Chicago White Sox

My fear with him is two-fold. First, if his defense doesn’t get better, we are likely stuck with him in RF regardless. Second, Castellanos has never been that great against RHP and this is our last shot to address that. I don’t think we automatically need a LH hitter, but we need a guy who can do damage against righties. I’m not certain Nick is that guy.

Oh really!?! What’s his background?

Who is this guy? Really hope he’s an actual somebody because this would be fucking awesome!

So with the addition of Grandal, our long-term lineup is close to completion. Assuming Vaughn is the real deal, that leaves RF as our one long-term hole remaining as you can see below. 1B: Andrew Vaughn (controllable through 2027) 2B: Nick Madrigal (2026) SS: Tim Anderson (2024) 3B: Yoan Moncada# (2023) LF: Eloy Jimenez (2026) CF: Luis Robert (2026) RH: ?? DH: Jose Abreu (2022) CA: Yasmani Grandal# (2023) So what does everyone think we should do with this spot? What can we actually afford when you consider the financial outlook for the rest of the core? Is a legit superstar even a possibility now? What is the ideal skillset / profile you are looking for? Do we still have faith in any of our OF prospects? There are a lot of paths we could go down here, but ultimately this may be the last spot we have to upgrade the lineup over the next three years or so.

I don’t know how to tell you this, but Puig isn’t very good and certainly not worth the headaches.

Let me be on the record saying I’d be very against trading Cease. Not sure how people think we can replace him while also filling the existing holes in the rotation. If you add Betts and then sign a Wheeler caliber pitcher, we’d likely be wiped out financially.

Are you actually saying he’s not a plus baserunner? FG has him at 70 grade speed, so unless you think has terrible instincts he should probably be considered a plus runner.

He had a ~.380 OBP last year across three levels.

Big three being Robert, Vaughn, & Madrigal?

Madrigal is probably one of the safest two WAR floor guys as there can be. I know you hate him, but the odds of what you are stating above are slim to none.

I agree that it becomes much less of a realistic option. At least before if you thought his defense might be improving you had DH as a fall-back spot. Now that’s not really an option until year 4 of any deal. The other critical factor here is that RF is our last spot to fill in the lineup for the foreseeable future. If further balance is needed, whether that be an actual LH hitter or a RH who can hit RHP, that’s our last spot to do so. And Castellanos hasn’t been that great against RHP in his career and so even offensively he may not be the best fit.

I seriously doubt Wheeler gets six years.

I think they’re aiming higher than Calhoun. I know he had a solid 2019, but the fall-off potential with him is massive. Peralta would be a better stop-gap option if that’s the path they go down, but I honestly think they’ll be looking for someone controllable.

100% agree.

I think they will probably trade for one unless they can convince themselves Castellanos can be serviceable in RF.

Who would you trade then?

Just trying to stir up some discussion, but does the Grandal deal plus Abreu’s extension make a Vaughn for Mookie trade more likely? Realistically, part of the allure of Grandal was you could DH him when he’s not catching to keep him fresh. With Abreu around for the next three seasons and Vaughn a realistic option to be ready for OD 2021, things are going to get crowded quickly. And that doesn’t even account for Collins or Sheets who could still be something. I personally don’t like the idea of trading a top 25 prospect for a one year guy who seems determined to test free agency, but as we all know the Sox did explore something similar previously with Machado. And if they were going to be bold two years ago when the rebuild had a ton of uncertainty, it’s hard to completely rule out them doing something this now when the core is finally take shape and close to being to ready to compete.

OMG, stop with the storylines, Puig isn’t happening no matter how badly you want it to.

He’s certainly no Benintendi...

If you weren’t a blatant troll I’d call this post an abomination.

No there won’t be, but it’s storyline you will continue to push until we actually sign a RF. I mean, there was nothing in that article mentioning Puig and you still felt compelled to bring him up. I’m not trying to be dick, but you are obsessed with the dude my man.

Gotcha, so you’re just making up a Sox to Puig rumor.

Puig?

I hate when people hype up overpaying Jose Abreu as proof the “money will be spent”.

Oh I 100% agree. I’m still hopeful we do the right things like land Wheeler, but this Abreu has me a little spooked. And Puig would most definitely fit in that category.