Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jul 3, 2013 -> 11:08 AM) Why don't you do some research before you question me on this. I don't come on this site and just spout off nonsense. Nor am I a Cubs fan. Even with their 2nd largest bonus pool, they could not sign all of the guys that they wanted. They traded for more bonus pool money. It is something that not many other teams did. That is how they found loopholes and exploited the market. I would have liked it if the Sox did something like this. These teams aren't just giving the Cubs their bonus pool money because Theo & Jed are so charming. They are trading away some of their bonus pool money instead of giving up another asset. I still don't see what loophole they are exploiting here.

I know it's a small thing, but English being Micker's first language should really help his transition to the states. Being able to communicate clearly and easily with the majority of the coaching staff, players, and everyday people will make his life so much easier and aid in his development.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 10:39 PM) It's a big move. The new draft rules really hurt the style of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer. But when you hire those guys you do it because you trust that they will be able to find the new inefficiency in the market and exploit it at all costs. They have done so with these moves. Not all of these guys will pan out but when you invest this much on the top talent some of them are bound to hit. Are you Dan Berstein? What inefficiency have they exploited here? They had the second largest bonus pool because their team sucked balls last year. That reason alone gives them an edge with the top players. It doesn't make Theo & Jed genuises.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 04:50 PM) Agreed. At this point we might as well let Ventura finish this disaster of a season out though. If Hahn doesn't wake up soon and make some deals to beef up the farm, shed salary and position his team to be competitive in the next couple years- his job needs to be evaluated as well. The dude has done NOTHING. And signing a 16 year old kid still hasn't changed my view on Hahn. I think SoxTalk has reached a new low with this post. Hahn has been our GM for a total of 8 months. That's 1 offseason and 1/2 of a real season. The lack of patience on this board is beyond incredible. Can we at least wait until after the trade deadline before we start with these empty threats?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 1, 2013 -> 05:18 PM) Rios was pretty bad in June. As we all know, it could linger with him. I would be really surprised, especially if he doesn't pick it up soon, if you could get one of a team's top 5 prospects for him. I'm shocked if you honestly believe this. Baseball is a game of ups and downs and GMs aren't going to overreact to one bad month like Soxtalk does. Teams are actually scouting him and will know if his June struggles are cause for concern (which I don't think they are). More likely, teams will see a guy who can be a difference maker in their lineup. There won't be a lot of alternatives that will offer the upside Rios does, and most of those players will only be rentals. Also, Hunter Pence landed the Giants' #2 prospect last year, which is a pretty similar comp minus a year of team control.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 1, 2013 -> 05:09 PM) Worth stressing again...the White Sox also are not forced to move Rios. He will not break the bank next year and he could be a useful cog if the White Sox field a competitive team next year. There's no minor leaguer pushing him right now, the only reason why the Sox should trade him is if they get an offer that meets their price. Exactly. People seem to forget that most players moved at the deadline are about to enter free agency, which forces sellers to make certain trades no matter the market for their players. The Sox have all the leverage with Rios. If a team doesn't meet our asking price, we can hold on to him and either look to trade him in the offseason or simply enjoy the surplus value he'll likely provide in 2014. Contenders that are desperate for an OF right now don't have the luxury of time. If they're serious about being a World Series contender and Rios potentially puts them over the top, then these teams will have to seriously consider paying a premium for him. Most organizations are going to value winning a World Series above all else and will take a gamble if they feel they're close.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jul 1, 2013 -> 04:46 PM) This is one of the stupidest things I have ever read on this site. An .800 ops is an .800 ops. He is not being paid to be the guy either. He's being paid to hit a s***load of homers and walk a lot. Clutch is bulls*** by the way. It is a myth. Gotta disagree with you here. Not all OPSs are equal IMO. If two guys have equal OPS, I'll always take the guy who has the higher OBP rather than SLG. Also, walking a lot is great, but when you hit .200, it's going to be tough to get that OBP above .305, which is exactly what's happened this year for Dunn.

People need to look past typical player valuations when discussing deadline deals. If a team feels they're one player from being a legit World Series threat, more often than not they'll be willing to pay a premium to get that player. With the new wild card rules, we now have even more buyers and less sellers than we normally would, which only increases the amount of teams willing to pay such a premium. Rios is going to be one of the few impact bats available at the deadline, at a position of need for many contenders. He's also under team control for 2 1/2 seasons at below market rates. He should be one of the most valuable players at the deadline and there's a very good chance IMO tha someone will be willing to offer something stupid for him.

QUOTE (Noonskadoodle @ Jun 30, 2013 -> 01:14 AM) It just came down to him or Q for me & with Santiagos ability to move to the bullpen I figured I would keep Q in the rotation. Just don't like 4 lefties in the rotation. But ehhh what's it matter?...None of have a clue what's gonna happen Call me crazy, but if you don't like 4 lefties in the rotation, I'd seriously consider trading Quintana right now for a crazy package. I know everyone is down on Danks at the moment, but part of me thinks him not being 100% may force him to learn how to actually pitch and help him in the future. Also, even if you could move him right now, it's going to be a simple salary dump. I'm not necessarily against that idea, but at some point you can have all the money in the world and not enough players to make smart investments in. Unlike Danks, I think we might be able to get a crazy package for Quintana. He's young, cheap, left-handed, and has a ton of service time left. He's also currently 40th overall in pitcher's WAR. If we can get a package built around two high-upside position prospects close to the majors along with a couple A ball wild cards I think I'd have to do that deal. And even if you dealt Quintana & Peavy, you'd still have a rotation or Sale, Danks, Santiago, Johnson, & Axelrod. I'd probably look into free agency for an upgrade over Axelrod, but at least you have a nice foundation (assuming Danks comes back 100% next year) to start your rebuild with.

Caulfield has accounted for 52% of the posts in this thread. I think it's safe to say he loves his Puig.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 29, 2013 -> 06:59 PM) Who are you going to play at 2B then, if Keppinger's traded? Tyler Greene or Angel Sanchez? I guess it doesn't really matter anymore, though. It's hard to say right now because we don't know what we'll be getting back for guys. I've got to believe Hahn will be targeting position players close to ready with his big pieces. If you get a middle infielder, then that's your answer. Otherwise, Greene & Sanchez become real possibilities.

QUOTE (Noonskadoodle @ Jun 29, 2013 -> 06:52 PM) Beck possibly sliding to the SS position? I would like to see him move over there for a bit & see how he performs if Lexi is moved. This is what I see happening. I really think Alexei will get moved prior to the deadline and Beckham will get a couple months at SS to see if can handle it.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 29, 2013 -> 10:20 AM) BTW, we're currently in position for the 4th draft pick. If Milwaukee wins and we lose today, 3rd. Going to be hard to get into that first or second position, though. Agree, let's get first place and likely second out of our thoughts. Third would be a nice consolation prize though.

I doubt many players have been converted to pitchers at the major league level.

QUOTE (MEANS @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 10:15 PM) f***ing beer cut off after first inning.....WTF?!?!? Honestly, if fans can't enjoy a few beers while watching this garbage; then the White Sox don't deserve anyone showing up.

Does anyone know what kind of stuff Braulio Ortiz has? I know he just moved into the rotation, but 58 Ks in 44.1 innings is absolutely fantastic.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 07:08 PM) Hawkins 0/2, 0 K's. .189. Did everyone vote for him to play in the Futures Game? Why do you find a need overanalyze his batting average every day?

Omogrosso needs to be taken behind the shed Old Yeller style.

QUOTE (MnSoxFan @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 05:28 PM) Cory McGinnis released by Bristol, 22nd rounder last year. Kyle McMillen was sent down to Bristol and Alex Powers was promoted to Kanny. Glad to see McMillen is back.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 03:06 PM) This type of move, with the Yankees taking on that contract, makes a ton of sense for both teams. It's not so much money it would hamper the Yanks, they get a lot of flexibility to cover positions in an older infield, the Sox clear salary. He even knows the AL East pitching. Exactly, the Yankees are one of the few teams that can afford a $5 million utility guy.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 01:40 PM) Mitchell wasn't a high ceiling prospect. He was a guy that struggled with contact in college that KW thought would all of the sudden learn how to hit when he got to the pros. He was a high floor prospect because he was close to being finished when he came out of college and you knew what you were getting, good speed, solid defense and power to the gaps, and he struggled to recognize breaking balls. KW was infatuated with athletes when drafting hitters over baseball players. This whole paragraph is just so wrong. Mitchell was a guy with incredible physical tools who had been unable to commit himself to baseball full-time because he also played football. The hope was that by focusing on baseball he'd be able to develop the skills necessary to become a legitimate superstar a la Carl Crawford. At no point did anyone think he was anything close to a finished product when he was drafted.

This would be fantastic.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 01:53 PM) I don't understand why we want Granderson. He's a LF masquerading in CF, he strikes out 25%+, and is becoming old and injury prone. Used to be really good, but now he'd just be a bad contract. He's exactly the type of guy you want in a transition year. Well respected veteran coming off an injury ridden and/or poor season that will be willing to take a short-term deal (1 to 2 years max) at some level of hometown discount. If all goes right, he gives you a middle of the order left-handed bat at a decent price. If not, you wasted some money on a lost season anyways. Hahn is going to at least pretend we're trying to compete next and signing Granderson would help accomplish that. Also, he would only fill in at CF in 2014 until Trayce is ready. After that, I'd give him at-bats at all three OF spots and DH.

C Phegley 1B Morales (free agent) 2B Keppinger SS Beckham 3B prospect (acquired in Rios or Peavy deal) LF Viciedo CF Granderson (free agent) RF prospect (acquired in Rios or Peavy deal) DH Dunn IF free agent IF Gillaspie OF Danks BC Flowers #1 Sale #2 Danks #3 Lincecum (free agent) #4 Santiago #5 Johnson CL Reed SU Jones SU Webb MR free agent LHP MR Castro MR Rodriguez LR Rienzo

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 11:59 AM) This is really funny. For years KW was blasted for drafting safe guys from college like McCullough and Broadway. Now he is getting blasted for high ceiling projects. FAce it for years the Sox spent all of their resources on the MLB team which left no bonus money for the draft. Now with the new rules for the draft the Sox can still allocate most of the resources to the MLB team and be competitive in the draft. The issue with the draft wasn't that the Sox had no money because they used it all on the MLB team, the problem was that Reinsdorf was best friends with Bud Selig and refused to go over slot (with few exceptions). That's what has been killing our minor league system for years. You're right about the first part. People see tons of prospects busting and demand a new draft philosophy, but fail to realize prospects are naturally expected to bust, even if you take a bunch of "safe" guys with your top picks. I actually love their new philosophy of going after toolsy/high-upside prospects because you increase your chance of drafting a superstar significantly and maximizing your potential surplus value.