caulfield12

Maybe reuniting 22% of the old Dodgers lineup would spark them, lol. I'm kind of doubtful they do a full teardown minus Devers, Story and Sale, but stranger things have happened, like the Betts trade.

It would be understandable if Vaughn wasn't one of the slowest guys on the team and he was hitting behind McGuire. The proverbial second leadoff man. Nah, still can't sell that.

Minus Peds, Pujols and Eck no HoF credentials, bro.

You mean 1906 right?

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article261488342.html

"Xander Bogaerts. Nathan Eovaldi. J.D. Martinez. Christian Vázquez. Kiké Hernández. Jackie Bradley Jr." Red Sox might make those players available if still non competitive over the next two months. We would certainly have an interest in Kike #1, Eovaldi (maybe) and Vasquez if McGuire can't even hit at least .175-.200ish. Not sure if they can afford to add JD Martinez even for just 2-3 months. https://www.yahoo.com/news/bogaerts-eovaldi-block-sox-become-111800297.html

Responding to that earlier note, Billy Hamilton also had a 0.3 fWAR last year, he actually was a net positive in more ways than one for team energy/motivation/enthusiasm... Pollock had a 3.0 fWAR for LA last year and can opt into a deal for next with incentives for PA's, so I can hardly imagine they're not going to give him a huge amount of playing time between now and the return of Jimenez. Grandal, there's very little you can do about. And find a solid back-up catcher to substitute for McGuire who can ALSO hit, good luck!!! Abreu, you have to play him in May, June and July...at the very least. Vaughn...play every day, pretty much That leaves you with Engel, Leury and Sheets. Sheets has to DH against RHP, Leury and Engel to share RF with Leury also rotating on the infield. Harrison...along with RF, that's the most obvious area in need of improvement that you can address, and hopefully the answer isn't simply playing Leury there more. When Jimenez comes back, it seems almost automatic they'll move Pollock back to RF. Eventually, if Abreu continues to struggle, as well as Grandal, you have to split LF and DH with Jimenez, Vaughn and Sheets. But you should never play anyone but Pollock, Engel or Leury in RF. Probably shouldn't even play Pollock unless you have to get his bat in the line-up when he goes on a tear/streak. We're back to the same two issues (2B and RF) that we spent almost the entire off season obsessing over. For 2B, Jean Segura (big contract), Brandon Drury (NL to AL), Adam Frazier (Mariners, probably unavailable), Ketel Marte (not sure AZ sells so low), Cesar Hernandez (no go) and Kemp are the only with positive fWAR's. RF would be Austin Hays, maybe Castellanos (probably too expensive), Santander, Pavin Smith (AZ), Tyler Naquin (fathom already noted), and Adolis Garcia (not sure the cost or if Texas is even interested in moving him). So the MOST impactful moves would be Segura (if Philly throws in the towel) and Austin Hays. Not sure how much you're moving the bar. And definitely not buying into the likelihood that the DBacks will move Ketel Marte for 75 or 80 cents on the dollar.

Just looking at 2B, from drafting Madrigal, then going from NOT trading for Escobar (due to his supposed quad issues), then Cesar Hernandez falling off a cliff and now Josh Harrison and Leury...it's going from one debacle to another for ONE OF THE SUPPOSEDLY EASIEST positions to fill. If we can't even get that much right, it's pretty hard to be optimistic?

Budget is already up against the limit, lol. The "biggest" additions are going to come from Eloy, Lynn, Bummer, etc., returning to the active roster. Kimbrel trade taught us of the risk with trying to do too much...which impacted the long-term window and didn't result in short-term benefits, blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda. And that's WITHOUT Cueto factored into the equation.

Look at the 2010 and 2012 seasons as prime examples, or early 2016. White Sox fans are VERY discriminating about knowing whether their team can realistically compete in the postseason. Other than 2003, 2005-06...the last two years were the first two post-seasons where Sox fans EXPECTED to win...although there was certainly a tremendous amount of concern about HFA and the regular season results against Houston was well as their four consecutive ALCS appearances. The White Sox fans are closer to the Tampa Bay Rays, A's, Tigers, Twins and Indians in terms of general/overall fan expectations. We definitely don't handle being a favorite well, with a few notable exceptions. That and one of the very best teams (1994) getting wiped out by the strike and the White Flag Trade have only served to add to this inferiority complex, as well as being buried by the Cubs this last decade. We still retain that small or mid-market/limited budget/never give out money to one superstar to mitigate risk mentality. This whole "blue collar/labor/diminishing union" vs. Northside Yuppies making money in high finance thing. That's simply never going to change with this ownership group, regardless of all the previous braggadocio from Kenny Williams while he was GM.

And one of the 2 best young outfielders in Acuna, Jr.

Interestingly, that very Braves' scenario from last year is noted and how much harder it will be to pull off the same neat trick in a seller's market with the Mets already so far ahead...without even adding deGrom to the mix.

Sounds just a bit like...Ricky Renteria.

When has he ever had two consistently healthy full seasons? He was like the pitching version of Eloy Jimenez until the first four months of 2021, when his career/future was really on the line...back to the wall.

That's the ONLY ray of hope at the moment.

If only there was a way to merge the Cuban/Latin American flair and exciting style of play with the Japanese/Korean attention to discipline, fundamentals, execution and team-oriented play. Then you would have close to the perfect position players.

Why would you trade Vaughn and Kopech? Who has a lot of value other teams would want? TA7, Giolito...maybe Lynn if he comes back healthy, Moncada far away from peak value and would only be a target for big payroll teams/playoff contenders. Jimenez we would have a hard time just dumping his remaining contract. Same with most of the remaining players other than Graveman.

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-teams-off-to-slow-starts-2022 White Sox first team discussed at length, along with Red Sox, Mariners, Braves, Phillies. No Blue Jays...as current last WC team. Interesting they noted the farm system at the end. More well-informed than the average ESPN article at least.

As the Sox offense goes, so goes the server. Sit back, relax and strap it down!!!

But to answer the OP, they were never going to trade him last year...it wouldn't have made any sense for a playoff contender to sell off their best pitcher in-season. It would have been unprecedented. Not even the Rays have done something like that, they were trying to deal Glasnow but he was injured, that was a totally financial-based decision. And most could feel the second half decline already coming based on his previous workload. By July 31st, he was already a major question mark for the Sox and the rest of baseball.

Keuchel basically averages 10 MPH less on his FB and could only dream of having that slider (when he's ON), but okay, sure.

Consistently 97 in that inning where he was pulled, topped out at 98.2. Mostly problems with the slider and off speed stuff...as well as location in the zone.

Now 8 ER. Went back and looked through the velocity readings. Mostly 97 that inning, one 98.2. Doesn't seem like any kind of injury/fatigue. All the way up to a 3.49 ERA, which is probably about average for the NL and is going to be misread to say that he hasn't been an excellent pitcher his first 6 starts before hitting a wall and apparently not having his slider to get hitters off his FB and change.

When you think about it realistically, what players under than Grandal and Abreu are dramatically under-performing, which could just as easily be hitting the age ceiling? Pollock has had the dreaded NL to AL transition, injury/parental leave. Counting on him to put up another 3 fWAR while moving from LF to RF was pretty much a disaster waiting to happen. Now in LF again, we shall see what he has left. Jimenez and Moncada mostly hurt. Vaughn has made big/positive strides forward, as has Luis Robert. TA7, same (defense, not so much). Sheets was always going to be a case of a Tier B prospect finding success but being challenged by a league making adjustments back. Most knowledgeable Sox fans weren't realistically expecting him to replicate his 2021 performance. Then you have the general decline by 60-75 OPS points across the board or whatever that number now is...maybe down 50 OPS on average as the weather has improved? Burger held his own, more or less but was generally over matched...but that's a bit unfair considering where he came from 2-3 years ago. Most of us thought he would never see a big league diamond, EVER. He performed much better than some of the veterans, let's leave it at that. Harrison and Leury...they have always been "it is what it is" kind of a situation with both those guys. Fwiw, Zack Collins has come back down to earth after a hot start...so there's really only Luis Gonzalez (funny how much ink Adolfo got in retrospect) to account for in SF. Madrigal didn't exactly light up the Northside before his predictable injury. They can make cosmetic changes just to make a change, but anything short of TLR or Hahn going isn't going to change the trajectory of this team.

Rodon finally having a very poor start tonight against the Cardinals... 3 1/3, 8, 5 ER, 1, 3 through 59 pitches.