spiderman

If Hahn is ready to quickly add another catcher, I think this implies free agency. If they add Navarro, they will have cleaned house on the previous year's catchers, but there's no definitive way to say the position has changed much, for good or bad.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Nov 30, 2015 -> 12:51 PM) I clicked the link, a window opens but the page never shows up. Anyone care to summarize? Anyway. The idea of trading LaRoche is a novel one, I mean, like that hadn't been thought of already. As others have said, who the hell would want LaRoche? Nobody. Just accept that at this point LaRoche is not tradable and will be on the 25 man roster come opening day. Maybe LaRoche gets some at bats and hits well enough to be traded July/August but otherwise I've accepted he will be with the Sox next year and only LaRoche can change that. Just to show how much negative value LaRoche has, the Pirates are speculated to non tender Alvarez. A guy that actually hit 27 HR's with an OPS near .800 and expected to earn just over 8M. LaRoche is going to make 13M coming off a season in which he hit 12 HR's and a .634 OPS. What team would be dumb enough to trade for LaRoche and why? No team will take him based purely on a want; it would have to be to trade one bad contract for another, and hope a change of scenery makes a difference. I haven't looked, but I'm not even sure what teams have gaping holes at 1B (or DH) and who have a similar player/contract to exchange back at a position that the Sox can use (3B/SS probably).

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Nov 30, 2015 -> 12:33 PM) I think the adjustments you mentioned were a big part of it, but I don't think was healthy last year either, at least in the 2nd half of the season. Honestly, unless a team is willing to take on a good $8M or so of his deal, there is no reason to move him right now. I'd rather give him a few months to start 2016 in a strict platoon scenario and with a good portion of his starts at 1B. If he flops again, then move Melky to DH full-time and give Trayce an opportunity as an everyday regular. I'd also like to get him more games at 1B, even if it's 2-3 games a week on the field. Obviously, if he doesn't produce, then he goes to a occasional DH/backup/pinch-hitting role, but he probably needs extended at bats to find out either way if he'll be more productive.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 30, 2015 -> 12:28 PM) that is not the sox way, esp with the sox ownership and most importantly, the size of his contract that they will expect to eat. It would be extremely unlikely for the White Sox to pay for him to play elsewhere; the best chance is finding a team who has a need for him (insert joke), and having a similarly unproductive player who could fill a need for a year for the White Sox.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 30, 2015 -> 11:24 AM) but the main question will be to whom??? what team would trade for him. Who would want an aging 1B/DH type who is coming off a bad season? Even if there were interest, the White Sox would have to take back a similar contract OR pay for him to play elsewhere. They are probably better off using him as a 1B and DH 4-5 days a week. I'm still in full support though of making him earn at-bats (i.e. if Micah Johnson can hit, he should play, and that can eat into La Roche's DH time), but between 1B/DH, he can still get a good amount of at bats since this team does lack something he can provide in his power.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Nov 27, 2015 -> 08:25 AM) I would explore Longoria + for Q +. Sox need a big bat before or after Abreu, preferably LH, but I would consider this if I was Hahn. Is Longoria still in his prime or declining? He's definitely durable, but is now 30 years old. However, if he does 3-4 more good years left in him, that's the kind of move the Sox need - a middle of the order hitter.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Nov 26, 2015 -> 06:58 PM) Because he's not very good and will cost a legitimate prospect like Micah. And Oakland will do with Micah what Don Ventura will not do: play him and watch him hit. And I'm sick of deals with Oakland. They never turn out well. If Micah can hit and his healthy, and we know this White Sox line cannot, he has to make the team and be in the lineup, whether it's 2B or DH 4 times a week.

There's probably a decent chance the Sox do acquire one of these two guys. They have a gaping hole at 3B that isn't going to be filled internally. I would be shocked if they weren't at least exploring a deal here. I don't know that the free agent market is going to solve any problems either especially if they have to overpay on a 3 or 4 year deal to land anyone. Lawrie's age is intriguing, but he hasn't been that good. That's the issue with finding a potential solution like him. They are probably better with him than not, and they aren't going to have a perfect lineup, but if they acquire Lawrie, I'm ok with it, but they still need to find some middle of the lineup hitter as well.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Nov 25, 2015 -> 10:45 AM) Chuck Garfien ‏@ChuckGarfien 10m10 minutes ago Look beyond Alex Avila's stats. He's more than that. It's a crafty David Ross-type signing. Hahn calls him a "well-respected leader." I don't get this comment unless he's playing 1 day a week because a guy like Montero is ahead of him on the depth chart. If he's a great leader, that's great, but they need more production from that position. He's probably going to play 2-3 a week so his role on the field is going to be much more important than Ross.

Was hoping to keep him around, actually swung the bat well for the White Sox. Did the Angels overpay?

Sounds like a good gamble to take; upside is there if they can fix some of the control issues, and give the Sox reliever option should they make any bullpen trades.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Nov 17, 2015 -> 03:16 PM) you think the league asks the teams to not annouce any deals during these silly awards announcements? Doubtful. I think the market just takes time to develop and, so far, it has been an active trading market.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Nov 16, 2015 -> 11:59 PM) If the Sox decide to go through another rebuilding year, then they have no need for David Robertson. What do you think they could get for him, if he were to be traded? I don't believe the White Sox think they are rebuilding; I think they see themselves as positioned for an upward movement in standings if they can reverse some of their trouble positions where they got next to no production all season at 3-4 different spots. If they were to move Robertson, I'm sure they sell it as still trying to win while improving the future, but I think it's tough to move proven veterans and open up another hole, all while trying to win, even if they do trust a guy like Nate Jones to inherit the role that Robertson would have had. The consensus that I've heard (and maybe others have heard the same or different) is that Boston gave up too much for a closer, a guy who pitches around 70 IP a season so I doubt they would be overwhelmed.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 16, 2015 -> 11:28 AM) at least 2, you should have a 1b, dh, a 3b at least. Problem is, they probably need to rely on bounce back seasons from La Roche / Garcia / Cabrera to address some of the middle of the order issues.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 16, 2015 -> 06:25 AM) the fascination of getting cargo is beyond me. second, they, Col wants to do a fire sale for prospects, they don't want to trade their prospects. I'm not on this bandwagon, but I do get the point of adding a middle of the lineup hitter. They probably need 2 legitimate middle of the lineup hitters this off-season to go with Abreu. Melky Cabrera could be one of those guys, but he's not a big HR guy which this lineup needs.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Nov 14, 2015 -> 07:33 PM) Dan Hayes to be on 890 wls shortly to talk sox. The interviews on 890 AM are typically 4-6 minutes long, and the hosts are using moving these along so quickly because of an upcoming commercial break that there's no point to even having guests on since everything is so rushed. I didn't hear this interview, but my guess is that it's very high level (White Sox need more hitting, have holes to fill etc. and will look to address them this off-season)

The free agent market just develops slower even though we can probably make educated guesses as to where interest will come from on some of the top free agents. I know the agents have a larger role in baseball than in other sports because there is no cap so that probably is a big reason for why the market develops slower, and some teams may not want to set the market, and/or explore the trade market, get a feel for other team's strategies at the upcoming winter meetings with other teams. Why else does the off-season in MLB because a 1-2 month timeline for most of the major moves whereas football/basketball have this sorted out in just a few days (or less than 2 weeks in most cases)?

There's no possible way the White Sox could ever get true value for Sale. They'd have to find a team that is so stacked at the minor league level that they'd be willing to trade (and probably destroy) their top prospects for him. These top prospects can't be from a team like the current White Sox system; they would have to come from an organization that has 4 or 5 top 50 MLB prospects, and it's hard to argue that the White Sox shouldn't get all of these prospects back. Even if the White Sox were more focused on getting major league talent back, you're still talking 1-2 top young pieces plus minor league talent from that top 50 MLB list. It's just extremely unlikely that the White Sox will be able to find a team willing to move as much as they should seemingly ask for.

Wouldn't he be the type (amongst the available talent) of impact player that the lineup needs? They have holes in the lineup at C, 2B, SS, DH and 3B with some questions in the OF, but this lineup is missing run producers outside of Abreu (and possibly Cabrera).

Will his plate recognition improve in a part-time or bench role, if still with the White Sox? Right now, the starting OF could be Eaton, Thompson and Cabrera; there are plenty of at-bats on the current roster if he's filling a 4th OF spot and being a part-time DH, but he's probably closer to being off the roster than solidifying a starting job.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 11, 2015 -> 01:31 PM) Re-reading the article I think he is obviously trying to put things into perspective. All of these other teams that people want to emulate took between 5 and 10 years of being awful to get to where they are now. The Sox are trying to speed that time line up. He is trying to realign expectations a bit, but still send the message that they aren't punting for a half of a decade. At no point does he say they are starting a new rebuild, only continuing what they started a few years back. I agree with this; he's not saying the White Sox are going to take the same rebuilding path that the other teams that were mentioned are; in fact, he said the opposite in that he wants the White Sox to compete as soon as possible. This is also a completely different situation; the White Sox just spent heavily in free agency one off-season ago. That is not the path of a team that is about to enter a full blown rebuilding project.

QUOTE (3GamesToLove @ Nov 11, 2015 -> 10:58 AM) Does Sullivan realize that a "Konerko-style farewell" is not a desirable thing? If he wants to sign a 1 day contract to retire with the White Sox, fine. If he wants to continue to pitch, the White Sox can only consider option if they think he can give them a solid year AND they make a a trade involving one of their starting pitchers. If not, a team like the Cardinals make more sense.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 11, 2015 -> 01:20 PM) a really nice post. for this discussion only, i really like this idea of it is a full blown rebuild after last yr disaster, then the sox really have a great group to assemble many prospects. however, i can see that the sox really can't do that and again it is b/c of the success of the northside team. they can not let them get more entrenched with the idea of success and that team. I do think it's a mistake to be making decision (specifically strategic decisions that could impact the club for a decade) around how the Cubs are performing.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Nov 11, 2015 -> 12:51 PM) http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/11/11/lev...ebuilding-mode/ “Last year we saw the opportunity to be aggressive and address certain areas of need,” Hahn said. “We wanted to build around the core we had. In the future, you would want your core to be bigger and activity in free agency being a little less.” “We are trying to do this (rebuild properly) as soon as possible,” Hahn said. “If you look at the teams right now that you would praise or emulate — Houston, Kansas City, the Cubs and Pittsburgh — they all spent a minimum of five years under .500. They did it by the draft, trades and international signings. So there is a template out there that shows it takes time.” What we don't know is how satisfied Rick Han is with his core group of players. If he is satisfied with that group, they may not be as aggressive in free agency. In referring to the template that KC, Cubs and Pittsburgh took, he's only acknowledging that there are different options to rebuild. I think he's more interested in the express rebuilding plan. The White Sox are a top heavy club - some stars and excellent building blocks with Sale, Quintana, Rodon, Robertson, Abreu, Melky Cabrera, Eaton and maybe a few of their bullpen arms. That's maybe 10-12 guys if we stretch it a bit and there are major deficiencies in defensive play and offense. Are they going to be able to add 5-7 useful players to the roster that can contribute to a 2016 roster without dipping into free agency? Unlikely. I would expect them to add 3-5 players in free agency (some of them could be bargain shopping that they hope to get value from), and a trade could bring immediate help in 1-2 spots as well depending on their level of aggression. Overall, it would be surprising to me if the Sox didn't have an active off-season since this is a team NOT taking the 5 year rebuilding path.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Nov 10, 2015 -> 10:16 PM) Tyler Flowers was our best defender: http://sabr.org/sdi/2015-final If the Sox want to get better quickly this offseason, first order of business is the outfield defense. Absolutely atrocious showing by those 3 in 2015. How does Sanchez rank as a 2B? If Tryce Thompson is the CF, is that a projected upgrade overall or does moving Eaton to LF just hide another bad defender while only becoming average in CF?