ChiSox59

Trading Crochet is a no brainer. The risk of holding him is insanely high, and his value isn't going to get higher than it is right now. Whether or not Getz can get a very good return remains to be seen, but I am fairly confident most every club will be interested so he should be able to get a good return. I certainly have my concerns as outlined previously in this very thread, but they're not significant enough to say "hey, lets keep him and watch his value decrease on a 100+ loss club even if he's really good". The Sox are going to lose 100+ games. 62-100 would be a 21 game improvement, and this roster is very likely to be less talented than last years. Dumb luck may get them a 5-10 game improvement with a worse roster, but there are no FA adds that suddenly take this team remotely close to .500.

Why? I see Crochet as an incredibly risky extension. I don't see him holding up long term as a SP. The Sox extending him (as an example - they wont), with two seasons of cheap control would be a crazy decision IMO.

I certainly hope he can do better. We need bats, not arms.

Crochet and Fedde aren’t in the same stratosphere of value.

I hate that this is still a thing being discussed. I just cannot for the life of me fathom why prioritizing dumping Beni is a priority over maximizing return. It doesn’t make a single lick of sense. It’s the White Sox, so you can’t completely dismiss it, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

I am almost certain that the buy-out is due when the player is bought out. Moncada has already been bought out, so I assume that has already been paid. I guess its possible that it could depend on the language within each individual contract, but not sure why any agent would ask for anything other than it paid out immediately as $1>$1 later.

I will never understand why buy-out figures would be counted for the following season. Using Moncada and Stassi as an example, those dollars are/were paid in 2024 (literally already paid), months before even reporting to 2025 spring training. IMO, they shouldn't be factored into 2025 payroll estimates. Also, re: Flexen he is a FA. It was a surprise to me when I saw it, but must have something to do with coming over from Korea or wherever he was. He has under 6 years of service so typically would not be a FA, but he is. Kind of a bummer because he would be useful to keep around as back-end rotation insurance / long relief.

Crochet is controlled for 2 seasons. The first season they’ll be terrible. Absolute best case scenario, Sox are mildly interesting up and coming team in 2026. Crochets control does not fit the time line and the Sox desperately need position player talent and he’s the last major piece to get it.

For sure. I don’t expect it to happen quickly. But I think as many as 20 or more teams should have legitimate interest. They should be able to do really well. I don’t think Getz did all that well in the Cease deal, so it’s certainly fair to have some skepticism there, and obviously teams have been pretty reluctant to move elite position player prospects recently.

As opposed to retaining Crochet in 2025 just to lose 100+ games again WITH him, while retaining significant injury risk and watching his value deplete regardless of how he pitches? Trading Crochet - assuming you can get a very good return - is an absolute no brainer.

Former Soxtalk banner man, iirc.

I mean he’s a goofy delivery middle reliever with under 3 years of service on a team with plenty of pen and 40 man openings. They must like him. If they find a better use of the roster spot later on this winter, he can always be DFA without any cost. Don’t see the harm.

If there is, you just DFA this guy. There is literally no harm in cycling through guys at the back of the 40 man. It’s something the previous regime was terrible at.

I’m sticking with Eloy. But man, it’s close.

Has anyone found audio / video to the beat writer scrum after the press conference? Ive heard some bits and pieces on the CHGO podcast, but would love to listen to the whole thing. Thanks in advance to anyone that shares. My biggest takeaway from the presser was how drastically different it was than Pedro's. Basically no frills. All over video conference. No put a jersey on. No rah rah. No Jerry. To me, it means the Sox (or at least Getz) can read the room. Not surprised, just found it interesting. Looking forward to the next chapter.

I wish Yoan the best. He was always Charmin Soft, but the talent is there. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him but put him 3+ WAR season in 2025 IF he can play 120+ games. Huge if though, obviously. I bet he gets more than most think to. I'd say 1 year $5-7M with some attainable performance incentives. He'll certainly have a lot of play for, and is still a well above average defensive 3B.

I do hope guys like Sizemore, Jirschele, Bannister and Sisson are retained, at least somewhere in the org. Would be kind of a drag to lose Jirschele after giving him a short term promotion. I think Bannister is a given to stay, and I’d be surprised if Grady isn’t in the staff.

This is a good post. It’s hard to be excited about the White Sox, but this is a really good move.

Nice hire. I hope Grady gets a prominent role on his staff.

Yes please

If they elect not to keep AV, fine. But don’t turn around and give his $5-6M to 40 year old Carlos Santana or washed up Josh Bell. Just let Vargas play 1B.

Tim Elko is a right handed bat, and had comparable numbers in AA and AAA to AV in the majors. And he’s like 8 months younger than AV. Tim Elko isn’t the answer. He also doesn’t even need to be added to the 40 man until Dec 2025. No reason pencil him in; he’ll likely get his chance next season anyway.

He’s nothing to get excited about and I dislike the arb estimate. I’d try to settle around $5M, and if he doesn’t like it non tender. They don’t have any better options though and signing someone comparable from the FA market will likely cost more.

Intriguing enough stats. I’d rather roll the dice on him than pay $5M for some shitty vet reliever.

The Sox paid Stassi the MLB min of $740k, btw.