SoxBlanco

Let’s say Benintendi plays 140 games for the Sox in 2023. How many home runs would you predict he hits?

Agreed. I actually didn’t even realize Seby had as good of a season as he did.

Yeah, it all depends on cost and whether you are getting something closer to the second half of 2022 Andrus or the Andrus from the previous four years. The weird thing is that he was pulling the ball much more and his line drive percentage jumped significantly after joining the Sox. Why is that? Is that just what a hot streak looks like, or is that a change in approach? I honestly don’t know. Maybe a little bit of both? What if you could get a wRC+ of 90 with above average defense at 2B to go along with the leadership and baseball smarts that I discussed earlier? Is that worth it for a one year deal in the $8 - $10M range?

What would Andrus cost? I know the common opinion is that there’s no way he repeats his Sox performance in 2023, which I don’t disagree with. But to me, he brought much more to the team than his numbers. It was refreshing to see a good baseball mind. He knew when to steal a base in a clutch moment, he knew when to sell out for a home run, and I just got the feeling that he was a very smart baseball player. I wish we had more guys like him on the team. Now, he’s obviously a bad fit with our current payroll, unless he can be signed for really cheap, but I would not mind Andrus on this team at all.

The post you quoted isn’t even from this thread. It’s from the Benintendi thread. How did you manage to quote that post and respond to it in a thread from several years ago?

But the other teams in the Central have to play that same balanced schedule. So I’d say beating up on the Central probably would mean you will win the division. The first place team could just have less wins than in previous years.

He would have hit 29 HRs as recently as 2021 if he was playing his home games at the Rate.

It’s a fair question, but I think there’s a lot more to it than just looking at the additions and subtractions. The pieces will fit much better with the 2023 team. Vaughn at 1B, Eloy at DH, and a much better outfield defense. I also think Colas will be a solid addition.

I actually think Kelly has a solid season next year, assuming he’s healthy.

Is Engel as the 4th outfielder a possibility still?

Let’s say the Sox trade for Jansen. Do they cut ties with Grandal before the season? Or do they give him a chance to split time early on, and then cut him if he’s useless?

And Benintendi’s arm is horrendous.

Would any team be willing to take on Grandal’s salary (or some of it, at least) in a trade? Maybe Detroit? I thought I read they were willing to take on salary if the right deal came along.

I’d be absolutely shocked if his batting average and OBP were that low.

There was a game in 2021 where Abreu, Vaughn, and Sheets were all in the same lineup… And none of the three were playing first base. If that’s not the most ridiculous White Sox thing ever, I don’t know what is. I’m actually laughing out loud while typing this.

If Gallo put up another 4.2 WAR season last year (so back-to-back 4.2 WAR seasons), what kind of contract do you think he would get this year? Let’s just assume his 2022 numbers were exactly the same as his 2021 numbers.

Exactly. Gallo batted .199 for a full season and still put up 4.2 fWAR. And that season was only a year ago.

I would definitely get behind that plan. And I don’t disagree with your second paragraph. I think I’ve just entered the depression stage after seeing all of these huge contracts. I just keep thinking, “Wow, there’s really not much we can do, and all we can do is hope for a miracle where everything goes right in 2023.” Hell, maybe we are due after everything that went wrong in 2022.

I would definitely think about pulling the trigger on that, but then what would we do in the outfield? We’d still need to sign somebody. And since we need to sign an OF anyway, it might be better to just keep the prospects, sign someone like Conforto, and let the youngsters battle for the 2B job. The success of the 2023 will come down to the health and bounce back ability of several guys. Even if we acquired Lowe, we’d still need our core to bounce back, so I don’t see someone like Lowe (I realize he was just one example that came to mind for you) being a bold move that pushes us over the top. In my opinion, the only kind of move that would have a really significant impact is something that will cost money that JR is unwilling to spend. And since we all know that’s not changing, I really don’t see much that Hahn can do at this point. That’s not to say he doesn’t deserve blame, because some of his bad contracts put us in this position, but I’m just talking about what he can do from this point forward.

I get what you’re saying, but who do you have in mind? If that hypothetical package you presented doesn’t get you Reynolds, then who might it get? And if sending a package of Ramos/Vera/Sosa gets you somebody worse than Reynolds, then is it really a bold move that could help us win a championship in 2023?

Yeah, good call. I’ve always wondered if his April struggles were due to cold or simply taking a while to shake the offseason rust off.

They didn’t push back the start of the season to July, did they?

Ah, makes sense. My bad.

Wait, Vaughn has played 290 innings at 1B? I guess I wasn't paying attention. I thought he played mostly OF and DH.

Jose was terrible to start, then improved, and then it seemed like he was bad again last year. I'm simply using the eye test, but I recall multiple instances of him just dropping the ball on a throw not in the dirt.