tray

But I'm not buying it ?

That is the upside.

Yes but if you get the signature Mazara ground out or worse a gidp, you probably accomplished your objective. Also, the other Manager probably has another Lefty to face Mazara if he comes up in another key situation. Mazara could be making his problem the Sox problem. We want to solve a problem in RF, not create a new one.

Indeed. That is one reason why I originally wanted Bennintendi or Castellanos, both of whom have weaknesses, but I think are the types of guys that you probably don't feel compelled to platoon. Now it looks like the hunt for a better platoon OF than Leury is under way. I don't know, thiat strategy seems a bit crazy to me .

It is difficult to address the weakness of having a guy like Mazara with bad splits in the line-up. You want him to be up in the lineup 7th, 8th and 9th innings to get the big hit when you need it. However, let's say the Sox are in a close game is the the 4th inning with men on 1st and 3rd and one out. Mazara comes up. You are the opposing Manager and know Mazara's splits so you signal for your big Lefty out of the pen.Mazara obliges your strategy by grounding into an inning ending, rally killing, game changing, ball-busting double play. Or you are Renteria and you anticipate a signature Mazara gidp so you pinch hit Engel for Mazara. Engel who is forced to come in cold (w/o warming up) , probably whiffs anyway but whatever happens, you now have Engel or another weaker bat in the line-up for the last 4-5 innings of a game you need some runs to win. My point (which I probably should have condensed) is that bad splits are not that easily addressed with a platoon regime. And, IMHO, a Mazara and Puig platoon is just a head shaker. Even if the Mazara platoon mate is not as goofy as Puig, I still think it isn't an ideal situation. Platooning might only compound problems by having two incomplete players that never gain consistency because they are always being substituted for, passed over, and not given the confidence that they need to possibly become legit full time starting players.

The Rangers became frustrated with Mazara's inconsistency and lack or progress after 4 years and relegated him as a platoon player. "If Mazara maintains his current .771 OPS, it would be the highest of his young career. That is the surface. Dig a little deeper and a more nuanced picture emerges. He is striking out more frequently (22.6 percent of the time) than ever and has the lowest on-base percentage of his career (.317) for this date in the season. Mazara has not started six of the Rangers' last 18 games, most of them against left-handers. And there is good reason for that: No everyday left-handed hitter in baseball has been less effective against left-handed pitching. Of the 50 qualifiers, Mazara's .230 OBP is last. His batting average (.200) and OPS (.595) are fourth from last. Those are the stats of a platoon player" link Given that assessment of Mazara from his prior team, perhaps it would be a good idea for the Sox to look for another outfielder to compliment Mazara or even to replace him as the starting RFer. I do not think RF has been solved by tradingffor Mazara, a player who struggled last season and has been very inconsistent.

At this point, the Red Sox are knocking on doors, not the White Sox.

That was my thought as well.

wut?

I'd rather have Castellanos as a starting RF than Mazara. OK bud?

I'd love Castellanos instead of Mazara, The guy was quite a gamer for the Cubs and played a decent RF for them.

I wanted to get Benintendi . If we had traded for him the Sox wouldn't be considering a crazy platoon of Mazara + Puig in RF.

Do you really think the 2019 version of James McCann is going to be the one seen in 2020? Yes I sure do. I watched McCann when he was with Detroit vs the White Sox . After he came to the Sox he made adjustment at the plate which improved his plate coverage and caused him to hit line drives in the gaps. McCann was in some respects better than what his numbers indicate. According to Giolito, McCann spent time researching hitters and developing a game plan before each game. It showed in games, particularly when Gio (unlike some other pitchers) would locate and execute the pitch that was called for. Offensively. McCann leveled out his swing and went oppo into the RF gap whenever pitchers tried to get him out on outside pitches. Finally, McCann had several clutch hits that kept us in games and he won a few of them for us. Those of us who watched many games last year saw this. Collins? I saw a game where he was checking into the dugout after EVERY pitch to find out what to call. He looked clueless back there. He can hit some home runs like any big dude but he didn't hit for average and never did for the most part in the minors. He is not athletic in terms of his build and his lack of quickness and speed are things that will never improve. Please, enough with this guy. He's had his chances. It is time to win now with Grandal and McCann. A fifth year in the minors is not going to help (Collins) and neither would a roster spot on our 26 man roster as a third string catcher.

The Sox are gambling on Mazara turning things around. The Rangers were not able to get him to stop chasing balls out of the zone and grounding out. Grounding into inning killing double plays could get old after a while, especially on a Sox team where RBI guys are up and down the line-up. I hope the Sox get Castellanos if he could be signed to a 3 year deal for 45-50 with an option for a 4th year. Mazara can be a 4th outfielder leaving Engel as the odd man out.

Nokona for the win.

I hope the Sox trade Collins for a minor league relief pitcher and end the absurd debate about whether he is the future catcher for the White Sox. That ship sailed even before the Sox signed Grandal. Let Collins get yet another chance to prove himself....on another team.

Collins was given a chance last season after four years in the minors and hit .186 while looking silly at times defensively. Fvk him if he wants a roster spot.

That is a good suggestion. I had a more draconian solution that involved having the umpire give a warning to a catcher that is flagrantly pulling pitches into the strike zone or otherwise trying to obscure the umpire from calling balls and strikes. After a second infraction the batter would be awarded first base with the at-bat registered as an intentional walk. As it stands, there has been so much talk about "framing" pitches, that the umpire union is already pouring over video and scouting catchers who are the best at this tactic. After all "framing" is a euphemism for cheating. Collins is not a good catcher. He lacks the speed, reflexes and athleticism that a guy like Fisk had or even what McCann has. He would be gone if he had an ounce of trade value. Instead, the Sox will probably trade McCann, which may prove to be mistake.

It's impossible to completely address batting splits by just starting a RH outfielder (when there is a LH pitcher and vice versa) . You don't have enough bench options to keep flipping RH - LH batters every time a pitching change is made. and it is not ideal to have a cold hitter coming off the bench.

I guess you didn't read the entire article. ? Oh, he is both the former and the latter among other attributes mentioned in the article.

Projecting Collins as a DH is a real stretch. I am even beginning to wonder about Vaughn. An article considering his pros and cons prior to last years Draft is here.

Trade Collins and Fulmer for a bucket of balls.

More powerful than steaming locomotive, faster than a speeding bullet on the bases, slower than cold molasses behind the plate, it's a bird, it's a plane, no it's Zac(k) Collins. Your Superman.

in Charlotte.

" Collins’s patience in working counts has also translated to high strikeout totals in his professional career: in 1365 minor league plate appearances, Collins has produced a 29% strikeout rate. His struggles making contact have also produced low batting averages, though Collins’s skillset is such that he can be productive without hitting for a high average. Scouts are also skeptical his defense behind the plate, with MLB Pipeline suggesting that Collins “lacks soft hands and is a shaky receiver.” https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/zack-collins