Chicago White Sox Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Given this team has no hope of competing, it’s important to focus on other key priorities for the year. From my perspective, here are the top 10 goals for the 2024 season: Get a Fucking Haul for Cease - This one is straight forward, but the moment we decided to hold Dylan into the season was the moment we decided to go all-in on getting a godfather package. Any Cease trade needs two legit high-end prospects (plus other things) and one who can help really soon. Make it fucking hurt. Develop Fletcher into a Platoon OF - This team is lacking young positional pieces and that means turning Fletcher into a useful major league OF is a must. And being a solid 4th OF is not a good enough outcome…we need to see this kid lock down a strong-side platoon role in RF with plus defense and a 110+ wRC+ against RHP. Turn Kopech into a Legit #3 SP - I have 100% given up hope of Kopech ever turning into a TOR starter, but I still think he’s far too talented to flop around at the back of a rotation. It’s time for Bannister & Katz to unlock some of Micheal’s potential and turn him into a still somewhat erratic, but mostly productive mid rotation starter. Began Building up Crochet as SP - The key word here is “building”, because no way is this guy going to be ready to provide any meaningful innings this year. As such, send him to Charlotte for a few months and let him move at a more gradual pace. This also allows us to claw back a year of control and retain him through 2027. Fully Assess Fedde & Soroka - This one is a bit tricky, but we need to quickly assess what we have in these guys and determine whether they can be part of the future or not (assuming results are there). With Soroka in particular, if there is no path to an extension, he must be moved at the deadline. We have a bit more flexibility with Fedde, but have to carefully weight go-forward value vs. potential prospect return. Keep Yoan & Eloy Healthy - This one is simple, but we need these guys to show-out this year so we can possibly trade them for something of value and that requires them to be healthy. I’m somewhat optimistic that Yoan will suddenly find the will to fight through pain given he’s effectively in a contract year. Eloy is a wild card, but I do believe he can still be a dynamic hitter if healthy and return a legit prospect. Develop Some Future Bullpen Pieces - The Sox will almost certainly start the year with a bunch of veterans in the major league pen, but once guys like Leasure, Berroa, & Speas are ready they should be called up and given ample opportunity to prove themselves this year. Same applies to Horn if he doesn’t make the OD roster. Give 30+ Starts to Minor League SPs - The OD rotation appears packed with vets, but we need to be prepared to allocate starts to youth once ready. Flexin should be on the chopping block if one of Nastrini, Eder, or Cannon prove ready earlier in the year. But post July, we must commit a good chunk of starts to those kids or others who prove they are ready for a shot to help get some development out of the way. Make Vaughn Prove Himself - It’s officially put up or shut up time for Andrew and if he doesn’t take a massive leap this year then I’m afraid it will be time to move on. The glove and base-running will never be there, which means the kid needs to put up a 120+ wRC+ to be useful. Play him everyday and see which version shows up. Protect Luis Robert - I know it will be easy for Grifol to slot Robert into the lineup everyday, but the dude is the single most valuable asset in the organization and should be managed with some caution (especially in a lost season). Not suggesting we completely baby him, but give him an off-day every couple of weeks and rest him whenever banged up. Another healthy season will greatly enhance his value. 9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteSox2023 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Great post. I think you nailed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Deep Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 How about Win some damn games!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 This year is very much about what happens at the levels below Chicago this year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Vaughn gets way too much leeway. He's as much a face of the failed rebuild as any of the other guys, including Yoan, Eloy, TA, Giolito etc. You trot him out there for 150 games at 1st and see what happens. If he doesn't hit this year, he's another guy that will have to be replaced if we want to win. Can't carry a replacement level 1B that hits righty. 3 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppysox Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Win the Central. If Moncada, Eloy, and Robert play up to their potential...we will be right there. 1 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 (edited) 3 minutes ago, poppysox said: Win the Central. If Moncada, Eloy, and Robert play up to their potential...we will be right there. A good team will need about 40 WAR. Say absolute best case scenario you get 5 from Moncada, 4 from Eloy, and 6 from Robert -- now find 25 more on the roster. There's no way bro. Edited March 5 by chitownsportsfan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tnetennba Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 45 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said: Given this team has no hope of competing, it’s important to focus on other key priorities for the year. From my perspective, here are the top 10 goals for the 2024 season: Get a Fucking Haul for Cease - This one is straight forward, but the moment we decided to hold Dylan into the season was the moment we decided to go all-in on getting a godfather package. Any Cease trade needs two legit high-end prospects (plus other things) and one who can help really soon. Make it fucking hurt. Develop Fletcher into a Platoon OF - This team is lacking young positional pieces and that means turning Fletcher into a useful major league OF is a must. And being a solid 4th OF is not a good enough outcome…we need to see this kid lock down a strong-side platoon role in RF with plus defense and a 110+ wRC+ against RHP. Turn Kopech into a Legit #3 SP - I have 100% given up hope of Kopech ever turning into a TOR starter, but I still think he’s far too talented to flop around at the back of a rotation. It’s time for Bannister & Katz to unlock some of Micheal’s potential and turn him into a still somewhat erratic, but mostly productive mid rotation starter. Began Building up Crochet as SP - The key word here is “building”, because no way is this guy going to be ready to provide any meaningful innings this year. As such, send him to Charlotte for a few months and let him move at a more gradual pace. This also allows us to claw back a year of control and retain him through 2027. Fully Assess Fedde & Soroka - This one is a bit tricky, but we need to quickly assess what we have in these guys and determine whether they can be part of the future or not (assuming results are there). With Soroka in particular, if there is no path to an extension, he must be moved at the deadline. We have a bit more flexibility with Fedde, but have to carefully weight go-forward value vs. potential prospect return. Keep Yoan & Eloy Healthy - This one is simple, but we need these guys to show-out this year so we can possibly trade them for something of value and that requires them to be healthy. I’m somewhat optimistic that Yoan will suddenly find the will to fight through pain given he’s effectively in a contract year. Eloy is a wild card, but I do believe he can still be a dynamic hitter if healthy and return a legit prospect. Develop Some Future Bullpen Pieces - The Sox will almost certainly start the year with a bunch of veterans in the major league pen, but once guys like Leasure, Berroa, & Speas are ready they should be called up and given ample opportunity to prove themselves this year. Same applies to Horn if he doesn’t make the OD roster. Give 30+ Starts to Minor League SPs - The OD rotation appears packed with vets, but we need to be prepared to allocate starts to youth once ready. Flexin should be on the chopping block if one of Nastrini, Eder, or Cannon prove ready earlier in the year. But post July, we must commit a good chunk of starts to those kids or others who prove they are ready for a shot to help get some development out of the way. Make Vaughn Prove Himself - It’s officially put up or shut up time for Andrew and if he doesn’t take a massive leap this year then I’m afraid it will be time to move on. The glove and base-running will never be there, which means the kid needs to put up a 120+ wRC+ to be useful. Play him everyday and see which version shows up. Protect Luis Robert - I know it will be easy for Grifol to slot Robert into the lineup everyday, but the dude is the single most valuable asset in the organization and should be managed with some caution (especially in a lost season). Not suggesting we completely baby him, but give him an off-day every couple of weeks and rest him whenever banged up. Another healthy season will greatly enhance his value. These are all sound points. Let's hope the boobs in charge have the same priorities, and Pedro's incompetence doesn't get in the way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 this is probably all true but a secret great thing that could happen is yoan actually being good and doing a solid for us so we can recoup something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lip Man 1 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 As Joe Madden used to say, "Try not to suck." Don't lose 100 games. Develop some players at all levels. Avoid injuries and hope to trade your best players for good prospects at the deadline. Fire Pedro Grifol by Memorial Day. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 40 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said: Vaughn gets way too much leeway. He's as much a face of the failed rebuild as any of the other guys, including Yoan, Eloy, TA, Giolito etc. You trot him out there for 150 games at 1st and see what happens. If he doesn't hit this year, he's another guy that will have to be replaced if we want to win. Can't carry a replacement level 1B that hits righty. He's making $3.25 million this year. That's less than Lopez or Maldonado, so that's not unreasonable money to risk on seeing if he could be any better this year. Taking that up to $5-6 million in arbitration year 2, if he performs the same as last year, would be questionable at best. The out, for him, would be non-tendering him at the end of the season, if as you say he doesn't hit this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Deep Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 42 minutes ago, poppysox said: Win the Central. If Moncada, Eloy, and Robert play up to their potential...we will be right there. I'm going to play the what if game..... Bennintendi (Needs to regress to the norm of his career, if he does that's a solid lead off hitter) Moncada (Needs to stay healthy, if he can then you have a solid player) Robert (Super star) Eloy (Very capable of big numbers with High Average......stay Healthy) Vaughn ( Live up to the potential of a good hitter) Fletcher (Has hit everywhere he has been, including MLB last year) DeJong (He won't be there long before Montgomery takes over) Maldonado/Stassi Lopez/DeJong 1-7 has the potential to be a good line-up with Montgomery BUT LOTS OF IF's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T R U Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 I don't care how bad they are, I am ready to watch the Sox every day and curse the off days because its boring without it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestEddy Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 57 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said: A good team will need about 40 WAR. Say absolute best case scenario you get 5 from Moncada, 4 from Eloy, and 6 from Robert -- now find 25 more on the roster. There's no way bro. Being extremely pie-in-the-sky, I come up with: c - maldonado / stassi - 0 1b - vaughn - 2 2b - lopez / sosa - 1 3b - moncada - 4 ss - dejong / montgomery - 1 lf - benintendi - 2 cf - robert - 5 rf - fletcher / pillar - 1 dh - eloy - 2 bench - 0 s1 - soroka - 2 s2 - fedde - 1 s3 - kopech - 2 s4 - flexen - 1 s5 - crochet / kuhl / nastrini - 1 bp - 3 That's 28 WAR, total. That's about a mid-70's win team, right? Don't you roughly start with around 47, then add individual wins? That's if they don't run through all their dumpster dive pitchers by May 15, and the bullpen doesn't implode. I'm being especially positive on Vaughn, Moncada, Benny, maybe even Robert to maintain. Two of those rotational top four have to be league average, and the other two middling. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 9 minutes ago, WestEddy said: Being extremely pie-in-the-sky, I come up with: c - maldonado / stassi - 0 1b - vaughn - 2 2b - lopez / sosa - 1 3b - moncada - 4 ss - dejong / montgomery - 1 lf - benintendi - 2 cf - robert - 5 rf - fletcher / pillar - 1 dh - eloy - 2 bench - 0 s1 - soroka - 2 s2 - fedde - 1 s3 - kopech - 2 s4 - flexen - 1 s5 - crochet / kuhl / nastrini - 1 bp - 3 That's 28 WAR, total. That's about a mid-70's win team, right? Don't you roughly start with around 47, then add individual wins? That's if they don't run through all their dumpster dive pitchers by May 15, and the bullpen doesn't implode. I'm being especially positive on Vaughn, Moncada, Benny, maybe even Robert to maintain. Two of those rotational top four have to be league average, and the other two middling. Yep, that about sums it up. Those three dudes being awesome gets us from "awful" to merely "bad" (mid 70s wins). Even if every position player hits their 80th percentile projections that pitching will be bad enough to keep us well under .500 This isn't a team you squint and see winning 80, this is a team you squint and see winning 72. It's a bad team with a low ceiling and a low floor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestEddy Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 3 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said: Yep, that about sums it up. Those three dudes being awesome gets us from "awful" to merely "bad" (mid 70s wins). Even if every position player hits their 80th percentile projections that pitching will be bad enough to keep us well under .500 I certainly don't see these guys as a possible .500 team, but I don't totally agree with the pitching being bad. Soroka and Kopech have a chance to break out. Fedde will have to adjust, I think, to lefty lineups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 12 minutes ago, WestEddy said: I certainly don't see these guys as a possible .500 team, but I don't totally agree with the pitching being bad. Soroka and Kopech have a chance to break out. Fedde will have to adjust, I think, to lefty lineups. What are the odds that everyone breaks out? That no one gets hurt (including Soroka and Kopech), and that things go well for everyone? People were predicting that for the roster last year, that everyone would be excellent and break out, and that might have been enough to get them back into competing for a weak AL Central. That was with a stronger roster than this one, and we saw how it went. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Keep Montgomery and Schultz healthy and on a steady pace to their major league debuts. Do everything to turn Mr. Gonzalez around at SS, especially as if it becomes likelier that Montgomery might be ticketed for 3B or 1B/DH or potentially even corner outfield. Obviously, third base would be the next best outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 37 minutes ago, Balta1701 said: What are the odds that everyone breaks out? That no one gets hurt (including Soroka and Kopech), and that things go well for everyone? People were predicting that for the roster last year, that everyone would be excellent and break out, and that might have been enough to get them back into competing for a weak AL Central. That was with a stronger roster than this one, and we saw how it went. Soroka and Kopech "breaking out" would be turning into decent 3rd or 4th starters that can actually pitch 150 innings. That would be awesome, it would still leave us short 3 starters once Cease is traded and about half a dozen decent relievers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lip Man 1 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 2 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said: Soroka and Kopech "breaking out" would be turning into decent 3rd or 4th starters that can actually pitch 150 innings. That would be awesome, it would still leave us short 3 starters once Cease is traded and about half a dozen decent relievers. And who is to say if that were to happen Soroka and Kopech wouldn't be traded either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T R U Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 1 hour ago, WestEddy said: I certainly don't see these guys as a possible .500 team, but I don't totally agree with the pitching being bad. Soroka and Kopech have a chance to break out. Fedde will have to adjust, I think, to lefty lineups. Mike Soroka hasn't started more than 6 games in a season since 2019 and has made 9 starts total since that 2019 season. If he shows a glimpse of anything he should be traded as quickly as possible. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 41 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said: And who is to say if that were to happen Soroka and Kopech wouldn't be traded either. If they were truly a ".500 team" like the poster I replied to suggested, I'd imagine they'd convince themselves not to sell guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppysox Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 2 hours ago, 2Deep said: I'm going to play the what if game..... Bennintendi (Needs to regress to the norm of his career, if he does that's a solid lead off hitter) Moncada (Needs to stay healthy, if he can then you have a solid player) Robert (Super star) Eloy (Very capable of big numbers with High Average......stay Healthy) Vaughn ( Live up to the potential of a good hitter) Fletcher (Has hit everywhere he has been, including MLB last year) DeJong (He won't be there long before Montgomery takes over) Maldonado/Stassi Lopez/DeJong 1-7 has the potential to be a good line-up with Montgomery BUT LOTS OF IF's Yep...the big if is health. Pitching is unknown but promising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteSox2023 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 13 minutes ago, poppysox said: Yep...the big if is health. Pitching is unknown but promising. But the offense is known and it’s bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppysox Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 31 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said: But the offense is known and it’s bad. I disagree. As I said in my earlier post...if healthy the lineup looks good to me. As they say...that's why they play the games. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.