Josh, James and I are heading to Orlando today for the winter meetings, the kind of trip made possible by Sox Machine subscribers. We'll be on hand for the draft lottery, the Rule 5 draft, daily scrums, manager press conferences, and whatever else we come across through Wednesday. Follow us on every platform -- the newsletter, the podcast, Instagram, YouTube, BlueSky, Instagram, etc. -- because you'll never know which one is the most convenient way to deliver a given piece of information.
Now is as good a time as any to join our coverage here at Sox Machine, as we intend on making our travel worth everybody's while. We'll always encourage standard subscriptions here because that makes us more money to do more things, but understanding full well the pressure the holidays put on budgets, we've partnered with our Lede comrades at Defector for a bundle deal. Through the month of December, if you buy an annual gift subscription to Defector, they'll comp you a gift subscription for Sox Machine. If you've been on the fence to subscribing to either site, there's now a way to join both for the price of one.
Spare Parts
Michael Baumann makes the point that Anthony Kay's $2 million buyout on his mutual option for 2028 is the only money the White Sox have on the books for that year.
For the Minor Keys sickos out there, here's the official list of White Sox prospects who are eligible for the Rule 5 draft: Adam Hackenberg, Ben Peoples, Chase Plymell, Drake Logan, Dre Baker, Garrett Schoenle, Juan Gonzalez, Madison Jeffrey, Mario Camilletti, Peyton Pallette, Samuel Zvala, SHane Murphy, Zach DeLoach.
Colson Montgomery effectively doubled his 2025 earnings by receiving $516,819 from Major League Baseball's pre-arbitration bonus pool, with Shane Smith, Kyle Teel and Chase Meidroth getting more than $200,000 in their shares. Work remains to tilt commensurate financial rewards to the most underpaid players, but it's a welcome chunk of change that wasn't previously available to them.
The Twins aren't expected to shop their proven veterans, and if Byron Buxton is indeed unavailable, that can only help Luis Robert Jr.'s stock, which needs boosts from all possible sources.
Regularly watching the White Sox makes it difficult to tell how good outfield defenses have gotten, but the leaguewide optimization of positioning has seriously hampered the value of fly balls that don't clear the fence. There's talk about implementing lines to limit defender positioning, but I'd start with a ban on positioning cards, which always strike me as lame.
The saga of Derek Bender, the Twins draft pick who was released two Septembers ago for allegedly telling opposing hitters what pitch was coming in order to get the Low-A season over with faster, is free to sign with any MLB organization, but the agreement reached between the league and MLBPA makes either side unwilling to speak to the veracity of the accusations.
You don't have to worry about the latter category with the White Sox, but while the stakes vary with regards to the cost of getting such evaluations wrong, I imagine the Sox have to consider the mix given all of the young players who are trying to establish themselves as everyday fixtures.
- Diamondbacks sign Jacob Amaya to minor league deal -- MLB Trade Rumors
- Orioles designated Ryan Noda for assignment -- MLB Trade Rumors
Last year, Jacob Amaya returned to the White Sox through a series of waiver claims, but a minor league signing with Arizona probably means that he's officially out of the picture. Meanwhile, Ryan Noda keeps getting booted off rosters in favor of Will Robertson.
