Free Agency - How confident are you?

[Lillian]

The Japanese player, in whom I am most interested, is the one at the top of the list, which I provided. I mentioned that he suffered a terrible leg injury, this past Spring and I can't seem to find any information about his recovery, rehab or future. If anyone has any updates, I'd appreciate the info. In the meantime, here is a quote from an article, last year, in which he was discussed:

Yuki Yanagita (OF, SoftBank Hawks) Age: 30 (He turns 31 next month - born Oct, 1988)

The top performer in NPB in terms of wRC+ this past season with an unreal 207 mark, Yanagita is considered one of the biggest stars of the league and one that is a starting MLB caliber player. He slashed a dominant .352/.431/.661 in 2018 with 36 HRs and 21 SBs and supported it with a 19.1% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate over 550 PAs. Success isn’t foreign for Yanagita at the plate either as over his 7 full-time seasons, he’s got a.319 career batting average, a .420 career on-base%, posted double-digits in both HRs and SBs in each of the last 6 years, and notably was the 2015 Pacific League MVP. 

Yanagita reportedly has expressed MLB interest and could come as soon as next season when he’s eligible for International Free Agency, but do note that the Softbank Hawks have him under contract for another year after that which could mean a 2020 posting scenario or 2021 International Free agent signing. He’ll be on the back half of his baseball career at that point so we likely won’t get his best, still, his power/speed combo with his ability to hit and get on base should make him a desired target both for MLB teams and those in dynasty leagues!

 

[poppysox]

On 9/7/2019 at 11:01 PM, Dick Allen said:

Stone has been talking up kole Calhoun so much it appears be will be the big target.

Good place holder type for a year or two.

[Hatchetman]

Kole Calhoun? That would be a joke.

[Moan4Yoan]

11 hours ago, Lillian said:

The Japanese player, in whom I am most interested, is the one at the top of the list, which I provided. I mentioned that he suffered a terrible leg injury, this past Spring and I can't seem to find any information about his recovery, rehab or future. If anyone has any updates, I'd appreciate the info. In the meantime, here is a quote from an article, last year, in which he was discussed:

Yuki Yanagita (OF, SoftBank Hawks) Age: 30 (He turns 31 next month - born Oct, 1988)

The top performer in NPB in terms of wRC+ this past season with an unreal 207 mark, Yanagita is considered one of the biggest stars of the league and one that is a starting MLB caliber player. He slashed a dominant .352/.431/.661 in 2018 with 36 HRs and 21 SBs and supported it with a 19.1% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate over 550 PAs. Success isn’t foreign for Yanagita at the plate either as over his 7 full-time seasons, he’s got a.319 career batting average, a .420 career on-base%, posted double-digits in both HRs and SBs in each of the last 6 years, and notably was the 2015 Pacific League MVP. 

Yanagita reportedly has expressed MLB interest and could come as soon as next season when he’s eligible for International Free Agency, but do note that the Softbank Hawks have him under contract for another year after that which could mean a 2020 posting scenario or 2021 International Free agent signing. He’ll be on the back half of his baseball career at that point so we likely won’t get his best, still, his power/speed combo with his ability to hit and get on base should make him a desired target both for MLB teams and those in dynasty leagues!

 

Why would the Sox, a rebuilding team, want to sign a 31 year old Japanese player?  He is already old enough to be past his prime years and he will be facing major league pitching for the first time in his life.  Hard pass.  If you want a 31 year old lefty outfielder as a stop-gap, Corey Dickerson would be a better option.  He has already proven he can hit MLB pitching with a career .830 OPS.

Edited September 10, 2019 by Moan4Yoan

[fathom]

1 minute ago, Hatchetman said:

Kole Calhoun? That would be a joke.

Yeah, it would be a very mediocre, uninspired addition

[Moan4Yoan]

Just now, fathom said:

Yeah, it would be a very mediocre, uninspired addition

I’d rather sign Avisail and I’m serious.

[Two-Gun Pete]

43 minutes ago, Moan4Yoan said:

Why would the Sox, a rebuilding team, want to sign a 31 year old Japanese player?  He is already old enough to be past his prime years and he will be facing major league pitching for the first time in his life.  Hard pass.  If you want a 31 year old lefty outfielder as a stop-gap, Corey Dickerson would be a better option.  He has already proven he can hit MLB pitching with a career .830 OPS.

To be fair to Lillian, of the Japanese players she mentioned, Yanagita would be the one to try to acquire; He looks the most MLB-ready of the three, and would play a cromulent RF.

 

Dickerson has a -6 DRS as a LFer, and hasn't played RF since 2016. Since LF is currently occupied, I don't know that he'd be a fit here. What's more, what would be his motivation to leave philly, especially if they can make it into the postseason this year?

 

Not saying that there's even a snowball's chance in hell of signing Yanagita, given the potential of a posting fee, and this org's "thriftiness." But, there would be worse ideas than at least exploring him as an option, IMO. As a "bridge signing" to a more permanent solution, that is.

[mqr]

1 minute ago, Two-Gun Pete said:

Not saying that there's even a snowball's chance in hell of signing Yanagita, given the potential of a posting fee, and this org's "thriftiness."

They gave 25 million dollars to The Man 3 years years ago. 

[Two-Gun Pete]

2 minutes ago, mqr said:

They gave 25 million dollars to The Man 3 years years ago. 

They also crapped their pants in free agency just one offseason ago. They also could have/should have gone for a MONSTER international signing class 3 years ago, but crapped their pants on that one, too.

 

But, if you're falling all over yourself to credit this front office, by all means: Their dogged pursuit of Jay and Alonzo truly added to this roster.

Edited September 10, 2019 by Two-Gun Pete

[caulfield12]

Kosuke Fukudome's still available.

[wegner]

MLB.com had a little story today listing the longest homers hit by each team since 2015.  Avi Garcia was the owner of that for the White Sox and Rays.  So I wondered again why did the Sox not offer him a 1 yr deal to play RF.  They sure as hell weren't interested in pursuing Harper.  Did they really think Jon "running in quicksand" Jay was a better option?!?

I guess my point of saying this is that i do not have the confidence that the "money will be spent" until I see it and get the taste out of my mouth from the clown show from last off season.

Use that damn "unprecedented financial flexibility" and shut me up and I'll be happy.

[Bob Sacamano]

3 hours ago, wegner said:

MLB.com had a little story today listing the longest homers hit by each team since 2015.  Avi Garcia was the owner of that for the White Sox and Rays.  So I wondered again why did the Sox not offer him a 1 yr deal to play RF.  They sure as hell weren't interested in pursuing Harper.  Did they really think Jon "running in quicksand" Jay was a better option?!?

I guess my point of saying this is that i do not have the confidence that the "money will be spent" until I see it and get the taste out of my mouth from the clown show from last off season.

Use that damn "unprecedented financial flexibility" and shut me up and I'll be happy.

No, I don't believe they did. Everyone here knows that. Jay was only brought in for one reason and it had nothing to do with his on-field production.

[wegner]

17 minutes ago, soxfan2014 said:

No, I don't believe they did. Everyone here knows that. Jay was only brought in for one reason and it had nothing to do with his on-field production.

And those kind of stupid games has me skeptical about this upcoming off season....but I'll hope for the best.

[kitekrazy]

On 9/9/2019 at 6:55 PM, caulfield12 said:

Kosuke Fukudome's still available.

The Sox offered him more money than the Cubs.   I think players out of Japan are a high risk. 

[poppysox]

13 hours ago, wegner said:

MLB.com had a little story today listing the longest homers hit by each team since 2015.  Avi Garcia was the owner of that for the White Sox and Rays.  So I wondered again why did the Sox not offer him a 1 yr deal to play RF.  They sure as hell weren't interested in pursuing Harper.  Did they really think Jon "running in quicksand" Jay was a better option?!?

I guess my point of saying this is that i do not have the confidence that the "money will be spent" until I see it and get the taste out of my mouth from the clown show from last off season.

Use that damn "unprecedented financial flexibility" and shut me up and I'll be happy.

In hindsight...not retaining Avi was a mistake.

[ChiSox59]

1 hour ago, poppysox said:

In hindsight...not retaining Avi was a mistake.

I mean, sure. Because RF has been a black hole and Avi is major leaguer.

But it wouldn’t have really changed much and Avi would still be walking as a FA in a couple months.

Avi is what Avi is, and the Sox know exactly what that is. I lost absolutely zero sleep about not having Avi. Though I will always respect the guy for always busting his butt. 

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

4 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

I mean, sure. Because RF has been a black hole and Avi is major leaguer.

But it wouldn’t have really changed much and Avi would still be walking as a FA in a couple months.

Avi is what Avi is, and the Sox know exactly what that is. I lost absolutely zero sleep about not having Avi. Though I will always respect the guy for always busting his butt. 

Like with any young man it's never about knowing "exactly what that is" . It's about not knowing exactly what that may become. Chances of AVi becoming anything special are slim as they are with any 27 year old with as many AB's as he already had, But rebuilds are supposed to keep the guys with some potential and not give them up and replace them broken down 34 year olds and a handful of never was'es who didn't process half of Avi's talent.

 

[ChiSox59]

6 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Like with any young man it's never about knowing "exactly what that is" . It's about not knowing exactly what that may become. Chances of AVi becoming anything special are slim as they are with any 27 year old with as many AB's as he already had, But rebuilds are supposed to keep the guys with some potential and not give them up and replace them broken down 34 year olds and a handful of never was'es who didn't process half of Avi's talent.

 

They had him for 1 more season. He ran out of time to become anything more than he was with the White Sox. For an org that struggles to move on, I give the Sox credit for turning the page from Avi. 

Edit: the plan to replace him was in fact poor. Sucks Cordell couldn’t be half ways decent but he was worth giving the look to. 

Edited September 13, 2019 by ChiSox59

[SoxBlanco]

50 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

They had him for 1 more season. He ran out of time to become anything more than he was with the White Sox. For an org that struggles to move on, I give the Sox credit for turning the page from Avi. 

Edit: the plan to replace him was in fact poor. Sucks Cordell couldn’t be half ways decent but he was worth giving the look to. 

Your Edit shows a key point that a lot of people overlook.  If we brought back Avi and he got hurt and/or struggled, people would be complaining that we didn't give playing time to a guy like Cordell to see what we had in him.  There is so much hindsight bias when it comes to evaluating decisions by our front office.

And I'm not saying the front office hasn't been bad at times, because they have. But people want to just complain about everything. 

[ChiSox59]

18 minutes ago, SoxBlanco said:

Your Edit shows a key point that a lot of people overlook.  If we brought back Avi and he got hurt and/or struggled, people would be complaining that we didn't give playing time to a guy like Cordell to see what we had in him.  There is so much hindsight bias when it comes to evaluating decisions by our front office.

And I'm not saying the front office hasn't been bad at times, because they have. But people want to just complain about everything. 

Mmmhmmm. Would have been complainers regardless. Moving on from Avi was the right decision based on the situation. 

[Chicago White Sox]

Alright, I’m throwing another offseason plan out there:

• Resign Abreu to 2/$30M deal (with 3rd year team option)
• Sign Grandal to 3/$60M deal
• Trade Stiever, Walker, & a lesser prospect for Nimmo
• Sign Adam Jones to 1/$2.5M deal
• Sign Wheeler to 4/$80M deal
• Sign Wood to 1/$11M deal
• Sign Betences to 2/$30M deal (w/ opt-out after year one)

Roster by end of June:

Lineup:

1. Robert, CF
2. Moncada, 3B#
3. Abreu, 1B
4. Grandal, C#
5. Jimenez, LF
6. Nimmo, RF*
7. Anderson, SS
8. Collins, DH*
9. Madrigal, 2B

Bench:

• IF: Mendick
• OF: Jones
• UT: Garcia#
• BC: McCann

Rotation:

1. Giolito
2. Wheeler
3. Cease
4. Wood*
5. Kopech (Lopez in this spot to start the season)

Bullpen:

• CL: Betances
• SU: Bummer*
• SU: Colome
• MR: Lopez
• MR: Fry*
• MR: Herrera
• MR: Cordero / Marshall / Hamilton
• LR: Fulmer / minor league free agent

[NWINFan]

I have no idea what the White Sox are planning to do this offseason. I do believe the time for tanking  is over. If the FO doesn't do anything substantial to at least get this team over .500, then it isn't serious about winning big in the long run. Seven straight losing seasons is long enough. It is time to move to the next phase. No more trading for prospects, no more promises. Time for some results in the win-loss column.

[Jack Parkman]

Let all of the big guns go after Cole while moving on Strasburg. That being said, since they're both Boras clients so he'll sign after Cole. 

[ron883]

3 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Alright, I’m throwing another offseason plan out there:

• Resign Abreu to 2/$30M deal (with 3rd year team option)
• Sign Grandal to 3/$60M deal
• Trade Stiever, Walker, & a lesser prospect for Nimmo
• Sign Adam Jones to 1/$2.5M deal
• Sign Wheeler to 4/$80M deal
• Sign Wood to 1/$11M deal
• Sign Betences to 2/$30M deal (w/ opt-out after year one)

Roster by end of June:

Lineup:

1. Robert, CF
2. Moncada, 3B#
3. Abreu, 1B
4. Grandal, C#
5. Jimenez, LF
6. Nimmo, RF*
7. Anderson, SS
8. Collins, DH*
9. Madrigal, 2B

Bench:

• IF: Mendick
• OF: Jones
• UT: Garcia#
• BC: McCann

Rotation:

1. Giolito
2. Wheeler
3. Cease
4. Wood*
5. Kopech (Lopez in this spot to start the season)

Bullpen:

• CL: Betances
• SU: Bummer*
• SU: Colome
• MR: Lopez
• MR: Fry*
• MR: Herrera
• MR: Cordero / Marshall / Hamilton
• LR: Fulmer / minor league free agent

Betances is a reliever on the wrong side of 30 who has missed all of 2019 with shoulder and lat issues. I don't get why people want him

Edited September 14, 2019 by ron883

[Thad Bosley]

3 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Alright, I’m throwing another offseason plan out there:

• Resign Abreu to 2/$30M deal (with 3rd year team option)
• Sign Grandal to 3/$60M deal
• Trade Stiever, Walker, & a lesser prospect for Nimmo
• Sign Adam Jones to 1/$2.5M deal
• Sign Wheeler to 4/$80M deal
• Sign Wood to 1/$11M deal
• Sign Betences to 2/$30M deal (w/ opt-out after year one)

Roster by end of June:

Lineup:

1. Robert, CF
2. Moncada, 3B#
3. Abreu, 1B
4. Grandal, C#
5. Jimenez, LF
6. Nimmo, RF*
7. Anderson, SS
8. Collins, DH*
9. Madrigal, 2B

Bench:

• IF: Mendick
• OF: Jones
• UT: Garcia#
• BC: McCann

Rotation:

1. Giolito
2. Wheeler
3. Cease
4. Wood*
5. Kopech (Lopez in this spot to start the season)

Bullpen:

• CL: Betances
• SU: Bummer*
• SU: Colome
• MR: Lopez
• MR: Fry*
• MR: Herrera
• MR: Cordero / Marshall / Hamilton
• LR: Fulmer / minor league free agent

No appetite for Madrigal as the lead-off hitter in this soon-to-be future line-up?  Get his on-base skills and base running abilities smack dab at the top of the line-up, thereby pushing all the muscle down a spot to make the line-up particularly strong both at the top and then the middle of the line-up (which would also soon include Vaughn).  This before the team even brings in reinforcements from the outside for other positions.  

Just seems to me Madrigal could be the prototype for the ideal lead-off hitter.