Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ May 3, 2017 -> 11:51 AM) To me, the question is what teams have the prospects to meet the Sox asking price. I mean, Texas might want a TOR starter at the deadline, but there's no way they have the pieces to get a deal done. As of today, the teams are still the teams we spent all offseason talking about: the Yankees, the Cubs, the Astros, the Pirates, and the Rockies. And if the Sox would trade Q within the division, add Cleveland to that. I might be missing a couple teams in there, but it's a pretty limited pool of teams that would be willing to get in on Q and have the resources to pull it off. That's the issue on moving Q more than anything else, IMO. The Dodgers & Cardinals come to mind, but your points still stands. However, that's more of an issue of constrained demand due to a high ask. From a supply perspective, there shouldn't be many TOR starters available and hopefully none that are cost-controlled. There will be plenty of teams pursing Quintana whether they can ultimately meet the high asking price. The same does not apply to Gonzalez & Holland. If those markets get saturated, we're going to struggle to get much of anything for them. If we're smart, we should take advantage of the fact that we're one of a handful of teams not trying to compete and start selling the fringe pieces early. Plus a back of the rotation starter (one that isn't going to be impactful in October) is much more valuable to buyers in early June than late July. I really think it's key to set the market before teams like the Royals, who may hold off selling until they're certain they're out of the race, join the fray.

QUOTE (bmags @ May 3, 2017 -> 10:27 AM) If you all are interested in beating this dead horse more, I do think that the trade market is looking worse. I think there will be a lot of pitching on the market to the few dominant teams thus far. But with injuries, Sox may have an advantage if MiGo and Holland continue pitching well to package Q with a 5th starter a la the Smarj/Hammel trade. How many TOR starters will be available though? I think Q's should be pretty safe as long as he keeps pitching well. To your point though, we should be aggressive with the back-end guys like Gonzalez & Holland. I'd start seriously marketing these guys as soon as June. The market #4 starters could be saturated by July 31st.

QUOTE (TheTruth05 @ May 2, 2017 -> 02:46 PM) Anybody finished TLOZ:BOTW yet? I finished the 4 divine beasts,116 shrines, and 200 korok seeds and yesterday they announced the first DLC pack contents. I'm pretty pumped seeing the Korok Leaf mask since I want to find all the most seeds I can before I fully just quit. Also pumped for Trial of the sword, it looks like a ton of fun yet doing it will make me want to just rage quit. I'm about 110 hours in and have found about 90 shrines and completed three divine beasts. I was hoping for all 120 shrines before tackling Hyrule Castle, but now I may just go for it and finish the rest of the shrines once that new map feature comes out with the first DLC pack.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ May 2, 2017 -> 06:43 PM) Danny Hayes continues to intrigue me. Assuming he cuts his strikeouts back to his usual levels I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing him get a chance after the trade deadline. He's super interesting to me. A bit on the older side, but as a potential 1B/DH that's much less of a problem. Might be tough to find him a spot depending on how things shake out for Saladino, Davidson, & Delmonico post trade deadline.

Not sure if anyone saw but MONCADA BOMB.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ May 2, 2017 -> 07:09 AM) When will Asche be DFAed? Mid May to early June, i.e. whenever they can get the extra year of service time out of Moncada, Delmonico, etc.

Not sure about the corresponding roster move yet.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ May 1, 2017 -> 09:06 PM) I prefer the rebuilds that try various intriguing players as starters rather than just toss out random mediocre minor-leaguers to deliberately lose. Nobody's saying to promote Giolito or Lopez, just to try things out. There were also more intriguing Rule 5 options imo. I'm in agreement here, I find it hard to believe Covey was the best arm they could find to roll the dice on. But at this point in time, I don't really see another option unless you want to call up Danish and he's probably better off getting further development time in AAA.

QUOTE (Tony @ May 1, 2017 -> 08:50 PM) I'm not understanding the "We need to get rid of Covey right now" group. If no one is ready in AA or AAA (which is a whole different issue itself) then what are you even asking for at that point? A change just to make a change? Yeah, no reason to get rid of him until you have to. His purpose is to eat innings until his spot is needed for someone with long-term potential. Until then let him contribute to the rebuild by losing once a week.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ May 1, 2017 -> 08:47 PM) I know, I just had to shoehorn that in somewhere. While we're on the subject of shoehorned White Sox dumbass pitching decisions, Chris Devenski, who we gave up for Brett f***ing Myers, has been *incredible* this season. 17.28 K/9 v 1.08 BB/9 in 16.2 IP. Lol...yeah that one didn't work out for us. It's crazy how dominant Devenski has been with the Astros.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ May 1, 2017 -> 08:43 PM) I'd give him back to the Athletics, try Swarzak for a couple of starts and promote Cory Luebke. No way you mess with Swarzak right now. His velocity increase coincides with his switch to the bullpen. Plus what is the upside in converting him anyways?

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ May 1, 2017 -> 08:26 PM) Bums me out that this org saw fit to give Covey a shot at a 5th starter spot a year after it decided Junior Guerra hadn't earned one While I don't disagree, we also weren't rebuilding when Guerra was around.

QUOTE (JUSTgottaBELIEVE @ Apr 30, 2017 -> 09:17 PM) Oh ok. Thought you were calling me a clown for my post. I just can't believe how overrated Schwarber is. He's a one dimensional player and unless he's mashing like big papi in his prime he's going to be hard pressed to be a 3+ WAR player over a full season because of his defensive limitations. Yet some Sox fans I know want to trade Q for him straight up and some people somehow think he's a top 20 player in baseball. I really don't get it. I can't think of another player more overrated in today's game. Babe Scwarber definitely should be at the top of the list of most overrated players in baseball. Javier Baez should also be on that list. Theo Epstein does an incredible job hyping up his players. Don't get me wrong, both of those guys are quality major leaguers, but the way you hear people talk about them is like they should be basically be untouchable.

QUOTE (JUSTgottaBELIEVE @ Apr 30, 2017 -> 08:36 PM) Come again? What part of my post do you disagree with and name another player that's more overrated than Schwarber. For christ's sake, you'd think he was the second coming of Babe Ruth for all the hype he's gotten over the past two years. I agree with every part of your post. I'm saying don't waste your time with Jordan4life. Anyone that says Kyle f***ing Scwarber has them "more shook" than any player in baseball other than Mike Trout is a total f***ing clown.

QUOTE (JUSTgottaBELIEVE @ Apr 30, 2017 -> 07:34 PM) Pretty sure Schwarber is the most overrated player in baseball. He's struggling big time with off speed stuff this year. Plus he's a complete liability in the field. Don't waste your time with this clown, he's just looking for attention.

I think we end up with Pavin Smith.

QUOTE (TheTruth05 @ Apr 30, 2017 -> 11:57 AM) Stay the course,if you get a decent return for Melky,Frazier,Robertson you pull the trigger immediately.Abreu too,even with the whole Moncada mentor stuff,he should be on the table.I'd dangle Jones but only trade him for a couple nice position players (ala Chapman/Miller deals last year). Yup, everyone should be on the table. And at a bare minimum, Robertson and most of the impending free agents should be moved before the deadline. I don't really care where our record stands come July, we need to remain focused on our long-term ambitions.

Lopez, Kopech, & Hansen all starting today.

Can I change my display name to CWS if available?

Holmberg pitching for Charlotte, I take it that means Lopez is being skipped today.

Swarzak time!

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 29, 2017 -> 08:15 AM) The worst case is Jared Mitchell. The best case is he loses a step, but his game has never been predicated on stolen bases. That said, some hesitation in the outfield and worry in the back of his head about another injury are going to be hard for him to get over. It's just as much psychological as physical. His game has never be based on stolen bases, but base-running & range are two essential components to his game. Losing a step could have a significant impact on his production.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 29, 2017 -> 08:44 AM) Tied for 6th in MLB run differential Up to 24th in ops, .680 Best ERA in MLB by 0.35 over the NY Yankees, 2.93 to 3.28 Also first in BAA at .215 Our pitching staff is currently ranked #1 in runs allowed. That's absolute insanity given how Quintana has pitched and having Covey/Pelfrey combine for five starts. Unfortunately for us, Gonzalez, Holland, & Shields aren't going to finish with 2.00 or below ERAs and our bullpen will certainly regress from their current GOAT production level. But let's enjoy it while it lasts and hope most of these guys can maintain enough to remain valuable trade chips come July.

The Sox currently have three relivers in the top 20 for WAR in Robertson (11th), Swarzak (15th), & Kahnle (19th). While Robertson has a track record of being an elite reliever, the other two are obvious surprises. Having said that, both of these guys have experienced increases in velocity that can be be explained to some extent (shift to relieving, mechanical tweaks) that suggests there might be something real here. What's crazy is the quality doesn't stop here. Putnam was having a great season (9.35 K/9, 1.04 BB/9, 1.28 FIP) before going on the DL with an elbow injury. Jennings has been very solid this year (0.93 ERA) despite core numbers that don't scream at out you. And we haven't even gotten to Nate Jones who was the 17th ranked reliever last year in terms of WAR and has been filthy after a slow start to the season (14 Ks, 2 BBs in last 8.1 innings). Long story short, even if a few guys regress, the Sox should have a ton of relief talent to dangle at the trade deadline. The question then becomes which of these guys do you prioritize moving and do any fit into the long-term plan. Below is the years of control for each of the six guys mentioned above along with their current age: Swarzak - 0 / 31 Robertson - 1 / 32 Jennings - 2 / 30 Putnam - 2 /29 Jones 4 / 31 Kahnle 4 / 27 I would love to hear everyone's thoughts. I'd honestly like to move most of them, but that's probably not realistic for one trade period, especially one where there could be a lot of sellers.

Good googly moogly that ball was crushed!