Chicago White Sox

You never devalue your players by ripping them in the media. What else is he supposed to say? I’d wager large sums of money that Collins and/or Zavala is traded and a veteran catcher is brought in.

Fully agree…there was absolutely no downside in trying when we had a double digit lead.

I think Kimbrel’s problems went beyond just how he was used, but we should have given him more closer opportunities to find out at a bare minimum.

Having the 6th highest payroll on like day seven of the offseason is a meaningless stat and not sure why you keep referencing it. And last year’s payroll was significantly impacted by COVID and would have been way higher without restricted attendance to start the year. Also, I’m not sure what you think our payroll was last year, but I believe it ended around $135M to $140M. $170M is a 100% realistic target for us and candidly speaking the Sox could probably rock a $200M payroll with ease as long as attendance is forecasted to be strong. Again, you are crazy if you think we’ll have a $150M to $155M payroll next year.

*Awaits mass panic that we’re keeping him and moving Hendriks to a setup role*

Yogurt looks pretty slim in that photo

I pray this is sarcasm

Wheeler was two years ago and Hahn made it sound like they’re looking for a long-term addition to the rotation. Given the connection with Gausman and less of a track record that other guys, I could definitely see him being the target. Again, Wheeler set a precedent that this is a price point we’re willing to play at.

What amount is Giolito asking for? I didn’t know this leaked.

You keep saying this but I don’t agree at all. You seem way too pessimistic on our financial outlook for next year.

I think you need to reset your expectations on what a “138 million guy is”. Gausman is coming off a 4.8 win season, which ranked eight overall last year amongst qualified starters. Wheeler got 5/$125M coming off very similar production two years ago. A guy with a better track record in Strasburg got a 7/$245M contract last offseason. Top of the rotation starters are very expensive. Six years at $23M AAV is a pretty fair deal all things considered.

Whoops, it’s technically meant to be a 6/$138M deal, which would be a $23M AAV. Just typed in the wrong footnote, although I’m guessing that doesn’t change your view on the deal. Can I ask why you don’t like a guy coming off a 4.8 win season and also looked really damn good in 2020 (partial season mind you)?

What’s your beef with Gausman and what you do instead to address the rotation?

FWIW (which may not be much), MLBTradeRumors has Verlander getting 2/$40M.

We have an option on Lynn for 2024.

We have two more years of control of Giolito and three more years of Lynn. We’re going to need Kopech to assume one of the top two spots in the rotation for the 2024 & 2025 seasons.

It’s revisionist to say Kimbrel was going to flop at the Heuer could have exceeded his production at 1/15 the cost.

I saw it and liked it. Definitely a slower, dialogue heavy film that won’t be loved by everyone.

I like pretty much all these moves, but the only concern I’d have is the rotation. Is Archer the #5 starter? I just worry we’re an injury away to a starter from serious problems, even with Quintana on a minor league deal.

If you want to question what the better addition would have been between Kimbrel and Bryant that’s fine, but don’t say Heuer was going to put up better numbers than the guy who was the best reliever in baseball at the time. These revisionist opinions are maddening.

I don’t buy this “only really good” narrative at all. From 2017 to 2020, Conforto put up the 9th most fWAR amongst outfielders with 13.3 wins. He had a 133 wRC+ over this time. That’s 1.1 wins and 5 points of wRC+ less than Bryce Harper. Most importantly, during this same four year stretch he put up the 10th highest wRC+ against RHP at 143. Quite frankly, dude is elite against RHP and that’s what we need, especially come October when we’ll be facing dominant ones. This dude is not Melky fucking Cabrera.

Obviously I can’t say with certainty that the Dodgers would take Vaughn, but I also think he fits very well on their roster as a LF/1B hybrid (and his value would increase to them with a universal DH). That being said, I actually think it’s a trade both sides might be interested in though, especially if the Dodgers are concerned about Lux’s versatility / ability to cover SS. I honestly don’t buy the concept that Reinsdorf is unwilling to commit dollars beyond the 2023 or 2024 for a starting pitcher. Hahn specifically mentioned in his ESPN 100 interview that a TOR of the rotation starter is something they’d be looking at. Going into next year with Kopech & Keuchel as your #4 & #5 is simply not good enough IMO. They need to add a starter and an impactful one at that. If the years are a concern, then pivot to someone like Verlander. As for the ability to “sustain” the window after 2024, that will come down to what in-house options we can develop over the coming years. We should get some salary relief once Abreu, Grandal, Lynn, & Hendriks come off the books, but it will important for several of the Montgomery, Kath, Rodriguez, Ramos, Cespedes, & Colas group on the positional side and several of the Vera, Kelley, Thompson, Dalquist, McDougal, & Burke group to develop into legitimate contributors. If that next wave of talent fails, then sustained success will be nearly impossible. But right now I’m focused on optimizing my chances to win a World Series in the next three years and I think these moves do that.

These are my own estimates and many of them will more optimistic than what Steamer’s projecting. And generally speaking, I find Steamer to be way too conservative on young players, especially with all the noise over the past couple years. For example, I fully expect Robert to blow his number out of the water (4.7) as he basically put up 3.2 in a half of a season and he’s still not a fully developed product. Eloy is only projected for 2.4 wins by Steamer, but I think he performs closer to his 2020 rate stats and ends up at around 4. There is a method to the madness although candidly speaking I don’t actually think that roster would win 110 games. There is clearly some likely injury impacts and other things that I’m not accounting for, which makes the fWAR total highly optimistic.

There is plenty to rip Hahn for, but I just hate the notion he’s some bumbling idiot without a plan. He’s done enough right to get us this far, the only question now is can he make the appropriate finishing moves to push over the top.