Chicago White Sox

Yasmani Grandal is 25% better than league average offensively as a catcher. I totally get being frustrated by his defense, but calling his contract an albatross isn’t remotely true.

That’s true, but I like him better as a late inning defensive replacement for Vaughn and pinch runner than say Leury. To me, Leury doesn’t do much other than be able to provide well below average offense at a lot of positions.

So who goes when Engel comes back?

Obligatory please extend Lynn post...dude just makes it look so easy out there.

100% agree

That sucks...but I’m cool with Andrew swinging there. Now, if it was one of those chain wearing fellas ?‍♂️

Ball four...grand slam

Vaughn + lefties = murder

Sacks packed with Sox

Not for us hopefully

I’m not a huge Jake Lamb fan, but he’s done fairly well offensively. He just doesn’t fit well on the defensive side of things.

Make trey cry right here Yermin

And there it is

Better get at least one here and ideally two

I wonder how many guys he’s left on base to have that many RBIs.

Jake Lamb has a 118 wRC+ against RHP coming into today, while Vaughn was at a 64. I think it’s fair to bat Jake ahead of Andrew against a righty.

Will need to find a way to extend him at some point, him every wearing a non White Sox jersey would he a travesty

Marte has reverse splits

Bruce is never right, but hopefully he’s do for one coming his way this time

I like this suggestion ?

I like it...none of the other AAA are making a stronger case at the moment

I’m not ignoring history because of two strong months. He’s had strong stretches before prior to reverting to the norm.

He’s been far too ordinary against RHP over the course of his career.

White Sox splits by player / position. The left side is wRC+ against RHP and the right side is against LHP. Asterisks indicate 2020 values. 1B: Abreu = 124 | 162 2B: Madrigal = 92 | 179 SS: Anderson = 122 | 58 3B: Moncada = 140 | 125 LF: Jimenez = 142* | 131* CF: Robert = 119 | 182 RF: Eaton = 111 | Engel = 113* DH: Mercedes = 129 | 234 CA: Grandal = 106 | 189 BN: Vaughn = 62 | 214 Overall those numbers aren’t bad against RHP, especially once Eloy comes back and if Robert can maintain the improvements he showed this year. That being said, we are noticeably weaker against righties and if we want to improve I only see two options. The first and most obvious way is upgrading over Adam Eaton in RF. While his full season wRC+ against RHP looks solid, he’s definitely trending in the wrong direction as he’s dropped from 134 in Mar/Apr to 76 in May. Obviously we can all see he’s banged up and that it’s hurting him at the plate, but is there reason to believe he’s going to suddenly get healthy? Given that we can exit our relationship with him after the season, I’d say a RF upgrade is a no-brainer unless we’re willing to give Gavin Sheets a legit shot between now and the trade deadline. The good news is that Engel is very valuable against LHP, so a platoon player is technically an option. That being said, I’d still rather target a full-time RF if at all possible. I’ve mentioned here before that Starling Marte is a personal favorite of mine given that he provides insurance in CF, but if the Marlins don’t want to move him I’d then pivot to Haniger over Gallo. Despite being a RH hitter, Mitch has a history of hitting RHP very well and would add some much needed power to the lineup. My only concern is is the price and I’m not sure I want to burn a chip like Jared Kelley while his value is likely at a low point, but given Haniger would solve RF for 2022 as well I’d probably have to think about it. The other, more bold option is something that will either be loved or hated by most people here, but it would be upgrading at 2B. I’m a big Nick Madrigal fan, but there is a highly versatile player that could be available and would greatly improve our lineup against RHP. The D-Backs currently sport the second worst record in baseball and won’t be competing in the NL West anytime soon. They need to shake things up and fast. As such, I think Hahn should take a real look at Ketel Marte. The kid is only 27 years old, has three years of control left at $10M per, and can play both the outfield and middle infield. I 100% think they’ll be willing to move him this year, but the question is can we match up? Obviously the longest of long-shots, but I’d offer them Madrigal plus other things and see if they’d bite. If clubs buy Madrigal as a 3+ win 2B (as he’s currently on pace to be), then he should have some actual value given his five years of cheap control. Now, I don’t think the D-Backs would seek a player like Nicky as a centerpiece in a Marte trade, but it’s worth exploring. I’d have zero problem adding Stiever plus one of the Charlotte bats or one of the more interesting Kanny bats as well. Again, it’s unlikely and RF should be much easier to address, but I love Ketel and it’s worth a dart throw. I would never have imagined the Brewers would have considered Nicky as a primary piece in a Burnes trade, but at the very least it appears they were thinking about it.

Here’s my take. The Sox are getting ridiculed for taking this sign down, but at the end of the day how many teams have a section in their park named after a concessions worker? Like they are only getting ripped because they did something that was both pretty awesome and uncommon in the first place. Seems like the Sox should have handled this transition better with the family though. I totally get fans ripping the execution of this and the fact it’s somehow La Russa who is the replacement provides even worse optics at the moment, but this move doesn’t warrant outrage as the Sox shouldn’t feel compelled to keep that sign up forever IMO and at least have a plaque elsewhere to honor Loretta. It’s no doubt a shitty look for an organization that loves it’s PR blunders, but it’s not as horrible as some are making it out to be.