Chicago White Sox

Lineup: Anderson, SS Robert, CF Abreu, 1B Grandal, C# Jimenez, LF Moncada, 3B# Harrison, 2B Garcia, DH# Vaughn, RF

Because making the playoffs is 3/4 the battle.

People whining about a shitty offseason is not the same as saying the team is bad.

Show me one person who has argued the Sox aren’t a top team on paper.

Anyone got any backup catcher ideas? I may have been Collins’ biggest defender in the past, but it’s as clear as day he can not catch at the major league level. We don’t need anything crazy either, but looks any upgrades will have to come via the trade market.

We have no idea what’s been offered or rejected, so impossible for any of us to answer your questions. That being said, I’m sure the A’s are taking their time and ensuring they are getting the best offer possible since they can.

Being unable to make contact is a little different than bad spring training numbers. I’ve seen people who follow the Dodgers for a living say Bellinger just doesn’t look right.

What can the Twins offer that is better than Burger that isn’t an overpay for one year of a good but not elite starting pitcher? Again, perhaps the A’s would prefer younger prospects or guys at other positions, but people are really sleeping on Jake. Dude is going to be a quality major leaguer if he can stay healthy and keep his body in shape. I doubt the Twins have a guy projected to be a 2 win player next year they have readily available for a rental, but maybe I’m totally off-base there. Personally, I think trading Burger++ for Manaea would be a loss for us in the long-run, but just don’t see him getting the playing time he needs to build up his value much further. It sucks, but I’d much rather have the pitching depth this year than the hitting depth. With Stiever out for a while and VV not yet inspiring much confidence, our pitching depth is very concerning.

At least Bellinger can play some defense though unlike the two Adam’s.

Beyond the reliever issue (which could be partially solved via a Kimbrel trade), my biggest beef is how they’ve gone about addressing 2B. Like what is the plan there? Out of all the options in free agency and trade, how in the world did they settle on Josh “Big Energy” Harrison? I can somewhat understand (and I must stress somewhat) being hesitant to commit big dollars in RF, especially for a RH hitter, but who are you worried about blocking at 2B if you’re Rick Hahn? Romy Gonzalez? Jose Rodriguez? Yogurt Sanchez? Those three all project as RH utility guys and you showed little confidence in them by extending Leury for the next three years. Marcus Semien would have been the most impactful addition, but I get not wanting to commit seven years and $175M to him. If he were willing to take less to play for a contender, then I would have been all over that. Still, a guy like Eduardo Escobar was right there for the taking at a very reasonable cost. No idea why they didn’t pursue him harder. And Brad Miller would have at least addressed our weakness against RHP if you were willing to give him a second year. Again, not sure who we’re blocking at 2B. All that being said, from my perspective, either the Sox misread the free agent market completely or have struggled to find trade partners due to their weak farm system. Part of me believes the Sox might feel their system has a dozen or so prospects who could really ascend next year and make it easier to fill needs at the deadline. And perhaps that ends up being the right call, but it’s way too risky to head into the regular season with so many holes unaddressed and it’s inexcusable to have a farm system being so week you’re incapable of acquiring a solid 2B.

Bellinger has far more upside, but Kimbrel also just put up three more fWAR last year than Cody. Kimbrel throwing 93 MPH in his first spring outing doesn’t really matter. Meanwhile, Bellinger looks completely lost at the plate, which is concerning given the year he just had. Do I think the Dodgers would make this trade? Probably not, but it all comes down to their go-forward evaluation of Bellinger. And obviously I wouldn’t bank on the Sox being able to fix someone the Dodgers couldn’t, but sometimes guys need a change of scenario.

I said the same thing before. But honestly, I still think it’s a gamble worth taking if that’s the price.

100% agree. Guys aren’t at100% velocity right out of the gate, especially veterans with completely job security.

The Dodgers aren’t making this trade if they think Bellinger will return to MVP form.

God I love that write-up on Ramos. I had him 7th overall in my personal rankings but between these type of scouting reports and Zips being super high on him it just seems like a matter of time before he’s a top 100 prospect.

How would people feel about this trade? CWS get Cody Bellinger & Andre Jackson LAD get Craig Kimbrel & Adam Engel The Dodgers get a closer and an OF with the same amount of team control as Bellinger and who can play a quality CF. The Sox get a left-handed power bat with massive upside, but don’t need to commit to a long-term deal. They also got an athletic semi major league ready arm with options who provides some protection for both the rotation & bullpen. Total cash is relatively even, with the Dodgers taking on $1M in payroll.

Very interesting read on Bellinger’s struggles and whether he might return to form. https://www.si.com/mlb/2022/02/16/yelich-bellinger-what-went-wrong

You’re suggesting that Burger isn’t a good enough centerpiece for one year of Manaea? There would certainly be other pieces also involved, but I think you are underselling Jake a bit here. Dude skipped A+ & AA and was able to put up a 122 wRC+ in AAA. Zips projects him to be a an above league average bat / 2.1 win player next year. Yes, he may not fit the A’s ideal competitive window, but if he’s as good Zips thinks he’ll be then they’d be crushing us in that trade with just him alone and could always flip him at a later date.

I mean, right now both Eloy & Vaughn will be in the OF. Those are our starting corner OFs with Sheets the primary DH against RHP.

What’s more important though? 3B depth or SP depth?

I said relatively though. Losing Robert & Eloy for the bulk of last season really hurt and those two alone should help a ton. But other guys could get injured though.

Way too low if the team stays relatively healthy.

The Durham & Koch trades took place 20+ years ago. I’m not sure those are very relevant, especially when Hahn was either not in the organization or his first year as assistant GM. Also, the reason the Durham trade was bad was because KW didn’t assume they would be adding draft compensation for lost free agents that upcoming offseason rather than not getting enough for two months of Ray Durham. As for the Foulke/Koch trade, we also got Neil Cotts back in that deal so it really wasn’t that bad in hindsight since Foulke only had one year of control left. The Shark trade sucks simply because they missed on their self evaluation of Semien. I don’t really care about Bassitt being included because he was an older C prospect at the time and wasn’t someone you lose sleep over trading. The other two guys were irrelevant. If you’re really going to hold Hahn accountable for bad KW trades though, why not mention the Swisher trade? That’s a much worse trade than Durham & Foulke deals.

What are all these trades in which Oakland ripped us off?

But we’re in our window right now and we’re better off with Sean Manaea this year than Jake Burger in a backup role for the next six. Outside of a handful of prospects, I don’t think you really worry about losing a trade if it helps you win this year.