Chicago White Sox

Merifield can’t hit anymore…

Man, the more I think about this, the more annoyed I get. There better be a plan here centered around some significant Cuban prospects who recently defected, because otherwise this is a colossal fuckup. And I say that as a big Paddy fan, who has probably been the most effective member of our front office when you consider the many constraints Jerry has imposed on him.

Positive value baserunner doesn’t mean smart baserunner though. Leury seems to lack baseball IQ. That pickoff at third base last year was one of the dumbest things I have witnessed in sports history.

Let’s hope so. Don’t want them wasting $2.5M on a Yolbert Sanchez type prospect because there is nothing else to use our money on.

Which is why it’s annoying we’re stuck with a homeless man’s Ben Zobrist instead of a bench player better suited for this roster.

Never forget…bottom right box

This has probably been one of Hahn’s better off-seasons from a communication standpoint. He basically told us up front payroll wasn’t growing and that large free agent expenditures were unlikely. So far, he’s exceeded the very low expectations he set. This is preferable to saying we have “unprecedented financial flexibility” and then be maxed out after signing Yasmani Grandal and Dallas fucking Keuchel.

I gotta disagree here. Leury could be the difference between Adam Duvall as our 4th OF instead of Victor Reyes. He’s just such an awful fit for this team as he can’t hit RHP (which doesn’t help us at 2B) and we have a guy in Romy who can likely do his job for league minimum. I think Leury will be way better than last year, but I think he’s been grossly overrated by this organization simply because he is “versatile”.

Go get Kemp & Duvall, sign a couple pitchers to minor league deals, and call it a day. Would this be a great off-season? Not at all, but it would probably be about as good as we could have expected assuming payroll has to be kept flat and if Hahn refuses to tap deeply into the minor league system. Lineup: 1) Anderson, SS | 2) Benintendi, LF* | 3) Robert, CF | 4) Jimenez, DH | Moncada, 3B# | 6) Vaughn, 1B | 7) Grandal, C# | 8) Colas, RF* | 9) Kemp, 2B* Bench: IF) Gonzalez | OF) Duvall | UT) Garcia# | BC) Zavala Rotation: 1) Cease | 2) Lynn | 3) Giolito | 4) Kopech | 5) Clevinger Bullpen: CL) Hendriks | SU) Graveman | SU) Bummer* | SU) Lopez | MR) Kelly | MR) Diekman* | MR) Ruiz | LR) Lambert Depth: IF) Sosa | IF) Sanchez | IF) Gonzalez | 3B/1B) Burger | OF) Reyes | OF) Hamilton | OF) Cespedes | 1B/DH) Sheets* | C) Perez | SP) Davis | SP) FA #1 | SP) FA #2 | SP ) Burke | SP) Bilous | RP) Crochet* | RP) Santos | RP) Foster | RP) Stiever | RP) Padilla | RP) Banks* | RP) Sousa*

What’s our pool this year?

Hopefully saving the $4M next year let’s us fit in a Duvall like acquisition into the payroll.

Are there a bunch of Cubans that will become available later?

Luxury tax is AAV based, so the structuring of this deal is likely more around cash concerns for this year.

Exactly. Our 4th OF could easily start 100 games next year. And as currently constructed, that’s going to mean a lot of Sheets in the corners and a lot of Colas or Leury in CF. IMO, we aren’t serious about competing if we don’t acquire a legit 4th OF who can play all three positions capably and hit enough to play in a semi regular role. Duvall just makes too much sense and I’d 100% prioritize him over a guy like Andrus at 2B.

I don’t envision Duvall getting more than $5M/$6M on a one year deal. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think his cost would be pretty reasonable.

Yes it was, but I could see Sheets get two weeks as the defacto starter to buy that extra year of control.

Cespedes would be a complete disaster offensively IMO. Honestly, I think Billy Hamilton would probably outhit him right now. Maybe he can improve his pitch recognition with time, but he’s nowhere near ready yet. Which reaffirms the need to add a legit 4th OF before spring training.

So let’s say the Sox go with Romy as the starting 2B as rumored, what would the bench look like right now? Obviously Leury & Seby are locks, but who fills out the other two spots? There isn’t really a true backup infielder unless you utilize Garcia in such a way (which goes against the little value he provides) or go with Sosa in a pure reserve role (which is not ideal IMO). And then who is your 4th OF? Leury will be part of the OF mix for better or worse, but I don’t like him as a true 4th OF type who should get quite a bit of playing time. Romy can theoretically play some OF as well but is also your starting 2B in this hypothetical. Reyes & Hamilton are simply AAA depth and should not be guys making an opening day 26 roster. To me, it’s very apparent we need to upgrade this bench. Right now, I’d assume Sheets is all but guaranteed a spot and that’s just asking for trouble. No idea who would get the other spot, but guys like Erik Gonzalez don’t cut it. If you want to go young at 2B & RF, at least have capable contingency plans in place who can also provide protection in the event of injury at other spots.

Question for the board, but what is it you needed to see from Lenyn Sosa last year to feel comfortable giving him the 2B job? I’ve seen several posters state that he needs more time in the minors, but what more does he need to accomplish there? After a rough start to AAA, he dominated the level and put up numbers consistent with what he did in Birmingham where he was one of the best hitters in the league. Sure, we could ask him to prove it out over a longer sample, but to me it’s quite clear he needs an extended shot in the majors. He 100% could fail and create a black hole at the position, but 22 year old middle infielders putting up numbers like this in the upper minors warrant a serious look. Again, Hahn should go acquire a LH bench piece to hedge this bet, but I really think we should give Lenyn a couple hundred PA’s to show us what he is capable of next year. Level | PA | BB % | K % | ISO | BABIP | OPS | wRC+ AA: 289 | 7.3% | 13.8% | .218 | .340 | .933 | 141 AAA (1/2): 86 | 3.5% | 23.3% | .074 | .323 | .600 | 58 AAA (2/2): 161 | 9.3% | 14.3% | .228 | .336 | .943 | 149 Majors: 36 | 2.8% | 33.3% | .114 | .136 | .367 | -4

Doesn’t the naming money go to the state?

If I were Hahn, I’d go sign Duvall to be our 4th OF and and trade for Tony Kemp to be part of a 2B platoon. I know Tony is coming off a subpar year with the bat with some ugly underlying Statcast figures, but he’d provide solid insurance at 2B and let Romy or Sosa rest against tough RHP at a minimum. And given the versatility of Duvall, Leury, & Romy, it seems like we could roster a bench guy who has limited flexibility (2B / LF only). Obviously this would all be dependent on the price, but I can’t imagine that Kemp would cost all that much to acquire given he’s only got one year of control left and for the reasons mentioned above. I think a C tier prospect would be well worth the hedge Tony would provide at 2B. The bigger question is can we even afford to add the ~$8.5M in salary Duvall & Kemp would likely cost. Regardless, our level of positional depth is not acceptable a the moment and Hahn better find a few pieces to help us in the event of underperformance or injury.

I’m all for adding a quality 2B or a LH bench piece who can split time, but I do think some people are underestimating Lenyn Sosa because a bad initial stint with the Sox. Time & time again he’s proven that he needs an adjustment period before being productive at a given level. Stint | PA | BB % | K % | ISO | BABIP | OPS | wRC+ A+ (1/2): 101 | 2.0% | 33.7% | .112 | .306 | .557 | 47 A+ (2/2): 236 | 4.8% | 17.1% | .169 | .364 | .849 | 126 AA (1/2): 121 | 1.7% | 23.1% | .068 | .273 | .522 | 44 AA (2/2): 289 | 7.3% | 13.8% | .218 | .340 | .933 | 141 AAA (1/2): 86 | 3.5% | 23.3% | .074 | .323 | .600 | 58 AAA (2/2): 161 | 9.3% | 14.3% | .228 | .336 | .943 | 149 Majors: 36 | 2.8% | 33.3% | .114 | .136 | .367 | -4 As you can see above, it’s taken 80 to 120 plate appearances on average for Sosa to adjust to a level and when he does he sees massive improvement in his BB, K, & ISO rates. Yes, Sosa sucked horribly in his 36 PA’s with the Sox last year, but that should not have been overly surprising to any of us based on his track record. And I get it, he wasn’t just bad, he was god awful, but we’re talking about an incredibly SSS in which he pounded the ball into the ground 14 to 15 points above his recent minor league rate (~40%) and was super unlucky in terms of batted ball luck (.161 wOBA vs. .243 xwOBA). Steamer projects him to be a league average hitter next year who also provides solid defense at 2B. And honestly, I think that’s a fairly reasonable outcome if we can give him a month or so to make adjustments without expecting him to be all that productive. Obviously there’s no guarantee with young players, but it’s very possible he can be a 1.5 to 2.0 win player as soon as next year. Again, that doesn’t mean you don’t look at upgrades or complementary pieces, but I would hate to sign a low ceiling, RH hitting veteran like Big Energy and make it harder to get the PA’s he needs. With a very interesting but higher variance prospect in Romy Gonzalez also in the mix, either go big (Brandon Lowe?), go with a LH role player (Leury for Brad Miller?), or stick with what you got.

If you can’t acknowledge the Sox have made major strides in LatAm, then you’re not paying attention. Ignoring the older Cuban signees (Colas, Cespedes, Yogurt), the Sox have seven prospects of note who should be in High A or higher next year: Bryan Ramos: 20 year old 3B signed out of Cuba who put up a 122 wRC+ as one of the younger players in High A Jose Rodriguez: 21 year old IF signed out of DR who posted a 148 wRC+ with 10 HRs and 28 SBs over his last ~250 PA’s in AA Lenyn Sosa: 22 year old IF signed out of Venezuela who put up a 141 wRC+ in AA and then a 149 wRC+ over his last 160 PA’s in AAA Luis Mieses: 22 year old OF signed out of DR who had a league leading 34 doubles in the South Atlantic League and a .824 OPS against RHP Wilfred Veras: 20 year old LF/1B signed out of DR who hit 17 HRs in the Carolina League (4th overall) and then three more for Project Birmingham Norge Vera: 22 year old RHP signed out of Cuba with plus plus fastball who posted a +13 K/9 rate and finished season with Project Birmingham Christian Mena: 20 year old RHP signed out of DR who was one of only five teenagers to throw 100 innings and had the 2nd highest K rate at 29% I can’t recall a single time in my 39 years on this planet that the Sox had this many interesting young LatAm prospects who made it above Kannapolis. And this doesn’t account for the next wave of talent that should be in Low A or Complex ball next year or a guy like Chapelli who could theoretically go straight to Winston-Salem next year.

He’s supposed to be a quality defender, but moreso to good hands, footwork, etc. vs. pure range. As such, he’s better suited for 2B vs. SS. My beef with Yolbert is simply the amount of money they spent on a guy who more or less has a reserve infielder ceiling.

Just an FYI, but Ramos is Cuban and Mena is not. Regardless, Paddy has done a fantastic job operating within the confines he’s been dealt with (Yogurt being the one obvious exception).