ChiSoxFanMike

Is there a way for one of the mods to unlock the offseason plan thread? I feel like all these proposals would be better in one place. I'm not quite sure why that thread was locked anyway.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Dec 1, 2015 -> 09:14 PM) Eaton Heyward Abreu Arenado Melky TFT Avila Sanchez Saladino Bench-Flowers, MJ, LaSuck, Shuck Rotation- Sale, Rodon, Johnson, Danks, Lackey? I dunno, this rotation could be pretty bad without Q. Besides Q, who else would need to be sent to the Rockies for Arenado? Montas?

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 1, 2015 -> 06:01 PM) As long as the Sox keep doing a good job of scouting and developing pitching, I could honestly care less. Let em both go to FA and cash in, as long as its another team paying the obscene price. You make it sound like replacing Sale and Q would be easy. Those guys are 2 of the best pitchers in the AL. I don't disagree that the Sox are good at developing pitching, but it's not like they'll find another Sale or Q off of the scrap heap.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 1, 2015 -> 05:46 PM) 1000% agree. The Sox cannot afford to trade such cheap pitching and no team will offer up full value so I expect Sale and Q to fulfill their contracts. That makes me a happy Sox fan. The big question I'm wondering is if they'll stay on the Sox after those deals are over.

The only way I could see a guy like Sale or Q being traded is if it was a 3 team deal. Let's be real here. No matter how good and cheap they both are, no team is going to empty their farm for either one of them.

Although it's probably not likely, I could see a team getting desperate and overpaying for Sale or Q.

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 1, 2015 -> 04:41 PM) maybe you are right, but he did take a huge discount to sign an extension with the sox. sooooo who knows. Unless the Sox start winning consistently and he loves it here, I think there's less than a 1% chance that he signs another super team friendly deal. But like you said, who really knows until it happens?

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 1, 2015 -> 04:32 PM) Chris Sale on the open market in 4 years will easily top that deal. Unfortunately no way in hell it comes from us. Agreed. I would've loved to see him be a White Sox lifer, but that certainly won't happen now. The inflated contracts that these pitching free agents are getting is unreal and the Sox won't pony up the dough it'll take to keep him from going elsewhere. It'll be a very sad day when Chris Sale is in a uniform other than a White Sox one.

100% agree. I'd keep Rodon, Fulmer, and Johnson for the foreseeable future too. Sale/Q/Rodon/Fulmer/Johnson is DEFINITELY a more than formidable starting rotation for the next 3-4 years. Like you said, they have the pitching. They need to build around it.

Nothing would've made me happier then to see him go to the Cubs. Then they'd be stuck with 2 overpaid aging pitchers that would severely hamper their payroll flexibility when their young studs get older and more expensive. Oh well...

This deal just reaffirms what I already knew. If Chris Sale was on the market this year, there isn't a chance that he'd get less than $250 million.

Damn, I wanted him to go to the Cubs.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 1, 2015 -> 03:43 PM) I'd rather they take Melky and give us money. Hanley is basically Melky with a way better bat and a bad attitude. Who would replace Melky in the outfield? I'm not opposed to your idea, I'm just not sure who would replace him unless the Sox signed a big name guy like Upton, Cespedes, etc.

If the Red Sox eat at least half of his contract AND take LaRoche, I'd take him.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 1, 2015 -> 09:50 AM) I hear ya and agree. I can live with Saladino/Sanchez up the middle for one season to see if their bats come around but my preference would be to get a SS, play Sanchez at 2B and use Saladino as the utility/platoon type. Problem with that is short stops are about as hard to come by as third baseman. One idea could be to sign Freese to play 3B, trade for Lawrie to play 2B, start Saladino at SS and use Sanchez as the utility. I still prefer Saladino as the utility due to his defensive versatility. The have their work cut out for them this off season. If this happened, I'd like to see Sanchez and Saladino flip flop their roles on the team. I don't know how good of a shortstop Sanchez would be at the MLB level, but he's younger than Saladino and has more upside IMO.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Nov 30, 2015 -> 08:33 PM) Unfortunately his stats are nothing special in Korea: http://www.baseball-reference.com/register...amp;id=dffe1d5e Eric freaking Thames hit just about .400 with 47 homers. Those stats right there tell you everything you need to know about the Korean Leagues.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Nov 30, 2015 -> 05:13 PM) Too many offensive holes to fill to waste resources on more pitching. The Sox need to remain focused on acquiring young hitting talent. Just a friendly reminder that the Sox were 28th in runs scored last season. This is all that really needs to be said. Would Miller be a great pickup if the Sox had an offense like the Blue Jays do? Yes, but they don't, so the Sox need to save all their trade assets for hitting.

The Sox need a young impact hitter much more than they need a young impact pitcher. I don't want him unless the Sox can steal him away.

QUOTE (shipps @ Nov 30, 2015 -> 12:06 PM) Weren't the Tigers supposed to be trying to unload some salary this year? I was surprised to see them as the first to start throwing money around again. Their "window" of contending is closing fast. Their owners probably figure that they have to spend now to win now, since they obviously won't be winning in the future.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Nov 30, 2015 -> 11:31 AM) It's that easy, isn't it? You just decide you want a guy traded and one of the other 29 teams magically agrees to a trade. LMAO. I was thinking the same thing but I didn't want to come off as rude.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 30, 2015 -> 11:12 AM) I have some similar thoughts to this one, however, I think part of the reason we all feel this way is because of how poor a product the Sox have put on the field. It has been truly pitiful and awful to watch. Very few guys are exciting, our defense is terrible. Basically the entire brand of White Sox baseball has stunk for people who enjoy the game and thus it has became extremely pitiful to watch. As I say more now than I did when I was younger, sports are entertainment, you need to be entertained and nothing about the recent Sox stretch has been entertaining (outside of last off-season). They have consistently came out of the gates slow and as a result, have generally been out of contention for the vast majority of the long baseball seasons. Contrast that to say the Royals brand of baseball, where you know if you watch on any given night, you are probably going to see some stellar defensive plays and baserunning for that matter (stolen bases, imo, are exciting, especially when it happens in close games). Baseball does need to speed its pace of play up. Manfred seems to get that so I'm optimistic of where they will take it. Agreed. If the Sox were as exciting now as they were in 2005, all these people that say it's boring would certainly watch more of it.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Nov 30, 2015 -> 09:19 AM) I really don't think either should be moved honestly. If the Sox don't upgrade that position then you need a fall back plan. Micah has the chance for better offense and Sanchez is the better defender. If the Sox say go with Sanchez next year and he can't hit worth a lick then you have Micah to back him up. Sox can't afford to keep thinning the middle infield anymore . In my theory, Lawrie would replace whoever is traded. But I get your point.

Any AL team that gives Cueto a 6 year/$120 million or more deal is crazy. He's way past his prime, especially if he stays in the AL. Maybe he'd be worth that contract to an NL team, but he was basically like Samardzija in the AL.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 30, 2015 -> 08:44 AM) i agree, i would move johnson b/c sanchez defense is already has be spotlighted, I think Micah's bat is much better, but then again, his defense is terrible. Sanchez is already an elite defender, but only has an average bat. I think with more experience though, he can become a serviceable hitter.

If one of Johnson/Sanchez were moved, I can't decide who I'd rather see traded. Both have pros and cons. I'd probably lean towards keeping Sanchez and trading Johnson if push came to shove, but I really don't know.