Autumn Dreamin

25. Fernando Graterol, C, Venezuela Born: Oct. 9, 2008. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-1. Wt.: 175. Team: White Sox Graterol has a strong, broad-shouldered frame with more physical projection remaining. He already has some of the better raw power of any catcher in the 2026 international class and could grow into more once he’s physically mature. It could end up a power-over-hit profile with the potential to develop into a 20-plus home run hitter. Graterol has a strong arm, but he will need to make strides with his blocking and receiving to prove that he can stick behind the plate. 30. Sebastian Romero, OF, Venezuela Born: Sept. 4, 2008. B-T: L-L. Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 175. Team: White Sox Romero has a lean, lively 6-foot-2 frame with advanced feel for hitting from the left side of the plate. It’s a sound, fluid swing with the ability to manipulate the barrel to square up pitches with good contact skills against live pitching. Romero has mostly doubles power now but with a lot of space left to fill out and potentially develop into a 20-plus home run hitter. He’s a good athlete and an above-average runner who moves around well in center field. From BA's top 30 preview. The rest of the top 100 should be out before the period opens

It was based on some random small sample size of incomplete data

Official

"Kicked the tires" feels lower on the "seat at the table" scale than "engaged in talks" but who knows.

Murakami himself is stateside right now fwiw. In NYC last I saw

Sox still adding to the data/analytics side. This guy is coming off of a year in the SF org. Pitching focus, has his own proprietary model listed on Linkedin/Github. Worked with the SF A ball team, who were champs last season behind a pitching staff that led their league comfortably in ERA/WHIP.

Most reputable source yet?

Like this for the Pirates

Definitely seems like the international side is his specialty. Wonder if he was drawn more by the AGM title or maybe the opportunity to expand his responsibilities/experience beyond that.

Getting your top signing (ranked #2 in the class by MLB) sniped a month before the period opens, yikes

At least I can properly root for him to figure it out now that he's not a Guardian

...?

From Fegan: “For 15 years, Carlos has been an invaluable presence in our organization, leaving a lasting impact across our operations,” read part of Neander's statement. “His professionalism, teamwork and unwavering dedication have made him an exceptional colleague and a cherished friend to me and countless others at the Rays." Rodriguez spent four seasons with the Blue Jays as a scout and initially joined the Rays in that capacity on the international side, eventually moving up to director of their international scouting department, but has since expanded his work into other areas. He served as the team's vice president of international operations and player development from 2019-21, and Rodriguez had held the title of assistant general manager for the last three seasons. On the team website, the Rays have credited Rodriguez for helping develop the organization's nutrition and wellness programs for players, along with generally enhancing a player development system and international scouting reach. His timeline with the Rays generally overlaps with a stretch where their scouts produced a lot of big leaguers from Latin America, their minor league affiliates won a lot of games, and the team's sustained success despite light big league payrolls became the envy of the league. In 2021, The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney reported Rodriguez was a finalist in the Cubs' general manager search that ultimately resulted in the hire of Carter Hawkins https://soxmachine.com/2025/12/white-sox-finalizing-hire-of-former-rays-executive-carlos-rodriguez-to-assistant-general-manager-role

Also fwiw, Sarris realized he made an error in the chart and the list is missing guys like Judge and Ohtani

Almost every blurb is a variation of "questionable fit due to cost/position/timing" including the Sox: Chicago White Sox Adding Murakami would be a fun way to inject some much-needed excitement on the South Side and would offer Murakami a lower-stakes setting to adjust to major-league pitching, but it would also be a sizable risk that this front office (and ownership group) is probably uninterested in taking at this stage of their rebuild.

Some tidbits on the new guys: Denorfia and Venable were platoon mates in RF for SD in 2012. He comes over from 5 years with the Rockies, managing AA and then as outfield/baserunning coordinator. Also was on the 2019 Cubs staff as quality assurance coach. Local product Tony Medina shares Schaumburg Boomers ties with Shomon. His most recent title there was director of analytics, was a hitting coach before that. Has also worked in development/analytics with TEX/KC/HOU. His Twitter header is "chicks dig the xwOBA" and his timeline (which includes back to back reposts of the Ishbia news and Teel's call up) suggest a Sox fandom that predates his hiring. Markinson is the youngest member of the staff at 22. He's coming off of being Northwestern's starting catcher in 2025. Signed as an UDFA with the Phillies, but decided to pivot from a playing career last month. Matt Wise is the oldest member of the staff...and he's only 50. His title has changed from assistant pitching coach to bullpen coach, and Bobby Hearn gets his old role. 3 pitching coaches feels new? Hearn comes over from the Twins where he was assistant pitching coordinator. He was teammates with freshman Shane Smith at Wake Forest. This might be the youngest staff in the league. The staff is bigger than last year, but no longer has a dedicated catching coach. McKinven will handle most of those duties now. Leger is currently managing a DWL team. He comes over from STL where he worked his way up from their DR complex to "assistant field and baserunning coordinator." Won a manager of the year honor for leading their AA team to a franchise wins record in 2024. Also spent 7 years managing in the Mets MiLB system. Winning record over 1300+ games in the minors, seems on track to be interviewing for MLB managerial openings sooner than later. Definitely seems to be an emphasis on guys who can connect and communicate with players based on youth/playing experience/track record. Far cry from having TLR at the helm.

Red Sox have also been a potential Marte destination