spiderman

The White Sox, when Chris Sale isn't pitching, are, at best a .500 type team. Thankfully, he pitches 20% o the time. As improved as the defense has been, unfortunately, it was going to be tough to win behind the success of the starting rotation/defense because the rotation was going to come back to earth and it was never good enough to support a poor offensive lineup.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ May 3, 2016 -> 04:12 PM) Bruce Levine ‏@MLBBruceLevine White Sox continue to pursue a Left handed hitter as well as a starting pitcher. They have been very active It clearly takes 2 to tangle and while I'm sure the White Sox would like to improve their current roster, how can they be 'very active'? This isn't a criticism - it's probably tough for other teams to trade core players in early May, but, at the same time, and I know I'm being picky, I can't say a team that hasn't made any moves is being 'very active'.

QUOTE (TheFutureIsNear @ Mar 31, 2016 -> 09:21 AM) Contract breakdown looks like this: '16- $17.6M '17-$17.6M '18- $18.6M '19- $18.6M '20- Option for $17M with $5M buyout So that's more or less $77M over 4 years. How much would Boston have to eat to get you to bite on Sandoval? They would have to pay at least $50 million of that and the Sox would have to give up a low level, non-impact prospect(s).

If they do land him, is he a starter or does he go to the bullpen?

That was good/cheap pizza to each while in a dorm at college; once you have money, and realize the quality of pizza that is around, you wonder how you ever ate this type of food.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 3, 2016 -> 03:26 PM) Dan Hayes ‏@CSNHayes 11m11 minutes ago One reason Rick Renteria was brought in was to help #WhiteSox improve upon base running. High energy, hands-on guy. http://bit.ly/1Qo9Q8R It's hard to be optimistic about the defense or base-running improving much.

QUOTE (peppers312 @ Mar 4, 2016 -> 03:53 PM) per RotoWorld... "Bruce Levine of WSCR-AM reports that the White Sox "may now be focused on" Carlos Gonzalez and Jay Bruce in their pursuit of left-handed power. The report adds that CarGo's contract and the Rockies' asking price "is the holdup right now" and that Bruce "might be more practical." Levine was told by one general manager who had talks with the Rockies about Gonzalez that they asked for "my top two minor league players, a major league player and to absorb most of the contract." Bruce, meanwhile, was nearly dealt to the Blue Jays last week in a three-team trade before the deal fell apart because of a physical issue involving a prospect. He would come significantly cheaper than CarGo, but of course isn't nearly as good of a player." not sure how true this is, thought i would share. So, besides the asking price for Gonzalez and the amount of money he makes, the White Sox are focused on him. This reads like the definition of a non-story.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 29, 2016 -> 03:05 PM) Not exactly optimistic about Sanchez at SS it seems. Who knows, maybe he starts the year in AAA and L. Garcia makes the opening day roster. Is Sanchez safe as a utility IF?

I'm sure they do want to see what he can do, but it's hard to see him displacing John Danks and his salary. Erik Johnson is probably the most at risk to lose a starting rotation spot.

Given that some of the best remaining options require draft pick compensation, has there been any thought that perhaps the best remaining course of action is to do nothing? Yes, you're banking on Garcia, La Roche and others rebounding from down/bad seasons, but you're not giving questionable deals and losing picks while retaining payroll flexibility. You're also exhausting Garcia - he either makes it or not.

What did the per year averages end up being, in the so-called buyers market, for the top remaining offensive talent?

Have there been any reports from the national guys (sorry, the local guys don't seem to know very much) about which OF's are rumored to be on the trading block, and, if the White Sox are being mentioned? Cargo's name continues to come up as being available, and several people on this site continue to float that as an option. Is trading for a OF a realistic option, given that the White Sox already have made 2 trades this off-season?

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 23, 2016 -> 09:12 AM) Doesn't help that they've struck out on their FA acquisitions at a stunning rate the last 5 years or so. Not sure who they have scouting MLB players on other teams, but that person(s) should never work in baseball again. Good point as well - they are also making moves to replace/upgrade on FA acquisitions. I don't know if they are willing to trade any additional minor league talent for major league help after the Frazier / Lawrie deals or if they will avoid players who cost draft picks, but I do think they will add another player or two to the team. Just not sure the quality if they have restrictions on what they are willing to do now in order to protect the minor league system.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 23, 2016 -> 09:06 AM) Smart organizations don't force themselves to improve through free agency and then complain about the market prices being too expensive. When you don't produce talent from the minor league system, you become dependent on free agency to fill your holes. I'd like to think that's why the White Sox would put a higher premium on keeping these draft picks than giving them up for Fowler/Desmond, but their organization is trying to win and rebuild at the same time so I'll be surprised if they don't add at least one more offensive player to the mix.

QUOTE (CB2.0 @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 11:29 PM) CarGo.... What a joke. Is this being suggested or rumored?

QUOTE (Alexeihyeess @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 11:21 PM) They dont have any. They just whiffed on 3 straight OF's because they couldn't muster up the dough. I dont buy this "Cespedes had his heart set on New York" for a second, the dude's played for 4 teams in 2 seasons and at the onset of the offseason the Mets took themselves out of the running. The Mets, who have no money because Madoff took them to the cleaners, straight outbid the Sox. I'm not sure that's accurate either - the Sox probably were willing to spend money, but up to a limit and/or on their terms. They may not be willing to spend on what's left on the market either, we'll have to see.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 12:23 AM) “A lot of people don’t understand that one guy can change the whole culture of the lineup, either positive or negative,” Harrelson said. “On the positive side, one guy can change it and I think that guy is Todd Frazier. The big thing for me is he can catch the ball at third base. And the next thing is, he’s going to protect the best hitter on our club. It’s contagious.” ZIPS projects that Frazier will hit .255/.318/.449 with 25 homers and 80 RBIs for the White Sox this season. Harrelson hopes those numbers are on the low end. But even if they are correct, Abreu and the White Sox offense should see a significant increase. “If he does that, he’s going to make Abreu 10-15 percent better and it’s going to take a lot of heat off (Avisail Garcia),” Harrelson said. “What a great year Abreu had because they had nobody to hit behind him. For him to get 30 and 100 again with no protection, it would be like if they had nobody to protect Miguel Cabrera, he wouldn’t hit anything either because nobody would pitch to him.” http://www.csnchicago.com/white-sox/hawk-h...&ocid=yahoo Hawk will always be insanely positive of any White Sox moves.

How much money do the White Sox realistically have to spend right now? If they aren't worried about losing a draft pick, they could add Desmond/Fowler if they wanted to continue adding to the offense instead of one big free agent OF like Cespedes? Obviously, they could add another starting pitcher, but I don't think they will do that.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 10:16 PM) NASCAR I wouldn't say meltdown, and I do think the White Sox were smart to not give any of these guys long-term deals. Saying that, it's hard for me to consider the White Sox 'all in' if they don't find a way to further improve the middle of their lineup. Frazier and Lawrie were nice additions and will/should greatly improve the offense, but they still need one more bat in the middle of that lineup to complement those moves.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 08:56 AM) I keep going back to raBBit's post saying that the talks have been creative and options are the sticking point. Leads me to believe that the Sox are sticking to fewer years (I might believe they'll offer four years), and they are haggling over options for an additional year or two. If the tweet saying the Nationals offer is not good is true, then maybe the Sox truly are the only serious bidders. I just hope this nonsense ends soon...like today. If the only teams remaining in these discussions are only with the White Sox and Mets, and the Mets are not going beyond 1 year, why would the White Sox need to go from 3 to 4 years. The only reason I can think is if they believe Cespedes will take the Mets offer over the White Sox. Have any other teams been linked to Cespedes? Is Washington a serious player?

QUOTE (TheCut87 @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 09:49 PM) Maybe 27 mil per year.... There is no way that the White Sox are offering Cespedes $27M per season, even on a shorter term deal. No way.

QUOTE (South Sider @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 09:12 PM) "This just puts them in a position to compete with us". This really changes the landscape for Cespedes. He has every reason to expect a similar deal, at this point, and I doubt the Sox give it to him. Even though I agree that this is a pretty dumb deal for Detroit, it further exacerbates a problem we are all too familiar with; that the White Sox will not pay open market price for a premium player. Cespedes will get his money from someone and we will be left with Fowler or Jackson. I know I said I was warming up to the idea of Jackson, but with KC retaining Gordon and Detroit nabbing Upton in an already tough division.... I mean seriously how the hell are you going to expect to compete!? You need someone who is a run producer in the outfield and that is Cespedes. Jackson and Fowler are okay players on an already elite team, but they will not push this team over the top. Good point. Davis (7 years), Upton (6 years?) and Gordon (4 years) all got multi-year deals. I'm not exactly sure who these teams are bidding against (specifically in the Davis contract), but I don't understand why Cespedes wouldn't get at least get a 4 year deal, and probably 5-6 years.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 09:00 PM) Your move, Jerry Reinsdorf. It's hard to make an argument that as things stand today, despite our 3 young/cost-controlled aces at the front of the rotation, we're NOT still likely a 4th or 5th place team. If Minnesota can get another starting pitcher, they might actually be the most dangerous team in the AL Central, but Sano still has to follow up his impressive debut and adjust to the pitchers this time around. Buxton has to stay healthy and put up at least a 700 OPS. Mike Illitch....balls (or, more accurately, a bank vault) of steel. It certainly feels like the White Sox can't be done adding to next year's team....if they are 'all in'. As much as the Lawrie and Frazier (in paritcular) should help, that is NOT what you think when you're all in unless they either do have a tight budget for the upcoming season and/or believe the in-house talent will rebound and don't have to do as much.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 05:39 PM) Scott Merkin ‏@scottmerkin 28m28 minutes ago Merkin: Even without further moves, '16 White Sox should be decidedly improved: http://atmlb.com/1SsDc8Q via @mlb I don't think Merkin would tell you if the White Sox were going to be bad. I'm frustrated by the direction of this team. Are they 'all in' or not? If they were, they would have a legitimate #4 hitter on this lineup. Frazier and Lawrie are nice additions, and the offense is better, but I envision these two as #5 and #6 or even #7 (in Lawrie's case). I think they are smart to not give a free agent a 6 or 7 year deal, and I am in favor of reloading the minor league system, however, they are trying to do both at the same time. There is still time, and maybe they add Upton/Cespedes or make some addition that moves Cabrera out of the #2 spot and into the middle of the lineup (that could help, but he's not that type of run producer either), but pick a lane. Pitching wise, they are set although the #3-#5 spots are still questions to me. We know the probably names (Rodon, Johnson and Danks), but the expectations are so high for Rodon to break out. Will he deliver? They probably aren't a contender without 3 very good pitchers. Johnson and Danks just need to give innings and hopefully keep teams in the game. Bullpen will probably be good, not elite. Bottom line - they don't have enough hitting. At the moment, this is .500 type team. Add a #4 hitter and get good starting pitching, they can challenge

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 16, 2016 -> 07:47 AM) You mean a draft pick? Then the answer is yes. Sorry, yes a draft pick. I really hope they avoid signing players if they are going to lose draft picks. They need to make rebuilding that minor league system a TOP priority as much as trying to compete in the majors. They have already traded some talent, now it's time to replenish as much as they can. I like Fowler, but not for a draft pick.