Chicago White Sox

Imagine this whopper of a lineup (wRC+): Benintendi, LF* (87) Anderson, SS (60) Robert, CF (128) Jimenez, DH (105) Moncada, 3B# (98) Vaughn, 1B (103) Colas, RF* (53) Perez, CA (86) Merrifield, 2B (93) Absolutely wild how badly they fucked this up and how hilarious it is they think that Perez or Merrifield are the answers for anything.

I envision us signing Luis Severino & Frankie Montas and praying for healthy rebound seasons. The problem is even if those guys deliver, an offense where the big additions are two mid 30’s guys with ~90 wRC+ will suck a massive you know what.

I was at the airport for a few hours on Monday and thought about mocking something up, but damn is trying to build a team that is remotely competitive next year daunting. Hell, not even fun to run a “blow it up” scenario because there isn’t much to trade. Getz will have his work cut out for him.

I wanted to like this post until I got to that second sentence…lol. Unfortunately with how desperate Grifol is for a clubhouse enforcer, I feel like the price will be a bit higher than expected (especially if money is coming back).

AJ Pollock was a bad contract? He was coming off a 3.1 win season when we traded for him and came at a really reasonable cost. Obviously thinking he could play RF was a huge gaffe, but no one thought he was going to fall off a cliff with the bat so quickly. Not totally giving them a free pass there, but he would got a higher guarantee in free agency given Michael Brantley had gotten 2/$32M the off-season before at a similar age and with a similar profile. There was definitely some expected surplus value at the time of the trade. You can’t evaluate a move entirely with the benefit of hindsight.

Who is saying we will get a haul for him? I’m not even fully convinced they pick up the option, but they should have some sense of his value based on deadline discussions.

Not Steve Cishek is suggesting many core players are likely to be moved. I just struggle with what that actually looks like. Cease can still be moved for a haul, but the positional guys all have warts that limit or negate all value (outside of Robert of course). I think Eloy still has some value, but our best opportunity to get a decent piece was at the trade deadline last year. Regardless, I think it’s all but guaranteed he gets moved this off-season. I also think that Moncada & Tim could get traded, but the former will require taking on bad money to move and the latter won’t get you much in return. That being said, I think there is a real desire to nuke this clubhouse and they find a way to remove the bad apples.

I can’t stomach to read the article, but the one thing Chris must acknowledge when he goes into this offseason is there is no path to winning in 2024. None whatsoever. That point is key because it should impact what he does in free agency and the trade market. All potential moves must take 2025 & 2026 into consideration. Don’t trade any prospects for win-now pieces. Don’t go out and sign a C tier free agent to the largest contract in franchise history. When adding stop-gap/transitional pieces, focus on guys that have a profile that might warrant something at the deadline if they actually pan out. Try to avoid multi-year commitments as much as you can and push for team options where possible. Most importantly are two specific things: Seriously listen on a Cease trade this off-season. No reason to keep him around for what will still be a long shot chance of competing in 2025. He needs to be moved between now and the next deadline. If the offers are there in the winter, don’t hold and risk an injury. Do not rush the key prospects. The farm is still in bad shape despite an infusion of talent at the deadline and we need to take our time with these kids. Approach the off-season as if the minors will be providing little help in 2024 and stick to that plan until one of these kids forces the issue.

You realize by taking a “pass” on Conforto, we are now stuck with an ever worse player on a 4/$64M deal. I wish an $18M option was the only headwind left.

We have 1 1/2 SPs and only a couple relievers…$1.7M for Touki is probably a no-brainer.

I don’t follow, please elaborate

The reality is this org really loves Andrew Vaughn. Short, slow, unathletic, underachieving, and right-handed. What’s not to like from a 1B? The reality is they aren’t going to give up on him and will force him down our throats as one of the “leaders” of the team. He will be here next year, so we should just hope for the best. On the other hand, I feel pretty confident Eloy gets traded. My guess is he gets moved for a plus defensive RF with a questionable bat so that Getz can claim we’re getting “more athletic” despite adding old ass Salvy behind the plate.

Especially when Salvy eats up 27% of that amount.

Wow, I was totally wrong. Can’t wait to see what losers Grifol brings in to fix the offense.

It’s the only thing I can think of. Getz is going to have pull off a miracle to develop a competent pitching staff and perhaps it’s better to let Grifol fall on sword next year and let his replacement come in once things are in a better spot. But that may be giving Chris too much credit as he was instrumental in bringing Grifol in as manager in the first place.

The Giants may be worse than the Bears. They’re a real threat for the 1.01 if that O-Line continues to play like they did tonight.

He literally has nothing interning to say. I am completely flabbergasted that they would even consider bringing him back next year. Getz must realize that next year will be rough and he doesn’t want to burden a new manager with that type of season. No other logical reason in all honesty.

No one worth a damn is signing with the White Sox after last year. Grifol is a complete joke and it’s painfully obvious to anyone who hears him speak.

I don’t buy for a second there will be that many changes. Hassler and Boston are obviously gone, but most of the other guys outside of Katz were Grifol hires. What kind of message does it send if he fires a bunch of guys he hired after year one when he gets to stick around? Who would actually sign up to be their replacements?

Steeling from Twitter, but…Cowherd claims his “sources” have informed him that Williams and his father have a handful of franchises that he has reservations about. He insinuates the Chicago Bears are one of them.

If we can somehow land Williams, then give him everything in your power to ensure he’s successful. I’m talking about an offensive minded head coach, more weapons (MHJ at 1.2 or 1.3), and better pass protection. We should have a lot of cap space this off-season and can target both OL & DL. Go after actual impact players in free agency and then add depth in rounds 2 through 5 of the draft.

Honestly, if one of our picks ends up the 1.1, then you take Caleb Williams no matter what Fields does the rest of way. Right now, that looks very possible and could make this s%*#-show of a season worth it. But we’d also need to can Eberflus and hire a young, offensive minded head coach (Ben Johnson?).

It’s not just the QB, it’s also the coaching staff. Both are legitimate problems.

Exactly, there was nowhere to go but up talent wise. But this team is bottom three on both sides of the ball. Let’s ignore the abomination of an offense for a second. When you hire a defensive minded head coach, you expect an elite defense eventually. Last year there was no talent whatsoever and there are still big holes, but I’d still expect us to outplay our true capabilities a bit. But nope, still one of the worst defenses in the NFL. There is no rational argument for why Eberflus should be given another opportunity at this point.

The talent base is better, but the receiving core continues to do nothing. This coaching staff can’t figure out to get the offense to work.