CWSpalehoseCWS

I certainly understand this, I guess I'm just in the "one year too soon, then a year too late" mentality. So tired of seeing the Sox get burned at the DH the last few years.

Yes, I do prefer Richards over Q. He's definitely riskier, but has more upside to me. I'm also very intrigued with what Katz might do with him to enhance the crazy spin on his pitches. Health is his only concern, but he could be a great sleeper signing.

This is true. If you look past the ugly ERA, he was worth 3.5 fWAR in 2019. I wouldn't hate if they brought him back, but I do prefer other options to him at the moment. You could do a whole lot worse for your #4 starter.

Decided to look through the free agents that are of Dominican decent. Obviously there is Ozuna and Cruz, but the lesser know recognizable guys are: Jonathan Villar, Hanser Alberto, Pedro Strop, Maikel Franco, Edwin Encarnacion, Alex Colome, Danny Salazar, Nomar Mazara... you get the idea. There is no one on that list that would make Sox fans happy (maybe Colome - but that doesn't make sense for a return). I honestly think he is referring to Norge Vera, who I'm pretty certain works out in the Dominican Republic and hasn't officially signed with the Sox yet.

Am I the only one that doesn't really want Cruz on this team? Yes, he's been ridiculous and very good (especially against the Sox), but he's 40 years old. At some point he's not going to be able to keep this up, right? It would be so White Sox to bring him him only to see him completely fall off a cliff in production. I wouldn't HATE if they got him for the DH, and on paper this looks great in the lineup, but man, this feels so EE all over again.

Agreed. I can't see this team going into a full 162 game season without any sort of depth for the rotation, especially after getting burned last year. I do think they will bring someone in, but it's not going to be someone from the top of the market. Stiever, Flores, Vargas, Mike Wright Jr. are the guys next in line in the even of an injury. That's a list of completely unproven or just not very good players. I purposefully left Kopech out because we all know he's a question mark for this year coming back after 2 seasons off. Realistically, you can't depend on him for this season, and if you are, then something has gone terribly wrong. Let him force the issue instead of making him a key component for success.

Kluber currently lives in Winchester, Massachusetts. East coast makes a ton of sense to be closer to his family. If the Sox are serious, it's going to be very tough for them to convert with the Yankees involved. They'll most likely need to outbid their competition, and Kluber is really going to have to have a desire to play in Chicago. Yankees also have more glaring holes in the rotation, and therefore a more guaranteed starter role.

Agreed. Grandal is better historically against lefties over righties.

Wouldn’t be surprised if Nick Williams is an option here. Sox just signed him, he’s a lefty bat that can play the OF and is 2 years removed from double digit HR numbers. If the Sox go super cheap at DH, it wouldn’t shock me if they try to pull another Cody Asche 2.0 with this guy.

Anyone who shits their pants on the mound, owns it, and continues to pitch in the game earns my respect. Honestly kind of surprised he only got 1 year.

That seems so flawed, since at no point will he ever actually get $18M/yr.

Only 125 times? And you call yourself a fan...

A healthy Yoan makes this lineup scary. Hopefully he doesn't have too much rust going into this year.

This really shouldn't be surprising. There's quite a few arms available out there on the market.

Should be 26, 13 pitcher and 13 hitters.

Phillies.

There are plenty of viable options out there still for 2B. La Stella in particular is a really good fit for this team at 2B. I'd almost argue he's a better option than Madrigal. Trading Madrigal would most likely get you a much better arm than what is currently available in the free agent market. I'd be ok with that if that's the plan.

I don’t think he’s be the centerpiece, but if he allows you to do Madrigal + Heuer instead of Vaughn, that’s a no-brainer. True, except Dunning as a starter holds more value for me. Rangers have the higher likelihood to make out on top of that deal long-term IMO. If Lynn gets hurt or implodes that trade is going to look terrible for the Sox. I think that trade boiled down to Dunning not having as high of a ceiling as Kopech or Cease and the Sox not being able to depend on a former TJ guy for innings as the #3 on a playoff contender.

Can’t get all caught up on trading a reliever. Especially if that reliever nets you a stud rotation guy. Sox have been great at developing relievers. I like Heuer, but most people didn’t uneven know who he was at this time last year.

I wonder if they’d move Kelley instead. I really, really like Kelley, but if he allows you to do a Madrigal+Kelley deal and hang onto Cease, I think you do it.

Sonny Gray or Marco Gonzales make the most sense to me. Both cheap, controlled arms. Sox have been linked to both teams too. Hell, I feel like Gonzales pops up every offseason as a guy connected to the Sox, and he had a sneaky good 2020.

Absolutely. Initial dollar amount is a shocker, but broken down this is a decent deal. Props to the Sox for getting it done.

??? Excellent. I love this. Hopefully it's not too much of an overpay, but this is a great move for 2021-22.

One thing they all have in common: HIGH K/9 rates. Colome's 6.4/9 isn't going to cut it. Personally thats why I want a guy like Hendriks in the 9th. K's over groundouts all day, every day.

I'd be mad if the Sox didn't have a guy there. Don't exhaust any option. I'm not sure how confident I am in him being a legitimate option for the season, but it doesn't hurt to look. His age should make him lean towards contenders too, which puts the Sox in a good spot should they want to go in that direction.