Gordon Beckham

[oldsox]

His BA is sinking fast. Down to .264.. What happened? Now looks like the .300 - hitting Gordo that we saw recently is just a figment of our newton. My question is what value an arbitrator will put on Beckham, because I don't see the Sox volunteering tp pay what they would have had he kept hitting. That said, if his slump continues, they will probably keep playing him. This year end slump has to cost him a lot of money.

[2nd_city_saint787]

I'd like to believe the first few months of Gordo are what we'll get more consistently in the future but given his track record I have my doubts.

 

I've never really liked the words "in his prime" but the one thing he's got going for him is he's "going into his prime"..."I won't cuss" if he's brought back and Semiens given another half a year in the minors, but I also "won't cuss" if he's gone and we see Semien starting from day 1.

 

Oh, and I have no clue what he'll be worth money wise lol.

[southsideirish71]

His BA is sinking fast. Down to .264.. What happened? Now looks like the .300 - hitting Gordo that we saw recently is just a figment of our newton. My question is what value an arbitrator will put on Beckham, because I don't see the Sox volunteering tp pay what they would have had he kept hitting. That said, if his slump continues, they will probably keep playing him. This year end slump has to cost him a lot of money.

 

The timing of his wrist injury as well as other injuries that he has went through this year came at a bad time. He looked pretty good start the year and I agree its going to cost him. I however am not ready to hand the job over to the next prospect. We have been woo'd in the past by good to great September numbers. Lets see how it all shakes out over time. Right now its still a cost controlled great defensive 2nd baseman. 3rd base to me is my primary concern.

 

 

[Balta1701]

Just to throw it out there, wonder if Gordon's thrown in the towel completely on the year. It's not like the guys around him are trying hard, why should he?

[TaylorStSox]

I'm just amazed that people that have been watching him every day for 4 years still believe that he's magically going to learn to hit and that he's a "great defensive 2nd baseman." I'm not sure what I'd do with him at this point. He has no trade value. He still hasn't produced. I'd probably move him to 3rd because his glove plays better there, but his bat sure as hell doesn't. He's nothing more than a stop gap.

[LittleHurt05]

Just to throw it out there, wonder if Gordon's thrown in the towel completely on the year. It's not like the guys around him are trying hard, why should he?

 

Because his 2014 salary depends on it?

[TaylorStSox]

Just to throw it out there, wonder if Gordon's thrown in the towel completely on the year. It's not like the guys around him are trying hard, why should he?

A busted prospect who should be fighting for his MLB life is throwing in the towel? I highly doubt it.

[Balta1701]

I'm just amazed that people that have been watching him every day for 4 years still believe that he's magically going to learn to hit and that he's a "great defensive 2nd baseman." I'm not sure what I'd do with him at this point. He has no trade value. He still hasn't produced. I'd probably move him to 3rd because his glove plays better there, but his bat sure as hell doesn't. He's nothing more than a stop gap.

I woulnd't move him to 3rd, but you're right on the use of the "Stop-gap" phrase.

 

He wouldn't be the first guy to figure out hitting at age 27, but he ought to be viewed as a stop-gap right now. He'll be first year arb this offseason, this stretch at the end of the year is a good reason not to extend him. He's been slightly better this year, so offer him arb-1 this year, he gets $2.5 million or so for next year, he goes to ST as the incumbent 2nd baseman, and we play until someone steals the position from him by destroying Charlotte.

[TaylorStSox]

Semien's not too far off and I'd try to find a way to get L. Garcia more AB's. I'm generally fine with good defensive middle infielders that can't hit, but they better be ++defenders or steal bases. Beckham doesn't really do anything exceptionally well outside of turn the double play.

[Balta1701]

Semien's not too far off and I'd try to find a way to get L. Garcia more AB's. I'm generally fine with good defensive middle infielders that can't hit, but they better be ++defenders or steal bases. Beckham doesn't really do anything exceptionally well outside of turn the double play.

Just remember the example of Josh Phegley when discussing how far away Semien's bat might be from contributing.

[TaylorStSox]

Just remember the example of Josh Phegley when discussing how far away Semien's bat might be from contributing.

I never believed in Phegley. You can just look at their swings and tell Semien is on a different level of prospect.

[elrockinMT]

Beckham will be the starting second baseman for the Chisox in 2014. You heard it here first!

[Eminor3rd]

Gordon is a below average ML player. You just keep him until something better comes along, then you drop him right away. The payroll is so low now that his arbitration raise is no problem to eat for the sake of some stability. If I had to guess, I'd say 2014 will be his last year with us.

[Soxfest]

GB is what he is a very average easily replaceable second baseman.

[Chicago White Sox]

I woulnd't move him to 3rd, but you're right on the use of the "Stop-gap" phrase.

 

He wouldn't be the first guy to figure out hitting at age 27, but he ought to be viewed as a stop-gap right now. He'll be first year arb this offseason, this stretch at the end of the year is a good reason not to extend him. He's been slightly better this year, so offer him arb-1 this year, he gets $2.5 million or so for next year, he goes to ST as the incumbent 2nd baseman, and we play until someone steals the position from him by destroying Charlotte.

Gordon was a 1st year arbitration player this year and is making roughly $3M. Next year he's looking at $4.5 to $5M, so you only bring him back if he's your legit starting 2B. That's way too much money for a potential utility infielder if you think someone could realistically overtake him at some point in 2014.

 

I think Hahn will definitely deal one of Ramirez & Bekcham to open up a spot for Semien. Probably the easiest way to improve the team's OBP.

[Steve9347]

His BA is sinking fast. Down to .264.. What happened? Now looks like the .300 - hitting Gordo that we saw recently is just a figment of our newton. My question is what value an arbitrator will put on Beckham, because I don't see the Sox volunteering tp pay what they would have had he kept hitting. That said, if his slump continues, they will probably keep playing him. This year end slump has to cost him a lot of money.

Gordon Beckham sucks. This is an undeniable fact.

[NorthSideSox72]

People talking about Semien, using positions like... Septmeber numbers... or look at Phegley... are missing the boat. Semien's profile and time through the minors have been very different than Phegley, and how he's doing in MLB in September is just icing on the cake with him. He looks like a major league hitter to me, and it was just 3 months in AAA that told me that.

 

The question is, will he be good defensively at 3B? If so, you can start him there right now. If not, you have more difficult choices to make.

 

[Chicago White Sox]

If so, you can start him there right now. If not, you have more difficult choices to make.

Do we? I wanted to believe in Beckham earlier this year, but he's shown he is what he is. It sucks and maybe he finally figures it out one day (doubtful), but we've done our due diligence with him and I think it's clear he should not be part of the long-term core. Sure, he can be a useful fill-in at 2B for a team with a big hole at the position, but I don't think it would be a hard decision to let him go, not if he's going to make $5M next year.

 

And Ramirez is a solid player, but his lack of OBP and power are part of two major team-wide problems. At some point, we have to move some of these guys if we're going to improve the lineup. Don't get me wrong, Alexei would make a nice #9 hitter on most teams, just not ours. If we could move him and get anything of value (i.e. more than a pure salary dump), I would do that deal in a heartbeat because we already have a replacement in-house and we'd have even more money to upgrade other areas of the team.

 

As for 3B, I think we need to look for a long-term solution there. If we have to trade a young starter, that's the position I'm targeting. I just think Semien is too good of a prospect to use as a fill-in at 3B. I think we pretty much have to open up a middle infield position to improve the offense and get younger.

[Balta1701]

Do we? I wanted to believe in Beckham earlier this year, but he's shown he is what he is. It sucks and maybe he finally figures it out one day (doubtful), but we've done our due diligence with him and I think it's clear he should not be part of the long-term core. Sure, he can be a useful fill-in at 2B for a team with a big hole at the position, but I don't think it would be a hard decision to let him go, not if he's going to make $5M next year.

 

And Ramirez is a solid player, but his lack of OBP and power are part of two major team-wide problems. At some point, we have to move some of these guys if we're going to improve the lineup. Don't get me wrong, Alexei would make a nice #9 hitter on most teams, just not ours. If we could move him and get anything of value (i.e. more than a pure salary dump), I would do that deal in a heartbeat because we already have a replacement in-house and we'd have even more money to upgrade other areas of the team.

 

As for 3B, I think we need to look for a long-term solution there. If we have to trade a young starter, that's the position I'm targeting. I just think Semien is too good of a prospect to use as a fill-in at 3B. I think we pretty much have to open up a middle infield position to improve the offense and get younger.

Unfortunately, Marcus can only play 1 of those 3 positions at a time.

[elrockinMT]

Unfortunately, Marcus can only play 1 of those 3 positions at a time.

 

 

But, Balta he has played in like four games so isn't that enough to anoint him the next Sox savior? Listening to some folks you have to agree he must be able to play at least 2 of the 3 positions- at the same time I might add- cause he hit a couple singles.

[Eminor3rd]

Gordon was a 1st year arbitration player this year and is making roughly $3M. Next year he's looking at $4.5 to $5M, so you only bring him back if he's your legit starting 2B. That's way too much money for a potential utility infielder if you think someone could realistically overtake him at some point in 2014.

 

I think Hahn will definitely deal one of Ramirez & Bekcham to open up a spot for Semien. Probably the easiest way to improve the team's OBP.

 

$5m is about market rate for a 1 WAR player. There's nothing wrong with a 1 year, market rate contract when your payroll is $50m below where it usually is.

[Rowand44]

Unfortunately Beckham is a bad hitter, that's just a fact at this point. His elite glove makes it hard to just give him up but Semien needs to play somewhere next year and it should be one of the middle infield positions.

[Balta1701]

Unfortunately Beckham is a bad hitter, that's just a fact at this point. His elite glove makes it hard to just give him up but Semien needs to play somewhere next year and it should be one of the middle infield positions.

I'll keep repeating it as long as people keep saying what you just said.

 

His glove isn't elite. It just isn't.

 

He's somewhere around average. Doesn't have a lot of range, turns a good double play, is a good fit next to Alexei because Alexei covers a lot of ground. His range has actually gone down quite a bit if you look at his year over year numbers as well.

[Eminor3rd]

I'll keep repeating it as long as people keep saying what you just said.

 

His glove isn't elite. It just isn't.

 

He's somewhere around average. Doesn't have a lot of range, turns a good double play, is a good fit next to Alexei because Alexei covers a lot of ground. His range has actually gone down quite a bit if you look at his year over year numbers as well.

[Dick Allen]

I'll keep repeating it as long as people keep saying what you just said.

 

His glove isn't elite. It just isn't.

 

He's somewhere around average. Doesn't have a lot of range, turns a good double play, is a good fit next to Alexei because Alexei covers a lot of ground. His range has actually gone down quite a bit if you look at his year over year numbers as well.

He has been playing with a bad quad for over a month. I think the Sox will bring him back and he has shown for stretches he can hit. He has been banged up this year. If he can stay healthy, IMO, he will put up good numbers. Can he stay healthy is a good question though.

Edited September 16, 2013 by Dick Allen