Chicago White Sox

I seriously doubt the Cubs move Bryant. Just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever unless they’re worried he’s legit injured. The whole “he’s going to depart when he hits free agency” was always reality and they wouldn’t let that jeopardize their short-term window.

He’s also probably aware that Adam Eaton is batshit crazy and wanted a 12 year old boy to be their captain. I have zero concerns that Eaton could have an impact on us signjng Harper.

I don’t think cutting $12M to $13M in salary is enough to add a +$30M AAV guy. All signs point to them having very little payroll flexibility right now.

I’d have it Jimenez, Robert, Basabe, Adolfo, Gonzalez, Rutherford, Steele. I think Basabe has the higher floor than Adolfo, but Micker’s ceiling is higher due to his elite raw power & arm. He could legitimately become a star RF if his plate discipline continues to improve. Also, just to be clear on my previous comments, but I’m a huge fan of Luis Gonzalez. I just think he needs to put up numbers in AA before I can rank him above guys with louder tools like Basabe & Adolfo. That very well could happen this coming season.

This would be very close to mine. And I totally agree with the three guys who fall outside the top 10. To me, Collins & Hansen are still much better prospects than LuGo, Rutherford, & Walker.

Both guys were at Winston Salem last year and Basabe’s ISO was nearly a 100 points higher. There is no doubt Blake has the better hit tool, but Basabe brings so much more to the table including power.

I fully agree with this assessment. I really think we see some fireworks at the Winter Meetings this year. As for an offseason game-plan, I think we can proactively address the pitching staff without seeing how things shake out with Harper & Machado. I also think Cruz may be a nice little value signing that we could do regardless. 3B & the OF should be on hold though until we are officially out on the whale free agents. Machado & Harper have to be the sole focus at those spots.

Fangraphs definitely phoned it in with their preseason rankings, but have since rectified that with their current Board. I just can’t take this BA list seriously with Basabe below Rutherford (like WTF does Blake do better), and to a lesser extent Gonzalez & Adolfo. To me, Basabe is the clear 3rd OF prospect in the system behind Jimenez & Robert.

I’ve said it before, but how is he radically different than Florial? Yet he gets far more love than Basabe from BA and I believe Pipeline.

Exactly, which is probably the reason Fangraphs is so high on him.

Very true. For whatever reason, Basabe just doesn’t get the love he deserves. Fangraphs actually has him ranked as the 83rd overall prospect, but it seems like all the other publications are a bit bearish on him. BA surprises me given their focus on tools and Basabe’s only below average tool is his hit tool. A legit CF prospect with plus speed / arm, good power, and a very nice walk rate should be pretty well regarded by them.

I’m not sure if we received confirmation just yet, but this seems to suggest Bryce is in Chicago: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/11/bryce-harper-manny-machado-gm-meetings-free-agency-mlb-rumors-white-sox-cubs-giants-dodgers-cardinals-yankees.html

The problem is their reason to believe we’re actually pursuing Harper, so it would be pretty shocking to make a for al offer for a far lesser option. I don’t buy it.

If you get Machado sure, but otherwise the focus should be on whale free agents & smaller pieces.

I think if all these rumors tell me one thing, it’s that agents are using our payroll flexibility to create leverage in the marketplace.

Sign all the free agents?

I don’t know what to believe anymore.

WTF

Lol...you and this Cubs cat insider.

There’s multiple reasons, but the main one is I think he’s the one guy who can actually change the trajectory of the organization. He’d add a level of excitement & fan interest unlike any other player and I truly believe we could use that right now.

I guess I don’t attribute our coaching staff for his plus framing, seems like we didn’t really know what we had with him.

I have changed my position and would prefer Harper over Machado.

I don’t disagree with anything you say here. I just can’t take Hahn seriously when he talks about coaching up framing when Narvaez was dead last and Castillo got worse in his first year with the Sox. Yes, I think our rotation is a big reason to blame for that, but I have yet to see much evidence of our ability to coach up framing.

But these are all just rumors, coming from a variety of sources. This one in particular is from a no one. I think we should all wait and see how things shake out, because at this point it’s impossible to say what’s real or not.

I guess I don’t get your point here. How is this remotely similar to anything we’ve done in the past?