Zack Wheeler: To the Phils (5yr 118); Sox had made BIGGER offer

[smellysox]

10 minutes ago, hogan873 said:

Hey, we resemble that remark.

If my memory wasn't so short maybe I would've recognized it. 

[Soxbadger]

3 minutes ago, raBBit said:

As long as  they have a seat at the table.

Well not exactly the table, we were sitting in the same restaurant nearby and took a selfie that made us look like we were there. 

[Donny Lucy's Avocado Farm]

If the FO swings and misses on Wheeler, that's two off-seasons in a row where they publicly chased a "premium" free agent and didn't land them. With all of the superlatives and Hahnspeak surrounding the rebuild, I wouldn't be surprised if this was an intentional strategy. 

Don't forget, Jerry said it himself, carrot on the stick.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaredwyllys/2019/10/05/chicago-white-sox-owner-jerry-reinsdorfs-comments-show-destructive-approach/

[Balta1701]

14 minutes ago, NotHahn said:

 

 

Thank God we have short memories. If our memory stretched back to 2009, no one would be here.

[ChiSox59]

1 minute ago, Charlie Haeger's Knuckles said:

If the FO swings and misses on Wheeler, that's two off-seasons in a row where they publicly chased a "premium" free agent and didn't land them. With all of the superlatives and Hahnspeak surrounding the rebuild, I wouldn't be surprised if this was an intentional strategy. 

Don't forget, Jerry said it himself, carrot on the stick.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaredwyllys/2019/10/05/chicago-white-sox-owner-jerry-reinsdorfs-comments-show-destructive-approach/

To date, the Sox have signed the most premium FA that has been signed this offseason.  So maybe its time to put this narrative away for the season, even if someone decides to give Zack Wheeler a stupid amount of money and he signs elsewhere.  

[Balta1701]

35 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

When there is stuff leaking that the White Sox are close it always seems to fall apart. Were their any "insiders" who had the Grandal signing more than 5 minutes before it was announced?

Nope. They handled it professionally and internally. Identified a player they wanted, put a competitive offer on the table for him, didn't mess around. He was reviewing our pitching staff and no one on twitter or here was saying a peep until it was done.

[Balta1701]

2 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

To date, the Sox have signed the most premium FA that has been signed this offseason.  So maybe its time to put this narrative away for the season, even if someone decides to give Zack Wheeler a stupid amount of money and he signs elsewhere.  

So as soon as someone else signs a more premium FA that narrative becomes correct again? Considering I still think Cole was the best signing they could make this offseason, I will fully agree to your standards.

[Bob Sacamano]

1 minute ago, ChiSox59 said:

To date, the Sox have signed the most premium FA that has been signed this offseason.  So maybe its time to put this narrative away for the season, even if someone decides to give Zack Wheeler a stupid amount of money and he signs elsewhere.  

Yep. Crushed their former highest contract by a whopping $5 mill in the year 2019.

[Sockin]

1 minute ago, ChiSox59 said:

To date, the Sox have signed the most premium FA that has been signed this offseason.  So maybe its time to put this narrative away for the season, even if someone decides to give Zack Wheeler a stupid amount of money and he signs elsewhere.  

Disagree completely, they have the money and this is probably their biggest area of need in a rotation full of question marks outside of Giolito. We know they won't engage with Strasburg or Cole so they are back to relying on lightning in a bottle to get to the playoffs with their pitchers. One signing does not mark a change in culture. 

[Perfect Vision]

 I didn't read the Evan Grant article, but apparently he's reporting that Wheeler is choosing between the Sox and Phillies, with the Reds only "perhaps" in the mix.

[Wisebri224]

2 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

To date, the Sox have signed the most premium FA that has been signed this offseason.  So maybe its time to put this narrative away for the season, even if someone decides to give Zack Wheeler a stupid amount of money and he signs elsewhere.  

Again, a $70 million dollar deal is going to be a drop in the bucket compared to the contracts that will be signed.  If that's the big splash this season, let's start calling this crew the Chitown Marlins.  Seriously, one "Big" signing a year is what we can afford?

[ChiSox59]

1 minute ago, Balta1701 said:

So as soon as someone else signs a more premium FA that narrative becomes correct again? Considering I still think Cole was the best signing they could make this offseason, I will fully agree to your standards.

Not really.  I think the Sox dispelled a lot of narratives with the Grandal signing, and I fully expect them to sign at least 1 more impact FA this offseason.  Cole was never going to happen - but yes, we all know that signing the most unattainable FA on the market was the only way you'd be pleased with the offseason.  

[Squirmin' for Yermin]

2 minutes ago, Perfect Vision said:

 I didn't read the Evan Grant article, but apparently he's reporting that Wheeler is choosing between the Sox and Phillies, with the Reds only "perhaps" in the mix.

 The sky may not be falling.. yet.

[Flash Tizzle]

1 minute ago, cjgalloway said:

How do you feel?

He doesn’t sound very confident. Honestly, I dont either. The White Sox don’t win bidding wars. They have a set price Jerry feels comfortable with, and will not go beyond it. 

We all know how this goes. White Sox lose out, news is released that their offer had some goofy deferred payment or performance related stipulation that didn’t guarantee as much money. 
 

Honestly, don’t even fool the fanbase with Cole and Strasburg if you miss out on Wheeler. 

[Sleepy Harold]

Just now, cjgalloway said:

 The sky may not be falling.. yet.

THE SKY IS ALWAYS FALLING BC WHITE SOX

[raBBit]

2 minutes ago, cjgalloway said:

How do you feel?

I think a lot of stuff is public at this point. Seems to be between the Sox, Reds and Phillies and wrapping up soon. I fear the Reds more than the Phillies. Sox are talking a big game to Wheeler but are cautiously optimistic. They want to stay guarded after last year which is understandable but they are not operating like they are known to in the past. They put together a great presentation and a market-competitive offer. They see it as they basically put the ball in Wheeler's court because Sox don't want to play agent-chicken with him. We'll see how crazy the Reds want to get.

While I think the Sox obviously handled the Machado situation very poorly last year, I agreed with them not dipping into the next tier of free agents after missing out on Harper/Machado. They should have been on short term, flippable guys and 26-year-old-studs. I was fine with that strategy but they just whiffed. This year is different because whether they convert on Wheeler or not, they are working on multiple fronts (multiple trades, multiple other FAs).

I think it's going to be an exciting offseason either way but Sox definitely want to convert on Wheeler here. He's kind of in a tier of his own so I'll be interested to see how they pivot in the starting pitching market.

Tier A: Cole, Stras

Tier B: Wheeler

Tier C; MadBum, Ryu

[ChiSox59]

2 minutes ago, Sockin said:

Disagree completely, they have the money and this is probably their biggest area of need in a rotation full of question marks outside of Giolito. We know they won't engage with Strasburg or Cole so they are back to relying on lightning in a bottle to get to the playoffs with their pitchers. One signing does not mark a change in culture. 

I agree, but it is a step in the right direction.  It is is certainly better than sitting here today with Grandal having signed elsewhere.  Let's not forget Thanksgiving was less than a week ago, the winter meetings have not even occurred yet, and all of the major FAs are still available outside of Grandal. 

The sky is not falling because other teams are also interested in Wheeler.  

[maloney.adam]

12 minutes ago, Perfect Vision said:

 I didn't read the Evan Grant article, but apparently he's reporting that Wheeler is choosing between the Sox and Phillies, with the Reds only "perhaps" in the mix.

This is a plant to get the Sox to up there offer or go 6 years! You can just read the tweet or article to figure that one out. Lol

Edited December 4, 2019 by maloney.adam

[KnightsOnMintSt]

 

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

4 hours ago, poppysox said:

Thanks...excellent article.  Hope it accurate.

It's not anymore. $100M probably is in the area of what he will get.

[Southwest Sider]

Just now, KnightsOnMintSt said:

 

This kind of stuff is always funny, because it can be deciphered as the team at the park celebrating that Wheeler chose them. 

Probably not, though. 

[Sleepy Harold]

1 minute ago, KnightsOnMintSt said:

 

Gotta pull out all the bells and whistles for Kole Calhoun.

[Dick Allen]

One other thing to keep in mind...the Phillies train in FL. I think Wheeler lives in GA. He may not be too keen on spending 6 weeks in AZ if his other choice is around the same money. So the Sox may have to bump the Phillies offer a bit. 

[Squirmin' for Yermin]

3 minutes ago, raBBit said:

I think a lot of stuff is public at this point. Seems to be between the Sox, Reds and Phillies and wrapping up soon. I fear the Reds more than the Phillies. Sox are talking a big game to Wheeler but are cautiously optimistic. They want to stay guarded after last year which is understandable but they are not operating like they are known to in the past. They put together a great presentation and a market-competitive offer. They see it as they basically put the ball in Wheeler's court because Sox don't want to play agent-chicken with him. We'll see how crazy the Reds want to get.

While I think the Sox obviously handled the Machado situation very poorly last year, I agreed with them not dipping into the next tier of free agents after missing out on Harper/Machado. They should have been on short term, flippable guys and 26-year-old-studs. I was fine with that strategy but they just whiffed. This year is different because whether they convert on Wheeler or not, they are working on multiple fronts (multiple trades, multiple other FAs).

I think it's going to be an exciting offseason either way but Sox definitely want to convert on Wheeler here. He's kind of in a tier of his own so I'll be interested to see how they pivot in the starting pitching market.

Tier A: Cole, Stras

Tier B: Wheeler

Tier C; MadBum, Ryu

I completely agree with your tiers here.

[DirtySox]

4 minutes ago, raBBit said:

I think a lot of stuff is public at this point. Seems to be between the Sox, Reds and Phillies and wrapping up soon. I fear the Reds more than the Phillies. Sox are talking a big game to Wheeler but are cautiously optimistic. They want to stay guarded after last year which is understandable but they are not operating like they are known to in the past. They put together a great presentation and a market-competitive offer. They see it as they basically put the ball in Wheeler's court because Sox don't want to play agent-chicken with him. We'll see how crazy the Reds want to get.

While I think the Sox obviously handled the Machado situation very poorly last year, I agreed with them not dipping into the next tier of free agents after missing out on Harper/Machado. They should have been on short term, flippable guys and 26-year-old-studs. I was fine with that strategy but they just whiffed. This year is different because whether they convert on Wheeler or not, they are working on multiple fronts (multiple trades, multiple other FAs).

I think it's going to be an exciting offseason either way but Sox definitely want to convert on Wheeler here. He's kind of in a tier of his own so I'll be interested to see how they pivot in the starting pitching market.

Tier A: Cole, Stras

Tier B: Wheeler

Tier C; MadBum, Ryu

Thanks for the insight. Anyone else kinda numb to this after last offseason? I won't be crushed if they miss out. It's Just onto the next one.