WEBVTT - 5 White Sox Not Coming Back 0:00:00.310 --> 0:00:03.550 Howard, my dad was T-boned by a utility vehicle and 0:00:03.690 --> 0:00:06.900 is in surgery now. What should I do? 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:08.580 I'm sorry to hear about that. 0:00:08.940 --> 0:00:11.040 It's really great that you're getting him the medical care 0:00:11.060 --> 0:00:13.420 and treatment that he needs right now. These are three 0:00:13.480 --> 0:00:15.940 important things that I think you need to know. Injuries 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:19.630 are unexpected and turn lives upside down. I'm Howard Ankin, 0:00:19.790 --> 0:00:20.489 and I'm here to help. 0:00:20.970 --> 0:00:22.409 If you or a loved one have been hurt at 0:00:22.450 --> 0:00:24.630 work or in a car, truck, or ride share accident, 0:00:24.890 --> 0:00:29.390 call 312-6-MILLION. Injury law made personal. That's Ankin Law. 0:00:43.490 --> 0:00:48.970 From your favorite source for Chicago White Sox talk, delivering news, interviews, analysis, 0:00:49.130 --> 0:00:49.610 and more. 0:00:49.950 --> 0:00:53.400 This is the Sox Machine Podcast with your hosts, Jim 0:00:53.420 --> 0:00:55.000 Margulis and Josh Nelson. 0:00:55.140 --> 0:00:57.140 Hello, folks. Welcome to a new episode of the Sox 0:00:57.160 --> 0:01:00.430 Machine Podcast, part of the Foul Territory Network. I'm your host, 0:01:00.570 --> 0:01:04.080 Josh Nelson. And we are bringing a new episode to 0:01:04.140 --> 0:01:08.780 you during this offseason, continuing our offseason plan projects. We 0:01:08.830 --> 0:01:12.690 know that many of you have already submitted plans on SoxMachine.com. 0:01:12.709 --> 0:01:15.730 Continue to do so. In this episode, I'm going to 0:01:15.770 --> 0:01:18.649 be sharing a little sneak peek of my upcoming offseason 0:01:18.670 --> 0:01:22.940 plan project. for the Chicago White Sox this offseason, starting 0:01:22.980 --> 0:01:25.820 with the five players that I am not going to 0:01:25.860 --> 0:01:28.740 be having the White Sox return. Now, that is with 0:01:28.780 --> 0:01:31.530 an asterisk because it is more than just five players, 0:01:31.580 --> 0:01:34.890 but I'm grouping some players that are in the same boat, 0:01:35.810 --> 0:01:42.339 same position, same inefficiency when it comes to their performance, 0:01:42.780 --> 0:01:45.179 and we're going to be taking a look at how 0:01:45.380 --> 0:01:48.180 easy or difficult it's going to be for the White 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:52.690 Sox replacing that production with what they have internally. And 0:01:52.730 --> 0:01:55.150 if it is going to be difficult... how they're going 0:01:55.170 --> 0:01:57.050 to have to find it in free agency or via 0:01:57.110 --> 0:02:00.420 trade this offseason to replace that production. But we all 0:02:00.500 --> 0:02:04.780 know the Chicago White Sox love themselves a reunion. You 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:08.240 can never say never with some of these players. So 0:02:08.260 --> 0:02:12.560 we'll also debate whether or not, how likely... a reunion 0:02:12.820 --> 0:02:15.570 is between the white socks and these players. And joining 0:02:15.590 --> 0:02:18.830 me is socks machines, mansion editor, Jim Margulis. 0:02:18.910 --> 0:02:19.930 And hello, Jim. 0:02:20.530 --> 0:02:23.390 Uh, so far, let's get a quick, uh, heat check 0:02:23.450 --> 0:02:25.750 on the off season plan project. Uh, how are the 0:02:25.770 --> 0:02:26.550 plans coming in? 0:02:28.530 --> 0:02:32.150 A lot of variety, a lot of, uh, people stuck 0:02:32.210 --> 0:02:37.470 between adhering to the $ 130 million soft cap that I 0:02:37.530 --> 0:02:41.570 issued and people getting angered by it and blasting by it. Uh, 0:02:42.380 --> 0:02:45.160 Copying and pasting the previous plan into the next plan 0:02:45.180 --> 0:02:50.260 to create a template. A lot of disagreement over the 0:02:50.540 --> 0:02:55.000 middle of the arbitration eligible players. I'm really interested to 0:02:55.020 --> 0:02:57.340 see what the percentages are like because aside from Miguel 0:02:57.380 --> 0:03:00.700 Vargas and to a lesser extent, Brenton Doyle, not a 0:03:00.760 --> 0:03:05.610 whole lot of agreement on the top four players on 0:03:05.630 --> 0:03:10.430 that ARB eligible list. So that's something that's kind of unusual. 0:03:10.530 --> 0:03:13.650 Usually it's a little bit more You know, 90 percent, 0:03:13.650 --> 0:03:18.760 40 percent, 10 percent in terms of the calls. So 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:21.800 that'll be interesting. A lot of disagreement over the impending 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:26.020 free agents about whether to retain all the players that 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:30.080 had better than expected seasons with the White Sox and some. 0:03:31.100 --> 0:03:35.530 Internal arguments or arguments inside the heads of the GMs 0:03:35.730 --> 0:03:40.130 wondering like are we doubling down on a bet that 0:03:40.150 --> 0:03:41.790 worked out the first time but might not work out 0:03:41.810 --> 0:03:44.570 well the second time? Or is it a case of 0:03:44.610 --> 0:03:48.500 just like a guy like Eric Fetty? He seems to 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:51.380 like pitching in Chicago. The White Sox have ideas for him. 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:54.880 He fares fairly well. Why not keep that arrangement going? 0:03:54.980 --> 0:03:58.100 So I thought it was going to be a varied– 0:03:58.570 --> 0:04:00.850 off-season plan project just because of all the ways you 0:04:00.870 --> 0:04:03.690 can go with it and the ways you can read 0:04:03.690 --> 0:04:07.050 84 and 78 and look at it both ways in 0:04:07.070 --> 0:04:08.970 terms of a team on the rise or a team 0:04:08.990 --> 0:04:11.890 that's hit its head on its own ceiling based on 0:04:11.910 --> 0:04:14.470 what they currently have and and a lot of revision 0:04:14.530 --> 0:04:16.850 is needed and it should be pretty fun when it 0:04:16.890 --> 0:04:19.570 comes to tabulating the end results by the end of 0:04:19.589 --> 0:04:22.070 you know like i don't know a few scores of 0:04:22.270 --> 0:04:26.450 uh plans here uh just seeing exactly what the consensus. 0:04:26.050 --> 0:04:29.330 Is Yeah, so again, with this podcast, I'm going to 0:04:29.390 --> 0:04:33.589 be sharing in bits and pieces my off-season plan project, 0:04:33.650 --> 0:04:36.510 focusing on the players that I'm not having return. So 0:04:36.550 --> 0:04:39.630 for those that have already submitted plans, you and I 0:04:39.650 --> 0:04:42.350 get to compare and contrast of what you have submitted 0:04:42.750 --> 0:04:46.120 when it comes to the tender or non-tender the arbitration 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:50.690 eligible players and the impending free agents. So these are 0:04:50.750 --> 0:04:53.570 the five. Now, it's a little bit more than just 0:04:53.610 --> 0:04:56.750 five players. It's a total of seven players that I 0:04:56.810 --> 0:04:59.000 know are not returning, but I grouped some of them 0:04:59.500 --> 0:05:03.480 in the same position group or the same inefficiency gym. 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:05.600 But we're going to start with number one, and I 0:05:05.660 --> 0:05:09.000 hope he does not find me because I do not 0:05:09.060 --> 0:05:13.880 want to ever fight this van, but Tommy Pham. And 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:17.200 The reason why Tommy Pham's not returning, Jim, is that 0:05:17.220 --> 0:05:19.520 he was a short gap fix. When the White Sox 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:22.479 brought him on, I wasn't necessarily sure if that move 0:05:22.500 --> 0:05:26.039 was necessary. He had a big home run against Parker Messick, 0:05:26.100 --> 0:05:28.980 which ultimately didn't mean anything because the White Sox still 0:05:29.020 --> 0:05:34.409 lost that game. And he had that almost an extra 0:05:34.430 --> 0:05:38.830 base hit. Fantastic defensive play by Angel Martinez at the 0:05:38.890 --> 0:05:42.589 wall to rob Tommy Pham. But when you look at 0:05:42.650 --> 0:05:46.070 his numbers, just the one home run, with a 176 0:05:46.070 --> 0:05:50.050 batting average. For me, this is one of the easiest 0:05:50.089 --> 0:05:54.760 decisions of the off-season plan project. But, you know, looking 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:57.220 at its production, I also think it's pretty easy to 0:05:57.260 --> 0:06:02.640 replace internally. on what Tommy Pham provided to the White Sox. However, Jim, 0:06:02.660 --> 0:06:06.240 as I mentioned in the intro, this team, this franchise 0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:10.670 loves reunions. They've already brought Tommy Pham back. This was 0:06:10.730 --> 0:06:13.770 his second stint with the White Sox. Could we see 0:06:13.870 --> 0:06:16.029 a third stint with the White Sox? 0:06:17.370 --> 0:06:19.550 And this one was off the boards, too, in terms 0:06:19.710 --> 0:06:22.950 of a reunion. Hadn't been in the majors basically all season, 0:06:22.990 --> 0:06:27.220 aside from early April, I think, with the Mets. And 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:31.220 just been hanging out in the Phillies AAA roster all year. 0:06:31.380 --> 0:06:34.980 And then come at the end of August, White Sox 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:37.480 feel they need to have a right-handed bat on the roster. 0:06:37.540 --> 0:06:39.880 And they come knocking for Tommy Pham and add him 0:06:39.900 --> 0:06:42.020 to the roster. So he's eligible for the postseason roster. 0:06:42.700 --> 0:06:44.900 And he's getting postseason at bat. So a lot of 0:06:44.980 --> 0:06:50.200 things already clicked into place to make a reunion possible. 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:54.440 To say, well, the odds aren't as low as they 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:59.530 probably seem. But it does seem like, yeah, I would 0:06:59.589 --> 0:07:03.240 say internally they don't have replacements for him yet. But 0:07:04.420 --> 0:07:06.680 that's the kind of roster spot, the kind of area 0:07:06.700 --> 0:07:11.400 on the depth chart that you rotate quadruple A players, 0:07:12.580 --> 0:07:16.750 post-type prospects, free agents. Is anybody with a hint of potential? 0:07:16.810 --> 0:07:19.590 I'm looking at Dustin Harris. He had some moments with 0:07:19.610 --> 0:07:22.270 the White Sox early on before he was on the 0:07:22.330 --> 0:07:23.750 wrong end of the roster crunch. And then he went 0:07:23.800 --> 0:07:27.760 to Houston and it was unremarkable there. But then San Diego, 0:07:27.860 --> 0:07:29.580 I didn't realize how good he was in San Diego. 0:07:29.620 --> 0:07:30.920 I know he's getting at bats, but I looked at 0:07:30.940 --> 0:07:36.400 his numbers. 322 batting average, 364 OBP, 422 slugging. Like 0:07:36.420 --> 0:07:39.430 just the bat to ball is working. Probably some Babbitt 0:07:39.490 --> 0:07:42.190 luck because the strikeouts were always pretty reasonable at every level. 0:07:42.250 --> 0:07:44.470 Just a matter of like whether he hits the ball 0:07:44.490 --> 0:07:47.630 hard enough to succeed. But, you know, he's somebody you 0:07:47.650 --> 0:07:49.860 can look at and say, well, you know, he's one 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:53.200 of those, you know, he's lefty, but just in terms 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:57.460 of the kind of Previously interesting prospects who's bounced around 0:07:57.500 --> 0:07:59.950 and has kind of stalled out at AAA or Cups 0:08:00.010 --> 0:08:02.870 of Coffee, Tristan Peters is another one. Those are the 0:08:02.910 --> 0:08:06.190 kind of players you give those plate appearances to early on. 0:08:06.210 --> 0:08:08.270 You give those roster spots to and you hope one clicked. 0:08:08.850 --> 0:08:11.810 And if not, like Tommy Pham probably will be around, 0:08:11.830 --> 0:08:14.440 you know, if he's still producing. If they do need 0:08:14.450 --> 0:08:16.780 to reunite with him at some point or definitely need 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:20.180 that bat. So that's why I would say probably pretty 0:08:20.260 --> 0:08:22.119 low to hit those odds twice. 0:08:22.930 --> 0:08:26.130 All right, so not expecting a third reunion with Tommy 0:08:26.170 --> 0:08:30.190 Pham for the White Sox. Let's move over to number 0:08:30.270 --> 0:08:33.150 two in the five, not returning, and this is the 0:08:33.190 --> 0:08:37.930 first grouping, the backup catchers, Jake Rogers and Joey Bart. Now, 0:08:37.990 --> 0:08:40.110 we barely got to see Joey Bart. He only appeared 0:08:40.130 --> 0:08:42.790 in three games and then broke a knuckle after getting 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:44.580 hit by a pitch as he was one of the 0:08:44.620 --> 0:08:49.679 midseason trade acquisitions. With MLB trade rumors and the arbitration 0:08:49.700 --> 0:08:52.729 value of $ 2. 9 million, I would not spend that on 0:08:52.770 --> 0:08:55.550 a backup catcher if I were the Chicago White Sox. 0:08:56.110 --> 0:08:59.360 And Jake Rogers, Jim, he had good defensive numbers for 0:08:59.380 --> 0:09:02.360 the White Sox in his short stint. He was worth 0:09:02.700 --> 0:09:07.120 plus three fielding runs above average. But the bat is 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:09.660 just not there. Yeah, he had that walk-off home run. 0:09:10.380 --> 0:09:15.300 But Jake Rogers just batted 103. And defensively, like when 0:09:15.340 --> 0:09:19.440 you look at Drew Romo, most of Drew Romo's positive 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:23.480 fielding runs above average was because of how well he 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:30.090 did with the ABS, with the automatic ball strikes. He 0:09:30.130 --> 0:09:34.030 was worth plus two and better than Kyle Thiel. I 0:09:34.070 --> 0:09:37.960 thought Thiel was getting better. Offensively, Drew Romo doesn't provide 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:40.620 a whole lot either, but I just don't feel like 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:43.860 in a tight offseason budget with a soft cap of 0:09:43.860 --> 0:09:48.540 $ 130 million, Jim, I would be spending millions of dollars 0:09:48.620 --> 0:09:51.730 on either Joey Bart or Jake Rogers to back up 0:09:52.510 --> 0:09:57.250 Kyle Teal. Now, the first question is, comparing Jake Rogers 0:09:57.550 --> 0:10:00.560 and Joey Bart to, let's say, even Drew Romer or 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:05.780 Edgar Caro, is the production from Jake Rogers easily replaceable 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:08.579 by what the White Sox already have to back up 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:09.730 Kyle Teel at catcher? 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:14.089 Yeah, I think so. I think Drew Romo is there. 0:10:14.470 --> 0:10:17.729 Even Edgar Caro, to an extent. Like, Caro is, you know, 0:10:17.850 --> 0:10:20.189 it's amazing how much his stock has collapsed. I'm thinking 0:10:20.250 --> 0:10:22.990 back to last winter when he was the subject of 0:10:23.550 --> 0:10:26.850 a big ESPN piece about his work at Driveline, you know, 0:10:27.010 --> 0:10:29.569 talking about how they spent two days following him. Like, 0:10:29.630 --> 0:10:32.800 perfect candidate for Driveline or that kind of intensive hitting 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:36.620 program because he'd been doing everything well enough aside from 0:10:36.700 --> 0:10:38.560 hitting the ball hard. And so that just seemed like 0:10:38.580 --> 0:10:41.130 the last thing to unlock. before he embarks on a 0:10:41.130 --> 0:10:44.220 10-year career and then it just kind of all collapses 0:10:44.300 --> 0:10:46.540 and just you know now there's a point where it's 0:10:46.620 --> 0:10:48.540 like you know two's a coincidence three's a trend and 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:50.679 i just think of like driveline and white socks and 0:10:50.700 --> 0:10:53.569 i think of carson fulmer and tim anderson and now 0:10:53.830 --> 0:10:55.590 uh edgar carroll in terms of guys some of these 0:10:55.610 --> 0:10:55.949 guys are. 0:10:55.890 --> 0:10:58.209 Getting hired by front offices now jim. 0:10:58.550 --> 0:11:00.150 Yeah i mean like it's not you know it's not 0:11:00.170 --> 0:11:03.470 slagging driveline just a case of like uh it it's 0:11:03.510 --> 0:11:05.609 not a silver bullet. It doesn't work for everybody. And 0:11:06.150 --> 0:11:08.130 perhaps it's more a sign of like, I'm going to 0:11:08.170 --> 0:11:11.510 driveline because something's fundamentally wrong with my game versus I'm 0:11:11.550 --> 0:11:14.110 going to driveline and they're going to add 15 points 0:11:14.130 --> 0:11:16.690 to my WRC plus, you know, it might be kind 0:11:16.710 --> 0:11:18.580 of like a pounds of muscle thing of like when 0:11:18.620 --> 0:11:20.720 a player comes into spring training, talking about pounds of muscle, 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:24.380 it's usually a poor season follows afterwards. And that's just 0:11:24.420 --> 0:11:26.600 because they have to talk about what they're doing better 0:11:26.620 --> 0:11:29.040 in the first place. And I wonder if driveline is 0:11:29.059 --> 0:11:30.839 kind of the same thing of just, you know, those 0:11:30.860 --> 0:11:34.650 stories about, hitting labs and pitching labs, et cetera. You know, 0:11:34.670 --> 0:11:36.199 it's kind of like the new pitch, best shape of 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:39.920 my life type thing. But yeah, Caro is still there. 0:11:40.140 --> 0:11:44.840 Like I think Romo is probably your backup catcher who 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:47.950 prevents you from over-investing in the position. Like I think, 0:11:48.070 --> 0:11:50.510 you know, the White Sox could trade, they could sign. 0:11:51.070 --> 0:11:53.150 Like Joey Bart, I think they could maybe non-tender and 0:11:53.190 --> 0:11:55.450 bring back. I think there are a lot of catchers 0:11:55.650 --> 0:11:59.010 on that tier of just maybe call them second division 0:11:59.050 --> 0:12:02.660 starters or second division backups. I think Romo is kind 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:06.449 of a quintessential third catcher at this point. They seem 0:12:06.470 --> 0:12:08.970 to like having him around. Seems to work well with 0:12:08.990 --> 0:12:11.510 the pitchers. Occasionally comes up with a hit, but doesn't 0:12:11.550 --> 0:12:13.390 strike out all that often to where he doesn't look 0:12:13.690 --> 0:12:16.250 completely overmatched in a game. So if you want to 0:12:16.290 --> 0:12:18.330 start him once or twice a week while somebody's down, 0:12:18.350 --> 0:12:24.069 like Romo's, that's a fine use of a third catcher spot. 0:12:24.090 --> 0:12:25.609 And he's got one option left, so he may as 0:12:25.630 --> 0:12:28.830 well take advantage of that. But I think Caro is 0:12:28.850 --> 0:12:32.939 the more interesting one in terms of Does he hang around? 0:12:33.020 --> 0:12:36.780 Does he produce kind of back to where he was 0:12:36.860 --> 0:12:39.220 two years ago? Does another team look at him and say, like, 0:12:39.260 --> 0:12:42.439 we can fix that? But I think as long as 0:12:42.460 --> 0:12:44.000 those two guys are on the roster, I don't see 0:12:44.020 --> 0:12:47.340 the White Sox adding more catchers to the roster until 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:49.480 they have to. So when it comes to those decisions 0:12:49.780 --> 0:12:52.650 with firm dates like they have with Jake Rogers and 0:12:52.670 --> 0:12:55.870 Joey Bart, it seems like they wouldn't necessarily let that 0:12:55.970 --> 0:12:58.780 force their hand. It really seemed like with Bart– They 0:12:58.820 --> 0:13:00.880 talked about him like a rental, as opposed to like 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:04.180 Brenton Doyle and Huascar Brazoban at the deadline, who they 0:13:04.220 --> 0:13:06.460 talked about, we're signing, we're trading these guys with years 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:08.370 of control. They're not only here for this year, they're 0:13:08.380 --> 0:13:12.490 here for 2026 too, or 2027 too. Versus, you know, 0:13:12.690 --> 0:13:14.670 Bart was like, oh, you know, Teal's coming back. We'll 0:13:14.690 --> 0:13:16.849 see what we have. Yeah, right. 0:13:17.150 --> 0:13:20.730 So likelihood of reunion between the White Sox with Jake 0:13:20.770 --> 0:13:21.830 Rogers or Joey Bart? 0:13:23.770 --> 0:13:27.140 I'd say... more than fam. So medium, I guess, in 0:13:27.179 --> 0:13:30.329 terms of wouldn't shock me if, you know, they, they 0:13:30.370 --> 0:13:32.050 looked at the entire market and we're looking for a 0:13:32.070 --> 0:13:35.309 right-handed compliment to, uh, Kyle Teal and thought like, yeah, 0:13:35.350 --> 0:13:38.010 these guys can do the job for the right price. Uh, 0:13:38.150 --> 0:13:42.190 just doesn't strike me as like, maybe, uh, you know, 0:13:42.230 --> 0:13:45.880 kind of like when the Tigers non-tender James McCann and 0:13:45.890 --> 0:13:47.500 then the White Sox brought him in, like, I think 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:50.219 the tender price isn't quite right for his market value, uh, 0:13:50.830 --> 0:13:54.870 But perhaps they could come back at a slightly reduced 0:13:54.929 --> 0:13:58.410 rate or guarantee in terms of a minor league contract 0:13:58.429 --> 0:14:01.020 versus a major league contract. And then at the end 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:02.860 of the winter, end of the spring, I should say, 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.650 when they look at who is the best player, possible 0:14:05.730 --> 0:14:10.069 bat and glove to back up, hopefully help the Kyle Teal. 0:14:10.530 --> 0:14:12.250 That'll be when they ultimately make the call. 0:14:12.790 --> 0:14:15.800 See, I have it as low, low chance that either 0:14:15.820 --> 0:14:17.960 of these guys return to the White Sox. I still 0:14:17.980 --> 0:14:20.479 feel like they're going to get gigs in the major leagues. Well, 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:23.140 Jake Rogers and Joey Bart, we'll see them on other 0:14:23.300 --> 0:14:27.370 MLB teams, just not the White Sox. And then our 0:14:27.510 --> 0:14:31.790 other group that I've created here, the injured pitch pitchers 0:14:31.850 --> 0:14:36.270 slash inefficient pitchers and the, Jordan Leisure, he's hurt with 0:14:36.290 --> 0:14:38.790 Tommy John. I don't know if we're going to see 0:14:38.830 --> 0:14:42.470 him at all in the 2027 season. So I don't 0:14:42.510 --> 0:14:44.670 think it really makes a whole lot of sense tendering 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:49.240 him a contract. Chris Murphy, is Murphy better than what 0:14:49.260 --> 0:14:52.060 the White Sox currently have from the left-handed side of 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:55.920 the bullpen? I don't necessarily think so. And when it 0:14:55.960 --> 0:14:58.560 comes to production, I mean, Jordan Leisure had an ERA 0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:03.530 over six in 18 innings. And Chris Murphy in 33 0:15:03.530 --> 0:15:06.370 innings with the White Sox had a 4.81 earned run 0:15:06.450 --> 0:15:09.790 average before he spent most of the time in Charlotte. 0:15:10.110 --> 0:15:12.890 So I guess when it comes to Leisure and Murphy, 0:15:12.970 --> 0:15:16.130 seeing as how I'm not having either of these guys returning, Jim, 0:15:16.580 --> 0:15:19.000 with the production, little production that they provided to the 0:15:19.060 --> 0:15:22.280 White Sox in 2026, is this going to be easy 0:15:22.380 --> 0:15:25.640 or difficult for the White Sox to replace these innings 0:15:25.980 --> 0:15:27.320 with what they have internally? 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:31.440 Yeah, I mean, leisure is easy because it's just greater 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:31.940 than zero. 0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:34.980 Can you throw a baseball? Yes. Without pain? 0:15:35.020 --> 0:15:38.640 Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery. Yeah, that seems like it'll be 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:41.710 like a Tim Elko or Juan Carella case of just 0:15:41.770 --> 0:15:43.850 getting injured at the wrong time, getting Tommy John surgery 0:15:43.870 --> 0:15:47.810 at the wrong time. And you just can't take up 0:15:47.850 --> 0:15:51.050 a spot in a full 40-man roster when you have 0:15:51.070 --> 0:15:54.120 so many months of off-season remaining. So I could see 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:57.090 him being brought back in a Meyer League contract. Uh, 0:15:57.110 --> 0:15:59.110 it kind of like they've done with other guys, you know, 0:15:59.130 --> 0:16:01.570 to see the rehab stints through and bring them all 0:16:01.590 --> 0:16:03.370 the way back and then see how they look after 0:16:03.410 --> 0:16:06.010 they return. But yeah, I would say he's on the 0:16:06.050 --> 0:16:10.830 outside looking in Chris Murphy and he doesn't have options remaining. 0:16:10.870 --> 0:16:13.870 So I think that's makes a little bit harder to 0:16:13.930 --> 0:16:16.270 retain him knowing that like, if he looks like he 0:16:16.310 --> 0:16:19.350 did last year where he's just kind of, yeah, he's 0:16:19.370 --> 0:16:20.750 an up and down guy. I think it's fair to 0:16:20.790 --> 0:16:24.170 say like probably too good for AAA, not necessarily good 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:26.860 enough to hold down like medium leverage, uh, in the 0:16:26.910 --> 0:16:31.120 majors as he's shown so far. And, you know, like 0:16:31.140 --> 0:16:33.580 they have Jaden Woods, who's currently not on the 40 0:16:33.580 --> 0:16:35.900 man might have to be protected from the rule five draft. 0:16:36.020 --> 0:16:37.840 If there is a rule five draft with the lockout, 0:16:37.860 --> 0:16:40.540 there may not be a rule five draft. But like 0:16:40.880 --> 0:16:42.620 Jaden Woods might be able to come in and kind 0:16:42.660 --> 0:16:44.440 of do a similar job. So I think they can 0:16:44.480 --> 0:16:47.770 replace him on the depth charts. I just wonder if 0:16:47.830 --> 0:16:51.930 it's a case where the price is low enough, you know, 0:16:51.970 --> 0:16:54.030 you're talking about like, you know, a million or less 0:16:54.630 --> 0:16:58.110 based on the projection that, Do they bring him back 0:16:58.170 --> 0:16:59.970 and say, well, even if he's on the wrong side 0:16:59.990 --> 0:17:02.270 of the squeeze, can we try sneaking him through waivers 0:17:02.310 --> 0:17:04.650 and keep him around because he's nice to have? And 0:17:04.869 --> 0:17:08.100 if another team claims him, so what? Or is it 0:17:08.130 --> 0:17:10.500 a case where you can swing a trade between two 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:14.540 roster crunches where I can use that player and they 0:17:14.580 --> 0:17:17.440 can use my player and we can swing a trade 0:17:17.500 --> 0:17:21.040 to ease a little bit of roster pressure that makes 0:17:21.100 --> 0:17:23.500 it mutually agreeable since he does have some arm talent. 0:17:23.580 --> 0:17:27.480 I think the one thing that kind of... Maybe gives 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:31.660 me some pause is just watching Cam Boozer just really 0:17:31.720 --> 0:17:34.639 deliver for the Rays. And it's kind of a similar 0:17:34.700 --> 0:17:37.100 case of like the White Sox acquired Boozer from Boston. 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:39.640 Had a bad year. They released him. The Rays picked 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:43.320 him up. And you just kind of made a couple 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:46.419 more tweaks. And Boozer is throwing strikes, not giving up 0:17:46.460 --> 0:17:48.440 homers and being the best lefty and lefty reliever in 0:17:48.460 --> 0:17:50.580 the American League. And I think with Murphy, it's kind 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:53.260 of similar of just there's some arm talent there. They 0:17:53.300 --> 0:17:56.740 traded him, traded for him for a reason. And if 0:17:56.770 --> 0:18:00.149 they give up on him after one up and down year, 0:18:01.170 --> 0:18:03.110 do they risk the same thing of just like another 0:18:03.130 --> 0:18:05.850 team figuring it out? Should they have two bites of 0:18:05.869 --> 0:18:08.270 the apple, so to speak? So I could see it 0:18:08.310 --> 0:18:13.889 going either way. Leisure would be low probability, Murphy medium, 0:18:13.950 --> 0:18:16.810 just because they can replace him, but also they can 0:18:16.869 --> 0:18:19.990 probably just hang on to him because of the cost 0:18:20.170 --> 0:18:22.350 and see like if he looks great in the spring, 0:18:22.670 --> 0:18:24.450 they can carry him and then like let the lack 0:18:24.490 --> 0:18:28.909 of options Complicate matters like once you're into April or 0:18:28.930 --> 0:18:30.190 May or whenever the season starts. 0:18:30.950 --> 0:18:32.850 Well, we have two more players on my list that 0:18:32.869 --> 0:18:34.879 will not be returning to the White Sox in 2027. 0:18:34.869 --> 0:18:38.270 We're going to be reviewing those two players and those 0:18:38.310 --> 0:18:41.790 decisions that I am making my offseason plan project after 0:18:41.830 --> 0:18:43.590 a quick word from our sponsors. 0:18:44.869 --> 0:18:46.950 It's that time of year where all the sports are 0:18:46.970 --> 0:18:49.940 pretty much going right now from the baseball playoffs, which 0:18:50.119 --> 0:18:53.860 obviously on foul territory, we love NCAA football. 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Injuries 0:20:00.810 --> 0:20:04.430 are unexpected and turn lives upside down. I'm Howard Ankin, 0:20:04.590 --> 0:20:06.390 and I'm here to help. If you or a loved 0:20:06.470 --> 0:20:07.929 one have been hurt at work, or in a. 0:20:07.910 --> 0:20:12.310 Car, truck, or ride share accident, call 312-6-MILLION. Injury law 0:20:12.330 --> 0:20:14.190 made personal. That's Ankin Law. 0:20:14.840 --> 0:20:18.360 Visit the new Sox Machine store at SoxMachineShop.com to pick 0:20:18.400 --> 0:20:22.600 up your new white socks and Sox Machine gear. Sam Antonacci, 0:20:22.619 --> 0:20:27.320 Munitaka Murakami, Tristan Peters, Chase Myadroth, and the celibate for 0:20:27.400 --> 0:20:30.520 Sean Burke shirts are available in the store, plus new 0:20:30.580 --> 0:20:36.350 Sox Machine three-quarter zip-ups, sweaters, coffee mugs, and Sox Machine shirts, 0:20:36.850 --> 0:20:42.450 officially licensed gear from the MLB Players Association. Visit SoxMachineShop.com. 0:20:43.290 --> 0:20:45.129 Welcome back to the Sox machine podcast. 0:20:45.170 --> 0:20:45.450 All right. 0:20:45.470 --> 0:20:48.960 So we already reviewed the three areas of players that 0:20:49.060 --> 0:20:52.890 are not returning for my off season plan project. Tommy Pham, 0:20:53.210 --> 0:20:56.510 Jake Rogers, and Joey Bart, the backup catchers, and the hurt, 0:20:56.670 --> 0:20:59.869 inefficient pitchers, Jordan Leisure and Chris Murphy. So technically, I've 0:20:59.890 --> 0:21:01.850 already given you five. But as I mentioned, there's seven 0:21:01.890 --> 0:21:04.170