WestEddy

So a 30-year-old LF with swing and miss issues comes across the waiver wire - why does Stone Garrett, or Alexander Canario deserve a spot on the 40-man? They're all projects. It's the devil you know. Fletcher has less swing and miss in his game, and is a better fielder. And they've worked with him for a year to know what they have.

C 1B 2B SS 3B LF CF RF DH P 22-Feb cubs Thaiss Drury Meidroth Montgomery Vargas Colas Robert Tauchman Dalbec Shuster 23-Feb royals Lee Vaughn Rojas Amaya Sosa Benintendi Taylor Slater Baldwin Gilbert 24-Feb rangers Narvaez Gallo Gray Meidroth Vargas Fletcher Robert Tauchman Drury S. Smith 25-Feb rockies Thaiss Drury Sosa Montgomery Rojas Benintendi Taylor Slater Lee Martin 26-Feb padres Lee Vaughn Meidroth Amaya Vargas Julks Robert Tauchman Gallo Burke 27-Feb guardians Narvaez Drury Rojas Gray Sosa Taylor Robert Slater Benintendi Perez 28-Feb angels Thaiss Vaughn Baldwin Amaya Vargas Julks Fletcher Tauchman Gallo Cannon 1-Mar mariners Lee Gallo Sosa Meidroth Rojas Slater Robert Veras Drury S. Smith 2-Mar dodgers Narvaez Vaughn Baldwin Amaya Vargas Colas Fletcher Tauchman Ramos Martin 3-Mar athletics Thaiss Sosa Rojas Meidroth Drury Julks Robert Tauchman Gallo Burke 5-Mar ss brewers Lee Vaughn Rojas Amaya Sosa Gallo Robert Tauchman Thaiss Perez 5-Mar ss brewers Narvaez Drury Meidroth Baldwin Vargas Julks Fletcher Colas Ramos B. Wilson

I believe so.

Fletcher pretty much started until he played his way out of a job and was optioned on 4/26. He was recalled 5/15 played every few days until he hurt his shoulder 6/2. He came off the IL 7/29, played sporadically, but started regularly from 8/14. His minor league stints were two weeks in April/May, probably to recalibrate his swing, or something, then three weeks in July to rehab from injury while they shopped Pham. I believe Fletcher got a full look in 240 PAs in 2024, enough for the brass to "see what they have". Some of these guys are looking more comfortable at the plate this spring, like Sosa, Ramos and Fletch.

Baldwin's first start at shortstop 2B/SS/3B in all scheduled games 2/22 - Meidroth / Monty / Vargas 2/23 - Rojas / Amaya / Sosa 2/24 - Gray / Meidroth / Vargas 2/25 - Sosa / Monty / Rojas 2/26 - Meidroth / Amaya / Vargas 2/27 - Rojas / Gray / Sosa 2/28 - Baldwin / Amaya / Vargas 3/01 - Sosa / Meidroth / Rojas 3/02 - Baldwin / Amaya / Vargas 3/03 - Rojas / Meidroth / Drury 3/05ss - Rojas / Amaya / Sosa 3/05ss - Meidroth/ Baldwin / Vargas

Is this a game thread?

GMs don't cut guys just because they're "not a fan". They wait until they have to make a move.

Obviously, we can do better than an outfield of Tauchman, Fletcher and Colas. If Robert is traded, and Slater, Taylor and Benintendi are out for extended periods, ANOTHER outfielder will come across the waiver wire. Brandon Drury can play left field. Tauchman has neutral platoon splits. Baldwin and Fletcher can back up the outfield. Not a huge concern for a 100 loss team.

The White Sox have no attachment to Julks and DeLoach, at this point, beyond the point of having control of their careers. They're barely taking up space, right now. Julks and DeLoach have nothing to do with waiver wire acquisitions, as they're not on the 40-man.

I think it could be like Cease. Somebody who was ready to pull the trigger on a deal, but an owner advised them to make sure he's healthy. I'm making all of this up, of course.

I don't know, but he probably looks "recovered" and has his power and strike zone judgement back that he didn't in the latter part of last year.

I don't think it's spring training numbers, I think it's about how healthy he looks.

I have no idea if this guy has any contacts, whatsoever...

It's kind of like Tim Elko. He's hit everywhere he's been. But he has alarming strikeout rates for the minor leagues. The Sox aren't cutting him because of that because he is a prospect, and he's hit at every level. But nobody really considered Elko a primo 1B prospect because of the Ks. The reports I posted about Canario say he's not good at pitch recognition, weak at the bottom of the zone. There's also the alarmingly low contact rates at AAA that will take a bigger hit in the bigs. Baseball teams know what they can work with for the upside. Keith Law has been a major league scout and thinks Canario tops out as a weak side platoon who will strike out a ton and hit a bunch of HRs. I never saw the big deal about guys like Joey Gallo or Mark Reynolds. If everything goes perfectly, they lead the league in Ks, hit 30 HRs, and give you maybe 3 wins. If anything is off, they're practically replacement level. (Gallo's a good fielder, Reynolds wasn't.)

Am I obligated to rant because I reacted favorably to his availability?

Baseball teams don't really go off of fan scouting sites' reports. Canario profiles as the short side of an OF platoon that will be missing the BBs part of "3 true outcomes". The Mets had an open spot on their 40-man and stowed him. I wouldn't say he has no chance but correcting that part of his game doesn't happen instantly, and most often, not at the major league level. Just a simple perusal of online reports can give a hint why the Sox and 28 other teams took a pass on him.

Can you explain what you're expecting during a rebuild? Twelve 23-year-old, standing All-Stars? I'm not sure what your beef is.

I'm referring to the players you can find just by looking on RosterResource on FanGraphs. Here's who they've started at 2B/SS/3B each "scheduled" game this spring. 2/22 - Meidroth / Monty / Vargas 2/23 - Rojas / Amaya / Sosa 2/24 - Gray / Meidroth / Vargas 2/25 - Sosa / Monty / Rojas 2/26 - Meidroth / Amaya / Vargas 2/27 - Rojas / Gray / Sosa 2/28 - Baldwin / Amaya / Vargas 3/01 - Sosa / Meidroth / Rojas 3/02 - Baldwin / Amaya / Vargas 3/03 - Rojas / Meidroth / Drury

He also did that with a .476 BABIP. When major league pitchers adjust to him, his numbers will drop precipitously.

But they "dumped" them by DFAing them the first time. DeLoach isn't on the 40-man, and Amaya is shortstop depth during spring training, where they still play 4+ middle infielders every day. Teams shouldn't be cutting players just because they can.

No, you don't. We do have many starting options, more than the traditional 5 per minor league level. As you have noted, some will work from the bullpen, and injuries will occur. However, you don't need just 8 bullpen arms for the season. Some will fail out, injuries will occur, and then there's the trade deadline.

You don't need me to spend my time typing out a list of names you could just go look up. If you think the White Sox have no young options to play the infield, I'm not sure what you're following.

MLB.com just published their top 30 White Sox list, also. No real surprises. Colson Montgomery at #4. White Sox Top Prospects