5 minutes ago, Lukakke Appling said:

I think he’s on the verge of an ACL rehab stint.

Venable said he used Taylor because he was already warmed up.

One way or another Taylor is this teams closer… sooner or later. Hopefully it’s sooner.

I didn't realize Gonzalez was leading the International League in homers.

10 minutes ago, Lukakke Appling said:

I think he’s on the verge of an ACL rehab stint.

Venable said he used Taylor because he was already warmed up.

Will is the first manager since prime Ozzie that understands how to finesse the team and media. Thank god.

10 minutes ago, tray said:

I hope the X-rays are negative on Vargas hand. He can't be replaced,

Would be a good place for Jacob Gonzales debut at 3rd. See if that power translates to the bigs.

1 minute ago, chw42 said:

I didn't realize Gonzalez was leading the International League in homers.

Hes leading the minor leagues in HR

18 minutes ago, Jake said:

By the way, at some point we may have to have an uncomfortable conversation about Nishida posting an .886 OPS in AAA

He might be the perfect Acuna replacement to be honest. He isn't a guy who is going to be a starter or cornerstone of the rebuild so he doesn't exactly need a ton of ABs. He has played OF and 2B. Gonzalez would be ideal but he should be getting every day ABs and might be good trade bait,

3 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Hes leading the minor leagues in HR

Crazy since he's never hit more than 8 homers before in any season.

17 minutes ago, tray said:

I hope the X-rays are negative on Vargas hand. He can't be replaced,

Nicky Lopez can be had for a song.

Edited May 20May 20 by DirtySox

26 minutes ago, Lukakke Appling said:

I think he’s on the verge of an ACL rehab stint.

Venable said he used Taylor because he was already warmed up.

I never saw anything about an ACL, just deep shin bruise and mild knee contusion but there's been lingering pain and hes been out since March 27th after that collision with Antonacci.

He started the season 16 for 35 in AAA which is .457 . Just 4 extra base hits but when your BA is that high your OPS 1.075 .

1 minute ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

I never saw anything about an ACL, just deep shin bruise and mild knee contusion but there's been lingering pain and hes been out since March 27th after that collision with Antonacci.

He started the season 16 for 35 in AAA which is .457 . Just 4 extra base hits but when your BA is that high your OPS 1.075 .

Arizona Complex League. I could have been more specific on that.

Edited May 20May 20 by Lukakke Appling

57 minutes ago, Chick Mercedes said:

There was probably good reasons for all that. Those teams never had…je ne sais quoi

I don't know what either. I'm learning French on Soxtalk. Who says we don't got class. This one was the polar opposite of the Sunday game. Purty AND had a great personality.

Edited May 20May 20 by Stinky Stanky

45 minutes ago, Lukakke Appling said:

I think he’s on the verge of an ACL rehab stint.

Venable said he used Taylor because he was already warmed up.

What Venable said is what you say when you don't want to bruise the ego of the guy you're going to ease out. He isn't dumb.

Nice wake up this morning, White Sox winner!!

4 hours ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Would be a good place for Jacob Gonzales debut at 3rd. See if that power translates to the bigs.

4 hours ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Would be a good place for Jacob Gonzales debut at 3rd. See if that power translates to the bigs.

With only 18 milb games played there in the last three years?

6 hours ago, WestEddy said:

Nicky Lopez can be had for a song.

Curtis Mead? Nah we got Acuna.

1 hour ago, soxrwhite said:

Curtis Mead? Nah we got Acuna.

Shewmake is playing quite well, but only 50 at bats or so.

7 hours ago, chw42 said:

I didn't realize Gonzalez was leading the International League in homers.

And OPS.

7 hours ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Would be a good place for Jacob Gonzales debut at 3rd. See if that power translates to the bigs.

I agree with you on Gonzales if Vargas is indeed hurt.

Nice wake up surprise for me! Last I saw, was 1-0 Seattle in the 6th inning, but the bed was calling.

Also VERY nice to see the guy who should be closer, close the game in a dominant fashion.

8 hours ago, Lukakke Appling said:

That was huge. Also big credit to Mune not trying to be the hero and taking his walk.

Great point, LA. That hit me more clearly when I watched one of the game summary videos this morning. It had to be tempting for Mune to take a whack at that ball-four.

In general, I wouldn't mind seeing more singles and "gap shots," and fewer home runs, from the guys. In particular, I'm concerned that Mune, Vargas, and Montgomery are feeling pressure to go deep all the time, rather than just trying to put the ball in play, and it seems like their strikeout count is getting a little high. I'd also like to see those three guys separated by a batter each, in the hitting order, rather than bunching them up three-in-a-row. Disclaimer: I am probably the least qualified person here to be making these suggestions, so... don't hesitate to tell me if I'm misguided.

5 minutes ago, Bill The Boy said:

Great point, LA. That hit me more clearly when I watched one of the game summary videos this morning. It had to be tempting for Mune to take a whack at that ball-four.

In general, I wouldn't mind seeing more singles and "gap shots," and fewer home runs, from the guys. In particular, I'm concerned that Mune, Vargas, and Montgomery are feeling pressure to go deep all the time, rather than just trying to put the ball in play, and it seems like their strikeout count is getting a little high. I'd also like to see those three guys separated by a batter each, in the hitting order, rather than bunching them up three-in-a-row. Disclaimer: I am probably the least qualified person here to be making these suggestions, so... don't hesitate to tell me if I'm misguided.

That's what part of the draft discussion has been about....finding a pure hitter who makes consistent hard contact to break up the higher K rate guys.

Teel could have been it...might still be. Same with 2025 Quero.

And back to focusing on that OBP stat for guys like Meidroth Antonacci and Peters.

(Another upcoming concern, Braden and Bonemer have lots of K's in general, as well.)

Maybe you're in the playoffs soon enough, but elite pitching usually wins out as you advance through the post season.

Also Kelenic just adds to the K parade.

Thank god they left Castillo in. Should have abandoned the piggyback idea when Bryce Miller tossed a great game

8 hours ago, Jake said:

I think the ability to play SS is a plus for Acuna but not something that is going to keep his spot on the roster. You're two deep all over the place and in the worst case, even Antonacci could play a competent-enough SS for a game (or part of one) if something extraordinary happened. I think maybe you could end up with more outfielders than you need, but ultimately they might just start looking at Jacob Gonzalez, Rikuu Nishida, etc. rather than continuing to turn to Acuna. Bright side is his chances of passing through waivers are only increasing and he's a player who could realistically really benefit from some time in AAA — especially the joke of a stadium Charlotte plays in where you are massively incentivized to learn how to loft the ball a little bit.

Fully agree. When it comes to the upcoming roster crunch, Acuna needs to be the first one out the door when a spot is needed (likely for Hayes). His ability to provide insurance in the infield is nice given our current construction, but the bat is not currently major league caliber and we can’t afford to roster him much longer. In the short-term, Venable needs to plan around Antonacci being the backup IF even if he primarily plays LF.

Long-term a LH infielder would be of real value though. I love Meidroth more than anyone, but his hitting against RHP is far from great. Against tough righties, it would be great to have Jacob Gonanlez as an option. It would also give us more flexibility late in games as well. However, after we theoretically dump Acuna, it gets much harder to figure out who to option or DFA next.

Right now, we are carrying six outfielders if you assume Hayes replaces Acuna plus you are starting your 5th infielder in LF most days. Ignoring Antonacci, three of these guys are LH and three are RH. While it’s not the strongest pool of talent, to Getz & Venable’s credit they are doing a good job of platooning.

When Pereira comes back, it feels like one of the RH outfielders will need to be let go. I see people online saying to dump Kelenic, but his underlying metrics remain strong and warrant more runway. More importantly, I see little value in carrying four RH OFs. As such, one of Hayes, Hill, or Grichuk must go. I’d lean Grichuk, but tough to cut bait on a guy who is giving you what you hoped Hayes would without the injury baggage.

The other factor here is that Braden Montgomery will also likely be ready at some point in the 2H. To me, unless Benintendi & Kelenic both get hot, he should take over for one of them and it feels like that could be the right time to cut bait on Andrew. And if you can free up the DH slot, suddenly there is a more compelling argument to call up Gonzalez. IMO, Braden & Jacob should both be 2H call-ups so we can continue assessing what we have before we actually cut bait on players.

8 hours ago, Jake said:

I think the ability to play SS is a plus for Acuna but not something that is going to keep his spot on the roster. You're two deep all over the place and in the worst case, even Antonacci could play a competent-enough SS for a game (or part of one) if something extraordinary happened. I think maybe you could end up with more outfielders than you need, but ultimately they might just start looking at Jacob Gonzalez, Rikuu Nishida, etc. rather than continuing to turn to Acuna. Bright side is his chances of passing through waivers are only increasing and he's a player who could realistically really benefit from some time in AAA — especially the joke of a stadium Charlotte plays in where you are massively incentivized to learn how to loft the ball a little bit.

Option Kelenic, activate Hays, DFA Acuna (no options), and pick up a backup IF off waivers from some team. You're talking 26th man who should barely play much. I'd rather go that route than start the clock on others.