Chicago White Sox

I agree. Fuller will fix ‘em though!

I personally think they will want both of these guys in camp though. I will say that adding Dominguez will make it harder to roster both of them to start the season.

Sounds like Benintendi is going to be used a lot more in the DH slot to keep him healthy and hopefully improve his defense when he has to play LF. For Baldwin, I think people are way over-reacting to bad defense that is the result of being new to the position. Way too early to say he can’t get decent in OF with more reps.

I feel they’d drop Alberto before Paez if it came down to that given where they were selected in the R5 and nothing has changed since then. We traded for Gilbert last offseason and he’s arguably our best LH reliever right now depending on what happens with Newcomb (which isn’t saying much, but makes him safer IMO). I really hope they don’t drop Bush & Berroa when they’re now approaching a year into their rehab process. Still think Ramos or Hudson are most likely.

I don’t understand your desire to hand a starting major league job to Kelenic after how bad he was in AAA.

Iriarte has lost a ton of status the past two years as his stuff has gone backwards. I’m not yet fully convinced someone would put a claim in on him at this point.

Kelenic can not play CF IMO.

I guess my question is what you expect the OF alignment to be and whether a RH or LH makes more sense. IMO, with Baldwin & Acuna locks for the roster, we can probably get by with just one infielder on the bench (Sosa or Mead). That allows us to carry two dedicated OFs on our bench if we so choose. I also think they plan to give Benintendi heavy use at DH and much less time off it in LF. Theoretically that means there could be up to six players in the OF mix. My belief is Acuna is going to get serious run in CF. He will likely sit against tough RHP, but don’t believe they will platoon him. Baldwin fills in CF when Acuna needs a day off (or if he’s in the IF). Otherwise, he’s going to be in a corner on most days against RHP while likely filling in the IF from time to time. I think Pereira starts off as a weak side platoon partner in one of the OF corners with gradual exposure to some RHP. Benintendi should be a part-time player in LF, primarily against RHP. I believe those four combined can more or less cover 2/3 of the OF plus a chunk of DH plate appearances and some fill-in time in the IF. That leaves two roster spots to address the other corner OF spot and fill in other bench type roles like late-inning defense and pinch-running. IMO, Hill can possibly fill three distinct roles by helping against LHP (115 career wRC+), providing elite late inning defense, and being a pinch runner when needed. He’d have to be paired with a LH bat though and I really don’t think Kelenic should be counted on to be that guy. I’d much rather take a shot on Tauchman again (if healthy) and run him out there until he either breaks down, until someone pushes for his playing time (maybe even Kelenic if he does well in AAA), or Braden proved himself ready. Now, if they are committed to making Kelenic a thing and doing so from the get go, then I’d be willing to go the Hayes route and use him as a hedge. However, I do worry his price tag will be too rich for us, especially for such a role. Either way, I’d rather invest bigger dollars into a SP than a very ordinary OF like Hayes.

Sorry, massive typo. Yes, Hayes has always been good against LHP. The problem he is bad to well below average aging RHP now or at least the last two years.

Sorry, I made my post backwards. His value is against LHP.

Hayes can’t hit RHP though…his value is entirely against LHP. If we add another OF, do you really want a short side platoon bat? What do you envisioning the OF playing time mix looking like if we add Hayes?

I think they add a legit SP and force a competition for the #5 spot between Burke & Newcomb.

Hill is an option…should have probably included him. However, I think they’d hold off doing that until they add another OF to the mix or more likely towards the end of camp. I agree that split contract likely allows you to get him through waivers. I definitely think Lee eventually gets traded, but doubt that would be soon enough to accommodate the Dominguez signing. Same applies for Mead (or Sosa) given their lack options but don’t see that being imminent. Both Peters & Romo feel like purposeful AAA depth that will be leveraged in the event of injuries. Gilbert did well enough last year to enter camp as a favorite for a OD bullpen spot (the lack of options help his cause too). Eisert isn’t overly exciting but has options, so would expect him to survive until some of the other 40 man roster challenges have been worked through. To me, Ramos is getting DFAed or traded at some point before OD, so for him it’s more about the right time to try and sneak him through waivers. I could see that time being now, especially if there are a couple more moves coming.

In terms of next steps, I think we add one of the better SPs remaining. Obviously not Framber or Gallen, but I think anyone else theoretically could be in our price range. Given the likely price points, these guys will all come with some warts (with age being one of them). That being said, I would actually love to add someone like Verlander on a one-year with the intention of flipping at the deadline. I wouldn’t expect a huge return by doing that, but I think he’d stabilize the top of the rotation and more importantly be a tremendous asset to have around all the young arms during camp and the first half of the season. I’m certainly open to other guys that would require a two year deal like say Giolito, but there is a lot of young pitching coming and I’d probably rather save my 2027 dollars for someone more impactful. The other move needed is adding a veteran OF. The remaining OF list is rough to say the least. IMO, CF needs to be a mix of Acuna and Baldwin (and possibly some Pereira). I think you can get by in one corner spot with a mix of Baldwin, Pereira, & a little bit of Benintendi. I have Kelenic projected to make the OD roster, but that is a reflection of what I think will happen and not what I hope happens. Either way, he can’t be relied on to be a starter from day 1. Given the hope that Braden Montgomery could pushing for a shot by mid season, a cheap stop gap is the type of addition to make. Bader is too expensive for what we need and would block the younger guys for CF reps. Hayes is just a completely blah player who does nothing for me. Andujar is a bad defense, short side platoon bat who will likely regress next year. That leaves Tauchman or Conforto as possible options. I loved what Tauchman gave us last year and would bring him back in a heart beat if healthy. Conforto had terrible production last year, but the underlying offensive metrics were mostly still there. He is slow now and his defense has suffered accordingly, so any deal would have to be dirt cheap ($2M to $3M) so he’s cuttable if the bat doesn’t return to form.

Time to bump this thread again. Update post Domínguez signing. Lineup: 1B: Murakami (L) 2B: Meidroth (R) SS: C. Montgomery (L) 3B: Vargas (R) LF: Baldwin (S) CF: Acuña (R) RF: <Veteran> (L) DH: Benintendi (L) CA: Teel (L) Bench: BC: Quero (S) IF: Sosa (R) OF: Pereira (R) OF: Kelenic (L) Rotation: <Veteran> (R) Smith (R) Martin (R) Kay (L) Burke (R) Bullpen: CL: Dominguez (R) SU: Taylor (R) SU: Leasure (R) MR: Newcomb (L) MR: Vasil (R) MR: Gilbert (L) MR: Gonzalez (R) LR: Paez (R) DFA or Returned: BC: Lee (R) IF: Mead (R) IF: Ramos (R) OF: Hill (R) RP: Alberto (R) RP: Hudson (L)

So who do we think gets the boot from the 40 man roster as a result of this signing? Here is the list of options from most likely to least likely IMO: Bryan Ramos, IF Bryan Hudson, LHP Jairo Iriarte, RHP Alexander Alberto, RHP I don’t see anyone else really in the mix. And candidly speaking, I think it will be one of those first three guys. Gun to head though I would have to say Ramos.

The White Sox deserve zero praise. We were arguably the most embarrassing org in the major four sports over the last half decade. And Chris Getz never deserved the GM job in the first place based on qualifications. That being said, if you think for a second modernizing a professional sports org that is broken to its core is as easy as “saying no to drugs” then you have lost all touches to reality.

Equating “don’t do doing drugs” to executing massive modernization changes to a highly complex billion dollar sports org is one of the largest leaps I have seen in my 25+ years on this site. Not much else for me to say here.

I mean, we know a ton of changes they have actually made. I agree we don’t the level of impact they will have, but even getting within the stratosphere of the rest of the league is a massive first step and there is plenty of reason to believe Getz has or is on track to doing that. Ultimately, it’s ok to acknowledge Getz has made legit structural improvements to the org without saying he’s fixed everything.

They want to build up Taylor’s innings in a multi-inning capacity and eventually turn him into a SP down the road. I’m skeptical it will work out just as I was with Crochet and I was wrong there. Regardless, Leasure was the likely closer before this move. And generally agree with your views on bullpen investment, but disagree on one key component. One of the advantages rebuilding teams have is the ability to give players extended runways. That could be for a young, unproven player or could be using a player at a new, more valuable spot or role. You and I have debated this topic before, as I am big fan of adding post hype prospects who haven’t been given extended opportunities. Pereira is an example of a guy I like going out and adding vs. say someone like Kelenic who has vast failures to believe can suddenly turn the ship around. I have been a huge proponent of taking advantage of our s%*# OF situation and letting Baldwin learn on the fly out there (and ideally play a lot CF). And finally, there is intrinsic value to pitching well in high leverage situations vs. low and medium ones (fWAR accounts for this for a reason). Proven closers routinely return some of the best value come the trade deadline. Even if your team isn’t trying to win, that closer should be utilized on a guy who has stuff and if successful can turn into a trade chip.

JustGottaBelieve is not even remotely objective when it comes to Robert

I’d have to take a look for specific examples, but usually the big name relievers get scooped by the teams trying to compete. Regardless, we know that legit closers command value at the deadline. If Dominguez be successful in that role, he will have real trade value come July.

Pass on Bader! Not against Giolito though if they can afford him.

I don’t really agree. If you believe in his arm and give him more high leverage opportunities than previously provided, then it’s reasonable to expect his value to go up if pitches as you project him to. Yes, relievers are volatile and there is no guarantee this works out, but closers are always over-valued as the deadline and this is a smart gamble a rebuilding club should take.

Leasure was pretty damn good over the 2H of the season. Him and Taylor are your two setup guys.