Finding a #2 hitter

[SCCWS]

I was thinking this earlier today too. I would love an infield of Abreu, Micah Johnson, Semien and Davidson.

 

They might be very good offensively but awful defensively. The knock so far on Davidson and Johnson is defense and we shall see w Semien as a SS and Abreu as a 1B.

 

[caulfield12]

Also should point out that if the White Sox want to spend bigger money on a guy on a multiple year deal to fill their DH spot, Sandoval is an obvious option as well.

 

 

I think Sandoval ONLY makes sense if he's injured for most of the season...and they can come in and buy on a dip, like the Orioles with Nelson Cruz coming off the PED's stuff. Or like how we were able to bring in Dye and AJ coming into 2005.

 

You definitely don't want another Dunn or Keppinger deal, buying at their peak value.

 

A 2 year contract with an option for a 3rd, based on meeting a set of statistical criteria. But that's more of a pipedream than reality at this point, with Sandoval knowing a healthy season is probably going to lead to a $100+ million contract from SOMEONE being 28-29 and the best hitting option on the market, along with Headley and Rasmus.

Edited April 4, 2014 by caulfield12

[Chicago White Sox]

If JDA is what I'm hoping he is, we don't need a guy to carry the entire offense. We need a lefty to hit behind him and do some damage. Pretty much any of those names would look ok hitting 5th in our lineup if they were healthy. An upper .700's OPS, 15+ HR, and the ability to drive in 75+ runs in a full season's equivalent would work pretty darn well there.

 

The guy wouldn't even need to play every day, if the team was deep enough you could easily slide one of the righties into that slot on days when there's a lefty on the mound.

Balta, we're going to a need a DH that provides a hell of a lot more than an OPS in the "upper 700's" for this team to take the next step. Even if Abreu is an offensive force, he can't carry this offensive alone. We'll need a second legit power bat for the middle of the lineup and that guy isn't likely to come internally.

 

People complain about every free agent being too old or too expensive, but the reality is we'll have money to burn next offseason and holes that can't be filled from within. If we're serious about competing, we'll have to take some gambles in free agency. I like the V-Mart idea if he has another productive year, but I think we have to seriously consider Sandoval. Maybe he ends up getting some ridiculous offers, but he's one of the few left-handed impacts bats that will only cost us money.