PorkChopExpress

OK, here's a crazy idea. Prince Fielder. He has 6yrs/$144M left on his contract, $30M of which is already covered by the Tigers in the Kinsler trade, so 6yrs/$114M. Texas still needs to send money back, obviously, but sending another $24M makes him a $15M/year player. Or you can send Danks back their way to unload his contract. Send his brother, too. Hell, send Viciedo, too. Texas seems to be in the market for an OF anyway. The risk is obviously that Fielder had fusion surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck last year, but had no injury concerns prior to that, and in fact played 162 games the three previous years. He is on the wrong side of 30 (31 next year) and has always had the weight issue, so who knows how he'll bounce back from the surgery. But that is why I think there might be a chance Texas considers trading him. They were atrocious last year, and getting Prince Fielder back is not going to fix their problems. Getting him off the books allows them to find other solutions. And if Fielder returns to even close to what he was, that's a big LH DH/1B to insert in the lineup behind Jose. I worry about the tail end of that contract, but if it means the Sox are in serious contention 2015-2017, I think it's worth it. Just spitballing.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Nov 6, 2014 -> 12:04 PM) Let's not focus ONLY on the injury history though. While he and Tulo have both been consistently injured, they've also put up mvp-type seasons. The Rockies are not going to dump either of them for B-level prospects. Cargo's salary, especially, is really not that crippling, even if you build in some inevitable injury time. Cargo has basically been a 16 war player (cumulatively) over the past 5 seasons. That averages to about 3.2 war a season, which pencils out to something in the $16-22 million range annually. That timeframe includes 2014 which was essentially a lost year for him, as well as 2012 when he missed a lot of time. Considering that he's 28, and most likely has another 3-4 years of performance near his prime, it isn't unlikely that he will be worth the remaining money on his contract ($53 million). Now factor in his marketing appeal, the fact that he is a unique superstar talent, yada yada, and that makes him a valuable asset. Obviously, as Eminor said, if he has a chronic knee condition, that throws this analysis out the window, but absent that, the Rockies aren't going to move a player that is likely worth his value (with potential to exceed), as well as with other potential value attached, for B-level prospects. Cargo is a "face of the franchise" type player and you don't trade those for mediocre packages unless it comes with an absolutely albatross-type contract. These fantasies of trading them a bunch of s*** we scraped out of our couch cushions are nuts. It's going to take a package centered around a guy that, at the very least, has the potential to be star player. I'd guess you're looking at the very least, something centered around Tim Anderson, with some other decent talent in there as well. It seems like this what people always say, and then a team like Detroit moves in, and winds up with CarGo for something like Robbie Ray and a bunch of low level prospects, and we're left wondering why we couldn't put together a similar package to get him. I think the White Sox have to at least make a call and see what it would take to get a deal done. They have the positional need, they have more good trade pieces in their system than they had a few years ago, and whether they want to take it on or not, they’re one of the few teams that can afford to take on the big contract right now. There is certainly risk because the Sox don’t have the players/bench to adapt and shift to overcome any injury problems. With CarGo that risk is a big one and makes taking on that money more unattractive than it would be if he played 150+ games every year (145 is his max), but the reward is equally as large as he is an MVP caliber player when he does play and is only 28 years old. Now I don't know how Colorado actually values him because I don't work in the Rockies front office, but the Rockies are a wild card, with a new GM trying to undo some of the problems caused by a stubborn owner, and maybe there’s a chance they’d be interested in some of the Sox players/prospects. Like I said, the Sox have to at least make the call. If they want two of our top 5 prospects plus Viciedo or something, then maybe it's too much and we move on, but if the Tigers pick him up for the likes of Robbie Ray and three throw-ins, we're going to be pissed.

Is it just me, or does Oakland claim a lot of players from the White Sox?

What about Torii Hunter? Yeah, he's almost 40, but it's not apparent when he plays. He still hits well, he would make a better LF than Viciedo, and maybe even a better RF than Garcia, he is baseball-intelligent, and he has veteran leadership qualities with playoff experience. Probably not too expensive, either.

Isn't it obvious? The Sox are afraid if they call him up, he's going to win a few games and ruin their chances at a top ten draft pick.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 10:38 AM) The USCF gun had him at 90-92 his last start. I don't think Danks is done. I don't think anyone is going to trade for him, unless you take back some expensive garbage, but there are worse things than having him around next year. Does Brian McCann fit that bill yet?

Didn't Dayan get pulled early from the game yesterday? I only saw it from the boxscore, so I admittedly have no idea why, but could his absence today be tied to that?

QUOTE (chisoxfan310 @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 02:47 PM) Yankees pick up Stephen Drew.....Stephen Drew can be moved easily but Beckham can't? Amazing QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 04:29 PM) For Kelly Johnson...not sure that is even worth making a trade. And then DFA'd Brian Roberts. Whoever is looking for a bargain on a 2B will grab Roberts before giving anything up for Beckham, meaning there will be even less takers for Beckham by the waiver deadline.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 02:50 PM) Price to Tigers per Rosenthal Wow. Curious to see what they had to give up. Didn't think they had much to offer.

So now there is some "three-team deal" that may be in the works, per mlbtraderumors. And The White Sox were said to be scouting Boston's system. What if, after letting go of Lester and Lackey, Boston swoops in to scoop up Price (intending to extend him), and the White Sox are somehow involved in making that happen.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 30, 2014 -> 11:15 AM) Incredibly good. If you slot a RHP after Sale and before Q it means he could essentially be an Ace. And right there you have a contender. Exactly.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 30, 2014 -> 10:30 AM) I dont think you need to pay a pitcher that much since we have legit #1 and #2 already in the fold. You dont pay a #3 pitcher that much money. Why is it a rigid rule that you have to have a "#1, #2, #3, #4 and #5" pitcher? If you could have two #1's, wouldn't you want to? Sale-Sherzer-Q would be an awesome short series rotation.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 29, 2014 -> 02:03 PM) Interesting comment about the Red Sox... Maybe considering them as part of a three-way deal involving Lester/Lackey and Alexei/Dunn/other hot garbage.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jul 21, 2014 -> 08:31 PM) Frank Thomas, C-grade prospect: http://scouts.baseballhall.org/report?repo...yerid=thomafr04 Hopefully he can hit over .250 I like the "Physical Description" section -- "One huge person."

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Jul 25, 2014 -> 07:44 AM) No need to rush im but I'd love to see him in AAA by the end of the year, AFL too if possible, may be legitimate prospect if he develops power or switches positions I take it he wasn't too good at 3B since it looks like they switched him from 3B to 1B in 2012, but does anyone have any insight on his defense? It doesn't look like he's ever played OF, but could he be a possible LF someday?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 01:56 AM) Poor Beckham. One of the biggest busts in Sox history considering where he was picked? QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 08:20 AM) No. The guy was in the majors and was a regular for 5 seasons. Top 6 picks of the 1985 draft: Brewers - BJ Surhoff (34.3 WAR) Giants - Will Clark (56.2 WAR) Rangers - Bobby Witt (15.1 bWAR) Reds - Barry Larkin (70.1 WAR) White Sox - Kurt Brown (never played in majors) Pirates - Barry Bonds (162.4 WAR) Seeing as Beckham (8th overall) was 1 of only 7 top ten picks for the Sox since 1982, the others being Kurt Brown (whom you mentioned), Jack McDowell (5th overall), Robin Ventura (10th overall), Frank Thomas (7th overall), Alex Fernandez (4th overall) and Carlos Rodon (3rd overall), I think he could be considered one of the biggest busts considering where he was picked. However, his bust-ness is overshadowed by the plethora of first round busts the White Sox have had in that timeframe. At least Beckham was a serviceable player for 5+ years. And on a tangent, can I say, having looked up all of our first round picks over this span, whoever was scouting/drafting in '87-90, WOW ('87 was McDowell, '88 was Ventura, '89 was Thomas and '90 was Fernandez), and whoever it was in '97, WOW (but in a negative way - we had the 15th, 33rd, 34th, 43rd 46th and 51st overall picks that year and picked Jason Dellaero, Kyle Kane, Brett Caradonna, Aaron Myette, Jim Parque and Rocky Biddle, respectively).

I thought I read somewhere that in the clubhouse (where it matters) his teammates were calling him "El Oso" as in "The Bear." I thought that was perfect. And then everyone can always say, "Sometimes you eat the bear, and, sometimes the bear, well, he eats you."

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 11:02 PM) Should be really grateful about having him and Sale and the head of rotation, locked up for peanuts. Hopefully Rodon joins them soon. QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jul 17, 2014 -> 12:08 AM) And if Rodon works out... wow And now imagine that with the money the Sox have to utilize this offseason, they go and sign Sherzer or Shields.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jul 14, 2014 -> 05:24 PM) Beckham will have zero trade value in off season. No team will want to go to arbitration with him, because that team would then be stuck with the arb award. If Sox non tender him, he is then a FA and will have to sign at a lower salary. Sox get nothing that way. Trading him in July won't get much either, but it creates an opportinity for one for our minor league infielders to get some AB's. I think this is the key aspect at this point. If the Sox do not think he is a part of their future anymore, then they need to unload him for whatever they can get and let the potential replacements get some AB's so the Sox can evaluate them and see what they actually have in them.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 08:13 AM) I watched the first round (and luckily saw that 510' bomb by Stanton), but I was done after that. As far as the game, I agree it should not count for anything. It should just be a showcase of the (supposed) best players in the game. Even though no teams are mathematically eliminated yet, there are teams that have no chance to make the post season. What are the players of those teams playing for? I'm not saying the guys aren't going to try, but I would imagine there are all different mindsets in that game. The FOX announcers just kept drooling over Stanton's power, strongest guy in MLB, etc. I kind of wish Abreu participated in the HR Derby just to see how his power would size up against Stanton's with those juiced balls. I realize Stanton's power is "legendary," but Abreu is supposed to be pretty strong himself, and as a fan, I would have liked to see that.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 09:52 AM) If you had bet against greg, you'd have eleventeen thousand houses, like me. I just need a 10,000 SF house.

With regard to RBIs and Runs being dependent on the other guys around you in the lineup, why can't you just look at the splits: With no one on base, Rizzo has 83 PA, and has .278 BA, .373 OBP, .486 SLG, and .860 OPS. With no one on base, Abreu has 78 PA, and has .247 BA, .295 OBP, .575 SLG, and .870 OPS. Fairly equal. With men on base, Rizzo has 52 PA, and has .316 BA, .481 OBP, .500 SLG, and .981 OPS. With men on base, Abreu has 71 PA, and has .262 BA, .338 OBP, .639 SLG, and .977 OPS. Abreu has nearly 20 more PA with men on base, possibly accounting for higher RBI totals, but the OPS differences are almost negligible. However, when the men on base are in scoring position: With RISP, Rizzo has 34 PA, and has .280 BA, .441 OBP, .320 SLG, and .761 OPS. With RISP, Abreu has 46 PA, and has .316 BA, .391 OBP, .763 SLG, and 1.154 OPS. Again, Abreu has a dozen more PA than Rizzo, but has also clearly outperformed Rizzo in those situations. He earned the RBI's when Rizzo didn't. As for Runs, without relying on the times a teammate got a hit to drive you in, neither player has stolen home this year, and Abreu has 12 HRs while Rizzo has 6.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ May 7, 2014 -> 11:42 AM) Rizzo and Abreu are having good starts. Rizzo has been a round for a few yeas Abreu for a month. THAT IS THE f***ING STORY NOT RUNS CREATED V WOBA or whatever the f*** he is talking about.. ^ This. Whether he is older or not, Abreu is a rookie in his first month in MLB doing this stuff. He has already set ALL-TIME records for rookies. Rizzo, while having a great start, is not setting records, nor did he set records in his rookie year, and he has been playing in MLB since 2011. Add to that the fact that giving Abreu the contract he got was considered a risk because you didn't know exactly what you would be getting since he hadn't ever played in MLB before, and you have another interesting facet to the story with the risk/reward stuff. On top of that, this guy was signed to replace a living legend in the Sox community giving him big shoes to fill, and the fact that he looks like he might be able to fill them very nicely adds yet another interesting facet to the story. This is simply a role reversal for the two teams. For so long it has been the Cubs getting all the press (except maybe in 2005), while at times the Sox were more deserving of the recognition, and many Sox fans complained about it, and now a Sox player is getting the press over a Cubs player also deserving of some recognition, and people are complaining about it.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ May 5, 2014 -> 11:52 AM) They have to do it for at least one game, if not both. Why? Why not have Dunn in LF, and use one of De Aza or Jordan Danks in CF for the two games at Wrigley?

What Kenny Said: "All he has to do is call." What Kenny was thinking: "All he has to do is call and order tickets like anyone else."