Chicago White Sox

I’m not saying we shouldn’t move Eloy to DH, I’m just pointing out you may not get exactly the same hitter. Do I think he’s a 70 wRC+ guy as an everyday DH? No, but I do believe guys get in their heads more frequently when they don’t play the field and it should be a consideration at minimum. I agree though, I expect Eloy to spend a sizable portion of his time next year in LF. That doesn’t make it the right decision, but I’m not sure the Sox are ready to commit him to DH full-time just yet.

You’re ignoring a ton of awesome trades that KW and Hahn have made though.

The bulk of his DH time came last year and up through 9/17 he rotated between DH & LF on a pretty frequent basis. I’m not sure health had a big impact here, but I will point out his splits between DH & LF would have been even more extreme if you ignore the 13 consecutive games he played in LF from 9/18 to season’s end and posted a 80 wRC+. Again, none of this statistical significant, but it’s a red flag worth pointing out.

I think people assume that everyone can DH when in reality many players struggle when they don’t play the field and only bat a handful of times a game. While an incredibly small sample size, Eloy has a 61 wRC+ as a DH over 115 PAs while has a 125 wRC+ when playing LF over 846 PAs. And for additional context, his wRC+ was 70 when DHing last year in 77 plate appearances and 117 when playing LF over 154 PAs. This doesn’t mean Eloy wouldn’t be successful as a full-time DH, but I’m not sure it’s as simple as everyone is making it out to be. There is real risk that he struggles with a DH role.

Mind sharing those?

Of those two I’m taking Conforto. I’m not against bringing Rodon back, but he’s the definition of a high risk player.

Fuck Tom Ricketts…what a tone deaf douchebag.

He seems to love it on the south side so I’d say he would if the money is equal.

They should resign him even if they know his arm won’t hold up next year?

What could we even trade him for? At 2B the only names worth considering would be Ketel Marte and maybe Gavin Lux. Can’t even think of a good name on the SP side.

Adam Engel is a 4th OF and should be treated as such. Game-planning that he can be more than that despite injuring himself every season is the definition of insanity. Sheets & Vaughn are NOT major league RFs. When playing RF, they both averaged -1 DRS per 40 innings played (SSS but the eye test and basic logic confirm them being horrible out there). For perspective, that is roughly the same level of defense Jermaine Dye provided in 2007 and he was literally the worst defensive OF in baseball per DRS. And despite posting a wRC+ of 104, Dye ended up having a -1.2 fWAR season. Point is that any offensive value these guys can provide in RF will be greatly offset by their poor defense. Who are these SP & 2B we are going to spend “big money” on? You can make this claim but point me to some names that fit the billing. More realistically, we will need address these spots via trade (with Sheets a potential trade chip). As such, the one spot that we can fill in free agency and help shore our weakness against tough RHP is in RF. We are in our World Series window RIGHT NOW. We only have Lucas Giolito & Yasmani Grandal for two more years. We only have Tim Anderson, Lance Lynn, & Liam Hendriks for three more years. Yoelqui Cespedes & Oscar Colas should have ZERO bearing on our near-term decision making. The only thing that matters is winning a World Series in 2022, 2023, & 2024. If Cespedes & Colas eventually develop into usable pieces that’s great, but for now they should be strictly minor league depth and potential trade chips. Not signing Conforto because you are worried about blocking these two guys would be a fireable offense IMO.

Only way Jose goes if his production slips substantially or his demands get ridiculous. I think we need assume Jose is here for another couple years.

Man I think people will be pissed if we trade sign Castellanos to turn around and trade Vaughn. Unless you’re using Andrew to get a legit ace (who I’d ask) or Ketel Marte, there isn’t really anything out there that makes sense. And even then, you’re quickly shrinking this window to about three years. And maybe that makes sense; but losing Vaughn’s pre arb salary will make that even more challenging.

You’re probably right on how La Russa would use them if both were on the roster, which means Sheets needs to go via trade to address the rotation or 2B.

If you sign Conforto and add a platoon 2B, then you have plenty of balance. The numbers in parentheses reflect each player’s wRC+ vs. RHP or LHP over the past three seasons. Anderson, SS (118) | Anderson, SS (151) Moncada, 3B# (129) | Robert, CF (184) Abreu, 1B (118) | Abreu, 1B (159) Conforto, RF* (138) | Jimenez, LF (99) Jimenez, LF (124) | Grandal, C# (152) Robert, CF (117) | Vaughn, DH (155) Grandal, C# (124) | Moncada, 3B# (110) Vaughn, DH (68) | Conforto, RF* (97) Miller, 2B* (127) | Garcia, 2B# (106) In regards to Vaughn, he’s only going to get better against RHP if we actually play him against RHP. And the kid was a 60 FV prospect 100% because of the potential of his bat. I’m one of Gavin Sheets’ biggest fans on this board, but under no circumstance do you use his performance last year to relegate Vaughn to a weak-side DH platoon role. And if that’s the plan for Vaughn, send him to AAA to gain a year of service time back or trade him for something that can help us win now. Weak-side platooning Vaughn is horrible use of a very important asset and would have long-term repercussions.

I’d be ok with him getting two or three weeks in Charlotte.

Why isn’t DH going to be the spot for Vaughn?

Kopech isn’t starting the year in the minors after last year and I don’t see how we can manage his innings well enough to assume he’ll be productive for the postseason. Way too risky of a plan IMO. This year is about building Kopech up and unleashing him in 2023. As for Miller, the fWAR he put up is a function of how he was used. He is a platoon bat who had ~20% of plate appearances against same side pitching. He also was also used in the OF where he was horrible and should never play. Meanwhile, his advanced metrics at 2B were solid. For $3M he could be a great value if used exclusively at 2B with minimal at-bats against LHP. And for the record, I was a big Madrigal fan, but he’s irrelevant to the decision at hand. We can’t afford three expensive players at SP, RF, & 2B and if I have to go cheap at one of them it’s going to be at 2B with Miller being as decent as an option that exists.

Couple things here. I think we both agree the rotation can’t be ignored. The key difference is I want an arm that can help in October and not just one that help us get us there. Don’t get me wrong, I’d take Pineda over nothing, but would rather trade for a more impactful arm if those are my two options. I also think RF defense is important, but that getting a left-handed bat is equally as important. We’ve too right-handed for way too long and need better balance if we want to take that next step. The perfect solution is a RF who hits well from the left side and can be average with the glove. Finally, I don’t think Brad Miller sucks if used properly. At a bare minimum, he’s capable enough in a platoon role to get us to the trade deadline.

Good article from @Y2Jimmy0 on this very subject https://www.southsidesox.com/2022/2/14/22925472/chicago-white-sox-offseason-needs-pitching

I think we need to acknowledge that Jerry doesn’t have a ton of time left on this planet and right now an increased CBT is helpful to him. Back in 1994 he had 30 years of ownership ahead of him and breaking the union made much more long-term sense. His focus right now should be winning a championship and hopefully that’s the reason he’s not actively fighting for reduced spending limits.

There will be a season and we’re already seeing the players caving with a 14 team playoff format. Regardless, if the Sox can’t afford Rodon or Kershaw, then they need to go to the trade market to address the rotation. I’m done with Nomar Mazara’s and Adam Eaton’s being used to fill important needs. It’s time to stop fucking around and win a World Series.

Ultimately I think both are needs, more so than breaking than the bank on a 2B. Give me a Brad Miller / Leury Garcia platoon at 2B if it allows me to add a left-handed RF and a legit SP. I’m not sure 2 fWAR pitcher is going to help us in the playoffs and right now Keuchel is the dude starting a potential game 4. It’s time to break the bank and plug our holes with quality options that can help us in October. The trade deadline should be used to address problem areas that arise during the season.