To me, this move was made with the lockout looming. It looks like a large sum of money, but the lockout is going to make this deal much shorter and more digestable.

I do think Castillo is the type of pitcher who needs a few tweaks. I watched one of his starts a few weeks back and I think his stuff is still good. We'll see.

3 minutes ago, Colome's Hat said:

Yes! He's a very recent convert to the position. We know the Sox put a high value on defense and pitch calling. They probably viweed him as a DH/1st baseman. If they plan on signing on Mune long term, not sure what his pathway is. Good teams trade promising prospects who don't have a pathway.

To be clear, Smith is athletic enough to the play the OF and he’s played there a ton this year. I think this trade is a strong indication the Sox don’t believe in his ability to stick behind the dish, but his bat could potentially play in LF with the way he’s been hitting. His fallback from catcher isn’t 1B/DH.

1 hour ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Your 2026 rotation right now is:

1. Burke

2. Martin

3. Castillo

4. Kay*

5. Schultz*/McDougal/H. Smith/S. Smith/Sandlin/Thorpe/Adams

They’ll definitely need to add someone of impact because that’s simply not a championship caliber rotation without a young guy breaking through.

Good thing is a playoff rotation only needs 4 arms. Assuming another move for a rental type:

1. Burke

2. Martin

3. Rental trade arm

4. Castillo/Kay/Fedde/Schultz/Smith/Smith (whoever is hot leading up to playoffs

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by Bob Sacamano

5 hours ago, sin city sox fan said:

If there is no cap and no floor, there is probably no baseball in 2027

it is what it is, I'm against a cap btw, and I'm pro union, so if they miss part of the season then the union felt that's their best bargaining chip

people who think the lack of a cap is why the dodgers are so overpowered aren't really correct, sure it helps a lot but the reason they even have all this money to spend is because of that horrific TV deal/bankruptcy ruling they basically had land in their lap on a silver platter

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ television setup is considered unfair because a bankruptcy court settlement allows them to shield a massive portion of their local TV revenue from MLB’s revenue-sharing pool, saving them roughly $66 million a year.

The Bankruptcy Loophole

Lowered Valuation: During the team's 2011 bankruptcy proceedings, a federal court locked the "fair market value" of the Dodgers' media rights at an artificially low baseline (starting at $84 million annually).

The Massive Windfall: The Dodgers subsequently signed an 8-billion-dollar, 25-year deal with Time Warner Cable to launch SportsNet LA.Revenue-Sharing Exemption: Under MLB rules, teams must pay a 34% revenue-sharing cut on local TV money, but only based on the officially deemed "fair market value".

Because of the bankruptcy ruling, the Dodgers only pay revenue sharing on that low baseline, pocketing the multi-billion-dollar difference tax- and share-free.

34 minutes ago, PaleAleSox said:

It also seems debatable on whether Smith is an actual catcher or not.

What was he drafted as?

21 minutes ago, nitetrain8601 said:

To me, this move was made with the lockout looming. It looks like a large sum of money, but the lockout is going to make this deal much shorter and more digestable.

I do think Castillo is the type of pitcher who needs a few tweaks. I watched one of his starts a few weeks back and I think his stuff is still good. We'll see.

This isn’t the same kind of situation at all, but Johnny Cueto was a veteran pitcher who came in and performed well in 2022. Maybe Castillo turns it around.

13 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Good thing is a playoff rotation only needs 4 arms. Assuming another move for a rental type:

1. Burke

2. Martin

3. Rental trade arm

4. Castillo/Kay/Fedde/Schultz/Smith/Smith (whoever is hot leading up to playoffs

Rosenthal just said Sox are still looking for more starting pitching

I am reminded of a a couple of pitchers we got right before the 2006 year.

Freddy Garcia from the Mariners. Solid pitcher but not great. Castillo with way better resume'.

Jose Contreras coming off some rough years with the Yankees at 32 years old.

Who would have thought they would pitch 30+ games and win a world series.

4 minutes ago, joejoesox said:

it is what it is, I'm against a cap btw, and I'm pro union, so if they miss part of the season then the union felt that's their best bargaining chip

people who think the lack of a cap is why the dodgers are so overpowered aren't really correct, sure it helps a lot but the reason they even have all this money to spend is because of that horrific TV deal/bankruptcy ruling they basically had land in their lap on a silver platter

With a cap they're probably still the best team yes. A cap would definitely level the playing field. I'm in favor of a cap. I'm also a union plumber. The way baseball is currently structured .I believe it's ruining the sport. I want owners forced to spend. With a floor it will make it much harder for the Dodgers to hoard more players.

McGuffey immediately tweeted that the Sox are not done/more is coming when Castillo was announced

I didn't get a chance last night, but initial thoughts.

1. This is an insane price for Castillo, and SP in general right now.

2. I do love the Sox picked up cash

3. The fact that Smith was in the deal, and the rumored Mets deal, tells you Getz views him as at least expendable, if not flukish.

4. Right now the part I am least confident in is the Sox fixing pitching, but hopefully they see something to unlock the old Castillo, because that would make this a steal.

5 minutes ago, Ozzie for Manager said:

I am reminded of a a couple of pitchers we got right before the 2006 year.

Freddy Garcia from the Mariners. Solid pitcher but not great. Castillo with way better resume'.

Jose Contreras coming off some rough years with the Yankees at 32 years old.

Who would have thought they would pitch 30+ games and win a world series.

They traded for them in 2024 right?

5 minutes ago, Ozzie for Manager said:

I am reminded of a a couple of pitchers we got right before the 2006 year.

Freddy Garcia from the Mariners. Solid pitcher but not great. Castillo with way better resume'.

Jose Contreras coming off some rough years with the Yankees at 32 years old.

Who would have thought they would pitch 30+ games and win a world series.

Those guys were also younger when the Sox traded for them. Never mind. Contreras was only a year younger.

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by white sox 80

Just now, southsider2k5 said:

I didn't get a chance last night, but initial thoughts.

1. This is an insane price for Castillo, and SP in general right now.

2. I do love the Sox picked up cash

3. The fact that Smith was in the deal, and the rumored Mets deal, tells you Getz views him as at least expendable, if not flukish.

4. Right now the part I am least confident in is the Sox fixing pitching, but hopefully they see something to unlock the old Castillo, because that would make this a steal.

Yeah… I do wonder what it could look like if it was more salary dump looking (Sox not sending Dominguez).

6 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

McGuffey immediately tweeted that the Sox are not done/more is coming when Castillo was announced

Catcher do you think?

4 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

I didn't get a chance last night, but initial thoughts.

1. This is an insane price for Castillo, and SP in general right now.

2. I do love the Sox picked up cash

3. The fact that Smith was in the deal, and the rumored Mets deal, tells you Getz views him as at least expendable, if not flukish.

4. Right now the part I am least confident in is the Sox fixing pitching, but hopefully they see something to unlock the old Castillo, because that would make this a steal.

That's were I'm at. I don't think this is a move that would set the Sox back by any stretch. I just don't know what my expectations are for him to get better with the Sox.

Just now, white sox 80 said:

Catcher do you think?

Hoping for a catcher and another SP. If I had to describe the Castillo deal, I would say it raises the floor of the rotation. Need an arm that raises the ceiling a bit.

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by Bob Sacamano

11 hours ago, white sox 80 said:

He will be the next owner. Yeah fu-k the guy you probably don’t even know.

Over the guy that has been fucking Sox fans for 45 years now.

11 hours ago, wegner said:

I wish we could trade for the pitching leprechaun....that sounds like fun.

Bet he doesn't have much extension, but what a mound presence.

11 hours ago, tray said:

Joshua Kushner. Jared's brother..but you are right otherwise. I'm sick of all the fortunate son's out there, including the Ishbias.

Hope you aren't a Bulls fan..

I agree with Jim Margalus' take:

With Luis Castillo, the White Sox return to buying, but not on the surest of bets - Sox Machine

Smith's presence in the Minor Keys will be missed, both for the consistency of his production and some peculiarities contained therein. You look at the overall line -- especially the .306/.485/.667 line as a 23-year-old in Double-A -- and wonder why the White Sox would so easily move on from that kind of catching prospect. Then you see the 68-percent contact rate, the strange shortage of doubles (seven) to homers (22) and the reluctance to give him everyday playing time at catcher despite a dearth of challengers, and you get the sense that the Sox have general viability concerns -- that better pitchers will be able to execute around a rigid swing shape, or that he's not going to be a catcher to whom you want to entrust a pitching staff.

I fell in love with the prospect of Boston Smith. I wanted Houser, then Mead to turn into something valuable. They still may. I'm trusting the process that has this team playing about 15 wins ahead of where everyone thought they'd be.

33 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Good thing is a playoff rotation only needs 4 arms. Assuming another move for a rental type:

1. Burke

2. Martin

3. Rental trade arm

4. Castillo/Kay/Fedde/Schultz/Smith/Smith (whoever is hot leading up to playoffs

Would feel a hell of a lot better if that rental arm was someone they can slot in at 1 or 2.

Burke and Martin starting games 1 and 2 of a playoff series is all kinds of yikes.

11 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:

This is your #3 SP for next year most likely. Let that cook for a minute and see if you still feel people are overreacting.

Panican!

5 minutes ago, Snopek said:

Would feel a hell of a lot better if that rental arm was someone they can slot in at 1 or 2.

Burke and Martin starting games 1 and 2 of a playoff series is all kinds of yikes.

Well. Yeah I didn’t necessarily mean in that order

11 hours ago, tray said:

Ishbia must have been part of this.

Hey, if he said he would write a check to reduce player cost and improve this team, it already makes him better than Jerry.