Chicago White Sox

I mean, I don’t think any of us have a great understanding of what his full role is in the front office, but he’s certainly more than just the “contracts guy” and is definitely evaluating talent in some capacity whether through traditional scouting or analytics.

Nope! Jerry had a premonition in 1999 involving the future owner of the Sox telling him to keep the minor league teams in the Carolinas for the next three decades so it will be easier for said new owner to leave a top three market for the untold riches of Charlotte / Raleigh and therefore Jerry went along with the plan for...reasons.

This is the definition of insanity in written form

One first plus other stuff is fine by me given that we’re stuck with Pace & Nagy for another year, but two 1sts for him would be insanity.

This was a great listen. Some very interesting takes on the younger guys, including Bryan Ramos being the rookie ball kid he’s most excited about (said there was top 10 consideration).

Peacock & McHugh both make a lot of sense if healthy.

RIP Pedro Gomez

Glad I took the Bucs in this one

Don’t get me wrong, I think we would have been worlds better with Brady and should have more seriously pursued him. But with that being said, our offense lacked weapons after Robinson and had a shitty offensive line and I’m not buying that Brady alone makes us better than the Packers.

Pretty hot...look at the weapons Brady has vs. what he would of had in Chicago.

What don’t you like about Haber?

Just saw Al’s tweets. I have zero problem with bringing in Cespedes on a minor league deal.

Cause of Cishek’s tweet?

Is that you Jerry?

Here’s the problem. I’m hopeful that Ceases takes a massive leap forward, but that’s not a guarantee after a horrible 2020 season. He should be the #5 starter to open the season with a better #4 starter brought in. I love Kopech but there is nothing wrong with him pitching in AAA until an injury opens up a spot or until he forces the issue. Smart organizations plan for injuries and as constructed things could get real ugly quick with an injury to the big three. Perhaps Don Cooper was so bad at his job that there is a lot more optimism for guys like Rodon & Lopez, but it all seems like unnecessary risk driven by budget considerations. As for Vaughn, I think he’s going to be a star at some point, but that‘s a ton to put on the kid without a solid backup plan. That doesn’t mean we have to go sign Nelson Cruz, but even a left-handed role player would do wonders for this roster. Leury & Engel are both weak against RHP and Mendick is mediocre all around. I’m may be the biggest Zack Collins fan on this board, but it’s a bit scary to think that he’s our likely DH to open the season with only Mercedes to provide any real competition. Brad Miller has a career 111 wRC+ against RHP and can actually play a variety of positions. He’d give another option to throw into the DH mix until Vaughn is ready and would likely not cost all that much.

I want to be clear because my comments have been misinterpreted in the past, but on paper we have one of the best rosters in the AL (with the potential to be the best) and if healthy we could be a real post-season threat given the strength of our top three starters, what should be a deep & dominant bullpen, and an excellent all-round lineup. Where I disagree with you is this idea we’re a guarantee to make the post-season. Unless they magically return to the expanded playoff format, we’ll be in a dog-fight with the Twins for the AL Central crown and with multiple teams for those two Wild Card spots. Again, on paper I think we’re better than pretty much any of theses teams except the Yankees, but all it takes is some injuries to derail this thing. The rotation and infield in particular lack real depth. While not likely, it’s entirely possible there will be a stretch where we’re starting both Mendick & Beckham in the infield or are rocking a rotation that includes all three of Cease, Rodon, & Lopez. And it’s all but a certainty that we’ll be seeing a lot of Engel or Leury in the OF, but at least the former provides plus defense. Point is if we have bad luck with injuries then our roster could be exposed and we could definitely miss out on even a Wild Card spot. I’m not asking for Bauer here, I’d be content with roughly $10M more in spending to sign a Brad Miller type and a #4 starter like Quintana. That’s all it would take to provide much greater depth at two major areas of concern, but instead we’re going to roll the dice and hope we get super lucky and avoid any lengthy injuries. All because Jerry Reinsdorf doesn’t want to take a one-time $10M hit in a go for it season. It’s fucking ridiculous that Hahn has to work under these parameters and the likely outcome is trading from an already thin farm system at the deadline to add depth that would only cost a little bit of money now. It’s an unnecessary risk to take, especially when you claim to have Championship aspirations.

This I don’t agree with. Most teams don’t have a top 5 catcher and then cry because they don’t have a top 10 to 15 catcher as their backup. We had a luxury last year and that shouldn’t never be the expectation.

The two biggest holes on this roster are a decent #4 starter and a left-handed bat that plays the IF. Jerry not being willing to pony up like $3M for a Brad Miller type is beyond fucking pathetic.

No 2nd round pick coming back?

If we’re stuck with Pace & Nagy for at least one year, then I’d do that deal in a heartbeat.

I’d take the Sox at every position but RF and even there an Adam/Adam platoon has the potential to be better than Heyward.

If you’re willing to move Vaughn there is.

Wow, at that price I would happily signed him and then moved Vaughn in a package for a controllable starter.

Carranza is a guy who could quickly jump to the middle of this list come mid-season update.

The key to extending our window is not trading our stars when they approach free agency, but being able to supplement them and/or replace them with cheap internal options as we move forward. Right now, RF and the rotation have the most uncertainty. The rotation at least has three high ceiling options that are major league ready in Kopech, Cease, & Crochet. Hitting on at least two of them will be critical or we’ll be forced to unload assets for a controllable starter. Down the road, the next wave of Kelley, Thompson, Vera, , & Dalquist can hopefully provide us with some reinforcements in the event Giolito, Lynn (if extended), and/or Keuchel leave. Again, it’s very important to hit on a couple of the big three or we’ll likely be trading some of the Low A guys to fill near-term rotation holes and will potentially shorten the window. RF is far & away the bigger challenge. By signing Eaton, it’s clear they don’t want to commit big dollars to this spot at this time. That means we desperately need one of our young OFs to step up and become a viable piece. Cespedes would obviously be the favorite to become that player, but there is still a small degree of hope for Adolfo and Rutherford / Gonzalez to a lesser extent. If those guys fail, it’s very possible we continue to dumpster dive until someone from that next wave becomes an option or we’ll be forced to trade for a controllable alternative. The challenge there is only Bailey & Bush have an everyday starter type of ceiling at the moment and they are both a long ways away. That puts a ton of pressure on Cespedes to work out or risk further depleting a thin farm system, which will also likely shorten the window.