Liam Hendriks coming up in trade discussions

[Tnetennba]

35 minutes ago, Tony said:

Trading Liam, and losing Abreu in the same offseason, when the Sox are still in “win-now” mode sends an awful message.  
 

The only reason they would move Liam is money. I can’t seem them getting an offer that would just be a no-brainer where someone is offering a vast overpayment in players for Liam…so you’re moving him because of payroll restrictions, which only exist because of the owner. 

I’ve resigned myself to a Hendriks trade happening for good or bad.  It fits the MO they’ve been broadcasting since the end of the season. 

[chw42]

10 minutes ago, bmags said:

Still think Hendriks for Gleybar is a thing, personally.

Yankees do need a closer. Liam does have a NTC, I wonder if NY is on that list. 

[Sockin]

Honestly it’s the best way to cut money.

[Tony]

21 minutes ago, TheFutureIsNear said:

We have 1 OF’er on the roster, of course it’s conceivable we could improve the team by trading Liam. I  would have no problem with Lopez sliding into the closer role.
 

The biggest mishap with Jose was not trying to trade him at the deadline. Moving on from soon to be 36 and 34 year olds while they still have value is never a bad idea…now can this front office actually make a smart move and improve the team? That’s a fair question. 

Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Michael Brantley, Joey Gallo, Kevin Kiermaier, Andrew Benintendi, Brandon Nimmo and a slew of others are all available. The Sox could have plenty of OF's if they wanted them. Trading their closer to fill that hole is only necessary if you aren't willing to spend money. 

Stop justifying things that shouldn't be justified. 

[PolishPrince34]

Everyone knows Jerry and the other owners aren’t spending. Have to trade some of assets which blows. 

[Dick Allen]

I read a tweet a guy said he was laughing at a kid because the kid still believed In Santa Claus. Then he realized he was a Sox fan who still believed the Sox would sign a top tier FA, and realized they were no different.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Dick Allen

[thedoctor]

i refuse to believe hahn’s big offseason move would involve getting rid of a reliever. it challenges everything i know about the guy. 

[Eminor3rd]

We are now out of the "Rebuild Era" and back into the "Mark Teahen is our offseason acquisition Era"

[Quin]

Absolute clown s%*#

[fathom]

1 minute ago, Eminor3rd said:

We are now out of the "Rebuild Era" and back into the "Mark Teahen is our offseason acquisition Era"

And then next offseason we will be in “trading premium talent because the roster sucks behind them Era”.

[Dick Allen]

2 minutes ago, Eminor3rd said:

We are now out of the "Rebuild Era" and back into the "Mark Teahen is our offseason acquisition Era"

Exactly. 

[maxjusttyped]

3 minutes ago, fathom said:

And then next offseason we will be in “trading premium talent because the roster sucks behind them Era”.

I'm sure Hahn's 3rd attempt at a rebuild will finally be the one that succeeds ?

[fathom]

If they trade Hendriks, it better be to help fill holes on the big league squad.

[fathom]

1 minute ago, maxjusttyped said:

I'm sure Hahn's 3rd attempt at a rebuild will finally be the one that succeeds ?

I just had the thought a few minutes ago of “how does Hahn still have a job”.  Half of baseball has seemingly just flown past them since the deadline of 2021.

[maxjusttyped]

1 minute ago, fathom said:

If they trade Hendriks, it better be to help fill holes on the big league squad.

It's possible to squint and see a path where the Sox end up with Glebyr & use some of the savings from that deal to sign Nimmo, but it's the White Sox so of course nothing like that will ever happen

[Vote4Pedro]

Just now, fathom said:

If they trade Hendriks, it better be to help fill holes on the big league squad.

I’d take prospects for him if the money saved on Hendriks is used immediately to help the big league club i.e. on one of the bigger named free agents, but knowing the Sox it wouldn’t go down like that.

[maxjusttyped]

3 minutes ago, fathom said:

I just had the thought a few minutes ago of “how does Hahn still have a job”.  Half of baseball has seemingly just flown past them since the deadline of 2021.

This goes for pretty much everyone in the org & has for 20 years. Nothing ever fundamentally changes.

[Vote4Pedro]

2 minutes ago, fathom said:

I just had the thought a few minutes ago of “how does Hahn still have a job”.  Half of baseball has seemingly just flown past them since the deadline of 2021.

Everyone else gets better with time, while the Sox is that person who peaked in high school 

[Vote4Pedro]

2 minutes ago, maxjusttyped said:

This goes for pretty much everyone in the org & has for 20 years. Nothing ever fundamentally changes.

And it won’t until JR dies or sells

[SoxBlanco]

3 minutes ago, maxjusttyped said:

It's possible to squint and see a path where the Sox end up with Glebyr & use some of the savings from that deal to sign Nimmo, but it's the White Sox so of course nothing like that will ever happen

This was my thought exactly. If they trade Liam for Glebry and then sign Nimmo, the payroll would be around $180M. 

[wegner]

25 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

I read a tweet a guy said he was laughing at a kid because the kid still believed In Santa Claus. Then he realized he was a Sox fan who still believed the Sox would sign a top tier FA, and realized they were no different.

What's this about Santa!?!?

[PitchatRisktoZisk]

But wait, I'm confused. Is this the type of move a team in a "multiple championship window" makes? Oh, I forgot. Jerry still owns the team. He sabotaged the whole thing by a) letting Hahn run the rebuild,  b) forcing LaRussa on the organization, and c) taking his chips off the table from windfall media and sponsorship deals while cutting payroll. I'm an idiot. Wait until I give them an earful at SoxFest. WHAT?!?  I'm out of here.  

[NCsoxfan]

1 hour ago, Tony said:

Trading Liam, and losing Abreu in the same offseason, when the Sox are still in “win-now” mode sends an awful message.  
 

The only reason they would move Liam is money. I can’t seem them getting an offer that would just be a no-brainer where someone is offering a vast overpayment in players for Liam…so you’re moving him because of payroll restrictions, which only exist because of the owner. 

Disagree. If brings you players you can’t get otherwise, and you solve closer a different way it can make sense. 

It’s clear we’ve misallocated resources the last few years. This could be an opportunity to right the ship.

[fathom]

Hendriks and a good prospect for Lux would be awesome, IMO

[Balta1701]

I’ve said this almost every time this came up: Liam Hendriks was way more important to the 2022 White Sox than you thought.

Starting in April with that losing streak, this team had a negative run differential. They outperformed their expected record base on one factor alone - their record in close games.

I kept watching that the whole year and expecting it to correct and it never did. The White Sox finished tied with Cleveland for the 4th best record in baseball in 1-run games. Had they been a .500 team in 1-run games, they finish 6 or 8 games below .500 and in third place.

Minnesota, for comparison, had a losing record in 1 run games and finished behind the White Sox despite a better run differential.

Furthermore, the White Sox’s bullpen wasn’t special overall. They were 8th in bullpen WAR, 12th in ERA. Their bullpen was one that had no depth. If you got to the Sox’s middle relief, you often scored 3 or 4 runs. Expensive middle relievers couldn’t be counted on. But if you got to the 8th inning and the game was tight; the Sox would go to Graveman in the first half and Lopez in the second half and shut this game down. 

If you took Hendriks out of the 2022 White Sox and replaced him with a 5 win outfielder, I think that team still finishes at .500. The run differential evens out, but the record in close games drops to .500, and the end result is no gain. If you replaced Hendriks with Benintendi, I think the team is actually a couple games worse.

Having seen how much they struggled in the 8th inning in 2021 (so much so that it led to the Kimbrel deal) and seeing how bad the middle relief was in 2022, I think this is the type of mistake that has an outsized impact. Not only do we drop more close games than we make up for with an OF, we also undermine any good emotions from the new coaching staff with losses in the 8th and 9th inning that are especially deflating emotionally.

If you’re selling Hendriks, sell Giolito and Cease. You’ve already given up.