GreenSox

Nothing special about Carroll. Thing about Wilkins is that, while he's unlikely to hit in the majors, he could, and it would be at a higher level than Carroll pitches. Plus, there are no hitters on the 40 other than the Major League starters. And presuming that report on future sox was wrong about Rondon, the Sox don't seem to have much Rule 5 vulnerability.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 25, 2014 -> 04:46 PM) the problem with the Mets is they are overvaluing their players / prospects. I'm sure they are. Mets really don't have anything to offer that wouldn't be completely laughed at except prospects other than that one injured so-so pitcher. The Dodgers can at least have spare parts outfielders that they can throw out there and try to wait out Hahn and hope he has a brain fog at some point. I hope the Sox take care of the OF fairly quickly - that might improve their bargaining position with the dodgers.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Nov 25, 2014 -> 04:22 PM) "Ideally" ain't going to happen, I think. There will likely be one more regular bat acquired, not 2 or 3, imo. The 2nd could be a catching upgrade for Flowers, I suppose. They're really counting on the development of, Avi, which may be the key the whole season. Like you, hoping that the offense gets another nice addition soon, but only expecting one, and hoping it's a lefty/switch OF. Resources still needed elsewhere. I agree with you that ideally isn't going to happen, which (along with the continued lackluster team defense and rotation holes) is why I don't see the Sox as serious contenders next year and, thus, want to trade Alexei for young players. In the meantime, I wouldn't mind seeing a little more platooning of the guys won can't hit lefties. And Laroche doesn't really frame as a cleanup hitter to me.

Ideally, Laroche would be hitting 7th and Abreu 4th. We need a couple of more hitters for that (like a 2 and a 3 hitter).

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Nov 25, 2014 -> 03:52 PM) Sox might be looking to find someone with a little more upside for the last pitcher on the roster in '15. I think that's true - that's why guys like Cleto are still around. Still, they keep around position players that have very little upside.

It's kind of funny to read though. People ask that guy questions as if he's the real deal.

It's a fake twitter account.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Nov 25, 2014 -> 10:13 AM) Do you really want Ethier now, after we just added a left handed hitter who rakes against RH pitching but who can't hit lefties? No It makes the team too one-dimensional. Add Gillaspie to the can't hit lefties column. Now if you can add a real RH who can hit, that might be okay. But Ethier should basically come for picking up some salary. Even danks is too much to give.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 25, 2014 -> 01:37 PM) Loved Carroll's backstory, and I loved getting to help him edit the post he wrote for FutureSox. He's good people, and I'd say the Sox would love to keep him if no one picks him up on waivers. They still might. He'll be on waivers for a while - this wasn't an outright assignment (yet). Strategically, why waive instead of an outright assignment?

The White Sox, from one angle, are in a great position with 2 superstars (teams better than us don't have that) plus 2 really good young players in Eaton and Q. What the Sox lack are solid league average or above players at 3B, OF, 2B, 2 starter spots, and on the bench. We are the inverse of the Royals...they are solid across the board, with no stars. Why are the Sox so poor at so many positions? Simple - lousy farm system. Poor drafting and ineffective development. There's not an outfielder in the system that you could even contemplate competing for real playing time this year. There are no farm pitchers, YET, who can be anything more than 5th starters next year. Solution? Keep building the farm - don't trade it. Trade Alexei - he's the guy the Sox need to trade. We don't have a 2 year window - we have 5 year window that is just beginning. He won't be here in the prime of it. Move him for young players, prospects or emerging young hitters or pitchers. That 1 sure contender (Dodgers) and 1 putative contender (Mets) are in dire need, should maximize our return. Otherwise, sign 1 starter, and get a LF (non-platoon). Guys like Gillaspie could be a useful piece to the team, especially if he can play OF. He can spell at various positions, play some DH, etc. Trading Sale shifts the window forward at least 3 years, if not more.

Surprised. I would have DFAd one of the low ceiling 5th outfielders that can't hit that the Sox seem to love. Carroll is effective if he can keep the ball down

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 24, 2014 -> 08:17 PM) Hochevar/Rasmus/Volquez No matter who they get, there will be polarized opinions and no player/acquisition will be universally-praised. And I'm 100% ready to turn the page on Danks and try Ethier as well...rather than having to trade, say, Micah Johnson and Beck/Bassit for two years of Josh Reddick, for example. I'd rather none of the above. (I'd be okay with Danks/Ethier if the Sox didn't already have 2 lefties that can't hit righties pencilled in the lineup). Use Alexei to bring the OF in here. We can get a younger Reddick + for Alexei.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 24, 2014 -> 08:03 PM) That post was purely to stir people up. Nothing more. The post, labelled "I WISH" this guy was Met's GM was meant to bring a little levity into the joint. And to point out, using a hyperbolic tweet, that the Sox are in strong position with Alexei. Now back to our regularly scheduled broadcast of which overrated rent can we unload the farm for.

A .316 OBP from a power hitter is absolutely terrible. Sox have been plagued by low obp ozzie-style players for years and years. There is a new philosophy on the southside, thankfully.

Cespedes is a Viciedo profile player: low obp, good arm, bad outfield coverage, good power. He's better than Viciedo, but he's a similar profile. Cespedes does not fit well with a low OBP ballclub like the Sox. He fits perfectly with Oakland, which is why they were hurt when they traded him (even though cespedes for Lester is a super value trade for Oak; Oak just needed the O more than they needed pitching at that point). It was a poor trade for Boston - I think a draft choice > 1 year of Cespedes. I also understand why the Sox don't just want to give Viciedo away; he has skill. they think he might be able to harness it with another year of Steverson's mentorship. We'll see.

The other thing about Cespedes is that Oakland is an OBP machine; he contrasts perfectly with the rest of the lineup that sets up the pins for him to drive in. They have so much OBP that a low OBP hitter like Cespedes fits in.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 24, 2014 -> 01:29 PM) The thing to remember here is that if someone would have talked about us getting Boegarts and Middlebrooks in a deal as little as a year ago, it would have elicited a whole different reaction. The bloom was off the Middlebrooks rose well before a year ago. Boston drafts and develops well, but they hype every prospect they have, and the "prospect media" buys in.. Those guys must be scouted carefully to do a trade with them. I'm not sure Boston's GM knows what he's doing. Why did they need Alan Craig and Cespedes last year? And now they bring in 2 more? They are going to have a hard time unloading most of that excess and aren't going to get much above replacement for any of it.

I wish this guy was the Mets GM Wyatt Derp ‏@NewYorkMehts 38m38 minutes ago Will Wheeler + Syndergaard + DeGrom and Montero get us Alexei Ramirez, lets do it!

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Nov 24, 2014 -> 11:40 AM) If Bogaerts and Cespedes are the throw-ins to go along with Pedroia and Owens, then sure, that's plenty reasonable. That would be terrible. Sox should want on part of this Boston excess. QUOTE (bruni @ Nov 24, 2014 -> 12:36 PM) Judging by the comments, this will not go over well but if someone is willing to trade me Cespedes and Bogaerts plus another throw in (Nava?, Middlebrooks?) for Sale, I make that trade all day long. That would be even worse. HOrrid. Cespedes has a career OBP of .316 and plays lousy defense. We get him for 1 year (we can sign him, and I certainly hope we don't, without giving up anything in a year). He's the same profile as Viciedo, whom people loathe. Bogaerts MAY solve something and he may not. He did bat to a .660 OBP after all. Owens is another hyped up Boston prospect and is not elite, even after attaching Boston hype. Middlebrooks hit a whopping .524 OPS last year. Why do people want these RedSox discards?

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 24, 2014 -> 08:24 AM) What? Cespedes is worth like, one quarter of Quintana. Maybe a third. Part of it's because he;s way overrated, but mostly it's because he has only one year of control, whereas Quintana has like 5 under-market years. Quintana would get Cespedes and a couple notable prospects from Boston, and I bet they'd LOVE to make that deal. Please. it IS because he has nowhere near the value of q even at identical contracts. His standard OBP is like .310 and his defense is poor. He's a flawed player.

QUOTE (bruni @ Nov 24, 2014 -> 08:20 AM) I'd be most interested in Middlebrooks on the cheap to solve 3B. Potential delayed with injury and mismanagement but (to me anyway) far more potential and nice power to solve 3B for the long term. Or give up more and try to snag Bogaerts if you can, but Middlebrooks should cost far less and fills a need. Middlebrooks had a .522 OPS last year; I'm not sure what that solves. Boston is neck and neck with the Cubs re hyping their prospects. Even Bogaerts, whose greatness they are still raving about, had a .660 OPS in a full season of play. .660. That's Brian Anderson territory.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 24, 2014 -> 07:26 AM) Every GM makes a lot of mistakes. Beane doesn't have a perfect track record by any means. Bringing in Jim Johnson from Baltimore comes to mind immediately. There's a good 7-8 year run there in the middle of his regime where he made more bad than good trades, other than starting the trend of maximizing value from his closers after their shelf life had expired. his trade for Shark was terrible. He way over-estimated the market as the Price and his subsequent trade for Lester proved. That said, Reddick's OPS is in the mid 700s....he doesn't have much power and he was terrible in 2013....he's not THAT valuable. Get the LF from Alexei and we can sort out our own middle infielders.

he wouldn't be that hard to get (Boston made a terrible trade to get him). But he's a low OBP player with terrible defense. His OPS is maybe 30 points greater than Viciedo, who is reviled. Not a fit. and why the love (other than he plays for another team). Sox need athleticism and defense as well as the ability to hit. And he's a rent.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Nov 23, 2014 -> 09:46 PM) A 2nd half that featured a .971 OPS would suggest otherwise and that he's perhaps trending back into that MVP caliber player. Not with that defense. And perhaps he will be MVP offensively. Maybe. Still I'd prefer young talent over the contract and personality

I'd have to check each individually, but they platoon a lot of their lefties. We have 2 lefties right now who are bad against left handed pitchers. Don't like doing with Beane - his players are hard-used.