Chicago White Sox

What’s the deal with Cruz? Is he a top 50 guy in the class?

That’s what I want to know. Doesn’t sound like this is KW Jr’s old role either.

Yeah, that’s the big question to me.

Yes, which is why we have some time before AI takes over the world.

And here’s one with the Dodgers! At least we don’t have to worry about a Skynet scenario anytime soon! Here’s a potential trade scenario involving Luis Robert being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers: Trade: Luis Robert to the Los Angeles Dodgers Chicago White Sox receive: • OF James Outman • LHP Bobby Miller • INF Michael Busch Los Angeles Dodgers receive: • OF Luis Robert Trade Breakdown: • For the White Sox: The White Sox acquire James Outman, a talented young outfielder who has shown he can hit at the major league level and has strong defensive tools. Bobby Miller is one of the Dodgers’ top pitching prospects, and his power stuff could make him a future ace. Adding Michael Busch, a versatile infielder with a solid bat and the potential to contribute in various spots, gives the White Sox further depth and future pieces to build around. • For the Dodgers: The Dodgers get Luis Robert, a dynamic, five-tool outfielder who would immediately improve their lineup and defense. With Robert’s combination of speed, power, and elite fielding ability, he would provide a significant boost to their outfield and overall roster. The Dodgers are in win-now mode, and Robert’s skill set fits well alongside their already deep lineup, making them even more dangerous in both the regular season and postseason. This trade would make sense for both teams, with the White Sox getting a mix of high-ceiling young players and the Dodgers adding a proven, all-around talent to strengthen their championship aspirations.

Mock trade that ChatGPT came up with for me: Sure! Here’s a potential trade scenario involving Luis Robert being traded to the Cincinnati Reds: Trade: Luis Robert to the Cincinnati Reds Chicago White Sox receive: • RHP Hunter Greene • OF Spencer Steer • IF Noelvi Marte Cincinnati Reds receive: • OF Luis Robert Trade Breakdown: • For the White Sox: The White Sox get a young, high-upside pitcher in Hunter Greene, who has the potential to be a front-of-the-rotation arm. They also get Spencer Steer, a versatile infielder and strong hitter who can help the team in multiple positions. Noelvi Marte is one of the Reds’ top prospects, and he adds even more young talent to the White Sox system, potentially offering a future cornerstone in the infield. • For the Reds: The Reds acquire Luis Robert, who has the tools to be a five-tool star. Adding Robert to their outfield would give them an elite defensive presence and a powerful bat. The Reds have a young, promising lineup, and Robert could be the missing piece in an already potent offense as they look to compete in the NL Central. This trade would be a bit of a gamble for both teams: The White Sox get a package of high-potential players that could help build for the future, while the Reds make a big push to win now with Robert’s elite talent in the outfield.

I have no justification for the inability to spend any more. Don’t get me wrong, now is not the time to splurge on B & C tier free agents who will likely be bad by the time we have any semblance of a competitive roster in place. But I would definitely sign some bounce back guys to one year deals and hope to spin them as the deadline. Unfortunately, cheap ass Jerry doesn’t seem willing to even foot that type of bill.

But go look at our Steamer 600 projections for next year. The rotation is going to be worse no doubt, but the positional group should be substantially better even with no major outside additions. And for the record, I don’t buy all those projections, but it’s nice to see a bunch of guys in their mid 20’s with 1.5 to 2.0 win totals vs. the crap we were forced fed last year.

But winning 55 games isn’t that hard. In all honesty, Getz should probably be fired if he can’t get us there next year. As I have stated before, a team full of replacement players should theoretically win 48 games. We need 7 to 10 fWAR total from our entire roster to have a solid chance of achieving that mark. Yes, that’s a 14 game improvement, but we underperformed our Pythagorean by 7 games last year. We also have a lot more players that project to be above replacement level than we did last year. Tauchman & Slater are older, boring, low ceiling players, but could easily represent four win improvement over the disaster that was RF for us last year. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to hype up 55 wins, but I don’t believe you have to be an optimist to see a normal really bad team vs. the worst in baseball history. But yes, I fully agree with you, I want to talk about the kids. The dumpster dives serve a purpose, but untimely don’t change the long-term trajectory. Hopefully once games start we’ll have some better topics to discuss, whether good or bad.

I thought that’s what David Keller was brought on to do?

I did leave Chicago because of this team. That’s a true statement. I fully get the anger of being a White Sox fan. I am guilty of it as much as anyone. But I also like discussing the White Sox and looking for reasons to believe things will get better as long as we’re being objective. And I have no issue with anyone disagreeing with moves as long as they state reasons that aren’t simply “because the White Sox suck”. Your view on Nevin was completely warranted. But there handful of posters who simply s%*# on everything and a couple others who just do drive-buys and don’t really add anything to the discussion. That’s as bad as the non-stop Getz excuse making. I 100% get being skeptical of everything. Until Jerry dies, we are a competitive disadvantage and will have to get lucky to ever win a championship. And Getz may very well be the total boob we all thought he was when first hired. But that doesn’t mean things still can’t get better in the near-term. The amount of low hanging fruit throughout the org is vast and even a subpar GM hire can make significant improvements by bringing in smart people from the outside. Just go to the over / under thread and see some of the takes there. Losing 121 games takes both a lack of talent and being unlucky. Getz does not deserve a free pass for this year’s s%*# show of a team, but it’s ok to acknowledge that the team will likely be better next year without doing all that much. Unfortunately, that level of discussion & debate gets completely lost in the wake of all the hate and spin from both sides.

I am pissed off too…everyone should be. And I just called out the posters who try to justify every past & present Getz action. Clearly he was not qualified for the GM job and I will argue that until the end of time. And I have been very critical of his trades since becoming GM…the track record is very bad so far. All that being said, he inherited an organization that is broken to its core and that will take time to fix. He has made some interesting outside hires in several key positions. He is making major investments in foundational areas like pro scouting, international scouting, player development, & analytics. Whether those moves will untimely work out remains to be seen and people have a right to be skeptical…I myself am skeptical. But once we get to the point of saying that nothing will ever work out because we are the White Sox we eliminate any chance of actual discussion and that is my major beef.

And that would be a perfect example of certain posters being willing to say anything to justify what Getz does. This issue definitely goes both ways.

We will, but you only have so many major league roster spots. We will likely need to rely on guys like Nastrini, Bush, & Iriarte (and eventually Adams) to make a lot of starts. We also have Shuster & Scholtens to fill in as necessary. I think that should be plenty with a couple AAAA type signings.

This board is getting worse than Congress with its extremist views. Either you must hate everything the org does no matter how trivial in order to get the rage out of your system or you must spin everything that Getz does in a favorable light regardless if it has sound backing to it to help retain some level of hope. This board used to have great discussion and now it’s just non-stop whining & spinning by the same group of posters 24/7. Unfortunately, those of us who are angry AF at the organization but still want to give Getz a chance (even if 100% undeserved) can’t have good honest debates on moves as the loudest posters disrupt everything with their relentless pessimism or optimism.

I don’t see a reason to sign Flexen at this point. Wilson will likely compete with Smith (and others) for the #5 spot coming out of spring training. Loser will likely be the swing man to start the year. Scholtens will be at some point. And then you have a ton of arms in AAA right on the cusp. If you want to add more SP depth, I’d do so on a minor league deal and not sure Flexen is going to be game for that.

So does he report into Janish then? And aren’t amateur scouting and player development separate functions? I guess I’m guess I’m confused by his involvement in both unless he’s actually an Assistant GM.

You’re right on Batista. I had thought he spent more time in Winston Salem last year but my memory served me wrong. He’ll open up in High A for sure. Not sure who gets knocked out or if they go with a six man, but Gordon, Peppers, McDaniel, etc. are all behind the big four there and I’d prioritize McDougal over those guys as well due to his age and stuff.

Good bet and you will likely be rewarded!

Many of these guys will flame out, but they also need opportunities before doing so. The issue isn’t that we can’t acquire better SP prospects, it’s that acquiring a 45 FV and pushing someone like Batista to a minor league bullpen doesn’t move the needle much.

Not if he returns to 2023 form, which is very much possible

We have tons of cap space, a top 10 pick, and two good 2nd rounders. We should be able to materially improve both lines if Poles executes right. Not saying we will, but it should be doable.

I’ll be honest fathom, I wasn’t buying what you were selling on the payroll, but so far the dumpster diving is 100% in the bargain bin. I expected at least one signing for $5M to $7M for the bullpen, but so far that looks unlikely.

He said his fastball could grow two inches, not his height…part of the reason I wasn’t sure what he was talking about.

What in the world are you talking about?