BigFinn

I voted for Cespedes. Upton and Cespedes are so close that the value of the lost pick matters when choosing Upton over Cespedes. But don't be surprised if the Sox go for Gerardo Parra, instead. He could be a platoon partner for Avi Garcia, or he could be the every day right fielder. That way the Sox save their money to sign a mid-level RH starting pitcher to a short term deal, somebody like Mike Leake.

From Jeff Passan: Puig is not involved.

Getting back to the article (great piece, by the way) and especially the final points: 1. On trading Quintana—boy would that be a tough blow. The Dodgers have some depth in their system and the need for quality pitching. We had better be getting back 2 or 3 quality players who could contribute late 2016 or 2017 at the latest. 2. On trading Robertson—I don't think he would bring back much, but if someone wants him for a good prospect, let him go. 3. Staying away from free agents with compensation-picks attached—Say yes to Cespedes, no to Upton. 4. As far as professional international free agents, say yes to Jose Miguel Fernandez, no to Kenta Maeda. Maeda will want a no-trade clause, and we have a lot of young pitchers coming up. It doesn't make sense to tie up a mid-rotation spot to a long-term deal. As far as amateur international free agents, I don't see the White Sox breaking the rule the way the Cubs, Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, and others have. Jerry Reinsdorf helped implement the international amateur free agent system that's in place, and with the CBA expiring on Dec 1, 2016, I doubt that the White Sox will want to hamstring themselves before they know what is going to happen with repeat to carry-over penalties for violating the int'l signing rules this season. 5. Signing mid-level free-agents with the idea of flipping them at the trade deadline—that is where we messed up with the Shark deal. And signing mid-level free-agents may hamper the development of young players. Do we sign a mid-level RH reliever or do we bring up Frankie Montas to get the same exposure next year that Chris Sale got in 2011? I'd opt for the latter. 6. Develop the youngsters—AMEN to that.

ESPN's Buster Olney is reporting that Johnny Cueto has signed with the San Francisco Giants, according to the post on MLBtraderumors.com.

How would you feel about a trade with San Diego: Adam LaRoche for James Shields. The Sox take on a big contract, but Shields is a still serviceable 3/4 starter. I don't think LaRoche is serviceable anymore.

QUOTE (BigEdWalsh @ Dec 11, 2015 -> 04:29 PM) It could be said of a lot of teams probably but yeah the Sox have always seemed to specialize in this. I've been a fan a long time and they've done this since I can remember. A couple more were Rocky Colavito and Ken Boyer. 1967: That was the year that I thought Colavito was going to push the Sox over the top. Boy was I wrong!

Transactions: Sign Johnny Cueto: 7 years/$133 million with an opt out clause after 3 years (no qualifying offer attached) Sign Yoenis Cespedes: 7 years/$161 million with an opt out clause after 3 years (no qualifying offer attached) Trade Adam LaRoche and Avisail Garcia to the Yokohama Carp for some sushi to be eaten later Lineup: 9 2B/LH Micah Johnson CF/LH Adam Eaton 1B/RH Jose Abreu LF/RH Yoenis Cespedes DH/SH Melky Cabrera 3B/RH Brett Lawrie C/LH Alex Avila RF/RH Trayce Thompson SS/RH Tyler Saladino Bench: 3 C/SH Dioner Navarro IF/SH Carlos Sanchez OF/LH J.B. Shuck Starters: 5 LHP Chris Sale LHP Jose Quintana LHP Carlos Rodon RHP Johnny Cueto RHP Erik Johnson Bullpen: 8 RHP D. Robertson (Closer) RHP Nate Jones (RH Setup) LHP Zach Duke (LH Setup) RHP Zach Putnam (Middle Relief) RHP Jake Petricka (Middle Relief) LHP Will Lamb (Middle Relief) LHP John Danks (Spot Starter/Long Relief) RHP Jacob Turner (Spot Starter/Long Relief)

Last year in 127 games at A+ Winston-Salem, Trey Michalczewski struck out 114 times. Last year in 132 games at A+ Modesto, http://www.baseball-reference.com/register..._medium=linker- struck out 153 times. Trey has a higher fielding percentage, for what it's worth. Fielding in minor league ballparks is difficult to measure at the best of times. Also, Trey is a switch-hitter, and switch-hitters are notorious late-bloomers. I think the Sox should keep Carson Fulmer.

QUOTE (BigEdWalsh @ Dec 10, 2015 -> 05:59 PM) To be fair, Mike Squires was a very good fielding first baseman. Rich Morales was more or less a utility player. I don't have too much problem with those kind of guys. My favorite Spanky Squires moment was when he played 3B left-handed. The date was August 23, 1983. I'll second (or third or seventeenth or whatevereth) Jamie Navarro, but can we get some love/hate for Juan "Disgusto" Agosto?

If Tim Anderson is the hold up on acquiring Brett Lawrie, then hold up the deal. From Baseball-reference http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lawribr01.shtml (Age 25 year): .260 BA/.299 OBP/.407 SLG/dWAR -0.2 Tyler Saladino (Age 25 year): .225 BA/.267 OBP/.335 SLG/1.4 dWAR Lawrie doesn't hit well enough to make up for his poor defense. Tyler Saladino is a better option at third base. Back to Anderson: He might be ready to play at the major league level by the middle of next year. An infield of Saladino at 3B, Anderson at SS, Sanchez or Johnson at 2B, and Abreu at 1B doesn't look bad, and the cost is reasonable. By the beginning of 2017, the infield could be Michalczewski at 3B, Anderson at SS, Johnson or Sanchez or Saladino at 2B, and Abreu at 1B. The internal options are much better than the free agent options, and selling the farm to get a Frazier for 3B or a Lawrie for 2B/3B just doesn't seem worth the price. It is about time that the Sox learn to trust their player development.

It'll be interesting to see how long AJ puts up with being benched for an inferior hitter.

QUOTE (Baron @ Dec 8, 2015 -> 07:03 PM) I actually like Castro on his contract better than Zobrist's right now I agree, Castro still has upside, and he can still play shortstop if necessary. The Cubs still need a pitcher and a center fielder.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 5, 2015 -> 10:41 PM) So competitive balance pick is after the compensation picks? To quote Ed McMahon, "You are correct, sir." Just an update: If you look at the 2013 first round draft page at baseball-reference.com, the first 27 picks are "normal." Picks 28 through 33 are compensation picks for teams that lost free agents: 28 St. Louis for losing Kyle Lohse to the Brewers 29 Tampa Bay for losing Melvin (B.J.) Upton to the Braves 30 Texas for losing Josh Hamilton to the Angels (how did that work out?) 31 Atlanta for losing Michael Bourn to the Indians 32 Yankees for losing Nick Swisher to the Indians 33 Yankees for losing Rafael Soriano to the Nationals Picks 34 through 39 are competitive balance picks: 34 Royals 35 Marlins 36 D-Backs 37 Orioles 38 Reds 39 Tigers Then the second round started with pick 40. This year, 16 free agents refused their qualifying offer, so the worst case scenario is that all 16 get signed by one team with a protected pick. We would get our original first round pick at #10, our compensation for Samardzija at #33, and our second round pick at #61 (30 first round picks - one for each team plus 16 compensation picks plus the 6 competitive balance picks minus 1 unprotected pick from the team that bought up all the free agents. If each free agent is picked by a unique team with an unprotected first round pick, then the White Sox picks will be the #10 pick, the #17 pick (30 first round picks minus the 16 picks for the free agents plus the compensation picks for Ian Kennedy, Justin Upton, and then Samardzija), and finally the #46 pick (adding the 13 additional picks for the free agent compensation and the 6 competitive balance picks). So the picks are: the first round pick: #10 for sure the compensation for losing Samardzija: #17 to #33 the second round pick: #46 to #61 And I didn't have to break out my circular slide rule!

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 5, 2015 -> 10:11 AM) What round are the competitive balance picks (still can't figure out whey we don't get one)? After 3rd round? There are six competitive balance picks at the tail end of the first round and six more at the tail end of the second round. Here's an article explaining it. And here's another that shows where we are penciled in (10, 33, and 62 minus the draft picks other teams lose because of signing free agents). The #10 pick is set in concrete. The #33 pick could be in the high 20s.; the #62 pick could end up in the 50s — which would be cool. Additionally, we could trade for a competitive balance pick - say John Danks and Adam LaRoche to San Diego for James Shield and their competitive balance pick. Only the competitive balance picks can be traded.

The Brewers don't need Tim Anderson as a shortstop prospect, they have Orlando Arcia coming up through their minor league system. They could be thinking about Anderson as a 2nd baseman. The Sox brass might also be thinking along those lines. If Anderson isn't going to be a major league shortstop, I think he becomes more tradable.

I would like to add my WOW to the chorus of WOWs. Statcorner keeps track of the pitch framing statistics for catchers. Tyler Flowers was #2 in MLB behind Pittsburgh's Francisco Cervelli. Before Alex Avila got hurt, he was in the middle of the pack with respect to pitch framing. Dioner Navarro is at or near the bottom of the list throughout pretty much his whole career. You can check their caught-stealing statistics on Baseball-Reference.com. Flowers, Avila, and Navarro have all been around league average. Anyone for Jonathan LuCroy? It's the off-season, when fans can dream!

When we think about how the Cardinals "don't rebuild, they just reload," how much of that reload is based on great scouting and player development and how much of it is based on PEDs? In the early 2000's, the Sox played clean while the rest of the league played dirty. Then MLB decided to clean up its act, and, next thing you know, the White Sox are World Series champs. Case in point, Yadier Molina was supposedly out for the NLDS, and yet he started games 1, 2, and 3. I find that fishy. I don't mind if the Sox are losing, if they are losing clean and the other teams are cheating. I would be seriously pissed if our guys are cheating, too, and still losing! It's easy to become cynical and say that everybody cheats, but Herm Schneider rules that clubhouse with an iron fist. I think he would know if a player is cheating, and I think he would "encourage" the club to get rid of him - see Swisher, Nick.

My off-season plan is to get used to the Cub fans in my life chirp about their post-season appearance and then to listen to the Packer fans in my life crow about their Super Bowl expectations. I'm practicing my "Gee, isn't that special" smile, even as I type this out.

In a rain-shortened affair, Kannapolis defeated Greensboro 2-1. Spencer Adams gave up 1 run on 4 hits, struck out 8, and walked only 1. Tyler Kolek, also through 5 innings, gave up both runs on 3 hits, with 9 strikeouts and 2 walks. From the Raleigh-Durham area, Winston-Salem is leading Carolina 3-0 through 7+ innings. Yency Almonte pitched 6 2/3 of shutout ball, allowing 3 hits and a walk, and striking out 7 Carolina batters. Rob Whalen gave up 2 runs in the first inning, one driven in by a productive ground out off the bat of Trey Michalczewski, the other on a solo shot by Keon Barnum. Birmingham is leading Tennessee after 5 innings in a game delayed by rain. Over 5 innings, Miles Jaye 2 runs on 5 hits, no walks, and 3 strikeouts. Zach Isler has come in to pitch after the rain delay. Jeffry Antigua gave up 5 runs on 8 hits over 6 innings before the rain came. After 6 innings, Charlotte is losing to Buffalo 6-0. Brad Penny gave up 6 runs on 10 hits, 1 walk, and 4 strikeouts. Wolf has scattered 7 hits and a walk, striking out 6.

And here they are: Games for August 6, 2015 Pitching Matchups: Buffalo vs. Charlotte: Randy Wolf vs. Brad Penny B'ham at Tennessee: Myles Jaye vs. Jeffry Antigua W/Salem at Carolina: Yency Almonte vs. Rob Whalen (Andrew Waszak is in as a reliever for Carolina) Kannapolis at Greensboro: Spencer Adams vs. Tyler Kolek Great Falls at Orem: Matt Ball vs. Jaime Barria

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Aug 6, 2015 -> 06:42 PM) I would take a look at Tyler at 2b. He has played that position before. His bat and his defense might be a fit for 2b. Then you target 3b for a guy with pop. We need offense at some place. I would play Tyler at 2b over the other internal options. Then you can use Micah Johnson as leadoff or in the two hole as your DH. Pickup Alexei's contract for next year, find a third baseman and right-fielder (you can use Avi in a trade for a third baseman). Now the 2016 team is starting to take shape. Back to catchers—one reason catching is at a premium is that there are more teams now than back in the 1960s. The same number of really good catchers have to be spread across 30 teams. The position is universally thin.

QUOTE (Baron @ Aug 6, 2015 -> 02:56 PM) His defense hasnt been good. He's hitting has been awful to say the least. His pitch framing doesnt count into WAR which shows he isnt average. He's just bad. But we cant do anything about it until December. I mean Soto could get more starts or more time batting at DH. But that would be too logical for this coaching staff. Flowers' caught stealing percentage is under league average: 24% vs. 32%. Over his career, he is average: 27% vs. 27%. The underperformance might be explained by having a rookie (Carlos Rodon) pitching every 4th day (Soto is catching Shark's games). I don't know for certain, but the pitchers are as responsible for stopping the running game as the catcher. No catcher's pitch framing counts into WAR. Statisticians don't know how to quantify the effect. But our pitchers prefer to pitch to Flowers over A.J. Pierzynski when A.J. was the regular and Flowers was the backup. If our pitchers pitch better because of the comfort level they have when Flowers is the receiver, than keep Flowers behind the plate. How much of Chris Sale's strikeout binge this season is attributable to pitch-framing? I don't know, but it helps to have a capable receiver back there. Batting Soto at DH means that we need another backup catcher—bad idea. I can't believe that I'm defending Tyler Flowers! That said, if the Brewers wanted to sell low on Jonathan Lucroy, I hope the Sox would snap him up (in spite of his poor season).

I'm as frustrated by Tyler Flowers' lack of offense, but his defense is amazing. He's listed, by Statcorner.com, as #2 in MLB for pitch framing behind Francisco Cervelli of the Pirates. Gio Soto is #14. Out of 95. I don't know how important pitch framing is compared to throwing out base runners or getting an occasional base knock (professional statisticians argue about the relative weights of these stats), but Flowers' pitch framing is why he is the preferred catcher behind the plate, especially compared to A.J. in years past. If the Sox had decent players at all the other positions, we could carry a defense-first catcher. It doesn't help that we have a defense-first DH!

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Aug 5, 2015 -> 08:52 PM) Let's be very clear here. JR was not "mocked" because he attempted a "full rebuild". White Sox fans are just as fine with a rebuild as any fan base. In 1997, the year of the White Flag trade, the Sox were only a few years removed from a full rebuild that netted the Sox the likes of Thomas, Ventura, McDowell, Bere, Alvarez, Fernandez, Johnson, Melido Perez - just to name a few. The fan base lived through that rebuild in the late '80s, even as it was going on concurrently with the very real fan base-killing drama of the wonderful JR threatening to move the team to Tampa. If the fan base could survive all that was going on during that time period, they could easily handle a rebuild now. No, what JR was "mocked" for back then, and ever so rightly so, was for trading Alvarez, Hernandez, and Darwin away at the deadline when the Sox were in 2nd place and "only" 3 1/2 games out of first place. It was a travesty then and criticized not only by a fan base excited about a potential trip to the postseason - a rarity in the JR ownership years - but across baseball circles as well. The worst part of the "White flag" trade was how the White Sox front office betrayed Robin Ventura. If I remember correctly, Robin had a horrific knee injury on a play at the plate during spring training. Robin was busting his ass in rehab while the Sox were fighting with Cleveland all summer. Just as Robin was ready to rejoin the club, Alvarez, Hernandez, and Darwin got traded to the Giants. The Sox brass has been working to rebuild that sense of loyalty throughout the organization, but the "White flag" trade was a true low point in the history of this franchise.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Aug 1, 2015 -> 01:21 PM) Does DFA work like waivers where the worst records get first dibs? It's like waivers with the exception that the player can choose to be assigned to a minor league team rather than leave his current organization. I think there is a 72 hour window for the player to accept the assignment, otherwise the player is waived. Valencia might not clear waivers, but if he did, the Sox could pick him up for league minimum.