blackmooncreeping

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 29, 2015 -> 11:40 AM) I think Cespedes is a guy who would probably make a big splash initially, but the last few years, I'd be worried he would be Alfonso Soriano with the Cubs. Another good comp

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 29, 2015 -> 11:38 AM) I don't see many teams willing to spend more than $150 million for a DH, unless he is of Miguel Cabrera quality at the plate. WHy does Davis get such a bad rap defensively? Didn't he commit less than 5 errors at 1b last season?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 29, 2015 -> 11:34 AM) I would think these "pillow" guys would want something near the amount of the QO offer they turned down. I read that teams value the comp picks at between $5 million and $8 million. Losing a comp pick and signing Desmond to a 1 year contract anywhere near the $15 million + he turned down seems like a bad thing to do. completely agree, Alexei would be a better option

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 29, 2015 -> 11:22 AM) I can't see who else would offer him any where near that number. The Yankees have Texeira The Dodgers have AGonz The Cubs have Rizzo The Tigers have Miguel Texas has Prince The Angels have Pujols The Red Sox have Ortiz, and then probably Hanley. The Giants have Belt, and no cash left. The Nationals have Zimmerman Philly is still stuck with Howard, and they are rebuilding The Blue Jays have Encarnacion Maybe the Astros if they have given up on Singleton? Astros were recently rumored to be shopping outfielders correct? Now that the Yanks have acquired Chapman, what if they now flip Miller to the Astros for an outfielder plus prospects, and then Houston goes out and signs Davis? That would be a ballsy set of moves and make Houston a better team.

I'd rather sign Alexei back then bring in Desmond and lose a pick. Would leave a little $$ left over, too

QUOTE (staxx @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 03:30 PM) Yikes that is one scary bullpen. Would be surprised if they don't deal Miller or the other guy not named Chapman

Either Pootie Tang, or Tonto--or both--have hi-jacked this thread!

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 12:20 PM) Why would gordon want them clauses I'd be shocked if Gordon isn't trying for a no trade clause. Not an opt-out clause at his age, but definitely a no trade clause. Reportedly he doesn't want to move his family too far from the Midwest.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 12:10 PM) I don't see the prices dropping that much. I still think Gordon gets at least $18M/per, with Cespedes & Upton in the $20M to $22M range. The benefit should hopefully come on the contract length side. My guess is each guy gets a year less than they were originally hoping for, with Upton getting 6 years, Cespedes getting 5, & Gordon getting 4. agreed, much more likely that they lose a year rather than the dollars. I think the dollars are pretty much agreed upon/ballpark, it's the add-on clauses for opt-outs and no-trades that are dragging the process out for any of the big 3 outfielders.

With all the current focus on a potential high profile addition of a big bat/outfielder, are the Sox neglecting the obvious need for a RHP in the starting rotation? Sure EJ looked pretty good in the final month of 2015, but it's a different deal when the games are meaningful. Who can the Sox try to land to bolster the rotation? I am intrigued by Tim Lincecum, who is coming off surgery and supposed to throw for teams in early 2016. Could he be a good fit at the right price?

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 10:15 AM) Correct. Worst case scenario meaning Sox whiff/pass on the big three and decide to platoon Parra/Garcia. Though we should keep in mind that Upton/Cespedes/Gordon are all going to sign a deal that would be a record setting contract for the organization. With the current/rising market it shouldn't be that big of a deal to offer "a deal that would be record setting for the organization." That certainly shouldn't keep them from making the offer, it's just a reflection of the times. If you are going for it and think you need an impact bat to get you to that next level, you go ahead and pay the price.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 10:14 AM) Not sure where you got your numbers from, but Melky has hit double digit home runs in four the last five seasons. QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 10:20 AM) You might want to recheck your stats. Melky has hit double digits in home runs since 2009. He hit 18 in 2011, 11 in 2012, 16 in 2014 and 12 last year. My bad completely, was reading the wrong side of a stat sheet, thank you for correcting me. I would still be surprised to have 30 hr's on the board between those 2 guys. I like the sound of 50 hr's between Melky/Cespedes or Upton a whole lot better!

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 09:30 AM) I'm not arguing that. I'm saying you can't just make Danks disappear and it's not worth it to eat a large chunk of his salary since he really isn't as bad as people make him sound. Although Danks usually drives me nuts as he seemingly always gives runs right back after the Sox have scored in the previous inning, I try to keep in mind that he is basically still learning how to pitch an entirely different style post-surgery. He no longer has that mid 90's fastball and it's got to take a while to get used to not having that in your bag of tricks. With an improved (and hopefully still improving) offense he could be around a .500 pitcher with 175ish innings pitched if he continues to find a fit and progress with the new style, which would obviously be welcomed at the back end of the rotation. Either I'm being wildly optimistic that we're going to score a bunch more runs in 2016, or I'm just hoping for the best from a player with a nearly unmovable contract in Danks.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 08:19 AM) It wouldn't surprise me if they combined for only 30 homers, but I think it's realistic that Melky and Avi would hit 30 between the two of them. Although it would be a shock to see Eaton repeat last year's unexpected power surge, it seems reasonable to expect 5 to 10 HR's. In any case, it's not much production from the outfield. 30 hr's between Avi and Melky would be a lot to expect: Melky hasn't hit double digit longballs since 2009 (when he hit 13), and Avi's career high total of 13 last season was nearly double what he had hit in any previous season. 20 hr's between the 2 would be more realistic imo, if we are stuck with those 2 players as the corner outfielders. By the way, Avi hit those 13 hr's in 601 ab's--if Avi sees 601 ab's for the Sox in 2016, he's either made a sudden and massive jump in ability or more than likely, we're in trouble after having whiffed on all upgrade possibilities.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 03:00 AM) One of the best contracts in all of baseball. Think about this; If Chris Davis is worth $21.4M (In the eyes of the Orioles at least), how much is Jose Abreu worth? pretty even comparison, without doing any advanced stat digging. Abreu is a better hitter for average, Davis produces more HR/RBI. Davis is also pretty good with the glove, probably slightly better than Jose.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 01:49 AM) Just to reiterate the deal I guess last week..... 4 yrs/$76M. I posted 4/78 as a prediction and got back "that would be a coup'. I think this is more likely the neighborhood for Gordon. If KC is within 10 million of any other offer, I bet they find the cash to keep him a Royal.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 05:46 PM) For what the White Sox would have to pay for someone to take LaRoche, it makes no sense to unload him. The savings would be minimal. If he shows he is still the same as last season in spring training or April or May, release him then. until that time, they might as well see where he is at. Im not talking money savings, my point is to free up the roster/lineup spot. While youre at it you would end up gaining back 3 mil, but the main point/gain is creating flexibility

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 04:43 PM) He was willing to give him away to the Pirates while paying more than 60% of his contract. Hahn was basically trying to sell Laroche as a $5 million dollar player, it was a starting point. I still think the Sox might be better off eating up to 10 million of his salary just to open up a roster/lineup spot. If he doesn't bounce back, you've burned 13 million and wasted a roster spot.

QUOTE (shipps @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 04:36 PM) Although Hahn has shopped La Roche I still think he values the guy waaaaaay more than people on soxtalk values him. Maybe to a fault but I think Hahn probably thinks there is still some value in a left handed power hitting veteran either for this current team or with what the return he expects for sending LaRoche to another team. Hahn can't just pull the cord on Laroche and completely admit that he has next to zero value, he is still trying to move him. The dichotomy of it all, trying to keep Laroche relevant and on other team's radar so you can somehow trade him, while not publically admitting that he doesn't have much value...that's the definition of a tough sell.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 14, 2015 -> 04:18 PM) I keep forgetting he's there. Probably by choice. I just don't think he's around come April. If Olt is a member of the White Sox come April, something has gone drastically wrong.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 04:37 PM) After 2018 is over...the 2017-18 class is better than next year but still not as promising as this year's overall. So strike now is the plan to follow

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 03:04 PM) Ah gotcha. Yeah he shouldn't be on the roster. I saw that Brendan Ryan was released. He has always had a light bat but always a great defender. May be worth a shot for the league minimum. To play SS? I think Saladino can definitely outhit Ryan and also figures to be a better defender at this point...

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 02:57 PM) Andy Wilkims was claimed off waivers by the Brewers. His 6th organization since the Sox waived him last spring training. It has to be close to a record. Wilkins hit bomb after bomb in the minors, but I remember him whiffing about 50% of the time when he had that cup of coffee with the Sox... I'd say this really makes it seem impossible to deal Laroche regardless of how much $$ we might be willing to include if the Brewers would rather trade for Wilkins, but I gotta think this is a minor league depth move yes?

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 02:50 PM) Where did I say I did? This was just based off what our roster looks like now. I know we're likely to add an outfielder and a bench piece so Olt likely doesn't factor into a bench spot come opening day. Simply a statement, not attributed to you. The opening day roster will/should still have some significant changes coming. Olt is brutal, not worth it for a brick glove at 3rd and the off chance that his bat runs into a fastball once a month for a HR.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 02:47 PM) Unrealistic to pay Gordon the annual value of Melky, though. Gordon is far better and has been consistent for so long. Agreed. If you try to get away with splitting the difference between a Royals offer and a Sox offer, I would bet it's not enough for Gordon to leave KC. I think if the KC offer is within 2 million a year of the next best offer, he stays in KC.