ChiSox59

Another thought..if the Sox were able to get a guy like Profar at SS, what's the chances of a guy with Andersons skillset transitioning from SS to 3B. Generally an easier position, but with quicker reaction times. I know Anderson is/was widely considered raw at shortstop, but I don't think I've ever really heard anybody talk about him transitioning to the hot corner. Thoughts from those that are more familiar with his defense? Referring more towards 2017 .

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Nov 19, 2015 -> 04:05 PM) I wanted to post this in the offseason plan thread, but it got closed for some reason, so I'll post it here instead. Here is my plan for the offseason. • Trade Avisail Garcia for Billy Hamilton • Trade Jose Quintana and Adam LaRoche for Yasiel Puig, Scott Van Slyke, and Austin Barnes • Trade Chris Beck and Tyler Danish for Jurickson Profar • Sign David Freese to a 3 year/$30 million deal • Sign Doug Fister to a 1 year/$5 million deal Lineup: LF - Adam Eaton (L) DH - Melky Cabrera (S) 1B - Jose Abreu ® RF - Yasiel Puig ® 3B - David Freese ® SS - Jurickson Profar (S) 2B - Carlos Sanchez (S) C - Tyler Flowers ® CF - Billy Hamilton (S) Bench: 3B and SS - Tyler Saladino ® OF - J.B. Shuck (L) C - Austin Barnes ® 1B and OF - Scott Van Slyke ® 2B - Micah Johnson (L) Rotation: SP - Chris Sale (L) SP - Carlos Rodon (L) SP - Erik Johnson ® SP - John Danks (L) (He's a placeholder for Carson Fulmer) SP - Doug Fister ® Bullpen - RP - Dan Jennings (L) RP - Zach Duke (L) RP - Zach Putnam ® RP - Jake Petricka ® SU - Nate Jones ® CL - David Robertson ® Although this plan weakens the rotation by losing Quintana, it improves the team in several other areas, including defense and versatility. Lineup - While this lineup doesn't have a whole lot of pop, they do have one thing that White Sox teams haven't had in the recent past - speed and versatility. With several switch hitters and speedsters at the top and bottom of the lineup, this lineup should be able to put pressure on opposing pitching staffs by playing small ball. Don't get me wrong, this team would struggle to hit the ball out of the yard, but contact hitters have been scarce for the Sox over the past few years, and this team would change that. Defense - Taking Melky and Avi out of the outfield and replacing them with Puig and Hamilton improves the outfield defense ten-fold, as that was a huge problem last year. Freese isn't known for his defense, but he has got to be better than Gillaspie/Olt. Profar provides a lot of range up the middle, and I think that he could form a good DP combo with Sanchez. When Anderson comes up, perhaps Profar could shift over to 2nd base or maybe Anderson could become an outfielder. Youth movement - Profar, Hamilton, and Barnes represent young, cheap, and high potential position players that haven't hit their stride yet at the big league level yet, but have the potential to do so. Not trading any notable young players besides Avi, Beck, and Danish ensures that the Sox keep their young talent in tact for the most part. Hopefully guys like Montas, Anderson, Fulmer, etc can contribute in 2017 and beyond, but I'm not counting on any of them to contribute much in 2016 Rotation - Sale and Rodon form a formidable 1-2 duo in this rotation. Starters 3-5 are question marks, but Johnson showed potential last year, not to mention his youth. Fister is a bit of an unknown, but I like him on a 1 year deal. The worst case scenario is that he bombs, and even then, it's only a 1 year deal. If he succeeds, great. Hopefully the Sox will be a spot to contend for a playoff spot, but if not, they can flip him at the deadline as a rental. Danks is purely a placeholder for Fulmer, as he will surely be gone after 2016. Bullpen - This bullpen is almost exactly like the 2015 version. Robertson should provide decent value as a lockdown closer, and I expect Jones to have a nice injury-free season as the setup man. Petricka, Jennings, Putnam, and Duke can be all be very inconsistent at times, but when they're on, they're very good. The bullpen wasn't great last year, but it wasn't as bad as 2014 either. I fully expect Montas to be called up at some point and hopefully be groomed as the future closer. Let me know what you think of these ideas. Thanks. Very well done. This is about exactly what I think the Sox should do and this is a trade I'd be willing to move Quintana in. If you don't get a return like that, you don't trade him. Vastly improves OF defense. IF won't be spectacular, but decent. Not terribly interested in Freese..but all the other moves make sense to me from the Sox standpoint, but that probably means it is a pipedream.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 19, 2015 -> 10:16 AM) They should be open to DFA'-ing him. HE HAS AN OPTION!!!!

I'd rather the Sox send him down to AAA or keep him around in case of injury than give him away for nothing. But I'd bet some teams would put some value in him in a larger exchange of players. His potential is tantalizing.

The Sox should give Aubrey Huff a minor league deal. Check out his comeback video: That is one confident man. If we're unable to dump LaRoche and he continues to suck in April and May, it wouldn't be terrible to have a backup LH bat down in AAA.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Nov 16, 2015 -> 04:43 PM) He was slightly below average, with a 97 OPS+. how down a year was it? He was worse in 2013. His career average is .748 OPS, 102 OPS+ which is basically average. He's 30. Add his atrocious D to the equation, and he's a below average LF. And then there's the Sox outfield defense. It's horrible. How can Sox ignore that with a)strength of the team is in pitching and the Sox won't put the D out there to support it and b)watching the Royals and Astros this year, who play impeccable OF defense. And watching the Giants the last several years. Sox aren't winning squat with that OF. My comments were based on him being moved to DH. I agree he's brutal in LF.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 16, 2015 -> 04:39 PM) Melky was 49/54 in wRC+ qualified MLB OFers. Fair enough. He sucked last year. I just think the Sox are better off keeping him around as I think he'd got the ability to be a very productive bat, and those don't grow on trees (well, bats do grow on trees), and they aren't cheap.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Nov 16, 2015 -> 03:30 PM) If that's true, then he's tradeable. But I don't think it is. Melky was pretty awful in all aspects last season, including offense. I do agree we need to get him out of the outfield. I think Robertson is tradeable (I was talking about Melky and Laroche in my post above). But early bird gets the worm. SD made out like bandits from a team willing to pay a premium. Robertson isn't quite at that level but he's right below. We've see 2 trades and 2 premium prospect returns. If Hahn has to get a bunch of approvals to make a move, Sox lose their chance. Hahn di$$ed around in July and it cost us. Shark needed to be traded early, if at all. Melky is tradeable, you just wouldn't get anything of real value for him. And he wasn't awful offensively. He wasn't even average offensively. He was slightly above average in a very down year. Look, I am no Melky apologist, but he's a got a pretty good bat. We need to be adding good bats, not subtracting from the few that we have.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 16, 2015 -> 03:04 PM) I think Melky will have a bounce back year, but their is no way he'd get 2yr 29M on the open market today (coming off of the season he came off of). None...zero. What do you think he'd get? 2 year and $25M? $13.5M AAV is what you get for a pretty average player in free agency today. I suppose I could see him getting somewhere between $20 and $25M on a two year, but I don't see it getting much lower than that. Michael Cuddyer, Billy Butler, Chase Headley, Torii Hunter, and Nick Markakis all got between $10-$13M AAV last offseason. All of which are comparable or worse bats, with equally questionable defense outside of Headley and Markakis. So yeah, $29M may be a bit of stretch, but it's like it is way out of the ballpark.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Nov 16, 2015 -> 08:37 AM) That's fine with me. But dispatching either of those two will require Sox putting up significant cash, which JR does not like to do. ( unless they are part of a bigger trade). I don't think Melky would require the Sox to eat cash, he just wouldn't bring much in value back in return. Robertson has already been covered in the past few posts - but he's pretty much the same story. Melky is signed for 2 more years at $29M. If he were a FA, he would get well in excess of that. Melky is a pretty good hitter, the Sox just need to get him out of the OF everyday. Play out there every now and then, sure, but not everyday. I think Melky has a real nice bounce back year next year - not that his numbers this year were god awful - they really weren't. He is not someone the Sox should be looking to move, they should be, however, figuring out how to slide him over to DH and getting a real corner OF. Problem is, LaRoche is probably immovable without eating 75% or his contract.

I never look at the Diamond Club, and am guessing I am not alone, so I'd be all for it.

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Nov 13, 2015 -> 01:48 PM) Rotoworld.com will keep you up to date no need to close this. Mega threads are awesome This. The anti-catch all bs is bs.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Nov 13, 2015 -> 01:06 PM) He was scratched off the Spx list as soon as he received the QO anyway. I don't get why you keep saying this. The Sox will sniff around players who rejected the QO. Whether or not they sign one...probably not, but you seem to think they won't even consider those types, and I think you're wrong.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Nov 13, 2015 -> 10:46 AM) You'd be fine with delaying the development of Johnson and effectively limiting one, maybe two, FA signings? We'd all but have to trade Quintana. I don't think Shark will accept, but I think he'll have a nice bounce back season next year. I generally like the Sox to win, and I think Shark as your 4 start next year isn't all that bad of a deal. But yes, I'd prefer EJ, and spend the $15M on offensive pieces. My point was that I won't be enraged in Shark were to accept, only because I think he'll be pretty good next year.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 13, 2015 -> 10:09 AM) And most Sox fan's head will explode in anger. I'd actually be fine with it.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Nov 12, 2015 -> 07:54 PM) 100% agree. I probably overvalue Sale a little bit but everyone here seems so down on him right now and I don't get why. Probably because everyone loves prospects, and teams don't really make trades like what it would take to land Sale in today's game. And that is the exact reason he will be on the Sox for at least two more seasons. Edit: I was obvious being a bit sarcastic, but honestly, Sale isn't going anywhere. And if he is, I have a feeling Sox fans would really like the trade. There really is no reason to even discuss it.

QUOTE (fathom @ Nov 12, 2015 -> 06:52 PM) I think you're overrating him. Bogaerts might be a better player as soon as 2016. Hahaha.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Nov 12, 2015 -> 06:44 PM) Betts and Bogaerts would be the main guys in the package, but I'd also want Owens, Devers, and Margot. This...at a minimum. Heck, throw Swihart in there too. Chris is unreal and if he were on the Dodgers or Yankees, he'd have won a couple Cy Youngs. We happen to have him under contract at about 15% of his value.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Nov 11, 2015 -> 09:00 PM) Cespedes 6/$126M I don't think that gets you to the final table, and that's why the Sox will and should pass. I'll go Alexei Ramirez 1/$7M. I think they'll do more, obviously, but that's what I see as most likely.

Jeff Samardzija will return to being a very good mid rotation starter, perhaps even #2 level if in the NL. It just didn't work out here - time to wish him best, take the pick, and move on.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 11, 2015 -> 10:44 AM) I totally get your reasoning here. You outline why I reneged on what I was offering initially. I literally threw that together in a waiting room with only 3G as service when I was bored. Then you got SouthSideSale and Chilihead freaking out about a mistake that I already acknowledged. My post created two pages of discussion though... It was a great post!

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Nov 11, 2015 -> 09:41 AM) That's why I advocate trading him. His defense is not good and we got what I believe is a career year offensively out of him. And he clowns it up too much. If I'm hero worshiping, Heywars in right Thompson in center Avi in left. I just don't see Heyward as an elite bat. Adam Eaton is a good baseball player locked up to a great deal. Those are not the type of players you trade, unless you get a lot in return.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 10, 2015 -> 11:56 PM) I have no problem with anyone saying they're not buying Rich Hill at that price. I just think it's lazy when someone just says "he blows." Honestly, I didn't even realize his health issues were that serious so I'll take what I said down a notch. Regardless, I think he's a worthy gamble. This guy will be getting guys out next year. If not in the rotation, get him in the pen. Big upside as a starter or reliever. Sorry, I posted that message based off your original post (which was a great one, BTW). I hadn't yet seen your follow-up where you went a bit more in depth on Hill and why you like him. I would have given a less "lazy" response had I read that before responding. But my point still stands, and the reasoning behind that point has already been covered by others. Rich Hill has started 4 MLB games since 2009. FOUR GAMES! Yes, he looked good in September, but I am just not buying, especially at $16M over two years. If you can get him on the cheap, sure why not, give him a shot. But the Sox really don't need another LHP in the rotation. No one is going to take Danks' contract, so he is pretty much locked in at the 5 spot. But if the Sox are somehow able to dump him, I'd see Buehrle as a much more likely scenario than Hill, and hell, I'd bet he'd take less than $16M!

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 10, 2015 -> 06:25 PM) ^^ I had to mess up somewhere. LOL, he's a great receiver and gets high grade on his makeup and interaction with teammates. Seems like what the Sox would want in a backup catcher. He's got a decent eye up there. Could potentially improve at the plate. Just exchange Danks for Hill. Rich Hill blows and throwing 2 years and $16M at him would but insane. I'd prefer Danks.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Nov 10, 2015 -> 02:37 PM) And in hindsight that turned out to be a pretty s***ty decision. I'm not expecting Hahn to rip Shark a new asshole in his comments but I'd like a little more than just COA boilerplate. At least the org is speaking with one voice at the moment and you don't have KW in the news one day saying something and then Hahn the next saying something else. Meh, the world is not a conspiracy theory, bro. He pretty much just said Shark was terrible with the Sox and that he is unconcerned about what he gave up in return. More forthcoming than I'd expect he'd be, honestly.