Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 06:12 PM) JEFF BERRY!!!! You're thinking of Jon Berry, easy to get the two confused.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 05:58 PM) If someone claimed Konerko, would they have to pick up the $1 million a year for the next 6-7 years on his contract? No ome will claim him probably either way, but if he wants to go somewhere, this will free the Sox to make a deal. I doubt he wants to go anywhere, but if there's an injury, and Paulie is feeling OK,you never know. Didn't we have to pay the deferred portion of Manny's contract? Regardless, I'd like to see him clear waivers and see Hahn trade him to a contender for a Jeff Barry caliber prospect. He definitely deserves one last chance at a ring as sickening as it would be see him another uniform.

I was all for dumping Dunn for salary relief earlier this season, but at this point I'd hold on to him through next year. But I want nothing to do with him after the 2014 season. He will be a 35 year old DH at that point. No thanks to that.

There is no way this guy is getting 6/90. Cespedes just got 4/36 two years ago and was basically the same age but is a 5 tool outfielder. Abreu may be a more accomplished hitter in Cuba, but he's also a 1B and an average athlete at best. A lot of teams are going to he turned off by his lack of athletism and others simply won't have a need for a 1B/DH type. The market for him will much smaller than those for Cespedes & Puig. I think he ultimately gets more than Puig since he is major league ready, but 6/60 is the max I see him getting unless the Marlins do something stupid to try and win fans back.

If our scouts believe this guy is for real, I don't see any reason why Hahn wouldn't go all out for him. We need impact bats, we have a giant hole at 1B, and you're not going to find 26-27 year old free agents anytime soon. Plus we have Viciedo and possibly Ramirez that can sell him on playing for the White Sox. Honestly, unless the price is ridiculous, I hope we make a strong play for this guy.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 09:58 AM) I don't understand what the point of taking other bad contracts is when we just dumped our own relatively decent contracts. He's 100% against signing free agents for more than 2 years, but is all for taking on half of Ethier's deal which has 4 years remaining. I wouldn't waste too much time trying to understand his plan.

This "blow it all up talk" is beyond ridiculous. We have a young, cheap, championship-caliber rotation in place and for a long time. Big market teams don't go full-rebuild when they already have the hardest part of a team built. That's just f***ing stupid. Obviously building an offense can't be done overnight, but it can be done over the course of 2 offseasons IMO. The key is developing Garcia, Semien, Viciedo, & Phegley next year. That should be the priority. Also, use 2014 to see if Beckham & De Aza can be part of the future core and either lock them up long-terk deals or move them at the deadline. And don't be afraid to make smart free agent signings, especially at positions of need in the organization. I really think Morales could solve our 1B problems on a 3 year deal until Barnum or another candidate is ready. If 2014 goes well with the young guys, then you look to use our financial flexibility to add another key piece or two. There are actually some good 3B that will be free agents prior to the 2015 season. On top of that, guys like Thompson, Jacobs, & Sanchez may be ready to contribute. Point is we don't need to blow it up to rebuild our offense. We just need to be patient with the young hitters we already have, find creative ways to add talent (young non-tender guys with upside, prospects coming off bad years, etc), and be savy buyers in free agency. It won't be easy but it's definitely doable.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 9, 2013 -> 05:49 AM) Disregard the 9 runs and 11 hits he gave up in 3 innings. The golden domer has a great xFIP. If a team would give Theo a package as if this guy was an ace, Theo should jump on it. I've never seen someone quote a stat like xFIP to justify a single bad start being better than what it appeared.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 10:27 PM) 3B, SS or 2B, lol. Anywhere and everywhere. If he hits like he has been in the minors the last two months at the next level, they'll find him playing time SOMEWHERE. 3B might be the most open position at the moment, until/unless Ramirez is traded. However, let's keep in mind how good Flowers and Phegley looked at different times...and where they both stand now. Still, nice to have SOMETHING to be excited about...even lukewarm excitement. Where does Phegley stand after 77 plate appearances?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 10:24 PM) Everyone was waiting for him to fall flat on his face a month or so ago and it didn't happen. He might fade down the stretch, but he STILL looks 100% legit. That's all fine and dandy, but you just said there would be a "spirited" debate on who you would start a franchise with Trout or Puig. If by "spirited" you meant you vs. the entire board than sure. Otherwise, everyone here would take Trout, because he's on another level.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 09:26 PM) 26 multi-hit games in his first 57. 1.023 OPS at the moment, still hanging in the 370's at .374. Trout's catching up on him, though, having had a very strong July/early August. Would be quite a spirited debate about what player you would build your franchise around of Trout, Puig and Harper. Trout has the major advantage of being able to play a very good CF...whereas Puig is better suited for the corners, especially if he keeps growing and putting on weight with that large frame.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 07:00 PM) Dumping Rios gives the Sox more cash to bid for the next Puig. The White Sox historically haven't bid on these types because historically they haven't had the flexibility to do so. Aren't Cubans going to treated like any other Latin American free agents going forward?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 06:00 PM) As I wrote in the other thread, if the Sox get their payroll down to ~$40M for '14 & '15 and will spend $75M-$80M each year they can offer ~$60M in discounts to any team that acquires a player. Say the Braves want to dump Upton's contract and there's a team willing to take him for $20M, the Sox would be able to take on the rest of his contract for the right prospects. Reinsdorf will never go for that and if you think otherwise you clearly haven't been following his ownership style. And how many prospects can we buy for $60 million?

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 05:54 PM) You don't think the organization saving money to be able to be aggressive in the FA market the following year is a good thing? Do you mean in two offseasons? If so, have you checked the list of free agents? I was skimming through the potential and it seemed pretty ugly on first glance. Also, I'm not against money in free agency this coming offseason. I'm just trying to understand what Marty thinks Hahn will do will all this money.

QUOTE (Al Lopez's Ghost @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 05:53 PM) Hahn recently said it could be used in the international market, we'll need it for next year's draft top five pick, it could be used to facilitate trades, all of which are better uses than veteran free agents on the downsides of their careers. First off, there are caps on international amatuer free agents and draft picks. Sure, that will eat up some of the money, but only a fraction of what we already have coming off the books next year plus we have $25M in revenue coming from the new TV deal. And Reinsdorf is going to let Hahn eat significant money to broker trades. He wouldn't even let him eat money on a Peavy deal, when it could have gotten us a better return.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 05:49 PM) There isn't an available free agent that can be a key piece in a rebuild for the super-inflated prices they are likely to get this winter. Say no to free agency (over 2 years.) Lol...then what's the point of your "cash is king" comment.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 05:42 PM) In the Sox situation where they have few prospects to build with and few veteran players other teams covet it would be to their advantage to have as much payroll flexibility as possible heading into the offseason. As was stated earlier in this thread, cash is king. What exactly are we going to do with all this cash?

No Sox game tonight...there's a very good chance we never see Rios in a Sox uniform again. Make it happen Hahn.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 04:39 PM) There are some disagreeing reports about how long the teams actually have. I've found articles from 2009 saying that the time to make a deal is 72 hours and the time on waivers is 48 hours, that could give the Sox maybe all weekend if the weekend isn't counted as business time. But, that could have changed in the last CBA. Either way, if he went on waivers Monday, then a deal has to be done by Saturday right?

That's fantastic that the Rangers won the claim. Definitely the best case scenario, hopefully Hahn can take advantage of the Ranger's need for a bat.

QUOTE (elwood5892 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 01:14 PM) @Ken_Rosenthal: #Rangers logical guess as claiming team for #WhiteSox’s Rios. Had interest in him in July. Cruz now suspended. Cruz, Murphy FAs end of year. This would be nice if his guess was right. Actually can get something for Rios If it's Texas then we might be in a great spot. Hahn's refusal to trade Rios for peanuts at the deadline could actually pay off now.

QUOTE (flavum @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 01:07 PM) Really hope Rios has played his last game in a Sox uniform, and get Garcia in the lineup on Friday. I would expect this to take longer than 24 hours to figure out. Even if Hahn is willing to let Rios go for nothing, he's at least going to attempt to get something of value for him. Like iamshack said, expect a 72 hour game of chicken.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 01:00 PM) They can try and work something out, but if they can't, we can just let them have him. By claiming him, they are now responsible for his salary if we are willing to let him go. Which can also create some leverage for us. Basically Hahn can say, "Either give us some prospects and we'll eat some money, otherwise, he and his $14M salary are all yours".

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 12:56 PM) Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal Sources: #WhiteSox’s Alex Rios claimed on waivers. Claiming team not known. Owed $13M next season with $13.5M club option in ’15. MORE 12:52pm · 8 Aug 13 Would be awesome if Texas claimed him.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 12:40 PM) You can certainly buy players at some level...but I think what MLB is really trying to avoid is "The Yankees sent the Marlins $100 million for Jose Fernandez", almost entirely on competitive balance grounds. You know darn well both teams would do that if it were legal. The problem isn't competitive balance, it's that organizations like the Marlins exist who care more about the bottom line than winning.