tray

Parting shots and mostly cheap ones. Give it up already.

Offer Tadahito Iguchi Asst. Manager if Sasaki agrees to come to the WSox. Time to pull all the levers.

OTOH, he will be the toast of the town if he fulfills Sox fans desire for a legitimate RFer. Chicago is a welcoming city and a beautiful one. Welcome Braden.

I hope you are wrong about that. He will be 22 in April and some think he will be here before Year 3.

Setting aside the issue about whether he can stick at SS, his offensive numbers are a concern. e.g, at Charlotte in 2024 after 485 ABs he was hitting .214 with a .329 OBP. Anyway, if he doesn't figure into the WSox plans for 2025, there are other players that might - Andre Lipcius (3b), Lenyn Sosa (SS) Chase Meidroth (2B) Kyle Teel (Catcher) and Braden Montgomery (RF). That plus Vaughn and Lenyn Sosa should be better.

More than that, Colson can show us in ST that he can play major league level shortstop. Some scouts have posited that Colson might end up being a third basemen. However, Colson has been adamant he and will remain as a shortstop.

I understand patience is called for in "developing" players, but at some point he has to step forward and answer some concerns (primarily from scouts) that are out there. Spring Training will be a great opportunity for Colson to prove himself. I'm anxious to see him out there at Camelback.

Of course, Minor league players/prospects need to prove that they can handle major league play (defensively and offensively) before they get promoted to the Big League. That is the general rule and for many good reasons. Baptism by fire, or promoting a prospect before they are deemed "ready", is not a strategy that we see employed very much, even with top prospects. I understand that, but... I think that sometimes the best interests of the team means that a top prospect should be brought up so that the team can evaluate that player and formulate their own plans ( sign a FA, trade, etc) . Bottom line...is Colson Montgomery going to be our SS in 2025, or does he need more "work' in the minors?

OK...

Cubs trade Bellinger to Yanks in exchange for righty Poteet https://www.mlb.com/news/cody-bellinger-cody-poteet-cubs-yankees-trade

Uncertainty is one of the worst things that can be visited upon a business of any kind. The author of that Athletic story knows that all too well but also knows that controversial topics bring readers. Hanging out a virtual "for sale" sign and promoting that is one sure way to damage the franchise, dishearten and even alienate fans. And to what end and for what purpose? Stew really wants to move the WSox to Nashville? OK, if so fuckhim

Braden is a tall player so he is not going to have the athleticism in terms of quick first step/flexibility/diving for balls that a lot of compact outfielders have. IMO, I hope he doesn't dive/twist/contort himself or reach over the wall to grab a fly ball. Stay healthy and focus on offense. Having said that, Braden has a cannon for an arm and there are a couple of You Tube videos showing him gunning down runners at the plate. This guy is the RF prospect we have all been waiting years to see on the South side.

If Montgomery can avoid all the strike-outs that Borchard had, he will end up being quite a find.

I originally stated that we needed to evaluate this trade based primarily on Braden Montgomery while not being overly concerned about the other 3 pieces in the trade. After doing all the things we do on the net to research players, I will go one step further. I would have traded Crochet for Braden Montgomery straight up. This player has it all - size foot speed, bat speed, a cannon arm, a switch hitter, etc. He is an educated soft spoken kid that is humble and thoughtful which we all like here on the South side. Reason to start getting excited for this rebuild. Even without further trades, Bennintendi, Robert Jr., and Braden Montgomery would be an excellent outfield.

Chase Meidroth - No power makes him hot garbage. Teel is probably an upgrade at C and a LH bat. OK, I'm down with that part of the trade. IMO, RFer Montgomery seems like the key player for the WSox in this trade. On the other side of the coin, Crochet will be incredible at Yankee stadium and at Fenway. He puts the BoSox back in contention without giving up a single player on their 25 man roster. Likely a huge win for the BoSox of course, unless Crochet gets injured. Sox did a decent job of protecting his arm with inning management. BoSox will have to monitor that as well so he is there in the playoffs.