caulfield12

With at least a two run lead, you give Greinke some rope. He's pitched better than Verlander and even Cole this series. It's also not like he's a MAX effort pitcher at this point in his career....so you're not as worried about him "losing his stuff."

Balta’s plan bears repeating, because we really can’t be 100% sure that Colome can repeat, leading to Smith. The problem is they’re unlikely to cut him adrift and you’re going to be sinking $30ish million into just three spots in the pen (due to the foolish Herrera deal), which is untenable for a mid-market team. Not sure where else they can cut payroll-wise, other than Yolmer, Rodon (unlikely) or Abreu (might get some yearly savings over 2-3 year commitment.) If it really came down to that last $5-10 million between leaving the bullpen being untouched and adding, I’d seriously consider whether the opportunity cost of getting anything back on Rodon or Colome In the future is actually worth it. Since we tend to be stubborn on player evaluations, though...Hahn is unlikely to cut bait (well, MAYBE on Carson Fulmer.) Or they could get rid of Colome, add a Smith as closer, Lopez/Dunning to the pen and push Bummer and Fry up in the pecking order.

Not to mention Dunning and the possibility of a fast-riser like Stiever (or Hansen early in his career.)

Let’s not forget they risk losing Gibson, Pineda, Martin Perez and Odorizzi in one offseason. They might feel they have no choice but to put a QO on at least one or even two of those guys...likely Odorizzi.

How many pitchers have lasted into their early to mid 30’s still throwing 96-99 mph without a major injury?

Ryu is a ticking time bomb. Bumgarner’s declining...and not a great fit for the AL or our clubhouse. He’s certainly not optimal considering his last near-peak year is still probably a non-contending one for the White Sox. Odorizzi is solid, not sexy, very familiar to Don Cooper, probably ends up in the $60-75 million range. The White Sox can have one Cole, two Wheelers or 3 1/2 Odorizzis. We certainly know it won’t be Cole, Rendon or Strasburg.

Wheeler and Cole are both 29. What other pitcher on the FA market has the stuff to be a #2 in our rotation? Ryu, if he could stay healthy and actually wanted to leave LA, maybe. Because of all the question marks...Wheeler shouldn’t be getting more than Corbin. If I had to guess, he should top out in the $100-120 million range. Cole will get double that...so you’re basically putting almost all your eggs in one basket. Wheeler allows you to also address RF, DH and bench, bullpen. Very easy to imagine Wheeler, Grandal, Moustakas and a RH reliever making this team a real threat to do some damage in 2020. Or Wheeler, JDM and a reliever, if you want to keep it as realistic as possible. That would still theoretically allow them to look at cheaper options for RF that are just looking for everyday opportunities to rebuild their value, like Dickerson, Gennett, etc.

https://www.mlb.com/news/zack-wheeler-has-potential-comp-in-gerrit-cole With Cole’s beginning asking price at $250 million (according to Jeff Passan) and Strasburg’s value rocketing into the stratosphere...not to mention the increasing risks 8-9 years out from the previous TJ surgery increasing by the day...Wheeler should be White Sox choice 1, 1A, 1B, 1C. He’s really the only guy left with true TOR stuff...the article above lists his many parallels with Gerrit Cole.

Why would they want an entire rotation of ticking bomb TJ revisions in the rotation...other than Lopez?

He’ll definitely be among the quasi-billionaires by virtue of investing in an MLB franchise at the perfect time with media rights exploding.

Relying on Collins to be a significant piece of the future is the way this organization has fumbled rebuilding for the last decade, as well. It seems we’re more concerned with getting blown out of the playoffs like the Twins, instead preferring to create this dynastic super team which may or may not ever happen down the line. Or maybe the odds of Hahn pulling off a similar magic trick as Minnesota did in FA seems so unlikely (see 2004-05 Sox moves) that nobody can count on it ever transpiring again? And it’s not like we can any longer wait on first round draft picks for immediate impacts, either. They’re seemingly still in a situation where 1-2 bad $50-100 million signings blows them halfway off course and narrows the window down considerably to 2-3 seasons instead of the 4-6 years like the Astros and Cubs assumed in laying out their blueprints.

from sonsofsamhorn.com yea i remember when he was a FA there was a lot of talk by Boras that defensive metrics exaggerated how bad he is in the field. But man he is absolutely terrible out there. Maybe have him take some reps at 1b? the guy is not an outfielder He wasn't nearly as bad last year (2018), either by the eye test or the numbers. Either age is catching up with him, he's been hobbled by minor injuries, or something. But it certainly seems like his OF playing days should be over, except in NL parks and maybe occasional other road games.

It's probably more that he was looking for "best fit" on a one-year basis (and Milwaukee has been/is going to be nearing their payroll limits) already was comfortable with the Brewers and enjoying playing on a competitive team in a market quite similar to Kansas City. He's definitely proven to be a "winning," versatile player who no longer looks like the pure platoon hitter he was his first 2-3 seasons in KC (destroyed by LH pitching.)

Isn’t Cespedes likely completely finished and an insurance write off?

The Mets could trade Nimmo for Walker, Adolfo, Rutherford, Gonzalez and Basabe and still very easily be on the wrong side of that trade. Stiever is seemingly the only pitcher from the lower levels to make it a bit more palatable, but we still don’t have the appealing potential pieces (not enough, at least) and they don’t need Vaughn even if the Sox were willing to reverse course so quickly and trade him.

They already have a 1B in Alonso, but sure...the asking price would definitely start with someone in that tier. If I’m the Mets, I’m not going to happy with Stiever, Walker and one more piece just because the odds of one of those 3-4 lesser pieces ever having a 4 fWAR season of their own aren’t great. We don’t (currently) have that high upside minor leaguer we can actually afford to part with. And if Stiever’s that good...we need him more than the Mets, who will get a huge potential bounty when they option off Syndegaard, deGrom or Stroman to the highest bidders.

I’m sure the Astros are relieved that presidential politics (see current CNN headlines) has once again taken some of the spotlight off their own shenanigans.

Based on what evidence? Has there even been a credible link out there that they were looking to move him? It’s just hard to imagine a team selling that low on a controlled asset one year removed from such an impressive season statistically...unless they’re pretty darned sure he’s not ever going to repeat it (see Avi Garcia).

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/red-sox-hire-rays-exec-chaim-bloom-to-lead-baseball-operations/1lqmqv8k6oigj1msdv9n82wl9m Raiding the front office of a divisional rival operating more efficiently...? Just can’t imagine the White Sox basically admitting failure and taking someone from CLE or MIN instead of promoting from within. Some will probably claim Getz fits, but he only spent a couple of years with KC front office and is still ex-Sox. The other example might be Hostetler’s time with the Braves. But as GM? A true outsider/paradigm shift?

If they can’t afford to add anything more than JDM, and one of the next 4-6 best pitchers after Cole...with the rest of the additions being in the under $10 million/season category, is that enough? Probably for the majority of the fanbase? You’ve locked in Abreu at first and probably pushed back Vaughn to at least until 2022...unless Abreu falls off a cliff...assuming they give him at least a two-year deal. In theory, you needed two pitchers...which puts a lot more pressure on Kopech/Lopez/Dunning/Cease/Rodon. Maybe that’s what they need, rather than the assumption of nearly “guaranteed” spots? What happens with RF, C, and is there still enough money for at least one more bullpen addition? Do they dare play JDM in RF, and how much pressure does that put on LUIS Robert to do more than even he is capable of defensively? How much can they trust McCann and Collins without Grandal? Colome, Bummer, Herrera and Fry?

With this particular case (as he has a history with these ticket sales allegations), didn't it say somewhere the "net revenues" were in the vicinity of $1 million?

Yet he’s been on pretty much every team in baseball, like Edwin Jackson...

Why are you assuming Nova would be back?

Always hear about those players from Latin America coming in under $300k being not worth their attention...this is exactly the type of player the White Sox used to be able to unearth before the Hahn Era (see Quintana, Jose.) Urquidy has demonstrated the best control and command in the system since the Astros purchased him from the Mexican League's Mexico City Red Devils for $100,000 in 2015. After missing all of 2017 following Tommy John surgery, he made a successful return last season and starred in the Carolina League playoffs as high Class A Buies Creek won the championship. He has continued to pound the strike zone while making the jump from Double-A to the big leagues in 2019. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/jose-urquidy-664353?stats=career-r-pitching-Mlb https://sports.yahoo.com/suzyn-waldman-yankees-astros-roberto-osuna-brandon-taubman-005108584.html Yankees announcer Suzyn Waldman says she hasn't watched World Series due to Astros' lying

Wait until next year...this was just our get back to slightly above .500 year. Need to see what all the injured pitchers and Lopez will do first, there will always be some excuse with this regime. Or it will be the old “market rates for the premier talent we wanted were just too high...so we’re saving our powder to extend the competitive window of the young core (Moncada/Giolito/Robert/Madrigal) instead.