Rios, $1M traded to Rangers

[Real]

managers don't win pennants but they can be a factor in not winning them

[Dick Allen]

managers don't win pennants but they can be a factor in not winning them

Yeah, a better manager and this team may win 100.

[Real]

Yeah, a better manager and this team may win 100.

 

??

 

I said the exact opposite

[greg775]

As far as managers, I feel the Sox have had no sense of urgency for the past many years. We'd hang around .500 (before this disaster of a year) and always look at the calendar and said we'd have plenty of time to get hot. Remember all those games we blew last year in an attempt to put some distance on Detroit? Then at the end they smoked right by the Sox who finally had their awful streak.

Now this year we dropped game after game until two weeks later we were out of it. Now it just snowballs. No pride. No nothing. Just losing.

 

Sox have a lot of problems. I just don't get how somebody on a message board can give Paulie 75 percent of the blame and a manager 1 percent.

[Dick Allen]

??

 

I said the exact opposite

Is Ventura the reason the Sox won't win the pennant?

[Y2Jimmy0]

Rosenthal had a video on Fox Sports today talking about Rios. He said he has a $13 million salary for next season and a $13.5 million club option for the following year. He said some teams could see that as a detriment but most will not. He mentions that since the start of the 2012 season Rios is 5th in WAR among all RF's. That is higher than Victorino and Swisher who both received big deals in the offseason.

[Andy the Clown]

Why can't we hire a statistically-inclined manager? You know, like just about every other team out there? Why do we have to hire an old has-been with no managing experience like some sort of semi-pro sideshow?

 

Hiring RV was KW's one last chance to flip the bird to those who value analysis.

[Andy the Clown]

Rosenthal had a video on Fox Sports today talking about Rios. He said he has a $13 million salary for next season and a $13.5 million club option for the following year. He said some teams could see that as a detriment but most will not. He mentions that since the start of the 2012 season Rios is 5th in WAR among all RF's. That is higher than Victorino and Swisher who both received big deals in the offseason.

 

Don't worry. There will be a new excuse that appears when we are unable to trade him.

[CWSpalehoseCWS]

Don't worry. There will be a new excuse that appears when we are unable to trade him.

 

I honestly think the reason many teams did not have much interest in Rios is his overall lackadaisical attitude. Sure, he'll hit 20 HR's, drive in 80, steal 20 SB's, but he is not a guy you build a team around. I doubt he is a leader at all in the clubhouse, and I could see why a team like the Pirates did not go after him. I wouldn't want to surround my young players either with his attitude out of fear he'll rub off on them. He's a complementary player, IMO. I still think the Sox will be able to trade him in the offseason, but I don't think they will be getting much back in return.

[Rowand44]

Why do we have to hire an old has-been with no managing experience like some sort of semi-pro sideshow?

Like Mike Matheny?

[GreenSox]

I have no interested in a has-been manager with no history of success. Of course some managers who haven't won much are still capable and understand the proper decisions to make and can execute them...they may have just had teams that lacked talent.

A young manager with fresh thinking who has been sitting at the side of a successful manager should work.

No more insiders; no forcing legacy coaches on a manager.

[Andy the Clown]

Like Mike Matheny?

 

The exception to the rule is a weak argument. A.J. Hinch is a more common outcome.

[oldsox]

The exception to the rule is a weak argument. A.J. Hinch is a more common outcome.

Where did Hinch go after he left Dbacks?

[Chicago White Sox]

I wonder when the Sox will try to pass Rios and some of these other guys through waivers.

 

If I were Hahn, I'd do so sooner rather than later. I just think the earlier you put a guy on waivers, the more likely he is to clear.

[Andy the Clown]

Where did Hinch go after he left Dbacks?

 

Hanging out with KW at Stanford reunions?

[southsider2k5]

I wonder when the Sox will try to pass Rios and some of these other guys through waivers.

 

If I were Hahn, I'd do so sooner rather than later. I just think the earlier you put a guy on waivers, the more likely he is to clear.

 

I'd be shocked if they weren't already out there.

[ChiSox59]

I'd be shocked if they weren't already out there.

 

Indeed.

[cabiness42]

I wonder when the Sox will try to pass Rios and some of these other guys through waivers.

 

If I were Hahn, I'd do so sooner rather than later. I just think the earlier you put a guy on waivers, the more likely he is to clear.

 

I would think Rios/Dunn/Ramirez/Danks/Lindstrom/Keppinger will all be on waivers very soon if they haven't been put there already.

 

[Dick Allen]

I think ultimately if someone claimed Rios, the Sox would let the other team have him. They may try to buy a good prospect for him (kick in some money), but if that fails, they will do what the Blue Jays did. They could then use that money to bring in a different type of personality either through trade or free agency.

Edited August 5, 2013 by Dick Allen

[cabiness42]

I think ultimately if someone claimed Rios, the Sox would let the other team have him. They may try to buy a good prospect for him (kick in some money), but if that fails, they will do what the Blue Jays did. They could then use that money to bring in a different type of personality either through trade or free agency.

 

The Yankees are the only team with the need and the money to claim Alex, and having the money is somewhat dependent on how the ARod situation pans out. There's a very high chance that he clears waivers, but I think if some other team was really interested in him, he'd have gotten moved already.

 

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

Nelson Cruz and his 27 HR's will be accepting his suspension thereby saying bye bye to his team mates for the season and showing he's more interested in free agency. Rangers inactivity to get a hitter at the deadline makes no sense. Kiss playoffs bye bye and window of opportunity to be a champion.

Edited August 5, 2013 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[Dick Allen]

Some more minor names getting suspended. How many Ryan Brauns are out there? The guys who are juicing but publicly rail against it? I bet there are at least a few on every team.

[PorkChopExpress]

The Yankees are the only team with the need and the money to claim Alex, and having the money is somewhat dependent on how the ARod situation pans out. There's a very high chance that he clears waivers, but I think if some other team was really interested in him, he'd have gotten moved already.

 

This is the interesting part of waivers, though. You never know which teams might take a chance on him if all they have to do is pick up salary and not give up prospects. And there's the whole "blocking" side of waivers that makes it more interesting. For instance, if Nelson Cruz gets suspended, the Rangers are going to need to fill that spot with someone other than Craig Gentry if they want to contend. They could really use Rios. But the A's could use him too. Reddick sucks this year. Assuming Rios could clear waivers, the A's could run up the price on Rios to try to keep him from going to the Rangers. But the Rangers could claim him and prevent the A's from ever getting the opportunity.

 

Also, I'm not sure how much intradivision trading talk went on, but everyone gets the chance to put in a waiver claim. And Rios is an upgrade over Drew Stubbs for the Indians, and Andy Dirks for the Tigers. That's a tight race, and with the new wild card format, teams really want to win the division instead of risking the one game playoff for the wild card spot. I could see either of those teams putting in a claim. It remains to be seen whether the Sox would let him go to a division rival, especially since he'll be there next year as well, but I'm just spitballing here.

 

Then there's the National League. Everyone knows the Pirates are interested to some degree, but right now, the Cards and the Reds are behind them. They could put in a claim to prevent the Pirates from doing so and risk getting stuck with Rios' salary. But the Reds could sure use him, and he's likely an improvement over Jay for the Cards, although he would have to go back to CF.

 

And the Dimondbacks could use him. Ross is OK, but Rios is probably better, and Kubel sucks. But the Dodgers might want to interfere with that and they could absorb the contract. He's better than Ethier.

 

Anyway, like I said, this is all pure specualtion, but as time gets shorter to the end of the season, and races get tighter, interesting things develop, and teams are looking for any edge. You never know. Some people still think we wound up with Rios in the first place because Kenny tried to block the Tigers from getting him. I don't remember hearing a lot of rumors about getting him via trade that July.

 

[cabiness42]

This is the interesting part of waivers, though. You never know which teams might take a chance on him if all they have to do is pick up salary and not give up prospects. And there's the whole "blocking" side of waivers that makes it more interesting. For instance, if Nelson Cruz gets suspended, the Rangers are going to need to fill that spot with someone other than Craig Gentry if they want to contend. They could really use Rios. But the A's could use him too. Reddick sucks this year. Assuming Rios could clear waivers, the A's could run up the price on Rios to try to keep him from going to the Rangers. But the Rangers could claim him and prevent the A's from ever getting the opportunity.

 

Also, I'm not sure how much intradivision trading talk went on, but everyone gets the chance to put in a waiver claim. And Rios is an upgrade over Drew Stubbs for the Indians, and Andy Dirks for the Tigers. That's a tight race, and with the new wild card format, teams really want to win the division instead of risking the one game playoff for the wild card spot. I could see either of those teams putting in a claim. It remains to be seen whether the Sox would let him go to a division rival, especially since he'll be there next year as well, but I'm just spitballing here.

 

Then there's the National League. Everyone knows the Pirates are interested to some degree, but right now, the Cards and the Reds are behind them. They could put in a claim to prevent the Pirates from doing so and risk getting stuck with Rios' salary. But the Reds could sure use him, and he's likely an improvement over Jay for the Cards, although he would have to go back to CF.

 

And the Dimondbacks could use him. Ross is OK, but Rios is probably better, and Kubel sucks. But the Dodgers might want to interfere with that and they could absorb the contract. He's better than Ethier.

 

Anyway, like I said, this is all pure specualtion, but as time gets shorter to the end of the season, and races get tighter, interesting things develop, and teams are looking for any edge. You never know. Some people still think we wound up with Rios in the first place because Kenny tried to block the Tigers from getting him. I don't remember hearing a lot of rumors about getting him via trade that July.

 

Sure, a lot of teams could use Rios, but none of them aside from the Yankees (and maybe the Rangers) can afford the possibility of getting stuck with his entire contract on a waiver claim. I don't think anybody is going to put in a blocking claim.

[witesoxfan]

I really don't think the Yankees can either. I'm not entirely certain of how luxury tax problems work, but I'm guessing that, if the Yankees assuming Rios' contract, they will be stuck with his full luxury cap hit this year, even if they only pay 1/3 of his salary. Pretty sure $12.5 mill puts the Yankees over the luxury tax, so they can't afford him either. Even if that's not the case, it's still another $4+ mill at this point plus another $12.5 mill next year against the tax too. On top of that, I'm quite sure the Rangers could afford him if necessary.

 

All that said, I think he will clear waivers, if he hasn't already.