Kimbrel traded for AJ Pollock

[pcq]

Duh Sheets gets to play cuz we have no lefties.

[maxjusttyped]

Just now, chw42 said:

Burger's value isn't very high. Especially to a team like Oakland, since Burger is pretty much ML ready when they're years away from competing. 

Pache and Langeliers are basically big league ready. I don't think their plan is to tank for 4 years or anything. I could definitely see one of Sheets or Burger ending up in Oakland.

[Two-Gun Pete]

Just now, Chicago White Sox said:

Where @Two-Gun Pete at???

 

Meh. We'll see how his 34-going-on-35 year old body responds, and whether or not he can keep his BABIP > .320.

If Pollock can do this, sure, I'll eat crow.

 

As of this moment, I'd still rather have 27 year old Suzuki in the team.

[EloyJenkins]

so...everyone good with Pollock jacking one off Kimbrel in game 6 to win the WS? Calling it now....

[chw42]

1 minute ago, maxjusttyped said:

Pache and Langeliers are basically big league ready. I don't think their plan is to tank for 4 years or anything. I could definitely see one of Sheets or Burger ending up in Oakland.

Those 2 are also way higher profile prospects though. 

[Two-Gun Pete]

30 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

His xwOBA would have ranked him 3rd on the team last year behind Yaz and Robert. The Sox were a pretty good offense last year. His production was expected to be very good. 

We'll see if he can continue at this rate, at his age, and with his injury history.

I'm relieved that the Kimbrelectomy procedure has occurred, but Pollock is just "meh" to me at this point. I still would rather have Suzuki in the team instead.

 

I'll be glad to be wrong, if Pollock can continue to kick the Invincible Father Time's ass.

[Chicago White Sox]

2 hours ago, Balta1701 said:

Content with him being gone, impressed how many people who thought he was worth Bellinger are suddenly totally ok with that return. It's pretty much taking on an OF who fits but who is somewhat overpaid. 

You think Pollack is overpaid at $10M?

[mqr]

2 hours ago, Balta1701 said:

Content with him being gone, impressed how many people who thought he was worth Bellinger are suddenly totally ok with that return. It's pretty much taking on an OF who fits but who is somewhat overpaid. 

Isn't Bellinger getting paid more, and very possibly, much, much worse?

Edited April 1, 2022 by mqr

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

Posted this a few pages back, but there's plenty of playing time to go around:

Edited it to account for CF too; and honestly, Leury shouldn't see a single game in the OF this year. With 5 positions, you have 810 games to go around. They could easily shake out as follows:

Vaughn - 120 (Hoping for more but we'll see)
Abreu - 145
Pollock - 120
Sheets - 80
Eloy - 135
Engel - 40 starts - he'll get into a lot more games as a defensive replacement too so he'll likely see about 80-90 games
Yas - 25 games at DH
Robert - 145 games

If you want to give Sheets more games because he's hitting and Vaughns not for whatever reason, then swap. 

There. Are. Plenty. Of. At. Bats. And this is assuming zero injuries really @Jack Parkman

You get an injury to anyone of those guys, and now you're looking at almost everyone pushing 130-140 games.

[EloyJenkins]

2 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Posted this a few pages back, but there's plenty of playing time to go around:

Edited it to account for CF too; and honestly, Leury shouldn't see a single game in the OF this year. With 5 positions, you have 810 games to go around. They could easily shake out as follows:

Vaughn - 120 (Hoping for more but we'll see)
Abreu - 145
Pollock - 120
Sheets - 80
Eloy - 135
Engel - 40 starts - he'll get into a lot more games as a defensive replacement too so he'll likely see about 80-90 games
Yas - 25 games at DH
Robert - 145 games

If you want to give Sheets more games because he's hitting and Vaughns not for whatever reason, then swap. 

There. Are. Plenty. Of. At. Bats. And this is assuming zero injuries really @Jack Parkman

You get an injury to anyone of those guys, and now you're looking at almost everyone pushing 130-140 games.

I like you way more when you are happy and not bitching. good post and this breakdown looks correct. Plus...Leury can't play the outfield when he has to start at 2B for our shitty Harrison acquisition...right? 😀

Edited April 1, 2022 by EloyJenkins

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

8 minutes ago, Two-Gun Pete said:

We'll see if he can continue at this rate, at his age, and with his injury history.

I'm relieved that the Kimbrelectomy procedure has occurred, but Pollock is just "meh" to me at this point. I still would rather have Suzuki in the team instead.

 

I'll be glad to be wrong, if Pollock can continue to kick the Invincible Father Time's ass.

The risk with Pollock will always be injury related, and the nagging injuries can bring down his play. Sox should have enough flexibility and depth at this point to keep him fresh and put him in good positions to succeed. As I noted though, you're pointing to BABIP as an indicator of success, but his expected numbers were in fact very good - based on his batted ball profile. Pollock is a good player. He's aged really well so far too, and the speed has held up pretty well. Could he hit a wall? Sure. He's certainly worth the gamble though. 

Edited April 1, 2022 by Look at Ray Ray Run

[Chicago White Sox]

2 hours ago, chw42 said:

Not sure how the math will work out, the signing bonus is given out every year, so we might have to pay it? 

Signing bonus was paid up front and is simply allocated across all seasons for accounting purposes.

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

1 minute ago, EloyJenkins said:

I like you way more when you are happy and not bitching. good post and this breakdown looks pretty good. Plus...Leury can't play the outfield when he has to start at 2B for our shitty Harrison acquisition...right? 😀

He's just a bad defensive outfielder; I'd argue terrible. The IF will need him to give blows to Tim and Yoan too - although Yoan is probably the most reliable guy not named Abreu on the roster, health-wise, which is ironic given how much flack he takes for his "injuries." The Sox still don't have a second baseman, but I can get over that with a lineup that's 8 deep.

[Jack Parkman]

5 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Posted this a few pages back, but there's plenty of playing time to go around:

Edited it to account for CF too; and honestly, Leury shouldn't see a single game in the OF this year. With 5 positions, you have 810 games to go around. They could easily shake out as follows:

Vaughn - 120 (Hoping for more but we'll see)
Abreu - 145
Pollock - 120
Sheets - 80
Eloy - 135
Engel - 40 starts - he'll get into a lot more games as a defensive replacement too so he'll likely see about 80-90 games
Yas - 25 games at DH
Robert - 145 games

If you want to give Sheets more games because he's hitting and Vaughns not for whatever reason, then swap. 

There. Are. Plenty. Of. At. Bats. And this is assuming zero injuries really @Jack Parkman

You get an injury to anyone of those guys, and now you're looking at almost everyone pushing 130-140 games.

Sure, but is there enough room on the 26 man roster for all of them come May? 

Edited April 1, 2022 by Jack Parkman

[Chisoxfn]

2 hours ago, Tony said:

Talk about moving the goalposts! Holy Balta! 

Plus - am I mistaken - because isn't it technically 1yr of 15M or 2yr of 20M (which if Pollock produces like he did last year - I don't see any reason you would make it a 1yr deal.  And Pederson not on any level as good as Pollock (other than he hits left handed).  '

Edit: My fault since it is a player option (vs. team).  

[Tony]

5 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Posted this a few pages back, but there's plenty of playing time to go around:

Edited it to account for CF too; and honestly, Leury shouldn't see a single game in the OF this year. With 5 positions, you have 810 games to go around. They could easily shake out as follows:

Vaughn - 120 (Hoping for more but we'll see)
Abreu - 145
Pollock - 120
Sheets - 80
Eloy - 135
Engel - 40 starts - he'll get into a lot more games as a defensive replacement too so he'll likely see about 80-90 games
Yas - 25 games at DH
Robert - 145 games

If you want to give Sheets more games because he's hitting and Vaughns not for whatever reason, then swap. 

There. Are. Plenty. Of. At. Bats. And this is assuming zero injuries really @Jack Parkman

You get an injury to anyone of those guys, and now you're looking at almost everyone pushing 130-140 games.

Good breakdown Ray. 

[chw42]

3 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

The risk with Pollock will always be injury related, and the nagging injuries can bring down his play. Sox should have enough flexibility and depth at this point to keep him fresh and put him in good positions to succeed. As I noted though, you're point to BABIP as an indicator of success, but his expected numbers were in fact very good - based on his batted ball profile. Pollock is a good player. He's aged really well so far too, and the speed has held up pretty well. Could he hit a wall? Sure. He's certainly worth the gamble though. 

Pollock's injuries the last 2 years have all been hamstring related. We've already got one guy in RF with hamstring problems, now we have 2. Hamstring issues were very prevalent in baseball last year though, so hopefully that was because of the 60 game season. 

[Tnetennba]

 

[SoxBlanco]

Just now, chw42 said:

Pollock's injuries the last 2 years have all been hamstring related. We've already got one guy in RF with hamstring problems, now we have 2. Hamstring issues were very prevalent in baseball last year though, so hopefully that was because of the 60 game season. 

Did Pollock even get injured 2 years ago?  I have no clue, but he played 55 games in the shortened season.

[Two-Gun Pete]

1 minute ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

The risk with Pollock will always be injury related, and the nagging injuries can bring down his play. Sox should have enough flexibility and depth at this point to keep him fresh and put him in good positions to succeed. As I noted though, you're point to BABIP as an indicator of success, but his expected numbers were in fact very good - based on his batted ball profile. Pollock is a good player. He's aged really well so far too, and the speed has held up pretty well. Could he hit a wall? Sure. He's certainly worth the gamble though. 

Everyone is happy that Kimbrel is gone. And, sure, Pollock is "as good as it could get" for Kimbrel.

But I think you'll agree that it could have been far better than this, and Pollock comes with significant downside risks. Father Time can come get him, or injuries, or as I'd mentioned, BABIP regression.

And I'll agree that it was worth the gamble. But there really weren't a lot of options, were there?

3 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Edited it to account for CF too; and honestly, Leury shouldn't see a single game in the OF this year. With 5 positions, you have 810 games to go around. They could easily shake out as follows:

Vaughn - 120 (Hoping for more but we'll see)
Abreu - 145
Pollock - 120
Sheets - 80
Eloy - 135
Engel - 40 starts - he'll get into a lot more games as a defensive replacement too so he'll likely see about 80-90 games
Yas - 25 games at DH
Robert - 145 games

Pollock's only averaged 107 games/season over the past 5 seasons, excepting the shortened 2020 season. Eloy and Robert also have significant injury histories.

But for the pending DFA of Grandpa Josh at 2B, I would expect Leury to start a few games in the OF.

[caulfield12]

13 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

You think Pollack is overpaid at $10M?

Just thinking the odds of Pollock and Harrison repeating 2021 at their age don't usually break in favor of the Sox.  Then you have Abreu at 35 as well.  This year has to be the year to break through.

But for that money, just a 2ish fWAR out of the third OF position would be fine.  Same with 2B.  Just can't be a total black hole.

Edited April 1, 2022 by caulfield12

[maxjusttyped]

3 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

Sure, but is there enough room on the 26 man roster for all of them come May? 

The Sox couldn't make it 2 weeks before multiple players got hurt, but everyone is going to be entirely healthy in May? That strikes me as unlikely, but it'd be a great "problem" to have.

[Balta1701]

13 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

You think Pollack is overpaid at $10M?

It’s $15 million guaranteed with a player option for the next $5.

[Tnetennba]

1 hour ago, chw42 said:

It was probably the best trade available out there. 

The question is would you rather have Pollock for 1 year or somebody like Rosario at 2/$18 million in free agency? Cause that's probably who we end up with if we don't pick up the Kimbrel option. 

At this point I just wanted him gone and didn't expect much of a return.   The OF options after Conforto all had their warts IMO, so a solid OF that hits RH pitching is a win for me.

[Two-Gun Pete]

4 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said:

Plus - am I mistaken - because isn't it technically 1yr of 15M or 2yr of 20M (which if Pollock produces like he did last year - I don't see any reason you would make it a 1yr deal.  And Pederson not on any level as good as Pollock (other than he hits left handed).  

According to Spotrac, its a player option. So, if Pollock does reasonably well, why wouldn't he opt out after 2022?