Chicago White Sox

This is amazing:

Definitely not acceptable overall, but 2021 represented improvement and they should have landed Wheeler in 2020. One thing worth reiterating is the Sox have made major changes to their pro scouting department in recent years, so it’s possible that we’re just starting to see the fruits of that. However, I fully get the skepticism given how bad Hahn was in free agency for an extended period of time. His track record with small scale signings is beyond atrocious, so a quantity oven quality off-season was never going to inspire much confidence if that’s the route we’re going down.

I’m going to repeat this again, but when Hahn was asked if there was an agent / player he called as soon as the lockout ended he very purposely said “yes” with a massive smirk on his face. He also said adding pitching depth would be a priority, so not surprising to see the Kelly & Velasquez additions made shortly thereafter. So unless we think the agent he was alluding to was Josh Harrison’s, the reality is he’s likely still having conversations with that aforementioned target. And personally, I’m very confident that the agent Hahn was referencing was Scott Boras whether there is anything connecting us to him or not. Also, just a reminder that Conforto has draft pick compensation tied to him. That’s going to scare off some teams, especially when he’s also coming off a down year. I just don’t see this massive market for him just yet. We’ve seen names like the Marlins, Rockies, & Diamondbacks listed as teams of possible interest. That’s never a good sign for your market when Boras has to scrape to those levels. In all honesty, I’m far more worried Hahn Machado’s himself again and allows another team not currently in the mix to jump in last second because he wasn’t aggressive enough from the get go.

I have no idea why the board has erupted in negativity? Is this because of a couple Steve Stone tweets? If the Sox are actively negotiating with Boras for a RF, they aren’t going to go out and say it’s a huge need. In fact, guys like Merkin & Stone are going to say the Sox love what they have. Until Hahn comes out and says “the team is on the floor” or all the RFs are gone, we should assume he’s looking to upgrade RF. Unfortunately dealing with Boras takes time.

I really wouldn’t worry about what these Charles the Cat type insiders are tweeting. The reality is Hahn came out and said no more infield additions after signing Harrison. He left open the possibility of an outfield addition intentionally. He has also said in his end of season press conference that more power and better left-handed balance was needed. I know we’re all panicking right now, but until Conforto and to maybe Schwarber are off the table, there is zero reason not to believe we aren’t pursuing them aggressively right now.

Now do this past offseason.

Leury & Gravemen signed three year deals.

When the Sox made the Kimbrel trade, I assumed that meant they had the resources to replace Madrigal & Heuer in the offseason while still making big improvements to the rest of the roster. Obviously the payroll has gone up a ton, but Hahn has definitely been far less aggressive with his moves so far. Still time to correct that, but it’s hard to remain optimistic when we’ve spent close to $30M to more or less maintain the status quo and have not yet seen one “fuck it, we’re going for it” type move.

What has this guy gotten right in the past? Dude only has a 100 followers, which is less than notoriously fake insiders.

I’m not saying Sheets is more important than Vaughn. Andrew is going to be a star eventually. But Tony is going to give Sheets, Leury, & Engel a decent amount of playing time and Vaughn is going to get squeezed at times. Personally, I’d rather get consistent at-bats for a month in AAA then be used sparingly at the major league level. Just feels like it could speed up his development. And if you want try insane ideas like having him play 2B, well better in Charlotte than in Chicago. Plus the extra year of control would he nice to gain back.

Can’t wait to see his price. I’m guessing 1/$3.5M.

Not looking to defend Hahn, because he doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt, but how influence does Tony have on roster decisions? Like the Kelly move was already sort of attributed to him and we know he’s in love with Leury. Just wondering if Reinsdorf has made things worse by empowering Tony.

In a perfect world, Conforto is brought in to solve RF. Sheets gets first crack at the DH job, with Eloy sliding in against LHP and Engel filling in LF. And then Vaughn starts the year in AAA and is first man up as a need arises. That way Andrew gets consistent at-bats (while we get a year of control back) and you have two options at DH in the event one of the two youngsters struggle. I just don’t get how many years in a row Hahn can reasonably go without addressing RF. At some point it should be considered a fireable offense. And I’ve said it before, but the biggest single risk to missing the playoffs is a lack of starting pitching depth. One of Giolito, Lynn, & Cease is going to miss an extended period of time at some point next season and we should build a rotation that can overcome that. Right now, we’d be royally fucked with even a single injury to one of those three. I don’t care how much money Keuchel makes, he needs to he relegated to bullpen status to start the year and can fill once that injury happens. Given how bad his pure stuff is, Dallas has lost the benefit after last season.

Exactly, all this Sheets/Vaughn RF combo ignores the the fact that right now both of them are needed in the starting lineup. I get wanting to give young players a chance, but going into opening day with a 7-8-9 of Vaughn-Sheets-Harrison along with 2/5 of our rotation built around Keuchel & Kopech is incredibly risky. I pray Hahn isn’t this incompetent and that more moves are being negotiated as we speak.

I’m sorry, who is Northbrook Bob and what is his track record?

Your argument might as well be close my eyes and ignore reality. Vaughn & Sheets were epically bad in RF last year. Could they get better? Possibly, but they will never be good out there. And to be clear, you expect them to provide a wRC+ over 133? Because that’s what Conforto put up from 2017 to 2020 when healthy.

No way.

Definitely has been down the stretch IMO, just not worth prioritizing a guy like Harrison when major holes exist.

For the 9th place hitter I would have wanted Eduardo Escobar. And guess what Merk, we could have afforded him if we didn’t sign Leury & Harrison and instead used Romy as our utility guy. But glad we have all these below average hitters that are versatile that Tony will need to overplay in order to keep them game ready.

I think there is value to big clubhouse guys that oftentimes goes under-appreciated by most fans, but it seems like the Sox always overvalue leadership/character/fit.

White Sox press release had the details

This is going to be a weird season, at least early on, where multiple long guys are needed.

Exactly, if my options are keep Kimbrel or dump him and doing nothing with the savings, then I’m 100% keeping as he can still be useful just significantly overpaid for a setup role.

We have Eloy Jimenez as our primary LF. If he needs a day off, Andrew Vaughn should play in his absence. If Eloy gets hurt, then Vaughn should be the primary LF with Engel getting the spot starts. If Vaughn also gets hurt, then Engel should be the primary LF and Gavin Sheets or Leury should get the spot starts. If Eloy, Vaughn and one of Sheets or Leury get hurt, then maybe, just maybe Harrison should get some playing time out in LF. Just take three guys above him getting injured. It’s readily apparent that Leury & Harrison are going to get way too much playing time.

Tony does think Leury being a “switch hitter” makes him a good hitter against RHP. You think Hahn would have done everything in his power to prevent Tony from having pieces that will play into his bad habits but alas that isn’t the case.