White Sox Sign Austin Jackson

[caulfield12]

Not really, considering both his CF defense and the production of the other outfielders on the roster. Avi managing to hit/defend well enough to justify taking playing time away from Jackson is way harder to imagine.

 

There seems to be no consensus on whether Eaton would be better in LF or RF, Cabrera in LF or RF or Garcia in LF instead of RF.

 

Lots of questions to be answered over the next month.

 

With the rehab situation, Eaton's eventual position destination is especially up in the air.

[SoCalSox]

Could Austin Jackson start for any other team in our division?

 

He's better than Raiji Davis & Cameron Maybin, IMO. So I'd say, yes.

 

Also worth mentioning that there were reports today that said Cle was in on him but he chose the Sox.

Edited March 7, 2016 by SoCalSox

[caulfield12]

Don't care, he fills a big need on this team at a great price.

 

Sure.

 

Orlando/Dyson (injured)/Snider are the three RFers in KC.

 

Rajai Davis and mystery person (with Almonte out, maybe Tyler Naquin) in CLE. There's two spots. And that's including Michael Brantley as the starter, which is far from certain in April.

 

Rosario has to put two solid seasons together in MN.

 

DET has Upton/JD Martinez but then Maybin (injured)/Gose in CF, so you can definitely make the case he would/should be starting in 3 ALCD outfields and possibly Minnesota as well, especially if Buxton's deemed not ready health or performance-wise. Also, depending on whether Sano is LF/RF or DH.

Edited March 7, 2016 by caulfield12

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

Jackie Bradley Jr. is better than all of our outfielders offensively and defensively and would require us sending the whole farm to Boston. And Boston has no interest in moving him. Not a likely thing.

 

That's why I said "a guy like him". I've wanted him or Brock Holt for 2 years. He really hasn't established himself yet offensively but the signs are there that he's getting better. I wanted him when he was really sucking offensively. You can't really say he's better offensively than all our guys because he has never had a full season's worth of AB's yet . Maybe you're thinking of Mookie Betts ?

Edited March 7, 2016 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[OmarComing25]

Could Austin Jackson start for any other team in our division?

Could start for Detroit, Cleveland and KC with Dyson out. Probably Minnesota too.

[Thad Bosley]

Seriously, looking at other teams OF situation and simply trying to compare is a very lazy way of looking at things.

 

For anyone that watched this team, and understands the finances of this organization, right or wrong, the move made a ton of sense. I wanted Fowler, but that's besides the point.

 

And again, this move eliminates a large number of at bats from either LaRoche or Avi, which ever one isn't preforming, all while the OF defense significantly improves.

...and gives them to Austin Jackson. Let's not conflate the HUGE and much-needed upgrade in the OF defense with what this guy will bring to the plate offensively.

[Jose Abreu]

Could Austin Jackson start for any other team in our division?

Kansas City (would have to be RF though), Detroit (over Maybin/Gose), Cleveland (while Brantley is out)... basically any team but Minnesota.

 

edit- lots of posters beat me to it- I'd say no to Minnesota because Rosario is probably better

Edited March 7, 2016 by Jose Abreu

[caulfield12]

Thad, it's not about PA's as much as defensive improvement and base running as well.

 

It's a bit of the 2005 formula, a bunch of hungry and under appreciated veterans like Latos/Rollins/Lawrie/Jackson replacing some of the more complacent ones like Alexei (back then, Carlos Lee and Magglio/Valentin to a lesser extent.)

 

If Jackson can put up a 2-3 WAR season, that's a HUGE lift. No guarantees of course, but at least now there's options at most positions, other than missing that certainty from the LH side that LaRoche and Dunn were both supposed to provide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caulfield12]

Kansas City (would have to be RF though), Detroit (over Maybin/Gose), Cleveland (while Brantley is out)... basically any team but Minnesota.

 

edit- lots of posters beat me to it- I'd say no to Minnesota because Rosario is probably better

 

And Rosario put up a 748 OPS last year, but was WELL under .700 OPS-wise in almost 700 AA and AAA at-bats.

 

I'd put him in that category like Santana the previous year who had all the APPEARANCES of a big league ballplayer, and a keeper, but was also 2-3 bad months from playing himself off the roster.

 

That said, Rosario was a four-time Top 10 prospect in the Minnesota system who had largely underachieved until last season.

 

All things considered, Rosario is the better bet because he's still just 24, but nobody around baseball would be shocked if Jackson put up a 725-750 OPS and Rosario ended up in the mid 600's.

[Dunt]

Jackie Bradley Jr. is better than all of our outfielders offensively and defensively and would require us sending the whole farm to Boston. And Boston has no interest in moving him. Not a likely thing.

 

You think the guy with the career .219/.290/.349 line is better than our OFers offensively?

[caulfield12]

If it's the same Jackie Bradley, Jr., from last year...but nobody is 100% convinced what they'll get from him offensively with everyday playing time.

 

The same applies to Rusney Castillo, for that matter.

 

 

 

http://www.csnchicago.com/white-sox/rick-h...ay-cf-white-sox

Hahn: Jackson will play mostly CF

Edited March 7, 2016 by caulfield12

[greg775]

First move in a long time I like. He's played in the AL before is a big plus for me compared to some of the NL guys we've acquired. I've studied his stats and won't be a Debbie Downer pointing out some of the offensive stats. I just like the signing overall, especially compared to so many of the other moves the team has made. I think I'll buy MLB.com now as with the mixing and matching I would "think" the team would be able to play close to .500 ball at the worse and if everything clicks, might have a good team.

Any quotes come out yet from Robin? Starting cf from day one with Eaton starting in right and Avi sharing DH with LaRoche as well as LaRoche once in a while playing first?

Edited March 7, 2016 by greg775

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

It's really nice when a move you have been asking for for months finally happens. Once we lost out on the big 3, I wanted Jackson over Fowler so, so hard. Glad it happened.

 

Yet another very low cost pick-up that fills a big hole. Even if Jackson is just a league average player, that's more than 3 WAR improvement over Avi Garcia's 2015 debacle.

 

The most important thing he brings to this team is defense. Not only is Jackson an improvement over Eaton's weirdly horrible 2015 defensive season (+13 DRS from Eaton to AJax), but Eaton will quite easily be an upgrade over Avi's horrendous OF play (-22 DRS in only 176 games in RF).

 

Now the question is whether Eaton or Melky will play RF. Eaton is the presumably the better corner OF, but Melky has the better arm, so it's hard to say.

 

Avi then hopefully gets put in a platoon role with LaRoche. In 2015 Avi hit .293 with a 103 wRC+ against LHP, and LaRoche hit 64 points higher with a 93 wRC+ versus RHP (-1 against LHP, lulz). Both of their wRC+ are higher for their careers against those splits, but the I wanted to use what is hopefully their worst-case-scenario splits, which equate to a decent hitter when combined.

[reiks12]

It's really nice when a move you have been asking for for months finally happens. Once we lost out on the big 3, I wanted Jackson over Fowler so, so hard. Glad it happened.

 

Yet another very low cost pick-up that fills a big hole. Even if Jackson is just a league average player, that's more than 3 WAR improvement over Avi Garcia's 2015 debacle.

 

The most important thing he brings to this team is defense. Not only is Jackson an improvement over Eaton's weirdly horrible 2015 defensive season (+13 DRS from Eaton to AJax), but Eaton will quite easily be an upgrade over Avi's horrendous OF play (-22 DRS in only 176 games in RF).

 

Now the question is whether Eaton or Melky will play RF. Eaton is the presumably the better corner OF, but Melky has the better arm, so it's hard to say.

 

Avi then hopefully gets put in a platoon role with LaRoche. In 2015 Avi hit .293 with a 103 wRC+ against LHP, and LaRoche hit 64 points higher with a 93 wRC+ versus RHP (-1 against LHP, lulz). Both of their wRC+ are higher for their careers against those splits, but the I wanted to use what is hopefully their worst-case-scenario splits, which equate to a decent hitter when combined.

 

Good post, I always cringe when I see Avi's splits. It is amazing how replacing Avi with an average player can drastically improve the club. Not only does it improve the outfield but it also makes the DH position respectable.

 

Ventura has a lot of options here to play with. Lets hope he uses them to their full potential.

Edited March 7, 2016 by reiks12

[hogan873]

Very solid signing. It's even a better signing knowing that Eaton can move to one of the corner spots with his arm issues. As others have mentioned, Jackson may not be a huge offensive upgrade, but defensively he's so much better.

 

An outfield of Eaton, Jackson, and Cabrera sounds a lot better than an outfield of Cabrera, Eaton, and Garcia.

[Lemon_44]

Melky to DH with Garcia and Eaton in the corners is the team's best everyday lineup. LaRoche is garbage and should only be used as a PH and to give a guy the day off every so often. The less games he sees action, the better for the Sox.

[Chicago White Sox]

Melky to DH with Garcia and Eaton in the corners is the team's best everyday lineup. LaRoche is garbage and should only be used as a PH and to give a guy the day off every so often. The less games he sees action, the better for the Sox.

I'd much rather give LaRoche six weeks against RHP before writing him off, especially when the alternative is Garcia. I get Adam was terrible last year, but at least he's put up good offensive seasons before and as recently as 2014. The same can't be said for Avi and I'm not sure why some posters are eager to give him another 600 PAs in 2016. He needs to either force playing time or be the go-to guy once LaRoche/Melky fail or get hurt. He definitely should not be handed a starting job.

[Steve9347]

No chance Jackson was signed to be the 4th OF.

They didn't give him $5mill to ride the bench. I agree with you.

 

I think you'll see a lot of at bats from the 4 OF.

[GreenSox]

I'd much rather give LaRoche six weeks against RHP before writing him off, especially when the alternative is Garcia. I get Adam was terrible last year, but at least he's put up good offensive seasons before and as recently as 2014. The same can't be said for Avi and I'm not sure why some posters are eager to give him another 600 PAs in 2016. He needs to either force playing time or be the go-to guy once LaRoche/Melky fail or get hurt. He definitely should not be handed a starting job.

Latest for Laroche was the first half of 2014. And he did nothing last year. No wants to give Avi 600 at bats, but he also isn't past his prime. Laroche on the bench with Avi/Melky leaves us without a late inning defensive outfielder. It's essentially 2 DHs. Now without Laroche one of these guys is going to have to learn to play some first.

And of course they're going to have to do some intelligent platooning to maximize this roster

[fathom]

It's really incredible how Hahn was able to make all these moves and not give up the draft picks. The Jackson move caps off a fascinating, yet productive offseason. Kudos to Hahn.

[Buehrle>Wood]

Latest for Laroche was the first half of 2014. And he did nothing last year. No wants to give Avi 600 at bats, but he also isn't past his prime. Laroche on the bench with Avi/Melky leaves us without a late inning defensive outfielder. It's essentially 2 DHs. Now without Laroche one of these guys is going to have to learn to play some first.

And of course they're going to have to do some intelligent platooning to maximize this roster

You can have Shuck on the bench with Avi. There's no need for another infielder outside Saladino on the bench. It should be Avila, Saladino, Shuck, and Avi with Garcia platooning.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Buehrle>Wood

[Jose Abreu]

It's really incredible how Hahn was able to make all these moves and not give up the draft picks. The Jackson move caps off a fascinating, yet productive offseason. Kudos to Hahn.

I would've been annoyed had we given up assets in yet another trade- the free agent market was where we needed to strike and that's where he struck. Can't blame him if this team flops.

[BaseballNick]

It's really incredible how Hahn was able to make all these moves and not give up the draft picks. The Jackson move caps off a fascinating, yet productive offseason. Kudos to Hahn.

 

It wasn't for lack of trying. He and the Sox made very competitive offers (according to reports) on Gordon, Cespedes, and Fowler. In Fowler's case, it was a stronger offer than the one he accepted. While I truly believe they're thrilled to retain all three top 50 picks, I think they'd have been ok with forfeiting one for the right player.

[OmarComing25]

Latest for Laroche was the first half of 2014. And he did nothing last year. No wants to give Avi 600 at bats, but he also isn't past his prime. Laroche on the bench with Avi/Melky leaves us without a late inning defensive outfielder. It's essentially 2 DHs. Now without Laroche one of these guys is going to have to learn to play some first.

And of course they're going to have to do some intelligent platooning to maximize this roster

The second half of 2014 LaRoche put up a .789 OPS, so your first sentence is just plain not true.

[LDF]

I would've been annoyed had we given up assets in yet another trade- the free agent market was where we needed to strike and that's where he struck. Can't blame him if this team flops.

 

if they start off bad, i will be looking to MC and RV to be a big influence on the team coming out of ST.

 

however Laroche, has always started bad in the beginning of the season. how will the coaches deal with that.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/...=Career&t=b