White Sox agree to 1 year deal with INF Josh Rojas

[WhiteSox2023]

11 minutes ago, Buehrle>Wood said:

Top 15 prospect not long ago. Only 2 catchers on the 40 man so there's room there, but not really when it comes to org depth. I guess you can shove him all the way down in AA. Theel and Quero shouldn't be down there and would be ahead of this guy. But yeah not sure how much sense it makes for a 23 year old on the 40 in AA above 2 guys who will be pushing for that spot very soon.

There were discussions earlier that it wouldn’t be shocking if one of Quero/Teel eventually moved to 1B/DH and short-time catcher.  I don’t see a problem with acquiring as much young talent as possible and sorting it out later.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/dodgers-designate-diego-cartaya-for-assignment.html

Quote

Cartaya still has a minor league option remaining. An acquiring team would be able to send him to Triple-A for another season.

Edited Saturday at 02:20 AM by WhiteSox2023

[WestEddy]

5 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

I see both sides of the argument.  Keep payroll low during the rebuild and then spend like crazy when the team is good again.  However, it doesn’t seem like Jerry is truly willing to “go all out” after saving millions during a rebuild phase.  So I could understand @JUSTgottaBELIEVE’s stance of why not spending money?  It’s Jerry’s money so who cares and he likely won’t ever go all out when the team is good again.  Maybe a decent signing could help the team or be traded for an asset later.

I think the Sox could be pushing for .500 by the 2026 season. I admit that's overly optimistic by average commenter standards. If the Sox really have 2-3 more seasons in the wilderness, you're pushing well into RIP Jerry territory. Kim plays his age 32 season in 2028.

Maybe that's JR's plan. Embark on a long rebuild, save a s%*# ton of money, and maybe he won't live to the day he has to start spending, again. 

 

[Buehrle>Wood]

5 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

There were discussions earlier that it wouldn’t be shocking if one of Quero/Teel eventually moved to 1B/DH and short-time catcher.  I don’t see a problem with acquiring as much young talent as possible and sorting it out later.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/dodgers-designate-diego-cartaya-for-assignment.html

I know he has an option which is why I suggested sending him to AA if anything. He still takes up a 40 man spot. That in a vacuum isnt a concern with what we have on the 40 man but it quickly does when Quero/Teel take a 40 man spot above a guy in AA. Haven't heard anything official about Quero/Teel moving to 1B and that does not seem to be in the immediate plans. You certainly don't make that decision because of that guy. Both should be given every opportunity to fail at catcher.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

10 hours ago, WestEddy said:

As indicated in the latest SoxMachine article, 5 years of service time seems to dictate that Rojas would have to accept an option. 

https://soxmachine.com/2025/01/following-up-what-even-is-the-white-sox-infield-right-now/

This is a very good and comprehensive list of reasons why Rojas is needed and what I was trying to get across in my earlier arguments about the 26 man roster being fluid when talking about Rojas getting a starting position.

There just isn't enough good defense to go around . There's also no sure things among the hitters and Vargas and Sosa are out of options which means they get the 1st chances to make a hitting impact.  Margalus doesn't once mention Sosa at SS probably because it  seems so implausible but he's  as capable of playing there as badly as he defends anywhere else.

Everything Margalus outlined is why I said we'll see and that playing time was a mystery and likely to change on occasion with the 1st real test of how things play out after whoever ends up in AAA likely getting called up once they gain the extra year depending on performance of course . Montgomery and Meidroth fits that bill. Another question of importance is just how long will be Sosa and Vargas be given to show their bats have finally found life beyond AAAA ?

[WestEddy]

5 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

This is a very good and comprehensive list of reasons why Rojas is needed and what I was trying to get across in my earlier arguments about the 26 man roster being fluid when talking about Rojas getting a starting position.

There just isn't enough good defense to go around . There's also no sure things among the hitters and Vargas and Sosa are out of options which means they get the 1st chances to make a hitting impact.  Margalus doesn't once mention Sosa at SS probably because it  seems so implausible but he's  as capable of playing there as badly as he defends anywhere else.

Everything Margalus outlined is why I said we'll see and that playing time was a mystery and likely to change on occasion with the 1st real test of how things play out after whoever ends up in AAA likely getting called up once they gain the extra year depending on performance of course . Montgomery and Meidroth fits that bill. Another question of importance is just how long will be Sosa and Vargas be given to show their bats have finally found life beyond AAAA ?

I'd say Vargas gets a season before other prospects start pushing him out. If Vargas can't hit, and Ramos can, now Vargas is scrambling for another position to stretch out his audition. They have too many options for Sosa to mess up another clear shot at starting time. I think if Sosa hits .100 for 6 weeks, he goes to the back of the queue. 

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

6 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

I'd say Vargas gets a season before other prospects start pushing him out. If Vargas can't hit, and Ramos can, now Vargas is scrambling for another position to stretch out his audition. They have too many options for Sosa to mess up another clear shot at starting time. I think if Sosa hits .100 for 6 weeks, he goes to the back of the queue. 

Anything is possible but for Vargas and Sosa luckily there is DH to get them ABs along with trying to figure out if either of them can play 1st base competently if their bats wake up. As 2 of the only guys the Sox have with middle of the order potential in 2024 at least they are awfully close to running out of chances .

[southsider2k5]

1 hour ago, JUSTgottaBELIEVE said:

Says the guy that was devastated by breaking the loss record and continues to bring it up. Sounds like you want them to break it again!

No, I want them to actually rebuild this team instead of wasting resources and half assing this again. 

[Balta1701]

58 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

There just isn't enough good defense to go around . There's also no sure things among the hitters and Vargas and Sosa are out of options which means they get the 1st chances to make a hitting impact.  Margalus doesn't once mention Sosa at SS probably because it  seems so implausible but he's  as capable of playing there as badly as he defends anywhere else.

How exactly do they get the first chances to make a hitting impact after this signing? I'm pretty sure Rojas gets at least one of those two first shots. 

[WhiteSox2023]

1 hour ago, WestEddy said:

I think the Sox could be pushing for .500 by the 2026 season. I admit that's overly optimistic by average commenter standards. If the Sox really have 2-3 more seasons in the wilderness, you're pushing well into RIP Jerry territory. Kim plays his age 32 season in 2028.

Maybe that's JR's plan. Embark on a long rebuild, save a s%*# ton of money, and maybe he won't live to the day he has to start spending, again. 

 

Grim, but one could only hope on both angles.  🤣

[WhiteSox2023]

1 hour ago, Buehrle>Wood said:

I know he has an option which is why I suggested sending him to AA if anything. He still takes up a 40 man spot. That in a vacuum isnt a concern with what we have on the 40 man but it quickly does when Quero/Teel take a 40 man spot above a guy in AA. Haven't heard anything official about Quero/Teel moving to 1B and that does not seem to be in the immediate plans. You certainly don't make that decision because of that guy. Both should be given every opportunity to fail at catcher.

Ah okay, I thought you meant slipping Cartaya to the minors during the season when it’s tougher for teams to add players.  I still value whatever potential value Cartaya still has and what it could bring over what Thaiss does for this team in 2025.  I’d dump Thaiss in a second to claim Cartaya.  You could acquire a guy like Thaiss at any point during the season for peanuts.

My guess is that some other bad team with a much worse catching prospect situation will give up a lesser prospect to the Dodgers for him.  Thaiss is this year’s Chuckie Robinson and Robinson wasn’t important at all to the Sox last season.  Hell, Seby Zavala was DFA twice last season.  There are always backup catchers available.

Edited Saturday at 03:41 AM by WhiteSox2023

[caulfield12]

First 40 games: .347/.411/.515 over 114 PA

Last 112 games: .188/.271/.280 over 366 PA

So if he stumbles out of the gate with the White Sox and it gets to the point where he’s hitting below the Mendoza Line over the last calendar year, he may not be immune from the Charlotte carousel after all. At the same time, a couple months of credible work will give Rojas the vaunted five years of service time to protect against such a fate.

 

soxmachine.com

 

 

[greg775]

This is kind of a repeat of last offseason: acquire some guys who are lucky to be in baseball with a smidgen of a chance of getting good. We're still on the same track to 40-50 wins at this date. We'll see what happens. January is the month. February is spring training before u know it.

[WhiteSox2023]

4 minutes ago, greg775 said:

This is kind of a repeat of last offseason: acquire some guys who are lucky to be in baseball with a smidgen of a chance of getting good. We're still on the same track to 40-50 wins at this date. We'll see what happens. January is the month. February is spring training before u know it.

Yes, but unless Jerry decided to raise the payroll to Dodgers levels this offseason and sign as many free agents as they could, this team still wouldn’t have a prayer at the playoffs.

[Balta1701]

2 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

First 40 games: .347/.411/.515 over 114 PA

Last 112 games: .188/.271/.280 over 366 PA

So if he stumbles out of the gate with the White Sox and it gets to the point where he’s hitting below the Mendoza Line over the last calendar year, he may not be immune from the Charlotte carousel after all. At the same time, a couple months of credible work will give Rojas the vaunted five years of service time to protect against such a fate.

 

soxmachine.com

 

 

Boy, the latter sounds like…Keppinger, Bonifacio, Beckham, Rollins, Leury (post-extension), Andrus (post-resigning), and quite a few others.

[caulfield12]

2 hours ago, Balta1701 said:

Boy, the latter sounds like…Keppinger, Bonifacio, Beckham, Rollins, Leury (post-extension), Andrus (post-resigning), and quite a few others.

But he apparently had a strong finish lol.

There's reason for hope he could still be a 640 hitter.

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

11 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

No, I want them to actually rebuild this team instead of wasting resources and half assing this again. 

Explain to me how signing a quality mlb player like Kim is “wasting resources.” He’s projected to sign a 5 year deal at $12M AAV (“cheap” by today’s standards) and would immediately be the best or second best player on this team for the next couple years. He turned 29 in October so he’d be 31 in 2027 when I expect the team to start being competitive again. Nothing wrong with that.

[Chicago White Sox]

15 minutes ago, JUSTgottaBELIEVE said:

Explain to me how signing a quality mlb player like Kim is “wasting resources.” He’s projected to sign a 5 year deal at $12M AAV (“cheap” by today’s standards) and would immediately be the best or second best player on this team for the next couple years. He turned 29 in October so he’d be 31 in 2027 when I expect the team to start being competitive again. Nothing wrong with that.

That seems like a pretty light contract for him.

[southsider2k5]

38 minutes ago, JUSTgottaBELIEVE said:

Explain to me how signing a quality mlb player like Kim is “wasting resources.” He’s projected to sign a 5 year deal at $12M AAV (“cheap” by today’s standards) and would immediately be the best or second best player on this team for the next couple years. He turned 29 in October so he’d be 31 in 2027 when I expect the team to start being competitive again. Nothing wrong with that.

The Sox probably won't be a .500 team in 3 seasons.  

You add players like that to fill holes on a team that is competitive, not to waste resources on historically bad teams and block your top prospect. 

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

39 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

That seems like a pretty light contract for him.

I thought so too. I figured he’d get close to Robert’s remaining contract in AAV (~$18M AAV). Maybe he will. But if he’s close to $12M AAV, that’s a steal imo and fills a big need because I’m not confident Montgomery sticks at SS.

[WestEddy]

15 minutes ago, JUSTgottaBELIEVE said:

I thought so too. I figured he’d get close to Robert’s remaining contract in AAV (~$18M AAV). Maybe he will. But if he’s close to $12M AAV, that’s a steal imo and fills a big need because I’m not confident Montgomery sticks at SS.

C. Monty may not stick at SS, but he'll probably get a season or two to show he doesn't belong there. In the meanwhile, Kim's taking PAs away from whomever should be getting them at 2B & 3B.

[Chicago White Sox]

20 minutes ago, JUSTgottaBELIEVE said:

I thought so too. I figured he’d get close to Robert’s remaining contract in AAV (~$18M AAV). Maybe he will. But if he’s close to $12M AAV, that’s a steal imo and fills a big need because I’m not confident Montgomery sticks at SS.

My guess is a deal like that would have to come with early opt-outs.

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

22 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

C. Monty may not stick at SS, but he'll probably get a season or two to show he doesn't belong there. In the meanwhile, Kim's taking PAs away from whomever should be getting them at 2B & 3B.

At this point in time, I’m not worried about there not being enough PAs to go around. Some guys will get hurt, some guys will not perform despite an extended look. This 40 man isn’t even close to having enough depth on the position player side. Maybe after another couple trades and FA signings they’ll be approaching that point.

[WestEddy]

14 hours ago, JUSTgottaBELIEVE said:

If the goal is to literally only field players making $2M or less, then they need to dump Robert and Vaughn asap and also eat whatever salary they need to move Benintendi.

They are certainly shopping Robert and Benintendi, and Vaughn has come up in trade talks. 

[Balta1701]

22 minutes ago, JUSTgottaBELIEVE said:

At this point in time, I’m not worried about there not being enough PAs to go around. Some guys will get hurt, some guys will not perform despite an extended look. This 40 man isn’t even close to having enough depth on the position player side. Maybe after another couple trades and FA signings they’ll be approaching that point.

I do not see how there's enough plate appearances to satisfy what the White Sox seem to need unless they have already thrown in the towel on Vargas. Between 3b and 2b that's perhaps 1300 plate appearances, 800 after we give Rojas 500. Vargas, Sosa, Ramos, and Meidroth - even if you throw in the DH slot some of the time, for 4 guys that's what, 250 plate appearances a piece? 300 max? Unless Sosa is your everyday SS to rope in a full additional position, this doesn't work. 

[SoxBlanco]

12 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

I do not see how there's enough plate appearances to satisfy what the White Sox seem to need unless they have already thrown in the towel on Vargas. Between 3b and 2b that's perhaps 1300 plate appearances, 800 after we give Rojas 500. Vargas, Sosa, Ramos, and Meidroth - even if you throw in the DH slot some of the time, for 4 guys that's what, 250 plate appearances a piece? 300 max? Unless Sosa is your everyday SS to rope in a full additional position, this doesn't work. 

I’d start Ramos and Meidroth in AAA. Sosa starts at 2B, Rojas at 3B, and Vargas/Vaughn at 1B/DH. You can mix Vargas in at 3B if you want to see how he can handle it. 

If Ramos or Meidroth deserve a call up, chances are somebody will be injured or performing poorly by that point. And if not, then that’s a pretty damn good problem to have.