Sandlin’s start was incredibly promising, but still just one appearance. At a minimum, there is some real stuff there to dream on and the makeup appears to be strong.

3 minutes ago, Quin said:

Luis' option didn't need to get picked up. That was money that was never committed, but Getz was determined to get value for Robert after years of striking out on it.

If he never picks up the option they can just go ahead and get Sandlin/Hicks. We'd be missing...Acuna.

I agree with this take. Hicks move still looks smart, but hard to connect it directly to the Luis Robert trade.

1 hour ago, Quin said:

Luis' option didn't need to get picked up. That was money that was never committed, but Getz was determined to get value for Robert after years of striking out on it.

If he never picks up the option they can just go ahead and get Sandlin/Hicks. We'd be missing...Acuna.

No it didn't ,but it was, so that was the reality coming into 2026. Saying he didn't have to pick the option or saying he didn't trade him after 2023 is water under the bridge. I'm not dealing with "what ifs". I'm talking about the reality of what actually happened .

That's like that inning recently that the Sox had men on 1st and 2nd no outs and Hill up and the question was bunt or not bunt.I didn't want them to bunt but once they did I liked the immediate single that drove in 2 runs and posted hey it turned out good .But Ray Ray asked me what was good about it. I said 2 runs right away. Ray says but it could been a big inning cause they got some hits after. That's a "what if". He don't know how that inning turns out if Hill doesn't bunt and neither do I but I'll take the 2 runs in reality rather than the "what if" of a K and a DP or Ray's dream of Hill and bottom of the order continuing to single the Twins into a big inning. Anyway...

Most here actually wanted him to pick up the option hoping he could establish some value. I can't remember my stance on it. A lot of people also thought Robert was worth more than that return or the Sox just should have kept him .Yuck. I was happy to be rid of him finally. It dragged on way too long.

I do know that when they traded Crochet a lot people thought Robert was as good as gone too TDL 2024 I think. I gave reasons why I didn't think Robert would be gone..Someone called me naive.

Ive been around a long time and my specialty with the Sox is reading the tea leaves pretty accurately . No one is always right but my arguments are well thought out. I look at the big picture. Naive I am not so when Robert wasn't traded I let that guy know in no uncertain terms that I managed to be right while also not questioning his knowledge like he questioned mine. People don't like the s%*# they say being thrown back in their face. Too bad so sad. I'm not here to take anyone's s%*#.

No disrespect to you of course . You're pretty fair minded . Peace🖖

10 hours ago, Quin said:

Luis' option didn't need to get picked up. That was money that was never committed, but Getz was determined to get value for Robert after years of striking out on it.

If he never picks up the option they can just go ahead and get Sandlin/Hicks. We'd be missing...Acuna.

Great point, and it is forgotten in this entire ordeal. People are saying that the trade now looks good just because of the money freed up to acquire other players, mainly because Acuna looks like a bust. Like you said, Getz could have saved Robert’s $20 million salary for his other spending simply by giving him his $2 million buyout.

Edited 8 hours ago8 hr by WhiteSox2023

10 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Sandlin’s start was incredibly promising, but still just one appearance. At a minimum, there is some real stuff there to dream on and the makeup appears to be strong.

I agree with this take. Hicks move still looks smart, but hard to connect it directly to the Luis Robert trade.

I think Mune falling into their lap caused the chain of events. You suddenly add on $17M/year to one guy that you didn't think you were going to spend (pretty close to Robert money), now distribute the Robert money to fill the rest of the roster.

Edited 8 hours ago8 hr by Bob Sacamano

5 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

I think Mune falling into their lap caused the chain of events. You suddenly add on $17M/year to one guy that you didn't think you were going to spend (pretty close to Robert money), now distribute the Robert money to fill the rest of the roster.

But they also added Hicks Newcomb Fedde Hays and Dominguez in the weeks right after Robert was traded

1 minute ago, caulfield12 said:

But they also added Hicks Newcomb Fedde Hays and Dominguez in the weeks right after Robert was traded

Yeah I know that. But I'm just saying adding an unexpected $17M to your payroll may have made you more open to moving a $20M Luis Robert than holding onto him until July again. If you have a set budget and an Mune falls into your lap, you have to subtract someone to make additional moves to hit that budget. Really pathetic they had to convince Jerry to spend the $34M on Mune in the first place and crazy that it would really effect the budget that much but this is where we are with our ownership.

Edited 8 hours ago8 hr by Bob Sacamano

11 hours ago, Quin said:

Luis' option didn't need to get picked up. That was money that was never committed, but Getz was determined to get value for Robert after years of striking out on it.

If he never picks up the option they can just go ahead and get Sandlin/Hicks. We'd be missing...Acuna.

Yeah, they could have spent the money on whoever without picking the option up. They also could have essentially bought better prospects than Acuna by picking up money in the deal. We know Cincy had various proposals out there over the last two years, including a MUCH better one last year.

9 hours ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

No it didn't ,but it was, so that was the reality coming into 2026. Saying he didn't have to pick the option or saying he didn't trade him after 2023 is water under the bridge. I'm not dealing with "what ifs". I'm talking about the reality of what actually happened .

That's like that inning recently that the Sox had men on 1st and 2nd no outs and Hill up and the question was bunt or not bunt.I didn't want them to bunt but once they did I liked the immediate single that drove in 2 runs and posted hey it turned out good .But Ray Ray asked me what was good about it. I said 2 runs right away. Ray says but it could been a big inning cause they got some hits after. That's a "what if". He don't know how that inning turns out if Hill doesn't bunt and neither do I but I'll take the 2 runs in reality rather than the "what if" of a K and a DP or Ray's dream of Hill and bottom of the order continuing to single the Twins into a big inning. Anyway...

Most here actually wanted him to pick up the option hoping he could establish some value. I can't remember my stance on it. A lot of people also thought Robert was worth more than that return or the Sox just should have kept him .Yuck. I was happy to be rid of him finally. It dragged on way too long.

I do know that when they traded Crochet a lot people thought Robert was as good as gone too TDL 2024 I think. I gave reasons why I didn't think Robert would be gone..Someone called me naive.

Ive been around a long time and my specialty with the Sox is reading the tea leaves pretty accurately . No one is always right but my arguments are well thought out. I look at the big picture. Naive I am not so when Robert wasn't traded I let that guy know in no uncertain terms that I managed to be right while also not questioning his knowledge like he questioned mine. People don't like the s%*# they say being thrown back in their face. Too bad so sad. I'm not here to take anyone's s%*#.

No disrespect to you of course . You're pretty fair minded . Peace🖖

I don't quite remember where I was, I just wanted the ordeal over. But I think I wanted Robert's option picked up. Things happened after they picked up his option. Mune wasn't exactly in their plans, but they found he was a real possibility. If they were still being low-balled on Robert, I was okay with running him back out there in CF.

It seems they picked up LuBob's option, planned on kicking in money for a prospect, Mune fell in their laps, JR said to move LuBob's money, and Getz had the Mets' offer in his pocket. The whole ordeal saved them $2M on LuBob's option, netted a depth arm and Acuña, then unclogged the budget to fill some holes.

1 hour ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

Great point, and it is forgotten in this entire ordeal. People are saying that the trade now looks good just because of the money freed up to acquire other players, mainly because Acuna looks like a bust. Like you said, Getz could have saved Robert’s $20 million salary for his other spending simply by giving him his $2 million buyout.

I don't understand why it's such a great point. How exactly does doing that benefit the Sox in any way ? None that I can see except if you want to be a smartass and say we wouldn't have Acuna and Pauley.

Any way you slice it getting 2 players (no matter how bad you think they are ) and also getting back the money is better than just saving the money in the 1st place. Don't you actually get $2M dollars more because instead of Getz buying him out the Mets covered the $2M buyout ?

Great idea OK ? But you haven't bothered to explain how getting 2 players and the money is worse than just the money. Only 2 months separated the time between picking up the option and the trade.

19 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

I don't quite remember where I was, I just wanted the ordeal over. But I think I wanted Robert's option picked up. Things happened after they picked up his option. Mune wasn't exactly in their plans, but they found he was a real possibility. If they were still being low-balled on Robert, I was okay with running him back out there in CF.

It seems they picked up LuBob's option, planned on kicking in money for a prospect, Mune fell in their laps, JR said to move LuBob's money, and Getz had the Mets' offer in his pocket. The whole ordeal saved them $2M on LuBob's option, netted a depth arm and Acuña, then unclogged the budget to fill some holes.

Pretty funny I hadn't even read this post before I posted what I did right under it in response to it being such a great idea to just not pick up his option in the 1st place.

In the midst of writing it I too realized hey didn't they actually not only get 2 players but didn't they save $2M ? How is not picking up the option in any way better than 2 players and profitting $2M ?

We may not like Acuna but he is still a talented defensive player and extremely fast. If at some point he clears waivers and comes back to the Sox , those are talents that you can work with if you can find a way to get his bat going. Tall order but someone might see latent value in taking a chance on picking him up if he's DFA'd. But ,if not ,cool he's back in Charlotte.

10 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Don't you actually get $2M dollars more because instead of Getz buying him out the Mets covered the $2M buyout ?

In reality, they probably only saved the amount of money the Sox planned on kicking into a LuBob deal to get a prospect, minus the $2M they would have paid to be done with him. However, Acuña added to the group of OFs they planned to sort through in spring training. Pauley adds to pitching depth in the minors. That presents as Getz' M.O. for amassing options in the IF, OF and pitching depth.

It's not inconceivable that as Getz kicked tires on multiple trades and signings, he figured that Sandlin was a better grab than whoever was being offered in a "LuBob + money" deal. Nobody knows if Dominguez' and Hays' money was in the budget, or they saw a competitive team developing, and expanded.

9 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

In reality, they probably only saved the amount of money the Sox planned on kicking into a LuBob deal to get a prospect, minus the $2M they would have paid to be done with him. However, Acuña added to the group of OFs they planned to sort through in spring training. Pauley adds to pitching depth in the minors. That presents as Getz' M.O. for amassing options in the IF, OF and pitching depth.

It's not inconceivable that as Getz kicked tires on multiple trades and signings, he figured that Sandlin was a better grab than whoever was being offered in a "LuBob + money" deal. Nobody knows if Dominguez' and Hays' money was in the budget, or they saw a competitive team developing, and expanded.

Exactly acquiring assets in the margins is something Getz has had to do . Acuna and Pauley are essentially like any other barrel bottom scraping Getz has been coerced into by JR. It's an essential part of any poor boy GM 's job while under a owner intent on his kids inheriting no debt when he departs this world.

26 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Exactly acquiring assets in the margins is something Getz has had to do . Acuna and Pauley are essentially like any other barrel bottom scraping Getz has been coerced into by JR. It's an essential part of any poor boy GM 's job while under a owner intent on his kids inheriting no debt when he departs this world.

And lost in all of this is, starting with $27M (bear with me on that number)

reality = Acuña, Pauley, Hicks, Sandlin, $15M spent on Seranthony, Hays ($27M to spend, take on Hicks' $12M)
DFA LuBob = $25M to spend ($27M - buyout)
kick in money = Sandlin-like, ~ $17M (trade LuBob + $10M for prospect)
keep LuBob = Robert, $5M ($7M - 2027 buyout)

The question, then, is - does Getz do anything better with that $25M than that 1st option? Realize, that by DFAing LuBob, you get no cheap prospects. You're just paying free agents.

1 hour ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Exactly acquiring assets in the margins is something Getz has had to do . Acuna and Pauley are essentially like any other barrel bottom scraping Getz has been coerced into by JR. It's an essential part of any poor boy GM 's job while under an owner intent on his kids inheriting no debt when he departs this world.

Why would anyone take a GM job where the owner is constantly coercing him into bad moves due to finances?

Shouldn’t he be coercing the owner into spending? Just like Branch Rickey did time and time again.

And from all the reporting Brooks Boyer is the one who convinced JR that Murakami could actually be profitable for the team to sign.

4 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Why would anyone take a GM job where the owner is constantly coercing him into bad moves due to finances?

Shouldn’t he be coercing the owner into spending? Just like Branch Rickey did time and time again.

And from all the reporting Brooks Boyer is the one who convinced JR that Murakami could actually be profitable for the team to sign.

Are you nuts ? Owners are the ones who decide what they do with their money not the GM. If he doesn't want his kids to inherit depth , that's it. Are you pretending JR can be convinced of so much more ? Let's live in reality.

Getz understood the challenge he was facing as an opportunity to build something and he found a lot of guys who he hired who believed that too from the ground upon which the earth was scorched

There might not be money for players but there is money to build a foundation and a culture .

45 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

And lost in all of this is, starting with $27M (bear with me on that number)

reality = Acuña, Pauley, Hicks, Sandlin, $15M spent on Seranthony, Hays ($27M to spend, take on Hicks' $12M)
DFA LuBob = $25M to spend ($27M - buyout)
kick in money = Sandlin-like, ~ $17M (trade LuBob + $10M for prospect)
keep LuBob = Robert, $5M ($7M - 2027 buyout)

The question, then, is - does Getz do anything better with that $25M than that 1st option? Realize, that by DFAing LuBob, you get no cheap prospects. You're just paying free agents.

OR, he could have paid down salary AND gotten better prospects at anytime in the last three years.

16 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Why would anyone take a GM job where the owner is constantly coercing him into bad moves due to finances?

Shouldn’t he be coercing the owner into spending? Just like Branch Rickey did time and time again.

And from all the reporting Brooks Boyer is the one who convinced JR that Murakami could actually be profitable for the team to sign.

There are only 30 MLB GM jobs. When one opens up, you take it. I'm sure there's many guys running children's skills camps and charities who were waiting for that Yankees' job to open up.

For those of us who take jobs to succeed under a challenge, Chris Getz knew the parameters of the job he accepted. And it looks like he's acing his assignment.

Chris Getz did talk JR into spending beyond his comfort level. He convinced JR to take on bad money. Sounds like you're describing Chris Getz to a tee.

Branch Rickey invented the modern farm system to appease his Cardinals' owner in his own frugal ways. Chris Gets is inventing a new way of winning in the same vein. Again, it sounds like you're describing a very successful GM.

5 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

OR, he could have paid down salary AND gotten better prospects at anytime in the last three years.

Again, if we get to go back in time, does Chris Getz also get to thwart the October 7 massacre, since we're solving things we already know the outcomes for?

6 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

Again, if we get to go back in time, does Chris Getz also get to thwart the October 7 massacre, since we're solving things we already know the outcomes for?

You are literally talking about what they could have done months ago, you know when this trade actually happened, but don't let that get in the way of being overly emotional

10 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

You are literally talking about what they could have done months ago, you know when this trade actually happened, but don't let that get in the way of being overly emotional

I guess laughing represents an emotion.

1 minute ago, WestEddy said:

I guess laughing represents an emotion.

Really I read your response and it's just a response. I don't see any emotion in it. Maybe he's talking about his own hurt feelings.

I sometimes think half the people have no idea what he's talking about..He's not very good at making any point. Not a very good writer or maybe impaired in some way.

LOL @Quin locked the Robert thread and you jabronis just carried it into the Sandlin one. Water under the bridge man.

1 minute ago, chitownsportsfan said:

LOL @Quin locked the Robert thread and you jabronis just carried it into the Sandlin one. Water under the bridge man.

nevermind

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by WestEddy

Just now, WestEddy said:

It's a troll-meme. Make up things that are not going to happen, or most probably couldn't have happened, then keep hammering on that.

As larry over at SSS used to say, it's a dead horse at this point. Time to put the Robert jerseys in storage one way or another.

8 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

As larry over at SSS used to say, it's a dead horse at this point. Time to put the Robert jerseys in storage one way or another.

Even so, I thought that breaking down options by players and money was a productive take on the ongoing argument.