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2023 MLB offseason signings and rumors thread


southsider2k5

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Jerry is penny-wise, pound-foolish.  He never understands the big picture, or that you need to spend money to make money.

Heck, one of his sons owns a company called "Frugal Pay" - I mean, you can't make this stuff up.  There's never been a more apt business name to describe its owner(s).

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14 minutes ago, raBBit said:

What is it mean to be scared to upgrade the team? Why would he be scared?

I am not happy with the offseason and lack of depth additions at 2B and in the outfield but I don't really get this comment. 

He's clearly scared of making a 'wrong" move.  There is no other reason for him being this passive in what they consider to be a "championship window." Everyday other teams are making moves to try to improve their team while Hahn sits back and does nothing to fill the many holes on his roster while having a top 10 payroll.  I've never seen a less aggressive GM in my life.  Doesn't he have a single competitive bone in his body to say f*** it we're going for it. It may not be the "smart" thing to do but trying to be the smartest guy in baseball hasn't worked out for him so maybe it's time for him to put his big boy pants on and make some god damn moves to make his team better.

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42 minutes ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

He's clearly scared of making a 'wrong" move.  There is no other reason for him being this passive in what they consider to be a "championship window." Everyday other teams are making moves to try to improve their team while Hahn sits back and does nothing to fill the many holes on his roster while having a top 10 payroll.  I've never seen a less aggressive GM in my life.  Doesn't he have a single competitive bone in his body to say f*** it we're going for it. It may not be the "smart" thing to do but trying to be the smartest guy in baseball hasn't worked out for him so maybe it's time for him to put his big boy pants on and make some god damn moves to make his team better.

I think the "championship window" thing is very overplayed at this point.  Has anyone actually affiliated with the organization mentioned that the Sox are in a championship window this offseason?  It was said many times in the past, but I do not recall hearing it this offseason.  The front office is obviously hoping for the best and for bounce backs from key players - I too am disappointed more hasn't been done. But if JR really set the payroll limit at $180M or so heading into the season, what else could they have realistically done? 

The reality of the situation is the multiple championship window was burned to the ground when Tony LaRussa sabotaged year 2-3 of said window and left a mess in his wake.  

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2 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

I think the "championship window" thing is very overplayed at this point.  Has anyone actually affiliated with the organization mentioned that the Sox are in a championship window this offseason?  It was said many times in the past, but I do not recall hearing it this offseason.  The front office is obviously hoping for the best and for bounce backs from key players - I too am disappointed more hasn't been done. But if JR really set the payroll limit at $180M or so heading into the season, what else could they have realistically done? 

The reality of the situation is the multiple championship window was burned to the ground when Tony LaRussa sabotaged year 2-3 of said window and left a mess in his wake.  

Jerry feels that he spent money for a winner and got little back. So the new mode is to contend on a budget which makes it hard to improve at any level except by trading prospects.

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22 minutes ago, pcq said:

Jerry feels that he spent money for a winner and got little back. So the new mode is to contend on a budget which makes it hard to improve at any level except by trading prospects.

Seems likely, but let's not pretend like Jerry anything but one of the main reasons why this club failed to execute on their plan.  If he just let his baseball people make the baseball decisions, me thinks the last 2 seasons would have gone a good bit better.  

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1 hour ago, pcq said:

Jerry feels that he spent money for a winner and got little back. So the new mode is to contend on a budget which makes it hard to improve at any level except by trading prospects.

What prospects? Obviously that’s a self inflicted issue, but still a huge 1 none the less. The inability to develop talent has for sure been a bigger hinderance to this franchise than spending $

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1 hour ago, ChiSox59 said:

I think the "championship window" thing is very overplayed at this point.  Has anyone actually affiliated with the organization mentioned that the Sox are in a championship window this offseason?  It was said many times in the past, but I do not recall hearing it this offseason.  The front office is obviously hoping for the best and for bounce backs from key players - I too am disappointed more hasn't been done. But if JR really set the payroll limit at $180M or so heading into the season, what else could they have realistically done? 

The reality of the situation is the multiple championship window was burned to the ground when Tony LaRussa sabotaged year 2-3 of said window and left a mess in his wake.  

Overall, they could have been smarter the entire time. If I can see points where they are making a mess, they should be able to see it too.

1. 2019 on they started spending like drunken sailors, more than $50 million added on guys like Alonso, Herrera, Colome. This was just plain stupid, they wasted money and players they would need. 

2. failure to think long term in those years - failing to invest in scouting and preparation for when it was needed, infamously failing to make use of the international market to the point that they used money from it to bribe the Rangers to take on Nate Jones’s deal.

3. Failing to recognize their own limits the last several years. Drafting a guy and shoving him into the bullpen because we gotta compete right now. Wasting a year of control on Kopech in the bullpen. Trading away a guy for Lynn. Extending Lynn. Signing Grandal. This is the “death by a thousand cuts” item. Even if things make sense in a vacuum, if you don’t do the math in advance, maybe committing 10% of your payroll to Lynn, 10% of your payroll to Grandal, 8% to a closer is a riskier strategy than we acknowledged when each one was considered in a vacuum. The only thought was always “what is best this year”, never how to maintain a roster long term.

4. Spending fully up to their limit before 2022 and committing money for multiple years. Both you and I were genuinely surprised that they went to the payroll we saw, we expected lower numbers because there was obvious risk of overcommitting. They assumed 2022 would be such a success due to their genius that they wouldn’t have to worry about any downside risk on anything they did.

5. Adding salary to their roster at the 2022 trade deadline rather than clearing it. Their team was uncompetitive but they refused to admit it. I could recognize the possibility of a salary cut as of July last year and how useful it would have been to clear payroll, but they did not. Again, this was a setting where they sacrificed the future for the present, they said that they were in such a great spot that they could afford to hurt 2023 to continue on the path for 2022.

6. Acting like a capped out NFL team this offseason. If they had only $17 million to spend, the answer wasn’t to spend $27 million but defer 1/3 of the cost to later years.

They continually barreled ahead on the same path and then were stunned when it turned out the highway ended. They could have diverted over and over again, but every time they made the choice to sacrifice future years for right then and to keep doing things their way. Now the bill is due.

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2 minutes ago, chw42 said:

I would have liked to give Mondesi a shot. He's decent when he's healthy. He's just never healthy. 

Ya.  Certainly possible that KC preferred to move him outside the division, but they did just trade Taylor to the Twins yesterday.

No one knows Modesi better than Grifol, so that's wroth considering as well.  

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7 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

Ya.  Certainly possible that KC preferred to move him outside the division, but they did just trade Taylor to the Twins yesterday.

No one knows Modesi better than Grifol, so that's wroth considering as well.  

It also remains plausible to likely that the $3 million for Mondesi or $4.5 million for Taylor we just saw are more money than the White Sox can currently afford.

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29 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

It also remains plausible to likely that the $3 million for Mondesi or $4.5 million for Taylor we just saw are more money than the White Sox can currently afford.

Sure, its possible.  I don't buy it that they "cannot afford" it, but moreso that the Jerry hasn't approved it.  

I think its more likely that the Sox were not interested in those 2 players.  

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41 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

It also remains plausible to likely that the $3 million for Mondesi or $4.5 million for Taylor we just saw are more money than the White Sox can currently afford.

We really need to stop framing it as “can” or “can not” afford.  It’s a choice.  They choose to hard cap themselves.  The choose not to find ways to make additions.  It is a choice, and a poor one, not to find a way to add depth pieces; one that seems to bite them in the ass every year yet here we are again. 

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