Chicago White Sox

Oh no doubt, but Jerry won’t spend the money up-front to build a best in class product.

Reds desperately need a CF…whether they will ante up remains to be seen. My guess is he our OD CF.

He was literally the worst defensive OF in baseball and by wide margin. I put this table together at some point during the of 2022, but he was leagues worse the next worst guy (who happened to be Gavin Sheets). I know your comment was in just, but I do think it’s important just negative his OF glove and how insane it was that Hahn kept putting him out there.

I hate Reinsdorf as much, if not more, as you. I think he is a terrible owner. That doesn’t change the fact that the Dodgers’ revenue blows ours out of the water and we could never spend what they could on payroll. Not having a real salary cap sucks and this is just another example of that. If you have a problem with cheap owners, then argue for a salary floor…they aren’t mutually exclusive issues.

These takes are absolutely hilarious to me. The Dodgers spend more because they have access to revenue streams substantially above almost every other team in baseball. They spend more because they can without going into the red. It fucking sucks for parity, but alas, the MLB could give two shits about trying to have a competitive product like the NFL.

It’s an excuse for him when someone cites his career production. And I am not a Vaughn defender, I wanted to non-tender him. Me saying he’s likely a 0.5 win player is not really strong indictment of him. I just think he’s one of many players who likely be better next year…even if still a very bad regular.

I hope the Dodgers win every championship until the Sox are good again so I keep hearing how this is somehow good for the game.

He was a negative fWAR player in 2022 entirely due to being forced into the OF half his games and being by the far worst defensive OF in the game. He moved out of the OF in 2023 and was at least above replacement level. His xwOBA last year was higher than it was in both 2022 & 2023 when he was an above league average hitter. All of this is fact based and supports the key point I was making, which is that a positive fWAR projection for him is justified. I know you get off on trying to own people for nitpicky things, but this is really taking the cake.

I said I think those projections are too optimistic, but the point I’m trying to make is we have better options to fill out a lineup card than we did last season. A Tauchman / Slater platoon isn’t sexy, but it’s leagues better than playing a 1B out there and a OF who physically can’t impact a baseball at all. Catcher will be better because no one can be worse than Maldonado was last year. As for Vaughn, I agree that 1.2 fWAR feels like a stretch, but his production prior to last year is impacted by being forced into the OF. And last year, he underperformed his xwOBA by 17 points. I don’t think a 1 win type season is completely impossible for him and would still be pretty bad overall.

Hopefully there is something there that can be unlocked, but watching him play last year didn’t give me any form of confidence of him ever providing any sort of impact with the bat.

Steamer projects our positional group to put up 14.3 fWAR next year. That would have ranked 23rd overall last year, so still in the bottom 25% of teams. However, it does reflect a 20.6 win improvement over the -6.3 fWAR we got out of our positional group last year. I keep seeing people saying that this roster is worse than last year, but I really doubt that is the case. Last year’s group was the 10th least productive in baseball history per Fangraphs. Like just getting replacement production at C, 3B, & RF is worth nearly seven wins alone. And beyond that, there are plenty of rebound candidates, Robert being the biggest and most likely one even if he suffers through some injuries. The pitching staff is definitely worse on paper and is only projected for 5.7 fWAR next year. That would have ranked 29th in all of baseball last year and reflects a 4.1 win decrease from this past season for us. When combined with the positional group, that’s a 16.5 fWAR improvement YoY despite the loss of Crochet and Fedde and no meaningful external additions. I personally think the positional group projections are too optimistic, but again, just replacing the guys who had no business being on a major league roster with slightly above replacement level talent wil make a huge difference. Gun to my head right now, I think this team wins 55+ games next year. Losing Robert would change that for me, but I think a 49.5 O/U is an absolutely absurd line and everyone should be pumping the over because it’s really fucking hard to win less than 50 games in a season.

I love reading these old threads and seeing all the takes at the time. The Fletcher stuff is probably more interesting than the Horn or Thompson takes.

My only issue is if you fire Poles, you then have to go through a GM search before a HC search and I’m not sure the top candidates are going to wait out the Bears with that uncertainty. I’d rather quickly pounce on Ben Johnson and give Poles one last chance to fix the trenches before making a change.

This seems like a very reasonable deal for Torres. That being said, 2B is the last spot we need a flip guy at. Give the playing time to Sosa, Baldwin, Meidroth, or even Ramos. Need to get at least one second division regular out of that group.

1/$15M

What’s the deal with Cruz? Is he a top 50 guy in the class?

That’s what I want to know. Doesn’t sound like this is KW Jr’s old role either.

Yeah, that’s the big question to me.

Yes, which is why we have some time before AI takes over the world.

And here’s one with the Dodgers! At least we don’t have to worry about a Skynet scenario anytime soon! Here’s a potential trade scenario involving Luis Robert being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers: Trade: Luis Robert to the Los Angeles Dodgers Chicago White Sox receive: • OF James Outman • LHP Bobby Miller • INF Michael Busch Los Angeles Dodgers receive: • OF Luis Robert Trade Breakdown: • For the White Sox: The White Sox acquire James Outman, a talented young outfielder who has shown he can hit at the major league level and has strong defensive tools. Bobby Miller is one of the Dodgers’ top pitching prospects, and his power stuff could make him a future ace. Adding Michael Busch, a versatile infielder with a solid bat and the potential to contribute in various spots, gives the White Sox further depth and future pieces to build around. • For the Dodgers: The Dodgers get Luis Robert, a dynamic, five-tool outfielder who would immediately improve their lineup and defense. With Robert’s combination of speed, power, and elite fielding ability, he would provide a significant boost to their outfield and overall roster. The Dodgers are in win-now mode, and Robert’s skill set fits well alongside their already deep lineup, making them even more dangerous in both the regular season and postseason. This trade would make sense for both teams, with the White Sox getting a mix of high-ceiling young players and the Dodgers adding a proven, all-around talent to strengthen their championship aspirations.

Mock trade that ChatGPT came up with for me: Sure! Here’s a potential trade scenario involving Luis Robert being traded to the Cincinnati Reds: Trade: Luis Robert to the Cincinnati Reds Chicago White Sox receive: • RHP Hunter Greene • OF Spencer Steer • IF Noelvi Marte Cincinnati Reds receive: • OF Luis Robert Trade Breakdown: • For the White Sox: The White Sox get a young, high-upside pitcher in Hunter Greene, who has the potential to be a front-of-the-rotation arm. They also get Spencer Steer, a versatile infielder and strong hitter who can help the team in multiple positions. Noelvi Marte is one of the Reds’ top prospects, and he adds even more young talent to the White Sox system, potentially offering a future cornerstone in the infield. • For the Reds: The Reds acquire Luis Robert, who has the tools to be a five-tool star. Adding Robert to their outfield would give them an elite defensive presence and a powerful bat. The Reds have a young, promising lineup, and Robert could be the missing piece in an already potent offense as they look to compete in the NL Central. This trade would be a bit of a gamble for both teams: The White Sox get a package of high-potential players that could help build for the future, while the Reds make a big push to win now with Robert’s elite talent in the outfield.

I have no justification for the inability to spend any more. Don’t get me wrong, now is not the time to splurge on B & C tier free agents who will likely be bad by the time we have any semblance of a competitive roster in place. But I would definitely sign some bounce back guys to one year deals and hope to spin them as the deadline. Unfortunately, cheap ass Jerry doesn’t seem willing to even foot that type of bill.

But go look at our Steamer 600 projections for next year. The rotation is going to be worse no doubt, but the positional group should be substantially better even with no major outside additions. And for the record, I don’t buy all those projections, but it’s nice to see a bunch of guys in their mid 20’s with 1.5 to 2.0 win totals vs. the crap we were forced fed last year.

But winning 55 games isn’t that hard. In all honesty, Getz should probably be fired if he can’t get us there next year. As I have stated before, a team full of replacement players should theoretically win 48 games. We need 7 to 10 fWAR total from our entire roster to have a solid chance of achieving that mark. Yes, that’s a 14 game improvement, but we underperformed our Pythagorean by 7 games last year. We also have a lot more players that project to be above replacement level than we did last year. Tauchman & Slater are older, boring, low ceiling players, but could easily represent four win improvement over the disaster that was RF for us last year. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to hype up 55 wins, but I don’t believe you have to be an optimist to see a normal really bad team vs. the worst in baseball history. But yes, I fully agree with you, I want to talk about the kids. The dumpster dives serve a purpose, but untimely don’t change the long-term trajectory. Hopefully once games start we’ll have some better topics to discuss, whether good or bad.

I thought that’s what David Keller was brought on to do?