Chicago White Sox

I’ll be honest Ray, this is a completely lame defense and you come off as a company man when you can’t be critical of anything this front office does. I don’t even think this is a Hahn / KW thing, but there is real risk a 34 / 35 year old 115 wRC+ DH falls off a cliff and becomes a real problem for us both from a roster & financial standpoint. Saying otherwise is quite frankly ridiculous.

And if Abreu falls off a cliff, now we’re looking at two dead years (2021 & 2022) instead of just one. Given our track record, there is almost zero chance they take Jose out of the DH spot no matter his performance, so if Collins or even Sheets were to break out, there is simply no spot for him. And personally, I don’t believe the Sox view Collins as a catcher or he would have given more starts down the stretch over Castillo.

100% and hopefully this is coming from Jerry’s personal checkbook. Would be really annoying if this ends up hand-cuffing in the coming years.

I was saying I could see him being trade bait before and now that seems more plausible. As for this deal, I could have lived with two years at $18M/per but damn does that third year really fuck up potential roster flexibility.

Thanks for sharing @Look at Ray Ray Run, that’s exactly what I used. @Balta1701 - I’m not saying he’s suddenly a wRC+ 130 guy based on 50 plate appearances. But I saw enough from him post-adjustments and he put up good enough numbers (both in the Majors & AAA) to suggest he may be a useful platoon bat as soon as next year with plenty of room for growth. I fundamentally disagree with the idea that if we spend some money that we need to go all in right out of the gate. I want to give prospects with enough ceiling a chance to prove themselves at the major league level. Collins doesn’t deserve a long leash, but I’d like to see how he does against RHP in April & May before I write him off. And if we could land a RF with a bat like Castellanos, I think we can afford that luxury. If we end up with a weaker hitting RF, that may change the calculus a bit.

100% a troll job. He’s basically a homo-phobic version of Greg.

Interesting. No idea what the Astros have they could help us. I’m a huge Gray fan, but would definitely prefer spending the money and getting Wheeler. Did he say why we match up well?

He hits LHP pretty well, although I’d be using him at catcher on those days.

I think he gets 5/$100M and I’m hopeful it’s with us.

Post adjustments, Collins put up a wRC+ of 130 against RHP. While that’s a small sample and his BABIP was high, so was his BB rate (~17%) & ISO (.250). He showed me enough to suggest he can be a useful platoon bat next year. I’m willing to give him a couple months and see if that happens. If not, I either give Mercedes a look or simply trade for a DH type. The Yankees literally got EE for nothing but some money and we should be able to find someone to fill that role fairly cheaply if need be.

That’s way too little. Zavala & Hansen have very little value and don’t think Blake is a headliner caliber prospect for a guy like Marte.

In what world is Mazara better than Benintendi?

Step up your troll game bro.

Anderson, SS Moncada, 3B# Castellanos, RF Jimenez, LF Grandal, C# Abreu, 1B Robert, CF Collins* Madrigal, 2B That lineup wouldn’t work for you because of Collins as the DH?

Wheeler >>>>>>>>>> MadBum IMO. I personally think a lefty OF is less critical now with Grandal in the mix.

We are aiming WAY higher than Puig. You will not be willing this one into existence.

I’m literally dying right now.

Without actually checking their stats, I’m almost positive that Wheeler has been fairly durable outside the two or three year stretch he was recovering from TJS. Ryu seems to get injured & miss time almost every season, with last year being the exception. So they both have injury concerns, but different ones IMO.

I would not be signing two multi year starters. IMO, the Sox’s plan after Grandal is to sign Wheeler and then attempt for Castellanos. Combined those guys will make ~$55M. While I think we can afford another $7M to $10M starter for 2020, I think it would be tough to fit in another high paid starter in 2021 & beyond as the young core gets more & more expensive. And honestly, if you land Wheeler, you have basically have four locks for 2021 (health permitting) in him, Giolito, Kopech, & Cease. You’d then have Lopez, Rodon, Dunning, & Lambert competing for the 5th spot. You can never have enough pitching, but it doesn’t seem a need that warrants another $15M+ AAV guy in the mix.

They signed two guys with QOs in 2014 / 2015 offseason (Robertson & Melky). The real never have I would be “The White Sox will never sign a player to a nine figure contract”.

Thanks Jack...just got to hope Wheeler is next! There is still plenty of work to be done, but Grandal is a fantastic fucking start given it’s still November.

Oh I can imagine, definitely a good day for the two of us! Hopefully Wheeler is next!

Add those two plus an impactful RF, a swingman, and some bullpen depth and I truly believe we can be next year with development from the right youngsters. No guarantees obviously given the youth of our team, but we’d have a team that should be a playoff contender with enough positive variances. And let’s be honest, anything can happen if you make the playoffs.

If you assume this means Collins is our primary DH against RHP, we can now add a right-handed bat in RF and maintain enough balance.

I was literally taking a shit at work when this leaked and I ran out screaming to a bunch of people in Nashville who could give two fucks about the Sox. I can’t undersell how pumped I am about this. Him & Wheeler have always been 1A & 1B for me and landing one of them before the calendar even hits December is fucking wild. To me, this is proof they aren’t fucking around and fully expect two more impact additions (SP & RF) before all is said & down this offseason.