caulfield12

Not if they at least had a 2024-25 Padres budget. Not extending Crochet if it was even a remote possibility will go down as a mistake...unless they actually hit on a prospect two for one deal with Teel/Montgomery or like the Q deal originally looked like. Rodon Sale Q Cease Giolito Lopez all got extensions from OTHER teams...and Kopech will be next. We are the feeder team for the rest of MLB until we actually sign a $100+ million contract. With the Sox luck...the 2027 team will finally be good but it will all be wiped out by a labor I'm passes over caps and floors or minimums. This will come closer to a head if Sasaki also signs with the Dodgers.

The starting rotation and bullpen was 70% of that win...and the ability to manufacture runs with Pods and Iguchi until Pods wore down over the last couple of months physically. Hermanson held down the fort until Jenks took over late. Even McCarthy made some key late starts.

A-Rod before the roids was the definition of a dynamic fast-twitch athlete,…just like Elly de la Cruz, Witt, Jr. or Tatis, Jr. Montgomery seems closer to Cal Ripken, minus the close to dominant arm. The funny thing looking back on the Sox history is that they readily identified three SS’s in Semien, Anderson and Tatis, but didn’t even know what they actually had on their hands in two of them. You could even go back further to Escobar and Ramirez, who a lot felt was a CFer or utility guy. And now they can’t develop up the middle players, especially 2B…to even put up 2 fWAR seasons on a consistent basis. Meanwhile, the Royals have Witt, the Guardians Ramirez and then Correa/Royce Lewis with the Twins.

The fact of the matter is he struggled to put up a 700 ops when 850-900 is pretty automatic playing 1/2 your games at Charlotte. And yes, while few prospects other than Robert and Moncada possessed plus tools defensively…80% of the Sox development problems are usually on the hitting side.

And Kopech…really, Banks was the only halfway decent move. Trading closer Santos hardly paid off for either team…and Leasure went from closer candidate to whatever he ended the season as.

What the Andy Heck is going on with this thread?

Well between Moncada FAs and Benintendi...they turned $80 million in supposed value into a net negative. That's not even accounting for Jimenez...almost $100 mIllion up in smoke. And watched Robert going from a Top 10-15 MLB trade asset to non tender if he repeats 2024 again. Then they gave Kopech away for almost nothing.

Without a plus plus arm...above average 3B is more likely. Pretty much nobody would consider moving him to CF like SD did with Jackson Merrill, for example.

Sure but we're back to that actual 2005 team. Reed Morse Olivo for Garcia and Loiaza for Contreras were just as relevant...as well as Cotts Politte coming out of nowhere to excel. The Ritchie for Wells Lowe Fogg trade was terrible.

Most of the 98-2000 prospects other than Garland and Buehrle Crede and Rowand never panned out...

Stroud doing this without Tank Dell and Stephon Diggs has been pretty impressive. Spoke too soon haha.

I would put a lot more faith in someone who watched Montgomery on a daily basis for over a month than simply wishing or "he considers himself a SS" just like Eloy and Moncada dictated where and when they played on the field to their managers. Viciedo Teahen Josh Fields Mark Teahen Andrew Vaughn Gordon Beckham Sheets Burger...just a short list of players who the Sox played where they didn't belong, or moved to get their bats into the line up SOMEWHERE. Heck Pollock ever playing RF or CF was doomed...just as much as Fletcher in CF is a bad idea.

I would put a lot more faith in someone who watched Montgomery on a daily basis for over a month than simply wishing or "he considers himself a SS" just like Eloy and Moncada dictated where and when they played on the field to their managers. https://www.fangraphs.com/players/corey-seager/13624/stats?position=SS Seager has graded out positively for six consecutive years on defense...with three particularly strong seasons mixed in. If Montgomery is below average at SS...and Vaughn we know isn't good, then you have to have Rojas who can't hit to balance things out a bit. Sosa is definitely not a plus defender...Meidroth has question marks about defense and Baldwin profiles as a utility guy. Ramos was borderline terrible on defense the times I watched him play...making some great plays and messing up lot of easy ones.

We've cut 75% of our scouts and didn't even evaluate well at least half the pitchers we let go during the season for mostly junk or simply eating contracts. We sold low on Cease...or were forced to dump him by JR. We didn't objectively win more than 15-20% of the trades consummated so far. Our best asset in Fedde at the deadline was probably wasted on Vargas. Only the Crochet return looks solid...but how that trade turns out, especially Montgomery and the #1 pick in 2026, really determines how this rebuild goes eventually.

Getting rid of Ordonez Caballo and Valentin for a cast of unknowns was treated quite skeptically. Nobody knew what to expect out of Contreras El Duque AJ Dye Everett Jenks Iguchi Pods etc. They had sacrificed a ton of offense going into the season...and then Thomas was on the shelf too. Ofc the bullpen going through three closers while winning nearly every close game and manufacturing runs with Pods and Iguchi early season to get leads was one of the biggest keys to how that team excelled.

Hahn fans used that whole "the rebuild prospects were certainly solid/impressive, the process was usually sound...it just didn't work out because his hands were tied by JR" excuse for years and years. Now we see the exact same thing with Getz...especially now that the farm is ranked 4th or whatever. But KW hardly had any message board "stans" and yet had one of the best runs as GM from 2000-2012 of any Sox GM since the late 80s/early 90s and going back to the 50s-60s.

OSU vs. ND on Monday, Jan 20th

How is he on those jump throws deep in the hole like Anderson perfected? Range up the middle? Throwing against his body moving left? Ability to quickly get back to his feet and get rid of the ball on diving plays? Turning double plays?

Yermin next?

Ultimately the Sox draft picks with the most natural swagger...him and Brian Anderson, couldn't ever recapture their original confidence levels coming out of college when they hit walls offensively.

And rumors of a back injury...slowing down his bat speed against FBs.

He throws 84 mph on the infield...average is 78 for high schoolers. 82% percentile arm but definitely elite. HS QB. 6.91/60 yd profiles more typically at third.

"Montgomery continues to add strength without losing speed, though he's merely an average runner and some evaluators wonder if he'll outgrow shortstop. The White Sox have no such concerns, pointing to his quick first step and athleticism, and Seager has remained at short despite hearing the same questions. Montgomery's agility and solid arm strength should allow him to make an easy transition to third base if needed, and his bat should make him an All-Star wherever he plays." https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/colson-montgomery-695657?stats=career-r-hitting-milb "Because he has fringy speed and figures to slow a bit as he matures physically, most scouts believe Montgomery will outgrow shortstop. He moves well for his size, however, and the White Sox will give him a chance to stick there. If he has to move to third base, he projects as at least an average defender with a solid arm." https://www.milb.com/news/scouting-report-chicago-white-sox-shortstop-colson-montgomery

Either Passan/Law will be right...or Colson. We will know quickly enough in Spring Training if he's 100% physically or not.

Clearly a first ballot Hall of Famer is a reasonable expectation for Sox fans to place on Montgomery lol.