caulfield12

Jesus Christ. I’m supposed to be monitoring the internet 24 hours per day here in China? So mentioning the White Sox along with other teams versus substantiating that we’ve had a REAL meeting with Boras Corp on Keuchel and/or Ryu? How many legitimate national writers have connected REAL CONCRETE TANGIBLE discussions with Boras and the White Sox this entire offseason? ANY? You’re really a piece of work accusing others of lying...but it’s whatever. But sure, I saw that article and deliberately ignored it and attempted to obfuscate the truth in order to keep the White Sox/Ryu/Boras negotiations for being exposed before a deal could be struck. I’ve been sitting on it for 2-3 weeks, lol.

Well, there’s always Tyler Chatwood...

That’s unlikely to happen with most teams until mid season now...with the obvious exception of the Red Sox and maybe the Diamondbacks listening on Ray. The Rockies are yet another team with no clear direction, so you have Gray there and Gonzales from the M’s as two more realistic possibilities. Stroman, Porcello, Wacha and even Thor or de Grom could be on the market if the Mets fall far behind in such a competitive division. The first three, at least, are all realistic gets.

Keuchel has a chance to rebound with a full spring training. Look at what Lance Lynn did in Texas in 2019 coming off his disappointing 2018. Maybe not to the tune of a 4.7 fWAR, but we only need 2.5-3.0 to stabilize the rotation and conserve financial resources.

So then all is well. Problem solved...if we just ignore the existence of at least seven other teams and Scott Boras, we are all set.

Yes, I obviously understand the White Flag trade. Some prefer to have selective positive memories.

Where is Jon Rauch now...he was #1 rated as well? That’s still relevant, because KW and JR are still largely running things...at least the purse strings. A year ago, Lopez was projected into every future rotation and Giolito was getting his final opportunity. It’s the White Sox, after all. What can go wrong usually does go wrong. If there weren’t so many with medical questions, sure. Project all you want and don’t add. Even Hahn on numerous occasions said he was looking for a #2 and then a backend guy to stabilize the rotation and take the pressure off Cease and all the pitchers coming back from major surgeries. Ryu is the only 2 left, and Price is a 4/5 going forward. Not a single source has linked us to Ryu.

There’s still EE, Keuchel, Teheran, Wood, Walker...couple more possibilities there that are not King Felix or the Dark Knight....along with Harris, Hudson, Betances in the pen.

Actually, we did have to tank for most of the late 80’s and late 90’s. Not sure where Greg was back in 1997-99.

If we had the same success rate out of 1998-2001 prospects (we also had another #1 BA-ranked class in 2000), we win three World Series titles in the 2000’s. Along with Buehrle and Garland, Garcia and Contreras ended up being the keys. The bust rate of those pitching prospects was 75-80%. Wells and Fogg were the only other two that ended up having decent careers. McCarthy came in the next cycle/wave.

Dallas Keuchel (No. 30): I like Keuchel a little better than Keith did in his rankings, and while Keuchel went 8-8 with a 3.75 ERA in 19 starts with the Braves after not signing until early June, there are some possible concerns with him. He allowed a .338 OBP, his highest mark since his breakout season in 2014. His strikeout rate dipped below 20% for the second straight season after peaking at 23.7% in 2015, his Cy Young season. He compensates with a high ground ball rate and by shutting down the running game (no stolen bases allowed in 2019). He's also the bulldog type that teams love. Best fits: White Sox, Angels, Twins, Cardinals, Padres, Phillies Prediction: Twins. Jake Odorizzi accepted the Twins' qualifying offer and Minnesota re-signed Michael Pineda, but those two and Jose Berrios are the only proven starters on the Minnesota roster. There’s the Keuchel argument, in a nutshell. From previous article.

The problem is expecting 4 out of 5 guys to make it. Thats an impossible success rate for pitching prospects. Normally, you’re looking at 2/5 or 3/5. The scenario everyone is most worried about is Lopez never makes it, Giolito is more a 3 (Gavin Floyd after 2008) than #1/2, and only 1 out of Cease/Kopech/Dunning is in the rotation two years from now. Even 3/5 (and assuming one of the failures ends up a closer or high leverage pen guy), you’re looking at adding two just to be safe, having no real idea if Rodon will even be with the organization a year from now. If we felt more confident in Rodon or Dunning, sure, only add one pitcher and roll the dice. IMO, Stiever is more likely for the pen, at least that’s where most scouts are projecting him, at least ahead of Hamilton and Burdi in the current pecking order.

Nicholas Castellanos (No. 13): Castellanos is one of the most divisive free agents of recent years. He can certainly hit -- 88 extra-base hits last season, including 58 doubles, the most since Todd Helton hit 59 in 2000. Turning 28 in March, he's also the youngest of any of the top 50 free agents. While his bat is excellent, it's not really elite, as he ranked 48th in the majors in wOBA. That's the concern, because all his value comes in the batter's box, as he's a below-average defender in the outfield. Best fits: White Sox, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Indians, Rockies Prediction: White Sox. This could be a situation similar to that of Mike Moustakas the past two offseasons: a nice player without an obvious match. The Diamondbacks are desperate for an outfielder, but they have placed a big emphasis on outfield defense, and Castellanos may be out of their price range anyway. My personal choice would be the Rockies, if only to see how many doubles he could hit at Coors Field. The Rangers just traded Nomar Mazara and the Indians cleared away Corey Kluber's salary, so Castellanos fits in either place. But I'll go with the White Sox, even though they just acquired Mazara. Castellanos can fill the hole at DH and play some right field against left-handers. From Dave Schoenfeld/ESPN article

Hudson and Will Harris are the two best relievers still out there...slim pickings.

Sure, but which pitcher? How much would you give Giolito, based on just one season of success? Lopez is in the opposite situation from where he seemed to be a year ago. So there’s realistically only four (total) options, and Lucas was one of the worst pitchers in baseball the previous year. Cease or Kopech, it’s way too early to even consider. That leaves Madrigal, Robert and Moncada. Madrigal is the only one who wouldn’t break the bank.

https://sports.yahoo.com/white-sox-still-searching-others-164129322.html

https://global.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28307993/predicting-where-mlb-top-remaining-free-agents-sign Schoenfield has us signing Castellanos, good matches for Keuchel, Teheran, EE, Will Harris Sign Keuchel (need to break up all the hard-throwing RHP’s somehow) or trade Sign one of Wood, Walker, Teheran Sign Castellanos, Ozuna or EE for RF/DH Sign Will Harris for pen It would require adding somewhere between another $40-$55/60ish million in 2020 payroll. Likely to just get EE, a secondary pitcher. Maybe Gennett/Dietrich/Holt, but Leury’s presence negates the likelihood of that.

Now the biggest danger is Hahn giving overly generous four year deals to Ryu or Keuchel (that would be more defensible) or making some dramatic move for David Price out of desperation...just mystifying why the Sox are seemingly not connected to any of the pitching names remaining.

Giolito's dad is a better cheerleader than the Raiderette's in the 80's and 90's...

Never forget the almost trade between the Sox and Reds for Bailey/Dye (Hal Bodley, right?)

Do we really think the Yankees are going to let Paxton go that easily if he has a really good year? Maybe, but Tanaka would also be off the books, along with Sabathia from this past season. If they can clear Happ for salary relief, they can carve out a hole in the budget for Paxton, theoretically. At least we do know Stroman and Paxton can pitch in the AL, so there's that.

It would be pretty darned pathetic if Homer Bailey (who was cast off by the Royals and Reds) is the big solution. Heck, we might as well try to fix Dark Knight Harvey for about the 4th time the way things are trending. Yet somehow, Nova/Gio/Teheran seems even more likely now, since we keep collecting every Latin American player there is to be had. You can't take Walker and Wood with their injury histories, you need at least one guy like McHugh you can at least count on to take the ball when it's his turn. Also, no idea why we didn't make a play for Pineda, would have kept him off the Twins at least???

$60+ million is a lot for a straight platoon outfielder, especially not on one of the corners. Fwiw, they had Springer to the Giants, but he's actually from the East Coast, Connecticut to be exact. I guess the theory being that eventually they had to spend big money again, because, well, they're one of the top 6-8 franchises in baseball and there's so much money now in the San Francisco area in terms of corporate sponsors and deep-pocketed fans.

At least THAT'S a strategy, of a sort. Corner the world market on top MLB catchers and exploit it (by trading for pitching). Hold Collins back for one more year, extract the highest possible return for McCann unless it becomes more rational to hold onto him if the team is contending still in July. Of course, that requires overpaying Realmuto by 15-25% because why would he want to go to the White Sox and share time with Grandal unless there was a plan for them to both share time at catcher an DH (which wouldn't work with Abreu/Vaughn also blocking that spot in the future.)

He has consistently maintained the last half decade that this is his stated preference in terms of how he prepares for each season. We'll see if logic wins out, assuming he comes off a very strong season in 2020. The Rangers can likely be crossed off the list of potential Ryu suitors after acquiring Kluber, but the Blue Jays may still face stiff competition (for Ryu/Keuchel). The Dodgers, Twins, Angels, White Sox, Reds, Braves, Cardinals and Padres are among the other clubs that could still be in the market for a starting pitcher. Although Toronto has a strong core of young position players in Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., the team's ability to bolster its rotation could be the deciding factor in how soon it returns to contention. Toronto has added Chase Anderson and Tanner Roark already this offseason, but landing another starter remains a priority for the up-and-coming club. The Blue Jays are unlikely to be a serious contender until 2021, but next year's crop of free-agent starting pitchers projects to be much weaker. As a result, Toronto could strike a year early. www.mlb.com