Rick Hahn 2021 End of Season Press Conference

[bmags]

1 hour ago, Flash said:

Yep. Productive player coming off a decent year. RH hitter though, if that matters.

I think it definitely matters but the pool of infielders who switch hit/hit lefty successfully is so small the tradeoff is easier to stomach at 2b vs. RF.

I like Segura because he is also bringing high contact (14% k rate),  but also dislike him because he's another groundball hitter. Not choice 1A by anymeans.

[Chicago White Sox]

2 hours ago, Dick Allen said:

Like who? The Sox are going to need a 1B soon. I kind of like what Vaughn brings to the table. I think those who have issues with him aren't looking at the entire picture. Gets drafted in 2019, no season for him in 2020 and in a pennant race in 2021 where he held his own playing positions he never played. He is going to be a stud.

Honestly, Vaughn for Gavin Lux makes a lot of sense for us if you go out and sign Conforto to be your RF.  Then you go with a Sheets / Burger DH for 2022 with one of them being the heir apparent to 1B.  No idea if the Dodgers would do that, but it’s an example of trading Vaughn to fill a need without forgoing the cost controlled benefit Andrew provides.

[Chicago White Sox]

2 hours ago, Chisoxfn said:

I like the idea of keeping Vaughn, Sheets and Burger. They will all get at bats at some point in the season.  Vaughn obviously will get plenty but I think there is plenty of opportunity for the others. Seasons are long and people get hurt and I think all of those players (with Vaughn as the exception) have more value to White Sox than what they can get via trade.  People will get hurt...I have no doubt that Vaughn, Sheets, and Burger will all find ways to get meaningful playing time, etc next year. 

These are good problems to have. I also don't think they should do anything to hand Sheets/Burger more playing time.  Appreciate depth - that is what makes this squad good and gives it the ability to overcome major injuries.  

But have a bunch of LF/1B/DH depth is pointless if we have major holes elsewhere on our roster.  Can’t expect to fill our needs in free agency, which means one or two of the corner guys will need to be moved.

[Leonard Zelig]

1 hour ago, tray said:

Too many.

Wow, that’s the exact same number of non-admins here too!

[Y2Jimmy0]

16 minutes ago, maloney.adam said:

Some people still have their panties in a bunch over the Sox not extending the QO to Rodon. Lmao 😂

I'm one of these people. It's stupid. 

[Y2Jimmy0]

They could just use money and sign Michael Conforto to play RF and keep Vaughn too. I don't understand why the acquisition has to come via trade. Spend more of Jerry's fucking money on real ass players. Andrew Vaughn should be their 1B for the next decade. Trading him would be a huge mistake. I'd trade Eloy before I traded Vaughn. 

[bmags]

 

2 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

They could just use money and sign Michael Conforto to play RF and keep Vaughn too. I don't understand why the acquisition has to come via trade. Spend more of Jerry's fucking money on real ass players. Andrew Vaughn should be their 1B for the next decade. Trading him would be a huge mistake. I'd trade Eloy before I traded Vaughn. 

I'm open to anything, but I agree with this. Especially Gavin Lux...he has skills I like, but it's still unrealized when it comes to consistent hard contact. 

It's a bit of glorifying him because he's LH. Can you get a Gavin Lux-lite, keep vaughn, use money toward a viable RF solution? I'd argue you'll be better off and can still find Vaughn a good enough amount of ABs.

Now, obviously there are some players that are so good that yes I'd trade Vaughn, but Gavin lux isn't one of them. And he has the talent to make me look silly, but to me Vaughn is paying the "fully realized" price of Lux when he is no sure thing yet.

[A-Train to 35th]

13 minutes ago, Leonard Zelig said:

Wow, that’s the exact same number of non-admins here too!

Once in awhile you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

[Jack Parkman]

13 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

They could just use money and sign Michael Conforto to play RF and keep Vaughn too. I don't understand why the acquisition has to come via trade. Spend more of Jerry's fucking money on real ass players. Andrew Vaughn should be their 1B for the next decade. Trading him would be a huge mistake. I'd trade Eloy before I traded Vaughn. 

We'd all rather spend Jerry's money. Jerry doesn't want to spend his money so what we want really doesn't matter. 

[Chicago White Sox]

1 minute ago, bmags said:

 

I'm open to anything, but I agree with this. Especially Gavin Lux...he has skills I like, but it's still unrealized when it comes to consistent hard contact. 

It's a bit of glorifying him because he's LH. Can you get a Gavin Lux-lite, keep vaughn, use money toward a viable RF solution? I'd argue you'll be better off and can still find Vaughn a good enough amount of ABs.

Now, obviously there are some players that are so good that yes I'd trade Vaughn, but Gavin lux isn't one of them. And he has the talent to make me look silly, but to me Vaughn is paying the "fully realized" price of Lux when he is no sure thing yet.

Lux is a former 70 grade prospect who has only has one year of experience.  I get he didn’t start the world on fire last season, but I guess I don’t get the reasoning for souring on him so quickly.  If your scouts still believe in the talent, you may never be able to acquire this type of player for a guy like Vaughn.  And say this as a huge Andrew Vaughn fan.

[35thstreetswarm]

5 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Lux is a former 70 grade prospect who has only has one year of experience.  I get he didn’t start the world on fire last season, but I guess I don’t get the reasoning for souring on him so quickly.  If your scouts still believe in the talent, you may never be able to acquire this type of player for a guy like Vaughn.  And say this as a huge Andrew Vaughn fan.

Problem is we're trying to contend yesterday and don't have time to let Gavin Lux take a couple seasons to round into form.  If I'm trading Vaughn I want it to be for somebody *more* major-league ready, not less.

[South Side Hit Men]

14 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

They could just use money and sign Michael Conforto to play RF and keep Vaughn too. I don't understand why the acquisition has to come via trade. Spend more of Jerry's fucking money on real ass players. Andrew Vaughn should be their 1B for the next decade. Trading him would be a huge mistake. I'd trade Eloy before I traded Vaughn. 

Agreed on both counts, though it’s unlikely Jerry will hit anything close to the near $200M people here are expecting. Same false expectations as last offseason.

Eloy doesn’t want to DH, in part because he has sucked ass to date when he has attempted it (.592 OPS). There is no evidence he can stay healthy at LF, or can be even league average the times he is able to play. He is the one core member I’d listen to trade talks for as his juice is not worth the squeeze. Get a solid #2 SP for him, the Marlins have ample pitching, other teams may also be interested in giving up a solid return.

I don’t agree with Hahn’s assessment that RF is a good fit for Vaughn or Sheets, but he pissed away all the cash on players who have shit the bed in October, leaving people hoping they can get decent garbage for Kimbrel and/or Keuchel by the guy who thought they were wise acquisitions in the first place.

[Balta1701]

21 minutes ago, South Side Hit Men said:

Eloy doesn’t want to DH, in part because he has sucked ass to date when he has attempted it (.592 OPS). 

That's literally in 27 games, 115 PAs, and you're selectively getting games where he wasn't healthy enough to play the field.

[southsider2k5]

30 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

That's literally in 27 games, 115 PAs, and you're selectively getting games where he wasn't healthy enough to play the field.

Not to mention the simple fact that  in the games where he has to go to the DL because he hurt himself, his OPS is .000.

[FoxForce2]

1 hour ago, South Side Hit Men said:

Eloy doesn’t want to DH, in part because he has sucked ass to date when he has attempted it (.592 OPS). There is no evidence he can stay healthy at LF...

He is the one core member I’d listen to trade talks for as his juice is not worth the squeeze. Get a solid #2 SP for him, the Marlins have ample pitching, other teams may also be interested in giving up a solid return.

I don’t agree with Hahn’s assessment that RF is a good fit for Vaughn or Sheets...

From not having much instinct to play left field to not getting his mind wrapped around going as DH -  a lot of Eloy's downside is mental. He could probably compensate for the lack of aptitude in the field with extensive practice/exercise,to a reasonable degree anyway. The lowered performance as a DH is likely a self-image issue. Not so much a matter of loss of confidence as a mismatch of expectations and view of his role in the game. Cognitive dissonance?
Doctors Freud and Jung aside, his swing was something different in 2021 than what we've seen earlier. Very wide open where he was somewhat more compact mid-delivery previous to the injury. Someone mentioned earlier that he looked like he was over-guessing at pitches instead of reading and hitting the ball as pitched which seems more his style at this point in his career. Obviously, the injury is a major factor in all this but the injury has to have some affect on his mindset as well. Get him together with Grandal over chips and Cokes - for a week or two.
I'm 180 out on Hahn's take re: Vaughn/Sheets in RF, but I've said that elsewhere.

Edited November 8, 2021 by FoxForce2

[A-Train to 35th]

Verlander anyone? He threw about 25 pitches today @ 94-97 mph according to Joel Sherman for 15-20 teams, wonder if Hahn was there?

[hi8is]

2 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Thanks man! 

Anytime. Just remember, I’m a worthless trash poster who has contributed nothing to this site for the past 18 years. 😆

[ron883]

1 hour ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

They could just use money and sign Michael Conforto to play RF and keep Vaughn too. I don't understand why the acquisition has to come via trade. Spend more of Jerry's fucking money on real ass players. Andrew Vaughn should be their 1B for the next decade. Trading him would be a huge mistake. I'd trade Eloy before I traded Vaughn. 

I agree with you here. Both have all star potential with their bats. Vaughn has proven to be a better and more trustworthy LFer. Eloy simply can't be trusted to stay healthy out there. He's also more prone to boneheaded plays. I'd keep Vaughn over Eloy at this point. 

The problem with Vaughn being their 1B for a decade is that Abreu will play 1st base until he decides to retire. Maybe he moves to DH, but he still soaks up a roster spot until he retires. 

Edited November 8, 2021 by ron883

[ron883]

2 minutes ago, hi8is said:

Anytime. Just remember, I’m a worthless trash poster who has contributed nothing to this site for the past 18 years. 😆

And you phish for likes. Disgusting. 

[NWINFan]

4 minutes ago, A-Train to 35th said:

Verlander anyone? He threw about 25 pitches today @ 94-97 mph according to Joel Sherman for 15-20 teams, wonder if Hahn was there?

I fear this would be another example of the White Sox getting a star who is way best his prime. Verlander has always been a great competitor, but I wonder just how much he has left.

[FoxForce2]

3 minutes ago, ron883 said:

The problem with Vaughn being their 1B for a decade is that Abreu will play 1st base until he decides to retire. Maybe he moves to DH, but he still soaks up a roster spot until he retires. 

And Pito improved his game significantly at 1st this year - which is a good thing? Or a bad thing (re: Vaughn?)
I'm so confused.

[A-Train to 35th]

6 minutes ago, NWINFan said:

I fear this would be another example of the White Sox getting a star who is way best his prime. Verlander has always been a great competitor, but I wonder just how much he has left.

Yikes, didn't realize he was 38, your right too risky especially since he'll want 3 years.  Let some other team roll the dice, as long as he doesn't come back to hurt us in the playoffs because  I think he'll has 1 good year in him. Unless he's drinking the Tom Brady water.

Edited November 8, 2021 by A-Train to 35th
sp.

[hi8is]

8 minutes ago, ron883 said:

And you phish for likes. Disgusting. 

If I was phishing, I’d be trying to access your account so I could boost that like count. 😆

[pcq]

Kap is a blue hat klown. 

[Chicago White Sox]

2 hours ago, 35thstreetswarm said:

Problem is we're trying to contend yesterday and don't have time to let Gavin Lux take a couple seasons to round into form.  If I'm trading Vaughn I want it to be for somebody *more* major-league ready, not less.

Is Andrew Vaughn really that much more major league ready?  He posted a 94 wRC+ vs. Lux’s 91 wRC+ last year.  If you narrow the window, Vaughn put up a 134 wRC+ in July before slowing down, while Lux put up a 162 wRC+ in Sep/Oct.  Honestly, I’d give Vaughn some edge, but I’m not sure I’d consider them massively different from a readiness standpoint as both are wild cards heading into the 2022 season.