caulfield12

They also didn't play Saladino much at SS the last two months when it would have been the perefect time to audition him. Seemingly out of respect for Alexei, but Tyler should have played more often there since the games were meaningless at that point...they must have known internally that they were going to move on from Alexei.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 11:28 AM) When the Cubs signed Zobrist, did anyone mention his defense dropped by 25.9 dWAR. Of course not He's definitely better in RF than 2b...he won't kill you like a Murphy or Avi/Viciedo, but he has been slipping. That said, he was quietly an offensive force last year in the second half.

Let's hope the solution isn't Nick Markakis, either. This is not where you split the difference and go for second tier guys making $12-16 million like Melky, Fowler, Span, etc. You either go huge or you come up with that creative value platoon of a Raburn/Parra. Definitely not sexy, but possibly quite effective. Avi could platoon with LaRoche...although that gives you five outfielders, Sanchez and a catcher as the bench. I'm pretty sure Raburn can still play a few of the infield positions...not SS obviously.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 10:59 AM) Can Raburn play the outfield defensively anymore? If so, I'd love a Parra/Raburn RF platoon. You realize Raburn turns 35 in the first two weeks of the season...? Parra's only 28, surprisingly. In theory, it would work. Raburn crushed lefties with over a 1.000 ops and Parra was a notch above 800 against righties. It's not going to sell any tickets, but it just might be effective. Of course, we had 3b platoons set up over the last three years that looked similarly promising on paper.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 10:42 AM) would you just take your rain cloud to another corner and pout there? Celebrate all you want, but the most important part of the offseason is whether or not JR will open the wallet on Upton, Gordon or Cespedes. Do that, you win back everyone you've lost and skepticism diminishes almost completely. Start Opening Day with Avi, Saladino and LaRoche in the line-up and expectations are tempered. Half-assed and pointless. Hanley Ramiez, CarGo, Ethier, Blackmon, Peralta, Fowler, Span or Parra leaves you somewhere in-between. 3/4's of the way but that undoubtedly means the Tigers and/or Royals have one of Upton, Gordon, Davis, Desmond or Cespedes.

The argument is clear....Rodon, Q, Eaton, Sale and Abreu...along with Anderson and Fulmer, is a lot easier to build around and support than tear down and rebuild again from scratch. That said, they're not a playoff contender yet.

At least they're being more definitive moving on with players that are no longer part of the solution. Viciedo, DeAza, Beckham, Conor, Ramirez, Flowers ... with Avi, Danks and LaRoche the next to be gone. There was nothing worse than repeating the same tired recipe and expecting different results somehow to magically occur.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 09:45 AM) As I said, if the payroll limit stays at 120M then the money isn't there unless the Sox move salary which is one of the reasons why I'm speculating on Parra. Last I read, the Rockies are aiming rather high in a return for their outfielders so I'm not really counting on that either. How much do the Sox have left to trade without dipping into the likes of Anderson, Fulmer and Adams? Nothing of significance. It would be idiotic to authorize the Frazier trade and then force Hahn to make any remaining moves from the trade market unless they're at the very least willing to take on a not insignificant amount of salary for CarGo, Ethier, Crawford, Hanley Ramirez, etc.

Of course ask the idiotic KW vs. Hahn question for the thousandth time this year...did they ask about Ventura and everything else but the need for one more big offensive addition?

Just wait. The Frazier move has everyone excited for the moment, but if that's it, the prevailing theme definitely will be how do you go back to all-in yet again but go about it halfway? The White Sox would struggle to finish third in the division where they stand now.

Welcome to the "White Sox are cheap and don't care as much about winning as the bottom line" offseason when all the remaining big names come off the board and musical chairs leaves the Sox as the last team left out in the cold. Half-in=death by 1,000 knife cuts

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 08:59 AM) That is the more likely scenario. Signing Upton or Cespedes is pretty farfetched in reality. Hahn won't be the GM past 2017 if that's the best he can come up with...half-in doesn't cut it here. Especially with all the AL Central teams seemingly vulnerable and one huge signing swaying the balance. God help us if Detroit signs one of those guys and we're left holding the bag.

Boo! That would suck the air out of the balloon and piss off the marketing department in one fell swoop...might as well sign Franklin Gutierrez too.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 08:52 AM) I'm really starting to think the Sox end up signing Parra. Plays RF, a bit of speed, no comp pick and will not cost as much as the big three FA outfielders. He profiles along the lines of what the Sox are suspect to be looking for. Well, minus the power. With his (past) defensive stud reputation, the Royals end up with him, Span or Austin Jackson. Or we test the NL to AL theory for another veteran player again. Parra and Avi just isn't good enough to move the needle. Three years ago, there was a much better case to be made for him. CarGo's more likely the fallback...or Ethier/Crawford because KW loves his brand name veterans.

QUOTE (daggins @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 08:48 AM) Eh, Shuck is cheap but isn't good. There's not much behind him, so more depth is better. Not talking about breaking the bank, but like, Victorino or even De Aza would be nice to have. Austin Jackson because he's a better defender with more speed and younger.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 08:27 AM) That is just the same talk that a few from every team's fanbase feels necessary when they are disgruntled. I'm willing to bet they watch the Reds opening day. And tune out the next day...

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 08:26 AM) More Levine regurgitation of other's ideas and writings. He even tried to justify sending LaRoche to Pitt, an idea that was already turned down by Pitt. How does Levine have a job? Anyone have an idea of what Gordon is looking for as far as contract length? Five obviously, but most teams prefer 4...and 3 would be ideal. Realistically, four's the shortest....unless they just have insane frontloading or a favorable opt-out after just two seasons.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 08:36 AM) Adam Dunn Adam LaRoche It's not a theory...it's fact. Or maybe it's just players named Adam. Eaton has done pretty well though, another Adam.

Upton against AL the last three years. 217 ab's, 22 runs, 45 hits, 8 doubles, 7 homers, 23 RBI's, .207 BA AL Central .273, 15 for 55, 2 homers and 6 RBI's. The fact that he's a LFer and Cespedes has a much better arm for RF and the whole NL enigma...along with the fact that Cespedes will require 1-2 less years...has to be him between just those two.

http://pro.boxoffice.com/featured_stories/...ad-chip-sisters Predicted to come in at $229 million and smash the records of Jurassic Park for opening weekend and Hobbit series for December opening...and possibly wipe out Titanic and Avatar in total intl b.o. although that $2.8 billion with Avatar's a toughie.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/trade-central-6/ Made me laugh....describing Frazier as a "hero" in Cincy. Detailed trade/prospect analysis from BA. They're not very high on Montas holding up as a starter, either. Some interesting stuff on Thompson's offensive surge as well. What are the DRS numbers the past 2-3 seasons from Frazier???

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 07:53 AM) No these aren't comparable. One is trading for an All Star 3B the other is signing 3 of the top outfielders (it was purely fantasy and sarcasm). They're going to shell it out sooner rather than later. They paid Abreu $68 million and didn't get a MLB at bat out of him at that time. They're going to do it eventually. Especially Sales next contract. I don't think that $200+ million deal comes from us for Sale. Just too risky. And I was talking about getting two of the big names (you can add Chris Davis), not 3/3.

Well, a week ago it was imaginary to acquire Frazier without giving up Anderson OR Fulmer. Granted, the double signing would be a lot less likely than the White Sox more or less standing pat from here on out...but that's also a realistic possibility. It's still a bit difficult to believe they're going to shell out their first $100+ million dollar contract.

Corner OF bat. Better insurance for Saladino than Sanchez...Desmond or Ramirez. Veteran second or third tier starter to replace Johnson if he falters early. One more RH reliever for the Albers role...Jones, Petricka and Putnam just feels a bit short, but that one's not the end of the world...or the second lefty. Right now the bench is catcher two, Shuck, Carlos Sanchez and a bit of a mystery...Avi, but he's more likely traded or in AAA unless he's a platoon DH partner with LaRoche.

QUOTE (PorkChopExpress @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 06:42 PM) At least half of Soxtalk would have a problem with it. That's just not going to happen, if for no other reason than Cabrera being forced to DH and wasting another $13 million or so on LaRoche's deal. Sure, if they were to spend $200-250 million, what's another $13 million I guess. There's that school of improbable thought. And certainly going five years on Cespedes and six plus on Upton carries a pretty fair amount of risk. These opt-out deals seem to be the norm at the moment, but that also would mean having to replace at at even higher cost an outperforming asset. Still, three years for Gordon and four for Cespedes would be all that should be guaranteed. Nevertheless, there's no conceiveable way it's Upton AND another one of those two, unless it's Ian Desmond in a Ben Zobrist swing man role where he becomes primary SS if Saladino flops or plays OF, 2b, DH and maybe 3b as well. That's from the lose one pick might as well blow them both school of thought from last year...obviously with future consequences for the farm system being damned.