WestEddy

That's weird, because all 3 Cleveland starters had below average OPS+ for 2025. Their next two outfield subs didn't even get to within half of average major league production. Seattle's Luke Raley and Dylan Moore were horrible, offensively. Philadelphia's entire OF setup, outside of Brandon Marsh, was a complete abortion. So, I think what you meant to say was it's good that the White Sox are at least on par with what actual playoff teams are running out there in the outfield.

1) At this stage, I wouldn't call Hill "even worse". He hits about on par with where Taylor was last year, minus some power. 2) He's a backup who can cover CF. Tommy Pham was that guy in 2024, and he was horrible in CF. 3) You're not really looking to find a backup CF who's better than your regular CF. That would be finding a replacement CF. 4) There are about 6 open 40-man spots, so the off-season hasn't even really started yet.

I'm kind of starved for any baseball talk, so here's the latest FutureSox podcast with James Fox and Ian Eskridge. Highlights - 1) they surmise Duncan Davitt would have been taken in the Rule 5, so the Sox protected him 2) They throw out the names Yordanny Monegro (Red Sox) and Reggie Crawford (Giants) as guys the Sox could be looking at 3) Venable seems to love Derek Hill, so get used to him, maybe 4) Pereira/Murray trade shows the Sox prioritizing defense 5) Leger and Shoman seem to come in with no connections, just interviewed and hired Enjoy, and think about throwing these guys a couple of dollars a month through Patreon. I find the Sunday night Podcasts to be pretty informative. FutureSox | creating baseball content | Patreon

But why? The guy has hit .200+ his entire career, pretty much. Taylor had a little more pop at the end, but all you want out of Hill is to cover CF in the case Robert goes down. As for the rest, they did leave themselves a bunch of roster spots, so they're not done.

Well, they probably see themselves within a window and see two years of Cease as worth the contract.

I think White Sox say no to that. Walker had a full year and did nothing with it. Cannon seems a return change to being the cromulent #5 he was in '24.

Hill probably hits about as well as Michael A. Taylor. Murray most likely hits better than Jacob Amaya. Pereira probably gets a real shot to start, or at least platoon.

Vision? The team literally played at a 70 win pace from the ASB on. I said that if they ran back the same guys and they produced the same, Liptak said they'd be worse. How is that laying out a "vision" that Tauchman is an integral part of next year's 70-win team? Make it make sense!! Maybe explain it to me like I'm 5.

Weird when a dude pulls his own pants down and whips himself. He's pretending he gets to make words mean anything he wants.

Not sure what your point is. Tauchman was a theoretical part of the 2026 team, now he's not. Maybe they try to resign him for $1M, then he will be, again. He OPSed .627 the last 2 months of the season, so it's not like he put that team on his back to play at a 70-win pace from the ASB on. Maybe they just needed to slow down their access to his hitting data, then not let scouts and coaches talk to each other. That's the key to a winning team!! LOL.

Everything you have to your name.

Nice SoxMachine piece on Shomon. https://soxmachine.com/2025/11/derek-shomon-wants-to-bring-relentless-energy-to-a-hopefully-relentless-white-sox-offense

I thought Booser was a good pickup, and he turned out to not be. A player not living up to expectations doesn't really change my worldview. I thought Hill would be expendable, turns out, the Sox are keeping him as insurance. Wow, I guess I must turn on Chris Getz and start calling for his firing, huh? LOL. Tauchman - I didn't think he was part of next year's team. The clear reasoning behind not trading him at the deadline has been talked to death. No real mystery there. He had one year of control left. Big deal. I haven't changed any opinions on players, I didn't say the Sox would be a 70 win team next year that Tauchman would be an integral part of. Not sure how my opinions have "eb and weave"ed. Please, make it make sense.

Booser's a bummer. Elko was predictable. I thought Pereira made hill expendable, but now they have 2 guys who can cover CF in a pinch. Tauchman - seems like a great guy, good value, he's probably cooked.

I think he just likes to take a single sentence out of context, and then "disprove" it in some completely unrelated argument. Somehow, me saying that I don't think Vargas is going to be a superstar anchor of the next playoff team turns into "Nothing can ever be good, because there will always be another player in the past who had a better season..."

FanGraphs article elicits and relays some Getz talk about Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/white-sox-gm-chris-getz-on-his-teams-top-pitching-prospects/

Vargas will never get beyond solid starter, IMO. Like, in the next 4 years, if he has a primary position, maybe he has a 3-4 WAR year, or two. The end. I believe the Sox will be pushing the upper 70s in wins this year, and be competing for the last wild card spot in 27, so no, don't trade him. He's a place-holder. But Bonemer, Carlson, 2026 1st rounder will be moving him off of his spot in the coming years. I really don't think the Sox are building for a window. This is the "steady flow" of talent Hahn always dreamed of. If they can draft and develop guys like Bonemer, Vargas will become expendable. I don't think the Sox should trade Vargas. I think he should be a Sox regular (if he earns it) until he's pushed out. I'm just saying that of course he should be getting interest because I think he has one more plateau to reach as a hitter.

Vargas should be drawing interest. He OPSed something like .769 after his famous hand adjustment of 4/23/2025. My expectation would be that he would bulk up a little further, and a breakout would probably look something beyond what @Ozzie for Manager mentioned. But this is the year for him. Only Braden Montgomery and Sam Antonacci will be crashing the gates this season.

I'll give you that.

There's bullpen coach, and assistant pitching coach. I believe those are two different things. I would think the asst. pitching coach works directly with the pitching coach. Diagnosing? Managing the pitching cycles, watching film with the guys? I'm not an expert, but I will certainly go on and on if you let me.

That's what AI tells me a bullpen coach does compared to the pitching coach. Like, maybe he works with some of these guys to keep them "thinking over their left leg" or whatever, but all the mechanics and in game management in under the purview of the pitching coach.

Can you pull it together and stay in one discussion? Who cares if Getz makes it to 2029? How is that where you go to with this? Everything becomes a conspiracy due to Getz' big ego to prove a trade worked, or some BS. He obtained players. When they don't work out, he seems to move on. Vargas is the guy who looks like a good clubhouse guy, and he also talks a good game - went into the off-season saying that if they wanted him to play OF, he'd learn the OF, he'll do whatever the team asks. I'd bet he gets a bit more leeway, and an extra chance. The guy whose agents call the front office every time he moves in the batting order, he probably doesn't get as many chances. That's how life works. The rest of this Bibble-dy-Babble is just that.

Yes, I believe we all agree that Getz probably wanted his own coaching hires, and JR probably told him to slow his roll, they can't pay two staffs. So they hired Venable, he worked with the old guard for a year, picked a couple who he worked well with, the other contracts weren't renewed, the end. Or we can frame it in the world of puppets, and agendas, and besmirching, and all that. There was a pretty stark situation with Thames at the ASB where Venable announced to the press that he wanted a change in focus for hitting. I don't think anybody disputes that. Not that Thames sucked. Not that Venable is a despicable human, just didn't work well together or something, but once Venable got his way, the team broke out. Thames is still recognized as a good hitting coach, nobody spit on his back as he left. I also feel the pitching staff under-performed. Some of the guys pitched to their ceilings, but some others didn't.