Chicago White Sox

Why are we trading our best reliever (left-handed no less) for a 30 year old DH? Why not just sign Cruz?

Realistically, probably Lance Lynn.

I’m actually disgusted that Sox fans are even entertaining this idea.

I think we add a starting pitcher before the Winter Meetings.

100% agree.

Weaver had one disappointing year and Kelly has barely played. If you have playing time to give, getting post hype prospects makes a ton of sense.

Why in the world would we want Puig?

Sox aren’t trading Abreu while they try to recruit Harper & Machado. Maybe if they miss out on those guys, but nothing beforehand.

Even if we decide to settle for one year deals, I hope to god we add someone with some level of upside. I’d be enraged if we wasted another 200 innings on James fucking Shields.

I hope this is some sort of sick joke.

While they seemed like a long-shot, I’ll take this as good news.

You’re probably right, still is a bit crazy to me but maybe the shine has worn off these guys a bit.

Holy fuck that seems like a ton for One year of Goldschmidt.

I’m pulling average FB velocity, I believe you’re pulling average 4 seamer.

I can respect all your points here, although I think his track record is less meaningful in this day and age. Look at how the Astros have unlocked greatness out of their pitchers. Do you doubt that Cole & Morton are legit quality starters now?

Lol...I didn’t get any numbers mixed up, you simply pulled a different metric than I did. And there was no cutoff, I just went with the top 10 prove a point, which is that Eovaldi has elite fastball velocity and most of the guys with that kind of stuff are amongst the best in baseball. Use your list and go with the top 20 and how does my point change? Guys that throw that hard are rare and typically pretty damn good. You need to start reading my actual sentences and debate the underlying point instead of playing this “gotcha” game on numbers.

Yes, go to leaders and filter FBv. Shows up as 95.8 for 2018.

He’s at 95.8 per Fangraphs so he falls just short.

There will always be guys with Nathan Eovaldi’s stuff available for 4/$60M or so? Here’s the top 10 average fastballs for pitchers with over 100 innings last year: 97.6 - Severino - 5.7 WAR 97.4 - Syndergaard - 4.2 WAR 97.2 - Eovaldi - 2.2 WAR 96.6 - Glasnow - 0.7 WAR 96.6 - Cole - 6.3 WAR 96.4 - Foltynewicz - 3.9 WAR 96.2 - Buehler - 3.3 WAR 96.0 - deGromm - 8.8 WAR 95.9 - Wheeler - 4.1 WAR 95.8 - Snell - 4.6 WAR Outside of Glasnow, that’s some seriously elite company. How often do these guys reach free agency at 28 and what would the cost be? I’m guessing Cole will command $200M+ next year. Imagine the cost to acquire one of these guys via trade. I strongly disagree with your assumption that these type of arms are always readily available in free agency and can be had for any reasonable sum of money. And yes, I’m perfectly aware that Eovaldi has been a 3 WAR pitcher most of his career when healthy. He also didn’t have a cutter back then and that’s totally changed his game. Ignoring the playoffs, he was on pace for a 5 WAR season with the Red Sox. I think in the Statcast era you have to accept that pitchers can completely reinvent themselves overnight. So either we can default to his career numbers or assess his new repertoire & determine if maybe he’s a new, more impactful pitcher going forward.

Look, I can totally respect this viewpoint, but I also think a team in our position has to take some calculated risks when it comes to starting pitching. Eovaldi made 60 starts across 2014 & 2015. He made 21 starts in both 2016 & 2018 with a Tommy John sandwiched in-between. When he’s not recovering from elbow surgery he’s mostly taken the ball every five days. Now that’s he shown his stuff has come back after a second TJS, the biggest question with him is will he ever need a third? The gap between his first & second TJS was nine years. Unless you have concerns over his postseason usage (which is fair), I think it’s reasonable to expect he can last four years before blowing out his elbow again. The fact that he’s cut his slider usage in half gives me even more confidence. Having said that, I can’t ignore there is real risk there, but look at the contract Corbin just got. Premium pitching goes for big dollars and big years, even with limited track records. Eovaldi’s injury history is going to cap his total years and likely his AAV to some extent. I doubt we’ll be able to get a pitcher with his upside for anything close to that amount next season. IMO, if we’re unwilling to go big after Cole or Sale next year (or convinced we can land them), Eovaldi is the perfect guy to roll the dice on.

I know it’s early, but shocking there isn’t an elite pitcher in this class. Seems like someone will likely breakout next year and that should put us in tremendous spot at #3. Much more optimistic about picking high in this draft than last year.

I’ll be honest, but those guys scare me immensely. My personal view is big money pitchers are something we should avoid. Despite his generally good health, Sale just seems like a guy who could go down at any time and Bumgarner is simply not the guy he once was. If I were to go after anyone next year it would be Cole, but he will have a ton of suitors and is going to get paid ridiculously. So instead of taking on a gigantic, long-term contract I’d rather role the dice on someone like Eovaldi. He’s at least got the potential to be a 4+ WAR starter and will come much cheaper. Yes, he’s risky from a durability standpoint, but I’m hoping him relying on his slider less will help in that regard. And as I mentioned previously, his stuff can play up in the bullpen if need be.

Yeah, I wouldn’t go more than four years to be honest. And the rumor is the Yankees won’t go more than three. The Phillies seem to prefer a lefty, but I wouldn’t rule them out. The Astros & Red Sox (if they have the money) seem like the real threats.

Rumor is the Yankees won’t go four years for him. Not sure about the Red Sox or even the Astros though.

The more I read up on Eovaldi, the more I’m convinced he’s the guy we should add. His addition of a cutter has been a total game-changer. MLBTradeRumors projects him to get 4/$60M which is a risk we should be willing take. You’d be getting his age 29 to 32 seasons and a guy that could help anchor a young rotation. Also, with new arsenal he’s a guy who could be moved to the bullpen if his durability issues continue and still earn his paycheck. I really hope he’s the guy we’re targeting.