Chicago White Sox

Obviously take with a huge grain of salt, but I’m getting this same vibe based on everything I’ve been reading.

Given Bob’s latest USA Today article, it’s very clear that Cease is very much available. As such, I thought it was time for a dedicated thread for rumors and trade ideas.

I argued his 2021 isn’t apples to apples to 2022 & 2023, so claims of his K rate trending downward is silly. I also stated very clearly that his value is down from where it was a year ago, so I don’t need to argue why teams should pay a 2022 price when I’m not suggesting that in the first place. Regarding 2023, he was ranked 18th amongst SPs in terms of fWAR despite a bad ERA. Over the past three combined he’s ranked 8th overall. You continue to undervalue him because he wasn’t the dominant 2022 version last year. The reality is most GMs don’t simply look at the prior year and say that’s what a guy is worth. GMs will value him based on their own projections which will include potential mechanical changes that could get his slider back to its 2022 form.

There is no trend line here. His pitch mix was substantially different in 2022 & 2023. You’re trying to anchor off a 2021 peripheral that is no longer apples to apples to help your claim Cease is trending downward when that’s not really the case. Cease’s 2022 was better than 2021 because he perfected an elite slider not because of some BABIP BS unless you are only looking at ERA.

Why do I care about 2021 when he was a lesser pitcher with a different pitch mix and a much less effective slider? The dude is trying to replicate the 2022 version of himself, not the 2021 one.

His K rate went from 11.10 to 10.88. Not sure I’d call that a significant drop and it highlights he was still able to strike out guys at a very high level despite his slider not being as effective. I’d wager money a lot of clubs would love to get their hands on him as White Sox incompetence shouldn’t change their 2024 outlook for Cease.

What peripherals are you referring to? But yes, I still think he should have plenty of value even if it’s down from where it was a year ago.

Take it FWIW, but I was talking with a dude who knew Getz well during his Michigan days. Basically said Getz was super nice but not very smart and more or less felt we were fucked with him as our head baseball decision maker.

Which makes total sense. There is no need to rush a Robert trade. However, it’s better to move Cease now if the value is there. And no one else really has enough value to matter sadly. Also, no one should be surprised by payroll cuts. No way Jerry wasn’t slashing payroll after a decrease in attendance.

Why would the franchise he worth more with their fan favorite announcer?

It’s absolutely incredible how stupid this dude is. He’s so desperate to suck his boss off that he accidentally shits on his entire team that has to manage on a daily basis.

Fully agree. I plan to bump this thread every time I am see that smug face of his or hear him spew some bullshit.

Exactly. I have no problem if people don’t like Jason and are excited for change, but the Sox don’t deserve credit here. Jason is a star in the sports announcing community and grew up a fan of the franchise. There is definitely a group of fans that don’t like his style, but generally speaking he is well liked by the broader fanbase. To lose him after a 100 loss season is simply embarrassing and to an equally pathetic franchise in the same s%*# division no less.

Holy s%*# it’s been a month, but got bump this thread after the Guillen’s clowned his ass.

How so? They clearly didn’t let him go to appease the fanbase.

I understand both sides when it comes Jason, but hopefully we can all agree this is yet another embarrassment for the Sox.

Can you provide a bit more detail? Not sure I’m grasping what you are suggesting about Boyer.

Is there a way to read this for non subscribers?

It’s so true. Pedro is somehow worse than 80 year old dude who can’t stay awake in the dugout. Just mind boggling that he wasn’t canned after last year.

Getz said there are no untouchables. I can’t even fathom what it would take to deal him away and how many teams actually have the prospect currency to get a deal done. But at minimum you listen and see if another team is willing to do something stupid, although there are only so many Preller’s out there willing to pay a significant prospect price to get true impact talent.

So Grady Sizemore’ role is what exactly? Is he the heir to Grifol once he’s almost certainly fired after this season.

https://soxmachine.com/2023/11/a-white-sox-rumor-to-open-mlb-free-agency/ Please contain your excitement

IMO, a trade between the Orioles & Sox is fairly likely. Both sides just line up way too well. Sounds like Angelos doesn’t want to spend a ton of money, which makes it hard to add the impact SP they need. Meanwhile, the Sox really need to capitalize on Cease’s trade value and not risk him somehow getting injured in the first half of the season. And the Orioles’ system has so much positional depth that they can afford to give up two top 100 guys without it having a material impact on their long-term outlook. Mayo is the guy I’d really want as the centerpiece. While he’s only played 3B in his career, I think he could be a fit for an OF corner, especially with his arm. If he’s an untouchable (and he might be, at least for the 2023 version of Cease), then I might be willing to pivot to Kjerstad. Not as intriguing as Mayo, but a LH power hitter who can play RF would fill multiple massive needs. Give me one of them plus Joey Ortiz (who is completely blocked) to fill the other middle infield spot across from Colson and I think you got the basic framework of a deal.

Luckily Marlins fan have a bit more patience than us Sox fans and can wait a year while he “learns” the organization.

Outside of trading Cease, I’m not sure I follow the angst over this. Yes, the fan base will hate the losing next year, but that’s happening regardless of if we move Cease or not. And we should 100% wait until the 2024 off-season before making sizable free agent investments. None of this is going to be fun, but it’s the right thing to do and the consequences of pretending we can somehow win next year could be devastating.