SoxBlanco

The idea of one year placeholders is not just because of the belief that one of our OF prospects will emerge. It would certainly be great if one of them emerged, but if not, then you sign or trade for somebody next offseason.

You’ve sold me on Dickerson. Can we get him on a one year deal?

Me too. I officially want JDM and Calhoun. Collins can catch 2 or 3 times a week and play 1B/DH a couple times a week. This gives him 4 or 5 games per week early on to see what he does with it. If he can be a consistent OBP guy with power, he can keep playing more. Then sign Wheeler and someone like Hamels/Hill to fill out the rotation. Throw in a solid bullpen piece, and we have ourselves a very solid offseason. Side note: I’ve wanted Grandal more than JDM for a long time, but I’m starting to lean toward JDM now. I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to Grandal, though. Give me one of those two guys.

This is exactly why I am leaning toward preferring JDM now. I have been pushing hard on this message board that Grandal is a better fit than JDM for many reasons, but I am starting to sway the other way. There is something that certain catchers possess that can't be quantified, and I don't really know how to describe it. It's a combination of game calling, handling pitchers, framing, etc. AJ had it. McCann has it. No other catcher the White Sox have had in between those two have had it, and based on my limited time watching Grandal as well as what I have read about him, I don't think Grandal has it.

Thanks! I always thought it was 5, but I could have sworn they said last night that Strasburg has 3, so that's why I asked. I appreciate it.

What would be considered a price that is "not having to pay way too much" for Joc Pederson? In other words, what would you be willing to part with to acquire Joc that would make that move smarter than just signing a 1 year stopgap (Calhoun, for example)?

It would not be wise for them to make a statement about payroll expectations. If they come out and say, "We are willing to increase payroll to $150 million", and then they strike out on some big free agents, it will only lead to more disappointment. I think they learned their lesson last year and will just let it play out.

Do players have 3 days or 5 days from the end of the World Series to make a decision on opting out?

You need the Sheets app for it to work on mobile.

Agreed. Let's take a look at another right handed DH as a comparison: Edgar Martinez. In 1995 (age 32), he had a ridiculous .628 slugging. Two years later, the slugging had dropped to .554 (very similar to what we are looking at with JDM). Edgar Martinez went on to post slugging percentages of .565, .554, .579, .543 in the four years that followed during his age 35 to 38 seasons.

If we get Cole AND Wheeler, we could play Adam Engel in RF for all I care.

Fantastic post.

It was a hypothetical situation. Nobody wants to rely on those guys in those spots, and nobody thinks we are keeping Nova for $10 million. There is no question that is not a playoff roster, but the debate was over how many wins that would produce.

Yeah, we're basically on the same page. I guess the real question in terms of what you had an issue with would be this: What would you think our record would be with this roster next year: Lineup: 1. Robert CF 2. Moncada 3B 3. Eloy LF 4. Abreu 1B 5. Collins DH 6. Anderson SS 7. McCann C 8. Leury RF 9. Madrigal 2B Rotation: 1. Giolito 2. Kopech 3. Cease 4. Lopez 5. Nova Bullpen is the same as last year.

I don't "want" it to work any specific way. I admit that it was a very inexact way of looking at things, and I believe poppy is being overly optimistic, but I just don't think it's as outlandish as you were making it sound that those three guys could improve the team by 10 wins. I wasn't saying Madrigal was replacing the DH. I was saying Madrigal was replacing Yolmer (so improving from 1.0 to 1.6), so I was only adding 0.6 there. Robert and Kopech replacing our horrible outfield and 5th starter production could amount to several added wins (yes, like you said, Robert is actually replacing our CF, but either way, he could add a lot more production). Bottom line: Adding Madrigal, Robert, guys like Grandal and a decent RF, Kopech, two more free agent starters, and another bullpen guy could realistically improve this team to 90 wins or so. Nothing is guaranteed, and it completely depends on who we sign, but we should be a playoff contender if we have a good offseason in terms of free agents. Even if guys like Giolito and Moncada regress, we will be adding enough to still be in the hunt for the playoffs.

Thanks, ChiSox. @Balta1701, do you think it’s reasonable for Madrigal to have a 1.6 fWAR, Robert to have a 2.6 fWAR, and Kopech to have a 1.6 fWAR? That would be about 10 extra wins right there.

What were the WARs of Yolmer, our RF throughout the year, and our revolving door of a 5th starter?

How much worse is JDM in the outfield compared to Ozuna?

I love that lineup. I've always said that Anderson will be batting around 7th or 8th when we are really competitive. Trivia question: How many teams in the history of MLB have had the first and second place finisher in the batting title race on the same team, and they were batting 8th and 9th? Answer: One...the 2021 White Sox

So teams are only interested in the guy they draft? Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?

JDM has to make that decision a few days after the World Series ends, right?

How do you know they weren't interested in Kelenic?

I would be happy with either guy, but Grandal gives us more flexibility. With Abreu and JDM, you have your 1B and DH locked in for almost every single game. With Grandal, Collins can still be in the mix at C, 1B, or DH. You would basically have 4 guys (McCann, Grandal, Collins, Abreu) rotating three spots, as opposed to the 1B and DH locked in every game without much flexibility. Also, Grandal's left handed bat gives the lineup more balance (not a huge deal in my mind, but certainly some added benefit).

A trade would most likely get us a better right fielder than the free agent options, but would a guy we could get via trade be so much better than a stop gap RF free agent that it would push us to a World Series? And if the answer is no (which is almost certainly is), then why waste any prospects at this point in time? Just sign a guy to a one year deal and see if any of our OF prospects can be our right fielder in 2021. If they can’t, then maybe there is a better RF free agent option next offseason. And if that doesn’t work, then make a trade next offseason. I just don’t see any benefit of a trade right now.

Let all the other teams argue and negotiate over Cole and Strasburg while we swoop in and lock up Wheeler.