Chicago White Sox

Also, trading Fields would be nearly unprecedented. I can’t even imagine what price a team would need to pay to land him. Yes, he’s not completely proven yet, but he just rushed for 1,100+ yards and has all the tools needed to be a quality passer. To even consider it would require a package of players and picks that is probably unrealistic for any other team to give up.

Trading Fields and then passing on Young in hopes of possibly landing a better QB prospect in the 2024 draft is the definition of insanity. The logic reminds of this infamous Family Guy scene.

9 DRS and 4.8 UZR/150 last year at 2B is pretty good. It’s very clear he’s not a SS and moving him between the two spots hurt him the past. Also, a 115 wRC+ with 24 HRs is well above average for a 2B. Your evaluation of Torres seems quite outdated.

BBTV says it does and they’re never wrong on player valuation ?

This would be a no brainer IMO. Can we afford his ~$10M salary though?

No one thinks it will. This is simply a way to tell Jerry to go f*** himself and embarrass him publicly.

Merifield can’t hit anymore…

Man, the more I think about this, the more annoyed I get. There better be a plan here centered around some significant Cuban prospects who recently defected, because otherwise this is a colossal fuckup. And I say that as a big Paddy fan, who has probably been the most effective member of our front office when you consider the many constraints Jerry has imposed on him.

Positive value baserunner doesn’t mean smart baserunner though. Leury seems to lack baseball IQ. That pickoff at third base last year was one of the dumbest things I have witnessed in sports history.

Let’s hope so. Don’t want them wasting $2.5M on a Yolbert Sanchez type prospect because there is nothing else to use our money on.

Which is why it’s annoying we’re stuck with a homeless man’s Ben Zobrist instead of a bench player better suited for this roster.

Never forget…bottom right box

This has probably been one of Hahn’s better off-seasons from a communication standpoint. He basically told us up front payroll wasn’t growing and that large free agent expenditures were unlikely. So far, he’s exceeded the very low expectations he set. This is preferable to saying we have “unprecedented financial flexibility” and then be maxed out after signing Yasmani Grandal and Dallas fucking Keuchel.

I gotta disagree here. Leury could be the difference between Adam Duvall as our 4th OF instead of Victor Reyes. He’s just such an awful fit for this team as he can’t hit RHP (which doesn’t help us at 2B) and we have a guy in Romy who can likely do his job for league minimum. I think Leury will be way better than last year, but I think he’s been grossly overrated by this organization simply because he is “versatile”.

Go get Kemp & Duvall, sign a couple pitchers to minor league deals, and call it a day. Would this be a great off-season? Not at all, but it would probably be about as good as we could have expected assuming payroll has to be kept flat and if Hahn refuses to tap deeply into the minor league system. Lineup: 1) Anderson, SS | 2) Benintendi, LF* | 3) Robert, CF | 4) Jimenez, DH | Moncada, 3B# | 6) Vaughn, 1B | 7) Grandal, C# | 8) Colas, RF* | 9) Kemp, 2B* Bench: IF) Gonzalez | OF) Duvall | UT) Garcia# | BC) Zavala Rotation: 1) Cease | 2) Lynn | 3) Giolito | 4) Kopech | 5) Clevinger Bullpen: CL) Hendriks | SU) Graveman | SU) Bummer* | SU) Lopez | MR) Kelly | MR) Diekman* | MR) Ruiz | LR) Lambert Depth: IF) Sosa | IF) Sanchez | IF) Gonzalez | 3B/1B) Burger | OF) Reyes | OF) Hamilton | OF) Cespedes | 1B/DH) Sheets* | C) Perez | SP) Davis | SP) FA #1 | SP) FA #2 | SP ) Burke | SP) Bilous | RP) Crochet* | RP) Santos | RP) Foster | RP) Stiever | RP) Padilla | RP) Banks* | RP) Sousa*

What’s our pool this year?

Hopefully saving the $4M next year let’s us fit in a Duvall like acquisition into the payroll.

Are there a bunch of Cubans that will become available later?

Luxury tax is AAV based, so the structuring of this deal is likely more around cash concerns for this year.

Exactly. Our 4th OF could easily start 100 games next year. And as currently constructed, that’s going to mean a lot of Sheets in the corners and a lot of Colas or Leury in CF. IMO, we aren’t serious about competing if we don’t acquire a legit 4th OF who can play all three positions capably and hit enough to play in a semi regular role. Duvall just makes too much sense and I’d 100% prioritize him over a guy like Andrus at 2B.

I don’t envision Duvall getting more than $5M/$6M on a one year deal. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think his cost would be pretty reasonable.

Yes it was, but I could see Sheets get two weeks as the defacto starter to buy that extra year of control.

Cespedes would be a complete disaster offensively IMO. Honestly, I think Billy Hamilton would probably outhit him right now. Maybe he can improve his pitch recognition with time, but he’s nowhere near ready yet. Which reaffirms the need to add a legit 4th OF before spring training.

So let’s say the Sox go with Romy as the starting 2B as rumored, what would the bench look like right now? Obviously Leury & Seby are locks, but who fills out the other two spots? There isn’t really a true backup infielder unless you utilize Garcia in such a way (which goes against the little value he provides) or go with Sosa in a pure reserve role (which is not ideal IMO). And then who is your 4th OF? Leury will be part of the OF mix for better or worse, but I don’t like him as a true 4th OF type who should get quite a bit of playing time. Romy can theoretically play some OF as well but is also your starting 2B in this hypothetical. Reyes & Hamilton are simply AAA depth and should not be guys making an opening day 26 roster. To me, it’s very apparent we need to upgrade this bench. Right now, I’d assume Sheets is all but guaranteed a spot and that’s just asking for trouble. No idea who would get the other spot, but guys like Erik Gonzalez don’t cut it. If you want to go young at 2B & RF, at least have capable contingency plans in place who can also provide protection in the event of injury at other spots.

Question for the board, but what is it you needed to see from Lenyn Sosa last year to feel comfortable giving him the 2B job? I’ve seen several posters state that he needs more time in the minors, but what more does he need to accomplish there? After a rough start to AAA, he dominated the level and put up numbers consistent with what he did in Birmingham where he was one of the best hitters in the league. Sure, we could ask him to prove it out over a longer sample, but to me it’s quite clear he needs an extended shot in the majors. He 100% could fail and create a black hole at the position, but 22 year old middle infielders putting up numbers like this in the upper minors warrant a serious look. Again, Hahn should go acquire a LH bench piece to hedge this bet, but I really think we should give Lenyn a couple hundred PA’s to show us what he is capable of next year. Level | PA | BB % | K % | ISO | BABIP | OPS | wRC+ AA: 289 | 7.3% | 13.8% | .218 | .340 | .933 | 141 AAA (1/2): 86 | 3.5% | 23.3% | .074 | .323 | .600 | 58 AAA (2/2): 161 | 9.3% | 14.3% | .228 | .336 | .943 | 149 Majors: 36 | 2.8% | 33.3% | .114 | .136 | .367 | -4