Chicago White Sox

As is, I think Romy is almost forced onto the roster as utility guy and backup CF, which is obviously not ideal.

Harold has hinted at Whit, which I would absolutely hate.

What happened here?

Figured this deserved its own thread. Right now, the White Sox have four guys listed as “Outfielders” on their 40 man roster. Two of those four are the starting CF & LF. The other two are Oscar Colas and Gavin Sheets. Chris Getz has already come out and said that Oscar needs more time in AAA. That theoretically leaves Gavin Sheets as the de facto RF, which would completely go against Getz’s focus on defense we’ve seen this off-season. I would be absolutely shocked if Sheets was the primary RF to open the season. Given the lack of other options, it seems all but a certainty we will be going outside the org to solve RF. And beyond that, we probably need to add a legit 4th OF to avoid having to use some combo of Sheets and/or Romy in that capacity. AAA is mostly barren of usable OF talent, so I wouldn’t expect much immediate help from the minors either. Curious to hear how people would go about solving the OF situation both short and long-term. Obviously it’s possible for a Cease trade to help address RF, but with the rumored focus on pitching that may not be in the cards. And free agency isn’t exactly brimming with tons of quality options. I’ll share my own thoughts, but wanted to get some discussion going.

Which is why I’m very low on Norby and don’t buy our front office being interested in him. Personally, I like a lot of your second tier prospects much better than him. What’s the plan for DL Hall next year?

Technically he can pretend to play 2B correct? Or have you already moved him off the position?

@Timmy U - Random question for you, but what are your thoughts on Jacob Gonzalez? I know generally speaking he’s been viewed as a disappointment since being selected, but what is the main driver of that? Is it his unorthodox swing not flashing much power potential post draft? The below average speed and 2B/3B risk were always there from what I can tell. Given that Jacob’s plate discipline appears to be plus, it seems he should have a pretty high floor unless the power is non existent or there’s a massive hole in his swing I’m not aware of. The reason I ask is because of a potential Cease trade with the Orioles could obviously involve a middle infielder like Ortiz or Norby. If we feel like Gonzalez is a high floor guy, does it even make sense having the second piece of a trade be someone like Ortiz? I get we’re talking about a prospect with a plus glove in Ortiz and he’d allow us a lot more flexibility with our infield alignment, but I do hate that he turns 26 next year and worry he just ends up being an all glove SS who you are immediately looking to replace.

When you say Madrigal, please tell me you don’t mean Nick?

They lost their All Star closer who is probably a big reason they outperformed their run expectancy last year.

If you think that is cringey, don’t revisit the Machado thread…lol

There is a massive difference being the 70th ranked prospect from Jan’22 vs. the 70th prospect in Jul’23. Lee has seen his prospect status erode to the point he was traded for Kendall Graveman. Right now, Lee looks like a massive long-shot to even be a big league backup whereas Quero projects to be a potential starter. There is much more logic to suffer Quero’s growing pains than there is for Lee. And to be clear, I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t give Lee a shot, just saying the logic is much more justifiable in this case.

Quero was ranked 70th on Baseball America’s mid-season top 100 list. And there is a major difference. You power through a rookie catcher if you feel he has a starter ceiling. You may not feel that way when it comes to a guy who is likely a backup at best given an incredibly questionable bat. It’s two totally different situations.

Are you suggesting Lee & Quero are similar prospects?

Total waste of that arm…might as well trade him to us so he can fully live up to his potential.

Agree. I think Mac Horvath would theoretically make more sense for both sides given 3B seems to be pretty accounted for you guys. And he’s a guy who could transition to the OF if given the time in our system.

I would find it very shocking for a team to proactively tell a prospect that they won’t be traded. If this dude is making that claim, then I’d say his credibility is highly in question.

For the record, this signing has no material impact on anything and any whining is more so due to a questionable move potentially signaling a front office with a possibly questionable vision of what a winning White Sox club might look like. I hope this is all a big nothing, but given Getz is a massive wild card and wasn’t vetted against other candidates, so every little move is going to be looked at under a microscope in hopes of understanding his greater plan.

Lol…what part of my comments are disingenuous? The part where I called out your analysis for pretending Covid never happened or the part where I pointed out that there is a concept called the time value of money?

And I totally get the DeJong signing. Need a cheap placeholder at SS so you don’t feel rushed into promoting Montgomery before he is ready. And for $1M over the rookie minimum, I think having a veteran is worth it. Meanwhile, this Hill dude is best case scenario pitching like 50 total innings and offers zero upside whatsoever. Paying $1.8M for him vs. any scrap heap waiver wire add or AAAA free agent with some stuff but no control makes no sense to me. But at least he will help make Grifol’s job easier by not having to be a leader.

Any random waiver wire pickup would have more upside than this. But I’m sure this dude flashes some leather and is great in the clubhouse.

Checks multiple boxes!

I’m starting to worry that Harold…I mean Getz is in a bit over his head on this roster building thing. Like WTF does this move accomplish? I didn’t think I could be disappointed with this signing after predicting Amir Garrett but alas he we are with one most puzzling moves in my history as a White Sox fan.

Thank god Getz went outside the organization and hired Gene Watson or else we would have never thought of signing the Dallas Keuchel of relievers.

To be fair, the deal that James highlighted was a Hahn ask that involved no pitching. Hopefully Getz is bluffing on being tied to SP, but right now a Cowser + Ortiz led package goes the general rumors.