Soha

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Dec 13, 2017 -> 11:36 AM) I’m surprised by how willing people are to trade Cease. I personally think he’ll be better than Hansen Maybe I'm over-valuing him, but I think Hansen has a good chance to be a star.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 13, 2017 -> 11:22 AM) To me, the Sox have four untouchable prospects at the moment in Jimenez, Kopech, Robert, & Hansen. After that, I’m open to exploring deals as long as I’m not completely exhausting my prospect depth. I still think it’s a year too early to cash in on our prospects though unless a deal is simply too good to pass up. I would add Moncada and Giolito to the list of untouchables, bringing it to 6. Everyone else is tradable to some degree. If they can pull off a Lopez & Cease for Machado trade, where it includes a window to sign him - I do that trade. Without the window I would give up too little for the Orioles to consider it. But I would not trade any of those top 6 guys for anything. They are what we are building around. Also if they can trade for Machado, and he does insist on playing shortstop - move TA to CF. He has the athleticism to excel out there.

QUOTE (Soxnfins @ Dec 11, 2017 -> 09:24 AM) I honestly think a Fulmer for Brinson trade makes a ton of sense for both sides. I’m still not sold on Fulmer being a starter.... I think he has the stuff to be a lights out closer, though. I'd do that trade in a heartbeat. I don't think Milwaukee would, though.

If the above trade happened, I'd have two thoughts: 1) I'd love Rich Hahn for pulling off another beauty. 2) My God, those Red Sox/Yankees games would actually be worth the hype for once

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 10, 2017 -> 08:37 AM) Ok, who says no: Sox trade Carlos Rodon for Clint Frazier & Justus Sheffield I'd say if they are both healthy, the Sox say no. But as things stand with Rodon's injury, the Yankees say no.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Dec 9, 2017 -> 08:00 PM) He's also 20 and in A+ and hit a lot of doubles. Converting gap power to over the wall power is sometimes a developmental step a prospect has to take. Yeah...I did at (yet at least) to the end of my post. I know this story is a long way from being told. But would I take back that trade if I could? Yes.

QUOTE (SonofaRoache @ Dec 9, 2017 -> 07:06 PM) You'rw not getting top tier free agents coming off a second straight tank season. Ummm...maybe, maybe not. If a few guys are showing to be potential superstars, then I could see some guys biting on coming to the Sox. Just like with the current Cubs team...you could smell what was coming, even while they were still terrible. Hopefully the same thing happens here.

I wouldn't offer anything for him. The Sox need to gather prospects, not send them to other teams. Just hope he makes it to free agency and they can make a run at him. If not, then make a run at Bryce Harper or someone else next winter.

No thanks from the Sox perspective. The last time we traded for a Yankee prospect they were souring on, it didn't work out well from our end (yet at least).

My God, that lineup is going to be tough to go against.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 12:18 PM) I will be shocked if there is not an available 30+ year old slugging player that can only play 1b in 2020. This, to me, is really not that risky. I agree with this. I think Avi is the guy that you either trade or extend.

QUOTE (FT35 @ Dec 6, 2017 -> 08:43 AM) Anyone think Avi could net Alex Reyes in a deal with the Cards? I don't think so

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 2, 2017 -> 09:18 PM) It tells more than a small part of the story. The last time someone ran a BABIP as high as Avisail's was Chris Johnson in 2013. He finished with the 5th highest batting average at .321. His career average was .275. Garcia made legitimate changes to his game for the best, but to suggest that much of his season last year was not derived from incredible batted ball luck is frankly ignorant. It's probably safe to figure him as a 2 WAR player unless the power starts to blossom, because he will not be running a .392 BABIP again. It takes approximately 800 balls in play to figure statistical significance of BABIP for a hitter. Garcia put 389 balls in play last year. He didn't even reach the halfway point of statistical significance. There is nothing you can determine by his BABIP last year, and we might not discover anything till the end of next season. I suggested his BA could drop 30 points - and he'd still be a valuable player. I just find it odd how some of you guys refuse to give him credit. Or refuse to acknowledge that he might further improve in some of the aspects of his game - like taking walks, or extra base hits. So again, even if he does drop 30 or 40 points in his BA, he could still be an extremely valuable player. Maybe even as valuable as he was in 2017. As said above by another poster, the same people kept saying, oh its only May..oh he only did it half a season..oh wait, he did it all year. There's no reason to think all these people that have been wrong all along will suddenly be right about him. Maybe, just maybe he will reacha little b it of that potential that we heard about 3-4 years ago?

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Dec 2, 2017 -> 08:57 PM) It's sort of funny how a guy who hit .330 with near 20 HR's and 80 RBI improved his defense , his speed, his base running , cut down on his K's , had career highs in doubles , triples, HR, WAR, OBP, wRC+, OPS, OPS+, Total bases and was an All Star is treated with such disdain ,as if all those things just magically appeared without dedication and hard work to actually improve himself. Will he ever have such a high BABIP again ? Probably not but give the guy some credit. Hitting.330 and the rest of it is not just some result of the stars aligning right or making a deal with the devil . I agree with this. The over-rating of BABIP by some people here is just ridiculous. It's a useful stat, but it only tells a small part of the story. Personally I like Avi's chances of hitting .300 again next year. He doesn't need to hit .330 to be a big asset.

QUOTE (GermanSock @ Nov 29, 2017 -> 04:09 AM) I would sell high on him now. he has made some really improvements (physically and Approach) but still he was quite lucky last year and still is a bad Defender so that isn't a Bonus if his hitting Comes down. his BABIP was 392 which lead the Majors I think. he always was a high BABIP guy but 330 is more realisitic than 390. his xwOBA was 40 Points higher than his wOBA and his projections have him at a 110 wRC+ and 1.7 WAR next year. that is a useful MLB Player but still basically average, he won't repeat the 4 WAR, 137 wRC+ unless he increases his power (without losing much on average). I don't agree that he's a bad defender. I think he's at least average. He was 2nd in outfield assists in baseball last year. I didn't see a lot of bonehead plays. And I think his better physical shape allowed him to get to more balls as well.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Nov 26, 2017 -> 12:41 PM) Chicago wins in so many areas. But cash always wins out. How much can a baseball player enjoy the city he plays in anyway? Chicago in the winter is horrific. Chicago during the summer is great but he's busy playing baseball. If I'm wrong about this one and he takes our pennies compared to what some teams can offer, I will be humbled big time. Cmon. Money money money is what makes the world go round. I'd tell the intern to do a nice job answering the questions and I'd edit it but not spend much time on this. You know, I was dismissive of this before as well. And I still think it's like a 2 or 3% chance at best. But...we keep hearing about how he doesn't care about money. And that he specifically told teams not to bring it up further illustrates that. Chicago is a an easy sell usually. Maybe not for a Japanese person, though. That is an uphill battle I think. But man this city sells itself if done right. And rumors are out there he wants to be part of a rebuilding team. What better team to join a rebuild with that the White Sox? They have the best collection of young talent in baseball. Show him a highlight video of Jimenez, Robert, Kopech, Hansen, Moncada...I mean wow. Who can top that? He can be part of this from the ground up. And as said, they have one of the best, if not the very best pitching coaches in baseball. Don Cooper will get the most out of just about every pitcher. Herm Schneider's tracking record for keeping players off the DL is second to none. Maybe we do have a chance after all.

Personally I'd keep both Avi and Abreu. I don't think they're going to want to build the lineup up from scratch. That might prove more difficult than anyone would expect. Like someone said, give Abreu a 4yr/70ish deal and I'm sure he'd be happy. Avi let it play out and decide during the season if they want to re-sign or trade.

If the Cardinals traded for Avi and Abreu, plus signed Arrieta...suddenly they are co-favorites right there with the Cubs.

QUOTE (Quin @ Nov 20, 2017 -> 07:16 AM) Already making moves to court Maitan, I see. haha, that was my first thought also

These full rebuilds are becoming the in thing to do lately, especially with the Cubs and Astros winning the last 2 World Series. More and more teams are going that route. I absolutely think there will be a team that plucks him away if the Sox leave him unprotected. Maybe even the Tigers.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Nov 15, 2017 -> 09:31 PM) Strongly disagree. This is a team that was above .500 in September, and the young guys are only getting better. A bottom feeder team playing well when the pressure is off in September is fool's gold if you're thinking it will progress from there.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Nov 15, 2017 -> 07:39 AM) There are “rumors” he wants to join a rebuilding/non-established team. Look I don’t see it happening, but theoretically if those rumors are true the Sox make a lot of sense. Plus like others have said, we could let him DH most days he’s not pitching, which rules out a bunch of rebuilding clubs. Again, I’m skeptical of all this, but I didn’t think he’d sacrifice millions upon millions to come over as soon as possible and that appears to be the case. I didn't know of those rumors. I've been so dismissive of this in my head that I haven't really followed it much. So I guess that's good news.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Nov 15, 2017 -> 06:58 AM) Why is the attitude here so dismissive of this possibility? Can you imagine if the White Sox did land him and he lived up to the hype? Adding Otani to Rodon, Anderson, Moncada, Jimenez, Kopech, Giolito, Lopez, Robert, Hansen, Collins, Rutherford, Fulmer, Cease, et al would be a coup and I think accelerate the process of the rebuild and extend the timeframe in which we could expect to see results. It would feel like a longshot in every possible way: 1) One of the worst teams in baseball 2) Weren't among the teams originally thought to be interested 3) A team that doesn't have a sexy ballpark, fanbase or history. What exactly is going to draw him here? Sure it's possible...but it feels like a 1 in 1000 chance at best.

Uggh, can't stand DiCaro. She was trashing Patrick Kane a few years ago, and it turned out he was framed. Did she ever apologize to him?

I almost went last year. Some friends at work talked me out of it. All 3 of them all agreed it's mostly standing in lines, often in different lines than whoever you came with. You're in one line, they are in another. They said the whole concept just sucks, and if you want the up close experience with players and/or autographs, spring training is 100x better.