WestEddy

Yes. I don't know if the time the Cubs had him in the majors would apply to the Sox, now.

Couldn't find an Ellard/Eisert string, so this'll do:

There's still a lot of swing and miss in Workman's game. It's a worse issue than Canaria. They have to roster him at least 90 days (I don't know if they can count the days on the Cubs' 26-man) before they play with phantom injuries to get him some minor league work. There's a couple of steps to outrighting him, but if they're able, they can work with him for a season. The prospect ranking dudes don't seem sold on him. I initially said yes, but the same kind of player comes across the wire a few times a season.

Fangraphs says he's an "above-average" SS. If they're going to roster Amaya as long as possible, why not try to get this guy past 90 days on the big league roster, then whether through phantom injury shenanigans, or whatnot, they can option him next year and bring him along.

From Fangraphs: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/chicago-cubs-top-37-prospects/ 20. Gage Workman, 3B Video Drafted: 4th Round, 2020 from Arizona State (DET) Age 25.3 Height 6′ 4″ Weight 220 Bat / Thr S / R FV 40 Tool Grades (Present/Future) Hit Raw Power Game Power Run Fielding Throw 20/20 50/55 30/40 55/55 60/70 70 Relegated to third base because some of his college teammates were really great shortstop defenders, Workman has successfully moved up the defensive spectrum as a pro; he is now an above-average shortstop defender and a 70-grade glove at third. Workman’s footwork and actions are incredible for a player his size. At a long-torso’d 6-foot-4, he has remarkable body control and an impact arm. There are old scouting tropes about big-framed hitters and switch-hitters tending to develop late. Workman was both. He struggled to make contact for his whole career and struck out 38% of the time at Double-A in 2023, a terrifying rate. In 2024, at age 25, Workman made real progress in this area. He ditched hitting from the right side and his 27.5% K% was the lowest since he was at Low-A; he hit a BABIP-aided .280/.366/.476 with 18 home runs back at Erie. He has above-average raw power but is still whiffing a ton, especially against breaking stuff, and he’ll likely continue to strike out so much that it limits his big league role. But with the Cubs corner infield situation currently up in the air, he has an opportunity to play such great defense that he wins the job at the hot corner coming out of camp. His long-term role is as a strikeout prone utility infielder.

The Cubs DFAed Gage Workman. Wonder if the Sox would just swap him out for Amaya. Workman's a good-glove SS, looks like he'd hit better than Amaya.

Narvaez back to Charlotte.

And Kenny still has one more World Series victory than Billy Beane. Maybe they can put that in the sequel.

This comes off as a review written by somebody who never visited The Rate. Decaying? LOL.

https://www.royalsreview.com/f/2011/2/14/1992424/success-and-failure-rates-of-top-mlb-prospects#:~:text=About 70% of Baseball America,20 succeed in the majors. And a review of that article 7 years later: https://www.royalsreview.com/2018/3/22/16749948/updating-the-success-and-failure-rates-of-top-mlb-prospects

I mostly agree with your last sentence. I'm not sure if they'd do it sooner to get him more time in AAA, or at the TDL to sneak him through the flurry of roster moves. If Vargas got to the TDL, that would be a full season's worth of playing time on the Sox. More than enough time to work through a temporary slump, or catch fire for a week.

That's kind of how trades are consummated. When you go to the store, does the cashier regularly wind up with your cell phone and wallet?

Probably for similar reasons why he was failing in Los Angeles. It's not exactly like they brought in a perennial ML All-Star who forgot how to hit.

Where does this canard come from? They DFAed Fletcher, DeLoach and Steven Wilson, so they didn't stubbornly try to pretend they were another week from turning it around. Players are going on the IL faster than they were under Hahn. Vargas was a top 40 prospect in the game. He was the centerpiece of a big trade. Don't you agree that it would be silly to cut bait on Vargas 22 games into the season? Especially in a "rebuild" season? And don't you also agree that it would have nothing to do with "being afraid to admit to a mistake" but more about giving the guy they sought out a thorough chance to realize the talent the industry pretty much resoundingly agreed he had?

Yeah, he is pretty bad at his "stalk and troll". LOL. I guess we're all in agreement that a sprained thumb isn't life threatening, or even career threatening.

It's a rebuild. Teams generally don't "win" during a rebuild. And if JR decides to move on from Getz, then so be it.

Why do the people who keep screaming about the White Sox playing 30 year old players argue that the solution is signing a 40-year-old player? When's your HBO Comedy special?

No it isn't. Having 5 starting pitchers out with TJS is a huge factor. 4 key offensive players being on the IL for an extended period of time will contribute to their losing. Sliding one of the guys actually hitting over to 1B for part of a season won't affect the team long term. Generally, when somebody mentions "moving deck chairs on the Titanic", that's a signal to me that the person has given up, and has no more arguments left to pursue. The White Sox are obligated to play the games on their schedule. They are a rebuilding team. I don't understand why you believe that a team that starts rebuilding must have every single position covered with budding stars sitting in AAA. The White Sox have 7 infield prospects in the upper levels. 5 outfield prospects in A-ball.

It's a good thing he's on that team. He's on the 40-man without any options left. He hits, just not with a lot of power. He's an infielder who fields all 3 positions worse than the other infielders on the roster. If they want to keep his bat in the lineup, he can rotate at 1B/DH with Drury/Elko, and play 2B once or twice a week.

I thought they should have non-tendered Vaughn and gone with an Elko/Colas rotation at 1B, so you're not correcting me on anything. But I can certainly understand hanging onto Vaughn for a relatively low price, as stepping up 0.1 fWAR probably wasn't seen as worth it. It's a rebuild, 1B is filled while Vaughn gets another couple months to look like a first-rounder before they move onto Elko or Sosa at 1B for the rest of 2025.

Yes, it is exactly like that. Are you actually trying to argue that after 21 games a -0.4 fWAR 1B is worlds worse than a -0.3 fWAR, or a -0.2 fWAR 1B? That's silly. Tristan Casas, Ty France, Rowdy Tellez, Enmanuel Valdez, Michael Toglia, LaMont Wade - they're all in the same group with Andrew Vaughn. It's not like there's a 29 way tie for best 1B in the game, then Vaughn's the oddball.

Well, it's a good thing that Meidroth hasn't had a broken hamate bone. LOL. I'm dealing with tendonitis in my left thumb right now. Again, he's on the 10-day IL. He's already dealt with this at Charlotte, and came back quickly to hit 3 HRs. Dry your tears, old man. You may still ruin somebody's day with your whiney BS, but it won't be mine.

They're rebuilding because they don't have prospects at each position ready to step up at AAA. The Orioles are an example of a successful team who doesn't have prospects ready at every single position to step in. Conversation does get to expand to using other teams as examples.