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Goes to show the Sox still have a long ways to go as an organization.

I'm not even advocating for Ant to start against everyone. I was using him as an example of analytics being used to limit Ant's exposure and bring him along slowly against LHPs until he got more comfortable. I believe he's a guy you keep and build with. The bat plays. He can work himself up to an adequate LF, or backup 2B.

Of qualifying LF's last year, Sam was the worst in baseball with -9 fielding run value. It's going to be really difficult to find a spot for all of these guys because Sam simply cannot be your opening day LF next year. Colson is a top 10 SS in the league in the same metrics, Chase is the 6th best 2B. Roch and Bonemer complicate things further. Sam could be a light power DH/platoon role if you can find someone to take on Beni's contract or just eat it. I think Beni has to go regardless so you can see if Colson and Mune can bounce back before you make a long term decision on them, it's difficult to see how both of them stay on the team past 2027 if you extend Vargas as you should. Good problem to have I suppose.

but Sox have Mune and japanese players love to go to teams in a big market with another japanese player. their shot at any japanese starters would be higher than most and a huge boost to marketing revenue potential as well.

I’m fine with him playing against LHP, but you have to upgrade RF against LHP then.

For a team that should be expecting themselves to contend going into next season, I’m okay with slotting him in at the back end of the rotation and letting him eat innings. If he can regain anything close to his first half this year, let that be a big time bonus. I just hope they don’t expect or rely on him to be that first half guy moving forward.

Are you replying to me? Antonacci, full season, vs. LH starters. Ant was OPSing in the low .500s, on the season, against all LH pitchers in August, sometime. By the end of the season, he dragged that up to .604. He improved against LHPs by the end of the season.

Antonacci full season vs. LHP, what was the limited timeframe you just quoted??? He really needs to be at .675 vs lefties to be viable everyday with his defense…unless he improves considerably there (Not only Teel…but Venable stuck with Benintendi, Mune, Braden, Colson, etc.) .227 .336 .268 .604

Davis Martin had a dominant first two months of the season (11 starts), then was adequate in 5 of his next 10 before he started to stumble. Except for the Rockies game, his September was normal for him.

Of course Pham was a selfish asshole. That's who he has always been. Duh.

Polarizing figure and all, but TA brought a swagger and electricity to the Sox that they hadn’t had for as I long as I can remember. It’s too bad it was so short lived.

Yes, they even added the best FA starter in Cease…not to mention Okamoto at third.

The numbered list is the article. The paragraphs with the dash (-) are my own thoughts. 1) who is sox core - (Vargas, Droth, Taylor, Burke, Ant) - Vargas is the star, Droth, Peters, Ant, Burke and maybe Teel are the established "core" of this bunch. Grant Taylor, Hagen. While Teel took an effort to return from injuries, he OPSed .808 in September. Mune, Colson and Braden require some heavy work to be considered solid pieces going forward. Bonemer and Brooks Baldwin give Getz breathing room to make a decision on whether Braden is MLB-ready again at the end of ST, or he still needs a month in AAA to consolidate any advancements he pursues this off-season. William Bergolla, Nick McLain and maybe Samuel Zavala have outside shots at bench roles. 2) 27 rotation - (burke, taylor, Hagen, FA) - That's where it starts. They've also assembled a group of 4's and 5's. (Martin, Schultz, Sandlin, Schweitzer, Shane Smith, McDougal, Thorpe, a returning Mike Vasil, Ky Bush, and let us not forget Luis Castillo). 3) strikeouts - fix Mune, trade Colson, Droth to SS, Ant to 2B - Teel also requires a productive off-season to get his bat going consistently. Even though he OPSed .808 in September, he sported a 33% K-rate. I've seen Luis Arraez thrown out there as a profile who could compliment the K-heavy lineup. His defense is still solid enough where he's probably not old enough to commit to a DH-only role. 4) Shoman and hitting adjustments - cites K rates in postseason - The Sox were 1/2 (AL only) in many offensive categories, and top 5 overall. They led the AL in Runs scored. They did something right, even though the current trend of 3 true outcomes isn't quite as aesthetically pleasing. They also led the AL in walks. That's ambitious for a team starting 7 players who haven't logged a full year of MLB games, and then Vargas, who's the veteran of the bunch, coming into the season with 2.5 seasons of games under his belt. They're young. The Sox got a lot out of this bunch, for all the griping about RISP, bunting and platoons. 5) Pham is evil - I never understand focusing on one player who is the 26th, 27th man, as if he's indicative of why this team stopped astonishing. It's an incredibly young team. Veteran presence matters. The Sox entered the year with the goal of not losing 90 games. Getz flippantly floated improving another 19 games from 2025. The exposure came from the team achieving too much too soon. So a team built to audition a bunch of options had to cobble together some experience while not sacrificing the future. Pham wasn't the reason the Sox set all sorts of strikeout records. He's not the reason the Guards put up 9 runs in 2 drop-dead games in a row. 6) Venable needs growth - cites analytics, sticking with Teel, bullpen games - Analytics are what drive the game today. Sam Antonacci is a good example. He had huge platoon splits for most of the season, so they subbed in a RHH against some lefties. As he gained experience, they left him in more. At the end of the season, his slash line against left-handed starters was .318/.398/.430. As far as sticking with the regulars as they stumbled in the final three games, who else was Venable going to play? He got a young team thorough playoff experience. One can only hope these guys watched the Guardians pile on the Rays yesterday and get pissed at how close they were. Sullivan's take is that the team is still rebuilding, has a lot of question marks - beyond a few "tweaks".

Signing Ryan Jeffers would largely fix the catching problem, but then you’d have to package Teel with Colson or Braden or some combination of the three for pitching in one possible solution. Problem is you’re selling low on all three. Interesting the focus is on Hagen and Taylor to the rotation, nothing about Noah Schultz. Guess they’re theoretically including him with Kay Martin Sandlin Thorpe. that also rips a huge hole in the bullpen that has also to be addressed will they actually write off nearly $35 million for Castillo and Beni?

Agreed...but it involves creating a situation where Antonacci is at 2B. And that will have ripple effects which could really change the dynamics of this team! Which is good...

Jake Burger.

Really gonna need to work some free agent magic because I still only see one reliable starting pitcher here.

Agree with the core. Next,

Talks about who he thinks is the "core" of the team: "Miguel Vargas, Chase Meidroth, Grant Taylor, Sean Burke and Sam Antonacci. No one else is untouchable, including Munetaka Murakami, who will be a free agent after ’27, and Kyle Teel, who did not deliver offensively and spent most of the season rehabbing injuries. The Sox need starting pitching and bullpen help, more contact hitters, a stronger bench and yes, more catching, as Teel and Edgar Quero both regressed." Talks about the pitching staff: "With Fedde gone, next year’s rotation should include Burke, Taylor, Hagen Smith and a free agent starter who will sign after the lockout ends. Veteran Sonny Gray would be a perfect choice. The rest of the ’26 starters who were demoted in the postseason can fight for the final spot, though Castillo, who is owed $22.7 million next year, is not a viable option." Talks about the strikeouts: "No 2027 Sox lineup can have both Murakami and Colson Montgomery in it and not expect 3-6 combined strikeouts a game between them, every game. Murakami has one year left on his two-year deal, and the Sox are open to an extension, which seems crazy after his second-half slide and postseason flop. Montgomery hit 31 home runs and won’t be a free agent for four more years, but he struggled to find a groove and struck out a major-league record 227 times. The idea of waiting until No. 1 pick Roch Cholowsky is ready to replace him at shortstop seems ludicrous. If the Sox can find a team that thinks they can fix Montgomery’s swing, go for it. They can always move Meidroth to short and Antonacci to second, then figure it out when Cholowsky is." Talks about the hitting coach: "The Sox’ offensive meltdown was not all Shomon’s fault. But if they’re hoping for improvement from Teel, Braden Montgomery, Murakami and the rest, maybe a change in hitting philosophy is needed." Talks about Pham: "There’s no warning label on Pham, but this kind of behavior was predictable. Venable could’ve escorted Pham out of the media room before the veteran made a scene, but chose to let him finish his rant. Pham didn’t help the Sox on the field, and he embarrassed himself off the field." Talks about Venable: "Venable is the likely favorite to be named American League Manager of the Year and deserves much credit for getting the Sox as far as he did. But analytics only go so far. Like his players, Venable can learn from his first postseason as manager. All in all, a remarkable journey for the Sox, who became relevant again in Chicago under Venable. But to stay that way, it will take more than a few tweaks this offseason."

Schultz is a starter for them, they just had to me careful with him and really monitor his innings. I expect some of the kids gloves to come off next year.

Setting strikeout records in the postseason doesn’t make me think they are fixed.

Looks like 19th I believe, without any consideration to anyone who would lose picks due to signs, overspending, etc.

What’s their draft position?

I mean, he did. They’re a top 3 offense in the game. Tied for best in the AL