steveno89

Teel is a great catching prospect, but I am not sure I see huge offensive upside beyond him being a solid regular at the position. That is still a valuable player, but I am not sure he will ever be a star. He should start the year in AAA and would probably benefit from a full season there to work on hitting and defense. Montgomery has a high ceiling, but the ankle injury absolutely gives some cause for concern. Hopefully he is fully healthy and gets off to a strong start in the lower minors in 2025. Meidroth looks like a utility player/bench bat at the next level who could carve out a role. The fringy defense, speed and lack of pop probably prevent him from profiling as a regular, but you never know? Gonzalez is a reliever at the next level, but there's some upside there if his control can improve. Sox may continue to try him as a starting pitcher considering he was better in the second half of 2024.

Boston pretty clearly was unwilling to trade Anthony or Campbell, the two best prospects in their system by quite a bit. Mayer has nice upside, but injury concerns had to cause concern for the White Sox. I doubt Boston would have been willing to include Mayer and Montgomery in the deal as well.

Zero chance Korey Lee has the bat to profile at 1B in the major leagues

2018 turned out to be a really weak top of the draft for bats overall Madrigal's defense was majorly overrated, and you cannot select a player in the top five that has 20-30 grade pop at best even with a good hit tool.

I wanted at least one toolsy youngster with upside to dream on in the return, like Franklin Arias, who could be a top 25 prospect in baseball by this time next year. Boston was never going to include Anthony or Campbell for obvious reasons, and Mayer may have carried too much injury risk for the White Sox to stomach despite his upside and pedigree. Not sure another club was going to offer the combination of prospects the White Sox received back, so Getz likely did the best he felt he could do.

I am still digesting this trade. Of Boston's top four prospects for the White Sox, Teel is the worst fit. Catching prospects are really difficult to hit and get value on, plus the fit with Quero seems awkward. Montgomery has pop and a big arm, but is coming off an ankle injury and is several years away from the majors. Lengthy development path ahead, with hit tool questions that need to be answered. Mediroth can hit and looks like a future utility player at the MLB level Gonzalez is most likely a reliever, but Sox can continue to develop him as a potential starter. I'm sure this was intentional, but it is noteworthy to me what the Red Sox did not trade. They kept their three up the middle top prospects (Anthony/Campbell/Mayer), as well as their toolsy teenage prospects who could be worth even more in a year (Arias, Cespedes, Bleis) This may have been the best that Getz was offered, but I really wish the Sox would have focused on up the middle talent as the return.

If I were a contending club in need of an OF I would monitor Robert's market for sure Is he risky? Absolutely, but there is also potential reward as a chance of scenery candidate that was great as recently as the 2023 season. The option years are not too expensive if he stays healthy either, reducing the risk a bit.

It is an interesting idea, but beyond Salas and de Vries the Padres system thins out quickly. I just do not see a current match that makes sense, even with potential Cease return.

I also expect the club to double dip and make a selection in the second round. What do they have to lose?

As much as I am sure the organization would like to move on from Robert, keeping him and hoping he can stay healthy and rebuild value in the first half seems to be the best choice vs. taking a substandard return this offseason. If he can look anything like his 2023 form, he will have nice value at the deadline with two fairly reasonable $20 million club options

My understanding is that the Red Sox are unwilling to part with Duran, Anthony and Campbell at this time

Correct There is more inherent risk in a Crochet extension for the Sox than potential reward. They need postion player prospects in return to start to build a future offense. The current system is pretty bare of impact type bats.

I would let him compete for a starting rotation spot in spring training If that does not work can always put him in the bullpen

Shrewd move and I like that they can give him a shot as a starter or a reliver Solid peripherals, size and a really nice 2024 season

It would have to be Made + Pratt plus at least one or two more solid prospects for a deal to work in my mind Made looked stellar in 2024, but is still ages away from the MLB level and carries extreme risk in his profile for that reason. I’m not sure the White Sox are the type of organization to effectively develop a 17 year old position prospect to his full potential.

Montas looks like a beast, but is probably going to be a DH only at the next level three team deal has lots of interesting possibilities

I'd love Collier, but hard to imagine the Reds dealing him considering the upside A .798 OPS in high A ball as a 19 year old is rerally impressive

Messinger could be an interesting flier on potential backend starter Solid peripherals in AA. Not a ton of ceiling, but there is a shot he actually sticks as a starting pitcher.

What you are talking about is his ceiling What is not talked about is the floor and likely result Again, Mayo could be a big time stud...but if he cannot stick on the field defensively, he really would need to rake to have much value as a DH type Not going to crucify a 22 year old for a 17 game cup of coffee at the MLB level, but he was totally overmatched, striking out nearly 50% of his at bats. Lets not pretend he is ready to mash the MLB right away.

From Baseball America this summer on Mayo: " Mayo has some of the best power in the minors. He’s hit .308/.384/.619 with 23 home runs in 81 games. The biggest questions surrounding Mayo’s readiness revolve around his defense. He’s had throwing accuracy issues–nine of his 10 errors at third base have come on inaccurate throws. He’s really struggled when he’s asked to play first base. Mayo has committed six errors in just 20 games at first base, including three errors in 11 games at first base in July." My take: I will ignore his 17 game MLB call up that was a disaster for the time being, he is only 22. Read between the lines, Mayo is a defensive liability that may not be able to stick at anything but DH. Sox need to look for players that can actually stick on the field defensively in a trade.

The extension is tricky, as there is arguably more risk for the club than reward with him being two seasons away from free agency There would have to be an element of team friendliness to the deal I would imagine?

Not sure how much I like the Orioles as a trade fit for the White Sox Their two top prospects, Mayo and Basallo are likely 1B/DH and maybe a catcher in Basallo. They each could be great players, but those are not the positions I would look for in a Crochet return.

That future value also assumes that those prospects actually pan out, which many never do Crochet, assuming health, looks like a strong bet to perform in the next two seasons for whoever acquires him

Campbell + Montgomery would be a terrific start to a package of 3-4 prospects

I like Mayer, but the nagging injuries give me Moncada vibes