tray

So, hypothetically....you are the Sox brass and the Rangers offer up Mazara for Steele Walker. Would you say "no" ? If so, the sh1t you're smoking ain't legal for a few more days. I just looked at Mazara's You Tube highlights and he looks like what we might expect from a guy in his early twenties that was trying to learn on the fly in the majors. His spray chart looks pretty good to me with gap power to Left Center and his power is ridiculous. Longest HR in the majors last season. He does not run very well but he has a cannon for an arm. As Sir had mentioned, you have to evaluate how this player fits into our line-up. I think Mazara fits in pretty well. If the Sox get Castellanos, Beintendi, the Sox could flip Mazara. There are teams that were interested in him including Arizona (fe.g. a possibpe trade chip in a package for Robbie Ray). For your eye test:

This was a Steele for the White Sox...and I am sure that ReyLo won't miss pitching to him again. 505 foot blast Mercy!

Some RF options that make Benintendi a potentially attractive trade target: Joc Pederson - I doubt he wants to play here. He might be one of the better options if he would and a deal could be made. Castellanos - Boras might demand something like 5/100 ... Castellanos can't Defend or throw as well as Bennintendi. Marcell Ozuna had right shoulder surgery and could not throw very well before or after that. He is listed as 225 pounds but looks like he has grown from there, The Sox would have to provide Draft compensation to the Cardinals if they sign him. He already turned down a QO for $17.5 Million for one year. Tsutsugoh - Probably better as a 1B/DH . ----- Price would be a costly contract but he could still pitch so it isn't like that money would be thrown away.

Not sure what BoSox would ask WSox for in exchange for Price and Benintendi but I would think the WSox and Chaim could get that done, Perhaps Stiever and Vaughn, McCann and Dane Dunning, Steele Walker and ReyLo, or some similar combination. I would not like giving up anybody in that transaction, but the BoSox will want some value back even though we would be taking a huge, burdensome contract off their hands. Do that and add Keuchel or another legit starter and it would be quite an off-season.

You're right . I just thought Ray , not being thought of on the same level as Stras or Cole might be worth trying to trade for and then extending on a long term deal.

" Over the past two years, Ray produced elite strikeout numbers, comparable to the Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Max Scherzer. The reason Ray is available for trade, though, is that he’s not particularly good at the other side of pitching: keeping guys off base. His K-BB% is mediocre, just a tick above the 18% median of the 91 pitchers in that plot. His walk rate is dead last in this set! That delta highlights how much Ray struggles to find the plate, even when he has very real swing-and-miss stuff. That’s the tweak the Yankees feel like they can make if they land Ray. " https://www.pinstripealley.com/2019/12/8/20999649/yankees-offseason-trade-pitching-robbie-ray-arizona-diamondbacks-cole-happ-german

Robbie Ray

If the reports are true that the Sox and Cubs are in competition to sign Keuchel and Castellanos, do the White Sox lose on both guys unless they substantially beat the Cubs Offers ? If so, that seems like a terrible no-win situation for Rick,Kenny and Jerry. ...either over pay substantially or lose out on the players.

Ozuna had surgery to clean up his right shoulder and could not play the outfield until March 2019. No way he gets signed anywhere on a multi-year deal before getting cleared by team's medical staff. Any team will want an evaluation of his shoulder, his weight and conditioning.

Reverse discrimination. I am a Republican.

The crooked eye test.

If we sign Ozuna bye-bye to our second round pick , the 49th pick over-all. No I don't want this dude on a long term deal. He looks like he already took on some weight and he is only going to box out further like most people do with age. I don't like his demeanor and the way he wears his hat crooked. Goddamnit. Tell me this rumor is bulshit.

Does the team that signs Ozuna have to provide a Draft pick as partial compensation?

Ozuna? Please say it ain't so.

NOT repeated by Jon Heyman.

I don't think Sale can co-exist with Sox management but maybe he can. I also like the "plan E" someone suggested taking Price , Eovaldi and Benintendi for a similar package that ChiSox378 proposed.

Vasquez is "much better" than McCann? That's arguable. Anyway, if you read some BoSox sites you will see that acquiring a catcher is on Chaim's to-do list. It is a perceived need they wish to address this off-season. . That's the point. Framing might soon become overrated as umpires start making their own adjustments to catchers trying to buy strikes. They have to or they will be replaced by video cameras.

McCann is better than what Boston has at catcher. That is a factor that impacts his value to that team. I like the glass half full glass half empty treatment for Benintendi though. You know, he's not that good but hey, you're never going to gt him unless you fork up much more than an Allstar catcher and a prospect. Same thing goes for Collins. He's not worth a thing until a trade is suggested with him involved and then it's like oh we would rather trade McCann. because maybe Collins will develop into another Carlton Fisk .

Bobby Jenks is a very humble good guy who was surprised how well we received him at Sox Fest and showed his gratitude toward us.

I think the BoSox would rather keep Mookie than Price and Eovaldi. I think they really want to lose those contracts, both of them if possible. No team is going to sign up for either Price or Eovaldi unless the BoSox agree to eat a huge chunk of those contracts and/or they include Benintendi. The other thing I mentioned earlier is that the Carmines need a catcher we we can deal from a position of strength there. Or perhaps a straight trade - McCann+ Fulmer or something... for Benintendi

Many of the concerns about defense led me to my hope that the Sox will inquire about Benintendi. "That's where The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal comes in. He threw out a lot of possibilities when talking about the Red Sox situation Tuesday morning, and one seemed mighty intriguing from a White Sox standpoint. "A better path might be to move left-hander David Price, who is owed $96 million over the next three years, or righty Nathan Eovaldi, who is owed $51 million over the next three. Impossible, you say? Well, what if the Red Sox included cash in a trade and also attached left fielder Andrew Benintendi, who remains cost-effective as he enters his first year of arbitration?" Now that is interesting. Yes, it involves paying and dedicating a roster spot to Price or Eovaldi, who despite their heroics in the 2018 World Series, aren't very dreamy adds for a White Sox team looking to ramp up to perennial contention. Those guys' contracts are albatrosses in Boston. They wouldn't get much better in Chicago, even though the White Sox are in no danger of bumping up to the luxury tax. But both Price and Eovaldi could be usable pitchers for the White Sox in 2020 and beyond, even if they aren't performing at a level their contracts say they should be. The real appealing element of that suggestion, though, is the upside of Benintendi. He has three affordable, arbitration-eligible seasons remaining until he hits free agency, making him a long-term piece. He's also very good, with a .277/.354/.442 slash line to go along with 51 homers in his 471-game big league career. Like much of what happened last season in Boston, 2019 was nowhere near as good as 2018 for Benintendi, who posted career highs in hits, runs scored, doubles, stolen bases, walks and on-base percentage during the Red Sox march to a world championship. In 2019, he slashed .266/.343/.431 with 13 homers, 40 doubles, 68 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 138 games. He also struck out 34 more times in 10 fewer games. Benintendi brings additional value as a left-handed hitter, something almost completely missing from the White Sox lineup. He is also a left fielder, a position the White Sox have filled with Jimenez. Neither player has ever played right field, and putting either there could be signing up for some unwanted defensive issues down the road. But Benintendi is a young, controllable, very good baseball player, and that seems like the kind of thing the White Sox, who have worked hard to achieve their much discussed financial flexibility, would be interested in."

Every player contract has risks associated with it...much more with pitchers (especially high priced pitchers) than position players. Maybe Zack Wheeler blows is arm out (again) in year 1-3 of his contract , has surgery and then is recovering or rehabbing for two years after that . Remember the Mets living on pins and needles with Wheeler's shoulder fatigue and arm soreness long after the TJ recovery? https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/zack-wheeler-hits-il-with-shoulder-fatigue-at-worst-possible-time-for-his-trade-value/ar-AAEmFRz Tsutsugoh would be a possible LH DH, especially if the Sox trade Collins, who has not shown he can hit major league pitching either. So Castellanos plus this guy might work with the lefty/righty platooon strategy.

BoSox need a catcher.

nick: Sox would be selling high on McCann but low on Collins, so what you say makes sense. Anyway, I want the Italian kid who was born in the Midwest (Benintendi) in RF for us. I just don't see the West coast beach boy (Pederson) fitting in as well here.