hogan873

Cubs fans' tears will be flowing.

True. And I do believe could still be hitting bombs late in that deal. He may never hit 60 in a year again, but cranking 30-35 a year when he's 38? Definitely possible.

I don't know. It it's a nine year deal, that's a lot per year. But if he will still be cranking home runs at an impressive pace when he's 38-39, it won't look bad. What will guys like him be getting paid 7-8 years from now?

It would have been a surprise if Judge didn't return to the Yankees. They were not going to let another team outbid them unless the Giants went bonkers.

Aside from the Cubs, Giants, and Phillies, the winter meetings have been pretty quiet. No major trades. A few big signings on Monday (that were probably already in agreement before the meetings started). Hopefully the Sox have been laying some groundwork for a trade or two. There's no way this team can go into spring training without some substantial upgrades and expect to compete.

Could be the move that starts the toppling of the dominoes. And I'd love to see Judge go to the Giants over the Yankees.

Man, it is so frustrating to not even see any rumors involving the Sox. I know there's plenty of time, but you'd think at the winter meetings there'd be some rumblings. Either the Sox are in stealth mode, or they're not really doing anything. I'm leaning toward the latter.

Yep. And that's why trading Hendriks makes the most sense if they're going to trade someone. They can either free up cash to go get a FA, or they can get someone to fill a position of need via trade. Of course, that would require the front office to play it smart...and we all know how that might go.

Yeah, Graveman looked shaky at best when he was thrust into the role. Lopez may thrive in that role. It would be nice to see how he does.

Kinda sucks with the meetings being on the west coast. we probably won't start seeing rumors and news until late morning/early afternoon. On the flip side, we could be seeing rumors and news well into the night.

This would be interesting. If they were to address the situation by getting someone who would be the primary catcher (Murphy, Contreras, Perez, etc.), what would be the plan for Grandal?

It'll be interesting to see what the first big move is during the meetings. I would think Judge will be the biggest FA signing, but there are quite a few others who will be getting big contracts. If Judge signs during the meetings, there will probably be a cascade of other moves quickly afterwards. Still believe there will be lots of action even if he doesn't sign this week. I think the Sox make some noise with a trade or two. Hendriks and maybe Giolito would be the most likely to be dealt. And I think they'll address the OF situation. I wouldn't be surprised to see Gallo signed.

$8 million for 2023 is a very nice deal. Worry about the $4 million (or more) in 2024.

With the likelihood of Giolito being a Sox beyond 2023 being slim, I say look for a trade partner. Even with his down year this past season, he has plenty of value.

A Grandal for Perez swap straight up makes no sense. If the Royals sent something else, like money or some decent prospects, maybe it makes more sense? I don't know. It just seems like a weird trade rumor.

I doubt there's anything to the Salvy "rumor", but he's a batter defender than Grandal now, isn't he?

The Southside Irish shirt is ?

Yeah, and I'm leaning toward Hendriks to the Dodgers for Outman, possibly, I'd like to see them use a Hendriks trade to free up money while grabbing a good prospect or two. Then use that money to get a big bat that can play the OF.

I hope for a lot of activity during the meetings. The last two years were pretty boring with COVID. And I certainly hope the Sox are active.

My thought was that the delay is around the physical. It does seem odd we haven't heard anything about it since. I hope he didn't fail the physical, but it certainly seems possible.

Watching the playoffs, and especially the World Series, showed me how far away this White Sox team is from being a serious contender. I realize there have been teams with less talent who went far in the playoffs, but that requires everyone to play at or above their potential for the entire playoffs. The 2022 Sox team was really bad in that respect. I know there were injuries, but there was way too much just plain underperforming. Sure, the leadership (or lack thereof) was a factor, but it was just a bad team playing bad baseball. I do expect the energy to be different. A real manager and coaching staff is a huge plus. But they need some serious upgrades. A power hitting OF, hopefully one who hits from the left, is paramount. A real second baseman is also important. If they are indeed not going to spend more than last season, they're going to have to make some trades. If we go into 2023 with what we see now plus a few bargain bin additions, the 2023 White Sox will be only marginally better than 2022. And marginally better doesn't cut it.

I wasn't thinking about the shift rule change. I do think getting out of NY will help him. He'll never be a high average hitter, but he could absolutely hit a s%*# ton of home runs at the Rate. And his defense would be very nice improvement compared to what we've seen recently.

Yes, and in order of likelihood: Benintendi Gallo Conforto Nimmo I think there's more interest in Conforto, and another team will pay him more. Nimmo is going to get a longer term deal with more money, so... Benintendi or Gallo seem to be most likely because of cost and adding a LH bat.

With the winter meetings beginning next week, I'd expect to see a furry of trades. Hopefully the Sox will be involved and so something creative. As much as I like Hendriks, he's probably the most valuable trade piece that can be backfilled the easiest. I'm sure there will be several teams looking for a closer/late inning relief that the Sox could match up with to grab some OF or 2B help.

I really don't care about who is coaching 1st base. I'm much more concerned with who the hitting coach is. And the baserunning coach. And who focuses on defense. And having a competent coach at 3rd who will make less bonehead decisions than we've seen in the past is more important. As far as Boston being retained...yawn. I'm not angry about it. I just don't really care.