Chicago White Sox

I said it before that Semien & Montas would likely get a deal done. It will be interesting to see if Hahn can convince Beane to take a couple of lesser prospects instead of a guy like Montas. I'd be much more willing to take the rental risk if Semien was the centerpiece with guys like Beck & Thompson being the secondary pieces.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 07:10 PM) Let us know if anything new is said My bad, I saw a "Back to Chicago" title and an A's uniform and immediately assumed it was about Shark. Unfortunately, it was about Jason Hammel going to the Cubs.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 07:46 AM) Oh joy, now we have to deal with another 20 pages on how this terrible idea is something the white sox should do. You don't even know the parameters of a potential deal and you're already calling it terrible? Let's give Hahn the benefit of the doubt here. He isn't going to do something stupid.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 07:37 AM) What does $4 million for one year buy you? $4M essentially bought us Zach Duke, it could pay for a different veteran reliever. Or it could contribute towards an impact player that would otherwise push is over our budget. For someone who seems to think our payroll will be in the low $90M range, I'm shocked you think wasting about 5% of our total payroll isn't a big deal.

Not sure how I'd feel about it, but I could see a Semien & Montas package getting a deal done. Regardless, I hope the Sox think they can extend him this offseason if they acquire Shark.

QUOTE (flavum @ Dec 7, 2014 -> 09:15 PM) It would be great if Viciedo goes this week just to get it off the checklist, but he's gotta go before full squad reports in late February. It's over for him here. And the return will be relatively low, and guess what? Who cares! While everything you said is true, moving him now clears up some payroll that can be used to improve the team while impact talent is still available. That won't be the case in late January. Plus I want to see Balta's reaction when he sees another GM actually trended for Viciedo.

I think the Sox leave the Winter Meetings with at least 2 moves made: 1). Acquire an impact OF or a right-handed #2/#3 starter 2). Trade Tank for a relief prospect or lottery ticket We'd still have some holes to fill, but I think those moves along with LaRoche & Duke would be a great starting point.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Dec 7, 2014 -> 05:02 PM) Mlb network starts their live coverage from the winter meetings tonight at 7 When do the GMs actually arrive? Tonight?

I'm sorry, but your theory loses all credibility at "oh poor pitcher". Ignoring the increased likelihood of injury that throwing in-game side sessions would result in is ridiculous. I don't care what some "old-timers" were able to years ago, most pitchers today are not conditioned to handle that much additional stress. IMO, this strategy would likely be an epic disaster. I think the underlying concept makes some sense, but you can't force the human body to do something it's incapable of. Pitchers would break down and then you're running out replacement level talent which would more than offset any benefit of the original plan.

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Dec 3, 2014 -> 08:03 PM) I don think anyone will give melky five years. Yes, markakis is a year older but has been a steady, good player his whole career and Cruz , well the Mariners were the only team to offer 4 years but were desperate for his power. Just don't see it. It's one thing what he wants and what he gets(like Erving Santana as well) I agree, I think his PEDs past will limit his market to 4 years.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 3, 2014 -> 07:51 PM) JMO: the White Sox unwillingly declared that Viciedo is their starting corner OF when they offered him arbitration. I think you're way off-base here. Someone will take Viciedo off our hands for an insignificant prospect, because right-handed power is at a huge premium right now. I get he's been horrible for us the past couple years, but he's still young and has some very attractive tools. Right or wrong, it's really not that crazy to think another organization believes there is some chance they can fix him and turn him into an above-average hitter. In the meantime, he serves as OF depth until we acquire something better. Hahn isn't stupid, he wouldn't tender Viciedo a contact if he was unmovable. He's obviously talked to other GMs and determined there is some market for his services. I'm fairly certain that Hahn doesn't want Dayan as a starting OF unless all other plans fail to work out. IMO, the odds of Viciedo being on Opening Day roster are incredibly low.

Melky at 4/$56M seems in the realm of possibility now. And that's a move that makes a lot of sense for us IMO. I'd rather spend moderately big on Melky than sign one of the secondary free agent starters for similar money.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 3, 2014 -> 05:52 PM) They've also lost a lot of ticket sales since they last had that payroll. Last time they started a season with a payroll close to $120 they sold of >$10 million in salaries during the year and then cut payroll by another $20 million beyond that the next offseason. They cut payroll last year because they were in a transitional year. It didn't make sense for them to spend big on non-core pieces. Declining ticket sales may of had some impact, but I don't think it was the primary driver, especially when you consider the $25M they gained in national TV money.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Nov 30, 2014 -> 06:50 PM) Other than that, I'd rather see Sanchez traded than Semien 100% agree. Sanchez is a nice little prospect, but his upside is incredibly limited. Semien has a ton of potential with the bat, but I think his lack of loud tools causes some posters to sleep on him a bit. That and him being forced onto the major league roster last year before he was ready and struggling as a result. The kid outhit super prospect Joc Pederson in the Southern League in 2013 on his way to winning league MVP. Last year he was incredibly productive at AAA, which carried over into his second stint with the Sox last September. Marcus has pretty much dominated the upper level of the minors and deserves a legit shot at a starting job with the Sox. Giving Sanchez a starting job over Semien would be a huge mistake IMO.

QUOTE (Jake @ Nov 29, 2014 -> 11:37 AM) Samardzija WAR by year: 0.5 -0.4 -0.5 0.6 2.8 2.6 4.1 This would be like trading for Gavin Floyd in 2010/11, except Floyd was better Come on dude, I think Shark is overrated to some extent, but including anything but his last three seasons is ridiculous. All those seasons prior to 2012 he was a reliever or they were partial seasons. He only has three seasons as a starter, two I'd consider good, one I'd consider great. If you trade for Shark the question is are you getting the 2014 version or not.

QUOTE (Jake @ Nov 29, 2014 -> 11:37 AM) Samardzija WAR by year: 0.5 -0.4 -0.5 0.6 2.8 2.6 4.1 This would be like trading for Gavin Floyd in 2010/11, except Floyd was better Come on dude, I think Shark is overrated to some extent, but including anything but his last three seasons is ridiculous. All those seasons prior to 2012 he was a reliever or they were partial seasons. He only has three seasons as a starter, two I'd consider good, one I'd consider great. If you trade for Shark the question is are you getting the 2014 version or not.

If we're getting Shark & Upton, then we're giving up a f***ton more than just Anderson. And why would we empty half of our system to acquire two rentals? At least Shark is from the Chicagoland area and grew up a Sox fan. There's some chance he'd agree to extension here, the same can't be said for Upton. For better or worse, I think this Shark deal is really happening. But if more pieces are included it will be a guy like Reddick, not Upton.

If Anderson is involved, there better more pieces involved than just Shark.

QUOTE (Jake @ Nov 29, 2014 -> 10:10 AM) Semien is at least an adequate defender around the infield and has the best offensive chops of any of our minor league infielders. The first rule of baseball is not to freak out over small MLB samples. I also have no clue where you get the idea that he's had BABIP-fueled MiLB stats. He's generally had fairly low BABIP numbers. He's a middle infielder with solid defensive skills, a great batting eye, production at high levels, and back-to-back 20 HR seasons between MiLB and MLB. That's a big deal. Yup, thank you for posting this. Agree completely. It's amazing how some people on this site overreact to Semien's numbers during his first with the Sox last year. Had Beckham been healthy to start the season, Marcus would have been in AAA where he belonged. Jumping to conclusions based on those numbers is incredibly short-sighted.

QUOTE (MDWhiteSoxFan @ Nov 29, 2014 -> 07:36 AM) You are aware that Chavez is 31 already? I don't think I want Smardjza, 1. I can't even spell his name without looking it up 2 He will likely cost to much in prospects 3. He'd cost to much to keep I like the player don't get me wrong, but not the price it will cost. This is how I feel too, but it really depends on the price and what a possible extension looks like. I'm 100% going the rental route unless it's for spare parts like Sanchez & Beck, which is not going to happen. Compensation picks are nice to have, but are multiple years away from being useful assets. And even if he's willing to agree to an extension, it's got to be something that makes sense for us. I'm talking something like 5/$80M, which I don't seem him accepting. Going above that in terms of years or AAV doesn't make a lot of sense for us. At that point, we might as well go after starters in free agency, because we're starting to approach their price range and they wouldn't cost the talent Shark will to acquire.

QUOTE (Brian @ Nov 29, 2014 -> 07:23 AM) If it happens, hoping for 3 way deal, otherwise we'd probably have to give up Micah Or Anderson, right? I think Semien is the guy they'd want. Major-league ready, high OBP/solid power, can play 2B or SS. Seems like a perfect Beane type player.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Nov 29, 2014 -> 12:34 AM) He'd be a trade candidate with the Sox too if he decides to test FA or draft pick if Sox offered him a QO upon keeping him the whole year. A rental pitcher isn't a terrible idea since Rodon and others are moving up. Shark isn't going to come cheap. I could see Beane considering a package built around Montas & Semien, but that's a hefty price to pay for a rental. Hell, I'm not sure I'd want to give up that much even if he'd agree to extension given how much money it will cost us. I'd rather pay more and get a cost-controlled asset, even if they come with less of a track record than Shark.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Nov 28, 2014 -> 06:47 AM) I'd much rather have McCarthy. I'm guessing McCarthy ends up getting a deal around 3/$39M, while Masterston gets something like 2/$20M. At those prices, I'll take Masterson in a heartbeat due to durability, age, and being a better fit for our ballpark.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 26, 2014 -> 10:58 PM) Saladino isn't as good of a hitter but seems to have a much better ability to play SS. I like Semien shifting between 3b, DH, 2b, and a couple other spots next year, but we'll see. I like Semien being the starting 2B. Who do prefer over him in that role?

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Nov 26, 2014 -> 10:03 PM) I def think he got tired. It happens to a lot of guys. Conor is a nice option at 3B against RHP and he's cheap so unless he goes out in a trade that brings back more than a 2 WAR short stop or 3B that's also cheap doesn't make any sense to move him and or not play him. 3B is like 6th or 7th on the list of needs imo. I'd rank pen, starting, lf, 2b, and c ahead. Conor needs a platoon partner that man is Semian. I hope they bigger things planned for Semien than being the weak half of a 3B platoon. Give that role to Saladino.