caulfield12

https://www.yahoo.com/news/commentary-not-pursuing-shohei-ohtani-054829216.html Author goes after Mariners…

Stone must have also gotten in on that free lunch…

The risk of a catastrophic injury outweighs the value of attempting to increase his value waiting on a trade deadline bump up…remember, despite Quintana being so shaky the year of his trade, his previously established value was enough to get a solid haul and what looked like highway robbery, and the same would likely to be true if Cease was still much closer to 2023 than 2022 form statistically…as long as he got his fastball back up into the high 90s more consistently, there would be the belief out there the right pitching coach could still fix him after they got him away from such a dysfunctional organization. The Sox just seem to have messed up the character assessments on Moncada Jimenez and Kopech…an area where there’s never really been a question about Dylan’s work ethic and commitment to his craft like those other three guys.

Those five losses and crying memes and refusing to do interviews after some tough losses like this latest one against UCLA are causing a good number of doubts to creep in about Williams…at least on the character and attitude side.

Except for joking about the Iowa offense…every single Iowa tight end pretty much going back to Dallas Clark has been undervalued in the draft relative to eventual NFL production with the exceptions of Hockenson and Fant. Sam LaPorta was picked 34th by the Lions last year and has had a very strong rookie campaign. Pretty much every Iowa TE has been a strong blocker with a few notable exceptions. Why would you spend a top ten pick on Bowers if can find a reasonable facsimile from rounds 3-5? TE isn’t a need or a big enough value position with the Bears already possessing a Top 8-12ish one. Let’s not forget Kyle Pitts was supposed to be “generational” and look at how that has worked out for the Falcons. In the process, they missed out on taking Jamarr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, Penei Sewell, Pat Surtain, Micah Parsons, etc. Bowers might be able to hold his own, but right now he doesn’t profile as an exceptional blocker at the next level.

That includes the likes of Escobar Semien Tatis Bassitt Sale Madrigal Anderson Rodon etc. You'd have to have one category for original signees and another for those to have previously played for the Sox but didn't start their careers with Chicago.

Top Ten trade candidates including Soto, Cease, Robert, Bieber, Burnes, Trout, etc. https://www.yahoo.com/sports/should-they-stay-or-should-they-go-the-cases-for-and-against-trading-mlbs-top-10-candidates-to-be-moved-233037085.html After two demoralizing, disastrous seasons in a row, the White Sox have undergone a partial regime change, elevating Chris Getz to general manager. This is the portrait of an organization that needs a full rebuild. The major-league team went 61-101 in 2023, and their minor-league affiliates simultaneously racked up the worst combined record in baseball. Cease, two months shy of his 28th birthday and two years from free agency, was the AL Cy Young runner-up in 2022 and possesses the sort of big-time fastball-slider arsenal teams will bet big on. The case to keep him: The only argument for the White Sox keeping an ace to front a losing team would be the idea that right now they’d be selling relatively low. Cease’s 4.58 ERA wasn’t pretty last season, though he made 33 starts, and several metrics that typically have more to do with teammates and luck (a high BABIP, a low percentage of runners left on base) could convince potential suitors to pony up anyway.

“His (Lynn’s) salary now represents a baseline from which the many other pitchers relevant to the Mets -- Luis Severino, Kyle Gibson, Sean Manaea, Michael Wacha /Seth Lugo, take your pick -- can negotiate. Each player carries a different set of variables. Severino has a higher upside than Lynn but is significantly less reliable. Brandon Woodruff would need a two-year deal while rehabbing from shoulder surgery.” yahoo sports The Yankees and San Francisco Giants are among teams showing interest in Korean outfielder Jung-Hoo Lee leading up to his posting later this winter, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. The 25-year-old, who grew up idolizing Ichiro Suzuki, has been a star over the past few seasons in the KBO. Lee's a former Rookie of the Year, MVP, and a five-time Gold Glove award winner. Though he doesn't offer too much in the power department, his bat-to-ball skills are elite. The sweet-swinging lefty is a career .340 hitter and has been able to get on-base at a stellar .407 clip. He also batted .429 with two doubles and five RBI across four games as part of Team Korea during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Lee underwent season-ending ankle surgery in July, but according to Morosi he is expected to be full-go for the beginning of the next season. yahoo sports

Over just one start after an extended layoff....

You're going to draft Bowers after the Kmet extension? Are they planning to run the Iowa offense + DJ Moore/Mooney with a renewed focus on jailbreak screens? It would be a lot less expensive in terms of draft capital to take Luke Lachey or All (both coming off injuries) later in the draft.

Self-banned...hopefully found the job he was looking for.

Which is/was likelier...Benintendi reverting to 2020-2022 form with the Sox or suggesting Outman ending up with a sub 2 fWAR in Chicago? It's relatively easy to predict declines. Much harder to find those players like an Adolis Garcia or Randy Arozarena that have the potential to break out and have monster performances relative to previous expectations. I mean, even Jack Parkman was at least 75-80% right on Giolito. But almost nobody recollects those 85 misses out of 100 on player evaluation.

Questioning Getz, aka the greatest pure developer of talent according to JR since the days of Branch Rickey...the same guy who let Roberto Clemente go?

You're forgetting the Engel and Moncada base running gaffe against Minnesota...tagging up.

In fact one of the offers was an exact match of Rodon…Braves and Dodgers all within $10-15 million of Phillies’ offer, so those two now become logical/obvious Cease trade targets. “The Braves, off back-to-back 100-win seasons and divisional-round ousters by the Phillies, made a six-year, $162 million offer to Nola out of the chute, a source said Sunday. It was a sensible starting point. Atlanta’s bid equaled the Yankees’ deal with free-agent lefty Carlos Rodón last winter. It was also neither the Braves’ final offer nor the only one that Nola received. The deep-pocketed — and pitching-starving — Dodgers put a finger on the scale at $165 million, according to a source. Phillies officials suspected more teams were involved, with at least one other club offering more.” Who was that other club? Philadelphia Enquirer/sports/Scott Lauber

Pretty much exactly where Burger would be (#3 RoY) had his rookie season not been miss timed in 2022 to lose rookie status eligibility…

https://sports.yahoo.com/silly-season-upon-us-usc-183314137.html

Prediction: Ex-Sox products will record an fWAR at least 5x higher than the 2024 White Sox production level…

They're not going to add a catcher over Quero/Lee unless it's Salas...

If they want to follow the Baltimore/Cincy low budget model...

Can't imagine the Angels and pretty much the entire AL Central (DET might be the only team adding payroll) would be involved in much...unless LAA shocked the world by trading let's say Trout to the Phillies or Yankees. Milwaukee definitely is looking at something close to a full rebuild, but then you've got the rest of the division outside of Chicago and St. Louis financially-challenged, and even the Cardinals are going to have to be careful with their spending coming off such a disappointing season and with Goldschmidt/Arenado both on the books.

Giolito is rated #8-12 on most lists, Lopez in the 19-23 range...pretty hard to believe, but that's how scant the pitching market is. Flaherty SEEMS to be racking up about the same amount of interest as Giolito, and there are obvious reasons for comparisons. Wouldn't mind seeing him back with Katz, but can't imagine that JR will sign off on even that if it comes in around the Clevinger range of $$$ and years. Really think some are underselling Cease and what he's truly worth with two affordable years left AND his very reliable durability to take the ball for 30+ starts.

Raiders playing exact opposite of the Bears under a new coaching staff.

Predictable...