Steve Stone Hinting At Another Move: Not Puig / Castellanos

[Chisoxfn]

I legitimately wonder who it could be.  Everyone has been so focused on the Red Sox due to other rumors, but could it be a closer or a front end pitcher. Obviously Arrenado is out there (but would require Moncada making a position change).  Very interested as it seems the Sox have thought REALLY BIG this offseason.  

[fathom]

He actually said last night it will be smaller moves compared to what’s been made. Also he has said there’s no chance in hell of Arenado.  He has implied Sox inquired about Betts, but no deal would happen without an extension and Betts won’t do that.

[Moan4Yoan]

Here is the tweet:

https://mobile.twitter.com/stevestone/status/1210394136873848835

At first when I read Stone’s tweet, I read the “Get It Yet” comment as if he was frustrated with the fans thinking the Sox were going after Puig and Castellanos and was telling them to just listen to him when he says they aren’t happening.

After your post here, now I am reading the “Get It Yet” as a question to the fans to guess the correct target.  ?  This is why I hate the lack of punctuation on Twitter.  ?

I guess we’ll find out when he starts talking up a guy like Pillar or Pence in his upcoming tweets.

Edited December 27, 2019 by Moan4Yoan

[SoxAce]

Give me Will Harris (or even Daniel Hudson) and I'd consider this season as close to a homerun as possible. 

[SoxAce]

By the way here's the podcast from late yesterday with Stone and Garfien discussing Encarnacion and potential moves the rest of the offseason. 

https://art19.com/shows/white-sox-podcast

Edited December 27, 2019 by SoxAce

[Moan4Yoan]

34 minutes ago, SoxAce said:

By the way here's the podcast from late yesterday with Stone and Garfien discussing Encarnacion and potential moves the rest of the offseason. 

https://art19.com/shows/white-sox-podcast

Thanks.  I listened to this podcast and Stone hinted that he thinks the Sox will now make likely smaller moves and mentioned another outfielder (right-handed), and a reliever or two.  Scott Merkin has said the same.

As far as a stop-gap at 2B goes, Stone doesn’t think they will spend too much for one since Madrigal will be ready soon but he isn’t sure what will happen here.  Chuck mentioned bringing back Yolmer, and also mentioned Kipnis and Dozier.  Stone wasn’t sure if guys like Kipnis or Dozier would be amenable to coming here if they know Madrigal is coming up shortly.  He also talked up Mendick playing 2B until Madrigal is ready and backing up Moncada at 3B.

He also doesn’t think the Sox want to give 4 years to Castellanos or if they were ever really that interested in him to begin with.

Edited December 27, 2019 by Moan4Yoan

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

33 minutes ago, Moan4Yoan said:

Here is the tweet:

https://mobile.twitter.com/stevestone/status/1210394136873848835

At first when I read Stone’s tweet, I read the “Get It Yet” comment as if he was frustrated with the fans thinking the Sox were going after Puig and Castellanos and was telling them to just listen to him when he says they aren’t happening.

After your post here, now I am reading the “Get It Yet” as a question to the fans to guess the correct target.  ?  This is why I hate the lack of punctuation on Twitter.  ?

I guess we’ll find out when he starts talking up a guy like Pillar or Pence in his upcoming tweets.

I think you were right the 1st time you read it. Major moves are done. Even position players might be done if you can live with Leury or Mendick,

Jarrod Dyson hits lefties pretty well. Not for any power but BA and OBP pretty good and he can play all OF positions very well. Also excellent pinch runner. Getting pretty old though.

Edited December 27, 2019 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[greg775]

Sounds like the Sox, who have been plodding along doing a nice, slow job of tank/rebuilding, have for whatever reason said BOOM, we're ready to complete a dominant, division winning, possible WS winning roster.

Good job by the Sox. We are full of stars right now. Personally I think we could use a plan for the pen: 7th, 8th and 9th (does anybody really trust Colome to EXCEL again?). But aside from that, this team is amazing. Somebody wants to win now.

[NotHahn]

Hunter Pence is interesting. Going to be 37 but crushed lefties last year .327  .378  .636   1.015. Marza/Pence could be a decent combo.

[spiderman]

38 minutes ago, greg775 said:

Sounds like the Sox, who have been plodding along doing a nice, slow job of tank/rebuilding, have for whatever reason said BOOM, we're ready to complete a dominant, division winning, possible WS winning roster.

Good job by the Sox. We are full of stars right now. Personally I think we could use a plan for the pen: 7th, 8th and 9th (does anybody really trust Colome to EXCEL again?). But aside from that, this team is amazing. Somebody wants to win now.

That's what I think they do. They surprised me by adding a DH only to the roster, but if EE can hit HR's and draw walks, it's a great move.

I feel like they will be shoring up the bullpen, maybe adding an OF to get them through the early part of the season, but still would be surprised by another upper end move.

They have been aggressive though. Maybe more to come still?

[Moan4Yoan]

3 minutes ago, spiderman said:

That's what I think they do. They surprised me by adding a DH only to the roster, but if EE can hit HR's and draw walks, it's a great move.

I feel like they will be shoring up the bullpen, maybe adding an OF to get them through the early part of the season, but still would be surprised by another upper end move.

They have been aggressive though. Maybe more to come still?

If Collins doesn’t make the roster, the Sox would still need someone to backup 1B, which Encarnacion can do.

[Chisoxfn]

52 minutes ago, NotHahn said:

Hunter Pence is interesting. Going to be 37 but crushed lefties last year .327  .378  .636   1.015. Marza/Pence could be a decent combo.

A good veteran player too...would be nice to have around younger players (he's been a part of some very good teams).  

[spiderman]

8 minutes ago, Moan4Yoan said:

If Collins doesn’t make the roster, the Sox would still need someone to backup 1B, which Encarnacion can do.

Yep, no disagreement. I would also expect that Grandal to play there once a week so Abreu can DH here and there. I really thought they would rotate the DH with the 3 catchers, but  Encarnacion will obviously get most of the AB's at DH now assuming age/injury. Between C, 1B, RF and DH, they do have 5 current options to rotate players around to some degree (obviously not all of these players can play each, but there is some flexibility to allow for lineups).

[tray]

The Rangers became frustrated with Mazara's inconsistency and lack or progress after 4 years and relegated him as a platoon player.

"If Mazara maintains his current .771 OPS, it would be the highest of his young career. That is the surface. Dig a little deeper and a more nuanced picture emerges. He is striking out more frequently (22.6 percent of the time) than ever and has the lowest on-base percentage of his career (.317) for this date in the season. Mazara has not started six of the Rangers' last 18 games, most of them against left-handers. And there is good reason for that:  No everyday left-handed hitter in baseball has been less effective against left-handed pitching.  Of the 50 qualifiers, Mazara's .230 OBP is last. His batting average (.200) and OPS (.595) are fourth from last.  Those are the stats of a platoon player" link

Given that assessment of Mazara from his prior team, perhaps it would be a good idea for the Sox to look for another outfielder to compliment Mazara  or even to replace  him as the starting RFer. I do not think RF has been solved by tradingffor Mazara, a player who struggled last season and has been very inconsistent.

[Orlando]

I think Pence or Domingo Santana would be decent cheap options to platoon with Mazara 

[TheFutureIsNear]

6 hours ago, tray said:

The Rangers became frustrated with Mazara's inconsistency and lack or progress after 4 years and relegated him as a platoon player.

"If Mazara maintains his current .771 OPS, it would be the highest of his young career. That is the surface. Dig a little deeper and a more nuanced picture emerges. He is striking out more frequently (22.6 percent of the time) than ever and has the lowest on-base percentage of his career (.317) for this date in the season. Mazara has not started six of the Rangers' last 18 games, most of them against left-handers. And there is good reason for that:  No everyday left-handed hitter in baseball has been less effective against left-handed pitching.  Of the 50 qualifiers, Mazara's .230 OBP is last. His batting average (.200) and OPS (.595) are fourth from last.  Those are the stats of a platoon player" link

Given that assessment of Mazara from his prior team, perhaps it would be a good idea for the Sox to look for another outfielder to compliment Mazara  or even to replace  him as the starting RFer. I do not think RF has been solved by tradingffor Mazara, a player who struggled last season and has been very inconsistent.

I really hope the Sox saw something different and think they can make an improvement. Because if we traded 1 of our top 10 prospects to sit a guy on the bench for a year it’s going to be pretty dumb 

[pcq]

His second half improved after quieting his swing and stance. Platoon is an open issue. 

[SonofaRoache]

I think the Sox want to win next year. Thus, there is no way they will have a lineup featuring Engel, Garcia, Mensick, and Mazara for 2-3 weeks. That would defeat the purpose of putting this roster together. Maybe Luis and or Magical get extensions, or maybe they sign better stop gaps. Or, maybe Nick Castellanos won't find a big three or four year deal and will settle for a prove it deal. 

Edited December 27, 2019 by SonofaRoache

[shago]

Why not encourage super utility, switch hitting, recently single, Ben Zobrist to get back up off the mat and power with the Sox for two more years? Can play 2B, CF, RF, bats lefty (well), fills the gap all over the place. Cheap....

[SonofaRoache]

12 minutes ago, shago said:

Why not encourage super utility, switch hitting, recently single, Ben Zobrist to get back up off the mat and power with the Sox for two more years? Can play 2B, CF, RF, bats lefty (well), fills the gap all over the place. Cheap....

I like the idea of BZ a lot. He isn't great long term or playing too much, but he could have us some nice spurts. 

[ChiSox59]

1 hour ago, shago said:

Why not encourage super utility, switch hitting, recently single, Ben Zobrist to get back up off the mat and power with the Sox for two more years? Can play 2B, CF, RF, bats lefty (well), fills the gap all over the place. Cheap....

I think if we’re going to force a fit, he’s the best one. I’d prefer just rolling with Leury with a little Engel as the weak side RF platoon as opposed to Pence, SantAna, Puig, Dyson, etc. 

[Moan4Yoan]

2 hours ago, Orlando said:

I think Pence or Domingo Santana would be decent cheap options to platoon with Mazara 

Offensively, Santana would be good but he apparently makes Mazara look like a gold glover in RF.

[tray]

It is difficult to address the weakness of having a guy like Mazara with bad splits in the line-up. You want him to be up in the lineup 7th, 8th and 9th innings to get the big  hit when you need it. However, let's say the Sox are in a close game is the the 4th inning with men on 1st and 3rd and one out.  Mazara comes up. You are the opposing Manager and know  Mazara's splits so you signal for your big Lefty out of the pen.Mazara obliges your strategy by grounding into an inning ending, rally killing, game changing, ball-busting double play.  Or you are Renteria and you anticipate a signature Mazara gidp so you pinch hit Engel for Mazara. Engel who is forced to come in cold (w/o warming up) , probably whiffs anyway but whatever happens, you now have Engel or another weaker bat in the line-up for the last 4-5 innings of a game you need some runs to win.

My point (which I probably should have condensed) is that bad splits are not that easily addressed with a platoon regime.  And, IMHO, a Mazara and Puig  platoon is just a head shaker. Even if the Mazara platoon mate is not as goofy as Puig, I still think it isn't an ideal situation. Platooning might only compound problems by having two incomplete players that never gain consistency because they are always being substituted for, passed over, and not  given the confidence that they need to possibly become legit full time starting players.

Edited December 27, 2019 by tray

[caulfield12]

7 minutes ago, tray said:

It is difficult to address the weakness of having a guy like Mazara with bad splits in the line-up. You want him to be up in the lineup 7th, 8th and 9th innings to get the big  hit when you need it. However, let's say the Sox are in a close game is the the 4th inning with men on 1st and 3rd and one out.  Mazara comes up. You are the opposing Manager and know  Mazara's splits so you signal for your big Lefty out of the pen.Mazara obliges your strategy by grounding into an inning ending, rally killing, game changing, ball-busting double play.  Or you are Renteria and you anticipate a possible gidp so you pinch hit Engel for Mazara. Engel who is forced to come in cold (w/o warming up) , probably whiffs anyway but whatever happens, you now have Engel or another weaker bat in the line-up for the last 4-5 innings of a game you need some runs to win.

My point (which I probably should have condensed) is that bad splits are not that easily addressed with a platoon regime.  And, IMHO, a Mazara and Puig  platoon is just a head shaker. Even if the Mazara platoon mate is not as goofy as Puig, I still think it isn't an ideal situation. Platooning might only compound problems by having two incomplete players that never gain consistency because they are always being substituted for, passed over, and not  given the confidence that they need to possibly become legit full time starting players.

This would be the same exact problem with Joc Pederson...and he’ll get $60-75 million next offseason.

[Moan4Yoan]

16 minutes ago, tray said:

It is difficult to address the weakness of having a guy like Mazara with bad splits in the line-up. You want him to be up in the lineup 7th, 8th and 9th innings to get the big  hit when you need it. However, let's say the Sox are in a close game is the the 4th inning with men on 1st and 3rd and one out.  Mazara comes up. You are the opposing Manager and know  Mazara's splits so you signal for your big Lefty out of the pen.Mazara obliges your strategy by grounding into an inning ending, rally killing, game changing, ball-busting double play.  Or you are Renteria and you anticipate a signature Mazara gidp so you pinch hit Engel for Mazara. Engel who is forced to come in cold (w/o warming up) , probably whiffs anyway but whatever happens, you now have Engel or another weaker bat in the line-up for the last 4-5 innings of a game you need some runs to win.

My point (which I probably should have condensed) is that bad splits are not that easily addressed with a platoon regime.  And, IMHO, a Mazara and Puig  platoon is just a head shaker. Even if the Mazara platoon mate is not as goofy as Puig, I still think it isn't an ideal situation. Platooning might only compound problems by having two incomplete players that never gain consistency because they are always being substituted for, passed over, and not  given the confidence that they need to possibly become legit full time starting players.

The new rule change that a reliever will be required to face at least three batters, or pitch to the end of the half-inning in which they enter the game, should minimize this a bit.

Regardless, lefty / righty platoons worked before this rule change and they will probably work even better after this rule change.

Edited December 27, 2019 by Moan4Yoan