ChiSox59

This. It’s frankly not really close. If / when McCann plays everyday, he’s going to get very exposed. Grandal has a very long track record of being one of the best 2-3 catchers in the game. Bottom line is this is a good problem to have and the amount of handwringing on here over having two good catchers is asinine.

This is nothing more than roster management. Keuchel will be back to pitch 9/17 against the Twins, which RR said was the plan yesterday.

Big difference between $330M and $73M. Harper obviously would have been great. But I’ve moved in from the free agent pursuits of 18-19 winter, and it’s best everyone does. Still need to go find that RF tho.

Because there are a lot of meatball fans who (wrongly) think James McCann is a better option and feel the need to pile on Grandal, despite him quite literally being a very very good player since like a week into the season. Yesterday was a rough defensive game for him though, and I will agree that his defense a whole has been a little worse than expected. But I think he'll be fine, and still believe he's a phenomenal fit on this roster.

RIP. Actually could really use Rodon right now.

Yasmani Grandal is a really good player. Yes, he had a really bad game last night defensively. Yes, he will be fine. No, James McCann isn't going to sign a long term contract here. Yes, Grandal is going to be the far superior player the next 3 years. /thread

Grandal is good. Yasmani Grandal since August 1: .273/.393/.489 5 HR 14 RBI 18 BB 29 K -per Chuck Garfein on Twitter

Hamilton is hurt, no?

Its a thing of beauty. This kid looks like a .330+ career hitter. Defense isn't as good as I expected, but I hope so of that is just nerves and getting comfortable.

I think his stuff could maybe play up a bit in the pen. Future pen pieces: Bummer, Burdi, Heuer, Foster, Marshall, Hamilton, Cordero, Fry, Reynaldo and Thompson is a pretty decent core to start with.

You don't DFA a guy like Lopez when you still have an option. Tho the Sox just used ReyLo's last option, so I think its time they move him to the pen and hopefully he can find a home there for 2021 and beyond. Because we don't really have time or luxury to fuck around with him in the rotation any longer.

Unfortunately, we need Rodon in the rotation now. Probably going to piggy back Rodon and Gio G to start.

At this point, when Grandal isn't catching he should be at 1B and DH with Abreu doing the other. When McCann isn't catching, I wish they'd mix him in at DH/1B....and gasp....RF. Won't argue with you there.

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how good of a fit Grandal is for this roster with all the right handed free swingers. I hate when people think my love for Grandal somehow means I hate McCann. McCann has been an absolute steal for the Sox and a hell of find. I don't think anybody - Sox included - thought he'd turn out this well. I just don't think McCann should be playing over Grandal if it means Grandal to the bench.

Hah, yeah - once the Sox got good he bounced? Confirmed troll?

That's fair - we definitely have not gotten the A version of Grandal. I think the Grandal we've gotten to date is still a top 3-5 catcher in the game over the course of an 162 game season. I am not at all concerned about Grandal long term. He'll be fine. Getting a 3-4 fWAR catcher is huge. I agree RF is a huge gap, but I don't think any of the options last offseaon were good long term fits, especially at the expense of Grandal.

I am not undervaluing McCann. He's a good ballplayer and I agree he's not the same guy he was in Detroit. He's also nowhere near as good as Grandal, nor is he anywhere near as good of a fit for this roster as Grandal. Again, I like James. I hope he decides to stick around, but I find it incredibly hard to believe he's going to sign with a team that has one of the best 2 catchers in baseball over looking for an everyday opportunity elsewhere.

Yeah, unfortunately the RF options in next year's FA suck. Joc would be fine one year stop gap, but he doens't get me excited. Maybe Brantley, but he can't really play RF anymore. I hope they take a swing at Springer, but certainly don't expect him to sign here. Outside of that, I am going after someone via trade. Nimmo is my guy, but probably won't happen. Nomar has been bad, and perhaps unsurprisingly so. But he cost very little to acquire, costs very little in terms of 2020 salary, and can be easily non-tendered this offseason. I think the thought process behind acquiring Mazara was fine - but to me - that's more a move you make in February when all other options have failed, as opposed to an early December move.

I can promise you Mazara will not be on this roster in 2021. He was a complete roll of the dice for 2020. Its obvious that's failed. They will go in a different direction in 2021.

I like James McCann. He's turned himself into a quality mlb starting catcher. Chances are, he would get very exposed playing everday, just like he did last year. 1st half stat 2019 line: .316/.371/.502 2nd half 2019 stat line: .226/.281/.413 career stat line: .250/.301/.391 Chances are, if you play McCann everyday, you're getting a .250/.300/.400 type hitter. This is not the type of hitter that makes you pass on 3.5-5 fWAR catcher in Grandal, who also happens to fill two of the other main weaknesses of the ball club (strong OBP and lineup balance). Grandal will be fine, but people need to stop expecting a .300 hitter. He is a career .240 hitter. But he gets on base 35% of the time, which this lineup sorely needs. He's not really a middle of the order bopper though, and it would help if RR moved him down.

I didn't really read it that way. The thing is, Grandal really isn't that far off from his career stat line. He's a great hitter for a catcher, but not necessarily a great hitter in general. I would have no problem dropping him down in the lineup some. Maybe something like Anderson, Moncada, Eloy, Abreu, Grandal, Robert, EE, Mazara/Engel, Madrigal. I think it does make sense to break up Eloy, Abreu, Robert and EE, so he would go somewhere in between those spots.

Lol, sorry man, but you have no idea what you're talking about.

Wrong again. Grandal has accumulated 0.6 fWAR this season, good for 3rd in the AL. Stop using bWAR for catchers - its useless. Yes. McCann has been better in the first 35 games. I am not denying that. He's also been far worse his entire career. The two aren't really comparable and we're talking about an extremely small sample size. I am not bad mouthing James - I like the guy. But people need to get a grip on Grandal.

Again, a team full of right handed free swingers that are allergic to walks, half of which suck at defense, isn't really a recipe for sustained success. Sox did the right thing passing on Castellanos on 4 year deal. I would have rolled the dice on Castellanos or Ozuna on a 1 year deal. But locking ourselves into either one of them long term would have been a mistake. That doesn't mean Mazara doesn't suck. To be clear. But at least Mazara is cheap and can easily be non-tendered in 60 days, leaving RF wide open for a better fit, though admittedly there really aren't any on the FA market this offseason. Going to need to come via trade.

Carson DFA'd again before even throwing a pitch for the Bucs.