2023 MLB offseason signings and rumors thread

[wegner]

10 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

That's the only reason I keep looking in this thread. Damn White Sox. Injuries to Robert every damn year and we're going to have Jake Marisnick and Leury  as his replacement.

"Hey, what about me??"....

 

[TheBooneLoganEra]

Is Jurickson Profar at all a possibility at this point? Seems to me a lefty who can cover the outfield and 2nd base would fill multiple needs with one player but the unwillingness to spend any money leads me to think no. 

[ChiSox59]

17 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

That's the only reason I keep looking in this thread. Damn White Sox. Injuries to Robert every damn year and we're going to have Jake Marisnick and Leury  as his replacement.

The reality of the situation is quite simply that the Sox need Luis Robert to play 140+ games and be an elite talent.  If he misses significant time again in 23, the Sox aren't going anywhere.  

[ChiSox59]

Just now, TheBooneLoganEra said:

Is Jurickson Profar at all a possibility at this point? Seems to me a lefty who can cover the outfield and 2nd base would fill multiple needs with one player but the unwillingness to spend any money leads me to think no. 

Nah, I doubt he's an option.  He'll get like 2/$20M at least.  He also hasn't played the infield in a couple seasons; probably isn't anything more than an emergency option there.  

[Saufley]

I saw where Duvall signed with Boston for $7 mil for one year and that was too much for the White Sox. Sad!

 

[TheBooneLoganEra]

21 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

Nah, I doubt he's an option.  He'll get like 2/$20M at least.  He also hasn't played the infield in a couple seasons; probably isn't anything more than an emergency option there.  

I kinda figured but I'd still take it. 

[Bob Sacamano]

6 minutes ago, Saufley said:

I saw where Duvall signed with Boston for $7 mil for one year and that was too much for the White Sox. Sad!

 

Duvall had an offer from the Mets too but apparently turned it down since he would get more playing time with Boston.

[Saufley]

Just now, Bob Sacamano said:

Duvall had an offer from the Mets too but apparently turned it down since he would get more playing time with Boston.

The report I read said he would be Boston's starting CFer.

[Bob Sacamano]

1 minute ago, Saufley said:

The report I read said he would be Boston's starting CFer.

Exactly my point. He gets more playing time rather than taking an offer to be a bench/platoon player. If money is close, he probably doesn’t pick White Sox over Red Sox if he can play more.

[southsider2k5]

2 minutes ago, Saufley said:

The report I read said he would be Boston's starting CFer.

If that is the case, the White Sox probably couldn't have topped that, even with more money.

[CWSpalehoseCWS]

There are incentives that can kick it up to $10M too. Sox most likely couldn’t beat playing time nor the price.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

2 hours ago, flavum said:

It’s kind of sad how much we’re expecting athletic players in their mid 20s to get injured and miss significant time every year. I get having depth, but if we don’t get 140+ games from the guys we’re supposed to, then this isn’t going to work anyway. For now, I’m fairly happy with the projected 26. Let’s see how it goes with the new coaching staff and training staff. And there’s always the trade deadline if there’s a need that makes sense. 

We've had 3 years of Robert and Eloy together and not once did they even come close playing well at the same time or 130+ games. One year was the Covid season of 2020 even though they both played in most of the 60 games it was Robert's rookie year and he did great in the field  but didn't play to his potential like he did in 2021, which incidentally was Eloy's worst year and they both missed significant time that season.

You'd think after 3 years the Sox would take a quality CF/OF backup seriously. Training staffs can only do so much to prevent injuries. OFer's are diving and battling walls constantly and I doubt the training staff could've done much about Robert's weird dizzy spells last year. A little power from the bench from a backup OF who is likely to get a lot of PT would be really nice too.

I have little doubt Colas and Benintendi will have nice seasons and that Eloy won't play the OF that much but counting on Robert to play a full season and other injuries in the OF is expecting too much.

Edited January 18, 2023 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[Eminor3rd]

51 minutes ago, flavum said:

It’s kind of sad how much we’re expecting athletic players in their mid 20s to get injured and miss significant time every year. I get having depth, but if we don’t get 140+ games from the guys we’re supposed to, then this isn’t going to work anyway. For now, I’m fairly happy with the projected 26. Let’s see how it goes with the new coaching staff and training staff. And there’s always the trade deadline if there’s a need that makes sense. 

I don’t think I agree with this logic. You’re right that we can’t survive most of the important players getting hurt, but we can survive one or two if there’s a backup plan in place, so it makes sense to have plans for as many vulnerable areas as possible. What’s attractive about Duvall is that he covers many contingencies at once. Not only for both Robert and Benintendi, but also as a weak-sided platoon for Colas who could conceivably take over entirely if Colas isn’t ready, but who could also be relegated to the bench entirely if Colas breaks out.

[EloyJenkins]

Bryan Reynolds is the plan all along /sarcasm. Robert...this is your year to stay healthy and shine. IF NOT...Hahn is fucked. 

[JoshPR]

53 minutes ago, Saufley said:

I saw where Duvall signed with Boston for $7 mil for one year and that was too much for the White Sox. Sad!

 

Indeed

[CentralChamps21]

1 hour ago, Saufley said:

I saw where Duvall signed with Boston for $7 mil for one year and that was too much for the White Sox. Sad!

 

Probably more a playing time issue than money. Barring injuries he never sees the lineup vs RHP here.

[bmags]

would love to hear someone argue that Leury's contract doesn't matter.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

53 minutes ago, CentralChamps21 said:

Probably more a playing time issue than money. Barring injuries he never sees the lineup vs RHP here.

I think he would've played plenty here. Colas hit LHP very well in the minors and he would still get the majority of AB's against RHP. Duvall probably would hit more HR's off of LHP than Colas would plus it's natural to expect Colas to struggle at times even though I think he'll be a stud but we thought that about Eloy, Robert and Moncada too and all of them came with a lot more fanfare than Colas.

There's been a question about Colas' defense and it's been hard to get a true read on it but I read where he had 11 assists last year. That should tell everyone a lot about the strength and accuracy of his arm .

Duvall also could've played all 3 OF positions and has a strong arm at least equal to if not better than Colas'.

Now any time Robert, Benintendi or Colas need time off who can play OF and hit like Duvall ? He probably would've been playing 3 full games a week and the top Pinch Hitter off the bench and even more if someone gets hurt which they always do or Colas struggles more than I expect him to.

If Duvall craved full time work as a starter and that was his biggest motivation then I understand his decision but more guaranteed money plus more incentives could've made him change his mind along with perhaps the Sox having a better chance to make the playoffs than the Red Sox do especially if Duvall had played an integral role here.

But water under the bridge now.

Edited January 18, 2023 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[ChiSox59]

51 minutes ago, bmags said:

would love to hear someone argue that Leury's contract doesn't matter.

Well, unless you know of way of un-signing a guaranteed contract, Leury's contract irrelevant as it pertains to Duvall.  It was an awful deal; everyone agrees.  But Leury's $5.5M isn't coming back, so it had no bearing whatsoever on Duvall.

I would have loved to sign Duvall, but if he wanted a starter role, there wasn't one here for him.  Not sure an extra millon or two would have made much of a difference for a 34 year old that is looking to extend his career as long as possible before taking a part time role.  Can't say I blame him.  

[bmags]

19 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

Well, unless you know of way of un-signing a guaranteed contract, Leury's contract irrelevant as it pertains to Duvall.  It was an awful deal; everyone agrees.  But Leury's $5.5M isn't coming back, so it had no bearing whatsoever on Duvall.

I would have loved to sign Duvall, but if he wanted a starter role, there wasn't one here for him.  Not sure an extra millon or two would have made much of a difference for a 34 year old that is looking to extend his career as long as possible before taking a part time role.  Can't say I blame him.  

Embarrassing try. 

[ChiSox59]

3 minutes ago, bmags said:

Embarrassing try. 

Well, its true.  You can keep complaining about sunk costs if you wish, but they're irrelevant at this juncture.  

[YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES!]

17 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

Well, its true.  You can keep complaining about sunk costs if you wish, but they're irrelevant at this juncture.  

They are absolutely not irrelevant. They are sunk costs, yes, but those sunk costs like Leury, Diekman, etc are definitely relevant in the realm of budget allocation.

[T R U]

7 minutes ago, YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES! said:

They are absolutely not irrelevant. They are sunk costs, yes, but those sunk costs like Leury, Diekman, etc are definitely relevant in the realm of budget allocation.

I think the point is they shouldn't be relevant to a team like the White Sox (Market size, going for it, etc.)

Spending $10 million on 2 players that are sunk costs shouldn't prevent a team that is all in from making moves to accomplish the ultimate goal, winning a championship.

[ChiSox59]

12 minutes ago, YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES! said:

They are absolutely not irrelevant. They are sunk costs, yes, but those sunk costs like Leury, Diekman, etc are definitely relevant in the realm of budget allocation.

Right.  But there is nothing that can be done about it at this point.  Leury and Diekman were both awful acquisitions; I would not argue otherwise. But in total they're getting paid $10M in 2023, or a tad over 5% of the Sox current payroll.  In terms of bad $, the Sox situation isn't that awful.  

I am not defending the moves, but if you're going to point fingers, point your finger at JR for not allowing his FO to spend over what amounts to relatively minor bad contracts.  Those deals should not be stopping the Sox from finishing off the roster with a 4th OF and 2B, but here we are....

In any event, it sounds like Duvall wasn't going to sign here regardless of the $ as he was looking for starting role the Sox didn't have to offer.  

Edited January 18, 2023 by ChiSox59

[ChiSox59]

3 minutes ago, T R U said:

I think the point is they shouldn't be relevant to a team like the White Sox (Market size, going for it, etc.)

Spending $10 million on 2 players that are sunk costs shouldn't prevent a team that is all in from making moves to accomplish the ultimate goal, winning a championship.

This.