GGajewski18

Blue Jays give Melky Cabrera qualifying offer.

I wonder what Brendan Morrow would fetch. If he's healthy a pretty good starter. I'd sign him to a 1 year incentives laden deal. Possibly pitch him out of the bullpen too. Just have him focus on an inning and 2 pitches.

Cubs exercised the option on P Jacob Turner Royals decline option on DH Billy Butler as expected. Blue Jays decline options on Morrow, McGowan and Smoak. Morrow could be an interesting option.

That Milwaukee line up could be very dangerous, especially if Aramis stays. Gennett Gomez Braun Lind Lucroy Ramirez Davis Segura Pitcher That's a very good line up.

OF Chevy Clarke and OF Carl Thomore have been released by the White Sox.

Blue Jays exercise their option on Adam Lind. Wonder if they trade him now with Smoak.

Blue Jays decline option on Sergio Santos. It appears that the Twins will hire Paul Molitar as their next manager.

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 07:44 PM) here is where you and I will disagree again. lol I would not have taken Rodon. while his talent is hard to avoid, it was his salary demands that I didn't like. I would have taken Nola or Freeland. both great promising pitchers. that would developed a domino effect. more money available for signing and maybe even drafting a couple of different players b/c of salary constraints. 1 extra signing would have been Bryce Montes de Oca, another Montas in my opinion. but it was not meant to be. If Montes de Oca was so good, he would of gotten drafted in the first 10 rounds. He's in high school and has had arm issues already. You don't pass on a guy like Rodon because of money issues.

Alex Rios is now represented by Scott Boras. lol

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 06:34 PM) I just tweeted something similar. Yeah, I think his starter days are over. But I think he could be something in the bullpen. He's still young, 29 I believe. Anybody know what he has been throwing mph wise lately?

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 05:56 PM) and God willing, I truly wish the best for you. and of course several more world series titles. Thank you. QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 06:24 PM) I remember last winter, TUC and I had gone back and forth over Sale. I said that for a big haul I would deal Sale in a heartbeat and TUC disagreed big time. Now that Q has solidified himself behind Sale in the rotation and with the Sox having Rodon to add to those guys, it would take a haul likely never seen in MLB history for me to go along with the idea. I look back and laugh how TUC and I went back and forth, I miss that dude and hope he comes back soon now that the seasons over. The foundation of Sale, Quintana, and Rodon is scary special.

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 05:54 PM) ref: 1. there are some major questions like > who else is on the board??? 2. Wow Bickford, what a major arm to add next to Rodon. so in essence you will take a arm over a batter? Yes, I would take Bickford over a bat because pitchers are per say easier to develop. Bickford could theoretically be ready right away, barring injury or bad season.

Back to baseball. Chad Billingsly is now a free agent. Could be low risk, high reward type guy. Maybe try him even in the bullpen.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 05:41 PM) Stop agreeing, it makes for lousy drama! I love that the Sox are adding young talent through drafting and trades. I can see why a few posters have suggested trading a guy like Q and a few have even mentioned Sale. Now I'm not in favor of trading either but for a team that's rebuilding, I can see how one would be tantelized by the idea. IMO, that's too much like the cubs rebuild and as a Sox fan I'm really not interested in that long of a wait. Not that things are going horribly on the North side, they have some very good looking talent. I must admit tho, I don't allow myself to become attached to any players so IMO, anyone is available for the right price. This is every Cubs fan problem. In love with their prospects, when in reality, 2 or 3 of them might actually be successful. QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 05:42 PM) yes ..... and that is all Hahn's doing. I can't wait till the first trade, waiver signing and even the int's signing. It is going to be 1 hell of an offseason. It is going to be a hell of an off season. I'm with you, I can't wait for the first moves to happen. One because this is what I want to do to with my life. I'm trying to get into some front office of baseball after school.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 05:21 PM) Comparisons to other farms is irrelevant. What really matters is whether or not the Sox farm is improving. If a comparison is to be made it should be this years farm to last years farm. Is the overall quality of talent trending upward, downward or stangnant? Is the farm able to plug some holes on the Sox team, yet maintain the overall quality? A perfect example would be the Cardinals. The important thing is that the Sox farm has improved compared to last year and I think Hahn and the Sox scouts will continue to keep that trending in the right direction. Completely agree. Farm is definitely trending upward.

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 04:58 PM) plus I am getting into the what if game that I hate. what if Aiken has a decent season, not a great one. does the sox draft him if he is there at #8??? or should the sox go for DJ stewart or Ian Happ??? here is another one. what if Kirby, aiken, stewart and happ are all there, who should the sox pick???? ohhh how I hate the what if game. but in this, this is not a bad question. lol. Aiken easily in my opinion, especially if his medicals check out. To go to the mock that you posted, I do also like this site, but if Bickford is available, you take him no matter what. In that situation, its like Rodon, you don't pass on him.

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 05:06 PM) with all due respect. I do not buy that. I could maybe go with the injuries situation, maybe..... for on purpose I understand. I was just giving a theory. I think it could of definitely been an option.

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 05:04 PM) pls I hope you didn't take offense. ref: 1. of all teams why pick the sCrubs. I hate them. 2. I am in total agreement there. those will have moved on up. I am talking the state of the system is based on what we the fans have graded the system to an earlier sample. we do not have the luxury of comparing the system to a previous better system with the sox org, b/c the sox haven't had a good system before. I have a natsy habit of looking for the other side of the discussion. Lol I do too hate the Cubs, can't stand them but it was just an example of a team with a good system. And I can see your point that we haven't seen a good system in a long time, but that's what scouts and Hahn to keep developing. Because right now, we are seeing results of some players that can be seen to have good futures in the MLB.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 04:59 PM) Heck, if we just get a couple of those guys as solid above-average MLB players, that will open up the team to be able to fill their remaining gaps through free agency - but a couple of those guys have to succeed and then we need to avoid buying a huge FA bust. Combine those and at the least we're competing for the division. Exactly. Rodon (ETA next year) Montas (ETA late next year, early 2016) Hawkins (2016-2107) Adams (2017-2018) Danish (2016) Anderson (2016) Those are just my eta's on some of those players. If those guys can succeed, and Hahn keeps getting talent in the upcoming drafts like he has been. I would not be worried at all about the state of the team. Plus, you can use these players as trade chips to get proven, young talent back that could be part of the core.

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 04:53 PM) Hahn, until I can see it somewhere else, screwed up last yr. he should have had and signed some other fa's to be as backup, for the "what if" injury. this past yr system was kind of bare. imagine if the sox had some reliable players who could've step him. well, who could tell but I will say, the team would have done better. now with last yr as a learning tool, I hope the sox does not make the same mistake. plus wow, next yr draft is starting to look exciting with lots of talent. You can say he didn't sign enough depth, but Hahn knew they weren't going to compete next year. Maybe he wanted to see if the young guys could step in in place of injuries or failures. For example, maybe we wouldn't of seen Bassitt this year.

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 04:49 PM) I hate to say this, but I agree. the prospect while promising and talented, compare to other systems, the sox is lacking. we, the fans are excited, b/c there is really nothing to get excited about. now the system is rebuilding and the sox have a few major prospects to get excited about. look at last #1 top 10 for the sox. I am not talking about 2014 and Rodon, I am talking about the yr beore. got it, now rate it against the other teams #1 in the top 10. the sox are a long way still from being really nice. however the sox do have some really young interesting prospects. here is another thing to look at. when Rodon and Montas moves on up. the systems is going to take a major hit. look at the #11-20. see any major league prospect | players? someone who will be ranked in the top 10-20 of all prospects???? You can say that about all teams though take example the Cubs. Will they have "much" of a system once Soler, Baez, Braynt, and Russell graduate? The prospects ranked 11-20 on teams prospect list will usually be utility player or low end starters/relievers. Last year Erik Johnson was our number 1, and before his implosion, he was looking like a #3 solid starter at worst, so you can't put much stock into that either. My point is, if Rodon, Montas, Anderson, Adams, Hawkins become serviceable MLBers than we have nothing to worry about because the core will be young enough that the system could take a hit for a few years and build it back up through the draft.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 04:31 PM) The proof is going to be the big league team in a couple years. If they're still a 73 win team in 2016 then Rick Hahn will have made some serious mistakes, and it's too early to know how some of his moves will work out. I agree. Hahn has done well with most of his trades so far, its now a matter of wait and see if he spends the money he has wisely on the right players. So far he's 1-2 (Abreu and Keppinger).

Ok thank you for the clarification.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 04:18 PM) 35. Jones will have to be re-instated from the 60 day DL. Oh yeah. They have to do that for risk to losing him in rule 5 draft right? But after that, they can put him back on the 60 day DL because of the TJ surgery, correct?

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Oct 31, 2014 -> 04:16 PM) Ben Badler and Josh Norris of Baseball America were discussing the Yankees system being underrated on twitter. Badler said that there are many systems that are worse. I suggested the Angels and asked his thoughts on the White Sox. He said that Angels and White Sox both near the bottom still. I disagree. I think White Sox are firmly in the mid to late teens but here is the chat transcript: Ben Badler ‏@BenBadler 1h1 hour ago It's trendy to take shots at the Yankees farm system, but I'm looking at some of our Top 30s. Several teams in much worse shape. James Fox ‏@JamesFox917 47m47 minutes ago @jnorris427 @BenBadler Angels the worst system? White Sox out of the 20s and into the teens yet? Ben Badler ‏@BenBadler 42m42 minutes ago @JamesFox917 @jnorris427 They're both toward the bottom of the pack for me. James Fox ‏@JamesFox917 41m41 minutes ago @BenBadler @jnorris427 Really? Rodon, Adams, Danish, Montas, Anderson, Johnson, Hawkins? They have 3-4 top 100 guys. Much improved system Ben Badler ‏@BenBadler 39m39 minutes ago @JamesFox917 @jnorris427 They have a few good prospects at the top, but no better than what the majority of teams have. The rest is thin. James Fox ‏@JamesFox917 37m37 minutes ago @BenBadler @jnorris427 Interesting. Ill take my chances with their pitching. Most theyve had in years. Not saying much though. I respect Badler, but I disagree with him on this also. A lot of teams aren't even stacked at the top than we are. The depth in the farm has certainly gotten better and I believe it should get out of the 20s.