Chicago White Sox

But why? If all goes well, we’re drafting Roch at the 1.01 next year and that will push Colson to 3B. Okamoto is a luxury we don’t need at the moment.

Yeah, he hasn’t lost any raw power or speed. This has all come down to pitchers adjusting to him and he not figuring how to adjust to them until recently.

A wildly undisciplined hitter is going to struggle significantly when he’s part of the worst offense in major league history which was the case two years ago. He has worked hard these past two seasons to improve his plate discipline, but pitchers could simply pitch around him and it impacted his overall results. However, in the second half of last year, things really started to click as the talent level around him improved a ton. He suddenly went from a K rate in the 29% to 35% range against RHP down to the 16% to 18% range. The reality is Robert can be a well above average hitter due to his power, but in order to get the pitches he can actually punish he needs some other decent hitters around him. I don’t see why that’s unreasonable.

Not sure I follow the sulking or motivation angles here. I think Robert works hard and would benefit from being part of a winning team like all players would. Health is the ultimate wild card if you hold onto to him, but I’m taking that gamble if all I can get is scraps right now. If you can get Petty and a comp lick then you make the trade and find a way to add another OF.

His chase rate has improved two straight years and his BB rate was actually above league average for the first time last year. He’s made legit improvements in terms of plate discipline vs. where he was a few years ago. With a stronger lineup around him he should get better pitches to hit and be able to utilize his raw power much more efficiently. I expect him to rebound with the bat next year, but have much less confidence in his ability to stay healthy.

You trade Robert (and cash) right now if you can get real value. Otherwise, I’m holding until the deadline and hoping for a big rebound. Acquiring a bunch of relief prospects or utility guys doesn’t do it for me.

Hill has a split contract that will pays him $450k if in the minors and $900k if in the majors (which is basically the league minimum). I’m still not convinced he’s in the majors unless we trade Robert and then he’d be part of a CF platoon most likely with Baldwin. Bleday can’t play CF anymore, so it’s really apples & oranges here. Doesn’t mean we couldn’t have signed Bleday, but he’s more of a corner OF guy at this point.

They certainly need more offense and the OF is probably an easier spot to add at for them. I do think adding a legit CF makes a ton of sense for them still, but there is starting to be a roster crunch there.

Honestly, bad for Robert given where he used to be but a great sign for the broader group. Having a lineup full of league average hitters or better should help raise the floor of this team substantially. I also think some of these projections are very pessimistic, in particular Colson & Teel.

Feels that way.

Cross them off the list then

If we can keep Robert, I think this lineup has a chance to be good next year. But the outfield is a potential weak spot and our depth there is atrocious. If we trade Luis, we have to add another corner OF to the mix.

Updated post Murakami signing: Lineup: Meidroth, 2B | 108 wRC+ | 3.2 fWAR Teel, CA* | 106 wRC+ | 2.0 fWAR Montgomery, SS* | 98 wRC+ | 2.6 fWAR Vargas, 3B | 107 wRC+ | 2.3 fWAR Benintendi, LF* | 103 wRC+ | 0.7 fWAR Robert, CF | 96 wRC+ | 2.0 fWAR Murakami, 1B* | 118 wRC+ | 2.1 fWAR Quero, DH# | 104 wRC+ | 0.8 fWAR Baldwin, RF# | 101 wRC+ | 1.7 fWAR Depth: IF: Sosa | 93 wRC+ | 0.9 fWAR IF: Mead | 94 wRC+ | 1.5 fWAR IF: Antonacci* | 92 wRC+ | 1.9 fWAR OF: Pereira | 89 wRC+ | 0.8 fWAR OF: Hill | 85 wRC+ | 0.8 fWAR OF: Peters* | 81 wRC+ | 0.5 fWAR

I was 100% wrong on him exceeding the option…no doubt about that. But at the end of the day, that wasn’t the bet my friend nor was it even the spirit of the bet. You thought Fairbanks was going to easily clear $20M because of some ridiculous Spotrac forecast and that did not happen. You also thought the Sox wouldn’t sign someone for more than $17.5M in total contract value and that did happen. Ultimately, we must hold one another accountable for our words & actions. A bet was agreed to and a ban must be issued accordingly now that the dust has settled. I respect your courage to actually put some skin in the game and look forward to future interactions come Opening Day. 圣诞快乐，新年快乐！

Mods - @caulfield12 has lost both of the above bets and has agreed to sit out the rest of the offseason. As such, please proceed with his temporary ban at your soonest convenience. Thanks in advance and hope y’all have a Merry Christmas.

He had a 119 wRC+ against RHP in the second half of the season last year. He has sneaky speed and was ok defensively in CF in his first go at it based on advanced metrics. To me, there is a very useful player here. His fWAR was bad because of poor defense in many other spots (mostly OF corners), but I think with time that will change. I think his floor is a quality utility guy and his ceiling is a first division regular if he can find a spot where he can excel.

Sosa isn’t going to lead the team in HR’s & RBI’s with Colson up for a full season and with the addition of Murakami. Not suggesting we get rid of Sosa, but being the team lead last year is somewhat arbitrary given injuries, promotion dates, and player profiles. The bigger issue with making Sosa the everyday 2B is he did most of his damage against LHP. I still like Meidroth’s potential value vs. RHP more than Sosa’s when you factor in all facets of the game.

He beat the option value

I’m actually ok with Baldwin being the guy in CF if we move Robert. I’m certainly not against trading for a CF prospect if the right deal came along, but don’t really see the allure of trading for a 29 year old CF with two years of control. If we need a cheap placeholder somewhere, go get that guy in free agency. Otherwise, trades need to focus on controllable players IMO.

What in the f*** is happening in this post. You’re a good dude caulfield, but you also bring on a lot of negative energy towards yourself by posting mindless slop like the above.

Friedl would move to LF…problem solved

Honestly, I’d be ecstatic about the idea if I were a Reds fan. Prospect hugging B tier guys while shooting for 80 wins doesn’t seem like a lot of fun to me. I’d much rather take a calculated risk and hope Robert can stay healthy and return to form offensively (which he flashed prior to injury last year) in a new environment.

JFC…what a terrible trade.

Lots of Robert talk on the Reds forum recently. Most posters seem very unexcited about the idea and do the “I’ll take him if the Sox cover half his salary and he costs nothing in terms of prospects”…lol. The reality in my mind is the Reds need to take a big swing via trade in hopes of landing an impact player or risk being stuck in baseball purgatory for the near future. I think Robert is the perfect move for them because he won’t cost a premium prospect but comes with a very high ceiling if all goes right. Fans don’t normally love that, but a GM who is handicapped by their cheap owners and is feeling some pressure to win may feel differently. I think if a deal happens before OD, it’s very likely going to be with Cincinnati.

He had a 115 wRC+ from August to October. That being said, I don’t use bWAR but assuming he must have had a lower value on his defense than Fangraphs. On the defense side, he did switch over to LF for the first time in his career and that might have caused some defensive fall-off. Ultimately to me he looks like a declining player but one with a little bit of juice left. Maybe $8M is a bit too high for what will likely be limited production, but seeing Lane Thomas get like $5.5M indicates it’s a weak OF market and guys will get a premium.