GreenSox

The guy is 32, had a great year (for him) in 2017, but was sporting OPS in the .600s and .500s between 2012-2016, and has zero chance to be part of the future. He's not the guy who should be in Chicago.

I don't know what the Sox can get, but I agree with you that it will be more than the Tigers got. Tigers just made a bad, premature trade.

What makes playing with the White Sox so special such that he would pick the Sox over other teams because he played here? That was also the "justification" for renting Samardzija off of 73 wins.

The White Sox are so insular that they probably do think that Machado will like it here so much he'll beg to come; that's the only thing that could possibly explain a rebuilding team trying to trade for 1 year of his services. It's ridiculous. Rosenberg went a little hyperbolic, but he is correct: the play is sloppy.

A lot of teams are bringing in managers who will be responsive to front office re tactical decisions, personnel, etc. but these new managers aren’t house-guys either. They come from outside. As for benching Castillo, disciplining that but not the many other boneheaded plays, esp on the base path, is silly.

I haven't been following Mize because I assumed, based on reputation, that he'd be long gone. But that info on the chat doesn't sound favorable at all (cutter/splitter guy; injury issues). Maybe going underslot is the way to go; and then use the savings to lure prep players later. But that all has to be pre-planned and worked out, and it doesn't seem they are looking that way.

Clarkin was rule 5 eligible; never pitched above A ball with the Yankees. He wasn't terrible in A ball, but he wasn't great and he was there a long time. He was a longshot prospect by the time the Sox got him. That whole trade was Rutherford - the throw-ins were really weak (the Quintana throw-ins were far more interesting). He's been a slow mover - maybe a late bloomer at some point. Just his first year in AA.

i.e. there have been worse hitters, including those at premium offensive positions.

Don't forget the opening month designated hitter, Cody Asche and his .105 batting average and .353 OPS.

Yea you're right. I was looking at the wrong column. Thanks for the correction. Anyway, no rush. I thought the push might begin this year, but it's next year.

Eloy has a .331 OBP in AA. He's got things to accomplish. Saunders shouldn't be anywhere near Chicago anytime this season; numerous players who need auditions before him. Still I'm not sure why Thompson's on this team (with all due respect to September, 2015).

Exactly. This isn't the NFL where you may draft to fill a need next year. This is 2-3 years down the road, if not more. Get the best players you can...things will sort out. And all other things being equal, up the middle infielders > corner IF or OF. I like the idea of an athletic 3B, rather than someone who should be playing 1B. Bregman can play SS, e.g.

Jones, Fry and Rondon are doing well. Those are the only 3 that pitched in our last 3 wins, except for 1 (unsuccessful) inning out of Avilan. Beck has had a few good moments - he's probably next best. The rest of them are awful. It's way too early to project a 2020 and beyond bullpen. Their staying power isn't long. Rondon clearly should be flipped in a month or 2; there are a couple of guys in Charlotte who probably have a better flip projection at this point than Soria or Avilan.

They couldn't have maintained a .500 team when rebuilding for the obvious reason that they couldn't maintain a .500 team when going for it. Oh it's possible that had they retooled, instead or rebuilt, that they could have gotten things accomplished, although .500 in the process is a stretch.

If only the Sox could play basket-cases like Texas, Baltimore and the Royals every game.

Per the savant, Leury was only -1 last season and is +1 this season; maybe there is something to giving him more time and seeing if he can improve; his offense is at least passable for CF. Engel was well in the + range both seasons.

I went back and looked at some of his college video, and you are correct. His delivery is much more herky-jerky now than it was then; and he didn't do the glove pump in the middle of his windup like he does now. How/why in the world did he start doing that?

Law likes Hahn and has been complimentary of Hahn numerous times especially with trades, although he has not been positive on a lot of Sox drafting (hard to argue with that sentiment based on results). It's KW that he and the BP types didn't like.

Agree

The brings up the question: what is the shelf life of a reliever? He won't help the Sox win a championship for at least another 2 years. On the other hand, if you trade him, no team will pay 6 years of value. One positive with Abreu in the trade market is that he has 1.5 seasons of control: that seems to be the "sweet spot" in trades re maximizing value, especially for a player his age. He's one year older than Carlos Gomez was when he was traded and has same amount of control.

On a side note, I want to welcome the Texas Rangers to Rebuilding World. Your length of stay will be approximately 4 years.

Yea, I'm early on that call. But wait and see.

Good question. I'd lean to trade, but I just don't think they'll get full-value offers. The player that I believe that teams will start calling about is Jace Fry

Not much that I see. I hope Fulmer can get can some work with Zaleski - he fixed Fry.

Yes. The same Jennings is pitching reasonably well for the Brewers.