Chicago White Sox

As bad as Rick Hahn is, I can’t see that happening, although the Royals angle does add some possibility to it.

I don’t want to keep Big Energy. My point is we should strive higher than Merrifield or just go with the young guys we already have.

Why not just keep Josh Harrison at that point? Either go young or do something big like Vaughn+ for Jazz.

I just know in my career that I’ve worked with smart / talented people who routinely need a push to give their best. Moncada comes off as that type of player and I think Sleepy Tony La Russa’s management style was the worst possible fit for someone like Yoan. IMO, hiring Grifor will help Moncada more than any player on the roster. He gets who Moncada is based on his “need to get him back to walking 80 times a year” comment. Yoan will never be a perfect player, but if we can turn him back into an OBP machine who provides plus defense at 3B he will be a 4 win player.

I think people feel Moncada will revert closer to form because he’ll be playing for a manager with a pulse who will actually push him to give his all everyday.

While there is some merit to each of these points, it’s not as dire of a situation as you’re presenting. Here’s what needs to happen this offseason to make the Sox a playoff team in 2023: Hire a manager who will demand a strong effort every day and who will not adhere to outdated, old-school baseball tendencies - COMPLETE Hire a hitting coach who will install a hitting philosophy centered around power & OBP and not just contact - COMPLETE Continue to modernize the training and strength & conditions staffs - SOUNDS LIKE THERE ARE PLANS FOR THIS BASED ON WHAT HAHN WAS WHISPERING TO GRIFOL DURING PRESS CONFERENCE Develop & execute off-seasoning training plans for all players - CAN ACTUALLY HAPPEN NOW WITHOUT LOCKOUT & WILL HAPPEN PER GRIFOL Stop playing 1B/DH types in the OF - HAHN CONFIRMED WILL HAPPEN Improve the lineup’s balance with LH hitters who can hit quality RHP - TBD Add a legit SP to the major rotation and find some pitching depth for AAA - TBD Of the seven off-season priorities, two are complete and three more appear to be happening. For the first time in forever, I actually feel like what’s needed to get the most out of this existing roster will be in place. The big questions are will Jerry spend the money to fill our remaining holes with quality options and is Hahn actually capable of identifying & procuring the right talent. Both of those remain to the he seen and are reasons for pessimism given their track records. But that being said, I think we’re going to see much better performance out of the guys we already have. The negative impact that Tony had on our team last year can not be understated.

Conforto + Senga would be my main adds. I’d look to deal Leury and see if I can find a player with little value who better fits the roster. Brad Miller would be risky, but would make more sense for our team if we decide to go young at 2B.

Yeah, that probably feels more realistic than what I suggested.

I doubt he gets more than one year deal with a player option and even that might be pushing it. Dude hasn’t put up a productive season in two years.

I’ve already accepted it’s time to move on from Jose but any team willing to give him that contract is legit insane.

I really liked what I heard yesterday. At a minimum, Grifol should be a massive improvement over Tony and will get a lot more production out of certain guys. Feels good to finally have hired a manger with modern tendencies.

Yeah, it’s highly problematic, but Paddy has made strides overall in LA. Just happens more of those guys are coming from Cuba & Venezuela. Going to need Popeye to break the barrier on the Dominic side.

Selecting Velus Jones in the 3rd was a mistake and there isn’t really much of an argument there. Him developing into a quality NFL WR based on his age and production profile would have almost been unprecedented. Other 3rd round WRs pick not immediately providing production doesn’t change any of that. But the mistake I’m referring to when I say “glad Poles made up for it” is not providing Fields with enough weapons. I said this before the draft many times, but I wanted the Bears to take Pickens in the 2nd. He was a 1st round talent who was going to fall to the 2nd for reasons unrelated to ability and was the only guy we had a shot in the draft who could provide immediate production. Whether you like Jones or not, he was never going to be that guy this year and it’s really hard to get a fair read on Fields when he has the worst WR room in the NFL. Adding Claypool greatly helps in that regard even if he’s not a true WR1.

People called out the Velus Jones pick as being terrible the second it was made and that was almost immediately confirmed since playing. I’m a big Claypool guy despite the lesser results as of late, but Poles should have drafted Pickens in the 2nd instead of reaching of Velus and now having burn a second on a guy who will quickly get expensive. That being said, I’m glad Poles made up for his mistake and got Fields a legit weapon.

What’s funny is the Phillies did a poor job of developing their core, but went out and got the necessary pieces to supplement (four of their top five players this year based on fWAR were acquired via trade or FA). If Rick Hahn was just better at capital allocation and focused on adding impact talent we’d be a monster now. We could basically have Harper & Wheeler right now and it would only cost us Keuchel, Pollock, Velasquez, Kelly, & Leury. Unfortunately Hahn and his staff couldn’t build an effective farm system and used free agency as a crutch to add depth that more times than not brings little value to the table.

Why is it the Sox only poach non-player personnel from the Royals? Buddy Bell and Chris Getz on the player development side and now Grifol on the coaching side of things. I get it, we don’t sit in on these interviews, but I’d feel much better hiring from a best in class organization and not the Kansas City Royals. That being said, at least Jerry didn’t circumvent the process and Hahn can finally be held accountable without the TLR crutch to fall on.

Damn I’d feel much better about things if the Bears just took George Pickens in the 2nd round.

100% going to be Kevin Long.

That’s because the roster was filled with power hitters thanks to KW. Ozzie still loved small ball where possible and pushed for a roster that reflected as much as he gained more power in the organization.

While Washington would be a great hire as bench coach, I don’t think the Braves would let him go for what is essentially a lateral opportunity. Honestly, I’d be ok with Cairo as bench coach if Long is brought onboard. Let Katz & Hasler handle the pitching. Have Kevin replace the rest of the staff.

Every other team has filled their manager role except us. The Sox have come out and have explicitly stated that Espada isn’t the guy. Just feels like it has to be Long by default. And given how much our positional guys underperformed last year, hiring an offensive oriented guy as manager makes some sense.

To be fair, Leury was more like 50% above market.

Who did they pay 10% above market for?

I’ve heard similar. I think the issue with Frank is he cared more about his own stats / legacy than actually winning games. That’s not to say he didn’t want to win, but he wasn’t going to give up playing 1B or shift his spot in the lineup for the better of the team.

I literally know nothing about Grifol, but taking a guy from a losing organization who happen to have a manager opening themselves would make me very unexcited.