Chicago White Sox

It’s possible…will be interesting to hear Getz’s comments on this. He must have some high level plan for all this, although he may not want to reveal it all just yet.

One other thing worth highlighting is that it’s now abundantly clear that Getz values guys who are disciplined and draw walks. Here is a list of guys he’s acquired in his major trades and their BB rates prior to that: Zavala: 19.4% in A (Y23) Vargas: 19.9% in AAA Perez: 13.7% in A Albertus: 18.9% in CPX Teel: 16.3% in AAA Montgomery: 15.2% in College Meidroth: 18.8% in AAA

Looks like their little “we’re going to trade for Cease” bluff didn’t work out.

He’s currently ranked 8th in their system which includes at least six top 100 prospects, so not sure how much higher you would expect him. That being said, his ceiling is limited as he doesn’t have a ton of power and isn’t a great defender (and probably not a real SS). But dude has elite plate discipline and good bat to ball skills, so should be a high BA / high OBP type. To me that, that offensive profile can work at the top of a lineup, even if he’s limited to 2B.

I’m not complaining about the trade, but two starting caliber catchers isn’t going to help us when we have massive holes in CF, SS, etc. But for now, I’m just happy he got quality positional talent and we can worry about roster construction later.

He was their #7 prospect heading into 2024 per BA. He may have regressed this past season, but he’s still young and likely a guy that Bannister had his eye on. He’s the perfect dart throw as the fourth piece in a deal like this.

He probably needs some time in AAA, but should have a 2025 ETA of some sorts.

That’s the only part I dislike. A plus bat at C doesn’t make a plus bat at 1B and right now we’ll forcing one of those guys to 1B a bunch if they both pan out.

Teel is generally seen as a top 20 prospect, so not a ton of guys out there who would be higher regarded.

Mayer instead of Teel would have reflected a perfect trade, but the overall value here is really solid.

Yeah, Teel is a fantastic prospect, but don’t love the fit with Quero. That being said, we needed to get the best package of positional talent possible for Crochet and this is a surprisingly really good deal. Montgomery was essential as the #2 piece given how their system stacks up and our desperate need for OF talent. The last two pieces are legitimate prospects who have a chance of being real contributors and possibly very soon. I hate to say it, but Getz appears to have delivered here.

Oh f*** yes if true…Getz is the GOAT again

Why fucking Teel?!?

What the f*** bro

I still don’t see how this works if their top 2 prospects are off the table.

That I’m not sure of. I originally thought the addition of Tauchman meant that one of Robert or Benintendi would likely be traded, but that was before I heard Getz’s cold comments on Fletcher. No doubt I think they are trying to move them, but I still can’t fathom any team giving up an appropriate package for Robert at this time. As for Benintendi, he can only be moved in a bad contract for bad contract swap. The fact that Tauchman just got $2M shows you how little Andrew would be worth if a free agent.

Good question. Vargas looked awful in the majors last year when I watched him with poor Statcast data supporting that view, but he also put up crazy numbers in AAA that go well beyond just being PCL inflated. Ramos on the other hand had a very disappointing year at all levels, partially driven by a slow start at AA, but showed more from a tools standpoint (to me at least) to believe he can adjust and become an impactful contributor in the majors. Both are big question marks at the moment. However, it’s very unclear to me what Watson and crew saw in Vargas when initially scouting him. We know he has elite plate discipline, which is a huge plus, but his hit tool did not like within the stratosphere of being a 60 and he looked incredibly weak to me. Getz did say yesterday that Vargas lost a lot of strength when coming to the White Sox. No idea how or why, but I guess that could be a thing. Regardless, Vargas has nothing left to prove in AAA and he should probably be ahead of Ramos in the pecking order for that reason alone.

I think the lineup eventually moves to this: Tauchman*, RF Vargas, 3B Robert, CF Benintendi*, LF Vaughn, 1B Mongomery*, SS Ramos, DH Quero#, C Baldwin#, 2B Montgomery probably moves off SS eventually, but doesn’t happen right away unless Brooks looks great there and/or we get someone like Mayer in return for Crochet.

I actually don’t hate it. It’s obviously going to be terrible, but for year 2 of the rebuild and without any of the players we acquire for Crochet & Robert I can live with it. But I’m also a big Ramos & Baldwin fan admittedly.

No, I was just fucking around, but Getz claimed yesterday that Vargas lost some strength for some reason after coming to us.

Right now, I think we end up with a lineup this: Tauchman*, RF Vargas, 3B Robert, CF Benintendi*, LF Vaughn, 1B Ramos, DH Baldwin#, SS Sosa, 2B Lee, C Initial bench of Amaya, Slater, DeLoach*, and a veteran catcher. Montgomery & Quero called up by May or June, forcing Amaya off the roster and Sosa into a backup IF role. Prospects from a Crochet trade could also be in the mix.

Sure, everyone would, but there is a pecking order to these things and right now it appears that Vargas is ahead of Ramos in the eyes of Sox leadership.

He apparently was so distraught being traded to the White Sox that he stopped eating and lost all his strength, so maybe give him a break you fucking bully.

He is terrible defensively, but I can’t say I disagree with the approach here. He does not have the power to be a full-time DH IMO. As such, he’s got to find a defensive home he can be passable at. I was actually hoping they’d give him a legit look in the OF since he has a plus arm and plus speed, but it seems like they want him spending time almost entirely on hitting. As such, 3B is probably his best bet because he’s familiar with it and it takes advantage of his arm. Just to be clear, I am very pessimistic on Vargas at the moment, but we need to give him one last shot. He first needs to show he can hit major league pitching and actually provide some impact vs. just drawing a bunch of walks. Until then, his defense doesn’t really matter because he’s not an actual major leaguer if he can’t hit in the first place. Sucks for Ramos, but with Montgomery likely moving to 3B down the road, it’s probably good to bring moving Bryan around now.

I 100% agree. And this isn’t hindsight, I was very vocal in the Mena for Fletcher trade thread my dislike of the move and him specifically. But the reality is he’s a sunk cost now and we don’t need to investment more playing time into him if we don’t believe in the talent anymore.