caulfield12 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) The Rays and infielder Ha-Seong Kim have agreed to a two-year, $29MM contract, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal includes an opt-out after the first season for the Boras Corporation client. Kim will make $13MM this year and could unlock another $2MM via incentives, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. If he doesn’t opt out, he’ll make $16MM in 2026. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/rays-to-sign-ha-seong-kim.html White Sox now only ahead of the Marlins' payroll number in the high $60 million range... Edited January 29 by caulfield12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lip Man 1 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 8:40 PM, caulfield12 said: The Rays and infielder Ha-Seong Kim have agreed to a two-year, $29MM contract, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal includes an opt-out after the first season for the Boras Corporation client. Kim will make $13MM this year and could unlock another $2MM via incentives, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. If he doesn’t opt out, he’ll make $16MM in 2026. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/rays-to-sign-ha-seong-kim.html White Sox now only ahead of the Marlins' payroll number in the high $60 million range... Expand JR has no intention, zero of spending significant money to improve the team. I tend to agree with those who feel he is cutting it to the bone so his family can sell it quickly still making a tremendous amount of money. I'll repeat what I was told by a long time member of the front office, "All JR wants to do now is leave as much money as possible to his family and grand kids..." Sucks to be a Sox fan doesn't it??????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliSoxFanViaSWside Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 So what's going on with you ? Do you want them to throw more money at players who have a better chance of fetching better prospects at the deadline ? Do you think a $10M signing for a year makes that player more likely to play better and get better prospects at the TDL ? I thought people here just want them to suck worse than last year and play the kids and spend nothing. How many $10M players do you think will be the right amount ? Some will fail just like $3M players. I mean we can't just go around blocking all our prospects and wasting money can we ? Mostly I hear how everything is terrible but no one here can say what's the right way. Sucks waiting on a new owner . So far it's really helping the Orioles isn't it ? 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Sacamano Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) On 1/29/2025 at 9:41 PM, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said: So what's going on with you ? Do you want them to throw more money at players who have a better chance of fetching better prospects at the deadline ? Do you think a $10M signing for a year makes that player more likely to play better and get better prospects at the TDL ? I thought people here just want them to suck worse than last year and play the kids and spend nothing. How many $10M players do you think will be the right amount ? Some will fail just like $3M players. I mean we can't just go around blocking all our prospects and wasting money can we ? Mostly I hear how everything is terrible but no one here can say what's the right way. Sucks waiting on a new owner . So far it's really helping the Orioles isn't it ? Expand I liked this strategy for last year after it was a lock they would have the 10 pick. Now that the first pick is on the table, might as well suck. Don't mind going back to the other strategy when the highest they can't draft as high the following year though. Edited January 29 by Bob Sacamano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrockway Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 That’s a steal of a deal. I can’t believe he didn’t get paid more. He should be a White Sox for that price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 9:45 PM, nrockway said: That’s a steal of a deal. I can’t believe he didn’t get paid more. He should be a White Sox for that price. Expand The shoulder and falling from his 2023 fWAR peak and nearing 30. Might still miss first 2-3 months of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 https://www.tampabay.com/sports/rays/2025/01/29/rays-agree-2-year-deal-with-former-gold-glove-winner/ Kim is projected to be available sometime in May now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrockway Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 9:47 PM, caulfield12 said: The shoulder and falling from his 2023 fWAR peak and nearing 30. Might still miss first 2-3 months of the season. Expand I think even if he's a 2.5 WAR, .700 OPS, good defense up the middle kinda player, I would've thought he's getting a better deal than Benintendi got. Kim could be our shortstop for the next 5 years and I'd be pretty happy about it. Maybe teams saw what you say about the injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 (edited) On 1/29/2025 at 10:12 PM, nrockway said: I think even if he's a 2.5 WAR, .700 OPS, good defense up the middle kinda player, I would've thought he's getting a better deal than Benintendi got. Kim could be our shortstop for the next 5 years and I'd be pretty happy about it. Maybe teams saw what you say about the injury. Expand The Adames massive contract is the one that would scare me to death 2-3 years from now. It's going to look just like Bogaerts in that much bigger stadium/outfield that suppresses offense. The upside is the 4.5-6.0 fWAR guy from 2023 worth a pretty penny in a trade flip for prospects to a contender if the Rays get buried early. A lot depends on Caminero breaking out this season for them. Edited January 29 by caulfield12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliSoxFanViaSWside Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 9:44 PM, Bob Sacamano said: I liked this strategy for last year after it was a lock they would have the 10 pick. Now that the first pick is on the table, might as well suck. Don't mind going back to the other strategy when the highest they can't draft as high the following year though. Expand Problem is there's not really a strategy that is going to work much better than another one when spending so little in any year. Like I said how many $10M guys do you get and how do you identify which ones won't fail just as spectacularly as your $5M or less guys ? It's obvious what the plan is now. It's build the infrastructure and use Bannister to see if you can get enough cheap pitching labor to teach a new trick and make them worth better prospects because they got nothing else to sell. They want to use as little of the service time on the young pitching as possible until they can sell some of the arms they picked up. It sucks for guys like Addison Coffey and Garrett Schonele who are already 26 , had great seasons, but still are short on AAA time. Palette got an NRI, McGough too but those 2 didn't. It's like complaining that the 40 yr old pitcher they didn't keep last ended up better than guys they kept. It's impossible to identify which RP is actually going to do good. They're eenie meanie , miney, moeing it hoping Bannister can strike gold on occasion. It's a bad plan but so is any other plan when spending on players is severely limited. Expecting any pitching coach to work miracles on fringe arms is a rough train to ride but here we are just hoping Schultz and Smith , the Montgomery Twins and our catching prospects can overcome the odds. . Try to make the system deep enough to develop a few surprises with the new infrastructure in place. Just when you start to see some progress, JR dies and everyone is fired . I'm just sitting back and trying not to give a s%*# too much. I'll still hope it works out though. They're my team. I want it to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliSoxFanViaSWside Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 9:45 PM, nrockway said: That’s a steal of a deal. I can’t believe he didn’t get paid more. He should be a White Sox for that price. Expand That's twice as much as they gave Fedde. What if he plays like crap and you cant flip him ? I think the Sox aren't spending $29M right now on any one player when they have boatloads of young guys to go through . They don't care about getting any better this year.Well a little better .They don't want to set any new records for losing . 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 9:47 PM, caulfield12 said: The shoulder and falling from his 2023 fWAR peak and nearing 30. Might still miss first 2-3 months of the season. Expand Which is why it makes zero sense for us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 (edited) On 1/29/2025 at 10:38 PM, Chicago White Sox said: Which is why it makes zero sense for us Expand Not as much as Hays...but we still don't have an everyday SS in sight. He has a 3ish fWAR by late July and he's an?incredibly valuable community on the trade market compared to a deJong. "The deal, which will pay Kim $13 million this season, is the most Tampa Bay has guaranteed in free agency for a position player since signing outfielder Greg Vaughn for four years and $34 million in 1999. Before the partial tear of his right labrum required surgery, Kim was expected to land a free agent deal in the nine-figure range. With his opt-out, he can join a free agent class next year that's thin on infielders, with shortstop Bo Bichette and second baseman Luis Arraez the only players of Kim's caliber." https://global.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/43614016/sources-ha-seong-kim-rays-agree-2-year-29m-deal Edited January 29 by caulfield12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 "The Rays used Jose Caballero and Taylor Walls at shortstop last season and are expected to do the same this year before the return of Kim. Their infield already was a strength, with first baseman Yandy Diaz, second baseman Brandon Lowe and star-in-the-making Junior Caminero at third, with Christopher Morel, Curtis Mead, Jonathan Aranda and Richie Palacios also capable to playing on the dirt." That's eight infielders by my count the White Sox could be looking at for possible improvements...not counting Caminero for obvious reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUSTgottaBELIEVE Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 The longer it drags on, Alonso is going to sign for a lot less than those projections we saw a couple months ago just like Kim signed for a lot less than projected. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteSox2023 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 10:44 PM, JUSTgottaBELIEVE said: The longer it drags on, Alonso is going to sign for a lot less than those projections we saw a couple months ago just like Kim signed for a lot less than projected. Expand We have AV! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeC Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 9:45 PM, nrockway said: That’s a steal of a deal. I can’t believe he didn’t get paid more. He should be a White Sox for that price. Expand Yeah, but it would take a lot more money than that for a guy like him to want to sign with a team like the White Sox. There's probably some variation of "I would never belong to a club that would have someone like me as a member" in there, but I can't think of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 10:44 PM, JUSTgottaBELIEVE said: The longer it drags on, Alonso is going to sign for a lot less than those projections we saw a couple months ago just like Kim signed for a lot less than projected. Expand Jays Mariners Angels Mets...one team will crack. Bregman likely back to Houston...leaving Carlos Estevez and Flaherty. With Cease and King on trade market...Flaherty's situation increasingly complicated SS his performance has bounce around so much but still relatively young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 (edited) On 1/29/2025 at 10:46 PM, JoeC said: Yeah, but it would take a lot more money than that for a guy like him to want to sign with a team like the White Sox. There's probably some variation of "I would never belong to a club that would have someone like me as a member" in there, but I can't think of it. Expand To play half your season at High A Tampa in front of 5000-7500 fans on average....and four to five hours further away from Korea??? Limited marketing ties with Korea compared to West Coast of US? Let's not forget all the hurricanes. He knows a trade to a contender is more likely with the flexibility of that contract...providing built-in protections for both sides. Edited January 29 by caulfield12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUSTgottaBELIEVE Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 10:46 PM, JoeC said: Yeah, but it would take a lot more money than that for a guy like him to want to sign with a team like the White Sox. There's probably some variation of "I would never belong to a club that would have someone like me as a member" in there, but I can't think of it. Expand Yea because the prospect of playing in a minor league stadium this season is super attractive for a free agent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Look at Ray Ray Run Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 9:41 PM, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said: So what's going on with you ? Do you want them to throw more money at players who have a better chance of fetching better prospects at the deadline ? Do you think a $10M signing for a year makes that player more likely to play better and get better prospects at the TDL ? I thought people here just want them to suck worse than last year and play the kids and spend nothing. How many $10M players do you think will be the right amount ? Some will fail just like $3M players. I mean we can't just go around blocking all our prospects and wasting money can we ? Mostly I hear how everything is terrible but no one here can say what's the right way. Sucks waiting on a new owner . So far it's really helping the Orioles isn't it ? Expand Who the heck wants them to suck worse than last year? 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestEddy Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 9:37 PM, Lip Man 1 said: Sucks to be a Sox fan doesn't it??????? Expand Nope. I love following a successful rebuild. See you at the parade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 8:40 PM, caulfield12 said: The Rays and infielder Ha-Seong Kim have agreed to a two-year, $29MM contract, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal includes an opt-out after the first season for the Boras Corporation client. Kim will make $13MM this year and could unlock another $2MM via incentives, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. If he doesn’t opt out, he’ll make $16MM in 2026. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/rays-to-sign-ha-seong-kim.html White Sox now only ahead of the Marlins' payroll number in the high $60 million range... Expand Unless you really think that Colson Montgomery is going to be a failure, a 1/2 year deal doesn't fit what is happening here at all. The only way that changes if Monty isn't your guy and you use Kim as a bridge/trade bait to something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beast Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 9:41 PM, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said: So what's going on with you ? Do you want them to throw more money at players who have a better chance of fetching better prospects at the deadline ? Do you think a $10M signing for a year makes that player more likely to play better and get better prospects at the TDL ? I thought people here just want them to suck worse than last year and play the kids and spend nothing. How many $10M players do you think will be the right amount ? Some will fail just like $3M players. I mean we can't just go around blocking all our prospects and wasting money can we ? Mostly I hear how everything is terrible but no one here can say what's the right way. Sucks waiting on a new owner . So far it's really helping the Orioles isn't it ? Expand I want to better understand what the goal is. Is the goal to move the team? Is it to turn over the roster to new prospects and the new way of doing things? It would kind of suck if they are not spending just to move even though I guess I’d understand why. I hope they have exhausted all options within their price range to improve the roster so as to flip players at the deadline. Of course Feddes don’t grow on trees and the old way of rebuilding isn’t possible anymore. And they have already traded away 2 of 3 blue chip players on the roster (if Robert still is considered one) so they are almost out of shots in the arm and need to develop. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2025 at 10:59 PM, southsider2k5 said: Unless you really think that Colson Montgomery is going to be a failure, a 1/2 year deal doesn't fit what is happening here at all. The only way that changes if Monty isn't your guy and you use Kim as a bridge/trade bait to something else. Expand That's just it. Stabilizing the entire youngish/inexperienced infield for one season and flipping him for younger talent down the line. Risk/reward, opportunity cost/marginal utility...like holding onto Robert into the start of the season. JR would only see the downside risk of that kind of move. That's why he's stuck in last place. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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