Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Oct 18, 2014 -> 12:31 AM) So I'm really starting to wonder if I really want Markakis to be signed anymore, at least for any substantial money. I keep asking myself, okay, if I were to offer Markakis 3 yrs/$39M, would I be okay with offering De Aza anything close to that? And I keep telling myself, HELL NO. I feel like I would go 2 yrs/$16M w/ De Aza if I was forced to make him a real offer. The thing is, I wouldn't want to ever offer him anything other than a 4th OF spot for pennies. So it's hard to tell myself that I'd pay Markakis that much more. The player De Aza was for us from 2011 to 2013, is not the player he is today. A lot of his value was tied to his ability to play a solid CF, which is no longer the case. He's now a platoon corner OF, which has some value since he represents the strong half and provides very good range. But let's not use history to gauge his value now, because he's no longer the same player.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Oct 18, 2014 -> 01:14 AM) Ben Zobrist is such an unfathomably weird advanced metric player. He puts up the craziest WAR totals and it never quite seems right. He is like the Javier Vazquez of position players when it comes to advanced metrics. We "should" have to give up the farm for a guy who is 5+ WAR every single season, but for some reason I just don't feel comfortable trading major pieces for Ben Zobrist. It's hard to even come up with a fair trade in my head because everything I'd WANT to give up for him is far less than what his production dictates he SHOULD get from us. He is 33 years old, so that should be noted as well, but....I guess I'll throw this out there..... Carlos Sanchez, Frank Montas, and Chris Beck? I feel like his numbers are worth way more than that, but I just can't bring myself to want to give up more. Even if you believe his WAR figures are accurate, he's 33 years old and has one season of team control left. No way you give up that package for him. In fact, that package might be able to land you a guy like Jay Bruce, who is younger and provides multiple years of control at a very reasonable price.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 03:19 PM) So what? 98% of big free agent pitcher contracts turn out TERRIBLE. Let's take his six best years and let some other team deal with him. That has been the point I've been arguing all along. View him as a six year asset, which is perfectly fine, but don't waste one of those seasons in the bullpen.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 01:02 PM) Media memes die SO slow. Clearly, our team has no problem dealing with Boras at this point. We can all see that now, right? We may not have a problem dealing with Boras like we used to, but that doesn't change the fact that he typically takes his clients to free agency and attempts to get top dollar for them. And quite frankly, he's very successful at doing that. The reality is if Rodon is as good as advertised, he's likely going to get a contract in free agency that will be above our risk tolerance. I'm actually quite astonished this many people are finding this notion hard to believe.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 12:07 PM) 1) Rodon is just as likely to stay here as he is to leave. If you honestly feel this way, then you're completely ignoring history. Both in terms of what Boras clients have demanded (signed for) and the size/length of contacts the Sox have given to pitchers. Sure there is a small chance that Rodon fires Boras or forces him to agree to an early extension, but if he does reach free agency he's pretty much as good as gone. Therefore, you manage the asset accordingly and derive as much value out of it as you possibly can over the next 6+ years.

I can't comprehend why anyone would want to waste an entire year of Rodon in the pen. We're talking about a guy that most likely (say 90%) will be leaving our organization as soon as he can test free agency. On top of that, it's not like we have 5 quality starters preventing him from being a productive member of our rotation next year. Furthermore, he would fail to build up arm strength and would unlikely to provide us with an innings jump in 2016. The whole idea is absolutely mind-boggling to me.

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 07:22 AM) what will the sox do if all 3, Sanchez, Johnson and Semien have a good spring? QUOTE (SCCWS @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 07:28 AM) DEFENSE-DEFENSE-DEFENSE.. Probably Sanchez gets the nod. I seriously doubt all three guys will still be with the team come spring training. My guess is Sanchez is moved as part of a deal to land us a left-handed bat.

Offseason Moves: 1) Sign Melky Cabrera to 3 year/$45M deal 2) Sign Justin Masterson to 1 year/$10M deal 3) Sign Andrew Miller to 3 year/$22.5M deal 4) Trade Danish, Sanchez, & Ravelo for Jay Bruce ($12.5M AAV) 5) Trade Viciedo, Davidson, & Beck for Yasmani Grandal ($1M) **Total payroll added about $46M 1. Adam Eaton, CF 2. Marcus Semien, 2B 3. Melky Cabrera, LF 4. Jose Abreu, 1B 5. Jay Bruce, RF 6. Asivail Garcia, DH (rotating) 7. Conor Gillaspie, 3B 8. Yasmani Grandal, C 9. Alexei Ramirez, SS IF: Luery Garcia IF: Tyler Saladino OF: Moises Sierra BC: Tyler Flowers #1: Chris Sale #2: Jose Quintana #3: Justin Masterson #4: Carlos Rodon #5: John Danks CL: Andrew Miller SU: Chris Bassitt SU: Jake Petricka MR: Daniel Webb MR: Eric Surkamp/Scott Snodgress MR: Zach Putman/Javy Guerra LR: Hector Noesi/Scott Carroll

QUOTE (BaconOnAStick @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 12:24 AM) Giving up Viciedo, who hits 20 HR a year, for Grandal (PLUS WEBB) is silly. That would be a great trade for us. And I'd be more worried about Webb coming back to bite us in the ass than Viciedo.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 08:25 AM) I would call him up after 5 starts in Charlotte, assuming he's throwing fine (which I think he will be). He'll be working on command or stretching out his arm or something, but the reality is just that the Sox want to extend their time with him. I could not care less about his Super 2 status, but I do care about maximizing his service time with the Sox. 100% agree with this. Get the extra year of service time, but don't worry about the Super 2 deadline.

I'd have some interest in CarGo, but the proposed offer in the OP would be a huge overpay. We're talking two legit top 100 prospects, another former top 100 prospect coming off a very solid season, and a pitching prospect that has a greater than zero chance of becoming of a back of the rotation starter. Add in CarGo's insane contract and health issues and it would be a very bad trade IMO. In today's environment where teams overvalue prospects, a package that includes Johnson, Montas, Hawkins, & Beck should get you a much better asset in return. That player may have the same ceiling as CarGo, but should be much safer bet of reaching it and without the incredibly large salary.

People need to accept the fact that there are few bargains in free agency and filling needs by trade will be costly in terms of talent. Melky is a guy who has posted wRC+ above 118 in three of the past four seasons. There aren't many of those guys available in free agency and those that are available will cost significantly more than Cabrera. His past baggage will ultimately reduce his price. Sure there is risk involved in signing him, but if his contact is limited to three years, then I think that risk is pretty small given our financial situation. Also, we have a huge opportunity right now to fill needs without giving up tons of minor league talent. There are guys out there that I'd much rather have than Melky, but when you factor in the cost of acquisition those deals end up making a lot less sense for us IMO. The other alternative is to wait for all these magical bargains to appear out of thin air while wasting the production/surplus value that guys like Sale, Quintana, Abreu, & Eaton are currently providing.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 10:48 AM) All I am saying is that this is fine and that should be the target level. Why in the world should that be the target level? We should looking to add the best RHP that we can afford within reason. A back-end starter may be the only option that ultimately makes sense, but limiting ourselves to a #4 caliber starter for whatever reason you're coming up (too much pitching depth?...lol) is absolutely stupid way to approach this offseason. Our goal should be to add as much talent as possible, not worrying about who goes 2 to 3 months into the season if Rodon is as good as advertised.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 10:40 AM) And you're not breaking up the rotation if the team is near 1st place, and you're not taking the big money guys out of the rotation. Something's gotta give. Conveniently, there's a way to make this work if we target the right type of guy in FA. Dude, your over-valuing of Hector Noesi is incredible. He may be a solid #5 starter, but he's more than expendable if Rodon is as good as expected. We're talking about one of the best minor league pitching prospects in baseball. Hahn will find a spot for him if it makes the team better. A guy like Noesi should have no impact on the decision unless he flat-out exceeds expectations, which very unlikely IMO.

The one positive to Melky's past PED use is that it should limit the overall contract length. My guess is he gets something like 3/$45M and maybe even a little less in terms of AAV if he's given a qualifying offer. I really don't think anyone will be willing to go four years with him due to his baggage. While I do have some concerns about Melky going forward, I think the deal I mentioned above is a no-brainer for us.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Aug 29, 2014 -> 09:29 PM) I agree with all of this, except no no no absolutely not to Leury Garcia as anywhere near being the full-time SS. Agree 100%. I don't even want him on the major league roster next year, let him get regular playing time in AAA so his bat can maybe develop into passable for a reserve infielder.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 15, 2014 -> 03:54 PM) Erik Johnson is very much below Matt Davidson right now. Matt Davidson having a terrible season due to some mental and technical issues I can understand, but I don't know how mental and technical issues make your fastball lose that much velocity. He's not a big league pitcher until he gets his fastball back. If he can do that then he's right back to being a potential rotation contender. Erik Johnson may be below Davidson right now, but I think he has a much better chance of returning to form in the long-run. Johnson most likely had some sort of injury last year that caused him to lose his stuff. I think it's far more likely he gets healthy next year and his velocity returns than Davidson being able to make the necessary adjustments to overcome his significant contact issues.

I don't see how Victor Martinez is out of our price range. We'll have a good $40M+ to work with and Martinez at $16M/per is easily doable and would leave plenty of money to fill other needs. The question is he simply worth that price tag given his age and projected performance. If I had guess, I'd say 50% of this board would be willing to sign Martinez for 3/$48M, myself included. Tough call to make, but I think he's one of the few free agents worth spending big on, at least if the contract is limited to three years. And I'd easily prefer doing that deal than giving LaRoche 2/$24M.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 13, 2014 -> 08:49 PM) If he's as bad as he was last year and shows no improvement with his fastball next year he won't be worth a 40 man spot. Those are some big ifs to be making a year out. And let's be honest, plenty of garbage has a found a way to stick on the 40 man roster longer than their shelf life. There is little doubt IMO that Johnson will be given an entire year to rebound, former top 100 prospects aren't discarded so quickly.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 13, 2014 -> 08:36 PM) Johnson has absolutely no trade value based on his performance this season. None whatsoever. He's a DFA candidate in the eyes of every trade partner, if someone really liked him they just have to wait a few months. DFA candidate? Dude has options left. What in the world are you talking about?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 13, 2014 -> 10:58 AM) There was an additional $25 million in TV revenue. And the Sox don't pay for upgrades to USCF. And JR said in an earlier interview that the team will make money this season. Granted, we don't know what the payroll will be. It might be $120 million. It might be $85 million. It probably all depends on what they can get done with the guys they want on the team. Yup, regardless of where the 2015 number actually comes in at, it's pretty clear we can easily afford a $95M to $100M payroll next year if not more. The question really comes down to whether or not Hahn will have enough attractive opportunities to spend all this money.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 13, 2014 -> 07:53 AM) Maybe LaRoche if the Nationals have to move Zimmerman to 1B...or Zimmerman. Not easy to find a LH hitter unless it's Kendrys Morales. If we can trade for a legit impact hitter to play LF/RF, I'm ok with Morales at DH on a dirt cheap 1 year deal. Still would say he would be a plan B or more likely plan C signing, but I'd rather start the season with him at DH than Viciedo or Wilkins.

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 13, 2014 -> 07:01 AM) that kool. no problems here. peace. now with ref to what I was hoping for the response, was to discuss the next wave of prospects and the importance of retooling the farm system. maybe get another point of view of new prospects including the int'l prospect who the sox sign, getting their names known. You have to remember that we're just seeing the first wave of Latin American signings hit stateside. It's taken a couple years to get going, but we should see regular inflows of talent coming from that channel going forward. That alone will move us up a few ticks in the system rankings, given that we had almost no presence in Latin America for a good chunk of time.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Oct 12, 2014 -> 09:56 AM) Interesting DH possibility. But DH only. Of course, he may just be Viciedo. He's had only one good 1/2 year. We've got to improve the defense on this team, however. This may not be a popular opinion, but I think Jay Bruce solves a lot of problems for us.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Oct 11, 2014 -> 06:52 PM) I am not an ESPN Insider anymore, but Dan Hayes tweeted that the he thinks the Sox may have 4 top 100 guys this year. Rodon, Anderson, Montas and......Hawkins maybe? He say's Montas MAY be the 4th, which means there is someone in front of him. My guess is Hawkins or Adams. IMO, Adams is a clear #7 behind Johnson, Hawkins, & Danish. He's obviously an incredibly talented prospect, but his success has only come against rookie ball competition. He will shoot up the charts next year if he does well at Kannapolis. Regardless, this is the strongest #1 through #7 the system has had in a long time.