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| Manny Machado |
Turns out we're not, surprise surprise. As expected on this blog, the Sox failed to sign Manny Machado. The superstar infielder agreed to terms Tuesday on a 10-year, $300 million deal with the San Diego Padres, according to reports.
That's right, the Padres. Not the New York Yankees. Not the Los Angeles Dodgers. Not the Boston Red Sox. Not the Philadelphia Phillies. Not the Cubs.
The Padres, who haven't had a winning season since 2010 and are one of the few clubs with a longer postseason drought than the Sox. (San Diego last made the playoffs in 2006.)
According to reports, the Sox weren't willing to go above eight years and $250 million in guaranteed money. In fact, senior vice president Ken Williams said the Sox weren't willing to go to the $300 million mark to sign this player.
"That level wasn't feasible to us because we still have to project putting together a total winning roster and keeping the young players that will ultimately earn into greater dollars themselves," Williams said, according to a tweet from MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
Here's the big problem with that: This free agency sweepstakes was ALWAYS going to end with Machado getting $300 million in guaranteed money. If the Sox weren't willing to go to that point, why did they waste the past three months in this fruitless pursuit?
The Sox have spent the past two seasons losing games and dumping payroll, all to achieve precious "flexibility" to pursue marquee free agents this offseason. Thus far, they have done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING with that payroll flexibility, and there's no indication they will.
Once again, this regime came this far, only to pull up two years and $50 million short.
Only the White Sox would spend 90-plus days chasing a free agent that they never were willing to go the extra mile for to sign. Only the White Sox would tell fans at SoxFest that they would be "disappointed" if they didn't "convert" on Machado and then get outbid by another also-ran team.
And, oh yeah, the Sox brought in two players who don't fit their roster in an attempt to lure Machado to the team. Fans, you don't get Machado himself, but you do get Machado's brother-in-law (Yonder Alonso) and his BFF (Jon Jay). I'm sure the at-bats from those two unneeded veterans will sell tickets this summer, won't they?
I dare the Sox to shut me up by using the Machado money to sign Bryce Harper. That's the only thing that could lessen my anger at this point.
Until then it's the same ol' Sox: cheap, timid and stupid.
I think the larger question for the white sox is why haven't they signed the Manny Machado's or Bryce Harper's BEFORE they became stars?
ReplyDeleteKeep him. His obp isn't great for the money he's getting. And has done little when it's mattered
ReplyDeleteIt's likely that Machado will accomplish more in his career than any of the prized prospects in Sox's system. He's an impact player both offensively and defensively. He's a potential Hall of Famer. I don't see how you can dismiss him that easily. Machado had a .367 OBP in 2018. Jose Abreu led the Sox in that category with a .325 OBP.
ReplyDeleteAlmost forgot, on the topic of the Sox signing guys BEFORE they become stars ... The Sox had some dude named Chris Sale on a long-term, team-friendly contract. They chose to trade him.
ReplyDeleteStupid, probably but time will tell. The organization has been fairly stupid in the past and that is going to be very hard to change when the front office remains pretty much the same.
ReplyDeleteTimid I'll somewhat agree with, but their stupid aggression in the past usually bit them in the ass (Dunn, LaRoche, Keppinger, Shields, etc.). At least the timidity shows they're learning.
Cheap, no way. They didn't offer him 250+ million in the hopes he wouldn't take it. I'm disappointed, but if it were my money and the sums got this high I'd insist on the player giving me some sort of meet-me-half-way-and-I'll-make-it-worth-your-while guarantee that he stays healthy and keeps his nose clean (aka vesting options with raises). It says something about his character that he's not willing to do that.
The Sox aren't willing to pay market price for great players. Yeah, $300 is a lot of money for you and I, but not for Jerry Reinsdorf. It's more profitable to build a loser, and he's seemingly content with that. This man turns 83 on Monday, and he's worried about the payroll 10 years from now. That's cheap.
ReplyDelete