Chicago White Sox

Fully agree

That’s the big question though and would still require dumping a big chunk of Keuchel’s salary.

I will add if there’s a way to somehow retain Rodon & sign Conforto, that would be beyond amazing and I’d totally be ok with dumpster diving at 2B and the final spot or two in the bullpen.

Those are probably five of the biggest questions, although getting some sense of payroll expectations for next year would be the big one. The difference between say a $190M payroll and a $170M would be massive. I still think we’ll be closer to the latter and that realistically means Kimbrel is gone (which we already know) and that we can only afford one larger contract. As such, that means either Rodon returns on a QO or we sign a high end RF / 2B (with Conforto being far more realistic than the premium infielders). I think we ultimately fill the rest of our holes with cheaper internal options and C tier free agents.

Unfortunately for us, former 70 FV prospects don’t get traded for that type of package.

Agree. Plus at some point Jose will retire / be let go, which would open up 1B for Vaughn and an OF spot for Cespedes / Colas. And honestly, zero problem with those guys being depth for a couple of years and having to earn spots. Would be an excellent problem to have.

I can’t of wondered the same thing. Could Hahn be considering an exit? Seems super unlikely, but perhaps losing control to La Russa pushed him towards other opportunities. Just seems odd the end of season presser wouldn’t have been this week.

He’s about as perfect of a fit as we’re going to find for RF and I hope the Sox prioritize him accordingly this offseason. I just pray that KW & Hahn don’t somehow use Cespedes & Colas as reason to go with a stopgap. For years many of us thought one of the Adolfo, Rutherford, Gonzalez, & Basabe group would grab ahold of the RF job and we may be a few months away from all them being out of the organization. Point is we can’t bank on non-blue chip prospects becoming everyday guys, even if you have multiple of them. Go get Conforto and worry about finding space for the prospects later if need be.

He’d be an interesting addition, but if we only have $25M or so to work with, he’d take up the bulk of our money.

Thanks! Should be interesting to follow him this offseason whether the White Sox have interest or not.

@Eminor3rd - How much we thinking this kid might get?

Exactly. Romy hit fairly well against RHP at Birmingham, but no way do I hand him an everyday job right now. He should be the new utility guy who can cover a variety of positions and provide valuable depth. At some point an opportunity will present itself and make him take advantage of that before giving him an everyday role.

I’m just stating what Harold has said here and Bob Nightengale also seemed to imply it IIRC. Obviously if true that turned out to be a bad move in hindsight.

Yeah, I really wanted Escobar, but never in a million years expected Cesar to fall off a cliff like he did despite obviously flukey power numbers. And yes, I think Pilkington becomes a major league pitcher for Cleveland.

I actually was thinking about a Moustakas for Keuchel type deal earlier today, but my god was Moose terrible last year. I know he dealt with some foot injuries, but I’d probably rather gamble on a rebound from Keuchel at this point.

Apparently they didn’t like Escobar’s “medicals” and decided to slow down their pursuits.

The Sox will talk to other GMs though and have a chance to understand his market. The reality is if they pick up Kimbrel’s option they will be looking to unload him fast. Part of the reason why they had Nightengale leak their plans was to make it very clear to opposing GMs that they don’t plan to keep him long.

I think the biggest question to me is what the long-term plan is for 2B. Do the Sox view Jose Rodriguez as the heir apparent and target a short-term stopgap? If not, seems like he’s a guy you move right now to help the major league team. As much as I’d love to add someone like Semien, just seems like he’ll be too much money. Therefore, you’re either looking at B/C tier free agents like Escobar or trading for a controllable guy. The only option would be trading Keuchel and taking on an overpaid 2B. Not sure who is out there that fits the billing, but 2B seems like the biggest wild card spot heading into the offseason.

Kimbrel was 7th amongst all relievers with 2.2 fWAR last year. I don’t think fWAR should necessarily be the end-all be-all for relievers, but it does show just how good he was for the Cubs last year. His “past two seasons” were 35 total innings and he was only bad for the first 20 of them, which can be attributed to a lack of pre-season / COVID disruptions. I would wager some money that someone would take on his contract. Just not sure how much we’d get back, but probably not a whole lot.

Agree.

I mean, he just put up a 125 wRC+ in his rookie season. He has already been a productive major league hitter, the only question is can he sustain that production. And his infield pop up rate didn’t seem that crazy to me.

My point is this may come down to an either/or type situation, especially if we want to add an expensive RF like Conforto. For example, add Conforto at $15M per and bring back Tepera at $6M and we may only have $5M for a 2B, another reliever or two, a backup catcher infield depth, and rotation depth. Just struggling to see how we round out this roster without moving one of major league bats. Hopefully I’m wrong here, but I think we’re quickly going to run out of cash this offseason and will need to fill some with cheaper players acquired via trade.

What about 2B, reserve IF, backup C, and the bullpen? That’s not even to mention a rotation with two question marks and zero depth. How do you plan address those areas and keep all these corner guys around? Either you need to spend substantially more than what I’m anticipating or tap into the well and deal from an area of strength.

For Burger I’d look for a controllable reliever. The Orioles have a few guys that meet the billing. Cole Susler is coming off a great year, is controllable for the next four seasons, and will make near the league minimum next year. The Orioles don’t really have a 3B at the moment and could be super interested in someone like Burger, especially for a 31 year old reliever that doesn’t have a huge track record.

I don’t think 35 year old Abreu on a 1/$18M deal brings back a great return. And let’s be honest, there is zero chance the organization moves him. Reinsdorf loves the dude and he’s simply too important to the clubhouse.