Moan4Yoan

Abreu isn’t very good at 1B right now. He’s not going to improve with age. If both Vaughn and Abreu are ever on the same team, Abreu should be getting the Frank Thomas treatment.

Yeah, Palka would be a decent bench bat if he could field OF and 1B at least decently well but he can’t. I do have some fear that Collins will look like Josh Fields did against decent fastballs, where it looked like he had no chance to hit them. But even he managed to have a Palka-esque season in his career.

Abreu really hasn’t held much trade value and it won’t get any better as he ages. If you want to keep him around until Vaughn is ready, it makes more sense to only keep him around for as short term as he will agree to. Why go 3 years if he would take 1-2 years?

I’m not sure how much people are pining for Palka. I think fathom or someone else was spot-on when they said that Alonso would have a rough time with the fans. Not only is he a reminder of a failed free agent offseason but he then went and had his worse season ever with the Sox. People just want him gone at this point and Palka was a viable option to replace him. And no one should want to see Palka over Collins. Collins can have a future. Palka can only DH so he’s limited to half of MLB teams and is already getting a bit long in the tooth.

Nova is a free agent after this year and if Hahn is dumb enough to re-sign him after this putrid season he should lose his job. Also, there is nothing long-term about Rodon. Even if he comes back in the second half of next season, he is only under control through 2021. He will be pitching at most another season and a half more in a Sox uniform and that’s if his rehab goes well and he doesn’t get injured again, which I wouldn’t bet a dollar on.

The key is bringing him back for 1 maybe 2 years at the most. Abreu is turning 33 over the offseason and we don’t need to watch his decline into his retirement years.

I think you are right and Merkin hints at it here: https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/news/zack-collins-promotion-white-sox “A move to the injured list for Castillo could be the roster opening for Collins. The 24-year-old left-handed hitter figures to play regularly as the White Sox first major prospect callup of the season and could see time at catcher, first base and designated hitter. That reported promotion also would likely cut into Alonso's playing time.”

20 walks in 34 innings? And he’s turning 28. He wasn’t good to begin with. Were people worried about losing this guy?

Cuz you likely won’t need to pay him that much so why do it? Let’s not overpay for his past performance. He’s not a .900 OPS guy these days and he’s not very good with the glove. Pay Abreu for what he is worth now.

What players are you suggesting or even expecting the Sox to sign then?

It makes zero sense for the Dodgers to trade Maeda while they are looking like a World Series contender and he is pitching for chump change. The Dodgers are paying him a base salary of $3 million a year until 2023. His bonuses are all based on games started and innings pitched. If the Dodgers moved him to the bullpen, they could essentially have a stud reliever for $3 million a year. Even if he isn’t in their postseason rotation, they can stick him in their bullpen and he is lights out for 3 innings. That was an unrealistic story and likely not worth the time it took to write since it is not going to happen.

Agreed. Abreu is getting older, has all of his Cuban buddies here, and may not want to move elsewhere to finish his career. There is a huge benefit to going year to year with him. If he tanks, you can let him go. If he’s willing to accept team friendly deals, he could probably finish up his career as the Sox DH.

😂 Let’s just hope for the best. Luckily, the Sox will always have a fallback role for him as a DH/1B if he can’t hack it at catcher. A definite perk over the N.L. in a situation like this.

You think it’s a crazy thought that the Sox don’t sign Cole, Bumgarner, Rendon, and Ozuna, and end up signing Puig, Wood, and some relievers? Why?

Yep, I was wondering what magical wizard healed Rodon to be ready for the beginning of the season.

I’m with you on this. Except for maybe Grandal. If Collins can show any skills behind the plate, I think they will go with a McCann / Collins platoon. I definitely see Puig as the big offseason signing and a guy like Wood would make sense as well. But they will be signing second tier guys, not the cream of the crop like Cole, Bumgarner, Rendon, and Ozuna. Puig and Wood would still be good acquisitions but the Sox just don’t ever sign top tier talent. They always go for quantity over quality with their money instead of signing a couple top tiers guys.

I do think he will struggle with strikeouts and his AVG as he did in the minors but what is fake OBP?

I guess it depends on what the Sox plan on doing with Collins. If they want him to get a lot of time behind the plate, your plan doesn’t help that.

Sox haven’t made the playoffs in 11 years. Both are pathetic.

No, just a little evidence to show that your opinion isn’t often based in reality, nor is it well respected.

As dead wrong as you were when you tried to argue that John Donaldson and Adrian Beltre weren’t great players and were laughed off the forum. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?/topic/107077-eloy-officially-got-paid/&page=42

Nope, wrong again. And why is everyone getting upset about me thinking the Sox won’t spend money on top tier free agents? Didn’t Hahn pretty much admit as much after Machado and Harper signed elsewhere?

No. I expect that Hahn will make more of the same moves he made this past offseason. Spread money out among a group of 5 or so mediocre players instead of signing a couple top tier free agents.

I guess we will just have to remember this post. We shall see who is right come next offseason. I don’t see the Sox being realistic contenders for a guy like Ozuna either. Puig could happen if he continues to have a down year.