OD 26 Man Roster Projection

[Chicago White Sox]

17 minutes ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:

Regarding the outfield, I think Hays is the best option. I’m in agreement that I don’t want to pay Bader off a career year. I liked Tauchman last year, but he is starting to fall off durability wise and isn’t getting any younger. Conforto just sucks now and I don’t think they would get much of anything for him at the deadline even if he bounced back to an extent.

That leaves Hays. He has connections to Fuller from Baltimore, had a fairly good season last year, has some pop, and mashed lefties. He also has experience in both corners and would add a much needed righty bat to this lineup. Shouldn’t be that expensive either. I think he’s the guy on a 1 year deal.

Hayes can’t hit RHP though…his value is entirely against LHP.  If we add another OF, do you really want a short side platoon bat?  What do you envisioning the OF playing time mix looking like if we add Hayes?

Edited 1 hour ago by Chicago White Sox

[Bob Sacamano]

4 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Hayes can’t hit LHP though…his value is entirely against RHP.  If we add another OF, do you really want a short side platoon bat?  What do you envisioning the OF playing time mix looking like if we add Hayes?

Ah. I just assumed he was better against LHP.

Edit: actually, he had a .949 OPs against lefties last year. .941 on 2024. .786 in 2023 but it was close to what it was against RHP

Edited 1 hour ago by Bob Sacamano

[ChiSoxFanMike]

2 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Hayes can’t hit LHP though…his value is entirely against RHP.  If we add another OF, do you really want a short side platoon bat?  What do you envisioning the OF playing time mix looking like if we add Hayes?

Hays hit .319 with a .949 OPS against LHP last year, granted it was a fairly small sample. Nobody knows what the outfield will look like on Opening Day, but it’s hard to imagine there not being a good number of at-bats for a guy like him. 

[WhiteSox2023]

3 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Ah. I just assumed he was better against LHP.

Edit: actually, he had a .949 OPs against lefties last year. .941 on 2024

He is, and has been in his career.

[Chicago White Sox]

4 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Ah. I just assumed he was better against LHP.

Edit: actually, he had a .949 OPs against lefties last year. .941 on 2024. .786 in 2023 but it was close to what it was against RHP

Sorry, I made my post backwards.  His value is against LHP.

[Chicago White Sox]

3 minutes ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:

Hays hit .319 with a .949 OPS against LHP last year, granted it was a fairly small sample. Nobody knows what the outfield will look like on Opening Day, but it’s hard to imagine there not being a good number of at-bats for a guy like him. 

Sorry, massive typo.  Yes, Hayes has always been good against LHP.  The problem he is bad to well below average aging RHP now or at least the last two years.

[ChiSoxFanMike]

I see Hays as a better version of Austin Slater, who I thought did pretty well and served a purpose last year.

[Bob Sacamano]

2 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Sorry, massive typo.  Yes, Hayes has always been good against LHP.  The problem he is bad to well below average aging RHP now or at least the last two years.

Regardless, he’ll probably be more in their price range. Like I said, if guys like Baldwin hit and Montgomery comes up, he’s likely shifting to the bench anyway. And regardless if Acuna or Baldwin hit or not, they should still be in.

[ChiSoxFanMike]

5 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Sorry, massive typo.  Yes, Hayes has always been good against LHP.  The problem he is bad to well below average aging RHP now or at least the last two years.

I’m guessing Benintendi and Baldwin will get most of the at-bats against RHP’s anyway. Not sure about RF, maybe Kelenic if he makes the team. Either way, Hays feels like a natural fit for this roster especially against LHP.

[WhiteSox2023]

6 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Regardless, he’ll probably be more in their price range. Like I said, if guys like Baldwin hit and Montgomery comes up, he’s likely shifting to the bench anyway. And regardless if Acuna or Baldwin hit or not, they should still be in.

I wonder how much Hays will even get at this point.  It’s getting close to ST and so many guys haven’t signed yet and don’t seem to have much leverage.  I could see Tauchman having to take a minor league deal at this point.