harfman77

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 07:56 PM) Not a fan of the idea of an international draft, I think that there is nothing wrong with the system that is in place. When teams can abuse the system at the expense of the teams that play by the rules there is something inherently wrong in the system. International draft makes perfect sense, gets rid of the abuses of the system, distributes talent evenly across the leagues, and helps remove some of the corruption in the process.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 03:30 PM) Yanks won't be signing any top picks next year. The next TWO years.

Looks like he only appeared in two games for the Rays AA affiliate. He was a piece sent to the Marlins in the Ricky Nolasco trade last year. Hopefully he can perform like Montas has since coming over.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 02:04 PM) For those hoping that the Sox go over the caps, here are a few good reasons that they won't. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/04/amat...17-percent.html All overages are taxed at 100 percent. Exceed bonus pool by 5 to 10 percent: Team is not allowed to sign a player for more than $500K in the following international signing period. Exceed by 10 to 15 percent: Team is not allowed to sign a player for more than $300K in the following international signing period. Exceed by more than 15 percent: Team is not allowed to sign a player for more than $300K in the following two international signing periods. Did this rule change or are the Cubs and Rangers out next year too?

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QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 12:33 PM) MLB.com ranked Nunez #26 and Alfaro #28. Never heard of the other two. Nunez is said to have a high offensive upside, may move to 3B. Alfaro is said to be a fairly advanced defensive catcher and his bat will need to catch up. So.....Nunez? He got them most money. July 2 signing bonuses for the new @whitesox Nunez $900k Alfaro $750k Mota $750k Mercedes $950k It looks like Felix Mercedes pulled in the most money. Odd that a 17 year old 2B would get your largest deal in the international market.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 09:46 AM) Where is Yoan Moncada ? Is he eligible for this . I thought he was . He is not eligible to sign until he establishes residency in another country and is unblocked by the OFAC. Probably will be October or November before he is signed.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 08:44 AM) Good signs early, but it's still Low-A. I'll be more excited when he's doing this for W-S and Birmingham. I do like the prospects of him though. This is likely one of those things that, when he got hit, he didn't think anything of it. You roll an ankle or land on a wrist or anything and a lot of times, it's not sore till the next day and really, it doesn't feel that bad. Then you start playing on it and it progressively gets more sore or swollen (or it was swollen to begin with) and then decide that it may be a good thing to get it checked out and BAM, out 4-6 weeks. Trey is performing really well for his age appropriate level. Obviously replicating success at a level closer to the majors is more impressive, but there is no harm in moving him up a level every year. The positive about Andersons injury is that he will have time to get back out there this season and perhaps focus more on working counts than his power stroke.

Nunez really does have that ARod swing. There is a video of him from a year ago on YouTube as well, he appears to have fixed an issue he had with extreme movement in his set-up.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 02:22 PM) A guy who will never play for the White Sox gets replaced by a guy who will never play for the White Sox.,Cleto also let go. No harm in bringing guys in to see if you can get anything out of them.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 02:47 PM) Not that I know of....maybe they can be granted access to past physicals, but to conduct their own, that's not allowed. And if Aiken indeed has a major physical/pre-existing condition, then you probably will see that rule changed. Yes the rule is that the Astros only have to offer 40% of the slot value if he failed the physical. I am sure there is probably some negotiating going on, but I don't see the Astros trying to lowball him too much and risk sabotaging their draft pool. They may get him down to $6M and use the excess to make a run at Mac Marshall.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 10:51 AM) Ummm...no, this would be similar to Viciedo, where he was signed after 2008 and made an impact in the 2010 playoff race. I am not sure that is the case. But there isn't a huge need for the Sox to push him through either with Semien, Sanchez, and Johnson all in the way. Stick him in AA next season with Anderson, Barnum, and Hawkins and let them come up together.

I can see a Viciedo - Domonic Brown change of scenery swap. Both have seemingly hit walls in their organizations and don't have the value they did two years ago. Alexei and De Aza to the Mariners for Franklin, Smoak, and Lars Huijer. Dunn and Beckham to the A's for Seth Streich and Bruce Maxwell. 2015: CF Eaton 2B Sanchez/Semien 3B Gillaspie/Davidson DH Abreu 1B Smoak RF Garcia LF Brown SS Franklin C Flowers/Nieto/Phegley

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 30, 2014 -> 11:20 PM) http://obstructedview.net/commentary-and-a...-and-video.html Their entire budget for international would have to go to this guy, but it might be worth it. He's exactly the kind of dynamic athletic talent we need on the infield, especially if he can play 3B. Seems he's become more of a middle infielder (SS/2B), but the idea he could play 3B, combined with that level of speed and athleticism...well, obviously Jose Abreu's going to be intimately involved in the entire process of the White Sox going after him. Would be another great option to go along with Timmy Anderson at SS. Have Abreu personally bring his former teammate a check for $5 million. Only the Marlins and Astros can outbid us, right? Forget Ynoa. Thats not true, the only teams that cannot outbid us are the Cubs and Rangers. The Rays, Brewers, Red Sox and Yankees are already to bust through their spending caps anyway, so there is no further harm in going further over the limits.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 30, 2014 -> 09:49 AM) As hard as it is to find catching, if they saw something, they would have found a way to hang on to him. The Sox were going to have a hard time finding him AB's at C with what they have at that level now and is bat is too bad to play anywhere else. It's just as likely that the Sox did not feel he warranted a roster spot at this point than there was some off the field issue. With Hollenbeck there now and it probably came down to Ayala and Barraza, Barraza was seen as the much better defensive player when they were drafted and Ayala's bat was supposed to be good enough to play the OF if warranted. Looking at the org depth chart for catchers: AAA - Phegley - Gonzalez AA - Smith - Medina - Sierra A + - Navarez - Majarma A - - Austin - Dowdy PIO - Fisher - Stoner - Haupt AZL - Hollenbeck - Barraza - Garcia DSL - Gonzalez - Perez - Villarroel Not a ton of prospects, a few guys that may eventually project to be starters and probably 3-4 guys that profile as backups. Ayala in his third full season seemed to show little improvement and just got caught up in the numbers.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jun 27, 2014 -> 03:51 PM) So you're ready to give up on this rebuild after three months? And the solution is a second rebuild? The Dayton Moore Rebuild™, where a bunch of superhuman prospect classmates all show up to save the day at the exact same time like a Civil War-era cavalry charge, is a fictional ideal. It exists only in dreams. Most of them bust, and most of the rest don't reach their theoretical maximum ceiling, ending up as decent players instead of studs. We must acquire assets that can contribute for several years, lock them up, keep them healthy, and continue to add things to the foundation we have created. If a 25-year old 3-4 fWAR starter with six years of below-market control is NOT a foundational piece, then really, NOTHING is. Thats exactly the point. You don't acquire assets by trading off spare parts. Thats great, you can have two really good pitchers and end up in the cellar every year. Yes some bust, most don't meet their ceilings which is why you need to get multiple prospects back to compensate for the risk that you take in dealing an established quality big league player. Give up on the rebuild? More like finish what was started. Last season was a good first step, but with the current make-up of the roster and the lack of impact prospects at positions of need in the farm system mean that we need to make more moves that can help re-shape the roster into being a contender in the near term. 2016 should be the target year to push the chips into making a run, Abreu gets expensive that season and it will give us three more years of the Sale/Abreu combo. I think the Rays depth was certainly overrated then and with Rodon, the long term impact of dealing Q should be mitigated.

QUOTE (striker @ Jun 27, 2014 -> 02:03 PM) 6. Viciedo sucks at offense and defense. Don't want him. 1. Viciedo for Moustakas. Comparable control time. KC needs offense. ha

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 27, 2014 -> 01:28 PM) Dan Hayes ‏@DanHayesCSN 5m Avisail Garcia taking early fly balls and throwing to 2nd (view from restaurant in Rogers Centre hotel). #WhiteSox Good, he needs a lot of practice getting to fly balls.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jun 27, 2014 -> 01:33 PM) What have the Jays offered for Samardjzia? The Cubs have asked for Aaron Sanchez, Daniel Norris, and Dalton Pompey, which the Jays have not agreed to up to this point. That's an extreme return as Norris is now considered one of the top LHP's in the minors.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jun 27, 2014 -> 11:26 AM) Shields is better than Quintana, and perceived to be MUCH better than Quintana. I would say that is not a realistic return for Quintana. And I wouldn't trade Quintana for the Garza package, which is kind of the major point. Quintana is, essentially, EXACTLY what you hope that one guy in a prospect package turns into. A solidly above average contributor who is young and controllable and open to signing a team-friendly extension, which Quintana has already done. He is the definition of a building block. The chance that we'd end up with multiple guys like that out of a realistic trade package is like 1%, and if you throw in the fact that it pushes the contention window far enough into the future that you will be wasting good years of the other controllable pieces we have now, you have what I think is a completely indefensible trade. It would be cutting off the nose to spite the face. It would be like selling a box of sandwiches for a loaf of bread and some lunchmeat with the idea that if you can come across some condiments down the road, you might end up with a few more sandwiches. Shields is better but he was acquired with two years of control while Q would offer at least 6. You are wasting the years of controllable pieces now and not making the moves to strengthen the roster now only pushes that window in which you can contend back further. I would not trade Q for a Garza package either, but remember that it was for a half season rental with no chance to receive a compensation pick when he left, the point of the Garza deal is that the return was high for the amount of service/expected production that the Rangers received in return. Yes Q is what you want a prospect to turn into, but holding your cards doesn't improve your hand. There are no real options in the system to step into the lineup at C or OF over the next few years. The Sox have struggled to attract quality players in FA over the last 30 years and need to get more talent on the roster somehow. Standing pat with the roster the way it is constructed is what is indefensible. Wasting the years that you have Sale and Abreu under contract. You have to trade valuable assets to get valuable assets in return. Sure we can dump some of the players that are struggling, but they will not bring back much of anything and their replacements are likely worse than they are. RH needs to target teams with a surplus at a position of need, like NYM and Atl at C, and use his assets to help make a deal that makes sense. The Sox as constructed now are basically the Mariners of the last decade, one offensive superstar, a bunch of role players, the best pitcher in the league, a solid two, and some hot garbage. Seattle has struggled to attract FA's the same way the Sox have, and to avoid ending up where the Mariners are now, RH should take action now.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jun 27, 2014 -> 11:02 AM) By saying "realistic," I'm saying that if you go and shop him, none of the offers will be like that. Yes, I think we'd all be in favor of our GM being open to trades in which the opposing team offers so much that the trade only exists outside of the fabric of reality, but I don't think that it warrants actual discussion. Kinda like the Shields trade? That was pretty far-fetched until it actually happened too. The return the Cubs got for a half of a season of Garza? That was out there as well. The most far-out deal is the rumored package that the Cubs are attempting to acquire from the Jays for Samardjzia. Given Q's ability and contract, he should pull in a similar deal.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 27, 2014 -> 09:15 AM) I think it also jives with the fact that the Sox have now promoted him to AAA. If the Sox were worried about this, he wouldn't be there yet. Looking at the Box from last night, looks like control issues affected Beck. He threw 96 (58 STR) pitches in 4.2 innings and walked four batters. Gave up 5 hits and struck out four. Could be a lot of issues that contributed to the problems so I am not too worried based on that start.

I feel Robin has done as good of a job as anyone else could do given the roster deficiencies. Beyond that, I think he has been a really good influence on the younger players that have been brought in as part of the rebuild, helping them to understand what it takes to be major league baseball players, teaching them how to be accountable to their teammates, protecting them from media criticism, and really serving as a stabilizing influence in the clubhouse.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jun 27, 2014 -> 09:41 AM) There isn't a realistic return that would make sense for us. Thats why you need to see if you can get an unrealistic return. If you can plug three holes moving Q, you need to really consider it. A deal like Bethancourt, Hursh, and Costanzo from the Braves would be a fit as you would replace Q in the rotation with Hursh get your C of the next 7 years, and get an OF with a plus hit tool. This team has to find a way to fill multiple holes in the roster and the Sox have always struggled in FA so that leaves the trade market.

I think it is mostly all filler at this point. I believe the future lefties in the pen are going to be Leesman and Snodgress. Surkamp still may have a shot at starting, but there is no harm is using him in a bullpen role for the time being to allow he and Coop to make adjustments more rapidly that can lead to success.