Chicago White Sox

This is something I have criticized Getz for the past two years. The closer spot in a rebuild season should be utilized by a vet with good stuff who hasn’t had a shot at closing up until then. We lost out on some real flip value the past two deadlines by being so cheap in how we filled our bullpen.

I could then do another two year deal for a SP. The only challenge there is this just ate up half the Robert’s savings and the guys left who would command two years would require more than a $10M AAV. I’ll guess we’ll have to wait and see on where the budget lands. Maybe the Robert trade wasn’t a Jerry mandated salary and Getz not being comfortable committing 20% of his payroll into the player.

I actually love this move with him serving as closer. Real chance to return some actual value come July.

They will add another OF in some capacity. No way to do they go into camp with just this group. Doubt it will be anything over $5M and might be as a NRI with above league minimum contract if they make the team, but they will add a vet to be part of the spring training mix.

Almost certainly Kannapolis or I’d be very concerned

Why? Who did we pass on?

Pretty sweet we have three top 100 prospects that could join the staff this year and another one in Thorpe who should be ready at some point.

I have no idea why you think he profiles as 1B.

I have no faith yet, but he’s also very to the OF and had to learn on the fly. If you look at his advanced metrics, his defense in the corners was bad as he wasn’t getting good reads on the ball. His range was perfectly fine and he had actually had an average OOA in CF in a SSS. I’m more optimistic than confidence than it makes sense.

Yeah, easily the worst OF on paper. That being said, I still really like Baldwin and think he can be a nice player out there with more reps. I think Acuna has a very high ceiling defensively and room for improvement with the bat. If he can find a way to get more loft (which is already working on) and more routinely swing fast I think he could surpass 10 HR’s and that would make him a startable CF (by no means do I think that’s probable, but definitely in realm of possible). I also really like Pereira and think he will be the guy who surprises with more runway. Not a huge Kelenic fan and just feel he’s too much of a head case to radically improve his game at this point.

Not sure why that gives Hahn a free pass for never having replacement level talent in AAA. He could have gone out and traded for a Tristan Peters or simply signed better AAAA types to minor league deals.

It’s admittedly weird to hate someone you have never have met, but my distaste for him is truly immense. Like I hate the dude with a passion for destroying two of my three favorite sports teams. He pretty much lacks any of the qualities I look for in an owner and we have been stuck with himself forever. And he’s so fucking stubborn and refuses to relinquish control because it’s somehow fun overseeing hilariously bad organizations. The only saving grace is that Ishbia is going be very different with a modern perspective on things and that sweet, sweet private equity money.

If you look at the above, I’m expecting two veteran additions via free agency. I’d assume the SP one to be far more impactful than the OF one. I also see a strong likelihood we end up moving Lee and either Sosa or Mead. For now, I have Sosa for that reserve IF spot, but I do feel like Chris is out there trying to sell him to other clubs. Should be a decent amount of activity for us ahead of Spring Training.

Time to bump this thread. Here are my new projections for the OD roster: 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) Shane Smith (R) Davis Martin (R) Anthony Kay (L) Sean Burke (R) Bullpen: CL: Leasure (R) SU: Taylor (R) SU: Vasil (R) MR: Newcomb (L) MR: Gilbert (L) MR: Gonzalez (R) MR: Alberto (R) LR: Paez (R) DFA or Returned: BC: Lee (R) IF: Mead (R) IF: Ramos (R) OF: Hill (R) RP: Hudson (L)

I like all these moves (outside of Acuna) in isolation. But we now have a ton of guys with no options, so these type of moves create some challenges from a roster construction perspective.

Mid-season list he must have jumped to #69 in 2023. Baseball America’s player page doesn’t list a 2024 ranking for him.

FWIW, Kelenic somehow hit worse than Acuna did in AAA if that’s possible and doesn’t offer the defensive & base-running value that the latter does. I still think he should have to prove that any swing changes him and Fuller make this offseason actually work in AAA before he gets a major league shot.

According to who? Those rankings are per Baseball America and each guy’s peak ranking unless I messed something up.

The group of post hype OF prospects is something: Kelenic (#4 overall in Y21) Acuna (#56 overall in Y23) Pereira (#69 overall in Y23)

I need to go through the free agent list. I think they will add a veteran OF in some capacity, whether that is as a NRI or a guaranteed contract. There is some value in hedging with a vet, especially at one of the corner OF spots. I’d certainly go into the season with a CF competition between Baldwin, Pereira, & Acuna. Going out and signing Bader to a multi-year deal after trading for Acuna would be insanity.

I was referring to dead last in payroll. I expect them to spend some of the $20M in savings, but I’d be surprised if Jerry didn’t pocket some of it at minimum.

I actually like the strategy if we’re talking about post hype guys without tons of major league runway. I ripped the Fedde / Kopech trade at the time, but Vargas alone could make that trade a win if he can take another step next year (and that’s ignoring anything from Perez who’s coming off a really strong season). I also like the idea of taking a shot on Mead given his past minor league success, although a little less enamored at the moment given our current roster construction. That being said, Mead came with other pieces and was acquired for a pure rental. I will admit Acuna is a tougher sell for me as his lack of success in AAA last year is hard to ignore. There is still a non zero chance he figures something out as he is still relatively young and there are some good tools there, but I have very little conviction that will happen. Given our meager payroll, extremely unproven OF, and potential upside of Robert, I would have held out for more if I could have but I also get this is Jerry making us dump salary and probably the best we could do.

I don’t know, it’s tough to take anything a GM says at face value. It’s very possible the Sox really like Acuna, but at the same time only made this trade because Jerry made them dump salary. Lying to the media is a key part of a GM’s job. I don’t agree that Getz trading for 40 man roster depth is a bad thing when the cost is practically nothing. Tristin Peters may end being useless, but he cost us nothing and probably gives us a replacement level floor if needed. We saw under Hahn the dangers of having zero depth at the AAA level. As long as the costs are reasonable and they aren’t blocking someone, these are smart moves to make.

Rosenthal said we were willing to. It’s possible that changed after adding Murakami. It’s also likely in this particular case that a rich club like the Mets weren’t willing to offer much of anything for $10M of payroll savings.

The offseason doesn’t end until Opening Day per betting purposes, so he’s going to be in the penalty box a while longer.