Chicago White Sox

Collins, Burdi, & Hansen were all top 100 prospects at one point. Is it Hostetler’s fault they hit developmental roadblocks or that Hahn didn’t trade before their value eroded? A few years ago Collins and Hansen could have been the #2 & 3 pieces in a possible Yelich deal. While the book is still out on Hostetler, I still think player development and self scouting are the far bigger issues at the moment.

Just need Rick to buy in now ?

My free agent expectations are far from dropping. I have never once claimed we’d add Cole. I said we should do everything in our power to sign him, but have always conveyed it being unlikely given Jerry’s concern with years. I think Bumgarner and Wheeler will likely get five years max (Wheeler probably less) and that should be doable for us. As for Ozuna, we’re unlikely to add both him & Grandal to long-term deals. My plan is prioritizing Grandal because he solves the left-handed bat problem. The only reason I included Puig is you might be able to get him on a pillow contract and buy a year to see what you have in Walker, Rutherford, etc. If he wants a multi-year deal, then I’m filling RF via trade. I love Ozuna’s bat and think he’s definitely signable this offseason, but I’d need proof his arm is healthy and has returned to form to seriously consider him. Again, his addition also makes adding a left-handed bad challenging.

They will 100% spend big money this offseason. To me, the only free agents that seem to be a stretch are Rendon, Cole, & probably Strasburg (and I still believe they pursue both pitchers). Ultimately I see them settling for Bumgarner (who I like but is seriously overrated around here) or Wheeler (who I think is criminally underrated here) as their primary starting pitching upgrade. I fully expect a second rotation addition simply due to our lack of depth and Wood would be a fantastic option, although I could see them going cheaper there. Assuming we keep Colome & Bummer, I think only one bigger bullpen addition will be needed (Betances is a guy I’d love to add) as I’d expect Lopez to likely move to the pen at some point. I fully expect Abreu back on a two year deal (in the $25M to $30M range). I still think they pursue Grandal to fill the left-handed void in the middle of the lineup and as a plus he won’t cost us a draft pick. Him, McCann, & Collins could basically rotate between C & DH for half a year until Vaughn is ready. They will also most definitely acquire a RF upgrade one way or the other, with a stopgap like Puig (until Walker or one of the AA guys is ready) a potentially cheaper option. I do like your Nimmo trade idea as well depending on the price. So in summary let’s say you add Bumgarner ($20M), Wood ($10M), Betances ($12M), Grandal ($20M), & Puig ($12M). That’s ~$75M in payroll added to a base roster that’s probably sitting around ~$55M after extending Abreu and bringing back Rodon. All in you’re looking at a payroll of ~$130M, which would basically be league average. Lineup: Madrigal (2B), Robert (CF), Moncada (3B), Jimenez (LF), Abreu (1B), Grandal (C/DH), Puig (RF), Anderson (SS), McCann/Collins (DH/C) Bench: Garcia (UT), Cordell (OF), Mendick (IF), Collins/McCann (BC) Rotation: Giolito, Bumgarner, Cease, Wood, Lopez (*Kopech to start in AAA) Bullpen: Colome, Bummer, Betances, Fry, Herrera, Marshall/Hamilton, Covey/Banuelos (*eventually Lopez) That seems completely doable to me and would be a team that should challenge for the AL Central title and/or second Wild Card spot in 2020.

I believe my prediction was Colome for Gohara and I would love that despite his current health concerns.

And there it is...thanks.

The Athletic had some quote from Rick on a few guys and he basically said no Robert in 2019.

I’m sure it was already posted here, but Hahn pretty much confirmed we won’t be seeing Robert until 2020.

Vaughn is the future at 1B, so that won’t be an option for Eloy. And Hahn has made it perfectly clear they have no interest in moving him from LF anytime soon. Down the road that may change and by then Abreu will be long gone.

Statcast would disagree with you. The quality of contact has been great this year, with Jose posting the highest barrel %, exit velocity, & hard hit rate over his past five seasons. They actually think he’s been unlucky this year, with his wOBA 22 points below expectations. The problem with Jose is he’s drawing less walks and making less contact than usual. He may be selling out other parts of his game to gain more power, which with the juiced ball may make sense. IMO, he’s still a ~ wRC+ 120 hitter and that still has plenty of value. He should be moved to DH if retained though, that I agree with. And I wouldn’t give him more than a two year extension.

You’re vastly underselling his power potential IMO, especially when you factor in the juiced ball. I think he settles around 10 HR’s a year ultimately with plenty of doubles & triples.

The Sox are going to be hard pressed to get a TOR starter via trade even with Madrigal or Vaughn as the centerpiece. The secondary pieces are just not that valuable at the moment.

Are you including Abreu in that $50M?

There is zero reason we can’t go out and sign Bumgarner or Wheeler. They will get five years max (probably less with Wheeler) and that’s something we can easily do. We didn’t miss out on Machado because of the AAV, we missed out on him over the years.

Pretty simple, Hahn didn’t want to commit any long-term money or use any of his prospect currency just yet. Next offseason is a totally different story and to suggest an Ivan Nova caliber starter is the best they’ll do is hating just to hate. And by no means am I suggesting will acquire the right guy ultimately, but he sure as shit will commit significantly more resources than the $9M and lottery ticket Ivan Nova cost.

No offense, but this is straight garbage. By all means question whether they’ll add a legit star in free agency, but there are multiple tiers of free agents better than Ivan fucking Nova. If that’s what you truly believe, then you might as well turn in your fan card in right now as the rebuild would be completely doomed.

What does the 2017 draft have to do with anything?

Hal Steinbrenner operates much differently than his father. While by default they should probably be the favorite, they are far from a sure thing. Their financial situation isn’t as rosy as it might seem if they continue to operate like they have in recent years.

They aren’t moving Eloy to 1B (or DH) anytime soon, they seem committed to Collins at catcher, and Reed is nothing more than a flier. Vaughn is the future at 1B, but after that I’d say Sheets is the most likely to contribute at 1B/DH and we have some time with him. Giving Abreu a 2/$25M extension makes a ton of sense IMO.

Not at all. I think he’s around because we still need a placeholder at 1B/DH until Vaughn is ready (even if we bring back Abreu).

Him being risk adverse or even cheap is completely different than wanting to suppress long-term salaries across the sport as Harold suggested.

You really seem to have an irrational hate of the dude. Like I’m no fan, but you to take it to another level.

Let me ask you this, has there been a more desirable starting pitcher in recent memory? I just don’t see why he doesn’t get as much (or more) as pretty much any other starter before him.

He’s now 83 years old, not sure suppressing player salaries is high on his to-do list at the moment.

Can they though? The Yankees haven’t really shown a huge willingness blow the luxury tax out of the water and I think they’ll be creeping up to it very quickly with no major additions. I show their luxury tax patroll at ~$142M for just nine players (I’m excluding the 17M owed to Chapman, as I’m assuming he opts out). Add $17.5M for benefits & minor league numbers and suddenly they’re at ~$160M vs a tax threshold out of $208M. So here’s where things get complicated. Chapman will likely opt out. Gregorius, Betances, Sabathia, Gardner, & Encarnacion are all free agents. Paxton will be getting a raise from his 2019 $8.6M figure. And most importantly, Judge & Sanchez will finally be hitting arbitration (amongst a few others). Those two plus Paxton will eat up a good chunk of the $48M they have below the tax threshold. IMO, unless the Yankees are prepared to be a serious tax payer (which they haven’t demonstrated under Hank but obviously possible), they’ll be hard pressed to resign guys and/or fill their holes plus add a guy like Cole.