Following classic soundbites such as “Mired in mediocrity," “If I had my druthers,” and “Development isn’t linear,” we can add, “Losing the forest through the trees” to Rick Hahn’s verbal repertoire. This expression relates to the Chicago White Sox' efforts in landing premier free agent Manny Machado, and Hahn wanted to address that topic in his opening statement to fans at Saturday’s SoxFest seminar.
“How much time do I spend each day on this specific issue? I would be lying if I didn’t say it consumes a lot of our energy and thoughts,” said Hahn. “It’s been an important priority for us, which at times, in particular, me, and maybe others in the front office perhaps fallen into the trap of losing the forest through the trees.”
“When we started this thing a little over two years ago, we made it our mission to acquire as much premier talent as possible. First, through trade. Second, through the international market. Third, through the draft. Ultimately, it was going to come down to being active in the free agent market, but never at one point was the success going to be dependent on one guy,” said Hahn.
Closing his opening statement, Hahn reiterated to fans that he’d be personally disappointed if the White Sox fail to convert on Machado.
While the prized free agent won’t single-handedly help the Sox go from a 100-loss team to playoff contender in 2019, Machado would significantly boost the chances that the rebuild efforts will pay off in near-future seasons.
Other insight from Hahn comes out when fans who have no media experience take over the microphone. No one knows what will be asked, and it’s in those moments we can get a little bit more transparency and clarity from the Sox general manager.
The first question that caused a long pause was actually from the host of this seminar, White Sox play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti. It was just a simple, pointed question: “What are you most happiest about this offseason?”
One would think Hahn could easily handle that question like swinging at a 16-inch softball. Instead, the immediate response, or lack thereof, was a bit telling. The audience sat in silence as Hahn was in thought. Was it acquiring quality arms to help shore the bullpen? Alternatively, giving up very little in trading for Ivan Nova? Is it helping the sales pitch to Machado by signing his best friend and dealing for his brother-in-law?
“It’s not over yet for me,” said Hahn. “The way free agent and trade market has played out over several winters, we’ve sort of moved away from SoxFest date on the calendar essentially being the unofficial start of the season.”
“There’s still on our mind conversations we’ve had the last 48 hours on three to four potential acquisitions that we are working.”
The offseason pipeline includes Machado, and the possibility of trading for Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson or adding another starting pitcher to compete for the fifth spot. Hahn confirmed during the seminar that he’s still looking for reinforcements for the rotation. Just a few weeks away from players reporting to Spring Training, there could be even more activity to look forward to from the Sox.
Another topic that provided additional insight we may not get from Hahn was a question asked by Wayne from Downers Grove. It was about how being the “Mystery Team” works, and if the Sox don’t want to deal with all of the noise when pursuing top-end free agents, why doesn’t the front office act more like the mystery team?
“I’ll hide the ball more in the future,” said Hahn. “I 100 percent agree that we operate better when it’s under the radar. I get irritated with leaks. I get really irritated with leaks that we made offers to players we made no offers to. I get really irritated with reports that we are pursuing a guy that I don’t even know who the agent is we are supposedly going after.
“I think when you’re involved in premium-type guys with a lot of spotlight and spectacle around them stuff gets out. As much it may irritate me, and quite frankly make our jobs that much harder, we are not going to go out there and lie.”
It would be fun for five minutes to review all of the rumors tied to the White Sox at some point this offseason that fit with what Hahn was saying, like being a potential spot for Nelson Cruz, or making an offer to Yasmani Grandal. Also, if you have been frustrated with the open spats between reporters on the White Sox offer to Machado, Hahn shares the same feeling. It's an excellent example of making his job harder when that rumor begins to pull other teams interest and increase their seriousness in pursuits of Machado.
Finally, with how angry players are about what has transpired these last two offseasons it feels like a work stoppage is coming after the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires in 2021.
Danny from Wheaton posed the question to Hahn: What the White Sox will do if a work stoppage does happen?
“You raise a very important, legitimate, and serious issue,” said Hahn.
“My job is to put the best team together under the current rules. There seems to be some discontent, especially from the veteran players, on the free agent market with how these rules affect them. As a result, there needs to be a serious conversation in collective bargaining on changes that need to be made.”
Hahn concluded, “As we sit here in early January with what I feel is an incomplete roster, it’s frankly not on my mind. I do look forward to when we sit down as a GM body, and we talk about different CBA proposals, and how it will impact free agency and different parts of the baseball industry. Honestly, right now we are just trying to focus on building the best team under these rules. Be in a position where hopefully there isn’t a work stoppage, which hasn’t happened in several decades, and that we are in the position to win multiple World Series with labor peace.”
