Chicago White Sox

I’m not a huge Alberto guy, but I do think he’d go elsewhere, whether it’s a major league or minor league opportunity.

I can’t see it happening, but this is a Rick Hahn designed team and the dude loves playing his 1B / DH types out of position.

And I’m not 100% against it, but you really can’t have him and Sheets as 2/3 of your bench. And personally, I think Sheets is the more valuable bench piece at this time given our weakness against tough RHP. Also, Alberto and hopefully Romy can hit LHP while providing some defensive versatility. Obviously they won’t hit lefties as well as Jake, but that’s a sacrifice worth making IMO.

Fathom = Eloy vs the Wall confirmed

Northbrook Bob seems to be suggesting Burger will make the team. If so, then I can’t see Alberto making the roster. Sheets is a 100% lock and there is zero chance they go with him, Jake, & Hanser as their three man bench. If they go with Burger & Sheets (which seems crazy to me), then I think Romy or Leury is all but guaranteed a spot. If they go with Alberto, then it potentially opens up a spot for Billy or Haseley. I still think we end up with Sheets, Alberto, & Romy as the bench with Leury being DFAed to free up a 40 man roster spot, but Burger really remains the wild card in all of this.

I’m definitely Team Romy.

I’d wager large sums of money that Sheets makes the OD roster. Our biggest weakness has been hitting RHP and they will want to use him to give Eloy & Vaughn breaks at times. He’s also a viable pinch hitting option for Andrus & Seby late in games. I don’t like the fact that they’ll use him in the OF way more than he should, but having a LH power bat on the bench is important and Haseley is not a real option despite a nice spring.

Agree…unless you plan on playing Eloy in RF against all LHPs and that seems insane to me. But this is Rick Hahn we’re talking about so who knows.

So the more I think about this, the more I expect the Sox to go with a bench of Sheets, Alberto, & Romy. The Sox need a left-handed bat somewhere on the bench and that role pretty much goes to Gavin by default. He can fill in at 1B/DH against tough righties when Vaughn/Eloy need a day off and can technically play a bad corner OF in a pinch (the Sox will use him much more then I would out there though). As for Alberto, I’m not quite sure I get the admiration around here, but it seems like all but a certainty that Grifol will place him on the OD roster. Personally, I think spring training stats are meaningless, so a nice camp doesn’t change the fact that he has been legit bad against RHP in his career. That being said, he does hit lefties fairly well and can play throughout the infield. As much as I’d love Burger’s bat on the bench, Alberto fills a similar need offensively with far more defensive versatility. As for the final spot, this could obviously go a lot of different ways and Leury in theory should be the favorite. However, it does seem like Hahn / Grifol may be ready to move on from Leury. If so, I think you’re looking at one of the pure OFs or a true utility guy like Romy. IMO, I think the Sox would prefer the latter and don’t think they will overreact to a strong camp and go with someone like Haseley. Yes, Romy has had a rough spring, but the defensive versatility is a huge plus and I think he will at least hit LHP well next year. And the latter is a big plus when you have two LH corner OFs who will need time off like everyone else.

Isn’t that the reason we signed Homer?

Love me some D’Onta Foreman!

Committing big dollars to a 28 year old RB ahead of a deep RB draft and when three of your four top receivers are coming up for extensions doesn’t make a lick of sense. Just draft a RB in the 4th and call it a day.

I donated to this cause and I’m more than content. f*** Jerry.

Threw some money on Colas to AL ROY a few months ago and that bet looks better & better each day.

If Colas proves himself that’s totally fine, but you don’t start the season with batting anywhere but the bottom 3rd of the lineup. And he may not end up a platoon bat (I’m optimistic he won’t), but it’s only natural to give him some rope to start the year against LHP.

Yeah, I do think against RHP, he’s slots in better around 5th or 6th. He’s still a solid hitter against RHP, but the subpar OBP doesn’t work quite that well at the top of the lineup.

Tim?

Honestly, you just need to get him back to his 2021 version and he’s a damn good lead-off hitter against RHP. For better or worse, I think Tim will be the lead-off hitter this year everyday he’s in the lineup though.

Since this camp has been incredibly boring, I figured it’s time to get some discussion going on more regular season oriented topics. The first one is how would you lay out the everyday batting order. For this exercise, let’s assume Colas makes the team. Also, note that any splits I’ve referenced reflect that player’s four year averages against RHP/LHP pitching from 2019 to 2022 unless noted otherwise. Here is what I’d do against RHP (OBP | ISO | wRC+): Anderson, SS (.335 | .138 | 112) Benintendi, LF* (.344 | .146 | 107) Robert, CF (.360 | .179 | 134) (‘21) Jimenez, DH (.329 | .240 | 129) Moncada, 3B# (.341 | .178 | 113) Vaughn, 1B (.309 | .184 | 112) (‘22) Grandal, C# (.347 | .178 | 105) Colas, RF* (.357 | .162 | NA) (‘22 W-S) Andrus, 2B (.303 | .116 | 84) Here is what I’d do against LHP (OBP | ISO | wRC+): Anderson, SS (.380 | .211 | 154) Robert, CF (.403 | .242 | 172) Jimenez, DH (.327 | .228 | 124) Vaughn, 1B (.383 | .286 | 154) (‘21) Grandal, C# (.420 | .231 | 148) Gonzalez, RF (.395 | .246 | NA) Moncada, 3B# (.344 | .164 | 112) Andrus, 2B (.297 | .126 | 81) Benintendi, LF* (.349 | .128 | 105)

What are his issues?

He hit in 2021

It’s going to be brutal if Robert misses any time.

I think he can be a legit #1 WR.

?

I’m just being a sarcastic dick. I’ve never been a fan of the “trade [insert player] because he deserves an opportunity”.