caulfield12

https://www.mlb.com/news/white-sox-discuss-shaking-off-slow-start Ofc we knew that Hendriks and Crochet would be cast in the role of midseason saviors... but will it be another case of too little, too late? Effort is better... but execution and fundamentals other the really nice relay play and Robert being back closer to 100% are still lacking. Andrus has lost another step seemingly. Alberto Burger Vaughn Sheets are each flawed defenders and the one plus athlete off the bench Romy can't hit.

Giolito, Moncada and Lopez already had big league time. The biggest issue is and will be Kopech vs. Devers and getting nothing from the back end of that trade. Cease and Jimenez was a haul. Dylan took 2-3 years to find himself though. Dunning peaked early and led to the Lynn deal. When all is said and done, Moncada and Kopech have disappointed the most... Michael at least 50% due to injuries that should have been. expected throwing 97-101 at that time with nearly max effort.

And ironically the #1 reason Machado provided for signing with SD was the presence of former Sox prospect Tatis Jr. With Moncada at third and Anderson at SS, Harper was always the best choice, especially from a marketing standpoint since Manny was pretty much a villain back then before earning a lot of respect back with his level of play and especially maturity/leadership.

That would PROBABLY require jettisoning Hendriks off the payroll. Probably. Hader is no longer automatic and his stuff is down 1-2 notches from overuse. His control is also very erratic. Normally 94-97 now.

Those numbers included 2008/10/12 too...strip away those three seasons and you are much closer to Bottom 5.

https://www.teamrankings.com/mlb/stat/stolen-bases-per-game CLE and Baltimore lead the majors in. stolen bases...Grandal and Zava will be constantly put to the test. Point 2, they need to start winning consistently at home. Period. Even if the majority of fans are still indifferent, apathetic, disengaged.

You can add the Royals and Rockies...Reds...Diamondbacks... Marlins. A's do know precisely what they are doing, which is burning that franchise down to the floorboards. Had hope for Pitt but Cruz out and Reynolds likely traded.

T.Thompson, .316, 4 hr’s, 11 rbi’s

Even if they do move Giolito, Clevinger and Lynn, the returns wouldn't be huge unless they suddenly dominate over the next two months...but then Hahn would look like an idiot White Flagging it yet again when they would likely be at least competitive with 2/3 pending FA starters throwing well along with Cease/Kopech. Grandal will get even less and then you have Seby/Perez playing everyday. At least it would be cost efficient. That leaves Hendriks, Lopez (need to trade if you can't extend), Graveman Bummer and maybe Kelly but only a dominant/cheap Reynaldo gets you much back there other than salary dumps. (Ofc TA7, Kopech, Jimenez and Cease each have to be addressed as well... extend or try to trade at max value.) Just assuming they don't get what they want for Moncada... it would be super embarrassing to trade him and Montgomery or Ramos are the only ones capable of replacing him long-term. Stuck with for 2024. Benintendi likewise would be super embarrassing to trade after his deal and you're also going to give up talent or a cash subsidy the way things are headed. Depressing. A dumpster or tire fire.

https://benhowell71.com/lee-jung-hoo/ http://junghoolee51.com/Scoutingreport Note: Cubs just signed Ian Happ to a contract extension...

MLB Trade Rumors Version 4. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, SP, Orix Buffaloes: Back in February, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote that there is “strong belief among MLB teams” that Yamamoto will be posted by the Buffaloes after the season. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams wrote, “Yamamoto is already a four-time NPB All-Star and has taken home both the Pacific League MVP Award and the Sawamura Award (Japan’s equivalent to MLB’s Cy Young Award) in each of the past two seasons. Have Jordan Montgomery and Josh Hader in their Top Ten. Extensive write up on Giolito at #6. Other players considered for this list, or who have a chance to play their way onto it, include Max Scherzer, Luis Severino, Tyler Mahle, Sean Manaea, Harrison Bader, Michael Conforto, Amed Rosario, and Jung Hoo Lee. Of course, one of the best parts of baseball is surprising performances, and we’ll revisit the 2023-24 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings every month. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/04/2023-24-mlb-free-agent-power-rankings.html

https://sports.yahoo.com/shohei-ohtani-and-who-else-ranking-10-more-2023-24-mlb-free-agents-in-crucial-contract-years-214330850.HTML Ohtani to Sox is a no go since they didn't make his initial preference list and he will likely receive $475-525 million anyway... basically 6-7x the White Sox biggest FA contract in Benintendi. Amed Rosario is currently the #4 option in the class. Yikes! Harrison Bader #5??? Chapman isn't realistic with Moncada on the books. Everyone will seemingly bid on Nola and/or Urias. Forget those two. Teoscar Hernandez is basically Eloy Jimenez but healthier. Then you have Sonny Gray, Blake Snell, Jack Flaherty and Giolito... wouldn't go after any of them with a ten foot pole, but Sox will probably play up Flaherty/Katz high school connection since no other names obviously jump out. Gray I guess would "take/subtract" from Minny but it would take a lot more than him to really move the meter.

Just watched the highlights…Sheets falling down because he took the incorrect route to the Jeffers ball and couldn’t adjust athletically is like rubbing salt into the wound. You almost have to see it to believe it, it was that level of defensive incompetence.

Twins actually lost more starter level time to injury...

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/andrew-benintendi/17901/stats?position=OF That same player but up a 3.1 fWAR combined over his previous 2 1/2 seasons. You could have made the exact same argument for AJ Pollock's 3.1 fWAR in 2021. The Yankees also had an historic offensive season last year. That's going to lift up nearly every member of the starting lineup... just as a rising market tide floats all boats/stocks in its wake. Point 2, Taylor still provides positional flexibility and will be needed with Lux down. Most importantly, he doesn't stop LAvfrom. going after Shohei Ohtani at the trade deadline or into the off season. Those are pennies on. the dollar for LA compared to 50 to 75 cents to the White Sox.

The point was the smartest teams invest in scouting/evaluation/drafting/int'l so they don't have to pay Benintendi that much money. Or they pick the perfect players off the scrap heap that fit with their rosters like the Rays and Dodgers instead of buying at max value in FA. That strategy would still allow both franchises to realistically have a shot at an Ohtani or B. Reynolds when they're traded or go on the market. The White Sox don't even have a seat at the table...

shades of Rick Hahn's son guessing right on eventual 2008 Twins' blackout game coin flip

Reported to mods for LGBTQIA insensitivity.

He costs far more than the entire Guardians' outfield of Kwan Straw and Gonzalez.

And they're far too talented and payroll heavy to bottom out entirely and get another Top 5-7 draft pick...ofc, we only have Rodon (no QO)/Madrigal (Cubbie)/Vaughn to show for those three years of suffering. It's really crazy if you look at all the castoffs on the Rays' roster and only Franco and Arozarena being exceptionally talented offensive players. But that pitching/draft/development pipeline...my god. Waves and waves and waves of pitching. That's after Brent Honeywell, Brendan McKay and Matthew Liberatore all struggled as high draft picks. And Glasnow was out for almost all of last season. But they made the smart move with Eflin (Phillies) and then Springs has been simply amazing looking at where he came from. McClanahan's a total stud. Rasmussen, Fairbanks and that deep bullpen of arms. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/169358/tranx/ Jeffrey Springs' career transaction list....circuitous https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/188180/tranx/ Drew Rasmussen was signed for only $135,000 in the 6th round by the Brewers coming off TJ surgery at Oregon State Just two prime examples.

How do you commit a three shot foul in that situation? Got lucky...3 misses at least by TOR down the stretch.

https://sports.yahoo.com/umpire-larry-vanover-leaves-yankees-guardians-game-after-being-hit-in-head-by-relay-throw-185911652.html

You can be compact regardless of your size, and spring like a cobra, lol...more the feeling of watching them swing the bat than any exacting physical comparisons.

But this year is a FAR tougher schedule. When you can't beat up on the Tigers, especially, for 19 games. I think 90 losses is a stretch, but definitely feels like 74-88 is quite possible...especially if any of the starting pitchers were to go down for an extended time.

A Salt Lake City consortium led by the former owner of the Utah Jazz plans to pursue a Major League Baseball franchise in the coming years, touting the area's population growth, strong economy and baseball history as draws for a coveted expansion slot, people involved with the project told ESPN. Big League Utah, a group headed by longtime Jazz owner Gail Miller, will join Nashville's Music City Baseball and the Portland Diamond Project in lobbying to join the current 30 MLB organizations. Las Vegas, considered a prime destination for a franchise, has emerged as a strong candidate if the Oakland Athletics relocate. While sources said MLB does not plan to expand until it figures out the futures of Oakland and the Tampa Bay Rays -- both of whom have considered moving amid struggles to secure new stadiums in their current metropolitan areas -- commissioner Rob Manfred told ESPN in July: "I would love to get to 32 teams." The Salt Lake City coalition includes the Larry H. Miller Company -- the conglomerate founded by Miller's late husband, Larry, an automobile magnate -- as well as local business leaders and former major league players Dale Murphy and Jeremy Guthrie, both Utah residents. The group has targeted building a stadium in the Rocky Mountain Power District, a 100-acre mixed-use zone located between Salt Lake City's new airport and its downtown core, an investment that would come on top of an expected $2 billion expansion fee. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/36169718/salt-lake-city-group-joins-mlb-expansion-chase Starks said the group surveyed local fans about their favorite sports leagues for potential expansion and that MLB was the top choice, ahead of even the NFL. So it's Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Portland and Nashville. Definitely need either Nashville/Charlotte/Montreal to balance out the westward expansion.