ChiSox59

People freaking out about Burger taking reps at 2B in personal offseason workouts when his natural position is very much blocked are comical. Relax people. He’s just doing what he can to get himself big league reps. Chances he’s ever anything but an emergency 2B are remote.

Sox can go cheap on 2B if they want. Just sign Conforto.

Would have been an interesting flyer at 2B.

Off White Sox great Juan Minaya too!

I'd certainly rather lose Ramos and/or Rodriguez than Crochet and/or Vaughn.

I think the Sox do this in a second, which means is probably not enough.

THIS! Get Conforto. Keep Crochet and Vaughn. See where the chips fall on 2B thereafter. Grab Villar or Owings off the scrap head as utility player to work with Leury at 2B. It's really that simple.

Who exactly are these valuable long term pieces? There isn't a prospect in Sox top 10, besides maybe Montgomery, I wouldn't trade in a heartbeat to improve this team. Subtracting from the MLB team - ie: Vaughn and to a lesser extent Crochet, and all the other obvious names (Kopech, Eloy, etc.), are a different story. I want to expand this window as much as possible as well. But we're past prospect hoarding days. We barely have any of note to begin with - no prospect should be off limits to improve the club as much as someone like McNeil would. This excludes the names in the 2nd paragraph, but I probably would part with Crochet for McNeil, but would certainly try to get him without including Crochet first. Just don't really see a realistic fit.

Got to give to get. McNeil is a much better player than you're giving credit for. No one is jumping up and down to move Crochet, but they aren't going to just hand over McNeil for a pile of trash.

I would agree that I don't see McNeil happening without us giving up Crochet.

Crochet. But hopefully they'd bite on something like Cespedes/Burger, Thompson/Dalquist and Rodriguez/Ramos. Doubtful, but a guy can dream.

Well that's not getting you Jeff McNeil. I personally DGAF about the perceived attitude issues coming out of NY. Lack of recent success is BS. Dude is a 26% above average hitter across 1500 PA and fills a multitude of team needs. He's a 4 WAR player per 162 across his career, including his down 21. He's a very good player. A 26 YO corner IF with injury and body concerns isn't getting it done. I'd rather spend Jerry's money in FA than use the few bullets we have via trade, but if trade route is necessary, McNeil is a wonderful fit.

Probably only have about 6 weeks to figure this out before a shortened spring training becomes a reality and Opening Day becomes jeopardized.

FIFY

Dude, Jeff McNeil is really good and a near perfect fit for the Sox. His 2021 certainly wasn't great. but lets not dismiss the player he was from 18-20 just to fit your narrative. McNeil isn't going to be cheap. I'd prefer to the Sox just sign Conforto and a cheaper 2B that won't kill you on the FA market as opposed to giving up near MLB talent. But Villar, Solano, Owings is about all that's left there. I certainly wouldn't be trading off assets for McNeil in lieu of signing Conforto. But both makes this team as good as anyone in the AL. I'd do everything I can to build a package for the Mets that doesn't include Crochet (Vaughn is a non-starter for me). Some combination of Cespedes, Burger, Kelley, Dalquist, Thompson, JRod, Yolbert, Vera, and Ramos could maybe get it done.

31 here. Active lurker/poster on WSI since I was a young teen, hard to believe I didn't join here until 2013. Never looked back once I made the switch.

I read some comments from Giolito a couple weeks ago that sure made it seem like he thinks this whole thing is stupid. He understands it is a business, but his comments made it sound like he's not all that passionate about this and would like to report to ST as normal. I am sure he'd love a bigger piece of the pie like anyone would, but his comments certainly didn't reflect a guy that would be willing to sit this year out fighting for it.

I don't follow the structure of the MLBPA close enough to really know - so this is a legit question. Do the individual players themselves really get much of a say? Isn't it moreso up to Tony Clark and the board of players, and the rest of the players are just sort of along for the ride? Obviously Tony Clark and the union are supposed to represent what the greater group of players themselves want. But is there any true polling amongst the players that goes on with respect to these decisions? I have to imagine once we get closer to ST, there is a solid contingent of players that are going to want to go to work and make money as opposed to continue fighting for the extra scraps from their employers. Not taking the owners side here, but after all, baseball players - even ones on pre-arb deals - are paid handsomely for playing a game. They've certainly earned that right and I think there is plenty that players have to argue for - but ultimately - are they willing to potentially give up a years pay and a year of their shelf life to fight it? I have to imagine that is pretty split amongst the players.

Then why did Fegan tell FutureSox that the Sox thought they had? I don't doubt the Sox could have had EE if they wanted him - if they would have paid him more than the Mets. But it sounds like Fegan - who is as plugged in as anyone - told the other guy who is as plugged in as anyone (Jimmy) that the Sox wanted him, so I think that's safe to assume that's good info.

Right. I like him alot and would prefer not to trade him. McNeil is a guy I would probably trade him for. It hurts our pen though, for sure. Best case scenario - the Sox use Crochet like they did Kopech last year. Get him up to 80-100 innings and he takes some spot starts during the summer. He's in rotation in 2023, albeit maxed around 150 IP. Then you have him for 24-26 ideally a TOR starter. Its a lot to give up. Typing this out is making me talk myself out of it. But he's also an arm injury in the next 18 months away from never being a SP. You definitely trade those guys. Problem for me is if he has a dominant season in 22 doing what I mention above, you can get alot more than McNeil for him next winter. Idunno. I'd certainly try to get McNeil without Crochet (and definitely without Vaughn), but just don't see how that's possible unless Mets are desperate enough to shed $ that we could take a bad contract with him. For me, this offseason still predicates on Conforto. Sign Conforto, and I am largely unconcerned about 2B. Conforto + McNeil is a dream, but its also probably overkill in this division. Keep Crochet if you have Conforto, go grab Villar or some shit on the cheap and go to battle.

I wouldn't have loved it at the time, but would have liked more than the Kimbrel trade. Both with hindsight, and without it. Ahhh - thanks for clarifying. So basically, Sox were not willing to go 2/$20M on EE? Not super encouraging.

Interesting. Wonder who that is.

I am with you. Just stating that the Sox did make some very questionable decision making in 2021 that certainly deserves some criticism. But the overarching BS that guy pushes is way over the top.

While I am not a fan of this poster's constant charade against the Sox FO, this paragraph is definitely accurate: When they moronically failed to get the year of control back on Kopech, they shortened the window. When they stupidly failed to start stretching out Crochet, they shortened the window. And when they fucking added an old, expensive closer in decline to the BP w/the 3rd most FWAR, while giving up 2 league minimum pieces, they shortened the window. Each one of those moves was in fact stupid and short sighted. They were moves made by a team that was trying to win now - I get it. But they were all minor trade offs that could have seen this whole thing have more longevity. You can add Vaughn not starting in the minors last year to the list. All moves that in a vacuum are not the end of the world, but when you total them up - its obvious that the Sox are less concerned about the back end of this window than some of us fans. Its a tight rope and I get it. I want to win now too. But if they took the longer term approach on any one (or frankly even all) of those moves, competing in 2021 wouldn't have been impacted all that greatly. I too hate short term thinking, and in 2021 we saw a lot of it.

Huh?