NCsoxfan

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Nov 22, 2016 -> 12:23 PM) If Sale never signed his extension, he'd be a free agent right now in a pool with no other pitchers like him or even close. He would easily get an 8 year/$250 mill deal (Dodgers, Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs?) Agree. Easy, no questions asked.

QUOTE (Sockin @ Nov 18, 2016 -> 05:34 PM) FWIW Todd has been vocal today about the Sox direction. He was on Casey Stern'a show today saying he thinks the Sox are close to intending and you can't trade a guy like Sale. He also has retweeted someone saying the Sox need to keep and extend Frazier. Nice guy, but he's wrong

David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Chris Sale is the Braves' "focus" as they look to acquire a starter. O'Brien confirms reports that the Braves have inquired on Chris Archer and Sonny Gray, but it appears they're devoting most of their attention to Sale. The Braves almost surely aren't ready to compete for a playoff spot in 2017, but getting Sale would obviously help them be competitive in the first year in their new ballpark. The lefty has a very team-friendly contract that runs through 2019. Atlanta has the necessary pieces to get something done with the White Sox.

David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Chris Sale is the Braves' "focus" as they look to acquire a starter. O'Brien confirms reports that the Braves have inquired on Chris Archer and Sonny Gray, but it appears they're devoting most of their attention to Sale. The Braves almost surely aren't ready to compete for a playoff spot in 2017, but getting Sale would obviously help them be competitive in the first year in their new ballpark. The lefty has a very team-friendly contract that runs through 2019. Atlanta has the necessary pieces to get something done with the White Sox.

QUOTE (South Sider @ Nov 17, 2016 -> 03:26 PM) I think the Red Sox owners will push DD to make a deal for Sale. Those guys want to win and they know the Red Sox are on the cusp of having another championship team, and pitching will put them over the top. They need Sale. The Dodgers need Sale too, and I think they have an equally good chance of landing Sale, but I just think the Red Sox owners will eventually tell DD to make it happen... which would really be in the White Sox favor. Maybe they could still pry Moncada and Benitendi +... What the Red Sox should do is deal a current starter (such as Pomeranz) for prospects and use those that return to help offset the return asked for by the White Sox.

Houston or Atlanta. I picked Houston. Boston won't ante up the prospects and LA will prefer an option that costs more $ but less prospects (Verlander, etc)

It sounds like where Atlanta is strong is a multitude of lower level high ceiling players. Maybe a deal would have 6-7 high upside guys? But I agree, you can't trade Sale without at least one "sure-fire" player in return.

My first thought on this is that if you trade BOTH this offseason you're competing against yourself & end up hurting your return. Obviously whoever gets Sale won't be in the running for Q or vice versa. On another note, waiting to trade the second until next trade deadline or next offfseason would open them up to a whole new crop of prospects. You never know who will emerge next season in the minors, so staggering the trades over a year could have strategic merit too.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Nov 15, 2016 -> 06:46 PM) No way that deal happens. I was listening live to this and shook my head. Why no way?

Feels like less talk about Houston as a potential partner than I would think. They'd seem to be a type of team looking to make a big splash and get to the next level - especially with an affordable contract like Sale (maybe worth more to Houston than a Dodgers type with inifinite $)

Stan Bowman trading Antoine Vermette for a 1st round pick was a horrible deal on its own - but the guy helped bring the Hawks another Stanley Cup. It's not always about winning the trade when you're going for a championship.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Nov 15, 2016 -> 10:27 AM) Holmes and Montas went to Oakland at the deadline for Hill and Reddick. Ahhhh, forgot this was done pre-deadline. Apologies.

Dodgers Top 100 players from BA's mid-season list: 24. Cody Bellinger 1b Dodgers Leveraged lefthanded swing produces 30-homer power potential, while his glove draws Gold Glove raves. 25. Jose De Leon rhp Dodgers Limited to seven Triple-A starts thus far, he still misses bats with premium stuff. 44. Alex Verdugo of Dodgers Compact lefthanded swing has movements that tend more toward hit over power, and 20-year-old has .150 ISO in Double-A. 60. Grant Holmes rhp Dodgers Scouts who love him see a future No. 2 or No. 3 starter. Those more skeptical see a power reliever future. 82. Frankie Montas rhp Dodgers Rib injuries have ruined Montas’ season so far. He may not be much help in 2016 but still offers a very intriguing power arm. 98. Willie Calhoun 2b Dodgers Calhoun is proving he can hit. He’s got some work to do to prove he can stick at second base.

Top 100 Prospects from BA's midseason list (excluding Swanson): 17. Ozzie Albies ss Braves Has made it to Triple-A just a year after being named a South Atlantic League all-star 33. Sean Newcomb lhp Braves Walk rate still high, but premium swing-and-miss stuff remains with 80 strikeouts in first 78 2/3 innings. 77. Kolby Allard lhp Braves Like Brady Aiken, Allard is shaking off a lot of injury-induced rust; the stuff has bounced back quickly. 78. Mike Soroka rhp Braves Soroka moved on the rubber, and the 18-year-old Canadian has thrown lots of quality strikes in his first full season in the Sally League. 95. Touki Toussaint rhp Braves A significant tweak to his arm slot and arm action has Touissant throwing more strikes and missing more bats.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Nov 15, 2016 -> 08:14 AM) I'm on another forum and some guy just said he wouldn't trade Trea Turner for Sale straight up. Moron. I would do the deal personally from Washington's perspective, but it's not a layup at all. Turner has substantially longer control and likely more "projected surplus" than Sale.

No big deal. If someone makes a decent offer then take it, otherwise keep him & see if he recovers

One mid level prospect. Maybe like a slightly higher ranked Charlie Tilson.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Nov 8, 2016 -> 07:57 PM) Sale to Boston for Benintendi, Rodriguez, Swihart, Devers, and Kopech Quintana to Dodgers for Puig, Urias, Verdugo, and Bellinger Abreu and Jones to the Rangers for Mazara, Gallo, and Profar Robertson to the Giants for Beede Eaton to the Cardinals for Piscotty, Reyes, and Perez Rather keep Quintana than take that deal tbh. Other deals not bad.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Nov 7, 2016 -> 01:46 PM) Yah, let's trade our 2 best assets who are vastly underpaid for an extremely overpaid player..... I stopped reading after the bolded, but I guess it depends on who the "combo of young players is", but this is never going to happen. The goal is not to trade for Heyward because he's good - it's the opposite. It's essentially taking on salary to allow us to get even more of their great players. Not dissimilar to when you retain salary to get more prospects. You wouldn't consider it for Baez, Schwarber, Soler, and our pick of 3-4 prospects?

Here's an idea, and feel free to tell me if I'm a complete idiot. Sox trade: Sale & Eaton to the Cubs Sox receive: Heyward and a combo of young players. So, I would assume the Cubs would love to have Sale and are quite displeased with what they've got with Heyward. Eaton would be downright scary on the Cubs. He'd give them more of a LH presence which Heyward couldn't provide, AND they'd shed this huge contract. Well, why would the Sox want to trade their two best players (arguably) AND take on an albatross of a contract? Goal would be for it to land them more of the Cubs premium young position players. Could this then land them something like Schwarber, Baez, AND a handful of top prospects?

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Oct 19, 2016 -> 11:43 AM) It seems like the longer this thread has gone on, the more people are lowering their expectations on a Sale return. We're talking about possibly the best, most dominant LH in all of baseball at a bargain price. JBJ, Bennintendi, Kopech, Devers, is the minimum price for Sale. Rodriguez and Swihart added is a reasonable return. Doesn't mean the White Sox FO has lowered their return.

How many home games does Sale pitch per year? 15? Are there a substantial amount of people that ONLY attend because Sale is pitching? Maybe some, but I have a hard time believing it's a material amount given how abysmal attendance is anyways.

Finally finally it sounds like the Sox front office realizes you CANNOT try to contend by trading pieces from a weak farm system and signing free agents. Of course, reading that and agreeing seems obvious, but it practice they have actually believed that's a valid strategy. I am very content with a full rebuild, and only leaving guys like Anderson, Rodon, Burdi, Hansen, Collins. Might suck and it might not work, but we're at that point.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Aug 27, 2016 -> 06:38 PM) doubtful...as the "all in" approach will continue next year also. Plus...you won't get the return you'd need for either guy. Wait, there's a return we need for those guys? We're not talking about Q or Sale here. I can't imagine there'd be a substantial return deserved for either one.

Not sure if I'm reading this correctly, but Anderson has the second highest BABIP among all shortstops. Now I realize he strikes out a lot and doesn't walk much, but that's an encouraging sign if he can even get a little more plate discipline.