spiderman

They were playing him at 3B last season some....I suspect that's where he would end up. Also, positional flexibility will part of this. So much will change probably between now and 2027 or 2028.

Would they really go against the consensus top pick (assuming that he is)?

Unless there's some horrible injury or major underperformance next college season, there's no way this guy isn't going #1 right? Like, there's no way that the White Sox don't get cute here and mess this up?

Will the White Sox be the winners of the Winter Meetings? Maybe the Phillies?

They definitely have options now and his bonehead plays/bad defense are clear issues. I still think he will/should find his way into the lineup if he hits. You can't be making dumb plays that cost the team runs so that does need to show improvement, but you also can't keep him out of the lineup if they found production with him. With Robert and Benintendi in CF/LFE being unreliable and young players across the infield, there's still a spot for Sosa, but he has no value if he doesn't hit. Is Mead part of the 3B mix for next season? If he is, that's a hole already. Is Vargas seen as 1B/3B? They are still short at at least one of 1B/3B, LF and DH (though Quero/Teel can help), but just saying that a guy who hits should have an most everyday role in this lineup

Good reminder. He does make a large amount of bonehead plays.

I think teams typically like these guys who can play multiple positions to be better defensively so this creates a more unique situation in that he's a good bat without a position on a team that wants to improve it'elf defensively.

The issue is that he doesn't play defense will enough to project as an everyday player and they have younger players they are already projecting to fill some of those positions (2B/SS in particular). He exploded offensively so if he is back next season, He's earned playing time and to show that he can repeat an excellent hitting 2nd half of the season. Let's see if they can be creative in getting him consistent at bats and prove himself over a full season.

Getz has also publicly talked about the importance of having catching depth and I thought the plan was rotating Teel/Quero at C, but also at DH/1B. I don't think Korey Lee is anything more than a fringe backup - I hope they don't consider him as a viable option. If they can land a top 50 type prospect (like Quero is), maybe....just don't know that I like this or that Getz would be on this if he thinks it's important to have good catching prospects

Agreed. It's hard to disagree with the approach if they're on this 5+ year plan to become competitive. We're heading into Year 4 and they may lose 100 games again, probably 90 if it's better. I think White Sox management is getting away with not putting all resources into turning these around much quicker in the city of Chicago. This is crazy. They want to be thought of as some small market team with little resources. They're happy to play the fans as fools and not commit to building a team that can win and compete in a winnable division I'm a Sox fan, but it's hard to be treated like an idiot.

Unless he's going to be a high leverage/closer, I don't get this. Maybe for next season, it's not a big deal, but I don't like turning high end prospects into middle relievers.

Shane Smith, Davis Martin and then ????? Cannon, Burke, Thorpe, a veteran or two? Is Grant Taylor moving to the rotation? Is Schultz up by mid-season? They have more options than they did 2 years ago, but it's still lacking in higher end quality.

Probably not. You're assuming they would play at elite levels with no injuries AND the rest of the team continues to develop with good health.

If he was the play by play announcer for a basketball team, he may be better at it than baseball, but it would still have a similar outcome/reaction if he decides to cheerlead for the team.

Not to mention, when you decide to act like you're the Pittsburgh Pirates, you don't have any choices other than a long rebuild with no guarantee of success.

That's pretty much in-line with what we can reasonably hope for and what they are saying publicly for next season. It's unfortunate that it has gotten to this point where a 5 year rebuild is needed, but, being realistic, this is going to take a complete minor league rebuild to have any chance of short-term success. I'm probably not as optimistic on them spending significant money though without ownership change. Even with Reinsdorf, they will eventually spend more money, but we'll never be able to keep any young pitching or sign premier free agents so this latest rebuild will depend on young talent. Right now, they are doing well, but it's still another 2-3 good drafts away from being sustainable.

I would also love if the White Sox weren't on a 5 year rebuilding plan that had no guarantee of sustained success. It's hard to believe that, even if their plan works, it will only be for 2-3 seasons before it's time to pay players. Being realistic though, they are telling us that next year is about continued development. They aren't going to spend money unless it's on the cheap/1 year variety. If that's the stated objective, it's fair to expect improvement from development in terms of W/L, but you're also signing up for a 5 year rebuild.

It's hard for me to make that jump without seeing him perform. He's not disciplined at the plate. I don't discount having better players around him could help him to get better pitches to hit. Based on his history, it's hard to see him both stay healthy and perform though, but he'll have better talent around him and should start the season healthy.

Also true.

I do agree with this. He should have his best chance to perform next season, assuming health, with the young hitters they have around him. They will need to manage his playing time (every 5th day or so, he's off or at DH), but this will it. Play well and you're likely traded at the deadline.

I don't think "winning as many games as possible as soon as possible" is their goal for next season. I think they would like to improve similarly to this season over last. Development is still their primary goal for next season. They probably don't want to take on money beyond next season either so will double-down on development. I do think they will spend money in free agency, but it will be more bargain shopping on 1 year deals.

Agreed. They have been successful at finding low cost veteran options on cheap deals to eat up innings. That should continue to be part of their approach to complement the development/continuous drafting of top prospects. I don't think it's likely to think they will dip into the premier free agent market for starters and hopefully they have learned to not do this for middle relievers. They still need to determine if they have top end starters vs middle/bottom of the rotation types with their younger prospects, but they are off to a good start with building up enough pitching depth to get through the season.

Not at all. They don't deserve the benefit of the doubt. That doesn't mean I trust some of the commentary I hear from the media though.

I think it's unlikely that they will get 160+ innings from 1 of these veteran types. I think it will take 2-3 of these guys to fill in the innings gap.

Sign as many pitchers to 1 year deals as possible and hope a few of them can provide innings.