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If he waits until July to sign, I'd think the White Sox have a realistic shot here. They've been risk averse in the 16-year-old marketplace but signing 18-22 year old Cubans is kind of what they do. They don't have any reported commitments/agreements with top guys in the 2020 class yet either. Colas played on his youth teams with Yolbert Sanchez and Luis Robert in Cuba. It makes lots of sense.

The one time SoxTalk is glad to hear about Tatis.

Just transferring stuff from the Major League catch all thread on him to here.

I wan to point out one part of this scouting evaluation that is just comical and I see it all the time: "There are still concerns about Robert’s ability to hit good breaking pitches" No one hits good breaking pitches consistently. There are guys who hit off-speed well, but they are not teeing off on "good breaking pitches." If Robert had issues hitting a good fastball, that would be a big problem. Struggling with good off-speed just adds Robert to a list of 99.9% of MLB hitters - especially young ones.

ESPN just did a "What Baseball will look like during the 2020s" article. The Sox got a lot of ink: Best record by team: season: Chicago White Sox, 2023 (112-50, .691); decade: New York Yankees (920-668, .577)* Having their best decade ever: Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres Changing direction: Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians Some of the model clubs from the 2010s began to fray and dissolve by the middle of the decade as other franchises caught up with what had once been their cutting-edge strategies. Meanwhile, the Padres usurped southern California dominance from the Dodgers, and the White Sox became the darlings of the Windy City. Highest batting average: season: Nick Madrigal, 2023 (.364); decade: Luis Arraez (.327) Madrigal's performance during that historic season for the ChiSox would have been MVP-worthy in a lot of campaigns, but he finished second in the voting to teammate Luis Robert. Best major league pitchers (by year): 2025: Michael Kopech 2026: Michael Kopech Hardest-throwing pitcher: Michael Kopech Top power/speed combination: Luis Robert Best offense: 2023 Chicago White Sox Best infield: 2023 Chicago White Sox (Andrew Vaughn, Nick Madrigal, Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada) Most wins by pitcher: season: Gerrit Cole, 2022 (26); decade: Lucas Giolito (152) I know it's silly, but it's fun.

All I can say is The White Sox Are Coming, Tra La, TraLa.

Why in the world would he need to see Bailey become a MLB regular when Paddy signed Tatis? The proof is right there...

"The Chicago White Sox, who have been in on most Cuban prospects over the past decade and are building around fellow Cubans Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert and Jose Abreu, figure to be a favorite landing spot."

Absolutely not.

Willians Astudillo. Just because you don't strike out doesn't mean you aren't making outs. You just do it in different ways.

Since Robert got extended, I think the Sox could safely keep Madrigal down for a month without being accused of service time manipulation. That way you could get a 7th year on him, and if he performs in the first year, you could still extend him for a fairly reasonable amount.

I don't think I'd classify him as someone with high bust potential; just by the definition of a bust. Madrigal has the highest floor of almost every single prospect in baseball - he's an elite defender and base runner who is never over matched at the plate. His ceiling is obviously also limited much more than other elite prospects. I don't think he has much bust potential at all, but the main purpose the Sox do deals like this is for a huge potential reward for the organization - I don't think Madrigal has that type of reward upside. That said, I think he's one of the most sure fire big league players this organization has ever had as a prospect.

Most people: New Year, New Me for 4 months White Sox: New Year, New Me for 4 years

Just need it to be in next class (I’ll save the lecture on “maybe this is why you don’t trade away your intl money for cash just because there is nobody currently available”)

The Sox will have to trade for an arm. They could probably trade Engel for a decent arm; one that's not fully developed, but with potential. And before you stop laughing, take a gander at the available CF free agents, where Kevin Pillar stands tall. Maybe someone like Feliz from the Pirates.

And I will counter with the elephant in the room that Eloy and Robert both have had major injury issues in their history and having a competent 4th outfielder is huge.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2869598-cuban-star-prospect-oscar-colas-reportedly-seeking-mlb-contract-after-defecting You would think White Sox have a huge advantage here. Cross our fingers.

With the extension for Luis Robert, we now know all but the last bench players for the 2020 White Sox, and it's an impressive group. The young studs: Luis Robert, Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, Tim Anderson, Nomar Mazara, and Nick Madrigal The elder statesmen: Yasmani Grandal, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Abreu, James McCann, and Leury Garcia The subs: Adam Engel, Danny Mendick This team is going to score a lot of runs. The real question is the pitching. Lucas Giolito can't be the only dominant starter if the team wants to win the division and compete in the playoffs. Dallas Keuchel will eat innings and keep the team in games, but isn't a dominant post-season starter any longer. Gio Gonzalez is meant to just stabilize the end of the rotation. The Sox need something out of Reynaldo Lopez, Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech, and Carlos Rodon. At least one of those guys - most likely Kopech - needs to join Giolito at the front of the rotation. And the rest of the guys need to shave their ERAs by more than a run per game. As for the bullpen, this is now the most fluid part of the team. With winning will come much higher expectations and pressure. Will they be up to it, or will they implode like the Nationals bullpen did? More arms are needed before the season begins, and reinforcements will be needed before it ends. If the Sox want to win the AL Central, their offense looks good enough. Just stay healthy. The pitching is the biggest variable.

A theoretical discussion about extending virtually any player in order to in theory have that players services for a longer period of control or enhance his trade value. I maintain that extensions don't mean only the expensive Sale, Q and Eaton types but also players like McCann or Lopez if the price is right.

To me, Cease and Kopech have the widest range of outcomes. If both guys perform perform better than they are projected the Sox are going to be good.

I swear I'll turn this car around if you don't settle down. And no more "Are we there yets" out of you !

I believe he had/has a very serious back injury.

Having a Gold Glove second baseman, such as Yolmer, is more about depth, to cover potential injuries, than it is about late inning substitutions. If Madrigal succeeds, there is obviously no point in ever pulling him, for defensive purposes, in that he is a Gold Glove defender, himself. However, if Madrigal were to get hurt and have to miss any significant time, Sanchez would be a nice fall back option, especially with all of the offensive thunder, now in the lineup. HIs offensive deficiencies could easily be hidden in a deep lineup. The problem is what do you do with Sanchez, in the meantime? He really has no place to play, unless Moncada, or Madrigal are injured. He would just be riding the bench and driving his teammates crazy, with his antics. LOL.

Who died and made you mod? ?

I honestly don't get your anti-defense bench position. I'd actually be fine with Engel as the 4th outfielder. He could be fine vs lefties with a little positive variance (see last year) and he's a fantastic defender and baserunner. Engel the starter makes me irrationally upset, but Engel as a 4th OF'er is such a perfect fit. This isnt the NL; I've never been a buyer of the power bench bat in the AL. If your regular lineup is talented enough (the Sox is) you don't need some PH masher or hit first player. You need versatile and athletic players who excel defensively and on the bases imo. That's an ideal bench in the modern game.

I doubt we go with a five man bench outside of short stretches of the season. And I really hope we aim higher than guys like Yolmer & Engel if we’re going with a four man bench.

I don't know much. He seems like a much higher ceiling guy than Yolbert is though.

Bailey needs to be a real prize to get any momentum going in that market, imo. Exciting thing is he has a real shot of being one of the fastest risers in baseball in 2020.

Naw, his history suggests otherwise. Worry more about literally everyone after him.

Thanks, mobile at the moment.

I will trust Paddy to get this guy, I just hoped they would be able to go after him if they liked him

Right, and remember we'll need him rested for all of those Post Season games. How's that for positive thinking? LOL. Seriously, 40 games of rest, would be reasonable. 50 days off might be excessive.

Yahoo article after he announced.

I would think that giving McCann all of the starts vs. lefties, wouldn't be more than the normal load for the 2ND catcher. How many starts to you expect Grandal to get, behind the plate? He started 110 games, as catcher in 2018 and 124 behind the plate, last year. Keeping Grandal fresh and rested should help him. Why wear him out, when the Sox have McCann there to spell him games?

James McCann didn't fade badly. He had a horrible July , but was well above average in August and September. This takes like 5 seconds to look up

Hope Jerry had his yacht waiting over by the Bay Of Pigs.

If it’s next July I’m 80% certain Sox lands him. JR rather spends his money on older prospects for J2. Personally I hope the Sox stay away from him.

Moncada is on the verge of breaking out and being a superstar. I wouldn't move him off of 3rd for anybody.

McCann should certainly get all of the starts vs. LH pitching. His splits were terrific vs. lefties and Grandal is just average when batting right handed.

LH corner OF with 95 MPH FB. Yes.

I think he should be allowed to win the job in spring - if he has a big spring, the job should be his.

He was absolutely dominant in AA though, which is probably a tougher league to succeed in at this moment in time. That said, obviously he has no case for being called up immediately.

This is basically where I am too. Madrigal was really good in his 29 games in Charlotte last summer, but not in an eye popping knock your socks off dominant fashion that begged for an immediate call up. If the FO sees fit to offer his a team friendly deal I won't complain, but he is much more wait and see to me. I don't think anyone one can really argue against with a few more weeks of seasoning in AAA before making his debut.

Most of our talent is cheap.

These two aren't really that similar. Reed wasn't as fast, he wasn't as good of a baserunner, he wasn't a 65+ grade defender, and he struck out more in an era where striking out happened less. Mardrigal is running historically great strike out numbers, and he plays a position with less emphasis on power. Reed also hit the ball in the air with much more frequency which is bad given his limited iso outputs. Reed was also a lefty who absolutely could not hit lefties.

Or they could just go off script, and bring him up on Day 1 without a long term deal. Less likely, but some teams have done that recently.

Very important for our young and talented staff to have the experience of the Grandal/McCann tandem to guide them.

The funniest part of this is that the bold prediction isn't 'Yoan Moncada is going to be an MVP', it's maybe he might compete a little bit with this one guy.

This sure sounds like typical Levine Cub-biased BS. Supposedly right before the Grandal signing was announced Renteria talked to McCann, who supposedly had nothing but good things to say about that deal. I am not at all against trading McCann if the return is good, but I do not buy what Levine is peddling.

A stadium is a stadium. I'd rather not further entrench the idea that residents need to pay money to get a better stadium for some unknown reason. Sports, food and beer. This is Chicago, I don't need the stadium to be a culinary destination. We have plenty of those already.