professa

CJ Cron to the Rays. Corey Dickerson DFA'd...I say we give Dickerson a flyer!!!

Per Cafardo's column, here's the excerpt from MLBTR: "The Giants, White Sox and Royals “will likely keep inquiring” about Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. throughout the offseason, Cafardo contends. Each of San Francisco, Chicago and Kansas City have pursued Bradley recently, but the Royals already had Lorenzo Cain occupying center when they went after JBJ in 2015. Now, with Cain likely to depart via free agency, the fit between the Royals and the affordable Bradley is obvious. However, it’s fair to wonder whether the Royals have a good enough farm system to put together a deal for Bradley, who’s controllable through 2020 and will make around $5.9MM next season." https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/11/cafa...zimmermann.html You would think Abreu would have to be a part of this, no?

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ Jan 21, 2017 -> 04:53 AM) There are a few players and pitchers that might surprise us and change the rebuilding equation, at least in terms of the timetable. I have a few favorites of mine that I think might be in that category - players that no one expects much from, and then end up over performing expectations. First one is Omar Narvaez. Omar came up briefly last season and showed that at least he can hit the ball. I think he has some upside and he is just 24 years old. Tyler Saladino in my opinion played a decent second base and made some unbelievable plays going up the middle. He also had some clutch hits and started hitting with some power. I would have him as my starting second basemen, then possibly play Moncada at third and Frazier at first. That would leave Abreu to share 1B/DH (until one is traded). Matt Davidson started hitting very well in ST last year. I wonder if he could possibly play LF. If he could, then switch Melky to RF where his arm would be more valuable than it has been in LF. Then DFA Avi Garcia. Charlie Tilson is another x factor who could end up surprising us as a Center Fielder, especially if he still has the speed he had before the injury. Our pitching staff has too many potential surprises to mention and everyone here knows who they are. Burdi, Kopech, Gio, and others. So it's the old story of "ifs" , that perennial questions that many teams have at the beginning of the season -- if, if, if multiple players perform beyond expectations, you might have a decent team. If that ends up happening you have to think about changing the timetable on the rebuild and maybe forget about tanking the season. Agree with everything on this list and as much as I was impressed by Omar last year, I just can't see him hitting .267 & 687OPS. I mean he put up 667 & 608 OPS in the past 2 years in the minors. Don't see the upside offensively. No more than a 3rd catcher IMO. I do get that we're rebuilding and everyone should get a chance, but I just don't see future for him in the MLB

How bout this scenario where BOTH SALE and QUINTANA are traded: Sale, Robertson, & Lawrie to Houston for Bregman, McCullers, AJ Reed and David Paulino Since LA missed out on the Sale derby, they resort to Quintana Quintana & Frazier to LA for Joc, Urias, Bellinger, & Barnes I spent some time flip flopping the players we send to each team (i.e. maybe Sale goes to LA and Q and Frazier go to Houston). Either way, I think these are fairly fair deals. With respect to the topic, I think this team could be no worse than last year especially after trading both Sale & Quintana 1. Eaton RF 2. Anderson SS 3. Melky LF 4. Abreu 1B/DH 5. Joc CF 6. Bregman 3B 7. AJ Reed 1B/DH 8. Saladino 2B 9. C FA Signing Chris Ianetta or Hank Conger (Historically solid framers and cheap) Rotation: 1. Rodon 2. Gonzalez 3. Urias 4. McCullers 5. Shields

If Sale goes to Boston for Benintendi, Devers, + (I know the report from today is not from a credible source), but let's just speculate... Would the Dodgers go for a Quintana & Frazier package? If so, what would the expected return be? Would you still need Urias to be included in the deal to pull the trigger? Which would be a more realistic return? 1) Urias, Bellinger, Puig, + or 2) Jose De Leon, Bellinger, Puig + (Included Puig instead of Joc in these packages since I figure Benintendi would slide into CF and Puig is more suited for a corner spot)

I still think the Sox will still try to compete next year, but do so by acquiring young players that can make an impact right away. I'd like to note I'm in favor of a complete teardown, instead of this semi-rebuild which I am about to propose: Sox trade Quintana and Brett Lawrie for Yoan Moncada, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Blake Swihart Sox Sign Carlos Gomez 1 yr/8M deal with option Sox sign Chris Coghlan 1/5M deal Sox Sign Pedro Alvarez 2 yr/18M Sox Sign Geo Soto Eaton Anderson Abreu Frazier Alvarez Melky Gomez Moncada Swihart/Soto Coghlan Saladino Swihart/Soto Tilson Rotation 1. Sale 2. Rodon 3. Shields 4. Gonzalez 5. Rodriguez/Fulmer Pen CL. Robertson SU Jones SU Burdi MR Putnam MR Jennings MR Petricka MR Rodriguez/Fulmer

I think we have 4 glaring needs: A power bat, a high leverage relief pitcher, a middle of the rotation SP, and a utility player to improve our bench. Here are my suggestions: Andrew Miller & Carlos Beltran in a package deal: We need that 3 headed monster coming out of that pen and with Miller we'd have Jones, Miller, and Robertson. Beltran is showing good pop after a nice May and would slide in nicely to that DH role. Plus he's a switch hitter, and we are in need of a lefty bat. Now, to get this package, we will probably have to trade Fulmer or Anderson. Or perhaps they would bite at a package consisting of Avi Garcia, Spencer Adams & Tyler Danish/Jordan Guerrero? Jimmy Nelson (Probably too expensive tho): Love the arm, would slot nicely in our rotation. Don't see the Brewers giving up that without a haul in return. Therefore... James Shields or Rich Hill will be available for a cheaper price. Hill's contract expires this year and is owed far less than Shields is, and his body of work this season has been a lot better. I am just reluctant to trust that he can put these numbers up over the course of the season and help this team during a deep playoff run. Therefore my preference is James Shields, he has more experience and I'm sure SD would be willing to pay some salary. One of Ryan Raburn, Kelly Johnson, or Chris Coghlan to solidify the bench. We saw the effect of a solid bench has with a team like the mets, who could go to guys like Uribe or Kelly Johnson off the bench to get a hit. Raburn has been lighting it up this year, while Johnson and Coghlan have struggled. All 3 provide versatility and could be solid fill ins in case of injury. Our current bench is full of AAAA players and not one of a playoff team. I'm sure you could get any 3 of those guys for a low end prospect Lineup: Eaton Abreu Beltran Frazier Melky Lawrie Jackson Avila Saladino Bench: Raburn/Coghlan/Johnson Navarro Rollins Coats/Davidson/Sanchez Rotation Sale Q Shields Rodon Latos/Gonzalez Bullpen Robertson Miller Jones Putnam Duke Jennings Albers SO those are my moves. I doubt we will make that many trades but I think that is a playoff roster.

I'm tired of the incompetence the Sox have at SS. Rollins just doesn't have it anymore and Saladino, while good with the glove, is just not an everyday player. Anderson leads the IL in hits and has an average over .300. I haven't watched any Knight games, so I'm not sure how his defense has been, but at this point with the Sox struggling at the plate, you have to think Anderson would fill the #2 hole in the lineup nicely. The question is, would calling him up this early impede his development? I know Soxnet projects his ETA to be September/2017 (last time I checked), but have the circumstances changed?

Not that we haven't seen this already this spring, but Robin confirms Rollins will bat 2nd and Melky will bat 5th start the season. https://twitter.com/ChiTribKane/status/716333332192043008

I may be a minority of this but I think this creates somewhat of a hole. Was expecting LaRoche to bounce back somewhat this year, maybe like a .230/320/430 with 15-20 HR. 13M freed up is obviously awesome but I think we definitely need to get another hitter whether it's Morneau or someone else thru a trade.Can't go into the season with Avi as our DH IMO. Sign Morneau to a 3M deal and if he doesn't work out we still got $$ to play with at the deadline.

Justin Morneau??

https://twitter.com/ChiTribKane/status/709807732593823745 https://twitter.com/ChiTribKane/status/709807488288165889 WOW

1 yr/ 3M according to Hayes

Not saying that I'd rather have Garza over Danks, what I'm saying is if Jerry is not give Hahn any extra money to sogn an outfielder, I think finding a suitor for Danks would be a lot easier than finding one for LaRoche.

With the Bucs signing Jaso today, the potential trade destinations for Adam LaRoche is dwindling. I know I'm a minority on this but I think LaRoche could be a semi valuable piece for us this year. I think he has a chance to bounce back, especially if we can platoon him. If we sign an outfielder, I think keeping Avi Garcia as LaRoche's platoon partner wouldn't be that bad of an idea. Avi had a .293/.353/.407 slash last year against LHP, and has a career .765 OPS against lefties. If LaRoche can bounce back and give us at the least a 230/335/440 line with 18-20 HRs, that platoon could be semi effective. I think we'd be selling low if we traded Avi this offseason. Let's see if he can put up a .750-.770 OPS in ~200-250 ABs this year and maybe we can get something for him next offseason or even keep him. Now to Danks... We need more $$ to get an outfield bat, and since LaRoche is most likely staying here, I think our only option is to trade John Danks. Haven't investigated it that much, so perhaps someone else has a better trade scenario, but here's mine: Trade Danks to Milwaukee for Matt Garza and $4M. Why it makes sense for Milwaukee: The 'Crew are rebuilding, and Garza is making $25M over the next two years. I think they would much rather pay Danks the $15.75 he's owed this year than the $25M that remains on Garza's deal, even if it means they have to kick in some extra $$ to do so. Why it makes sense for the White Sox: It gives us the money we need this year to sign one of the Big 3 outfielders left on the market. Overall, we would save $3.25M this year plus whatever money MIL kicks in (I'll estimate anywhere from $2-$5M). So that gives us $5-$7M extra to put towards an outfielder. I know Garza was god-awful last year (5.63 ERA, 0.6 fWAR), and taking on 2 years of him is a risk. Here's why I think he'll bounce back to be a decent value: Although he is getting older, his fastball velocity was actually a tick higher than in 2014, when he produced a 3.64 ERA and 2.7 fWAR. He was also a victim of bad luck, as his BABIP was .319. Granted, his BB and HR rates were career worsts, and his K/9 dipped to 6.3, but I think in complete honesty it was just a flukey year. Steamer projects Garza to produce a 1.4 WAR next year and a 4.42 ERA, which is better than Danks' projections. Taking on an extra year of Garza sucks no doubt as he blocks Fulmer, but worst case scenario he can pitch out of the pen in 2017 like Edwin Jackson did this year. Look I think Danks is a good guy in the clubhouse and we know that we're going to get 180 innings out of him, but I think he is the only guy that can be moved on our roster to free up space and not create a hole elsewhere.

Shortly after the season we all know the Sox announced Hawk would only be doing road games next year, and someone else would be taking over to do the home games. Unless I'm missing something, I'm kinda surprised that this hasn't been announced yet. Any guesses on who they may be looking at? My first guess would be Swirsky but not sure how that would work with his schedule as the Bulls will most likely be in the playoffs, and he would be doing the radio PBP for them. Really do not want Stone to be the PBP, I think he is far better as a color guy. I think hiring someone from outside the organization, a fresh face with more modern/up to date take on the game and knowledge of advanced stats would be kinda cool. I think another requirement should be someone who can pick Stoney's brain a bit more. I think Swirsky did a great job with that when he'd fill in last season. Any thoughts?

Sign Justin Upton to a 7/147M deal (MLBTR projection) Trade Avi Garcia+ for Brett Lawrie Sign Alexei Ramirez 1/7.5M Sign Matt Albers 1/2.5 Payroll: 135M (Current=~95M+10M(Arbitration) + 21(Upton) + 7.5(Alexei) + 2.5 (Albers)) Lawrie included in arbitration figure. I think JR can be convinced to spend more given what's coming off the books next year. Might as well go all in. VS RHP VS LHP 1. Eaton CF Eaton CF 2. Melky RF Melky DH 3. Abreu 1B Abreu 1B 4. Upton LF Upton LF 5. LaRoche DH Trayce RF 6. Lawrie 3B Lawrie 3B 7. Avila C Navarro C 8. Alexei SS Alexei SS 9. Sanchez 2B Sanchez Bench Saladino Navarro Trayce Shuck Rotation 1. Sale 2. Q 3. Rodon 4. Danks 5. EJ Pen 1. Robertson 2. Jones. 3. Duke 4. Albers 5. Petricka 6. Putnam 7. Jennings

I'm of the opinion that the sox are going to relatively stay pat, not spend a ton of money, and not make any huge trades (NOT what I want them to do, but think what they'll do). Here are my ideas Trade Avi Garcia for Brett Lawrie Sign Steve Pearce 1 yr 6 M (Good versatility and power, can play the corners, 1st, and 2nd) Sign Asdrubal Cabrera 2 yr 20 M Sign Chris Young the pitcher 1 yr 3M (Good insurance for Danks/Johnson and can work outta pen) VS. RHP 1. Eaton CF 2. Asdrubal SS 3. Melky LF 4. Abreu 1B 5. LaRoche DH 6. Lawrie 3B 7. Trayce RF 8. Avila C 9. Sanchez 2B VS. LHP 1. Eaton CF 2. Asdrubal SS 3. Melky DH 4. Abreu 1B 5. Pearce LF 6. Lawrie 3B 7. Trayce RF 8. Flowers C 9. Sanchez 2B Bench 1. Pearce 2. Shuck 3. Flowers 4. Saladino Pitchers 1. Sale 2. Q 3. Rodon 4. Johnson 5. Danks Pen 1. Robertson 2. Jones 3. Duke 4. Putnam 5. Petricka 6. Jennings 7. Young

1. Trade Tyler Saladino and Dan Jennings for Yangervis Solarte (Solid 2 WAR player, versatile, doesn't strikeout. Would like Gyro more but not sure if SD is gonna be willing to move him with the way he's performed as of late) 2. Trade Frankie Montas, Tyler Danish, and Tyler Flowers for Jonathan Lucroy (Legit catcher for years to come) 3. Resign Geo Soto 1/2.5M 5. QO to Shark, he accepts, trade Erik Johnson (25% chance). If declines, EJ is in your rotation 6. Sign Tony Sipp 2/8.5M 7. Buyout Alexei's option and resign for 1/6M Lineup vs RHP (vs LHP in Parentheses) 1. Eaton CF 2. Lucroy C 3. Melky LF 4. Abreu 1B 5. LaRoche DH (Trayce Thompson RF) 6. Avi RF (DH) 7. Solarte 3B 8. Ramirez SS 9. Johnson 2B Bench: 1. Soto 2. Sanchez 3. Trayce 4. Shuck Rotation 1. Sale 2. Q 3. Rodon 4. EJ/Shark 5. Danks Bullpen CL Robertson SU Jones SU Petricka MR Duke MR Sipp MR Putnam MR Webb

1. Trade Tyler Saladino and Dan Jennings for Yangervis Solarte (Solid 2 WAR player, versatile, doesn't strikeout. Would like Gyro more but not sure if SD is gonna be willing to move him with the way he's performed as of late) 2. Trade Frankie Montas, Tyler Danish, and Tyler Flowers for Jonathan Lucroy (Legit catcher for years to come) 3. Resign Geo Soto 1/2.5M 5. QO to Shark, he accepts, trade Erik Johnson (50% chance). If declines, EJ is in your rotation 6. Sign Tony Sipp 2/8.5M 7. Buyout Alexei's option and resign for 1/6M Lineup vs RHP (vs LHP in Parentheses) 1. Eaton CF 2. Lucroy C 3. Melky LF 4. Abreu 1B 5. LaRoche DH (Trayce Thompson RF) 6. Avi RF (DH) 7. Solarte 3B 8. Ramirez SS 9. Johnson 2B Bench: 1. Soto 2. Sanchez 3. Trayce 4. Shuck Rotation 1. Sale 2. Q 3. Rodon 4. Shark/EJ 5. Danks Bullpen CL Robertson SU Jones SU Petricka MR Duke MR Sipp MR Putnam MR Webb

Why isn't Gillaspie playing vs a RHP??? That's bulls*** if you ask me

Everth Cabrera.

This is just my opinion, but if I'm Rick Hahn, I keep Viciedo as a power guy off the bench. He can spell LaRoche against lefties (I know, Viciedo hasn't hit lefties well since 2012, but still) and is a good insurance policy due to the injury history of Melky and Avisail. If one of those two gets injured, that means Jordan Danks is your starting LF/RF, and that is not a good first outfield option off the bench for a playoff contender.

You can also do side by side match ups between different teams, comparing info like average age, how many guys are 30+, how the teams were built, etc. For example, cubs vs sox http://sportsforecaster.com/mlb/tott/ChA/ChN?

Thought I'd pass along this cool site I stumbled across...it gives a simple scouting report containing the player's assets, flaws, and career upside for every player on every team's 40 man roster. All you have to do is go to any player's profile page and it'll give you what you need. So for example, when we acquired Rob Brantly, I didn't know much about him so I went to this site to see what we were getting in a nutshell. So for Brantly, his pros were "Owns a pretty good left-handed bat (for average) for the catching position, and he has some untapped upside as an all-round catcher." his flaws were "A former outfielder, he's still learning the intricacies of the catching position. Must also prove himself against good left-handed pitchers." His career potential was "Solid catcher with some upside." Thought it might be useful for some people on this board just to expand their general baseball knowledge and to provide a basis for more informed discussion. Let me know what you think. http://sportsforecaster.com/mlb/depthchart/ChA