harfman77

Wonder if the Sox are involved to try and drive the price up for the Tiggers.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 10, 2014 -> 10:29 AM) I like LaRoche, but he's not my favorite option. I think his addition really limits what the Sox can do from a versatility standpoint. It's not quite Paul Konerko last year, where he's a part time DH/1B who adds nothing else, but it would be nice if there was a little more that could be done. That's why I'm as big of a proponent as I am for Sandoval - his addition relegates Gillaspie to the DH position, which is not a bad thing whatsoever because Gillaspie is a guy who can play multiple positions which allows the Sox to matchup with teams a bit better. I am just not sure how much longer Sandoval has before he starts to break down with his Cecil Fielder body type. His defense is pretty limited as well as he doesn't move particularly well at the position and the Giants have been talking about moving him across the diamond for years.

Not thanks on Gattis. No position defensively and we already have our RH 1b/DH that is much better.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 10, 2014 -> 10:01 AM) If the A's do trade Samardzija, I imagine they'll be looking to bolster the MLB roster in other areas. Part of the reason Beane paid the price he did was because he retained control over Samardzija in 2015, which is definitely a contention year for Oakland. Also, the Cespedes trade showed us that he isn't afraid to "rob Peter to pay Paul" so to speak. I disagree, 2015 is a rebuilding year. The reason that the 2015 control was important to Beane was to be able to replenish the roster more quickly. They lose Lester and Hammel out of their starting rotation, their 2B, their SS, their LF and their UTL IF and have traded away all of their viable replacements at those positions. Now they are looking to trade Kazmir and Samardzjia to fill in the gaps and remain competitive. With their young pitchers coming back from some major injuries it is tough to see how they will be in contention.

I voted for McCarthy and Headley. I would also add Jose Fernandez and Joe Thatcher. McCarthy would fit in as an innings eater that would provide some balance to the rotation. Headley would fit in well at the Cell and would upgrade the IF defense. Fernandez is an elite bat that could end up being a huge table setter for Abreu. Thatcher is a LHRP average to above average that will not break the bank. Then package Sanchez or Johnson along with Gillaspie and a pitcher to see what you can pull in to upgrade a corner OF spot. None of these guys are attached to draft compensation and would allow the Sox to keep re-inforcing the farm system so that they can graduate talent to replace the guys that they are signing now.

I could see a deal of Sanchez and Johnson plus some filler. The A's need a lot of depth right now after going all in this season and their starters at both MI positions are free agents without much in the pipeline to replace them. The Sox then get a first round pick if Samardjzia walks to replace the prospects that they have to give up. Adding a #3 like Samardjzia makes the rotation pretty tough. \

LAD - Erisbel Arruebarrena, Onelki Garcia, Zach Lee NYM - Ahmed Rosario, Jenry Mejia, Jeurys Familia NYY - Manny Banuelos, Miguel Andujar, Jorge Mateo, Jose Ramirez

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 6, 2014 -> 01:03 PM) I think Tulo ends up a Yankee. I can not see anyway this happens, the Yankees really have nothing to give up for Tulo as their farm system is pretty close to the worst in baseball. I could see Tulo in Boston, Texas, St. Louis, or maybe even Baltimore. The Dodgers would make a lot of sense if the Rox are willing to trade him within the division.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Nov 6, 2014 -> 01:19 PM) Hahn has stated that the Sox are targeting a left handed, middle of the order bat. If they do not sign V. Martinez, or any other free agent this off season, whom would they target for 2016? The only one who might be available is Chris Davis. There certainly is no one within the organization, who might fill that void. Is there someone I'm missing? Jose Fernandez, Carols Gonzalez, LoMo, Pedro Alvarez, and Jay Bruce.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Nov 6, 2014 -> 09:57 AM) Trade Beck and Trayce Thompson. Take on all salary. Make him primary DH/4th outfielder. Sign a left/right fielder capable of playing center for when Eaton gets hurt. Eaton CF Ramirez SS Abreu 1B CarGo DH Garcia LF/RF Rasmus? RF/LF Gillaspie 3B Flowers C Second baseman You lose quite a bit of his value by taking him out of the field though. I think he can DH part time, but he would be the best OF defender the Sox have by quite a bit. Move him over to RF and let Garcia learn on the job in LF and you can rotate Viciedo into the DH/LF roles.

This trade looks the Astros trying to get value out of a couple of guys they were going to need to move to open some spots on their 40 man roster.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 03:00 PM) So for comparisons sake, the Angels spent $8 million on Roberto Baldoquin, who also falls under the under 23 year old international rules. Anyone know how he compares to Moncada? I haven't been able to find anything on him.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 09:55 AM) Jose Fernandez doesn't make a lot of sense because he ALSO isn't a very good defender and he's playing a position where we have three potential options (Semien/Sanchez, eventually Micah Johnson)... If we're going to upgrade, it has to be at C, 3B, LF and DH. I've read a number of threads and there's almost no mention of what Flowers is going to do next year...more of the focus has been on improving the 3B situation or whether Garcia will be a 2-3 WAR guy despite his defense and whether Eaton will/can stay healthy. I think Balta's right that there are just too many holes to fill that can't be filled (because it's cutting down the remaining money left considerably) by signing Victor Martinez. Let's say you have $15-20 million more to spend after signing Martinez (that wouldn't even get you ONE season of Robertson now). So I'll go back to my V. Martinez, Rasmus AND Brett Anderson or Sergio Romo example. Most here would say even if you added ALL FOUR of those players, you wouldn't have a surefire contender. All past evidence points to the White Sox adding AT MOST three pretty high level free agents. I'll substitute Edinson Volquez for Anderson and now we're close to $35 million again with Victor, Rasmus and Volquez and we STILL would begin the 2015 season with Danks/Noesi/Bassitt at the back end until Rodon came up....which might get us buried early. We STILL wouldn't have done anything to improve the bullpen. If you DON'T add a starter, you're stuck with the worst 3-5 rotation in baseball again. You're adding four players with LOTS of question marks. I honestly don't think there's a single player on the market right now 75% of the posters would be happy if we bought them on the free agency market because of the dollar figures/years. Ethier (subtract Danks and add $3.5 million, now no need for Rasmus) OR trade Danish, Montas and Hawkins for Heyward (which nobody will be in favor of) Victor Martinez +$17.5 million Then we'd have to add at least one veteran "second tier" starter to the rotation, let's say Volquez +$9 million Then you have $10 million left for one really good bullpen piece or two Luke Hochevars that are more speculative Eaton Ethier Abreu V.Martinez A.Garcia Conor Gillaspie/Semien Alexei Ramirez Flowers Semien/Sanchez (eventually Micah Johnson) That line-up STILL feels ONE player short, with quite a few question marks 5-9 IMO. Sale Quintana Volquez Noesi Bassitt/Beck/Carroll becoming Sale Quintana Volquez Rodon Noesi with Bassitt, Beck and Montas figuring into the bullpen puzzle, along with the $10 million you spent on a closer or two high quality set-up guys I disagree. The chance to add an elite bat without having to give up anything other than money makes a lot of sense. It also allows Hahn to use assets like Johnson and Sanchez to upgrade other areas of the team. A deal like M. Johnson, Beck, and Hawkins for CarGo would greatly improve the OF defense while also adding a legitimate bat to the lineup. Eaton Ramirez CarGo Abreu Fernandez Garcia Gillaspie Viciedo Flowers UTL Semien OF Danks/Shuck 1B Wilkins C Phegley SP Sale SP Quintana SP McCarthy/Other FA SP Danks SP Noesi RP Petricka RP Guerra RP Bassit RP Putnam RP Webb RP Franklin Morales RP Joe Thatcher

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 08:54 AM) But neither of those two just maxed themselves out for the next several years by committing to declining veterans. Like I said somewhere recently (maybe earlier in this thread), it makes some sense to be a .500-ish team, but only if you can SUSTAIN it. You can't sustain it by pushing all in on a crap hand. Maybe you get the shot in the dark for a year, but guess what happens next? Rebuild. Hahn, like so many others right now, is aiming for this to be the final rebuild. I don't know if it's possible, but the idea is to take lumps now to put together something that can be reasonably competitive every year. Pushing all in on Victor Martinez, Melky Cabrera, a reclamation project starter, and a couple overpaid relievers at this point feels like taking a half court shot in 2015 at the cost of not having a prayer for the next three or four years. I am 100% on board with not commiting resources to assets that are likely to decline. I think the Sox are much better positioned to use some of the farm system depth and payroll space to add assets than to invest heavily in free agency. I think they can acquire CarGo without decimating the farm due to his salary commitment and he is near is peak. As I said earlier in this thread, I think players need to be acquired that will continue to grow with the core of players that is being assembled. I have said many times that I really want the Sox to be agressive in pursuing Jose Fernandez as a 26 year old second basemen that has exceptional bat to ball skills. CF Eaton FA- 2019 SS Ramirez FA - 2017 RF CarGo FA - 2018 1B Abreu FA - 2020 2B Fernandez FA - 2021 LF Garcia/Shuck/Viciedo FA - 2020 3B Gillaspie FA - 2019 DH Viciedo/Garcia/Semien/Wilkins/CarGo FA - 2018 C Flowers FA -2018 UTL Semien OF Shuck/Danks 1B Wilkins C Phegley Its not murderers row, but it is good enough to contend. Hopefully Davidson can rebound and become a platoon mate for Gillaspie and add a little more flexibility to the lineup. Make a run at trying to bring McCarthy back and piece together a bullpen and the team has a shot.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 08:30 AM) Good call. For as upset as most of us are about Viciedo, non-tendering him would be stupid. I think he gets traded pretty soon. I can see him staying as the RH piece of a DH platoon.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 08:27 AM) I think I agree with caulfield. The problem is this: posters have taken dozens of well-thought-out stabs at what going "all in" would look like this year. Some seem insane, some seem conservative, etc. And to me, ALL of them leave us with what looks like a very mediocre team. To be fair, two teams that look very mediocre just played in the World Series.

The Angels will be players now as well after surpassing their bonus pool to sign 3B/OF Roberto Baldoquin today. They gave Baldoquinn $8M and their bonus pool was $2.38M.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 12:46 PM) That is what I believe too. It would be nice to think you know 6 or 7 guys in the White Sox regular line up 3 or 4 years from now and/or their rotation and bullpen, but I am not sure if it is BA or BP that projects the line ups 3 or 4 years down the road. They usually wind up with only a couple of guys correct. To say before the Sox fill this huge hole, they need to fill this hole and that hole, is IMO being timid. You need to fill the holes when you can. And if those holes cannot be filled now, at least the one you did fill should be filled for a couple of years at the very least until someone develops or another opportunity arises. Or you still are going to be in the same spot year after year. The Sox cannot continue to waste Sale and Q and to some extent, Abreu. If you are waiting for this system to develop all these players before you take any decent sized risks, history has shown, we will all be waiting a long time. I dont think a 36 year old is a long term solution. If he declines rapidly as others his age are prone to do, you now have a huge financial commitment and need to fill the hole all over again while not having the financial flexibility to address your other areas of concern. I like the idea of filling roster deficiencies, VMart does not seem to be the most efficient way to do so unless you are all in next season.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 12:34 PM) A 3 year conract is building forward for 3 years. In 3 years time half the roster won't be the same most likely.If we're lucky Bassitt, Rodon , Danish and Montas will all be established pitchers wreakng havoc in either the pen or rotation. Anything the Sox do now is a bridge or road to becoming that team with the killer rotation. In three years Martinez will be 39. His current level of production is unlikely to be maintained over the course of whatever contract he signs given his advanced age. He also has said he wants a four year deal. This is all moot anyway, the Tigers will pay whatever to keep him.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 10:30 AM) Judging by the White Sox raising ticket prices in some cases very significantly, I think they are expecting to spend some money this offseason, and expecting to contend in 2015. So really, they are in the same boat as KC. Thats great, but I think acquisitions will be made with on eye on continuing to build forward. Signing Jose Fernandez to an Abreu like deal, trading for CarGo, adding a viable mid-rotation starting pitcher and adding some pieces to the bullpen will all increase payroll and keep the Sox investing for the future. VMart is just going to be too old and too expensive at the end of whatever deal he gets to make me think it will be a good move for the Sox.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 3, 2014 -> 03:30 PM) with Bud being his friend. I really don't think that was the problem. it was the whole David Wilder debacle. I suspected and was confirmed by some friends that the sox and JR put themselves in a penalty where they didn't look to the south of the border for prospects for a while. think about it, Aroldis Chapman avail and the sox had little to no interest? nah it was self impose penalty to hide, to take it out the public view. I am not only speaking about the LA market, as the Wilder thing obviously had an impact, but also of the draft in general. JR was one of the few owners who always seemed to really adhere to the recommended slots that MLB provided in the draft. JR has held the Sox pretty close to the letter of the law.

I can see the Rockies using Cuddyer as insurance so that they can move CarGo this winter. He would make sense in the Sox taking back a large contract and improving the OF defense. The ability to have him DH some could keep him healthy. He gets expensive this season for the Rox as his salary jumps from $10.5M to $16M and they need the payroll space to grab at least one more quality SP.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 08:49 AM) Why is Victor Martinez perfect for the Royals, but for the White Sox he would be nothing but a bad contract? I think the difference is that the Royals window on contention will likely close as VMart hits the back end of his contract while the Sox should just be entering their window. If the Sox were one piece away for next season he would make sense, since they are multiple pieces away it makes less sense to me. You really want a piece that is going to contribute at a high level from 2016-2019 if you are the Sox, and I don't think VMart is that guy.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Nov 3, 2014 -> 04:03 PM) I don't know why the Pirates gave one to Liriano. Probably just covering their bases to get a draft pick, I think they will be shocked if he accepts it, but he should.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 3, 2014 -> 03:56 PM) does anyone know if Nelson Cruz got one? Deadline is 4 pm CST, so a couple minutes left.