 by Bob Sacamano 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 Fegan said the PTBNL going to the Red Sox is an org guy the Sox were likely to release, so no concern there. 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteSox2023 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 2 minutes ago, Tony said: Correct. And this isn’t a Getz thing at all, he clearly has a very specific budget to work with and is getting fairly creative to work within those limits. And everyone has a budget. Needed in all business. It’s just embarrassing low for an MLB Team in Chicago. If the Sox decided to add a 25 million dollar a year player to the team tomorrow, they still wouldn’t crack the Top 20 in baseball this year for payroll costs. Embarrassing is right. The Sox are currently 27th in MLB payroll even after all of these moves that had to happen after the Robert money was freed up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptatc Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 2 hours ago, TheFutureIsNear said: Newcomb is the #1 lefty out of the pen no? Unless he gets a rotation spot? Newcomb will begin the season in the rotation, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tray Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 51 minutes ago, Tony said: Correct. And this isn’t a Getz thing at all, he clearly has a very specific budget to work with and is getting fairly creative to work within those limits. And everyone has a budget. Needed in all business. It’s just embarrassing low for an MLB Team in Chicago. If the Sox decided to add a 25 million dollar a year player to the team tomorrow, they still wouldn’t crack the Top 20 in baseball this year for payroll costs. If the WSox exceed their budget - the amount they can spend before risking loan defaults, late payments, and other financial issues, where would the money come from to cover excess spending ? The point about the low budget is an old grind that fans of the WSox and other teams often engage in to voice frustration when mega player contracts are not taken on by corporate ownership/shareholders. I understand that fans have an expectation that shareholders spend millions of their own money to gamble on multi-year mega-million dollar player contracts. Unfortunately, that is not the way it works in MLB or in most other businesses. Simply stated - the Sox have to stay within spending limits in order to survive. Moving forward, the WSox have to make more money in order to spend more money. Hopefully, a winning team this season and beyond will increase revenues and remove the financial constraints that Getz is under. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcq Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 I look forward to not watching them. Nothing but smoke here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleAleSox Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 21 minutes ago, pcq said: I look forward to not watching them. Nothing but smoke here. Thanks for sharing! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falstaff Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 I would like to see Grant Taylor get a shot at starting with all the new bullpen additions coming on board. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baron Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 1 hour ago, pcq said: I look forward to not watching them. Nothing but smoke here. Who asked? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 1 hour ago, Falstaff said: I would like to see Grant Taylor get a shot at starting with all the new bullpen additions coming on board. He’s going to be used in a multi inning role this year with the idea of him possibly transitioning to the rotation in 2025. Whether that actually happens or not remains to be seen, but that’s what the front office is suggesting is their plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogan873 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 Busy weekend for the Sox. This trade surprised me, mainly because of the info that it had fallen through. I actually like the trade. Hicks had a rough 2025, but he's got good stuff. Maybe the Sox can get him back on track. It sounds like he'll be out of the bullpen, but you never know. Getting some money from Boston was nice, especially considering they also got Sandlin, who might be the actual centerpiece of the trade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 9 hours ago, tray said: If the WSox exceed their budget - the amount they can spend before risking loan defaults, late payments, and other financial issues, where would the money come from to cover excess spending ? The point about the low budget is an old grind that fans of the WSox and other teams often engage in to voice frustration when mega player contracts are not taken on by corporate ownership/shareholders. I understand that fans have an expectation that shareholders spend millions of their own money to gamble on multi-year mega-million dollar player contracts. Unfortunately, that is not the way it works in MLB or in most other businesses. Simply stated - the Sox have to stay within spending limits in order to survive. Moving forward, the WSox have to make more money in order to spend more money. Hopefully, a winning team this season and beyond will increase revenues and remove the financial constraints that Getz is under. Except you, me, and the fence post don't know what their budget is, and what their revenue/EBITDA goals are for 2026. In 2024, they had a yearly attendance of 1,380,733 and a payroll cost of $123,336,791. In 2025, they actually had more people in the building, at 1,445,738, and a payroll cost of 63,430,000. And I agree with your last part...revenue will rise with more people going to the park, which history has shown happens when the Sox put a good product on the field. Given their history with prospect development, scouting, drafting....having the 27th ranked payroll isn't a good recipe for success for this organization. Since 2001, the three times the Sox won the division, they were 7th (2005), 5th (2008) and 5th (2021) in the AL in payroll. They will go into 2026 as the 13th highest payroll in the AL, only behind Tampa and Cleveland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiSoxFanMike Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 1 hour ago, Chicago White Sox said: He’s going to be used in a multi inning role this year with the idea of him possibly transitioning to the rotation in 2025. Whether that actually happens or not remains to be seen, but that’s what the front office is suggesting is their plan. They bought a time machine this offseason too. Wow. 😉 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Mercedes Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 1 hour ago, hogan873 said: Busy weekend for the Sox. This trade surprised me, mainly because of the info that it had fallen through. I actually like the trade. Hicks had a rough 2025, but he's got good stuff. Maybe the Sox can get him back on track. It sounds like he'll be out of the bullpen, but you never know. Getting some money from Boston was nice, especially considering they also got Sandlin, who might be the actual centerpiece of the trade. Hopefully both pitchers were struggling coming back from little injuries and will rebound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogan873 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 28 minutes ago, ChiSoxFanMike said: They bought a time machine this offseason too. Wow. 😉 Yeah, but who wants to relive 2025? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Look at Ray Ray Run Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 10 hours ago, WestEddy said: I do not. I don't really see the point of Austin Hays, but they have him. I don't like the DFA of Drew Romo. This trade adds upside in exchange for taking on money. I find Sandlin and Hicks to be an unexciting return for taking on that money. I just don't feel the need to trash a move. And they're already done. My complaining isn't going to undo them. I'll root for the guys they have until they're gone. While I don't agree with you on Hays, I agree on Sandlin/Hicks. It's just an odd trade. I'm probably higher on Hicks returning to form, but then you just got yourself another reliever... for market price too. They must believe in Sandlin, but a guy with a straight fastball who has shoddy command getting a big league shot usually doesn't bode well. Not agreeing with something isn't trashing it. You disagree with posters all the time, does that mean you're trashing them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenSox Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 19 hours ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said: Hicks has had some real nice years as a reliever. I guess Hicks was good in 2019 when he pitched 28 innings. He’s had a .9 BWAR in 2023 and 2024 (as a starter). His fWARs aren’t much better. And we’re stuck with him for 2 seasons including a cool 12.5 mill next season. Sox had plenty of iffy bullpen arms plus 2 Rule 5 guys to evaluate. So we did a prospect swap. But we got nothing for the salary dump. This was a far better deal for Boston (salary relief and 2 spots on 40-man!) than it was for the White Sox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestEddy Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 6 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said: While I don't agree with you on Hays, I agree on Sandlin/Hicks. It's just an odd trade. I'm probably higher on Hicks returning to form, but then you just got yourself another reliever... for market price too. They must believe in Sandlin, but a guy with a straight fastball who has shoddy command getting a big league shot usually doesn't bode well. Not agreeing with something isn't trashing it. You disagree with posters all the time, does that mean you're trashing them? I lean into "They must believe in Sandlin (and Hicks)". There's extra PTBNLs, which the FutureSox podcast said could be 40-man guys they'll wait a week to have 60-day IL space. I think the trade's fine, in principle. Take on money to get guys you want. Hicks' ceiling is exciting. So is Sandlin. Maybe that's all you get in these kinds of trades. Take on money and exchange a hittable "soft contact" guy for stuff. I also don't buy into the "Getz turned Austin Slater into Sandlin" spin. They turned Slater and taking on a lot of money into Sandlin. I'm glad Robert's traded. I've tired of the annual injury watch. Hays isn't much better on that front. He hits better, is a corner guy. I'm fine with a dude who has a floor in the majors to back up the experiments. I don't feel that the "I need to steel myself with Jesus to guard against the gayz!!" BS is maturity and leadership, so maybe he just shuts up, plays his 80 games and is real careful during his hug watch. I'm not a pro-scout, so I don't have in depth takes that go beyond what I read. Once a move is made, it's made. If I don't like it, I don't need to keep reminding everybody that Goofball69 really hates that bullpen pickup. Once a guy's on the team, I'm more interested in how he fits in and executes. You can have your argument over the meanings of words with somebody else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestEddy Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 (edited) 22 minutes ago, GreenSox said: I guess Hicks was good in 2019 when he pitched 28 innings. He’s had a .9 BWAR in 2023 and 2024 (as a starter). His fWARs aren’t much better. And we’re stuck with him for 2 seasons including a cool 12.5 mill next season. Sox had plenty of iffy bullpen arms plus 2 Rule 5 guys to evaluate. So we did a prospect swap. But we got nothing for the salary dump. This was a far better deal for Boston (salary relief and 2 spots on 40-man!) than it was for the White Sox. The deal isn't quite finished yet. The Sox did get an upgrade from a guy who was already proving hum-drum in the lower levels to a guy with actual stuff. The PTBNLs probably aren't going to be "these two future garbagemen for this one future Kroger bagger". One of the FutureSox guys intimated that the guy we're sending was an org depth guy who had a foot out the door. The guys we're getting back may require roster juggling, so they'll wait til ST to play with the rosters. Some have even suggested the PTBNL track is a way to fully obtain Paez so we get access to his options this season. Edited February 2 by WestEddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriendlyNorthsider Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 Don’t hate this move in the slightest. Would’ve hated it if Leasure was in the deal. stuff wise there is a good pitcher somewhere in there. He was +110 last year. Being in a spot where he can focus on process over results will help him. The Boston situation was toxic with the Devers connection. Not that they don’t have a great pitching program, he’s just relearning process since converting to being a reliever. The Sox can also decide to use an opener for him. Taylor does very well against lefties so that could be a good combination. It’s a way to let Taylor get a controlled ramp up in innings and allow Hicks to get better matchups and boost his confidence. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Sacamano Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 14 minutes ago, FriendlyNorthsider said: Don’t hate this move in the slightest. Would’ve hated it if Leasure was in the deal. stuff wise there is a good pitcher somewhere in there. He was +110 last year. Being in a spot where he can focus on process over results will help him. The Boston situation was toxic with the Devers connection. Not that they don’t have a great pitching program, he’s just relearning process since converting to being a reliever. The Sox can also decide to use an opener for him. Taylor does very well against lefties so that could be a good combination. It’s a way to let Taylor get a controlled ramp up in innings and allow Hicks to get better matchups and boost his confidence. We don't know that the return would have been the same i guess though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 47 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said: While I don't agree with you on Hays, I agree on Sandlin/Hicks. It's just an odd trade. I'm probably higher on Hicks returning to form, but then you just got yourself another reliever... for market price too. They must believe in Sandlin, but a guy with a straight fastball who has shoddy command getting a big league shot usually doesn't bode well. Not agreeing with something isn't trashing it. You disagree with posters all the time, does that mean you're trashing them? I mean the Sox pretty much bought themselves a prospect or three by picking up Hicks like this. I know this is Getz, but he is already telling people that Sandlin could be a mid-season starter. Hicks seems like the type of reliever that should have a market at the deadline. at least of a mid tier prospect kind of guy, and if you can push him back into his pre-2025 work, probably around a top 10 system guy. For what we are giving up, and the cash we are getting back to cover him, even if Sandlin busts, this is a solidly thought out deal. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 17 minutes ago, FriendlyNorthsider said: Don’t hate this move in the slightest. Would’ve hated it if Leasure was in the deal. stuff wise there is a good pitcher somewhere in there. He was +110 last year. Being in a spot where he can focus on process over results will help him. The Boston situation was toxic with the Devers connection. Not that they don’t have a great pitching program, he’s just relearning process since converting to being a reliever. The Sox can also decide to use an opener for him. Taylor does very well against lefties so that could be a good combination. It’s a way to let Taylor get a controlled ramp up in innings and allow Hicks to get better matchups and boost his confidence. There is no way this deal is the same if Leasure is in it. There HAD to be some extra guy/s in the deal for Leasure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lip Man 1 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 https://soxmachine.com/2026/02/the-white-sox-dumped-luis-robert-jr-s-salary-but-now-feel-theyve-really-done-something-with-it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Look at Ray Ray Run Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 15 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said: I mean the Sox pretty much bought themselves a prospect or three by picking up Hicks like this. I know this is Getz, but he is already telling people that Sandlin could be a mid-season starter. Hicks seems like the type of reliever that should have a market at the deadline. at least of a mid tier prospect kind of guy, and if you can push him back into his pre-2025 work, probably around a top 10 system guy. For what we are giving up, and the cash we are getting back to cover him, even if Sandlin busts, this is a solidly thought out deal. Yeah, the White Sox and I just disagree on the quality and ability of Sandlin. I don't think he's worth much more than the roster spot he occupies. If they like him, by all means paying a SP 8 million a year is nothing. You all know how I feel about sign and flip or trade and flip in 4 months; not really any value in that as it isn't a real thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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