harfman77

There is still a decent chance that the Sox are out of the game due to going over their limit this season. Obviously this didn't play out the way you would have liked but it sounds like the Sox are still on Eddy Martinez. If they do go big for Martinez, hopefully they can pull in someone like Jorge Ona as well.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jul 4, 2015 -> 05:56 PM) I wonder if the fact that the Sox have fewer minor league teams than a lot of orgs factors into it. Cubs have 1 more and the Astros have 2 more. Perhaps, but the Sox have quite a few "org players" that could be passed over if there were prospects knocking at the door.

The draft will solve a lot of the issues that go on with LA free agency process. No longer will kids be taken off the market early by trainers who earn a bonus by steering their players to certain teams, no longer will teams be able to hoard the top talent, and it will put all amateur players on a level playing field. There are some questions, like what happens to international free agents like the Cubans and Japanese, but I believe that MLB will use the same criteria that it uses for eligibility for J2 signing as the framework of who will be eligible in a world draft. The draft will be slotted and be pretty similar in function to the Rule 4 draft. I would imagine during the next CBA there will be two drafts slotted similarly that will take place about a month apart. The LA countries will be up in arms because all of the corruption leads to a steady revenue stream into those countries, but they really have no alternatives. They can restrict their players from coming, but will then risk defections as Cuba has for years, or they can attempt to start their own leagues, which will not be able to generate enough revenue to compete, they can try to create an agreement to send their players to the NPB, but the money is still likely going to be better in what the players will receive in a MLB draft. The largest issue I see is that the buscans will get out of the business so there may be a void in the player development in the LA countries. To compensate for that and to establish goodwill after imposing the draft I think MLB should divert funds into creating MLB amateur academies and youth leagues. Academies not run by any team but overseen by the league in general to help develop fundamentals and allow scouts from all teams the opportunities to see the players up close. This can be beneficial in expanding the foundation of players that the draft can draw from. Of course you would have a few in the DR, but you could also expand into places like Panama, Curacao, Brazil and Mexico. Puerto Rico took a step back from producing talent when the draft was put in place as a lot of the player development infrastructure eroded. But with the Puerto Rico Baseball academy they have bounced back and started producing high level talent again including Carlos Correa and Christian Vazques in the last few drafts.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jul 7, 2015 -> 09:57 AM) severino yes, judge no, i would still want sanchez, b/c the sox doesn't have a cat in the system. Sanchez is still a project defensively and the bat has not developed the way it was projected to, so he would be a good throw in at this point. If he is the headliner you need to be getting some high upside low level guys along with him. A package like Sanchez, Miguel Andujar, and Domingo Acevedo would be intriguing, though substituting Jagielo for Sanchez would make more sense.

There is no chance of Swihart being dealt unless it is for a TOR guy and Quintana is not that guy. Thats been the main hold up in a Hamels deal. I think you could probably get someone like Henry Owens whose stock is down a bit, Marrero or Cecchini, JBJ and then a couple low level lottery ticket guys. I would try to expand the trade to include a swap of Cabrera for Naploli and his contract that will expire at the end of the season.

My list: Sandy Alomar Jr Dave Martinez Don Wakamatsu Tony Pena Ryne Sandberg

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 30, 2015 -> 10:14 AM) Not if it was Skinner, McEwing, Bell or Capra. As you'll notice in Philly (MacPhail, Amaro and Gillick) and Arizona, those organizations weren't afraid to spend Bonifacio/Downs/Paulino/Keppinger/Belisario money on recent in-season changes in leadership much more important than the 23rd-25th players on the roster. The White Sox, close to a billion dollar franchise, are suddenly concerned about saving a few bucks when they were recently willing to spend $125-135 million on Tanaka? I think you make McEwing the interim and give him chance, a lot of people like him as a future manager so maybe his time is now. Evaluate after the season and either stick with him or get Alomar.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jun 30, 2015 -> 11:48 AM) better yet, same owners..... let the board members step aside and let the new breed come in and run the team. in other words, their children. Perhaps, I think that the incestual culture permeates throughout the organization. It is time for someone to come in that makes being competitive their top priority. I don't doubt that JR wants to win, but his loyalty to people in the organization and former players really gets in the way of running a successful franchise. Buddy Bell should have been gone years ago, we are on our second go round with Doug Laumann. The approach to acquiring amateur hitting has been silly prioritizing batting practice power above all else. RV was a good manager to have to hold the spot down while you are tearing apart the major league roster for a rebuild as a placeholder, but he is not the guy you want running the ship when you are serious about contending. But JR refuses to move on from guys like Bell, Laumann, Williams, and RV because they are part of his White Sox "family". Nowhere else in professional sports - other than maybe the 90's Clippers - do you see and owner accept such a state of mediocrity due to his familiarity with his front office. Yes, I know "but 2005" - which if you look at it they really tried to go for it in 2006 and failed miserably.

New ownership.

I wanted Sandy Alomar Jr when Robin was hired and I still do. The guy has been in baseball his whole life and I feel that former catchers have a higher rate of success as managers.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 23, 2015 -> 10:08 AM) http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2015...rospects-video/ Probably not enough for Hoffman unless Samardzija goes on a huge tear the next month. One of those two SS prospects, would be one place to consider. Or Pentecost (catcher). I am not sure why Hoffman is so valued here, he is a guy that has a 4.28 ERA in A ball. He is no where near as valuable as the package that Shark was traded for last summer or even last winter and probably holds as much value as if the Sox were to just hold on to Shark and take the comp pick. They could have had a similar guy (pre-season top 5 guy that was injured) in Matuella this year in the comp round. Hoffman would be a decent start for a deal, but if they are not going to sweeten it to the point where you feel compelled to make a deal it is senseless to trade Shark. A Hoffman/Urena package would make sense for both sides. Pentecost's arm may never be the same after sitting out this season after having shoulder surgery so I would be wary of taking him. The good thing for the Sox is that there are going to be more people buying pitching than good pitching that will be available which should help secure a premium value for Shark or Q.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 18, 2015 -> 01:25 PM) Jake Peavy trade was Rondon, 2 pitching prospects, and the centerpiece (Garcia). So technically 2 position prospects and 2 pitching prospects. Very good trade. We also have made plenty of 1st round position selections (or 2nd round) with Walker / Trayce Thompson / Mitchell / Beck's / Barnum / Hawkins / Tim Anderson. Yes they are all listed above, though Thompson, Mitchell and Beckham were all before 2010. And as I said above, I did not include the ML ready players like Garcia or Eaton as they were not developmental prospects but were on the ML roster within a month of being acquired and had previous ML service time.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jun 18, 2015 -> 01:31 PM) You have to think the Marlins dont really feel they got much bang for their buck out of Miggy. I feel like that is worse They sure made out alright on Josh Beckett though. The package for Miggy wasn't that bad given that he was heading to arbitration at a number they couldn't afford after the season and the Marlins had no chance to re-sign him once he hit free agency. Maybin is starting to play up to his potential, Miller is now an elite level RP, and Badenhop is a serviceable big leaguer. They also were able to dump Willis' bad contract off their books. That trade was more about payroll and less about re-building.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 18, 2015 -> 01:06 PM) We are supposed to believe that a franchise which can't develop position players would be better by trading a cost controlled ace pitcher for a bunch of position player prospects? Yeah, I can't do that. That is just begging for disaster. You would need to trade him for ML or ML ready players. You can't trade Sale for A ball prospects. Thats why a team like the Red Sox would make sense with Bogaerts, Castillo, Swihart, JBJ, Betts, Cecchini, Rodriguez, Owens, and Marrero to choose from. You can make a deal work with some of those parts and also minimize the amount of projection/development required. The Dodgers are similarly situated, the Rangers could put a deal if they wanted to build around Gallo. This would be akin to the Felix Hernandez trade that was discussed at the deadline in 2009 - http://nesn.com/2009/08/report-red-sox-off...elix-hernandez/

To be fair though, the organization has not made much of an attempt to develop many hitters in the darft since 2010 here are the positions drafted in the first 5 rounds: 2015 - 3 Pitchers 2014 - 4 Pitchers - 1 Catcher (Austin) 2013 - 3 Pitchers - 1 SS (Anderson #1), 1 OF (May #13) 2012 - 2 Pitchers - 1 OF (Hawkins #8), 1 1B (Barnum #27), 1 2B (DeMichele), 1 SS Nick Basto 2011 - 4 Pitchers - 1 OF (Walker) 2010 - 5 Pitchers - 1 1B (Wilkins) So 21 pitchers and 9 position players drafted in that time span. Of the trades that have been made, the prospects that they have acquired have been: Samardzjia trade - 1 pitching prospect Gordon Beckham trade - 1 pitching prospect ADA trade - acquired 2 pitching prospects Adam Dunn trade - acquired 1 pitching prospect Jake Peavy trade - acquired 2 pitching prospects, 1 SS (Rondon #12) Jesse Crain trade - 1 pitching prospect, 1 3B prospect (Kline) Matt Thorntom trade - 1 OF prospect (Jacobs) Addison Reed trade - 1 3B prospect (Davidson #9) Jason Frasor trade - 2 pitching prospects Ozzie Guillen trade - 2 pitching prospects , 1 SS prospect (Martinez) Carlos Quentin trade - 2 pitching prospects Sergio Santos trade - 1 pitching prospect Scott Linebrink trade - 1 pitching prospect Thats 16 pitchers and 5 position players in trades in that time as well (not including ML ready players and spring training filler trades - true prospects) In all the Sox have added 37 pitchers to only 14 position players in the last five years in the top of draft or in trades. Of the 14 hitting prospects acquired - Kline, Wilkins, Jacobs, and Martinez are out of the org 6 of the remaining 10 are in the top 30 prospects. Yes guys like Walker and Barnum have been busts but they have made up for it by drafting guys like Michalzeski, Semien, and Johnson in the later rounds.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 02:06 PM) Melky was busted for PEDs in 2012. He had 1000 plate appearances after getting caught in which he put up an OPS + of 119. It's not the roids. Yes, thats when he was caught it is not necessarily when he started using PED's. Melky has had a tendency to put up really good seasons in contract years and come back to earth to the player that he actually is the following year. I am sure he will be really good again in two years when he is playing for his next contract.

There is always a deal to be made. I think any deal for Sale revolves around major league or major league ready players. The Red Sox could put together an attractive package that would fill in quite a few gaps. The Dodgers are maybe the only other team that could put something reasonable together.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 10, 2015 -> 02:48 PM) I think Tim Anderson is a pretty high end offensive talent. The only one, but high-end nonetheless. Guy can hit. Agree, and I think Trey can be as well. To be fair, the Sox have not invested a lot of early draft picks hitters.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Jun 10, 2015 -> 08:17 PM) They are attached to four of the top 30 July 2nd prospects, they're all 15/16. Usually a team signs like 7 players, at least a cycle Yes, but July 2nd guys are a crapshoot. Many of the guys that will get the largest bonuses will never advance beyond AA and an equal share of guys that sign for less than $250K will make the majors, there is just way to many variables in signing 15 and 16 year olds. Whereas the Cuban guys have quite a bit less volatility as they have performed for another 3-5 more seasons. They are the equivalent of the talent that is available in the draft, and while there is still a bust rate it is less so than that in the July 2 market. I would sacrifice signing some of those top guys in 2016 and 2017 if we can get the equivalent of 3 additional first round draft picks from Cuba in this class.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 10, 2015 -> 03:37 PM) Rd 32 Cherry, Taylore North Carolina (NC) RHP No stats this year and not listed on the roster. ?

Sox draft an OL in round 32.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jun 10, 2015 -> 03:03 PM) He could certainly be lying but Mike Cameron said that the $5 mil rumor was false. Thanks, I missed that.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 10, 2015 -> 02:51 PM) This guy's stock is soaring. Saw a recent comp of Andruw Jones for him. Would love for the Sox to get him. Badler from BA is not much of a fan. Has him as the ninth best currently available Cuban. Though he also says that he is the only prospect on the list he has not seen in person. http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...yers-available/

Lots of seniors, Sox appear to be drafting on the cheap late in the draft this year, perhaps they are planning to go big in the July international class, or maybe the payroll was stretched too thin with the Cabrera signing and they had to borrow some money from the draft.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jun 10, 2015 -> 02:15 PM) I would bet that Cameron signs for quite a bit less than $5M. Its possible, but that was the rumor floating around Sunday/Monday. He put a $5M price tag out there and the Astros were trying to go underslot at #2 to pay him in the comp round, which is why 29 other teams passed on a top 10 guy.