Your Offseason Plan

[Balta1701]

55 minutes ago, Dam8610 said:

If you stack that so the age 37-38 seasons are worth like $30 million total, it's not a terrible idea. Still likely that the first 5 years or so of the deal are the most important, though.

Worth thinking about - baseball salaries have inflated by nearly a factor of 2 over the past 15 years, and that was while the share of revenue going to players declined. If that rate continues, a guy making $25 million in 2030 could be comparable to a guy making $15 million these days as a fraction of a team's total payroll. There's some reasonable sense in backloading such a deal for that reason, and if you are gonna offer an opt out...

[Dam8610]

20 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Worth thinking about - baseball salaries have inflated by nearly a factor of 2 over the past 15 years, and that was while the share of revenue going to players declined. If that rate continues, a guy making $25 million in 2030 could be comparable to a guy making $15 million these days as a fraction of a team's total payroll. There's some reasonable sense in backloading such a deal for that reason, and if you are gonna offer an opt out...

Wouldn't the goal of such a deal, though, be to get the player to opt out on the back end of said deal. Like if there's an opt out after year 8 or 9, wouldn't we want him to be more likely than not to take it?

[YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES!]

As of right now, what do you guys think the odds are that the Sox will get Machado or Harper? I'll say 25% for Machado and like 1% for Harper, I don't see it happening with him.

[fathom]

38 minutes ago, Whitesox27 said:

As of right now, what do you guys think the odds are that the Sox will get Machado or Harper? I'll say 25% for Machado and like 1% for Harper, I don't see it happening with him.

5% Manny, 0.0% Harper

[Chicago White Sox]

44 minutes ago, Whitesox27 said:

As of right now, what do you guys think the odds are that the Sox will get Machado or Harper? I'll say 25% for Machado and like 1% for Harper, I don't see it happening with him.

30% for Machado, 5% for Harper.

[Jack Parkman]

12 minutes ago, fathom said:

5% Manny, 0.0% Harper

I agree here. 

[LittleHurt05]

56 minutes ago, Whitesox27 said:

As of right now, what do you guys think the odds are that the Sox will get Machado or Harper? I'll say 25% for Machado and like 1% for Harper, I don't see it happening with him.

0.1% Machado 0.00001% Harper 

[fathom]

19 minutes ago, LittleHurt05 said:

0.1% Machado 0.00001% Harper 

I still predict we will hear this offseason that the Sox aren’t contenders for Manny because they aren’t interested in providing opt-outs.

[Chicago White Sox]

People are WAY too pessimistic here.  We are clearly planning to go hard after Machado.  We wouldn’t have considered trading for him last offseason if that wasn’t the case.  I’m a little concerned they have no interest in Harper, but that’s purely speculation.  Regardless, I still think us & the Phillies are the favorites to land Machado.

[greg775]

41 minutes ago, fathom said:

5% Manny, 0.0% Harper

I'd say 5 percent Manny; 10 percent Harper.

[Chicago White Sox]

4 minutes ago, fathom said:

I still predict we will hear this offseason that the Sox aren’t contenders for Manny because they aren’t interested in providing opt-outs.

The team that invented the opt-out is going to pass on a guy they’re obsessed with because of an opt-out?

[Jack Parkman]

1 minute ago, Chicago White Sox said:

People are WAY too pessimistic here.  We are clearly planning to go hard after Machado.  We wouldn’t have considered trading for him last offseason if that wasn’t the case.  I’m a little concerned they have no interest in Harper, but that’s purely speculation.  Regardless, I still think us & the Phillies are the favorites to land Machado.

I don't think that the Sox aren't interested or don't want to play ball, I think that it is doubtful that Machado and Harper are interested in the Sox. 

[Chicago White Sox]

4 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

I don't think that the Sox aren't interested or don't want to play ball, I think that it is doubtful that Machado and Harper are interested in the Sox. 

Money talks and the Sox should be the most incentivized team to land a star.  If they outbid the competition (which is possible) they should have a decent shot at landing one of these guys.  Obviously there are no guarantees here.

Edited November 1, 2018 by Chicago White Sox

[Jack Parkman]

2 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Money talks and the Sox should be the most incentived team to land a star.  If they outbid the competition (which is possible) they should have a decent shot at landing one of these guys.  Obviously there are no guarantees here.

What I'm concerned about is that Yes, Money talks but when you get in the $250-350 M range does an extra 10-15 M outweigh the other factors? I'd think the Sox would have to blow the competition away to get their attention. 

Edited November 1, 2018 by Jack Parkman

[Chicago White Sox]

1 minute ago, Jack Parkman said:

What I'm concerned about is that Yes, Money talks but when you get in the $250-350 M range does an extra 10-15 M outweigh the other factors? I'd think the Sox would have to blow the competition away to get their attention. 

I guess we’ll have to wait & see.  But if sports have shown us one thing, it’s that more often than not guys take the biggest offer.

[LittleHurt05]

5 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

I guess we’ll have to wait & see.  But if sports have shown us one thing, it’s that more often than not guys take the biggest offer.

100% agree. And there is zero evidence showing us that Jerry Reinsdorf would make the biggest offer.

[YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES!]

Machado isn't going back to the Dodgers and from what I've seen, the Cardinals are more interested in Harper. That leaves the Phillies, the Yankees, and us as the top 3 for Machado as of now. I don't think it's as impossible as some of you think.

[tray]

No team is going to non-tender a player who was an All=Star and hit .330 the previous year and who was then hampered by injury this year.

[Chicago White Sox]

54 minutes ago, LittleHurt05 said:

100% agree. And there is zero evidence showing us that Jerry Reinsdorf would make the biggest offer.

I mean, that’s not entirely true.  Albert Belle was signed to the biggest contract in baseball history at the time.  Joe Borchard was given the largest signing bonus ever at the time.  Yes these were ages ago, but Reinsdorf has had his moments and recently he outbid everyone for Luis Robert.

Regardless, the situation is much different now.  Jerry is really getting up there in years, the Sox have almost zero financial obligations going forward, and the team is desperate for attention as it preps to negotiate a new TV deal.  Adding a legit superstar isn’t just critical for the long-term well being of the franchise but something that we’re actually positioned to do.  As grim as this may sound, I have zero doubts in mind that Jerry doesn’t plan to die during a rebuild.  He’s going to add a legit star (and other pieces) to help put an end to this rebuild and the first target will most certainly be Machado.  That doesn’t mean the Phillies or some other team won’t beat us out for his services, but I truly believe Reinsdorf will do everything in his power (within reason) to land us a star.

[Chicago White Sox]

17 minutes ago, tray said:

No team is going to non-tender a player who was an All=Star and hit .330 the previous year and who was then hampered by injury this year.

I think they’ll tender Avi a contract, but his BABIP fueled batting average from two seasons ago doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things IMO.

[wrathofhahn]

8 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:

People are WAY too pessimistic here.  We are clearly planning to go hard after Machado.  We wouldn’t have considered trading for him last offseason if that wasn’t the case.  I’m a little concerned they have no interest in Harper, but that’s purely speculation.  Regardless, I still think us & the Phillies are the favorites to land Machado.

I'm actually being optimistic when I think the Whitesox won't go after Machado.

Dude is a loser and a complete douchebag. If the Whitesox are going to lose 80,100 games which they will do regardless of whether Machado is on the roster I'd rather them do so with guys who will run to first base and who I don't want to punch in the face everytime I hear them talk.

This is baseball it ain't basketball. Why are you so excited for Machado anyways? He aint Lebron. I mean even if he wasn't a complete douchebag with terrible cornrows we aren't going to make the playoffs if we sign him. We aren't going to even finish .500? So why? What is the rush to spend 200-250 million when we could be 2-3 years away from needing a finishing piece like Machado.

Also do we really want to expose our young players to this guy? Is this the guy we want to set the example for Eloy, Moncada, Kopech, and Robert? You can say he doesn't have to be a leader if you are paying someone 200-250 milllion and giving them a 10 year deal he's the leader and are giving him more power then even the coaches. So no I don't want Machado for a variety of reasons not just baseball related. I also don't want Harper. Instead lets do this thing right and see where we are in 2 years because at that point Eloy should be up. Robert and Rutherford should be up or very close. Kopech. Cease. We'll know how sucessful this rebuild was and more importantly we will know what we need moving forward as adds to the ML roster.

I'd much rather target a young blocked player like Chavis on the Redsox.

Edited November 1, 2018 by wrathofhahn

[hogan873]

From a fan's perspective, the Sox are at an interesting crossroad.  We've known (or at least thought) that since this rebuild began the Sox would target one of Machado or Harper.  Now that the time is here, we have more information.  Machado seems to be a very talented douchebag who chooses when to try.  Harper has already expressed he wants 10/$350 as a starting point.  Neither of these pieces of information will necessarily keep the Sox from going after these guys.  But, we as fans may now think there's less of a chance that they do.  Nobody knows except the Sox, and maybe they don't even really know the chances.

All of this makes me wonder what else the Sox could do.  Do they target guys like Donaldon, McCutchen, Brantley, Moustakas, etc.?  Or do they fill some holes with a couple veterans or guys looking to rebuild value?

I still think there's a decent chance the Sox sign Machado...and by decent I mean 15%-20% chance.  I don't think there's much of a chance for Harper.  Regardless, this could be a very exciting off season, and I see days when I very little work done when a rumor gets floated on Twitter.

[YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES!]

1 hour ago, wrathofhahn said:

I'm actually being optimistic when I think the Whitesox won't go after Machado.

Dude is a loser and a complete douchebag. If the Whitesox are going to lose 80,100 games which they will do regardless of whether Machado is on the roster I'd rather them do so with guys who will run to first base and who I don't want to punch in the face everytime I hear them talk.

This is baseball it ain't basketball. Why are you so excited for Machado anyways? He aint Lebron. I mean even if he wasn't a complete douchebag with terrible cornrows we aren't going to make the playoffs if we sign him. We aren't going to even finish .500? So why? What is the rush to spend 200-250 million when we could be 2-3 years away from needing a finishing piece like Machado.

Also do we really want to expose our young players to this guy? Is this the guy we want to set the example for Eloy, Moncada, Kopech, and Robert? You can say he doesn't have to be a leader if you are paying someone 200-250 milllion and giving them a 10 year deal he's the leader and are giving him more power then even the coaches. So no I don't want Machado for a variety of reasons not just baseball related. I also don't want Harper. Instead lets do this thing right and see where we are in 2 years because at that point Eloy should be up. Robert and Rutherford should be up or very close. Kopech. Cease. We'll know how sucessful this rebuild was and more importantly we will know what we need moving forward as adds to the ML roster.

I'd much rather target a young blocked player like Chavis on the Redsox.

Kicking the metaphorical can down the road is the worst thing the Sox can do at this point in time IMO.

[southsider2k5]

2 hours ago, wrathofhahn said:

I'm actually being optimistic when I think the Whitesox won't go after Machado.

Dude is a loser and a complete douchebag. If the Whitesox are going to lose 80,100 games which they will do regardless of whether Machado is on the roster I'd rather them do so with guys who will run to first base and who I don't want to punch in the face everytime I hear them talk.

This is baseball it ain't basketball. Why are you so excited for Machado anyways? He aint Lebron. I mean even if he wasn't a complete douchebag with terrible cornrows we aren't going to make the playoffs if we sign him. We aren't going to even finish .500? So why? What is the rush to spend 200-250 million when we could be 2-3 years away from needing a finishing piece like Machado.

Also do we really want to expose our young players to this guy? Is this the guy we want to set the example for Eloy, Moncada, Kopech, and Robert? You can say he doesn't have to be a leader if you are paying someone 200-250 milllion and giving them a 10 year deal he's the leader and are giving him more power then even the coaches. So no I don't want Machado for a variety of reasons not just baseball related. I also don't want Harper. Instead lets do this thing right and see where we are in 2 years because at that point Eloy should be up. Robert and Rutherford should be up or very close. Kopech. Cease. We'll know how sucessful this rebuild was and more importantly we will know what we need moving forward as adds to the ML roster.

I'd much rather target a young blocked player like Chavis on the Redsox.

I mean it is one thing to engage in the typical groupthink of the Sox are cheap kind of stuff, but this?  Yikes.  Do yourself a favor and delete this post.

[ChiSox59]

2 hours ago, wrathofhahn said:

I'm actually being optimistic when I think the Whitesox won't go after Machado.

Dude is a loser and a complete douchebag. If the Whitesox are going to lose 80,100 games which they will do regardless of whether Machado is on the roster I'd rather them do so with guys who will run to first base and who I don't want to punch in the face everytime I hear them talk.

This is baseball it ain't basketball. Why are you so excited for Machado anyways? He aint Lebron. I mean even if he wasn't a complete douchebag with terrible cornrows we aren't going to make the playoffs if we sign him. We aren't going to even finish .500? So why? What is the rush to spend 200-250 million when we could be 2-3 years away from needing a finishing piece like Machado.

Also do we really want to expose our young players to this guy? Is this the guy we want to set the example for Eloy, Moncada, Kopech, and Robert? You can say he doesn't have to be a leader if you are paying someone 200-250 milllion and giving them a 10 year deal he's the leader and are giving him more power then even the coaches. So no I don't want Machado for a variety of reasons not just baseball related. I also don't want Harper. Instead lets do this thing right and see where we are in 2 years because at that point Eloy should be up. Robert and Rutherford should be up or very close. Kopech. Cease. We'll know how sucessful this rebuild was and more importantly we will know what we need moving forward as adds to the ML roster.

I'd much rather target a young blocked player like Chavis on the Redsox.

Now get the hell off my lawn!!!

Honestly tho, if the Sox wait another 2-3 seasons to add FAs, they're going to be in this cycle forever.  The beginning of the "rebuild core" in Timmy, Moncada, Gio, and Lopez will be approaching FA by that time.  Obviously the Kopech news kicked everyone in the nuts and set up back at least a season, but if the Sox aren't serious about contending by 2020, this thing is never going to work.  Adding a player like Machado (or Harper) to the mix and even some stopgap players that are flippable next summer to further add to the farm is what the Sox should be doing.  Not sitting on their hands for another season of .400 baseball, and say oh well, we'll see where we are next year.  

Edited November 1, 2018 by ChiSox59