tray

I grew up on the South side of the city and took CTA buses to go to Sox games as a high school kid. My family and most friends still live in the suburban Chicago area. I love them and love the White Sox and would never think of moving South . Nashville? LOL. Play that country music white boy..

Moncada does not want to play third base. I would make him play there and if doesn't work out, then trade him. Aside from the fact that he could block Madrigal at second, the Sox have to solve the perennial question mark at third base. Now that Machado is gone, Moncada has to step up at the hot corner.

Interesting question to ponder.. I think if Machado signs with the WSox AND agrees to play third (which i doubt) I still think Moncada could be blocking Madrigal at second if, as it turns out, Moncada strikes out 200+ times this season, flubs too many routine plays, and Madrigal looks like he can be a tremendous on base hitter with plus defensive skills.

I agree. It looks incredibly effortless when he is going 1st to 3rd in a flash. Re Moncada : He did not want to play third for the Red Sox . Now he continues to express a strong preference to play second. Whether Machado signs with the WSox or not, I think Moncada should be tried at third base. Otherwise, he could be blocking Madrigal.

Trade

If we get Manny, I could see a starting infield with Moncada 3rd, Manny at SS, and Madrigal at Second by the end of the year.

For the Sox, a starting infield with Manny would obviously change planning for 2019 and beyond, and impact the future of players and prospects we have.That is what makes waiting for his decision unbearable for the franchise, its players and Sox fans. Hindsight is 20/20, but if the Sox had shifted Moncada to third base last year and he proved that he could field the hot corner and would be comfortable there, perhaps the Sox would not be offering as much for Machado.

You missed the point. *IF* the Sox have offers on the table for both players there absolutely is some chance that both decide to deal with the Sox or even to accept their Offer. If the Sox have Offers on the table for both, they must at least be considering the possibility of signing both. So no, there is not a zero chance. Machado, Harper and the White Sox may want to do deals that would amount a shot heard 'round the world. Shock and Awe. For Jerry, this would be remindful of his signing of Fisk/Luzinski Money wise, the Michael Jordan contract with Pippen and supporting players indicate that Jerry will pay

The rumors indicate that the Sox may have Offers on the table for Machado and forHarper. What if they both say yes to the White Sox ?

What do you make of the reported Hahn quote that Machado's agent has "not responded in kind." ? I think the White Sox are at least entitled to a counter-proposal from Lozano given all of the effort that the organization has gone to in order to attract Manny and his family to Chicago. If Lozano is just using the White Sox to leverage a higher offer, we will all be pissed off along with the White Sox ownership and management. I understand the competitive bidding process, but at some point it can get abusive. Lozano can just ask the teams still interested in Manny and that Manny would like to play for to submit their highest and best offer in x amount of time, then let him decide. This isn't rocket science as they say. Come on Manny for Chrissakes make a decision. We will all but kiss your ass to play here.

I would have preferred that the Sox sign Avi for a year than to trade any decent prospect(s) for an OF that is going to be a placeholder for Luis Robert, et.al. No problem with getting Pederson other than it signals that the Sox may have given up on Harper. Pederson could hit 25-30 HR with a decent amount of ABs. We could end up having a team with loads of power. Sox fans love HRs , fireworks, and walk-off wins. Now like the rest of us, I am just crossing my fingers and hoping we get Machado. He is a game changer, especially for the Sox where he would fit like a glove, Hope he gets announced as our dude at SoxFest..

Jay is placeholder for Luis Robert and a replacement for Engel who should be DFAed. Avi's replacement is yet to be determined. Once we know , then the comparisons to Avi can be ddiscussed' Palka is a tank - strictly a DH and pinch hitter.

Hey Avi only hit .330 over the course of an entire season once. Lots of major league players do that at least once during their career, right? Oh yea, he is prone to injury because of an accident fielding a line drive when he was playing at a much higher weight, but you know, he was injured last season so you put those injuries together and it is obvious, , he is a ticking time bomb, just waiting to be injured again. And he is slow....well at least he was before he lost weight and got in top shape. Low power numbers too which is absolutely unacceptable when you hit .330. No sense trying to master the strike zone a bit before starting to wail away.

Passan has always been partial to the cubs so I do not give any credence whateoever to his reporting about the White Sox.

If the Sox somehow land Harper, I would try to trade for Kris Bryant. Not sure with what,,,,Perhaps Moncada plus Cease but not Eloy or Luis Robert.

If JR lands one or both Manny and/or Bryce they should make arrangements to have SoxFest at a larger venue. Go crazy as Farmio says.

One reality inherent in the rebuild is the short shelf life that players have in the majors. Most of us consider that prospects, say under under 21 or 22 yrs. old, aren't "ready" to even start their careers on a major league team. Then once they reach 30, they are considered over-the -hill or perhaps not part of any rebuild process. Given that, it is understandable how difficult it is for each of the 30 teams to find that magical combination where all of the talent on the roster reaches a crescendo in the same season. We are not the only team that is having a hard time putting it together, even for some future season where you project talent, payroll, possible injury and varying performance from season to season. I'm glad I am not Rick Hahn.

Do the Sox project Eloy to be a corner outfielder in the long term (e.g. over the next 3-6 years) ? If Eloy is projected as another Big Frank at first base, then I see how trading Abreu might make sense.

It would be great if Moncada would agree to play some games at third and some at second in order to give the Sox some options moving forward. My own opinion about when to bring a player up is when he is probably the best option a team has at a certain position, or if they need his skill set for a particular reason such as speed, hitting , defense. I also think that some teams who are probably not going to compete, could justify bringing up prospects to see what they have and at the same time, give young players a chance to compete at the major league level. I think Robert is probably better than Engel right now. Madrigal's bat skills might compel the Sox to bring him up earlier than some have predicted. And please, don't blame the Sox for bringing him up Fulmer before he was "ready." Sometimes it is important to determine what type of talent you have but it is equally important to assess what you do not have.

GK: I would make that trade as well buy I don't think Burgur has an ounce of trade value.

I'd trade Moncada before trading Robert or Madrigal but I would not even go there unless Moncada either refused to play third base or just continued to be an average at best hitter with a high strike out rate.

The Narvaez, Davidson, Avi moves were a defensive purge. The end of the clown show on defense. Hopefully, but that depends on who replaces them.

Lol same thought Same lack of thought.

So just to be clear, your plan is I’d like to share my actual thoughts here, but would prefer to avoid a likely suspension. I guess you missed "semi-serious" or do not understand what that means or you cannot appreciate sarcasm. Anyway, I sense some repressed anger. If that's the case go ahead and vent if that makes you feel better.

Lilly: I am sold on getting Harper and plugging in some veteran talent , especially for our rotation and bullpen. But I know you don't want to hear that so let me bite on a semi-serious alternative: Tank 2019, but in committing to that end, put a AA team on the field and let them be baptized by fire....kind of like the mid-sixties NY Mets. Infield: Moncada at 3rd (make him play there) , Timmy at short, Madrigal at 2nd, Abreu at 1st. Outfield Eloy, Robert and Avi G. Catcher: Bring up Collins or Zavala Meanwhile, try to trade Abreu and Avi. If a trade gets done, replace them with other AA type talent, like Basabe or Micker. Same idea with pitching - cycle pitchers up from the minors to see who can cut it in the bigs. That would guarantee another 100 loss season, but fans might actually enjoy watching the rebuild happen in real time during actual major league games. What more would we have to lose if we are going to lose anyway ? So tank 2019, but at least try to make it interesting.