Chicago White Sox

Agree the three needs that need to be addressed are RF, 3B, & C. If I'm Hahn, I'm all-in on adding a RF via free agency. Upton & Heyward would be my primary targets (I prefer Justin), but I'd be perfectly fine with Gordon as well if the years weren't ridiculous. Point is that it's incredibly rare in this day in age to have multiple stars who play the same position hit free agency at the same time, let alone two who are still in their late 20s. If we cut bait on Shark & Alexei, there is simply no reason we can't afford one of these guys. 3B is a bit trickier. I really think we need to go the trade route here, but I'm stuggling to come up with realistic names. I'd rather not give up a significant package for a guy with less than three years of team control. So if such a player is not available, I have no problem seeing if Zobrist would do a short-term deal and play 3B. He was born in Illinois and currently lives in Nashvile (an hour flight), so playing in Chicago could be attractive to him. However, I could see the Cubs being a player for him as well and that would f*** things up for us. As for catcher, I love the Plawecki idea. He's having a tough year, but has a ton of upside. If we can't find a way to match up with the Mets, we should still be targeting a young catcher (AA or above) that can contribute in the very near future.

The Matt Davidson s*** needs to stop. Dude has flopped hard two straight years in AAA, he's not a major leaguer. He'll, he'll be lucky to even be in the organization next year.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 22, 2015 -> 04:01 PM) Because I have absolutely no idea what it was last year so why should I assume it's a 1 time thing? I 100% agree with the solution though. Give him a shot in 2016 and see what he does. It's literally the only way we'll know. We've been through this before, Johnson was eventually shut down last year with an injury. And my guess he also had some mechanical issues contributing to the velocity loss. Regardless, before and after the 2014 season he's never had this type of problem. While there is a non-zero chance it happens again, there is no reason to believe it will until it actually does.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Aug 22, 2015 -> 03:42 PM) I think you're undervaluing Arenado. IMO he's a top five player in baseball on a very good contract. Top 5 player? I mean, what in the world are you basing that on? If you think he can develop into a top 5 player, I could see an argument be made, but he's not there yet. And what do you mean he's on a very good contract. He's got four years left of team control and they're all arbitration years. Given that Boras is his agent, you're unlikely to get anything but year to year deals until he hits free agency and gets paid crazy money. I'm not sure how trading a top 20 starter in baseball with an incredibly team friendly contact (5/$40M) and half of our high end prospects makes sense for us given where our organization currently stands.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 22, 2015 -> 03:35 PM) And if he's throwing 93, does that mean you have 100% confidence he'll still have that fastball next year? Until he proves it, I wouldn't. Why would we expect his fastball to suddenly dissapear again? Clearly there was something wrong with him last year and right now everything suggests it was a one-time thing. However, he's still an unknown at the major league level and no doubt teams would be cautious about trading for him given his 2014 results. Our best bet is to give him a shot in 2016 and hope to turn him into a productive major league starting pitcher. He's definitely worth more to us than other clubs at the moment.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Aug 22, 2015 -> 02:39 PM) This is all unlikely, but this would be interesting. 2015 offseason- Sox acquire Nolan Arenado for Jose Quintana, Frank Montas, Micah Johnson, and Spencer Adams 2016 infield- Arenado/Ramirez/Sanchez/Abreu 2017- Arenado/Anderson/Sanchez/Abreu That would be one of the league's best all-around infields, especially with Saladino coming off the bench. That would be an absolutely horrible trade for us to make. Trading Quintana plus three of our top five prospects for Arenado, as good as he is, would be a firable offense IMO.

IMO, we should not pick up Alexei's option for next year. Enter 2016 with Micah, Sanchez, & Saladino competing for the SS & 2B jobs, loser ends up as the reserve infielder. Trade Montas in a package for a long-term answer at 3B. Give Anderson a good 3 months in AAA, if he forces your hand in July then make the change. Otherwise, assume he's the starting SS in 2017 and one of the other young infielders either moves into a backup role is trade bait.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Aug 22, 2015 -> 09:42 AM) I agree that the Sox will need to make a move for a legit hitter, but right now, we have six weeks or so left in the season and our young players need to play every day. Saladino needs to play 3B everyday. Sanchez needs to play SS/2B every day. Micah Johnson needs to be promoted and play 2B/DH almost every day. Trayce Thompson needs to play one of the outfield positions or DH nearly every day. These are our four youngsters who could contribute next year in starting roles. If you don't let them play the next six weeks, you entertain the off season with more questions because you don't know how they will handle starting. Give them these six weeks, and you just answering the questions. I am fairly certain both Saladino and Thompson will be bench players, but you'll only know for sure if you let them play. Add Erik Johnson to the list. Assuming we lose Shark, we're most likely counting on Johnson to fill the #4 spot next year. It would be nice to give him an extended look in a lost season and be a bit more confident in counting on him for 2016.

Montas has had a lot of 5 inning starts, but the Sox have been very conservative with his pitch counts. If you go through his game logs, you'll see he's frequently being cut off around 90 pitches. With a little more development and another 15 to 20 pitches, going 6 innings a start shouldn't be a problem. All this reliever talk is way too premature, especially with the way he's been pitching since June. That being said, he's definitely the pitching prospect I'm trying to use in a package for a position player this offseason. With Erik Johnson ready for a shot again and Fulmer potentially a mid-season call-up next year, Montas provides more value to us as a trade chip.

This offense is so bad, we're going to need to add two serious bats if we want to have any chance next year.

Anderson is 3/4 and a triple short of the cycle. He should have one more chance at the cycle tonight. He's really putting up an incredible season all things considered, especially if you believe the scouting reports on his defense.

I'm not a KW hater like many here, but it's definitely time for a new voice at the top. Whether that's a new team president or simply giving Hahn more influence (and accountability), moving on from KW is the right call for the organization IMO.

Given the amount of holes on the position player side and the resources that will be necessary to fill them, Rodon being an effective #3 starter next year would be a huge plus. We could probably get away with some combination of Danks, Johnson, & a bounce-back free agent signing in the #4/#5 spots, at least until one of Fulmer or Montas is ready. If so, any money that would have gone to Shark or another expensive starter could be reallocated to the offense.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Aug 17, 2015 -> 10:32 AM) He'll be 28 to start the year next year. I could see a 5-6 year deal. I'd go 5/90 on him I'd go 6/$120M for Upton. He's one of a handful of free agents I'd be willing to sacrifice a draft pick for, as we desperately need a cleanup hitter and he's young enough to be valuable for the vast majority of his contract.

Alright Robertson, time to break the strikeout record.

Under no circumstance can you bring LaRoche back next year. Eat $8M in salary and hope someone is willing take him off our hands at $5M as a bounce-back candidate.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Aug 16, 2015 -> 10:49 AM) So now our bench is Shuck, Thompson, Beckham, Soto. 2 outfielders. That's really unnecessary. Would rather have Thompson & Shuck on my bench than Bonifacio.

With the benefit of hindsight, an absolutely horrible signing. Still somewhat shocked at how little they used him, although also signing Beckham took away some PT.

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Aug 15, 2015 -> 09:36 PM) He predicts the Cubs win a WS in the next 4 years and THIS is what you type up? Maybe you check out some of his other posts, notably in the NBA threads. And with that, I'm done before I get banned.

Please pinch hit for Tyler.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Aug 15, 2015 -> 09:17 PM) You see how chitownsportsfan is obsessed with me? You would think I hurt one of his kids. lol. Lol...I'm guessing this is targeting me, although I'm not surprised you can't remember the name of your favorite baseball team with all the Cubs dick-sucking of late. Seriously though, I hate the internet because little b****es like yourself can talk big and there are no consequences. Just keeping churning out stupid prediction after stupid prediction and nothing changes. I just hope if you ever leave your little computer, someone holds you accountable for the bulls*** that repeatedly comes out of your mouth.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 15, 2015 -> 09:13 PM) 15 of 16 with 4 rookies in their lineup and a ton of available resources to upgrade the team going forward. As good as their pitching has been this year, it's still an issue long-term. They have Arrieta for two more years and then he's likely gone. Hammel is under control for one more year. They have Lester for a while, but that contract will get ugly in the not too distant future. Sure, they have a ton of resources to add pitching, but let's not pretend that trading offense or signing expensive free agents are surefire, positive solutions.

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Aug 15, 2015 -> 09:09 PM) I guess I'm a chump too because I agree If you're going to guarantee a Cubs World Series in the next four years then yes, you too are a chump.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Aug 15, 2015 -> 08:58 PM) They'll win one by 2018. Guaranteed. lol...you're such a f***ing chump.

QUOTE (Baron @ Aug 15, 2015 -> 08:47 PM) I've never hated a coach more than him. Except for maybe Marc Trestman. Robin is awful and needs to go. That much is certain after this year. Cue Dick Allen in 3, 2, 1...