I would like Ellsbury. I have a feeling we'll sit back and try to see what FAs are hanging around after the largest dollars are thrown about. Ellsbury will likely get some of those big dollars. I have a feeling he will get paid more than he can earn.

I think a lot of teams will hesitate on him because of his injury history and that'll hurt the length a little bit. I'd probably be willing to push 5/$75, but I can't be sure someone won't gamble Jose Reyes money on him. Might well depend on whether there's an org doing anything deliberately stupid this offseason like the Marlins were then.

Lillibridge, Marquez, Castro and Molina were probably considered major-league ready or near ready when acquired.

 

Don't forget Zach Stewart!!!

I think a lot of teams will hesitate on him because of his injury history and that'll hurt the length a little bit. I'd probably be willing to push 5/$75, but I can't be sure someone won't gamble Jose Reyes money on him. Might well depend on whether there's an org doing anything deliberately stupid this offseason like the Marlins were then.

 

 

Essentially, we'd be replacing Danks with Ellsbury.

 

I'm down with that....plus, as mentioned five million times, we already have Sale, Santiago and Quintana.

So was Carlos Quentin, Paul Konerko, Connor Gillaspie, and Gavin Floyd.

 

John Danks. Juan Uribe was also a scrap heap trade get.

I think a lot of teams will hesitate on him because of his injury history and that'll hurt the length a little bit. I'd probably be willing to push 5/$75, but I can't be sure someone won't gamble Jose Reyes money on him. Might well depend on whether there's an org doing anything deliberately stupid this offseason like the Marlins were then.

 

I don't think I'd want to give him 5 years. Would that be the longest term contract we've given a FA ever? Was Belle's that long (I know he opted out before it got that far)

I don't think I'd want to give him 5 years. Would that be the longest term contract we've given a FA ever? Was Belle's that long (I know he opted out before it got that far)

Belle was 5 years/$55 million IIRC.

John Danks. Juan Uribe was also a scrap heap trade get.

 

 

Not really.

 

He was nearly Rookie of the Year for the Rockies his first season and then had a season like Viciedo is having now...

 

But I wouldn't call it the scrap heap, I would just say we sold Aaron Miles at his highest possible value.

 

 

John Danks was scrap heap? A Top 10 draft pick at that age....don't think so.

Not really.

 

He was nearly Rookie of the Year for the Rockies his first season and then had a season like Viciedo is having now...

 

But I wouldn't call it the scrap heap, I would just say we sold Aaron Miles at his highest possible value.

 

 

John Danks was scrap heap? A Top 10 draft pick at that age....don't think so.

 

John Danks was a near-MLB ready prospect, the original subject of conversation.

John Danks was a near-MLB ready prospect, the original subject of conversation.

 

 

Okay, that didn't make sense paired with Juan Uribe, and talking about "scrap heap."

Okay, that didn't make sense paired with Juan Uribe, and talking about "scrap heap."

 

Matt Thorton was a scrap heap pick-up and would also fit the bill for scrap heap major league ready talent.

Buster Olney ‏@Buster_ESPN 3m

The White Sox have been asking for major-league ready or near-ready prospects in their trade talks.

 

 

They may not get a very good deal then. This is disappointing in my opinion. It also says that they are going to be trying to compete pretty close to immediately. If the best package offered is based around guys from A ball that project as better players than the near ready players you are asking for, I hope they will accept the better deal rather than getting close to the majors guys. If they hope to accomplish things this way then Jerry better be ready to up the player to about $130 million next year.

They may not get a very good deal then. This is disappointing in my opinion. It also says that they are going to be trying to compete pretty close to immediately. If the best package offered is based around guys from A ball that project as better players than the near ready players you are asking for, I hope they will accept the better deal rather than getting close to the majors guys. If they hope to accomplish things this way then Jerry better be ready to up the player to about $130 million next year.

For right now the Sox absolutely ought to be asking for major league ready guys.

 

Whether that's the case at the end of July is a different question.

For right now the Sox absolutely ought to be asking for major league ready guys.

 

Whether that's the case at the end of July is a different question.

 

 

Exactly. With the pitching staff they have already intact they should absolutely try and contend next year. Thus looking for MLB ready/near MLB ready prospects should absolutely be what they are looking for. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing this offense waste great pitching performances, getting prospects that are 2 or 3 years away will only continue this.

Speaking of Rios and future OF vacancies....haha

 

How much does everyone think Ellsbury would cost in terms of years and dollars?

 

His OPS is in the high 700's now.

 

I'm coming around to the conclusion that the single most important roster spot, moreso than clean-up, is DeAza making a mess of leadoff with K's, baserunning and fielding blunders...in terms of setting the tone of the entire offense.

 

Maybe if we went back to the 2005 Scotty Pods/Iguchi playbook....of adding a consensus Top 5 leadoff man, and perhaps putting Beckham in the two hole, we'd be able to generate a lot more runs without the benefit of homers or stringing together 3 hits in a single inning together.

 

Seems like this worked well for the Indians, adding Michael Bourn, as well.

 

 

We would have to clear out Peavy, Danks and maybe Alexei to get this done, as well as DeAza, but it's not impossible.

 

 

Ellsbury (CF)

Beckham (2B)

Morales (1B/DH)

Rios (RF)

Dunn (1B/DH)

Viciedo (LF)

Gillaspie (3B)

Phegley © the 7th and 8th spots could flip

???? (SS)

 

We could definitely compete with that line-up, if Viciedo is the hitter he showed LAST NIGHT.

 

Obviously, the bottom 3 of the line-up is a huge issue...or could be. But not enough to kill the offense or keep it from being average.

 

 

So now we have to find takers for Danks, Peavy, Crain, Ramirez and DeAza...along with Thornton, just to save some more $$$.

Lindstrom, if we're offered ANYTHING decent.

 

I'll overlook Morales' agent being Boras for a moment if we're going to spend what it takes to sign both Morales and Ellsbury.

How about this instead:

 

Ellsbury (CF)

Beckham (2B)

Morales (1B)

Rios (RF)

McCann ©

Phegley (DH)

Viciedo (LF)

Gillaspie (3B)

Ramirez (SS)

 

How about this instead:

 

Ellsbury (CF)

Beckham (2B)

Morales (1B)

Rios (RF)

McCann ©

Phegley (DH)

Viciedo (LF)

Gillaspie (3B)

Ramirez (SS)

I'm not sure if we'd have the wherewithal to sign all 3 of those guys, that's going to be like a $40 million a year commitment. We might be able to, but moving at least one, if not both, of Peavy and Danks might be necessary to open up that much.

 

And I seriously doubt they'd DH Phegley. That's a waste of his value at the catcher's spot

I think we keep Dunn and roll the dice on being able to compete next year if we can add 2 pieces.

 

No more than 2 though....McCann will be expensive, and so will Ellsbury. Choo would be the other good option for leadoff. And I would prefer Jacoby, simply because he's already in the AL and it seems NL players often have difficulty transitioning to the AL in their first season. Of course, Choo also is quite familiar with the AL and AL Central.

 

And I think you absolutely have to deal Danks/Peavy and either Rios or Ramirez...probably can't keep both of them, and still come up with the payroll numbers that will work from JR's perspective.

Edited July 10, 201312 yr by caulfield12

How about this instead:

 

Ellsbury (CF)

Beckham (2B)

Morales (1B)

Rios (RF)

McCann ©

Phegley (DH)

Viciedo (LF)

Gillaspie (3B)

Ramirez (SS)

 

Uhh, what'd you do with Dunn

I think a lot of teams will hesitate on him because of his injury history and that'll hurt the length a little bit. I'd probably be willing to push 5/$75, but I can't be sure someone won't gamble Jose Reyes money on him. Might well depend on whether there's an org doing anything deliberately stupid this offseason like the Marlins were then.

Risking 15 mil a year on Ellsbury for 5 years wouldn't be the worse move. Sure would be a hell of a whole lot better than spending that type of money on B.J. Upton. However, I do agree that some team is gonna spend stupid money on him. As another poster put it, he likely get paid more than what he can earn.

Worth noting is that the Boras guy is Ellsbury's agent. Yeah, he could get $18-20 million.

Worth noting is that the Boras guy is Ellsbury's agent. Yeah, he could get $18-20 million.

 

 

And Viciedo's. And Kendrys Morales.

They may not get a very good deal then. This is disappointing in my opinion. It also says that they are going to be trying to compete pretty close to immediately. If the best package offered is based around guys from A ball that project as better players than the near ready players you are asking for, I hope they will accept the better deal rather than getting close to the majors guys. If they hope to accomplish things this way then Jerry better be ready to up the player to about $130 million next year.

 

They need to ask for these guys. This is where the system lacks depth almost completely.

Risking 15 mil a year on Ellsbury for 5 years wouldn't be the worse move. Sure would be a hell of a whole lot better than spending that type of money on B.J. Upton. However, I do agree that some team is gonna spend stupid money on him. As another poster put it, he likely get paid more than what he can earn.

 

 

I think Ellsbury ends up in Seattle. 6 years $100 million.

Hahn has long been the Boras whisperer in the White Sox org.

 

I don't think we'd go into next year with 3 FAs and 0 new young guys in the lineup.

I think Ellsbury ends up in Seattle. 6 years $100 million.

 

Cubs and Mariners in a battle for Ellsbury, with the other one getting Choo

I still think Pence makes more sense for us, but there's some chance SF pays handsomely to keep him there. He'd be a nice, marketable face to have around here and he may be overlooked by some of the other people vying for OFers