Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 23, 2014 -> 10:29 AM) I will say I'm just somewhat disappointed in that it seemed like this would be beginning of a new team strategy for using our position players. For first time since forever, the possibility that our DH could be switched among 11/12 position players could have happened rather than just having two 1B. In all likelihood finding a LH non 1b for this would have been extremely expensive. But, just feeling a bit of "more of this then, eh?" LaRoche was a top 35 hitter last year. I'd much rather use him as our primary DH than rotate a bunch below average hitters there. The rotating DH concept is nice in theory, but you really have to have the right guys in place for it to be effective.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Nov 23, 2014 -> 09:40 AM) I have advocated for Yasmani Grandal for a long time. He's available. The White Sox should trade for him. http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/..._Mike_Petriello 100% agree. Grandal makes do much sense for us. No idea what he would cost though.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 23, 2014 -> 07:59 AM) I think he was top 7 in the NL in HR, RBI and BB. Also, LaRoche's BB % of 14.0 ranked fourth in all of baseball last year, just ahead of Adam Dunn. However, LaRoche's K % was 18.4%, while Dunn's was 31.1%. Considering they had matching ISOs, despite Dunn having a massive home field edge, LaRoche is a clear and significant upgrade IMO.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Nov 22, 2014 -> 10:18 PM) I count approx $80 million if you include Viciedo. With 4 roster spots open- presumably an OF, SP, RP, and (backup) C. $75.6 if you don't include Viciedo. So assuming a $100M payroll and Viciedo is traded, we're right back at the $25M in available payroll that I mentioned earlier

Balta, I don't know what you're suggesting, but there is zero chance our payroll is below $90M this year.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Nov 22, 2014 -> 04:28 PM) I think they will add one more SP. Maybe an upside arm for Tank If we're serious about competing next year, we really need to add a legit #3 starter or better. Rodon, Noesi, & Danks can fill those last two spots IMO, but we another guy at the top with Sale & Quintana that we can rely on.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Nov 22, 2014 -> 04:18 PM) In the end I think Tank talk will be irrelevant anyway. Highly doubt Danks gets put in the pen. He's either moved or is the 5th starter. As a 5th starter you can do much worse than a guy who's capable of giving you strong innings a good deal of the time. With Rodon eventually coming up I highly doubt they invest "big" on a starter who will eventually be replaced. That's why I think a guy like Bassitt will start the year in the rotation then eventually move to the pen I hope you're not suggesting a Sale, Quintana, Bassitt, Noesi, & Danks rotation to start the year.

QUOTE (Jake @ Nov 22, 2014 -> 01:18 PM) Seems like the problem with Kemp is that he played atrociously, unfathomably bad defense last year. Like, Adam Dunn kind of numbers in the advanced fielding metrics Seems like he's better in RF than CF or LF, which would work for us.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Nov 22, 2014 -> 07:57 AM) Alright, I'll "stop". I realize that it is not a suggestion that fits with conventional wisdom on this board. Although I don't quite understand how regular playing time in the big Leagues "stunts" a player's development. And, I do believe that Rondon is arguably the best defensive SS in the entire Minor Leagues. That said, whom do you recommend for SS, if Alexei is traded? Semien or Sanchez. Both present much better alternatives to Rondon, even if they are defensive downgrades.

And let me point out to everyone, LaRoche was 35th in wRC+ & 28th in OPS last year, despite his significant platoon splits. This guy was damn good with the bat no matter now you slice it. He's not the chump some posters are making him out to be. The guy can really hit RHP which is exactly what we need. I'm still concerned about his age to some extent, but the more I look at this deal the more I like it.

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Nov 22, 2014 -> 08:06 AM) You're right. And they didn't. I don't see too many positives with this deal. I would've reached higher and farther. It's weird so many people here like the deal, but they didn't like Dunn. LaRoche was way better than Dunn last year and can actually play some 1B. And other than being left-handed first basemen with significant platoon splits, I'm not sure they're that similar. LaRoche is more than just a three outcome hitter against RHP. These Dunn to LaRoche comparisons are just lazy.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 22, 2014 -> 07:48 AM) jeeze, I must be missing something here. I don't know why I can't embrace him and for what is est to be his salary. Trust me, I don't want to give Headley $14M to $15M a year, but that's likely what he'll get in this market.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 10:38 PM) I still expect Headley is closer to 5/$75. Yeah, you're probably right. Regardless of the years, an AAV of $7M ain't happening.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 22, 2014 -> 07:39 AM) Oh so the Sox are done for the offseason? News to me. And they got Adam under market value for a short term which fills a need. No reason to not like the deal. Rock, what else are you hearing? Any insights on what may be coming next?

QUOTE (Lillian @ Nov 22, 2014 -> 07:13 AM) I had written earlier, that Rondon could conceivably be pushed up to the Majors, because of his defensive prowess. Defense translates at higher levels. If a SS has great hands, instincts and the arm, there is no reason he can't employ those attributes equally at the Big League level. If anything, the better groomed infields might actually improve his performance. The other point I made was that with a lineup featuring Eaton, Abreu, LaRoche, Kemp, Garcia, and Gillaspie, I think the Sox could handle a weak hitting SS. Moreover, I've been intrigued by the fact that Rondon only recently started switch hitting. I believe that it was "Northsider72" who pointed that out. Rondon has actually been pretty good batting right handed. It might interesting to see what would happen if he just went back to hitting exclusively from the right side. Please stop with this suggestion. Rondon would be so bad offensively that it would negate any value his defense would provide. On top of that, you'd be stunting his development significantly. Just an all-around horrible idea when you consider short-term and long-term goals.

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Nov 22, 2014 -> 07:18 AM) Rumors are just that. Was that prior to giving Stanton 3 billion dollars? Plus that's just one team so it's not like there was a huge demand for him, if they wanted to sign him, I would have let them. To me, LaRoche is the final piece on a contending team, a guy that can come off the bench in a pinch a hopefully be productive. I don't think he's a guy you count on as a main weapon. At least not on a good team at his age. The problem here is that you clearly haven't accepted we're in a very suppressed offensive environment. Based on both advanced metrics (wRC+) and more traditional ones (OPS), LaRoche was a top 30 to 35 hitter in all of baseball last year. That doesn't mean he will be that productive going forward, and his age is obviously a concern, but has been a much better player than you're alluding to and has a solid chance of being a very valuable member of our lineup. Also, LaRoche will never be our main weapon as long as Abreu is on the team. And I still think Hahn will another impact hitter for the OF. In reality, I think LaRoche will ending up being our third most dangerous power bat. That would be a significant upgrade vs. last year.

An interesting side effect of this deal is the impact it has on our bench. Between LaRoche & Gillaspie, we're going to need two RH reserves that can platoon with them. One guy obviously has to be an IF, the other preferably an OF. That only leaves us with one other reserve for the IF/OF if you're assuming a four man bench. It will be interesting to see how those spots shake out, especially if they don't keep Tank.

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Nov 22, 2014 -> 06:18 AM) This is a nothing move to me. In fact, it's probably an over pay. They probably cold have waited until after the New Year and signed him for 1 year at about 7 mill. I just don't think there was a huge demand for a 35 year platoon DH/backup 1b. Well there was a rumor out there that the Marlins offered 2/$20M, so I think you're pretty wrong here. One way or the other LaRoche was getting a 2 year deal in the mid $20Ms. If anything, the AAV of this deal is a bit less than I was expecting.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Nov 22, 2014 -> 01:45 AM) A trade of Alexei makes no sense after this LaRoche deal, unless Hahn is acquiring another SS from somewhere. The LaRoche deal is a "win now" move. Rebuilding teams shouldn't be signing 35-year-old DHs to $12.5M/year contracts. Honestly, it depends on what you can get back in return for Alexei. If it's a top prospect that is major league ready and fills one of our major holes, say Joc Pederson or Noah Snyndergaard, then I think it still makes sense to deal Alexei and attempt to compete in 2015. Not saying I think Alexei has that much value, but I don't think the Sox will deal him unless they get that type of talent in return.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Nov 22, 2014 -> 12:03 AM) I wouldn't mind Hahn trying to make a Danks and Papelbon swap. Maybe throw in a prospect to coerce them. Have Rodon start the season in the rotation and use the rest of the money on a left fielder. Offseason finished. Even with Rodon, we'll need another starter.

I'll say they add a catcher, most likely Grandal.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 09:48 PM) And extremely low for Headley Yeah, I'd say Headley gets double of what that poster suggested, somewhere around 3/$42M.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 08:31 PM) Kemp, Bruce and Me.Cabrera are all unrealistic at this point. Why is that??

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 08:18 PM) that tweet is hilarious. Yea, it's an impressive list...of guys...that met an arbitrary cutoff. Players credited with more than 3 fWAR over the past two seasons: not Adam LaRoche. He's going to be our DH, so who gives a s*** about his fWAR? If he can maintain his wRC+ against RHP then he'll be plenty valuable.

QUOTE (TheFutureIsNear @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 08:09 PM) Like I said, not a huge deal. I'm not worrying about it... We'll agree to disagree on a lot of that though, except I'm in complete agreement that we have a great nucleus to build around. In my opinion we are like 3/4 of the way through the rebuild and there's no point in not finishing it. I'd much rather wait it out and build something potentially great than add veterans for a wild card run and cross our fingers from there. If it were up to me this would have been another off season of trying to add as much young talent as possible. But we'll see what happens....its early still and anything can happen. But we really don't have many veteran trade chips that can get us good, young talent. Alexei is really the only guy that fits the bill.