Chicago White Sox

And hopefully Stearns loves Baseball Prospectus ?

Baseball Prospectus apparently has Madrigal ranked as the #12 overall prospect. The last time they overhyped a White Sox prospect they we’re moved in a major trade ? Also, since I I haven’t seen it posted elsewhere, Vaughn was ranked #14, Crochet #36, & Kopech #37. Nice to see Garrett getting a ranking he deserves.

Good catch on that

Oh gotcha, yeah no way that’s happening. I think we settle in around $140M give take one or two.

I fully agree, I’d take Tanaka on a 1/$15M deal over Cruz, but after him everyone has question marks to some extent. Also, I think we could add Cruz & Richards for roughly $20M and based on my numbers that would push us just above a $140M payroll. That doesn’t seem totally outlandish to me.

I fully agree that we can’t add Cruz and then not add a starter, but I’d wager the addition of Cruz reflects growing optimism about revenues next year more than anything. The Sox will definitely add another starter, the only question is what tier will they pursue.

And right or wrong, they are likely committed to developing Cease & Kopech and may not want a massive salary blocking them. If that’s the case, adding a cheaper mid tier starter like Richards, Wainwright, or even Archer may make more sense so they can support their young pitching by making a great offense and great bullpen into elite ones. You can then reevaluate your need for another starter at the deadline with a full roster mostly in place and your entire prospect war chest intact.

No I don’t, but I’d probably take Cruz + Richards over Paxton + La Stella and you can probably get either pair for around $20M. Cruz is just such a special hitter and one that can carry an offense in the post-season.

Why not both though? Unless you think we can get Tanaka on a 1/$15M, I’m not sure there is a starter that warrants Cruz money on a one year deal. I guess Paxton would fall into that bucket too, but I think the generally uncertainty with him makes a Cruz signing more defensible. Which three DH prospects are you referring to? Vaughn, Collins, & Mercedes? I think Collins is the favorite to win the backup catcher spot even if they bring another catcher on a minor league deal, so he wouldn’t be going to waste. I think giving Vaughn a year of development time is defensible if you’re adding a Cruz caliber DH. And while Mercedes would be fun to see get a shot, the organization doesn’t seem overly eager to. I’m not going to complain about Cruz on a one year deal and in fact I’d be pumped.

He had me at Cruz

Who the fuck is this Leo character?

Bucket - Give us something here! This Cruz stuff have legs in your opinion?

So now that the GOAT insider is reporting this, what do we do think possible terms will be? $14M seems about right to me in this market.

Exactly

I also don’t get how we was wrong about any of the Machado stuff. He legit reported the exact offer.

Would definitely be an old school KW slealth mode special

This is probably true but I’ll hold out hope Jerry will do the right thing if it’s only a few more million

Hopefully that’s the case!

Archer is interesting, but I think he’s far riskier than Richards.

Could be as simply as they don’t want commit dollars to a pitcher beyond this year. Rising payroll plus a desire to extend Lynn might not leave a ton of money for unnecessary pieces.

Don’t make me choose!

I don’t think anyone is giving Cruz more than one year.

Those are good questions. Could be what fathom is suggesting and they plan on dealing Vaughn++ for Burnes. Or perhaps Jerry is a little more optimistic about potential fan attendance and is willing to spend a little more to fit Cruz into equation. Even way, he’d be a massive addition for the 2021 season.

It makes total sense unless it prevents us from adding a starter mid tier starter. Giving Vaughn a year in the minors isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Yeah, I’m 100% all for Cruz! I get the argument for signing someone like La Stella who offers more versatility, but Cruz isn’t your average DH, he’s a legit game-changer. I can’t believe aren’t getting more hyped over this!