Chicago White Sox

Fuck…forgot Robert is MIA. Engel should be in CF both games then. I’d probably throw Pollock out in RF both games. Sheets should not be starting games right now over any of our other OFs. Hell, I’m not even sure why he’s on the roster over Haseley who can at least provide defense.

Matt Moore would be fine, but not giving up Burger for a 33 year old rental reliever.

Here are my personal predictions of what will happen: CHW acquire OF Ian Happ from CHC for LHP Garret Crochet, RHP Kohl Simas, & RHP Andrew Dalquist CHW acquire LHP Jose Quintana from PIT for OF Luis Mieses & RHP Jason Bilous CHW acquire LHP Brock Burke from TEX for 3B/DH Jake Burger and RHP Luke Schilling Admittedly I don’t know if the Rangers would consider moving Burke, but I think we see some form of Jake Burger being moved for a controllable reliever and ideally a LH one. Losing Crochet would suck, but he’s limited a reliever with us and having Happ’s bat for the next 1 1/3 years would be a massive benefit. Not sure if those secondary pieces are enough though. As for Quintana, I do think we could use an insurance arm and I fully expect Jose be that guy due to price and familiarity within the organization. He’s not a splashy addition, but the price should be reasonable and allows us to give more rest to Kopech down the stretch and better protect him for a potential playoff run.

We are officially a week away from the trade deadline. The Sox are currently 4 games out of the divisional lead and 3.5 of the last wild card spot. With Tony La Russa still at helm and a weak upcoming schedule, it’s all but a certainty the Sox are buyers. The real question is what will Hahn be able to pull off and how deep into the farm system will he be willing to go to improve the major league roster. Please go ahead and post what you think will happen over the next week. I’ll be posting my predictions shortly.

Vaughn should be limited to DH this series and Sheets should be riding pine. I’d also like to see Engel get a start in RF.

I agree on the first sentence. Vaughn is literally one of the worst defensive OFs in baseball (-9 DRS in 303.1 innings) and needs to be relegated to 1B or DH. Eloy has actually been a neutral defender in LF over the past two seasons (SSS) per DRS and is a better option than Vaughn based on the eye test IMO, but should probably be a full-time DH if we ever hope to keep him healthy. I really don’t see a way to keep all three guys on the roster unless you’re willing to gamble on Eloy missing significant time for the third straight season. I don’t necessarily agree on the second paragraph. I wouldn’t trade Burger or Sheets for “whatever you can get in return”. At this point Sheets is not returning anything of value and is better served as 1B or DH depth down in AAA. The same applies to Burger, although he’s shown enough flashes of becoming a quality DH that he may be movable for something helpful (likely bullpen help). As for Yaz, until a better option presents itself, he’s still my lead catcher heading into the 2023 season. Got to hope with better health that the non-framing components of his defense also improves. I’m good with him covering 1B & DH as the starters need a rest there. I think the last point is most critical. There needs to be a bigger priority placed on defense, especially in the OF corners. Entering the season with a RF platoon of Vaughn & Sheets was the definition of insanity and both have been predictably terrible out there. This team desperately needs a legit RF who can play defense and hit for power from the left side. That could end up being Colas, but that doesn’t help us right now and his uneven track record with conditioning suggests he may eventually end up in LF. As such, I wouldn’t let his presence stop me from adding a quality major league RF with Colas eventually assuming LF, although I’m doubtful will consider anything beyond a rental for RF.

Must win game. Honestly, I’d love to win both at Coors, then sweep the A’s, and have a nice 7 game win streak heading into the deadline. Tony is going to need wake the fuck up and actually inspire these guys to give them all.

I think plenty of teams would take him, but the returns would likely be very minimal.

I’m curious, but did we all forgot these famous Menechino quotes? Is anyone really surprised by this team approach given Frank’s view on hitting?

Montgomery, Colas, plus something else good if I had to guess

Cardinals have so much young talent it’s crazy. I agree they seem like the favorite assuming there is interest there.

So let’s say the Sox acquired Soto for Vaughn+++. How would you construct the lineup? I feel like I’d bat him 2nd and then do something like this. Anderson, SS Soto, RF* Robert, CF Abreu, 1B Jimenez, DH Grandal, C# Pollock, LF Moncada, 3B# Big Energy, 2B I know it’s not going to happen, but it’s crazy how much adding one elite left-handed bat transforms the entire lineup.

I think they finally have a top down approach for hitting development and have also gotten more modern. Seems like for a stretch the onus was on the player to figure things out themselves or proactively seek help from their hitting coach. I think the function under Barkett & Johansen is much more proactive.

He’s closer to the “fun arms” group, but I expect him to start in AA next year so excluded on a technicality.

The fact he can play 2B & OF is interesting, but how is he defense at 2B and RF specifically? I haven’t seen him much in the field, but advanced metrics don’t appear to love his defense.

Bell’s bat would be nice, but I don’t see the fit position wise. His cost will be interesting to monitor as he is a legit impact bat, albeit a rental with limited defensive utility.

What do you think a hypothetical Happ trade would look like?

In the absence of “Trade Winds”, I’m creating a much maligned catch-all thread.

What is a mega poster and why are they mad?

That’s a steep price to pay for Benintendi ?

What a stud…he better be on top 100 prospect lists by the end of the season.

Alright just one more

Yeah, should be a real fun group. Upper minors still lacking pitching depth though, but got to give it time I guess.