Lillian

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 07:37 PM) If he just defected, he is months away from being able to sign. Apparently, that is not necessarily the case. He left Cuba legally.

I just checked the stats on Baseball Reference: http://www.baseball-reference.com/register...id=bell--001ale In his 5 seasons, between the ages of 23 and 27, he hit 87 homers and 89 doubles, in 1,335 at bats. That is a homer every 15 at bats. Over that same period, he also walked considerably more than he struck out. Now, how you translate those numbers to a MLB projection, is another question.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 06:49 PM) Dude has no power. Hard pass. He actually does have some power. If you look at his stats in Cuba, you'll see that he has a substantial number of homers. The season is much shorter there, but there are a few years where he compiled some pretty decent power numbers. He's only 5' 7" but weighs almost 190 pounds. He sounds like a little "fire plug".

He's a little guy, who draws a lot of walks, and rarely strikes out. Knowledge of the strike zone and patience at the plate are skills which translate fairly well to higher levels of competition. I wonder how good his defense is in RF.

Wouldn't it be funny if Upton, Cespedes and Davis all signed one year "pillow contracts," with the idea of re-entering free agency in next years "weak" class"? Suddenly, next year's free agent class becomes stronger than this year's, by virtue of subtracting those 3 from this year's crop, and adding them to next year's.

Austin Jackson is not a significant offensive upgrade over Avi. In fact, given Avi's age and inexperience, it would be reasonable to hope that he might out produce Jackson. Jackson would bring better defense, but that is not worth the money, which he would cost. If the Sox are going to settle for nothing more than a defensive upgrade in the outfield, I'd rather they tried to accomplish it with a young player with potential, who would not cost much. There are plenty of guys around who haven't yet been able to demonstrate that they can be productive Major League hitters, but are good defensive players. Guys like Jordan Danks, and Trayce Thompson, who are both now gone, would make more sense than signing Jackson. In any case, if a new outfield acquisition is made, he better be able to play RF. I don't want to see Eaton or Melky out there, in that corner. Cespedes is a different story, as his bat and defensive upgrade in LF would be enough to compensate for weaker defense in RF. You guys have persuaded me that he would not be willing, or even able, according to some, to play RF.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 13, 2016 -> 02:51 PM) I think most of the teams that would spend that kind of money either don't have room or are spending their cash on other needs. The price will go down, but not all that drastically. He's still going to probably get at least $20 million a year for 3 years. How many teams are looking for corner OF help who could add that right now without being up against a roster crunch or luxury tax complications? I'd offer him 3 with an opt out after 2. I think that could be better for him if he performs than a 4 year deal. And better for the Sox. They get a totally motivated player. One whose performance increased tremendously when he was playing for a contract, and in 2 years, they will have some guys potentially off the books if they wish to re-sign him, or let someone else pay him for his decline. I completely agree, as you can well imagine. Thank you.

Now you're talking. Except forget about LF. Let him DH and just write off La Roche as a sunk cost. If Avi couldn't hack it in RF, just let Shuck play there. I really wanted Davis way back in 2010, after Thome left. You know me, always coveting a left handed slugger. I took a lot of heat here, from those who insisted he wasn't any good. That was one I got right. Unfortunately, the Sox would never spend the money. However, that would really make their offense dangerous.

Here are CarGo's numbers vs. the A.L. last year, in 73 at bats: .233 .278 .479 .758 Of course, it's an awfully small sample size. Nevertheless, pretty awful!! His career numbers vs. the A.L. are very good, so that is encouraging.

The split stats of Rockies hitters scare a lot of us, for good reason. I worry enough about N.L. hitters, let alone guys who play at an elevation of one mile. When a guy hits .100 points higher in AVG and OBP at home, you have to be skeptical about what he would really contribute in the A.L.

QUOTE (Saufley @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 04:50 PM) turns 34 in April and due $16 mil for 2016 and due $17.5 mil in 2017. Not so sure if I want him at that salary or age. I appreciate that, however aren't those the very factors that might make him available, without having to give up much? The front office doesn't seem to want to commit to more than 3 years, and Frazier and Lawrie are only locked up for 2 years, so Ethier's two year contract would seem to fit.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 04:41 PM) I want absolutely nothing to do with Ethier. Absolutely nothing. I'd rather have Avi in RF next season over him. What is it about him that you dislike so much? You know, last year he was right at his career stats vs RHP: AVG .306 OBP .383 SLG .517 OPS .900

I'm leaning back toward a trade for Ethier. What do you guess it would take to get him? Is he still considered an adequate defensive right fielder? Of course, he has to sit vs the few lefties.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 03:08 PM) Davidson and Avi being horrible busts has really hurt I agree. However, wasn't Davidson really acquired to fill the hole at 3RD? If he had developed as hoped, it might have eliminated the need to trade for Frazier, but I don't think it would have changed the outfield picture much. However, to your point, Davidson is another example of a poor choice in position players. This organization is currently just not very good at identifying position players. Thank goodness for Abreu.

The current Sox outfield is a bit of a mess, and doesn't inspire much confidence in this front office. None of our current outfielders are home grown products. They were all acquired, over the last 3 years, through trades or free agency. One would think that they would have been able to put together a decent outfield. However, here are the facts: 1) Defensively, the Sox arguably have 3 left fielders. None of them is a viable candidate for RF, and only one is a credible center fielder, just barely. 2) Not one of them is likely to hit even 20 homers 3) Not one of them is likely to steal more than 20 bases. I like Eaton, and Melky is an OK player. It's too soon to pass judgement on Avi. What grade would you give the front office on the construction of this team's outfield?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 11:59 AM) I dont know why you have been assuming this, since it has been said all offseason that he is a left fielder. I mean, he has a good arm, so lets put him at shortstop, right? If he has the right attitude, he is a phenomenal athlete, im sure he could make the switch and he could learn. No problem That's ridiculous. There is a huge difference between SS and the outfield. There is not nearly that same difference between LF and RF. Excuse me, but I must have missed where it was said that he wouldn't consider playing RF. He played CF for the Mets, so I just assumed that he hadn't played RF, because none of his former teams had asked him to.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 11:39 AM) What if he doesnt like Right Field because he sucks at it? He doesnt pick up the ball well off the bat and has bad reads? You cant just plug and play these guys into positions you want them to play because you think it makes sense He could certainly learn, if he had the right attitude. He is a phenomenal athlete, and plenty of guys, with less natural talent have done it. If he were to play LF, the Sox would still not have a decent right fielder. Cabrera doesn't belong there, and Eaton does not have the arm for RF. This is a big negative. I had been assuming that he would switch to RF, if the Sox were to sign him. I wonder if that could be part of the reason, the front office is hesitant.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 11:29 AM) He doesn't like RF. Really? For the kind of money he wants, he should be willing to play where it best helps the team. His arm would be much more valuable in RF. I'm beginning to not like the guy, if that is really what has kept him in LF. I really dislike "prima donnas".

Why haven't the teams, for which Cespedes has played, used him in RF? His arm would be much more valuable there. If the Sox do acquire him, I certainly hope that is where he plays. He would obviously be the best candidate, on the roster, to fill that hole in right.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 11, 2016 -> 07:59 PM) Parra makes more sense because wherever he plays, he's going to improve the defense (assuming last year with more of an anomaly) and he doesn't cost the draft pick, so it's more about how much are you willing to pay him...and how much is the improvement there versus adding a starting pitcher or SS to replace Saladino. With Fowler, he's going to cost you Samardzija's pick in the comp round, so essentially you're trading the rights to Fowler (who will get something like 3 years and $40-45 million) for the four players we dealt for Shark and you're losing $10-12 million of short and long-term impact from the lost draft pick, so it's actually costing you $50-60 million AND Semien/Bassit/Phegley/Ravelo if you look at inflows/outflows of talent onto the roster directly related to Shark. If you keep the draft pick, at least you can argue that's a fair rate of return for those four guys...at least it's an argument that has solid points on both sides. Not to mention Fowler's not an above-average defender in CF, and then you're forcing Eaton to move to RF or moving both outfielders to different positions. None of those would seem ideal. You present an interesting perspective, by adding all of the cumulatively related previous moves to your analysis. However, I think those moves are not relevant. What they did to acquire Samardzija is "water under the bridge". All that matters now is the potential loss of a draft pick, the dollars involved in a free agent contract, and the way a possible acquisition might contribute to this current roster.

Perhaps a better way to describe this circumstance is that the Sox need a big bat, who happens to be a decent outfielder, because the outfield is the place where the Sox have room for an addition. Ideally, he should be able to play right field, because the other two outfielders who are on the roster are not qualified to play that position. That is why guys like Fowler and Parra are not good choices. They are not middle of the order, big run producers. Therefore, any suggestion of spending significant money, or sacrificing a draft pick, for such players simply does not make any sense.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 11, 2016 -> 03:41 PM) I'd guess 5 for 108 is his final amount, with him not getting the 6 for 150 he thought. The consensus here seems to be that the front office would not be willing to go there. So, if you're correct, where does that leave the Sox?

So what is the more likely concession that Cespedes makes, the number of years, or the average annual salary?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 11, 2016 -> 12:17 PM) You're missing my point. My guess is they'll already have to go above their budget to land one of these guys. Do you really think KW or Hahn will go Reinsdorf for even more money on top of the base cost just so they can front-load a deal to help "motivate" their biggest signing in franchise history? Reinsdorf would probably call off the deal on the spot. I understand your point, and it is a valid concern. The Chairman of the Board may indeed balk at such a suggestion, however I still think that it is a wise direction, in which to go. But then, what the hell do I know? I'm just a fan, and he is the Chairman of the Board!!! If they want to keep the player motivated, and have him elect to opt out, so that they don't end up having to pay for 5 or 6 years, including 1 or 2 past his prime, that is the best chance to accomplish it.

QUOTE (SoCalSox @ Jan 11, 2016 -> 11:34 AM) If the White Sox were to go with someone like Fowler, etc over Cespedes & Upton, with the possibility of improving at SS or a back of the rotation guy, would people be happy with that or not enough? Not me. Especially if it costs one, or more, draft picks.