ChiSox59

Putting aside what it may take to acquire McNeil, he is a fantastic fit for the Sox. Conforto + McNeil and Sox easily have the best lineup in baseball when healthy.

Jeff McNeil is really good. I don’t want to trade Crochet, but have to give to get and Sox seem committed to him being a reliever so it’s probably a deal I make.

If McNeil is actually available, he’d be about as good as we can do via trade. Hate to give up Crochet but probably would.

FIFY

Samesies.

That is a guy I was hoping the Sox would talk to last offseason. Would happily take Kotsay over Old Man River.

Jimmy Muscles to NYY on minors deal. Kinda sad. Was a big fan.

I don't think we need a superstar at 2B. I just continue to assume the Sox will do the right thing and sign Conforto. With Conforto in hand, you can go any number of directions for 2B. Prieto would be a super interesting add for 2B, along with a bench piece like Josh Harrison, Jose Iglesias, Chris Owings or Niko Goodrum to help fill the gap until he's ready or just give us a little insurance. That only make sense (in the short term) assuming Prieto is 1) close to MLB ready (he is 22 already) and 2) can actually play stateside in 22. Even if the answer to one or both of those is no, its still a name worth monitoring.

Prieto is an interesting option for 2B. Definitely fills some team needs. Is he someone that could theoretically play in the bigs right away, or would he need to hide out in DR for a year so he gets more $ too?

If Cespedes is the Sox RF by May 2022, some things have gone horribly wrong.

I was a big fan of this kid when he came with the Royals. Here is one of the “find lightning in a bottle” bullpen additions that could yield a nice return if something clicks, however unlikely that may be.

Any other team is going to have the same issue with him that the Sox have. That is, he is out of options. If he had a lick of value, he’d had been traded last July.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Gonna be a part of me sad to see the Micker era end without ever starting. I do think he can be a Franmil Reyes type and run into 30 or so homers a year somewhere while racking up the Ks. Butttt he quite simply has absolutely no spot on this club moving forward, and certainly not on the 26 man in 22.

Ahh my bad. First I'd seen it.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/12/white-sox-sign-yacksel-rios-to-minor-league-deal.html Has a decent amount of MLB experience.

Crazy its been half a decade already.

Some other thoughts: Wasn't really focusing on Kershaw at all previously, but found myself with a lot of $ to spend after the big time $ saving moves trading Keuchel and Kimbrel. Note that while LaStella only makes $5.5M in 22; it jumps to 10.5M in 23. So net dolalrs are close to even, and we throw in Burger to offset. Could go trade route for SP instead of Kershaw (Sonny Gray perhaps), which again would create $10M. Another trade target in the Kimbrel trade to Philly could be Marchan instead of Moniak. Dollars stay same, but solves backup C issue. Moniak seems like a change of scenery guy and wouldn't be horrible AAA insurance. But Marchan works there too. Found myself with $15M to spend even after Kershaw, so went with luxuries in Archer and Tepera. That pen would be filthy. Kershaw probably ends up costing more than $22.5M AAV though, so could bump that to 2/$55M and remove Archer or Tepera. I'd hate spending that much $ on late career Kershaw, but may be what it takes. Final thoughts: trading Kimbrel and Keuchel creates a ton of options. I fully expect Kimbrel to be moved in a trade like the ones discussed. Keuchel could be tougher sell. Though I do think this LaStella framework makes a lot of sense for both sides.

Sign Michael Conforto 4/$72M ($18M AAV) Trade Keuchel (-$18M) + Burger (-$650k) to San Fran for Tommy LaStella ($5.5M) Trade Kimbrel (-$16M) to Phillies to Seranthony Dominguez ($800k) and Mickey Moniak ($650k) Sign Clayton Kershaw 2/$45M ($22.5M AAV) Resign Ryan Tepera 2/$17M ($8.5M) Chris Archer 1/$8M with plenty of incentives. NET NET is $30M spent. Lineup: Anderson SS, Moncada 3B, Abreu 1B, Eloy DH, Grandal C, Robert CF, Conforto RF, Vaughn LF, LaStella 2B Rotation: Giolito, Lynn, Kershaw, Cease, Kopech, Archer (Kopech works some from pen as well to control innings) Bullpen: Hendriks, Bummer, Graveman, Tepera, Crochet, Dominguez, Lopez BN: Engel, Leury, Sheets, Collins/Zavala BEST ROSTER IN BASEBALL.

Good.

That two month span he was our best hitter. All while play (admirably) a position he hadn't played since grade school. Kid is legit AF. I will be sooooooo pissed if we trade him.

Probably Philly. Maybe Mets. Maybe he stays on the Sox. But the Cubs aren't undoing last July's trade. Its not even worth talking about.

PASS! Sox need a serious roster overhaul via trade before Schwarber makes a lick of sense.

Yepppp

The Cubs aren't giving us Madrigal back for Kimbrel. Not even worth discussing. Not to mention, Sox may not even want him. Plenty of decent options via trade that shouldn't cost much.