White Sox agree to 1 year deal with INF Josh Rojas

[46DidIt]

If a good catcher were a good hitter, he wouldn’t be a backup catcher. Regardless, Lee is about the least of my concerns with this team

[Baron]

4 minutes ago, 46DidIt said:

Well he is good at defense and rates more highly than Quero there, so that must be where you’re mistaken. If anything, long term, Quero is moved from behind that plate and Teel/Lee are your catchers

That -10 DRS last year was super helpful. -1.5 WAR on defense. 

-15.2 WAR on offense though. So some room for improvement. 

[southsider2k5]

29 minutes ago, Quin said:

I think for many it boils down to:

• Rojas in a vacuum - good signing, makes sense
• Rojas as part of a trend that began last year - concerning

Vargas sliding into the 1B/DH also helps alleviate (similar to Sosa at SS like @WestEddy pointed out). I guess we need to see how Venable juggles this.

If everyone plays their traditional positions, things get messy. If not, maybe we're cooking.

100% this.  And the quality of this signing is 100% tied to how he is used.

[greg775]

36th round draft pick who hit 8 homers in almost 500 at bats last season. 3B position will have no power this season. Sounds like our new Nicky. Good defense though which helps the push to 50 wins. Sox allegedly have beefed up the bullpen with a lot of bodies to choose from. Great defense to go with this staff should assure 49-51 wins despite the total lack of hitting on the team.

[WhiteSox2023]

6 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

100% this.  And the quality of this signing is 100% tied to how he is used.

Maybe Getz wised up and realized Vargas has no glove?

[Chicago White Sox]

1 hour ago, SoxBlanco said:

Why can’t Rojas just be a guy who plays everywhere to give guys a day or two off per week? Then nobody’s “starting spot” is really being blocked, and Rojas will get plenty of playing time. 

Maybe…I’m just concerned they won’t use him in that capacity.  I’d also rather use our limited budget on a free agent reliever who might be able to close.  I think there is more flip upside with that type of player vs. utility guy.

[WhiteSox2023]

6 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Maybe…I’m just concerned they won’t use him in that capacity.  I’d also rather use our limited budget on a free agent reliever who might be able to close.  I think there is more flip upside with that type of player vs. utility guy.

You are probably right on that.  But it also gives the Sox plenty of innings to see if a bunch of their own pitchers can break out.

Edited Thursday at 08:09 PM by WhiteSox2023

[TaylorStSox]

1 hour ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Rojas is not really a SS though.  If you play him at 2B, you are blocking one of Sosa, Baldwin, or Meidroth.  At 3B, he’s blocking Vargas, Ramos, & Sosa.  Those are the only spots we have multiple young options that actually need playing time.  Those five dudes are going to lose a lot of at-bats due to this signing.

And I’m not trying to be a hater either.  I didn’t dislike the Tauchman / Slater additions as none of Fletcher, DeLoach, or Colas have done enough in AAA to be handed an opportunity.  That’s not the case with several of the guys mentioned above.

Rojas isn't an ideal SS, but it's not like that matters for this team right now. He's serviceable. This just looks like a depth move. It's not a big deal at all.

[Chicago White Sox]

4 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said:

Rojas isn't an ideal SS, but it's not like that matters for this team right now. He's serviceable. This just looks like a depth move. It's not a big deal at all.

I don’t think they’re planing to use him at SS though.  Seems like he’s getting one of 3B or 2B.

[Dick Allen]

Baldwin, Amaya, Montgomery, Sosa, Ramos,Vargas, the guy they got for Crochet......this guy may be better than them all, but he's over 30, he isn't going to be flipped for much even in a best case scenario, the team is going to lose 100 games. I'm not pissed off about it, but I don't see the point.

[TaylorStSox]

4 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

I don’t think they’re planing to use him at SS though.  Seems like he’s getting one of 3B or 2B.

You have no idea how they're going to use him. You're guessing. He's a pretty ideal utility player. Baldwin isn't really much of a prospect and ideally they won't rush Montgomery. There's nothing wrong with this signing. 

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

59 minutes ago, Timmy U said:

Let me play Devil’s Advocate and it is about development. Ramos is a decent defender who has lapses throwing the ball. Sosa is pretty bad at 3b and a knucklehead at 2b. Vargas is brutal wherever he plays. The Sox have like 15 young pitchers they are gonna try and develop over the next 2 years. What if you have a plus defender at 3b to take platoon at bats and some late inning defensive replacement innings? Might that not help the pitchers develop? Ramos, in particular has massive platoon splits. Is it so bad to ease him into mlb at bats? I think this is a decent signing that may reflect a desire to have some of the Sox B/B+ prospects earn their time rather than just handing it to them. Plus, I would love to see Vargas DH/1b only. He is a hazard with a glove in his hand.

This is perfectly reasonable and doesn't require anything except a little faith.

  Guys who are running out of time to show the Sox they can hit but who can't field, like Vargas and Sosa must be willing to play multiple positions and DH and give way in the late innings.

Sosa may be killing it in the VWL ( as of 2 weeks ago) and killed it last Sept but that's no guarantee he'll hit MLB pitching but it a positive sign.

Anyone got a link to the Venezuelan Winter League stats that update every game ?I can't find anything current for the 2024-2025 season except his 2 weeks ago VWL stat line on Rotoballer news.

 

[southsider2k5]

13 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said:

You have no idea how they're going to use him. You're guessing. He's a pretty ideal utility player. Baldwin isn't really much of a prospect and ideally they won't rush Montgomery. There's nothing wrong with this signing. 

Hadn't really thought about this in terms of Montgomery, but if this blocks them from rushing him, that's at least a positive.  I guess we will see.

[Chicago White Sox]

26 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said:

You have no idea how they're going to use him. You're guessing. He's a pretty ideal utility player. Baldwin isn't really much of a prospect and ideally they won't rush Montgomery. There's nothing wrong with this signing. 

Lol…you are guessing too.  The only difference is I’m actually considering where he’s played at in recent years to make an educated guess and you are just going with what’s easiest to justify the move and play devil’s advocate.  I don’t think he’s a bad player, but I wouldn’t be signing a guy who takes away playing time from the only few positional areas we actually have some internal options.

And Brooks Baldwin is a very legitimate prospect who shot through the system last year.  No idea where you came up with that notion, but he’s a dude worthy of a ton of playing time next year.

Edited Thursday at 08:46 PM by Chicago White Sox

[TaylorStSox]

4 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Lol…you are guessing too.  The only difference is I’m actually considering where he’s played at in recent years to make an educated guess and you are just going with what’s easiest to justify the move and play devil’s advocate.  I don’t think he’s a bad player, but I wouldn’t be signing a guy who takes away playing time from the only few positional areas we actually have some internal options.

And Brooks Baldwin is a very legitimate prospect who shot through the system last year.  No idea where you came up with that notion, but he’s a dude worthy of a ton of playing time next year.

Baldwin is a nice story, but he's really not much of a prospect. His ceiling is backup middle infielder. He doesn't have a single loud tool. Again, nice story, but not much of a prospect.

There's really no issue in signing a very good defensive veteran IF to this team, especially when you consider the youth of the pitching staff.

[Fielder Jones]

probably true about Baldwin but it would be nice if we could be like the aughts Cardinals that would just scrounge up 2 WAR nobodies and play them for 5 years in a row, then replace them

[southsider2k5]

4 minutes ago, Fielder Jones said:

probably true about Baldwin but it would be nice if we could be like the aughts Cardinals that would just scrounge up 2 WAR nobodies and play them for 5 years in a row, then replace them

The best I can do is nobodies.

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

1 hour ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Maybe…I’m just concerned they won’t use him in that capacity.  I’d also rather use our limited budget on a free agent reliever who might be able to close.  I think there is more flip upside with that type of player vs. utility guy.

This guy likely signed for like $2M, barely above league minimum. It has no bearing on whether or not they sign a free agent reliever. And, truthfully, what type of free agent reliever with closing ability are you expecting for less than $5M?

[Soxfest]

Typical Sox signing replace his name with 15 other no hit utility infielders thru the years.

Edited Thursday at 09:14 PM by Soxfest

[TaylorStSox]

13 minutes ago, Fielder Jones said:

probably true about Baldwin but it would be nice if we could be like the aughts Cardinals that would just scrounge up 2 WAR nobodies and play them for 5 years in a row, then replace them

I'd love to be wrong about him.

[caulfield12]

1 hour ago, Dick Allen said:

Baldwin, Amaya, Montgomery, Sosa, Ramos,Vargas, the guy they got for Crochet......this guy may be better than them all, but he's over 30, he isn't going to be flipped for much even in a best case scenario, the team is going to lose 100 games. I'm not pissed off about it, but I don't see the point.

Meidroth

Well Vargas and Rojas sound almost interchangeanle as names at least.

Hopefully Amaya was never given serious consideration as a starter at anywhere but Charlotte.

Edited Thursday at 09:30 PM by caulfield12

[Fielder Jones]

28 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

The best I can do is nobodies.

we have the learned helplessness that assumes we could never develop a nobody into an everyday player. the sox dont do it. but other orgs do! i dont know if Baldwin is one but we have to start turning some zero values into positive value at some point. tampa is not sustaining their success with blue chippers every year. There's some of that but there's also developed homegrown talent behind it as well. You need all angles of it

[Chicago White Sox]

2 hours ago, Fielder Jones said:

I actually am on the side of being ok with Rojas. He's reliable positive WAR year in year out, and you have to at some point have a guy like that.. after last year, you cant really pretend those guys are in large supply. As far as blocking young talent, im sure Sosa, Meidroth and Baldwin will have plenty of PAs, especially post trade deadline. Baldwin might be opening day SS for all we know.

Sosa is out of options though so honestly he may not even be in this org a full year anyway.

Having plenty of at-bats “post trade deadline” doesn’t make sense when there are multiple young players ready now.  And 200 plate appearances is simply not enough playing time to make a meaningful evaluation on a young player.

[WestEddy]

1 hour ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

This is perfectly reasonable and doesn't require anything except a little faith.

  Guys who are running out of time to show the Sox they can hit but who can't field, like Vargas and Sosa must be willing to play multiple positions and DH and give way in the late innings.

Sosa may be killing it in the VWL ( as of 2 weeks ago) and killed it last Sept but that's no guarantee he'll hit MLB pitching but it a positive sign.

Anyone got a link to the Venezuelan Winter League stats that update every game ?I can't find anything current for the 2024-2025 season except his 2 weeks ago VWL stat line on Rotoballer news.

 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=8b2f2040

[Timmy U]

41 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said:

Baldwin is a nice story, but he's really not much of a prospect. His ceiling is backup middle infielder. He doesn't have a single loud tool. Again, nice story, but not much of a prospect.

There's really no issue in signing a very good defensive veteran IF to this team, especially when you consider the youth of the pitching staff.

Baldwin has solid tools across the board. His ceiling is big league regular. Will he reach it? Who knows? But he definitely has the talent to start sometime in his career. He absolutely dominated a great pitcher’s league in AA.