Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 1, 2013 -> 05:09 PM) Worth stressing again...the White Sox also are not forced to move Rios. He will not break the bank next year and he could be a useful cog if the White Sox field a competitive team next year. There's no minor leaguer pushing him right now, the only reason why the Sox should trade him is if they get an offer that meets their price. Exactly. People seem to forget that most players moved at the deadline are about to enter free agency, which forces sellers to make certain trades no matter the market for their players. The Sox have all the leverage with Rios. If a team doesn't meet our asking price, we can hold on to him and either look to trade him in the offseason or simply enjoy the surplus value he'll likely provide in 2014. Contenders that are desperate for an OF right now don't have the luxury of time. If they're serious about being a World Series contender and Rios potentially puts them over the top, then these teams will have to seriously consider paying a premium for him. Most organizations are going to value winning a World Series above all else and will take a gamble if they feel they're close.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jul 1, 2013 -> 04:46 PM) This is one of the stupidest things I have ever read on this site. An .800 ops is an .800 ops. He is not being paid to be the guy either. He's being paid to hit a s***load of homers and walk a lot. Clutch is bulls*** by the way. It is a myth. Gotta disagree with you here. Not all OPSs are equal IMO. If two guys have equal OPS, I'll always take the guy who has the higher OBP rather than SLG. Also, walking a lot is great, but when you hit .200, it's going to be tough to get that OBP above .305, which is exactly what's happened this year for Dunn.

People need to look past typical player valuations when discussing deadline deals. If a team feels they're one player from being a legit World Series threat, more often than not they'll be willing to pay a premium to get that player. With the new wild card rules, we now have even more buyers and less sellers than we normally would, which only increases the amount of teams willing to pay such a premium. Rios is going to be one of the few impact bats available at the deadline, at a position of need for many contenders. He's also under team control for 2 1/2 seasons at below market rates. He should be one of the most valuable players at the deadline and there's a very good chance IMO tha someone will be willing to offer something stupid for him.

QUOTE (Noonskadoodle @ Jun 30, 2013 -> 01:14 AM) It just came down to him or Q for me & with Santiagos ability to move to the bullpen I figured I would keep Q in the rotation. Just don't like 4 lefties in the rotation. But ehhh what's it matter?...None of have a clue what's gonna happen Call me crazy, but if you don't like 4 lefties in the rotation, I'd seriously consider trading Quintana right now for a crazy package. I know everyone is down on Danks at the moment, but part of me thinks him not being 100% may force him to learn how to actually pitch and help him in the future. Also, even if you could move him right now, it's going to be a simple salary dump. I'm not necessarily against that idea, but at some point you can have all the money in the world and not enough players to make smart investments in. Unlike Danks, I think we might be able to get a crazy package for Quintana. He's young, cheap, left-handed, and has a ton of service time left. He's also currently 40th overall in pitcher's WAR. If we can get a package built around two high-upside position prospects close to the majors along with a couple A ball wild cards I think I'd have to do that deal. And even if you dealt Quintana & Peavy, you'd still have a rotation or Sale, Danks, Santiago, Johnson, & Axelrod. I'd probably look into free agency for an upgrade over Axelrod, but at least you have a nice foundation (assuming Danks comes back 100% next year) to start your rebuild with.

Caulfield has accounted for 52% of the posts in this thread. I think it's safe to say he loves his Puig.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 29, 2013 -> 06:59 PM) Who are you going to play at 2B then, if Keppinger's traded? Tyler Greene or Angel Sanchez? I guess it doesn't really matter anymore, though. It's hard to say right now because we don't know what we'll be getting back for guys. I've got to believe Hahn will be targeting position players close to ready with his big pieces. If you get a middle infielder, then that's your answer. Otherwise, Greene & Sanchez become real possibilities.

QUOTE (Noonskadoodle @ Jun 29, 2013 -> 06:52 PM) Beck possibly sliding to the SS position? I would like to see him move over there for a bit & see how he performs if Lexi is moved. This is what I see happening. I really think Alexei will get moved prior to the deadline and Beckham will get a couple months at SS to see if can handle it.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 29, 2013 -> 10:20 AM) BTW, we're currently in position for the 4th draft pick. If Milwaukee wins and we lose today, 3rd. Going to be hard to get into that first or second position, though. Agree, let's get first place and likely second out of our thoughts. Third would be a nice consolation prize though.

I doubt many players have been converted to pitchers at the major league level.

QUOTE (MEANS @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 10:15 PM) f***ing beer cut off after first inning.....WTF?!?!? Honestly, if fans can't enjoy a few beers while watching this garbage; then the White Sox don't deserve anyone showing up.

Does anyone know what kind of stuff Braulio Ortiz has? I know he just moved into the rotation, but 58 Ks in 44.1 innings is absolutely fantastic.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 07:08 PM) Hawkins 0/2, 0 K's. .189. Did everyone vote for him to play in the Futures Game? Why do you find a need overanalyze his batting average every day?

Omogrosso needs to be taken behind the shed Old Yeller style.

QUOTE (MnSoxFan @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 05:28 PM) Cory McGinnis released by Bristol, 22nd rounder last year. Kyle McMillen was sent down to Bristol and Alex Powers was promoted to Kanny. Glad to see McMillen is back.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 03:06 PM) This type of move, with the Yankees taking on that contract, makes a ton of sense for both teams. It's not so much money it would hamper the Yanks, they get a lot of flexibility to cover positions in an older infield, the Sox clear salary. He even knows the AL East pitching. Exactly, the Yankees are one of the few teams that can afford a $5 million utility guy.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 01:40 PM) Mitchell wasn't a high ceiling prospect. He was a guy that struggled with contact in college that KW thought would all of the sudden learn how to hit when he got to the pros. He was a high floor prospect because he was close to being finished when he came out of college and you knew what you were getting, good speed, solid defense and power to the gaps, and he struggled to recognize breaking balls. KW was infatuated with athletes when drafting hitters over baseball players. This whole paragraph is just so wrong. Mitchell was a guy with incredible physical tools who had been unable to commit himself to baseball full-time because he also played football. The hope was that by focusing on baseball he'd be able to develop the skills necessary to become a legitimate superstar a la Carl Crawford. At no point did anyone think he was anything close to a finished product when he was drafted.

This would be fantastic.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 01:53 PM) I don't understand why we want Granderson. He's a LF masquerading in CF, he strikes out 25%+, and is becoming old and injury prone. Used to be really good, but now he'd just be a bad contract. He's exactly the type of guy you want in a transition year. Well respected veteran coming off an injury ridden and/or poor season that will be willing to take a short-term deal (1 to 2 years max) at some level of hometown discount. If all goes right, he gives you a middle of the order left-handed bat at a decent price. If not, you wasted some money on a lost season anyways. Hahn is going to at least pretend we're trying to compete next and signing Granderson would help accomplish that. Also, he would only fill in at CF in 2014 until Trayce is ready. After that, I'd give him at-bats at all three OF spots and DH.

C Phegley 1B Morales (free agent) 2B Keppinger SS Beckham 3B prospect (acquired in Rios or Peavy deal) LF Viciedo CF Granderson (free agent) RF prospect (acquired in Rios or Peavy deal) DH Dunn IF free agent IF Gillaspie OF Danks BC Flowers #1 Sale #2 Danks #3 Lincecum (free agent) #4 Santiago #5 Johnson CL Reed SU Jones SU Webb MR free agent LHP MR Castro MR Rodriguez LR Rienzo

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 11:59 AM) This is really funny. For years KW was blasted for drafting safe guys from college like McCullough and Broadway. Now he is getting blasted for high ceiling projects. FAce it for years the Sox spent all of their resources on the MLB team which left no bonus money for the draft. Now with the new rules for the draft the Sox can still allocate most of the resources to the MLB team and be competitive in the draft. The issue with the draft wasn't that the Sox had no money because they used it all on the MLB team, the problem was that Reinsdorf was best friends with Bud Selig and refused to go over slot (with few exceptions). That's what has been killing our minor league system for years. You're right about the first part. People see tons of prospects busting and demand a new draft philosophy, but fail to realize prospects are naturally expected to bust, even if you take a bunch of "safe" guys with your top picks. I actually love their new philosophy of going after toolsy/high-upside prospects because you increase your chance of drafting a superstar significantly and maximizing your potential surplus value.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 08:39 AM) Saw a video of Anderson running to first, stealing second. He appears to have very good speed, though I didn't stop-watch it or anything. *sigh* What is with you and magic lines? 15 he is, 14 he isn't? .270 he is, .268 he isn't? It really isn't that absolute. This is especially ridiculous when you look at home run numbers in the minors, which need to take into account ballparks and other factors. And 15 home runs in A+ or A ball is actually an unusually high number, outside of the California League. Ravelo is a legitimate prospect, by my definition at least - just not as highly ranked, or with as good a chance, as he had if he could have stuck at 3B defensively. He, he obviously needs to add power at SOME point to make a case to be a major league 1B. But he's slugging .461 despite having only one home run - because he has 14 doubles in about 160 PA, which puts him around a rate of near 60 doubles on a full season. That is a very high rate, and when you are talking about a 21 year old in Advanced A ball with strong plate discipline (K rate around 13% and nearly as many walks as K's), there are good indications there that the power could come. He's still a guy in the Top 25 in the system, to me - at the low end of it now, but still there. I think this is spot-on. There is obviously some HR threshold for a 1B, but as you mentioned Ravelo is only 21. He doesn't need to hit 15 HRs right now to be considered a top 25 prospect. He does need to develop some power as he moves up the system though if he wants to retain that rank or make the top 10.

Let's just hope Reinsdorf is willing to taks on some money in these deals. We should be looking to maximize our potential returns, not trying to improve our bottom line by simply dumping salary.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 27, 2013 -> 09:25 PM) Teams would love to add Dunn if the Sox ate a s***load of salary, don't let Sox fans fool you. In my mind, there's no real reason to do so because you won't get a real good prospect for a guy who is a DH who can play a bit of 1B. If you eat salary, you need to make sure you get a prospect with legitimate upside. I completely disagree here. Dunn has a .194 AVG & a .303 OBP. His value right now is nearly 100% tied to his 20 HRs. Perhaps some team desperate for a left-handed bat may take a chance on him, but I seriously doubt any team would "love" to add a streaky, all or nothing hitter to their lineup in the middle of the stretch run let alone mutliple teams. If you can save $6 to $8 million on the remaining life of his contract I say you dump him without hesitation. I don't even care what you get back, because sooner or later bad Dunn will come back and we'll be stuck with him batting cleanup for another year. Take advantage of the hot steak he's on and move him while you still can. We're talking about a guy who will not be back in 2015 under any circumstance, so the downside of trading him is minimal.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Jun 27, 2013 -> 07:46 PM) When will we get a hitter that we don't have to wait 4+ years to hopefully develop Um, how many Latin American free agents are really going to help in less than 4 years? Maybe a Cuban here or there, but that's pretty much it. The alternative is simply not using our bonus allotment, so I'm not exactly sure what there is to complain about here.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 27, 2013 -> 07:33 PM) Ravelo can't be considered a legit 1B prospect unless he can hit a minimum of 15 homers. MINIMUM. I agree with this, but he's still got some time. At least he's hit a good amount of doubles, plus his plate discipline is promising. He's nowhere near a top 10 prospect, but he's more interesting than a lot of the garbage in our system.