S.I. Reports on Impending Sox Fire Sale

[LVSoxFan]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ...ex.html?cnn=yes

 

He has a point: what have we really got to trade? Besides Buehrle and Garland? Really?

[Greg The Bull Luzinski]

If it is that bleak, let players walk and buy out options and we can rebuild through free agency and the draft. WE DO NOT HAVE TO TRADE ANYBODY IF WE ARE NOT GETTING WHAT WE WANT.

[Balta1701]

Buehrle

Contreras

Garland

Vazquez

Dye

Jenks

Iguchi

Thome if he wants to be

Podsednik?

Pierzynski if someone else fetches a sodium-chloride rich catcher.

Thornton if he ever finds that Loogy grove he was in last year.

Edited June 25, 2007 by Balta1701

[SoxFan1]

We have tons to trade.

[thedoctor]

really, the driving theory behind this column is that teams are not giving up prospects the way they used to for rental players. this was discussed at length this morning on mike and mike's radio show. phillips was on and he said that teams that used to be willing to deal young players have been influenced by seeing young players come up and succeed.

 

all that said, i think the market is competitive enough that we will get some good pieces for buehrle. after that, though, i'm not sure i expect us to get much for gooch, dye, etc.

[Balance]

(snip)

Pierzynski if someone else fetches a sodium-chloride rich catcher.

(snip)

...and it made me laugh!

[Chisoxfn]

Eh...I think the club will have a hard time getting stuff for Iguchi, Uribe, and maybe Pods/Erstad but they will have takers for Dye, Contreras, Buehrle, and MacDougall/Thornton (if the Sox want to move them).

 

I also think a lot of teams would like a veteran bench player like Mack on the squad and some teams would definitely consider picking up Erstad's grittiness to come off the bench down the stretch (if he was healthy and no I'm not saying you'd get much for him).

[BearSox]

did S.I. just figure out that there will likely be a fire sale?

[Balta1701]

really, the driving theory behind this column is that teams are not giving up prospects the way they used to for rental players. this was discussed at length this morning on mike and mike's radio show. phillips was on and he said that teams that used to be willing to deal young players have been influenced by seeing young players come up and succeed.

 

all that said, i think the market is competitive enough that we will get some good pieces for buehrle. after that, though, i'm not sure i expect us to get much for gooch, dye, etc.

This is completely true...teams are no longer nearly as willing to part with top-level prospects. However, there are 2 points in reply. First, most of the time, it is not top-level talent (i.e. Mark Buehrle) moving in these deals. Think about the proposed Soriano deal last year; we were still talking about BMac being involved in it, and that is still top-level.

 

Second...and perhaps more importantly...it's not always the top-desire guy in a trade who winds up being the most important one either. Grady Sizemore wasn't the big name in the Bartolo Colon deal; that was Brandon Phillips. Liriano was a throw-in for the Pierzynski deal, and I'm not even sure Joe Nathan was considered the top piece in that.

 

And third, just because you're not getting back a top guy doesn't mean you can't get back a solid MLB player. Guys like Ryan Shealy, Shin-Soo Choo, Andy Marte, and a bunch of others still moved along last season, and while they've had their struggles this year, I still think there's some real talent there. But...these last 2 parts depend on the skill of your scouts to find quality where others aren't looking, and that is the important part here if we deal guys like Iguchi, Pods, etc.

[Dick Allen]

Dye is hitting .220. Has an injury, is making $7 million this year, and will only be around a couple of months. He won't get you much. Think Jon Adkins.

[whitesoxfan101]

If it is that bleak, let players walk and buy out options and we can rebuild through free agency and the draft. WE DO NOT HAVE TO TRADE ANYBODY IF WE ARE NOT GETTING WHAT WE WANT.

 

Do you really think we can rebuild that way? Our general manager has proven his regime can't draft for s*** and our ticket sales are going to tank this offseason, thus so will our payroll. A firesale is essential to the rebuilding process.

[chiguy79]

I think we get something for Buehrle and Dye. I also think we can get something (not much) for Mack. Hopefully we can move Erstad as well.

 

Can someone please explain to me why Cintron is still on the club, the guy swings like he is playing 16" softball. Also, why do we continue to play the journeyman minor leaguers and major league bench players when our prospects could be getting some solid experience...this continues to baffle my mind.

 

It will be interesting to see what the "target" payroll figure is next year as that will determine how aggressive we are in the firesale, I wouldn't be surprised if we are in the $70-$75mm range (or less) as I am sure they expect ticket sales to drop significantly.

[WilliamTell]

how about we just win 20 games in a row. Too bad that won't happen, anyways I don't like seeing a fire sale, but if we're getting great talent in return, looking towards building to the future is a great plan.

[Jeremy]

Dye is hitting .220. Has an injury, is making $7 million this year, and will only be around a couple of months. He won't get you much. Think Jon Adkins.

 

Then offer arbitration. Worst case scenario is that he accepts and gets $9 or $10 million in a one year deal. Two top 40 draft picks is an awful lot better than Jon Adkins...

[caulfield12]

I wonder if KW is seriously considering bringing back Crede next year?

 

We would have to pay him around $5 million again, or I suppose we could cut him like the Cubs did with Prior. It sucks to just lose an asset like that and get nothing at all in return, but it would also be foolhardy to bring him back, just to try to "showcase" him and trade him to the highest bidder.

 

Then again, he could go out like Magglio or Frank Thomas and become a very productive player again...but back injuries are the trickiest for baseball players and golfers, since there's so much torque generated by a swing (see Thome, Jim or Sheffield, Gary).

[infohawk]

In my opinion, our real saving grace is that the Sox will be clearing some money off the books at the end of the year, even if they don't make any deals. They can then acquire some free agents if need be to fill any holes that remain open after any impending trades.

 

With regard to trades, I would focus on rebuilding the infield by acquiring a young second baseman (which they did in the Cunningham trade although I know virtually nothing about him) and a shortstop. I would be looking for infielders that can handle the bat. For Buehrle, I would ask for a major-league-ready starting pitcher and a top tier infielder. For Dye I would try and find a major-league-ready or close to major-league-ready arm for the bulllpen and a Class A or Class AA position player (preferably an infielder) -- in other words a few years away would be o.k and may actually make it palpable for the other team to include another player. Of course you ask for as much as you think you can get, but I'm just speculating on what they might bring in reality (just guesses guys). Obviously, Mark's value is diminished a bit because he's a "rental."

 

In free agency, I would try and bring in a center fielder and perhaps one more outfielder. Ideally one of them should be able to lead-off in case the Sox decide to cut bait on Scottie. I wouldn't try and bring in a reliable bullpen arm via free agency unless the price was right. Relievers are up-and-down from one year to the next and often overpriced. It's better to try and develop your own or acquire young pitching via trade. Hey, I'm certainly no G.M., just kind of throwing some thoughts out there!

Edited June 27, 2007 by infohawk

[GreenSox]

As others have suggested, it would really be nice to trade Contreras for the prospects and extend MB with a market contract.

 

However, I think we'll get a good offer for MB; I don't think we will sign him; but I also agree that if all we get are B prospect offers, keep the picks.