Chicago White Sox

Oh brother

I wouldn’t say awful, but I’d give it a C-. The bullpen and bench are the only areas that you can argue are stronger than they were last year (with the bench gains driven mostly by internal development). The rotation right now is in worse shape and the lineup is basically the same. I’m hoping the the moves made so far are of the low hanging variety and a more impactful move or two will occur over the next week or so. So far, Hahn has yet to show a desire to push some chips in like he did at the deadline, but the pieces that can help us are still out there so zero reason to panic just yet. That being said, I’ve got my pitchfork on standby just in case ?

Where you seeing this?

They’ve spent nearly $30M on relievers and utility men. Those are the spots a halfway decent farm system should pump out repeatedly. Unfortunately our failures in that area are coming back to bite us.

Why is that?

We really need Freeman & Correa to sign so the market gets moving.

Nope not yet.

Why does Oakland want him?

So level setting on what someone like Sean Manaea might cost. Sonny Gray with two years of team control just went for a late 2021 1st round pick. Chris Bassitt with only one year of control went for a 2020 overslot 2nd round pick and an older, late bloomer arm. What’s fascinating is I’d probably argue that the A’s got the superior package, although Petty offers far more upside than Ginn. Regardless, neither headliner was a top 100 type yet, but has the ceiling to become one with time. The challenge is the Sox don’t have a ton of guys with that type of pedigree. Jared Kelly would be the closest as his $3M bonus was actually larger than both Ginn & Petty’s and he was a higher regarded prospect by most publications heading into each of their respective drafts. The problem for him was a disastrous 2021 season that was both short on health and results. Could he headline a trade for Manaea? Maybe if the A’s were high on him pre-draft, but you’d potentially be selling him for $0.50 on the dollar. Besides Kelly, maybe you could make a argument for Matthew Thompson plus a decent secondary piece, but he like Kelly posted poor results in 2021 and his value has taken a hit, even if his athleticism & projectability remain there. I think Vera could easily headline a Manaea trade, but the Sox aren’t moving him now when he a chance to be a top 50 prospect in a year or two. Dalquist & Burke, our next two best pitching prospects, aren’t going to be enough to headline this type of trade. Honestly, that leaves positional guys and out of all of them I really think Burger makes the most sense. The A’s are likely to lose both Olson & Chapman in the near future and will need to help to replace the power they provide. Zack Gelof will certainly be in the mix, but having another guy that can fill in at 3B, 1B, & DH makes a ton of sense. To me, Sheets flashed enough last season to be worth more than one year of Manaea, especially with the NL getting the DH now. And Colas is in a similar boat to Vera where it’s difficult to move him now when his value is likely to jump after a year statewide. Burger plus an arm like Jason Bilous seems like a reasonable package for both sides.

Carlos Martinez to the Giants on a minor league deal worth $2.5M plus incentives. I’d have to imagine Velasquez’s deal would be for a smaller guaranteed amount.

Lol…so damn true.

Daily reminder that Hahn’s first call post lockout ending warranted an obnoxious, baiting smirk. And I’m very confident it wasn’t for Kelly or Harrison. Panic if you must, but dealing with Boras takes time.

What in the fuck are the Twins doing?

Yeah, why try to get better after a first round humiliation. Thanks for expert analysis Steve!

I have no problem with someone using baseballtradevalues as a reference point, the issue is you using it as the end all because they’re “independent”. Their prospect valuations are bad and they routinely have issues similar to the Moncada one, which you fought tirelessly against for a period of time. But hey, keep taking cheap shots because you don’t like people critiquing a website you like.

Do you have an equity stake in the site? Don’t know why you take rips against it personally.

He doesn’t work for the company anymore FYI

Wouldn’t it be $19M?

I’m hoping at least

Baseball Trade Values isn’t credible.

I’m not sure how this prevents us from adding another starter. This is probably a $2M signing that sends Burr to AAA to start the year.

If the Dodgers get Cruz & Freeman then the game is truly broken

Isn’t Peguero going to the Twins? FWIW, I would trade Kelley in heartbeat for Gray.

Gray was never a true rental though…would have loved to acquire him for Kath+

Isn’t just one player?