Chicago White Sox

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”.

Agree…definitely don’t need the extra depth

What has been at this spring?

Who are three utility players you are referring to?

Can someone explain to me what Alberto brings to the table? Dude has a career 54 wRC+ against RHP. I’m not sure how that works playing beyond Andrus & Timmy.

I think there is zero chance Romy doesn’t make the team. Right or wrong, I think they plan to use him as the de facto 10th regular similar to how Tony used Leury. I really don’t see Hamilton being a realistic option with a four man bench. They should just fire Boston and make Billy the OF coach.

The question is which three guys provide the most utility based on our roster construction. Assuming Colas makes the team, the OF is filled with guys who really don’t need late game defensive replacements. Realistically, you’d want a 4th OF who can crush LHP and spell Robert in CF. I hate the concept of Eloy playing the OF too much, but he may be Colas’ platoon partner in RF to start the year. You could go with Leury who provides average defense at all three spots and put up a 104 wRC+ against LHP from 2017 to 2021. And while Romy hasn’t played a lot of CF in his career, he seems like he has the athleticism to play the position and he crush lefties (.931 OPS) in AA in 2021. Marisnick would provide probably the best CF defense of the three options, but offers very little value with the bat. Out of those three options, I definitely would go with Romy. On the infield side of things, a left-handed hitter who could provide coverage at both SS & 2B would be ideal, but we don’t really have anyone like that. As such, you’re kind of stuck with using Romy or Leury there. And whether you believe a return to form is coming for Andrus, he has never been good against RHP and that creates some value for a late inning RHP masher off the bench who can fill in some at 1B like Sheets. As for Yoan’s backup, Burger would be the perfect fit offensively but was pretty horrible with the glove last year. While I think he’s better than he showed last year, I wouldn’t be excited to see him much at 3B without more minor league seasoning. He’d be awesome as a late inning pinch hitting option against LHP though, but that is a fairly limited role. To me, it’s pretty obvious they will go with both Romy & Leury as IF/OF utility types, which probably makes the most sense if you’re unwilling to eat the rest of Garcia’s contract and bring in a player who fits the roster better. That leaves one spot for Marisnick, Sheets, or Burger. To me, I probably go with Sheets over Burger. Obviously RHP has been a challenge for us for a few years now and Gavin gives us a guy who can help some there. I’d probably play him once a week at 1B against tough RHP and then use him as a late game pinch hitter for Andrus. Not a big role, but he’d also be the primary fill-in at 1B or DH if Vaugh or Eloy were to go down. The only way I go with Burger is if they plan to play Eloy in RF more than we think. If that’s the case, then Jake could be part of the DH mix and actually be pretty valuable. Just don’t like the idea of Eloy in the OF, especially not in RF with that noodle arm of his.

He had almost equal splits last year and a 121 wRC+ against RHP before fatigue set in September.

I’m super high on Colas long-term as well, but I think he could struggle quite a bit with the bat to start the season. That being said, his defense should be a massive upgrade over the garbage we played out in RF last year.

Wouldn’t take much in pitch recognition improvement to make Yoelqui a useful 4th OF. Monster arm, can play a legit CF, and hits the ball hard when he makes contact. He could be a more power-oriented, less contact version of Engel, which is a nice piece on the cheap. But he’s got to a find a way to stop chasing balls out of the zone, as that figure Law cited was insane. To your point, there is still some hope with him because of lost development time, but this does feel like a make or break year for him.

They have little depth in certain areas, with OF, C, & SP being the main areas of concern. I actually like some of the lesser bullpen additions we made and I think we have quite a few interesting depth pieces in the IF and at 1B / DH. I’d say Robert is the single most important player next year from a health standpoint. If he goes down, we could be looking at up to a 5 win swing. At least with catcher we got Carlos Perez and with SP we got Davis Martin. Not good depth by any means, but far better than the CF situation.

Very true. I’m glad people are sleeping on us. This team needs a chip on its shoulder after the s%*#-show that was last year.

Before I go into the why, I want make something clear. The past 18 months have been incredibly difficult to be a White Sox. It started with one of the most underwhelming off-seasons in my life where Rick Hahn ignored major needs, loaded up on pricey relievers, and gave a three year deal to Leury fucking Garcia. That followed with a season filled injury, underperformance, poor fundamentals, and terrible managing / coaching. What was once one of the most promising young cores in baseball looked like it was quickly approaching the end of its competitive window. And somehow, things were made worse this past winter with another mediocre off-season where we lost the face of the franchise and found out our star closer is battling cancer. And it’s that consistent disappointment over the past 18 months that has brought my excitement and optimism for the Sox to an all time low. But sometimes when you step away a bit, you come back a bit more objective. There is still plenty of talent here, even if the roster remains flawed thanks to a GM that I don’t believe to be very good as his job and an owner that refuses to overspend to make up for that GM’s mistakes. While I’m not going to predict a World Series victory, I do think a division title will happen next year. 10 Reasons Why the Sox will win the AL Central in 2023: Pedro Grifol - There are no words to describe how bad Tony La Russa was at his job last year. Any credible replacement would represent a multi-win improvement. That being said, I think Grifol is the right man to bring out the best of this roster. Jose Castro - Similar to above, Frank “f*** the HR” Menechino was a disaster as our hitting coach. So far, Castro has said all the right things and it seems like he will prioritize utilizing the team’s raw power vs. focusing hitting lots of weak grounders. Better Health - I hate even typing this, but this team can only be healthier next year just through normalized luck. Goldy Simmons having a full off-season to work with our guys and the hiring of Geoff Head as Director of Sports Medicine will also help. Eloy at DH - The kid put up a 144 wRC+ over 84 games last year and showed why he once was a pillar of the rebuild. With the move to DH and some legit weight loss, Eloy could finally have a breakthrough season and one where he plays +140 games. Vaughn at 1B - Andrew had a 125 wRC+ through August last year, before wearing down in September and seeing his FY line drop to 113. Playing a less demanding position should allow him to endure a full season and allow him to take a big leap. OF Defense - Vaughn & Sheets were two of the worst defensive OFs in the game last year (Andrew being far & away the worst). Replacing them with Benintendi & Colas is a massive improvement. And Robert can only be better in 2023 as well. Angry Tim - Let’s be honest, this dude is mad as f*** and is already starting to think about his next payday. He is going to to motivated as hell this year and is going to bring his his A game. I fully expect him to rebound to his previous +4 win player form. A New Junior - With a new name comes new beginnings. I believe Robert is going to flash that Mike Trout lite potential next year. The 155 wRC+ he put up in 2021 is my expectation along with above average CF defense. A +6 win season is possible. The Rotation - I’m very optimistic about the group this year. We got less than five wins from Lynn, Giolito, & Kopech last year and I expect that figure to double. And while Clevinger is pure scum, I do think he’ll give us quality production at the #5 spot. The Division - Last but not least, but the AL Central is simply not good. I get the Guardians won 92 games last year, but I don’t see them repeating that despite what projection models may say. I think they’re a high 80’s win team and we can beat that.

Are or were? And if they are post Tony, who is responsible?

Looking at these roster options, I’m still very annoyed we didn’t go out and sign a quality 4th OF who hits from the right side. That lack of depth is going to bite us at some point next year.

Can’t really complain about this if he’s used properly, which should be likely winner of the OD 2B job and general infield depth. If he reverts back to his s%*# form or one of the young guys looks studly this spring, they better be prepared to move him to a reserve role. My only real concern is there being a handshake agreement that he is a lockdown starter.

In regard to the 2B battle, Rick Hahn just said Zach Remillard “has sort of been forcing the issue for a few years” and that we should see what he has in camp. Fire this guy right now. Just a complete fucking joke of a GM.

He’s going to be sub-replacement or like a 2.5 win player next year. Definition of a boom or bust like guy and I wouldn’t bet on the latter given how much he is likely to strike out.

How you think Tears of the Kingdom looks? Nintendo continues to hide so much it’s hard to get a sense of what the game is really about.

Every player healthy and in the best shape of their career should be the answer.