SoCalChiSox

Thorpe with 7Ks for @baseball_gal_aly

The whole pitching thing turns on whether Schultz can stick as a SP rather than a super reliever. If he sticks, then he's likely an Ace. I think Thorpe is a good bet to be a solid 4 as he has a high floor. So then the thing is out of Nastrini, Eder, Bush, Taylor and Iriarte, can you get at least ONE solid 2 or 3? If you can, then it's a good homegrown staff and you don't need to supplement with too much FA. Schultz staying healthy and being able to go 6 IP is the key to everything.

I dont know what star level would be but I would say Montgomery needs to be 3 WAR or more and the Top 10 player they get for Robert also needs to be 3 WAR or more. I think between Quero, Ramos and the other couple Top 100 bats they get in these Robert, Crochet, Fedde etc trades, they can hopefully get 1-2 2.5 WAR guys. It shouldn't be extremely hard to produce an 85 win team when you probably will have a decent pitching staff.

We're not going to chase A level FAs but with payroll super low next year and with the Sox already scheduling a SoxFest, it suggests we will sign some solid non-scrub FAs to give people something to talk about.

And if we get 2 of our present 4 to be ML regulars, and add 5 Top 100s in the Robert/Crochet/Fedde etc trades...let's say only 2 of the 5 are ML regulars, that's already 4 before taking into account FA signings now that payroll is super low. The whole lineup doesn't have to be good in order for us to be a decent-ish team. The Top 5 or maybe 6 does, but very few teams have anything special in the bottom third of the lineup. Point is, its not going to take a huge undertaking to be an 85 win team that can compete for a wildcard. With a good pitching staff, you've won half the battle already.

He met the two requirements for the position: 1) He came cheap and 2) Agreed to do whatever Hahn wanted

I dont think that's a fantasy land at all. Montgomery and Quero should both be ML regulars at 3B and C respectively (perhaps Quero can platoon with Lee) and there's a decent chance Ramos is too. Gonzalez has made huge strides this year at the plate and most say he will stick at SS. In terms of the rest of the lineup, they need to get one Top 100 OFer and one Top 100 IFer out of Fedde, Crochet, Flexen, Pham, Wilson and Kopech. Crochet by himself should get one of those and maybe Fedde plus some of the others gets you the other. If Robert is moved, we're prolly looking at one Top 10 (positional), and then two other Top 100s (perhaps another positional and another pitcher). That's 4 new Top 100 positional players and the payroll is super low next year. Since they already set a SoxFest for Jan 2025, this implies they will be spending some money. It's when they know they aren't going to do anything do they conspicuously fail to do these events because they don't want to get yelled at. Even if Robert is kept, you prolly have 2 Top 100 position players coming plus some decent FAs. I dont think it will take 5 years to be decent, if we can just execute on some of these trades and signings we should be a middle of the pack team pretty soon if these young pitchers continue to perform.

I'm not writing him off at all, I said earlier even if Fangraphs projection of 45 hit/60 power is true that's still very good at 3B and great at SS once combined with a good OBP. I'm just surprised that given his early struggles BA has him 12th overall. I would have thought something around 30-40 or so.

I'm surprised they still have Colson that high? Do they think he will adjust to velocity?

Do they have updated writeups for each?

His OPS in AAA was nothing special, tho.

Flexen didn't have much in that inning, need to get the BP going.

How long will the rain last? Any local reports?

Quero 3-4 with a HR so far. Gonzalez 1-3 with a BB so far.

You can't build anything around 2 guys who are only here for 2 more years when the owner doesn't give rich extensions to pitchers and we wouldn't be that competitive even in those 2 years cause they have no bats outside of Robert.

Let's see what Julks looks like when his BABIP comes down to earth.

If a GMs job is on the line, and Preller's might be, I don't think he is going to care about an innings limit, he will want to push it...maybe 80 innings instead of 60 or maybe he pitches once every 6 or 7 days, I think Preller is trying to save himself first and he will worry about injury risk later.

Depends on who we get back and how close to the majors they are. Between the two of them, you could get back 4-5 Top 100s and if they aren't far away, they could absolutely help the Sox become competitive soon.

I'm glad the article mentioned we are focusing on position players now, but SD is not a great fit there. Maybe a three team trade makes sense, SD can send some pitching somewhere and we can get a good position talent from the third team, since I doubt Preller will part with any of their top 3 prospects. Even if Robert is not moved, we need to come out of the deadline with a Top 100 OFer and a Top 100 IFer.

He's under pressure to make the playoffs since his biggest supporter is gone and now he has to deal with the rest of the ownership group.

Snelling is having a down year so far but I'm sure Getz would take him for Crochet if Preller would agree to sell low on him.

I'm all for moving Robert if you can get a Top 10 plus another Top 50 plus a 50-100 prospect. I'm good with selling high on Crochet too, assuming it's a significant return (not sure I'd go for a 50 grade and a 45 grade, but I'd definitely go for a 55 grade and a 50 grade). If you can get a single 50 for Fedde, do it. Whatever u can get for Pham, Flexen and Kopech, get it done. Our old friends in BAL are still a good fit, but they are cheap and if they didn't fold for Cease, I don't think they will for Crochet or Fedde. Maybe they will for Robert?

Fangraphs has him as 45 hit, 60 game power and that's fine if you add in a healthy OBP due to walks. At SS, something like .245/.365/.455 is a unicorn and it's still a very good line at 3B too (OPS north of 800 and even higher vs RHP). I dont think anyone will complain about a SS or 3B with an OBP at or above 360 who hits 25-27 bombs a year. Didn't Cowser have issues adjusting to velocity too? I'm sure Colson will adjust...he is very young for that level.

I think once Moncada and Jimenez come off the payroll this year, they will be able to get 3 solid FAs for next year and still have a low payroll. There's very little money on the payroll next year so even if JR wants it at 140 million there's still alot you can do.

I think with the payroll cuts they all knew it would be a bad year. But maybe they thought they could win 65 games or whatever. It will end up more like 40-55.