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That sort of deal makes no sense. The White Sox won’t forfeit their 2nd rounder for one year of Conforto. Also, nobody should be counting on Cespedes or Colas for anything. Either guy would be a bonus.

Bruce Levine is an idiot.....but he's not an idiot when says something I want to hear!

I agree. Everything I read calls Conforto an above-average bat and passable right fielder. The Sheets/Vaughn/Engel "combo platter" would be considerably better than "above average" IMO. The "combo platter" would give us a similar defense as Jermayne Dye. Not great but I'll take it if we can get a massive upgrade at 2nd and pitching.

Vaughn, Sheets, Grandal, Eloy, Abreu, and Collins can't play RF either. Engel shouldn't be counted on to start regularly after last season. Sox need a legit starting RF.

Yup. And let’s be honest, I think most people would be happy if Cespedes ended up being a solid 4th OF. As for Colas, the kid has never even played stateside. I really like Oscar’s potential, but if you’re worried about blocking him while contending for a World Series title then you probably shouldn’t be a major league GM. And finally, how many years do we need to go before Hahn realizes a left-handed power bat is a must for this offense? This team consistently gets beat up against tough RHP and that’s going to be a recurring obstacle come October. Conforto is fucking elite against RHP while not killing you defensively in RF. Given his expected price, this is the most logical free agent target since Grandal & Wheeler. Honestly, if Hahn can land Conforto, a solid 2B, and a quality SP prior to Opening Day then I’m moving back to Chicago cause this team is winning the World Series next year. Get this the fuck done Hahn!

He refuses to entertain any thought that Kimbrel is moveable. At least he’s consistent.

Good. Best realistic fit on the FA market since Grandal. Hope Sox make it happen. I’d be tickled, just as I was with Yaz.

Also relying on Adam Engel to stay healthy for any stretch of time wouks be a mistake. I like him too. He’s a perfect 4th of. But you can’t rely on him as anything more than a bench piece.

Abreu 1b, Vaughn LF, Eloy DH, Grandal C, Conforto RF, Sheets AAAA, Collins who gives a shit. Easy.

Pass. Just a lazy move.

Eh.. Bengals got a gift TD from the no face call on Ramsay. I say it evened out. BUT agreed for a game that close it wasn't particularly exciting. Joe Burrow will be back though no doubt. And I hope the Bengals use damn near every pick they have on O-Line help.

Confotro was terrible last year, and the Mets, who are investing in their team, are still moving on from him. Reasonable chance he continues to decline going forward. His career OPS is .824. That’s fine, but it’s nothing special. And there isn’t much of a market for him, so, sure, easy enough to sign. The higher priority is SP, and, arguably, 2B. The Sox don’t need an ace; they need a solid 2/3 guy. Such pitchers were available in December at reasonable prices, and the FO wasn’t ready or they didn’t bother. Same with 2B. Sure they can trade for one. This FO never minds tacking on 1 or 2 extra young players to get the deal done; easy enough. Meanwhile, Sheets showed a lot of promise from the left side. He’d be on the first train out in one of the trades. We’ve seen players like Conforto before; we’ve seen this FO trade for veterans (and it's the same dudes: Hahn and Haber); and we’ve seen young for old exchanges. Generally not pretty.

The Sox of the mid 90s used to play rent a RF really well. Ellis Burks, DJ, Mike Devereaux, Danny Tartabull, Dave Matinez were all better than average, then came Maggs, then Dye. I guess the odds were bound to catch up with them. It looks like with Story not willing to change positions, the high priced 2B are probably all spoken for. I would rather they spend the cash on a 2B than RF, but would rather they spend it on a RF than pocket it.

The owners are hanging onto a lot of things right now. Ill take the over on $214M as ultimate luxury tax figure, but the scenario you just laid out is within a few million of that. Don’t sign Tepera and you’re there. Don’t trade for Bassitt - using @Chicago White Soxexample - and you’re there. Right now, we don’t even know for sure if there will the same form a luxury tax as we know it today. I get you always look for a contrarian angle, and we all have to admit the Sox commitments are getting close to max’d and certainly at franchise highs. But there will be room for the Sox to add $25M or so to payroll still. They also probably aren’t taking back 4 non minimum guys via trade (Bassit, Kemp, Marchan and Alvarado), plus signing Tepera. That’s pipe dream imo. But if Conforto (or another RF in that $ realm for purposes of argument) is the constant, the Sox can make the $ work. They’re not just going to roll the ball out as is when the lockout ends.

Yes I said the combo platter would hit .850 OPS which is not impossible given platoon advantages and obvious upside...it was you that compared them to Daniel Palka who was bad offensively and defensively. To suggest they would be legendarily bad is wrong. 1/3 of the innings will be played by an elite defender...and Vaughn who never played RF before was competent. Yes this is not perfect but neither is it terrible (and Conforto is NOT a good defender..-0.6 dWar). Anyway the larger point is you have limited resources to fix three holes...2b, RF and 5th starter. I'd rather see Combo +Rodon than Comforto + Keuchel.

How would they do at preventing runners from taking the extra base. Stopping runners from scoring from 2nd on a single, scoring from 1st on a double or going first to third on a single. Preventing runners from taking the extra base is kinda a big deal for a right fielder and It would be a god damn merry go round with Vaughn/Sheets in right field.

Three non top 100 prospects isn’t getting you Ketel Marte.

Those Sox teams had Scott Podsednik in LF his first three seasons and Dye’s defense was epically bad and value destroying. He’s a great comp for what we might expect defensively from a Vaughn/Sheets combo but a horrible justification for why they make sense for RF.

I have no doubt he will rebound next season.

We don’t know what it is though.

How exactly is adding a quality right fielder to a team that hasn’t had a quality right fielder in years a lazy move?

Conforto makes too much sense, similar to how Grandal made too much sense a couple years ago.

I've always liked Comforto but primarily for his bat. I'm guessing he could be expected to play better RF then a Sheets/Vaughn/Engel combo but how much so is anyone's guess. I'm less convinced that he would be a significant improvement offensively over the combo platter, as I have high expectations for them in '22. I am however entirely convinced that Marte would be a major improvement over Leury or any other potentially available 2B options. in a vacuum and all things being equal, I'd prefer Marte over Comforto.

Sheets has no range and no feel for the OF. Vaughn is too slow to cover the gaps in RF. I don’t trust Engel to stay healthy or to be worthy of regular ABs. Robert already has to make up for Eloy’s deficiencies in LF, and has already had one serious lower body injury. Expecting/requiring Robert to cover for two terrible corner OFs every single game is too much to ask. It’s begging for another injury. It is far more sensible to sign/acquire a real RF instead of running out a bad 1B, a good 1B/decent LF, and an unreliable 4th OF and pretending as if that is acceptable for division champ looking to make a deep playoff run. The likelihood of that arrangement turning out well is very very low IMO.

So the same guy who said that the SOX were "checking in on Semien" is now "linking the SOX to Conforto." Color me dubious, though I'd be pleased if it were to happen. I'd rather roll dice on Suzuki, and sign Villar (15 HR v RHP last year) for 2B. Figure ~$9M * 4 for a gold glove RFer, and ~$3.5/1 + an option for Villar. Leaves room to find another SP, and also room to send money along with Kimbrel to have him fuck off, and preserves whatever scant resources are available in the 30th ranked system for other moves.

Just spending money on Conforto > giving up prospects.

Yup. Left hand hitting RF that shouldn't be too costly and isn't a total liability defensively. Sounds like exactly what the Sox need.

Sox also need a left-handed bat. Conforto is a perfect fit for us.

Well luckily 4 of those 6 will still be in the lineup, Sheets can go to AAA to be depth, and who cares about at bats for Collins.

I have nothing against Conforto if we are going to spend money on a right fielder. However...Vaughn, Sheets, Grandal, Eloy, Abreu, and Collins can't all be the DH. I've stated earlier that I prefer using Vaughn and Sheets in a platoon with late-inning assistance from Engel. Use the money on other areas of need being pitching, 2nd base, and perhaps a backup catcher if a good defensive catcher can be found.

I feel like many of the bigger name guys who didn't sign yet were guys who were waiting to make sure this existed as it would change their markets. Schwarber, Castellanos, Conforto, Soler.

Sox long play of hoarding DHs finally paying off.

Also, maybe this gives Yermin a sliver of trade value.

Both teams have offensive lines that leave something to be desired, especially the Bengals. That's going to lead to a very disjointed game. Also, I didn't like the new score bug.

Please don't trade with the Rays and that front office.

Conforto has been one of the best hitters in all of baseball against RHP over the past half decade, so not sure we’re talking about the same player. Also, it sounds like you are scarred for life because of Adam Dunn failing which is unfortunate.

I assumed when they picked up the option that they had some offers on the table. So I had your point of view originally. But now I'm nervous about it. Did they overplay their hand? Or did they pick up the option to save face and avoid admitting what a stupid trade it was? I'm not sure now. But I do feel confident that it's tieing up dollars that could be used elsewhere on the team, which sucks.

I think people need to remember that the White Sox have barely begun their offseason with the only two moves being Graveman and Leury. They still need to add a left-handed power bat, a 2B, and some sort of SP at a very minimum. They will also almost certainly trade Kimbrel for something, potentially to address one of those three needs. Once a CBA happens they will be as busy as any team in baseball and I would expect multiple trades to happen because the free agent market is limited in certain areas where we need help. And regarding the financial situation, Hahn didn’t trade a cost controlled asset in Madrigal if it was going to hamstring him the following offseason. There is definitely room to spend and they will likely push the payroll to the lowest luxury tax threshold. And it’s almost certainly going to end up higher than the owners’ current proposal, so I agree we should be able to sign Conforto and address our other needs. I do think we’re going to see more trades than most people here will like, but now is the time push some chips in.

That package doesn’t get Marte. Burger is soon to be 26 and not really even a prospect. Cespedes isn’t really all that exciting and isn’t that young either. Montgomery is a nice piece but not to headline a Marte deal. They’ll want Vaughn + from the Sox. More likely, Dbacks will be looking for younger prospects for Marte that the Sox don’t have. They’re a ways away. Guys like Burger and Cespedes probably won’t be of much interest to them.

I do too. Draft and follow, trading draft picks, more pool money and an increase to 25 rounds would help fix some of the damage they did to the future of the game.

I don't think it's remotely fair to compare Sheets/Engle/Vaughn to one of the best hitters in history (who also had their defensive ability hidden by The Green Monster)

Because he hates veteran players.

It’s a good move for The white Sox, I just can’t see how to do it without substantially going over the luxury tax.

If we're going to make a trade, let's not trade Andrew Vaughn please. I'd prefer to be good for the next 5-6 years, not classic White Sox this thing into 1-2 year window. That said, this team is good enough as is to not make any major trades. Sign Conforto. Sign one of the many 2B options. Trade Kimbrel for a cheap controllable reliever. Sign a vet SP to compete for the 5 spot. Go to battle.

Remember when Steve Cischek was like "wow I'm hearing mlb is nearing a deal! closer than people think!" And that was like 2 weeks ago.

Yeah and I feel like it was already in the back of owners' minds to have a plan if the DH is added.

Just came here to make this joke! But seriously, hopefully Mercedes can now be traded for a lottery ticket.

This was no surprise. Every team is behind the 8 ball anyway.

Some teams with lots of depths will be fine and you can find a couple guys on their roster that should get a bulk of DH at bats (Dodgers always have lots of depth, Mets Cano/Smith, Braves Ozuna etc) and the rebuilding teams don't really matter. Opens up more at bats for a young player for them. Plus, there are still plenty of free agents out there when they are able to spend again (Cruz, Castellanos can get DH/COF at bats, Schwarber, etc).

This is very high on my priorities list. Please give the viewing audience more watchable baseball.