Chicago White Sox

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Yeah, I’ve seen the text messages. Just cause the girl was whack job who was likely looking to profit off this doesn’t mean Bauer didn’t do anything wrong. Regardless, I will wait and see what kind of punishment (if any) MLB hands out based on their investigation. If it was truly just good ole fashioned “rough sex” then he should receive no suspension.

I hate seven playoff teams, but if you’re going to do it I do like the “pick your opponent” element of it.

Is that including Conforto?

I’d bet considerable money that one of Burger or Sheets is dealt this offseason to address the rotation or 2B.

Outside the box trade idea that will likely trigger this board but one worth discussing: Gavin Sheets + Dallas Keuchel to CIN for Sonny Gray + Mike Moustakas This trade adds ~$8M in salary in 2022 & ~$30M in 2023 assuming Gray’s team option is exercised. The assumption here is that Moustakas is used as part of a 2B platoon with Leury or Romy. Before I get completely laughed at, both OAA & UZR/150 had Moustakas as a slightly below average 2B defensively during his short stint there in 2019 & 2020 and that seems to be consistent with the scouting reports I’ve read. And regarding the bat, he had been 9% to 23% better than league average against RHP over his previous six seasons prior to 2021. Was last year an outlier due to a plantar fasciitis injury or the beginning of a steep downward trend? If my scouts & medical staff believe it’s the former and that he can still be adequate at 2B, then I think this is a move worth exploring. And just to be clear here, the focus is landing Gray while also dumping Keuchel. I’m not some huge Moustakas fan like Caulfield or Greg, but simply view acquiring him as a way to possibly kill three birds with one stone. And only taking on ~$8M in salary to address the rotation & 2B is a big plus if you’re also looking to add Conforto for RF. As for the Reds, yes they’d be leveraging Sonny Gray to dump Moustakas’ sizable contract ($34M remaining). Yes, they’d also be taking on Keuchel’s $18M salary for the year, but it’s only half of Moose’s and could possibly moved at the deadline with a rebound. Worse case he gives you some innings and then is released before his option is picked up. On the plus side, they get a major league ready bat that can slot in at DH and eventually replace Votto at 1B. BTV’s has this as a fair trade and while I think that tool is somewhat of a joke, I do feel like it’s a fairly even deal and one the Reds might accept. Whether it makes sense for the Sox is the bigger question, but still a very interesting proposal.

Vaughn is worth considerably more than a fringe TOR starter on a one year deal. We literally just acquired one year of Lance Lynn (a legit TOR) for Dane Dunning. Bassitt should come cheaper, especially when there are other teams with pitching to trade.

One name that I think is consistently underrated is Bryan Ramos and this tweet got me very excited: One interesting thing about Ramos is Law confirmed that he was dealing with shoulder soreness last year and that was a big reason he didn’t play much 3B (mostly DH with a little 2B mixed in) but that he’s more than capable there.

It’s officially prospect ranking season and with nothing else to discuss baseball wise at the moment, I thought it’d be a fun exercise to outline our own rankings. Feel free to do more or less, but 20 is usually a good number before you start getting into fringier territory. Here is my list: Colton Montgomery, SS* Oscar Colas, OF* Wes Kath, 3B* Norge Vera, RHP Jake Burger, 3B Jose Rodriguez, 2B/SS Bryan Ramos, 3B/2B Andrew Dalquist, RHP Matthew Thompson, RHP Yoelqui Cespedes, OF Sean Burke, RHP Jared Kelley, RHP Romy Gonzalez, SS/OF Jonathan Stiever, RHP Jimmy Lambert, RHP Yogurt Sanchez, 2B Tanner McDougal, RHP Jason Bilous, RHP Lenyn Sosa, SS Misael Gonzalez, OF Just missed: Micker Adolfo, Luis Mieses, Christian Mena, Wilber Sanchez, & Brooks Gosswein.

What wasn’t sexual assault? Just because something can’t be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in court doesn’t mean it didn’t happened.

They traded for Lynn with Keuchel coming off a sub 2.00 ERA season.

I fully agree we need to add a starter, but that will likely have to come via trade. If so, zero reason we can’t afford both plus a 2B. My guess is we trade for someone from the A’s, Reds, or Marlins and those guys have reasonable salaries.

One thing I think worth pointing out is that we’re in the “all-in” phase right now and our roster is worse than the one we ended with last year. The bullpen as it sits right now is stronger with the addition of Graveman and Kimbrel not possibly being worse, but we’ve lost 24 elite starts from Rodon and currently have a black hole at 2B. Point is, there is no way in hell Hahn doesn’t make some major moves once the lockout is over. As such, Conforto is far from a pipe dream. In fact, I truly believe he’s our #1 priority this offseason. I can’t stress this enough, but dude is elite against RHP when healthy, which is evident by his 143 wRC+ vs. righties from 2017 to 2020 (10th overall in MLB). And while not a great defender, he’s more or less an average RF defensively when healthy based on both scouting reports & advanced metrics. If you look at our positional group, the biggest need we have is adding a legit LH power bat who can play RF or 2B. Given what’s available at 2B in free agency, Conforto is without the best free agent target for us, especially when his contract demands should fit right in JR’s wheels house. I’ll keep shouting it, but Conforto is the biggest no-brainer target for us since Grandal & Wheeler. And I’d be shocked if we don’t make an incredibly aggressive offer to him as soon as the CBA is in place. Maybe we get Wheeler’d, but in my heart of hearts I think Michael Conforto is the starting RF on the southside next year. The fact that Levine is connecting us is irrelevant as the strategic rationale & fit is simply too strong to ignore. And the fact James has also heard us rumblings about our interest should make everyone optimistic. Get it the fuck done Hahn!!

Conforto was dealing with an injury last year.

Come on poppy, this is just terrible.

Why isn’t Jerry springing $80M on anyone? Like what does that even mean? He basically signed Grandal for that much and offered Wheeler north of $100M. Regardless, trading Vaughn for Marte and then going with a Sheets/Leury/Engel combo in RF doesn’t make sense at all to me. If you’re making that trade, then you better be going all in and that RF combo would be a major liability on day 1.

Fully agree.

Definitely possible, but I think that would be super risky with how bad Keuchel looked last year and with Kopech on an innings limit. I also think smart clubs find a way to roll with six starters. Obviously paying Keuchel $18M isn’t ideal for that type of role, but neither is relying on a guy who posted a 5.23 while averaging a sub 90 MPH fastball.

Yup, terrible game with a pretty brutal penalty that had serious implications. At the least the halftime show lived up to expectations.

Pretty much outside of Rodon on a cheap deal.

Yup. And let’s be honest, I think most people would be happy if Cespedes ended up being a solid 4th OF. As for Colas, the kid has never even played stateside. I really like Oscar’s potential, but if you’re worried about blocking him while contending for a World Series title then you probably shouldn’t be a major league GM. And finally, how many years do we need to go before Hahn realizes a left-handed power bat is a must for this offense? This team consistently gets beat up against tough RHP and that’s going to be a recurring obstacle come October. Conforto is fucking elite against RHP while not killing you defensively in RF. Given his expected price, this is the most logical free agent target since Grandal & Wheeler. Honestly, if Hahn can land Conforto, a solid 2B, and a quality SP prior to Opening Day then I’m moving back to Chicago cause this team is winning the World Series next year. Get this the fuck done Hahn!

Conforto has been one of the best hitters in all of baseball against RHP over the past half decade, so not sure we’re talking about the same player. Also, it sounds like you are scarred for life because of Adam Dunn failing which is unfortunate.

Which is why Engel is so valuable to us as 4th OF and why I was so mad they signed Eaton to be their RF last year.

I think people need to remember that the White Sox have barely begun their offseason with the only two moves being Graveman and Leury. They still need to add a left-handed power bat, a 2B, and some sort of SP at a very minimum. They will also almost certainly trade Kimbrel for something, potentially to address one of those three needs. Once a CBA happens they will be as busy as any team in baseball and I would expect multiple trades to happen because the free agent market is limited in certain areas where we need help. And regarding the financial situation, Hahn didn’t trade a cost controlled asset in Madrigal if it was going to hamstring him the following offseason. There is definitely room to spend and they will likely push the payroll to the lowest luxury tax threshold. And it’s almost certainly going to end up higher than the owners’ current proposal, so I agree we should be able to sign Conforto and address our other needs. I do think we’re going to see more trades than most people here will like, but now is the time push some chips in.

Look, it may be light, but Bassitt only has one year of control and teams are starting to show an unwillingness to part with top prospects for one year rentals. I also think that Burger probably has more value than what the big prospect publications believe. Finally, the A’s typically think outside the box a bit when it comes to trades as evident by the trade they acquired Bassitt in the first place. Regardless, I’d be willing to pay more if need be, but I still don’t think Bassitt is going to command a crazy haul.