Offseason Thread

[Snopek]

43 minutes ago, T R U said:

Rest is so overrated, these guys literally stand around a field or sit in a dugout for 99% of the game. I get it for pitchers to an extent, but for position players makes no sense to me. You want to give them an off day, put them at DH.

Looks like I chose the wrong career. Being a baseball player sounds perfect for a lazy person like me.

[reiks12]

17 minutes ago, Snopek said:

Do we actually know this? No snark, I’m genuinely asking. I’ve been wondering how much of it was poor approach from the coaching staff and how much was poor execution from the players. 

Sox ranked one of the worst teams in MLB in launch angle, yes thats including teams with pitchers:
 

[Balta1701]

5 minutes ago, reiks12 said:

Sox ranked one of the worst teams in MLB in launch angle, yes thats including teams with pitchers:
 

What was that like for them in 2019 and 2020?

[Middle Buffalo]

4 hours ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

I don’t think he should be traded but they need to explore it. The White Sox have a Jose Abreu problem. He’s very good. His mere presence causes roster gymnastics however.  

I think they solved some of this by using Vaughn and Sheets in the OF. I’d like to see both of them concentrate on outfield work in the off-season. 

We can’t underestimate Abreu’s importance as a draw for Cuban players. The Sox have the pipeline and have been getting most if not all of the top players from Cuba.

Edited October 15, 2021 by Middle Buffalo

[T R U]

1 hour ago, manbearpuig said:

Add catchers to that and I agree. Also, I’d never sit more than one regular a game if I could (obviously guys could be banged up). If your catcher is out, no one else is sitting. No more “Sunday lineups” please.

Ah yes, I forgot catchers. I agree on that.

[Squirmin' for Yermin]

4 hours ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

I don’t think he should be traded but they need to explore it. The White Sox have a Jose Abreu problem. He’s very good. His mere presence causes roster gymnastics however. This team needs to get more left handed. They should have openings in RF and 2B. It’s hard to roster Jimenez, Vaughn and Abreu while trying to get Sheets some time. Also, everyone wants a defensive catcher. That puts Yaz at DH. Lots of roster redundancies and real decisions to make. 

I think they "solve" this by selling high(?) on Sheets. At least that's what I would do.

[Chicago White Sox]

I don’t want to be a Debbie downer this offseason, but it’s going to be very interesting to see where the payroll shakes out.  I think the magic number will end up being $170M and that’s going to leave us with very little wiggle room to work with.  I know many here hated the Kimbrel trade from the get-go, but I admittedly supported it as I felt it was sign that Jerry was going to get super aggressive with the financials.  Don’t get me wrong, $170M would shatter our franchise record so it would be hard to rag on Jerry too much, but that would only leave us with about $25M to work even if we dumped Kimbrel.  It’s going to be a shame if Hahn traded two cheap major league assets in Madrigal & Heuer if he knew the payroll would be capped out at such levels.

It’s going to be fascinating to see how Hahn approaches this offseason.  We obviously have an excellent core in place, but at the same time have quite a few holes and limited means to address them.  While the offense has a couple holes and may need a shakeup or two to add some much needed balance, it’s the pitching staff that concerns me the most.  I love our top four starters, but there definitely should be concerns about what Kopech will give us next year given a lack of innings this year.  And while Keuchel may rebound some, we need to manage his innings enough to prevent his option from kicking in and that could prove challenging with zero SP depth.

And then you have the bullpen, which is an even bigger concern.  Kimbrel & Kopech will be exiting and Tepera is a free agent.  The problem there is we have few arms that appear worthy of a spot.  Ruiz was solid this year, but I’m not a believer in him long-term.  Foster & Marshall flopped hard this season and should not be counted on.  Guys like Burr, Lambert, Cordero, Fry, & Stiever could factor in, but I don’t have a ton of confidence any in them.  We got to find a way to add two or three legit pen arms this offseason.  In a perfect world, we bring back Tepera for a 7th inning role and find a way to add a legit setup guy to pair with Bummer.

Hahn really will have his work cut out for him.  I expect a ton of trades this offseason and definitely could see him empty the prospect cupboard further with guys like Rodriguez, Ramos, Burger, etc moved to fill a couple of holes.  Unfortunately, if we only have $25M to work with then it will go super fast.  Rick will have to be creative and be willing to sacrifice some of the future to optimize the next team next season.  Should be interesting to watch it all unfold.

[Balta1701]

14 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

What was that like for them in 2019 and 2020?

Ok, got it.  Baseball savant team stats. They were bottom 5 in launch angle in 2019, bottom 3 in 2020, bottom 10 in 2015-2018. While this is something to work on, it does predate Menechino and there’s no drop off with him starting. It does suggest that as a team, they don’t care about launch angles, across multiple coaching staffs.

[turnin' two]

18 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

I don’t want to be a Debbie downer this offseason, but it’s going to be very interesting to see where the payroll shakes out.

I just hope I remember to stay clear for a few days after they pick up Cesar's option.

[Dick Allen]

2 minutes ago, turnin' two said:

I just hope I remember to stay clear for a few days after they pick up Cesar's option.

There is no way they are picking up that option. I have liked Cesar, but his time with the Sox, after a pretty nice start, was godawful. 

[South Side Hit Men]

15 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Ok, got it.  Baseball savant team stats. They were bottom 5 in launch angle in 2019, bottom 3 in 2020, bottom 10 in 2015-2018. While this is something to work on, it does predate Menechino and there’s no drop off with him starting. It does suggest that as a team, they don’t care about launch angles, across multiple coaching staffs.

Stop your fussing about nerds and their new fangled arithmetic. TWTW and "decisions from the gut" are what are prized in this bumpkin organization powered by lifetime cronyism. 

Marco Paddy and Getz/ scouts can bring in talent, but the crony instructional and ML coaches over the decades have done little to nothing with this talent compared to organizations light years ahead of us. Ethan Katz is the only modern coach brought in, and the staff was lightyears ahead of where they were under Cooper (including Giolito having to leave the organization to get quality instruction).

The Giants brought in a bunch of new coaches and they won 107 with mostly retreads. What do the Sox do? Bring in La Russa, a bunch of his cronies, Dave Duncan's son, Calligraphy Guy Narron.

And there you have it.

[reiks12]

23 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Ok, got it.  Baseball savant team stats. They were bottom 5 in launch angle in 2019, bottom 3 in 2020, bottom 10 in 2015-2018. While this is something to work on, it does predate Menechino and there’s no drop off with him starting. It does suggest that as a team, they don’t care about launch angles, across multiple coaching staffs.

And thats concerning. The usual contending teams have a high launch angle with the surprising Giants as #1. 

[T R U]

Im sure this is not right on the money but how would this look so far?

Some trades will definitely have to be made..

 

Edited October 15, 2021 by T R U
Double image

[35thstreetswarm]

I always struggle in the offseason with the "one big move" vs. "several small moves" dilemma.  Question:  how would people feel about signing Semien to play 2b and doing very little else (say bringing in one decent reliever and that's it)?  Basically plugging RF with a combination of in-house options.  That would give us an absolute beastmaster lineup and a solid rotation, albeit one with significant question marks given Kopech's innings limits.  I think I'd be pretty happy.

[Y2Jimmy0]

1 hour ago, Squirmin' for Yermin said:

I think they "solve" this by selling high(?) on Sheets. At least that's what I would do.

That doesn't solve anything. They still need to get more left-handed. 

[Balta1701]

3 minutes ago, 35thstreetswarm said:

I always struggle in the offseason with the "one big move" vs. "several small moves" dilemma.  Question:  how would people feel about signing Semien to play 2b and doing very little else (say bringing in one decent reliever and that's it)?  Basically plugging RF with a combination of in-house options.  That would give us an absolute beastmaster lineup and a solid rotation, albeit one with significant question marks given Kopech's innings limits.  I think I'd be pretty happy.

I think it can be done but I don't particularly like it. You lose Leury from the bench and replace him with Romy, you keep the same backup catchers, and the bullpen weakens some.

Here's an interesting thing about Marcus. This year he'd have been a great fit for the White Sox as his splits were reversed and he beat up right handers. However, I don't see any other season like that in his career, normally he beats up lefties more than righties. A guy who beats up righties fills a need for the White Sox more than a guy who beats up lefties, we have several of those. Will his platoon splits stay reversed next year or will they revert to his career pattern? That's actually really important for answering this question, as a team can beat us in a short series by throwing several righties at us right now.

[Y2Jimmy0]

32 minutes ago, T R U said:

Im sure this is not right on the money but how would this look so far?

Some trades will definitely have to be made..

 

Why wouldn't Conforto just take the QO? 

[ron883]

5 minutes ago, 35thstreetswarm said:

I always struggle in the offseason with the "one big move" vs. "several small moves" dilemma.  Question:  how would people feel about signing Semien to play 2b and doing very little else (say bringing in one decent reliever and that's it)?  Basically plugging RF with a combination of in-house options.  That would give us an absolute beastmaster lineup and a solid rotation, albeit one with significant question marks given Kopech's innings limits.  I think I'd be pretty happy.

[Squirmin' for Yermin]

1 minute ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

That doesn't solve anything. They still need to get more left-handed. 

I am saying yuou solve the Abreu/Eloy/Vaughn log jam.  You still sign/trade a LH RF and ideally 2B.

[T R U]

1 minute ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

Why wouldn't Conforto just take the QO? 

I don’t know, I was just looking at possible fits from projected FA

[ron883]

3 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

Why wouldn't Conforto just take the QO? 

He wants a multiyear deal? I think something like 48m/3yr could possibly get him. Probably would require more. 

Edited October 15, 2021 by ron883

[Kyyle23]

5 minutes ago, ron883 said:

Don't you dare mock Marc Singer and Rip Torns masterpiece that I watched endlessly on WGN growing up 

[JoeCredeYes]

19 minutes ago, 35thstreetswarm said:

I always struggle in the offseason with the "one big move" vs. "several small moves" dilemma.  Question:  how would people feel about signing Semien to play 2b and doing very little else (say bringing in one decent reliever and that's it)?  Basically plugging RF with a combination of in-house options.  That would give us an absolute beastmaster lineup and a solid rotation, albeit one with significant question marks given Kopech's innings limits.  I think I'd be pretty happy.

I am down with this approach and think it's the right move.  Dominate the central in the first half then add whatever pieces at the deadline are needed to make a DEEP run.

[Chicago White Sox]

10 minutes ago, ron883 said:

He wants a multiyear deal? I think something like 48m/3yr could possibly get him. Probably would require more. 

I think 3/$48M or 4/$60M probably gets it done given he’s coming off a down year with a QO attached to him.

[Flash]

Guessing Gallo has worn out his welcome in NY. Yanks have 1 more year of control at @ $10M. Maybe dangle Keuchel (Yankees seem fond of recycling LH'rs), Fry and $8M or so to make money even. Gallo for a year in OF buys time for Cespdes, Colas or whomever. If Gallo clicks, resign him.