JoeC

I wouldn't characterize Detroit as a "poverty" franchise. The Ilitch family will spend money when it makes sense, and they've shown an ability to hire good people and get out of their way.

Maybe one day we’ll have an owner who realizes that analytics guys and scouts, if properly chosen, basically give you a built-in ticket sales department….

I remember this one.... and I remember the body language on this. Guessing this is the AB that ultimately got him released.

I don't remember either of those (before my lifetime), but I'm guessing the 1959-1960 Indians offseason, coming off of an 89-win campaign in 1959, had different objectives than the 2023-2024 White Sox offseason, coming off of a 101-loss season. Point is - your comparisons here are 100% irrelevant, because the teams are not in the same phase of contention. If someone were suggesting to trade Robert, Jose, Cease, etc., going into the 2021 or 2022 season, I would acknowledge your comparison. But right now you're not even comparing apples to oranges.

Yep. That's what you're trading for when you trade for top-100 and top-15 prospects.

Yep - I'm saying that the reason to hold onto Robert is if nobody is offering a fair market value. If you're just treating him as "untouchable" because he's Robert, that's just asinine.

To pull something out of my ass, I'd say a top-15 prospect, two other top-100 prospects, and a "flier" prospect. No idea what's realistic at this point.

My main point is that if the price is right, you trade anyone on this team. For this team, holding onto someone like Robert just because he's a stud is short-sighted and dumb. To me, it makes so much more baseball sense to trade him if you were able to get an appropriate prospect haul for him.

That's nice. What's going to happen in those 4 years? I'm speaking both of this team (hopeless at least through 2026 IMO, so for 3 of 4 years) and Robert's health. Of course - if the return isn't worth it, then you hold onto him.

What good is holding onto Robert when there are literally no supporting pieces around him? Are we aspiring to be a 70-win team in 2024 or something?

Having someone with the explicit title of "Major League Coach" makes me wonder about the bona fides of the other coaches.

Yeah, but you have to admit that it'd be such a White Sox thing to do.

Thought this thread title was verb as a suggestion for the 2024 season.

Honestly, 50 wins is not out of the question.

This is pretty much what I expected. The team isn't going to compete in 2024. Any talk of that is either delusional or blowing smoke. At this point, call it what you want, but the right move is a rebuild. While I personally think they should have picked up TA's option and tried to squeeze out a B-level prospect for him (risk: stuck spending an extra $13MM in a season where you're not competing), it really doesn't matter to me at this point. I'd just be pissed if they took those $13MM and pocketed it - we'll see if they actually do something with the money now.

You spend money this year on minor leaguers and on players who are “flip” candidates at the deadline for more minor leaguers. The big league club is here to stock the farm for a 2027 run.

I do too. Just poking fun at our complete overreliance on him last year. Fucking guy would throw 100+ innings out of the 'pen, easily.

...but then if he was sitting in those similar meetings that led to the hiring of Getz?

That's 150 innings we won't get back....

"Sleeping giant" they may be. Seems like the giant will never wake up though.

They just need 3 or 4 starters, 3 or 4 bullpen arms, a few defensive upgrades (at LF, RF, SS, 1B, and C), and like 7 upgrades on offense (C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, RF). Plus a good coaching staff and medical staff. Other than that, they're right there.

Seems about right. And, besides the Royals, weren't the Sox also tied to some Rockies' execs for consideration?

Likely yes.