Dam8610

Except you're ignoring the most important factor: MLB readiness. Eloy was at A+ and Cease was at A. Kopech has seen time in MLB, and Vaughn would probably be AA or higher in a normal year. The White Sox think he could be on the MLB roster in 2021. That's why the comparison is ridiculous.

I'd love Ozuna as a DH if Vaughn didn't exist. But putting two butchers in the corners around Robert is begging to get Robert injured, hurt the pitching staff, and cost the team games. Springer is a risk because he could be a 3-4 WAR player without the bangs (not to mention he had a down season or two with the Astros), for which a long term $25+ million AAV deal is an overpay.

Also, random and somewhat off topic, but every year someone does a spreadsheet as an offseason simulator type of thing. Where can I find that?

"Not a butcher defensively" eliminates Brantley and Ozuna. Springer is a huge risk IMO. You don't have to agree with me on that. This is about opinion. My opinion is that Pederson is the best fit for this team for the reasons I've stated. This is one of the reasons I want Pederson. Also gives the Sox flexibility at DH with the ability to rotate their OFs in and out of the spot.

If it's Springer, I'm not really keen on that idea. I may be in the minority, but the cheating and the other options available makes it a bad idea. Too much uncertainty for a $25+ million AAV long term deal IMO.

Name that RF, please.

I don't know about everyone, but depending on the closer and the payout for Musgrove, that would be fine by me.

How do you not factor MLB readiness into your evaluation? To me, a SP with a 3 starter ceiling performing well at AAA or MLB is WAY more valuable than a SP with an ace ceiling in A ball. The only exception would be if you're actively in a rebuild. As recently as 2.5 years ago, talent evaluators would've said Shane Bieber's ceiling was a 3 starter, despite him doing nothing but perform at every level. If in the beginning of 2018, someone had suggested Bieber for Kopech 1 for 1, most of this board would've lost their minds. In retrospect, however, it would've been one of the shrewdest moves the team could've made. The point being closeness to MLB ready must be and is a factor in any team's valuation of a player. It takes a lot less ceiling at AAA to get a MLB player than it does if the player is at A or A+.

A 3 WAR starter would be a good enough plug to allow the young guns to develop, especially if he's not too costly. It's not Bauer, which is the ideal solution, but it's at least plugging the hole.

That would be MUCH better than any of the insanity I've seen thrown around as potential Lynn trades.

No it wouldn't, especially not that last part. Trading that much young pitching for 34 year old Lance Lynn sounds terrible to me.

I don't understand why the strategy isn't Bauer and Pederson. The organization made a clear indication of a move to analytics, at least in the pitching department, with the hiring of Ethan Katz. I think Bauer would not only provide a TOR starter, but also accelerate this process and possibly help young pitchers like Cease, Dunning, Lopez, Kopech, Crochet, etc. make the adjustments they need to make to get the most out of their talent. Several of these young arms are going to be important to the White Sox putting together an elite pitching staff to go with their elite lineup. This is to say nothing of adding a true #1 starter to the rotation. As for Pederson, am I the only one who sees signing him as getting at worst 75-80% of what Springer would provide with 0% of the cheating concerns and at about 25-40% of the cost? Both are players who have played CF and displayed good power and ability to hit. Both are considered to be players that will need to move to a corner OF position going forward. Pederson is younger, left handed (which fits the lineup better), and had an atrocious 2020 line that was heavily influenced by a .200 BABIP. A more normal BABIP even for Pederson's standard would bring him right back in to the same offensive production range as Springer. With the group the White Sox have, the RF they sign just needs to be a quality starter who can hit 7th or 8th in the lineup, be a legitimate offensive threat, and not be a butcher in the field. Pederson fits that bill. So why does this not seem to be the strategy the White Sox are pursuing? I thought the whole point of this whole process was to save money and accumulate talent so that when the time was right, the final key piece or two of the puzzle could be put into place. The time is right. This team has two holes, a TOR starter and a RF, and the market has aligned perfectly to provide those two things. Now is the time to execute the plan and not let Steve Cohen stand in the way.

If this team gets Bauer and a couple of the high end relief arms available in free agency (as well as something in RF, I suggest Joc Pederson), then I agree with your assessment that this team would be ready to compete for a title, especially if the White Sox get positive development from their stable of pitching prospects. But that all goes away if they trade the third best hitter (at worst) on their team for starting pitching, especially because he's displayed the potential to become an even better hitter going forward and could become the engine that drives the offense as early as 2021. You don't trade that player, especially not for a "starting pitcher" who has never pitched more than 120 innings in a season at the MLB level.

That's disappointing. The FO has rarely pursued my desired course of action, though, so it's not surprising. Sometimes that has worked out well, sometimes it hasn't.

Trading anything of value for a 34 year old SP sounds awful. I consider Steiver "of value".