PorkChopExpress

mlbtraderumors says that despite the Rule 5 Draft starting at 1pm Central time, the White Sox pick has already been reported by Jonathan Mayo as RHP Shane Smith from the Brewers. Not sure how that works if the draft hasn't started yet, but that what mlbtraderumors says. Edit - nevermind. I see the edit to a previous post and the other thread now. Sorry.

Is that second quote a recent one, or is that a retweet of something he said after last year's debacle? If that's a new quote from Reinsdorf, it just proves how out of touch he is. First of all, the whole organization needs to stop with the "we're in the AL Central, so we've got that going for us," nonsense. That kind of smug/arrogant attitude about the AL Central despite only having won the division 4 times since it was created in 1994 is so stale and off-putting, not to mention they are currently dead last, 42 games behind the second worst team in the divsion. Run your team like you want to win the World Series which means beating the best team in every division. And what core? That's the part that makes me think this was a quote from last year and he was referring to Robert, Moncada, Jimenez, etc. and how they were rarely on the field together and healthy last year. But if it's new, it makes me think he doesn't even know who's on the team anymore.

Maybe he's open to the manager position. What better person to manage a team of scrappy, slap-hitting players than him?

Someone in the area should do a kickstarter campaign to raise money to print up like 10,000 "Sell the Team" t-shirts and give them away at a game. Or even better, somehow organize a grassroots "blackout game"-type event where everyone shows up to a game wearing them.

Or cash considerations. And STL also gets PTBNL or cash considerations from the Dodgers! Wow.

St. Louis is also giving up a low-level minor leaguer per mlbtraderumors. Does he go to the Sox or the Dodgers, though?

Technically, it's Fedde and Pham for Edman. Then Edman and Kopech for Vargas and two prospects. Not sure why it needed to be a 3-team deal. There has to be more.

Fedde AND Pham for Edman.

The Sox are MLB's slumpbusters.

Funny that "GRF" can be shorthand for "grief." That's what the field should be called, "Grief Field," because that's what all the fans are left feeling after every game.

Something has to change with how our how our hitters prep. How does Eloy not know by now that sweeper/slider away is all he will see? All of our hitters swing at garbage off the plate and takes strikes down the middle. Contrast that to opposing hitters who seem able to lay off anything that is not in the zone. Are our pitchers that bad, or are opposing hitters just better prepared?

This has been an issue basically since “framing” has been a stat. I watch our catchers catch a close ball and either drop it or immediately move the glove and throw back to the pitcher and get zero calls, while at the same time it seems like every catcher on the other team catches the pitch and moves it into the zone and waits for the ump to make a call. The results suggest that affects the unp’s call. So why do our catchers not do what most, if not all, other catchers do?

So here’s my take at this point. Maldonado was a wasted signing. He’s worthless on both sides of the field. Should have let him retire and then hire him as a coach if that’s why you wanted him. Benentendi is no longer good and should not be hitting lead-off. It’s a repeat of last year when they kept hitting TA first even though he sucked. Stop playing these guys based on some historical stats and start playing them based on how they’re performing now.

They probably wanted to bring this guy in sooner, but had to be sure Tim Anderson wasn't coming back first.

Also, does this mean that Reynaldo Lopez is going to have an injury soon?

So maybe he amped things up after getting traded to impress his new team, and did the damage then?

That's funny because I think that's Davis Martin, who's listed at 6'2". But I'm thinking the other guy is 6'9" Lane Ramsey.

Didn't Garfein do a podcast on this? Ozzie Jr. was on to discuss it because Ozzie is Puig's manager right now in whatever Venezuelan league he's in. He's supposedly matured, and is crushing it in that league. Or he was at the time of the podcast. Count me in as interested in giving it a shot. Minor league deal with an invite to ST. It likely wouldn't cost them much, and if it doesn't pan out, just cut him.

Have you seen the other thread in which Garfein quotes Getz as saying their intention is to use him as a starter in 2024?

So far, he's just plugging holes with low-cost AAAA and low-risk bets. I don't see any problem with that, and frankly, I'm a little optimistic that some of these guys are going to prove to be good to great signings. Were there better FA options at C than Stassi at league minimum? Maldanodo for $4M-ish? I think it was a shrewd move. And now there's more money to try and sign a guy like Giolito. Maybe even go after Teoscar Hernandez. I like what Getz is doing so far. Maybe he's constrained by budget, but I think we have to wait and see.

I was kinda hoping the Yankees would trade for Moncada since they're one of the few teams who can afford his salary. Then they can use LeMahieu as a super utility guy instead of their primary 3B, or put him at 2B and we somehow get Gleyber Torres in the deal. I realize there was almost no chance it would happen, but adding Soto's salary probably crushes whatever little chance there was.

If you’re suggesting the Sox start playing at the same level as the rest of mlb, I’m all for it.

I think teams looking to add multiple starters, including at least one of the top FA's, might also look at getting Cease now as a selling point to those FA's. "We're serious about winning. We already went and got Cease, and with you and him and [fill in names], we're going to have one of the best rotations in the league."

I don't see why St. Louis would give up pursuing Cease if they are truly interested. He's still relatively cheap and under control for two years. It would only cost them prospects and it's not like they couldn't still use another high-end starter.

That’s probably why he took the deal. The Sox either have to overpay guys, give them major league deals when no one else will, or be the only team giving them an offer at all to get players to come here. Reputation matters.