Chicago White Sox

Ground ball rate has ballooned up in AAA and is a legit concern

I don’t think he’ll be here very long. Think he’s a bridge for Hagen.

Grichuk can’t or at least should not be playing CF. Hill is a great defense CF. He put up 8 DRS and 5 OAA over 330 innings in CF last year. I think having two RH outfield bats is very important given the rest of the roster construction and I three works if you plan to use one at DH against LHP. I also think Acuna will eventually get demoted once more guys come back.

Lineup I’d like to see tonight: S. Antonacci, LF (L) M. Vargas, 3B (R) A. Benintendi, DH (L) C. Montgomery, SS (L) J. Gonzalez, 1B (L) B. Montgomery, (S) C. Meidroth, (R) T. Peters, CF (L) E. Quero, CA (S)

Hays is technically playable against RHP whereas Grichuk is a platoon only guy. But with Antonacci, Peters, & Braden your starting OF against RHP, Hays’ ability to be league average against them is far less important.

He has a 119 wRC+ against LHP this year and a 116 wRC+ for his career. He should be Peters’ CF platoon partner as he’s the perfect complement. He also has role player value as a defensive substitute and pinch runner. Don’t see why we are eager to rid of him.

There are very few guys at AAA with much value. Regardless, the nine guys I picked all should have some value, you aren’t selling low on them (assuming Bergolla is healthy), and aren’t critical for our near-term future. Adams is the one possible exception, but given the 40 man congestion he might be a guy the Sox look to sell. As for who is the best of the guys mentioned, I think Davis is probably the most valuable chip given his ceiling. Bergolla is a top 10 guy by many publications, but he’s much more floor than upside. Shelton had some real helium after his torrid start in W-S, but his AA debut so far has probably cooled things down a bit. To me, those are probably the three guys I expect to have the most trade value come the deadline, but a lot could change between now and then.

Because this positional group is legit and you need to augment it some with a few pitching additions. Build some momentum and try to sneak your way into the playoffs. The goodwill from doing so will pay off immensely come this offseason. There is certainly a way to buy without crippling your long term plans.

Kudos @ron883 for being all over this. Dude is on fire right now with his predictions.

Fully agree

Honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if we don’t see Hayes until the very end of the season. I liked the signing as a placeholder given the price, but at this point you can’t rely on him and just move forward like he’s not part of the plan.

I think the Sox just feel they need another power threat somewhere in the lineup with this tough stretch of games coming up. Even if Braden struggles with chasing or ground-balls, hitting a couple mistakes over the fence probably makes him more valuable than Rikuu.

Not looking good for Hays, but optioning Rikuu is definitely the right move. Intending to see Joe Rock get the call. I wonder if this will be a one & down who gives some innings and then gets sent down for a more permanent option. I feel Hagen Smith can’t be too far off if they are being this aggressive with Braden.

Big game tonight. Need to change the momentum and win game 1 of this series. It also sounds like Braden is on his way to Chicago which makes this offense that much more fun. Really hope he’s in the lineup tonight because I’m planning on going now. Let’s fucking go!!

Feels too early to me, but I’ll trust the Sox for now. Got to think Rikuu is going to be sent down.

Excellent. Not let’s get some news Shane Smith and the TJS guys who had setbacks.

Still no word on Pereira? Given he didn’t play Sunday and with a day off for Charlotte on Monday, I assumed either he was getting the call up or he had some sort of setback. Let’s pray for the former obviously.

We have to resign Murakami at all costs. Given our lack of long-term payroll commitments, I could see Jerry finally agreeing to a large contact, especially when you consider the value Muni brings in from the Japanese market. The only real concern I have is that ridiculous Vlad Guerrero contract being used as a comp. No way Jerry ever approaches anything like that and hopefully that’s not what Murakami is expecting.

Which is why I’d go the rental route.

Hagen through about 90 innings last year and 91 the year before. I’m guessing 130 to 140 is probably the target for him this year. The Sox have stated they were purposely ramping him up slowly at AAA so he could finish out the season with the big league club. 140 innings means he could make 18 five inning starts, which is how many he’d get if called up now and not skipped. That may sound like a big jump, but the Sox pushed Crochet to 146 in year 1 as a starter with his us and his previous career high was only 65.

Regarding Mason Adams, no idea what his value is right now, but if he gets back to Charlotte and performs well he’ll be worth something. Major league ready arm fully covered from TJS with three options available whenever he’s added of the 40 man will attract some teams. The Sox could obviously decide it’s better to keep him as depth (which I totally fine with). Just saying he’s a possible chip. For Schutlz, his targeted innings was 110 coming into the season. Not sure if that’s changed due to the knee injury, but theoretically he could throw another 71 innings which is the equivalent of 14 five inning starts. As for Smith, the Sox purposely ramped him up slowly so he could make it to the end of the season with the big league club. He is unlikely to give you more than five innings, but there is a chance (no guarantee) they are productive ones. As for depth, you still would have Sandlin and at some point McDougal, Shane Smith, and hopefully Thorpe are back. All four of those guys are wild cards, which is why we should probably add a rental #3 type if we are serious about competing this year. I maintain we should commit to developing Schultz and eventually Hagen (or McDougal) at the major league level this year. It will require some creativity in bullpen design from Getz, but it’s critical that we don’t lose sight of the long-term vision even if we do some buying this year.

Prospects I could see moved at the deadline: Bergolla, SS/2B Shelton, 2B/3B Mogollon, 2B Lodise, SS Smith, CA LaCombe, RHP Davis, LHP George, RHP Adams, RHP I think some combo of these guys could get you some short-term pitching help at the deadline. My guess is to land a controllable mid-rotation starter would require dipping into the McDougal, Carlson, & Fauske tier, which I’d really like to avoid if at all possible.

The Sox have a massive roster squeeze coming, which makes even 40 man roster spots precious. Right now, we have seven players on the 60 day IL. Of those guys, Teel and hopefully three pitchers (Thorpe, Bush, & Berroa) are back before the end of the season. Additionally, Braden Montgomery & Hagen Smith likely require spots at some point. That’s six guys who will eventually need to go to open up roster spots. There is definitely some fat on the 40 man that can be DFA’d with minimal pain, but adding more guys you don’t want to eventually lose control of only adds more complexity to the problem.

Very few top 100 prospects have been dealt the last couple of trade deadlines, so unless we’re going after someone akin to Skubal, I don’t think any of those guys would be in scope. Candidly, I’d also prefer hanging onto Carlson a bit longer and let him build up some value. I think we’d be selling low on him. I still think we could add some pitching by trading prospects below the guys you referenced. That being said, we’d some some guys to rebound a bit and a few others to get healthy.

I think he’s ready enough for a shot. His K rate has been insane over his past three starts and the BB rate is now somewhat reasonable. He isn’t going to give you a lot of innings anytime soon, but there is a good chance the ones he does give you are more productive than what we’re getting from Sandlin.