Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 21, 2018 -> 05:55 PM) Eric Hubbs‏ @BarstoolHubbs A little birdy told me Jacoby Ellsbury is heading to Milwaukee. Nothing definitive yet, but keep your ears peeled. I'll believe anything at this point I call BS. The only Barstool guy I trust is Dave at this point. Carl’s Darvish “leak” was an epic failure. And why the f*** would the Brewers take on that salary exactly? They’d have to be getting Glaybar Torres back.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 21, 2018 -> 05:36 PM) Abreu What do they do with Thames then? Doesn’t make a ton sense IMO.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 21, 2018 -> 05:41 PM) Avi. They really don't have a glut of outfielders like their fans claim. All I see are Braun, Brinson, Santana, Phillips, and Broxton (who isn't really an MLB caliber OF). If 4 outfielders is a glut, then I guess every team has a glut. I could see something involving Avi with us taking Phillips back, or perhaps even taking Braun's contract off their hands for additional prospects. The Brewers have a ton of OF depth and aren’t trading for Avi. They want to move one of their OFs to fill other needs.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 21, 2018 -> 05:17 PM) Doubt the Santana tidbit has to do with us, unless it's another 3-teamer. What teams need a corner OF? The Diamondbacks maybe, although they don’t exactly have a deep farm system.

Didn’t Crasnick do this same type of “trade coming but no details” leak when we traded for Soria?

QUOTE (Springfield SoxFan @ Jan 21, 2018 -> 05:01 PM) I really believe that Avi will be traded because of this potential arbitration case. Why would they deal him because of that? Brewers don’t need another OF, they need a 2B and Sanchez could fill the bill.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jan 21, 2018 -> 04:49 PM) If we're talking position players going to Milwaukee, Yolmer makes the most sense for the Brewers This was one of my Winter Meetings predictions. Would explain why they haven’t come to an arbitration agreement with Carlos despite being only $300k apart.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 21, 2018 -> 03:38 PM) If they're asking for Acuna from the Braves, the comparable ask from us as a centerpiece isn't Robert or Hansen, it's Kopech or Jiminez. That's top 10 in baseball as a starting ask. I’m sure they’d start with Jimenez or Kopech, but my point is they wouldn’t settle for less than Robert or Hansen as a headliner.

QUOTE (Donaldo @ Jan 20, 2018 -> 08:57 PM) How much of the "failure" can be attributed to player development within the organization? I definitely think it’s part of it, but still feel like our scouting and/or approach has been flawed. Not going into the penalty box and stockpiling young talent has hurt us immensely IMO. I’m just not sure I’ve been very impressed with most of our signings over the past few years. Franklin Reyes being moved to 1B from basically the get-go and showing almost no signs for hitting is a perfect example of what I’m talking about.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 18, 2018 -> 08:49 AM) https://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2018...xqlfjTqBoqoI.97 Astros top ten. 5-9 all international signings with 5 and 6 from 2016. It's frustrating to consistently say with the white sox "we won't know for several more years" consistently with our intl guys when the other successful teams we are trying to emulate see returns much faster. This is exactly what I’m talking about. I get Paddy had to build our capabilities from the ground up, but how long do we give him a free pass for that? IMO, we should have already seen seven or eight guys start cracking our top 30. I’m not even talking guys in the top half of the list, but even super young guys with talent/tools and moderate success in rookie ball should be able to find a spot in the 20 to 30 range in our system. Instead we have just one guy in our top 15 (Adolfo) and maybe two others in the top 30 (Martinez & Sosa). Even if you include Tatis we’re way behind the curve (and yes I’m purposely excluding the $50M Robert signing). We definitely need to start seeing some of these kids hit full season ball before I think we’ve made any real progress in this area.

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Jan 21, 2018 -> 07:24 AM) One thing about this view... "yet" is the best of both worlds. I don't think you are afforded that luxury. The only way you are afforded that luxury is that you absolutely are in a place where you don't have to make any deal. So you do have the luxury of letting this play out. However, I think we can agree that not all these pitchers or prospects will pan out. if they do we'll be the Astros. So if you trade now Cease and Rutherford may be worthless in a year and you ended up trading _______ for Yelich. Flip side? Cease and Rutherford might be David Robertson and well... Yelich in 3 years. In that case you lose. I'm okay waiting a half year and pulling the trigger. But at that point your package may look completely different. I’m confused here. Are you suggesting the main two pieces would be Cease & Rutherford? Cause if so, the Sox would have made that trade yesterday. The problem is it’s going to cost a lot more than two fringe top 100 types. Rumor is they asked for Acuna from the Braves. And while that was just the initial ask in the discussions, I fully believe the Marlins wouldn’t accept anything less than Robert or Hansen as a headliner from us. That’s a no go for me.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 20, 2018 -> 02:13 PM) Another He's on the House Ethics committee also. How are congressmen allowed to use taxpayer money to settle this type of s***? Our system seems beyond broken.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 20, 2018 -> 06:32 PM) Here's the problem. Convince me that a #7 seed can even get to the 2nd round, let alone win the title. This is the same problem baseball is starting to see. If a #7 seed has absolutely no shot, then they are stuck in NBA Hell - not good enough to be a finals team, but too good to get a draft pick likely to turn into a star. Unless as a #8 seed you can sign a Lebron James, you have a choice - either be happy filling your stadium as a first round exiting playoff team, or lose. As long as the Warriors and a handful of other teams are superteams, this will remain an unsolvable problem. I honestly think if you simply raise the max salary this all sorts itself out. Personally I’d love that and it would bring the NBA to what it once was, but it seems like quite a few people prefer a league with a couple superteams and a bunch of fodder.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 20, 2018 -> 12:35 PM) The White So haven't signed one guy to a contract any of the 3 you mentioned will command, ever. To think they would go from 0 to 3 and one of those being a $300 + million in one off season is a fantasy. I am all for dreaming, but that is just not realistic. The White Sox never spent $50M on a LatAm signing or traded a star player to the Cubs. Can’t keep citing the past as a reason something won’t happen as there have been real changes in how the organization operates. And I’m not arguing they will land Machado and those other guys, I’m arguing that they can fit them in their 2019 budget. What exactly do you think the Sox are going to do with all this payroll space? If they don’t spend it on top-end free agents, we’ll most certainly have an extremely low payroll. Is that really what you think is going to happen? You keep saying you’re the one being realistic, but I think you blind to the fact we’re going to have a f***ton of money to spend in free agency and that we’re going to spend the majority of it one way or the other.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 20, 2018 -> 11:43 AM) You do realize signing Machado is like signing 3 JD Martinez, and you do realize that if the young players are what you are hoping, they get expensive quickly, and you do realize White Sox fans don't usually spend much money on teams until they show them they can win, not by actually being in first place for months but by actually winning...I expect them to go after Machado. Whether they sign him is a different story, I would think it is probably slim, but for speculation sake, I wouldn't argue with anyone penciling him in a future line up. If they do, they aren't going to spend the money on another top guy. You want 2 or 3 , move off of Machado and there is a chance. I don't know how much, but I do think the White Sox will break their record for biggest contract, assuming most goes according to plan in 2018. I don’t follow. How do Machado’s financial commitments from 2020 onwards effect our 2019 budget? Sure, they’re not going to go out and sign a guy to another $300M+ contract, but there is absolutely no reason they couldn’t sign a few big AAV deals on a short-term basis. Our young players won’t start getting expensive for quite some time and won’t prevent us from adding a few expensive vets to 3 to 4 year deals on top of Machado. And it really sounds like you’re prepared for a $70M payroll or something because of attendance. Just for perspective, we haven’t had a sub $90M payroll since 2005. Revenue streams have significantly changed & increased since then and there is no reason to believe we won’t rock a $110M to $120M payroll in 2019 assuming we’re able to sign the guys we desire. I’m confident we could afford adding Machado, McCutchen, and an impact reliever like Miller in the same offseason. The only thing stopping us is actually convincing these guys to come to Chicago and bidding as much as the competition. Those are the big “ifs”, the budget won’t be a problem IMO.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 20, 2018 -> 11:14 AM) There's been talk that 2016 and 2017, when Marte was up and when the Pirates were talking about moving him away from CF some years, did not go over well with him. Here’s what Huntington had to say about him a few years ago: Everything I’ve heard about the guy is he’s a class act. I’m not sure one issue regarding a positional switch changes that for me.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 20, 2018 -> 11:04 AM) So the White Sox will sign Machado and another high priced free agent. OK. That was fun. Now back to reality. Aren’t you an accountant or something in real life? We’re going to have almost no payroll commitments come 2019. Even with Machado at $30M/year, we could easily add another $40M in annual commitments in the short-run if not more. And that’s assuming we keep Abreu at like $20M/season. Do you honestly expect to have a sub $100M in 2019? And just for perspective, the Sox added nearly $50M in commitments during the 2014/15 offseason.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 20, 2018 -> 10:54 AM) I honestly have no idea. There are articles out there from 2016 about how there had literally never been an MVP who fell off as fast as him and at the age he did. If he has a strong 2017, I could see him anywhere from 3-5 years. If his numbers drop back a little bit, I could see him getting much less than that. A three year deal would be amazing IMO. Your talking about his age 32 to 34 seasons. I think he could be roughly a 3 WAR player during that time. And dude would be the perfect veteran to have around all these kids. I always wanted to see the guy in a Sox uniform and I’m all for it if on team friendly terms.

How many years do we think Cutch might get next year? He might be a guy you play in CF for a year and then move to a corner when Robert comes up in hopefully early 2020. Depending on the years and price, I’d be all for him as a transition piece to an internal option like Adolfo or Rutherford. Good god, imagine this lineup. Yes, I also included Machado because why not 1. McCutchen, LF 2. Moncada, 2B 3. Machado, 3B 4. Abreu, 1B 5. Jimenez, RF 6. Delmonico, DH 7. Robert, CF 8. Collins, C 9. Anderson, SS

QUOTE (heirdog @ Jan 19, 2018 -> 04:48 PM) It’s premature to tap into the top prospects, especially the pitchers for Yelich. No prospects are sure things but as it stands, Eloy and Robert are very likely legit MLB level. On the pitching side, even though we have a bunch of depth, there is less certainty, especially w Rodon hurt. So why would we send Cease and Hansen who arguably have the best stuff in our system outside of Kopech? I’d rather wait and see what we have from our pitching a little longer before dipping into it. Agree with this. We have pitching depth, but #1 & #2 starters aren’t easy to come by. Hansen has that type of potential and we’re going to need it if god forbid Rodon never takes that next step or Giolito & Lopez settle in as #3 types (or worse). And I personally don’t think OF should be an area of priorization right now. I have a ton of confidence in Jimenez & Robert becoming quality major leaguers if not legit superstars. Just need one more and we have quite a few interesting prospects plus a guy in Nicky Delmonico that I think will surprise a lot of people next year. I know talents like Yelich aren’t always readily available, but I’d rather see what we have in-house in 2018 and go shopping the following offseason if need be, preferably with cash instead of prospects if at all possible.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 19, 2018 -> 02:54 PM) Scott Merkin‏Verified account @scottmerkin How does Engel feel approaching the '18 season? "This is the most excited I've been from an offensive standpoint in my entire career. If Spring Training started today, I would feel like I'm in a better spot than I've ever been, and I just believe in what I'm doing." This comes across as a Gordon Beckham quote.

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Jan 19, 2018 -> 03:01 PM) Forget where I read and apologize if I misread. It was a few days ago via one of the sox beat guys. Clicked the link on twitter and read the article. don't remember which though... I remember him reading that he said there are more moves to be made. Didn't elude to anything big like a Yelich, made it sound more like small deals from what I remember. But I remember thinking it was odd saying that the team wouldn't be as it's currently constructed in a few weeks. Seemed like an odd statement. Again could have misread.. That article aside, I just have a feeling that Yelich is coming to the Southside. It just fits too well into what he keeps repeating. About not making a deal unless it has a strong long term effect. I took that article to mean more guys on our team could be moved (i.e Abreu & Avi).

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 19, 2018 -> 02:55 PM) How could you say no? Rutherford is coming off of a horrible season and if he shows no improvement is barely a top 30 org prospect. Cease by all accounts is destined to be a closer. It would be selling high on Hansen who had a great year but is by no means a lock to be a top pitcher. Yelich gives you cost certainty and flexibility heading into 2019 free agency class. I think trading Hansen is dangerous until we know what we have in Giolito & Lopez. Maybe next year it’s a different story, but I’m not giving up one of my few guys who has a chance to be a legit TOR starter. We can always buy an OF in free agency if need be, high end starting pitching is a different story.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 19, 2018 -> 02:55 PM) In a year Cease could be one of the top 10 prospects in baseball if he stays healthy. Say what? Hansen just had a monster year and won’t come close to sniffing the top 10. Cease has way too many red flags to vault into the top 10 based on one season alone.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Jan 18, 2018 -> 08:16 PM) I'm still hoping and rooting for Engel. His upside is much higher than the other candidates. I understand that he needs to make more contact, but he has the best tools. That Podcast, for which I provided the link, sounds very encouraging. Delmonico made a special point of mentioning how much he has improved, over the winter and how great he looks, in the batting cage. I'm really looking forward to seeing what adjustments he has made. I’m probably Nicky Delmonico’s biggest fan on this site, but I could give two s***s what he say about a teammate. I think you’re setting yourself up for disappointment Lillian, but hopefully Engel can prove me wrong.