MLB Trade Rumors - Chicago White Sox Offseason Outlook - by Tim Dierkes

[South Side Hit Men]

Cease’s projected $8.5M arbitration award might very well be beyond Baltimore’s willingness to pay. 

They have only received $1.3B from Maryland taxpayers for Camden Yards and of course “need” even more. Each year, the team receives a meager $110M in MLB revenue sharing, $90M from national TV + mlb.com payments, $40M from Orioles and Nationals TV before their $80M and growing game day receipts. Their payroll is already at $61.7M, a gigantic record amount in this turbulent decade.

Why pay $8,500,000 a year when you can hire thousands of men willing to wear Orioles laundry 162 times a year plus free Spring Training labor for $740,000?

 

Edited November 30, 2023 by South Side Hit Men

[caulfield12]

3 hours ago, South Side Hit Men said:

Cease’s projected $8.5M arbitration award might very well be beyond Baltimore’s willingness to pay. 

They have only received $1.3B from Maryland taxpayers for Camden Yards and of course “need” even more. Each year, the team receives a meager $110M in MLB revenue sharing, $90M from national TV + mlb.com payments, $40M from Orioles and Nationals TV before their $80M and growing game day receipts. Their payroll is already at $61.7M, a gigantic record amount in this turbulent decade.

Why pay $8,500,000 a year when you can hire thousands of men willing to wear Orioles laundry 162 times a year plus free Spring Training labor for $740,000?

 

Practically every single team that lost their RSN carriage deals and corresponding revenues last season should be seriously considering Cease in the face of that daunting  $500-600 million for Ohtani alone.

[WestEddy]

10 hours ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

There are already people wondering if he's traded in a week or two if they will get the kind of return that could be higher he they waited longer and the pitching market thinned out more especially from a team like Baltimore who doesn't want to spend money .

Define "higher return". 

[caulfield12]

Angel Pagan from Twins to Reds' bullpen...Cincy shoring up middle relief

[caulfield12]

Now ALL the interest in baseball shifts to Yamamoto and Bellinger....along with Korean OF Jung-ho Lee and Shota Imanaga, both in the vicinity of $75 million.

Also looks like brisk market for Blake Snell is coming back down to earth (peripherals) as Yamamoto ascends.

Edited December 10, 2023 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

Cubs seem to be circling back to Bellinger.

Other names out there include Chapman, Glasnow and Rhys Hoskins.

 

Hard to see how they're even going to be as good as the 2023 team...unless it's attributing miracle-working skills to Craig Counsell.

[Bob Sacamano]

5 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Cubs seem to be circling back to Bellinger.

Other names out there include Chapman, Glasnow and Rhys Hoskins.

 

Hard to see how they're even going to be as good as the 2023 team...unless it's attributing miracle-working skills to Craig Counsell.

Great post. Highly relates to the White Sox offseason outlook.

[caulfield12]

4 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Great post. Highly relates to the White Sox offseason outlook.

WHERE IS THE CUBS' OFF-SEASON FREE AGENT THREAD, OR A THREAD FOR FREE-AGENT RELATED INFORMATION THAT'S NOT HERE...??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 

Well, obviously it's in the DIAMOND CLUB, WHICH IS CLOSED.

Since the White Sox won't do a single thing in FA, what's the point of this thread?

The only one that really matters is the Cease thread.

Period.

And Ohtani, because that's 10X more interesting than anything that the actual White Sox are doing or contemplating.

[caulfield12]

NOBODY FUCKING CARES ABOUT THE WHITE SOX OUTLOOK BECAUSE IT FUCKING SUCKS.

They're not even going to sign anyone from here on out for more than $7.5 million...it's freakin' pointless.

[South Side Hit Men]

28 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

WHERE IS THE CUBS' OFF-SEASON FREE AGENT THREAD, OR A THREAD FOR FREE-AGENT RELATED INFORMATION THAT'S NOT HERE...??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 

Well, obviously it's in the DIAMOND CLUB, WHICH IS CLOSED.

Since the White Sox won't do a single thing in FA, what's the point of this thread?

The only one that really matters is the Cease thread.

Period.

And Ohtani, because that's 10X more interesting than anything that the actual White Sox are doing or contemplating.

 

27 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

NOBODY FUCKING CARES ABOUT THE WHITE SOX OUTLOOK BECAUSE IT FUCKING SUCKS.

They're not even going to sign anyone from here on out for more than $7.5 million...it's freakin' pointless.

I think the responses are due to inserting Bellinger talk into a random White Sox thread.

If you created a non Diamond Lounge Cubs thread or Bellinger thread (perhaps one or both exist), nobody will have a problem with it.

[greg775]

On 11/2/2023 at 11:26 AM, Chisoxfn said:

This is spot on.  We can argue the return for Burger, but the logic to move him and get depth in other places was there.  I always said you had to get value if you moved him, but that was based upon where if Burger made some strides in certain areas - he would have been a pretty valuable cost controlled player. 

The inverse was - he didn't make those changes and regressed slightly and/or had another injury, in which case you had a chance to get asset(s) for him and ended up with nothing.   

One guy we draft works out and we trade him. Arghhhh. So sad. Any way we could get him back in a deal for Moncada? They might go for Moncada over Burger unless Moncada is too much $$.

[caulfield12]

1 hour ago, greg775 said:

One guy we draft works out and we trade him. Arghhhh. So sad. Any way we could get him back in a deal for Moncada? They might go for Moncada over Burger unless Moncada is too much $$.

Only $29 million for just 2024 (including buyout) or $49 million for 2024/25.

No go for the Marlins.

[WestEddy]

1 hour ago, caulfield12 said:

Only $29 million for just 2024 (including buyout) or $49 million for 2024/25.

Maybe he can go to Tampa Bay for Glasnow in a payroll swap.

[South Side Hit Men]

2 hours ago, greg775 said:

One guy we draft works out and we trade him. Arghhhh. So sad. Any way we could get him back in a deal for Moncada? They might go for Moncada over Burger unless Moncada is too much $$.

Worked out how?

Like Grandal, Lynn and others, he had a few good months for the White Sox over multiple seasons, though thankfully without the expensive price tag.

Rick Hahn (2013-2023) draft picks (White Sox bWAR  > 1) MLB Year 1-6 Seasons:

• First Round
  • 16.9 Tim Anderson (2016-2021)
  • 6.1 Carlos Rodon (2015-2020)
  • 1.8 Garrett Crochet (2020-2023)
  • 1.7 Nick Madrigal (2020-2021)
  • 1.7 Jake Burger (2021-2023)
• Eighteenth Round
  • 1.2 Tanner Banks (2022-2023)
• Ninteenth Round
  • 4.4 Aaron Bummer (2017-2022)
  • 1.2 Adam Engel (2017-2022)

[Chicago White Sox]

Random thought, but I think the Sox should sign Kyle Lewis to small major league contract.  We have zero OF depth and while I hope we can acquire a potential RF via a Cease trade, it would be great have a cheap placeholder like Lewis who can also be part of the DH mix if Eloy were traded and worst case is a bench piece.  The Dbacks non-tendered him vs. paying him like $1.7M, so we are talking dirt cheap and he’d come with three years of potential control if he performed well.  I see zero downside from such a move.

[Highland]

The White Sox are tanking it again, pure and simple. As far as having a winning season, no one knows when that will happen.

[Squirmin' for Yermin]

5 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Random thought, but I think the Sox should sign Kyle Lewis to small major league contract.  We have zero OF depth and while I hope we can acquire a potential RF via a Cease trade, it would be great have a cheap placeholder like Lewis who can also be part of the DH mix if Eloy were traded and worst case is a bench piece.  The Dbacks non-tendered him vs. paying him like $1.7M, so we are talking dirt cheap and he’d come with three years of potential control if he performed well.  I see zero downside from such a move.

Agreed

[ChiSox59]

5 hours ago, Highland said:

The White Sox are tanking it again, pure and simple. As far as having a winning season, no one knows when that will happen.

I don't really think they are "tanking".  They cannot do better than 10th overall pick.  That has to weigh into this...somehow. 

[Balta1701]

22 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

I don't really think they are "tanking".  They cannot do better than 10th overall pick.  That has to weigh into this...somehow. 

I expect we will see a pivot to "we are definitely trying to win a weak AL Central" pretty quick. Whether that is 2025 or not I don't know and I doubt anyone else does, that would depend on development this year.

They could quite literally push their committed payroll down below $50 million in 2025 if they cleared out a bunch of the options and arb-eligible guys. Lower if Benintendi has a tolerable year and becomes movable at the deadline. If they got some progress out of their system this year, buying a couple mid-level free agents next offseason to shoot for above .500 isn't out of the question, or at least them convincing themselves they could do it isn't out of the question.

[Eminor3rd]

White Sox should relieve San Diego of Jake Cronenworth, if they really do need to move his money like MLBTR suggests. If they took like half the money, he immediately slots to the top of the 2b depth chart at a commitment of just $40M over 7 years. Might even get something back if you took that much money or more.

Or take him back as part of a Cease deal to strengthen the return. Seems like a perfect opportunity for a savvy front office with payroll space and a lost year ahead. 

[Highland]

38 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

I don't really think they are "tanking".  They cannot do better than 10th overall pick.  That has to weigh into this...somehow. 

All I know is I see a lot of losing ahead. Don't know when the winning will start, but it won't be next year.

[ChiSox59]

3 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

I expect we will see a pivot to "we are definitely trying to win a weak AL Central" pretty quick. Whether that is 2025 or not I don't know and I doubt anyone else does, that would depend on development this year.

They could quite literally push their committed payroll down below $50 million in 2025 if they cleared out a bunch of the options and arb-eligible guys. Lower if Benintendi has a tolerable year and becomes movable at the deadline. If they got some progress out of their system this year, buying a couple mid-level free agents next offseason to shoot for above .500 isn't out of the question, or at least them convincing themselves they could do it isn't out of the question.

Yah, I mean I am not going to sit here and say this team will be good next season.  It won't be.  I am expecting 90+ losses.  So let me make that clear before I proceed...

It is hard to know what exactly the Sox plan to do the next couple months at this point; certainly seems they're siding more on the skeleton squad side of things.  But man, this division is putrid and not being able to pick in the top 10 eliminates any real benefit to just tearing it down and not even attempting to field a competitive 2024 roster. Sox have plentyyyyy of $ to spend; would be nice to see them at least attempt to patch together a roster that has a chance at the ole' lightning in the bottle without long term $ commitments.  Not an easy task by any means.  At the end of the day it will come down to the same cast of characters - Moncada, Eloy, AV and Benintendi - being the above average regulars they're capable of being.  That coupled with some savvy moves and another MVP caliber season from Robert, its not impossible to see this team within a few games of .500 mid season in this awful division.  Doubt anyone in the the ALC is going to run away and hide. Then again, not hard to see this team 20 games under come 7/1, either. Especially without Cease.  

[Squirmin' for Yermin]

9 minutes ago, Eminor3rd said:

White Sox should relieve San Diego of Jake Cronenworth, if they really do need to move his money like MLBTR suggests. If they took like half the money, he immediately slots to the top of the 2b depth chart at a commitment of just $40M over 7 years. Might even get something back if you took that much money or more.

Or take him back as part of a Cease deal to strengthen the return. Seems like a perfect opportunity for a savvy front office with payroll space and a lost year ahead. 

This would be way too smart for Reinsdorf and company.  

[South Side Hit Men]

10 minutes ago, Eminor3rd said:

White Sox should relieve San Diego of Jake Cronenworth, if they really do need to move his money like MLBTR suggests. If they took like half the money, he immediately slots to the top of the 2b depth chart at a commitment of just $40M over 7 years. Might even get something back if you took that much money or more.

Or take him back as part of a Cease deal to strengthen the return. Seems like a perfect opportunity for a savvy front office with payroll space and a lost year ahead. 

He’ll be 30 and shifted primarily to 1B last season. Sounds like that would be a future albatross unless the Padres eat most / all but the MLB minimum of the $80M remaining.

[Quin]

6 minutes ago, South Side Hit Men said:

He’ll be 30 and shifted primarily to 1B last season. Sounds like that would be a future albatross unless the Padres eat most / all but the MLB minimum of the $80M remaining.

He shifted because of Oops! All Shortstops