Open Letter to RH

[daa84]

this was a terrible deadline to be sellers at. I don't know for sure and don't care enough to look it up, but it sure feels like so many more prominent players (especially pitchers) were available at this deadline than at most (Samardjiza, Lester, Lackey, Price, Lee, Hammels, peavy). The fact of the matter is that Danks is an over paid average pitcher who doesn't have the same stuff he had pre-surgery.

 

Furthermore, who in the world is actually going to give us something of value for beckham? He has barely been better than replacement level for the better part of 5 seasons now - that is who he is.

 

Viciedo, while still young, is another guy who has barely been above replacement. He's not even an average defender, let alone one whose defensive impact trumps his offensive shortcomings.

 

As for Dunn, another example of a guy who you simply can't trot out to play the field in the middle of a pennant race. That limits him to the 14 remaining AL teams, many of which who have DHs, or NL teams looking for a pinch hitter, and who is going to give anything of value especially at Dunn's price for a pinch hitter?

 

De Aza - really, do i even need to say anything?

 

The only hope to get something resembling a decent return (i.e. at least 1 legitimate prospect) was to package ~3 of the guys above and pick up an enormous amount of the salary.

[chitownsportsfan]

this was a terrible deadline to be sellers at. I don't know for sure and don't care enough to look it up, but it sure feels like so many more prominent players (especially pitchers) were available at this deadline than at most (Samardjiza, Lester, Lackey, Price, Lee, Hammels, peavy). The fact of the matter is that Danks is an over paid average pitcher who doesn't have the same stuff he had pre-surgery.

 

Furthermore, who in the world is actually going to give us something of value for beckham? He has barely been better than replacement level for the better part of 5 seasons now - that is who he is.

 

Viciedo, while still young, is another guy who has barely been above replacement. He's not even an average defender, let alone one whose defensive impact trumps his offensive shortcomings.

 

As for Dunn, another example of a guy who you simply can't trot out to play the field in the middle of a pennant race. That limits him to the 14 remaining AL teams, many of which who have DHs, or NL teams looking for a pinch hitter, and who is going to give anything of value especially at Dunn's price for a pinch hitter?

 

De Aza - really, do i even need to say anything?

 

The only hope to get something resembling a decent return (i.e. at least 1 legitimate prospect) was to package ~3 of the guys above and pick up an enormous amount of the salary.

 

De Aza and Viciedo can be traded perhaps for more value in the offseason. Maybe they are waiting to see how Avi bounces back before making a decision on what the future OF will look like.

 

Beckham should be DFA and I'm almost sure Dunn will get moved in a post-deadline trade.

[RockRaines]

Could get Marcus some valuable major league at bats. I wasn't in a rush to just dump Dunn and especially not Danks but I would have liked to see Gordon moved.

Yeah but I dont see that hurting the big league club at all. We are rebuilding and dont HAVE to move these guys quite yet even though WE would like to see them moved.

[Dick Allen]

Do you think something is going to dramatically change with Gordon in a month?

Most likely nothing dramatic, but a bounce back to me is probable, and what is the rush to call up Semien when his results are a mixed bag. IMO, there really is no reason to call up Semien unless he is on a roll or rosters expand.

[greg775]

They don't need FULL salary relief, but if they could get someone to pay half of Danks' salary for example, that would be a major win.

 

The Danks hate grows old. Who cares if he's a bit overpayed? The Sox payroll is very cheap once Dunn's contract finally, mercifully runs out. Danks is a valuable member of the rotation moving forward IMO. Obviously nobody wants Beckham and Dunn. Case closed. I can't blame Hahn for being unable to dump those stiffs.

[Baron]

Most likely nothing dramatic, but a bounce back to me is probable, and what is the rush to call up Semien when his results are a mixed bag. IMO, there really is no reason to call up Semien unless he is on a roll or rosters expand.

 

So there's no reason to keep him at all

[Chicago White Sox]

If Semien were tearing up AAA, I would agree even though I am a Beckham fan. He's not, and he showed earlier despite some huge hits, he needed more seasoning. If something comes along in the next month where you can get something for Beckham, fine. If not, wait until rosters expand and get him some time. Things change in 30 days sometimes.

Semien has a .813 OPS, which would be top 20 in the International League if he qualified, despite a BABIP 50 to 60 points his career average. His K & BB rates are both very strong and his ISO has actually improved this year. He's ready for a call-up by every metric but batting average, which again is depressed by bad luck.

 

I'm sorry but Beckham flat out sucks and offers us nothing going forward as he will not be on this team in 2015. Now is the time to move on and give one of our THREE potential replacements a two month audition and hopefully get through some of their growing pains. Also, as bad as Semien was earlier this season, Beckham has somehow been worse despite years of "seasoning". Think about that for a minute and then us why we should give Beckham another month of at-bats.

[chitownsportsfan]

Semien has a .813 OPS, which would be top 20 in the International League if he qualified, despite a BABIP 50 to 60 points his career average. His K & BB rates are both very strong and his ISO has actually improved this year. He's ready for a call-up by every metric but batting average, which again is depressed by bad luck.

 

I'm sorry but Beckham flat out sucks and offers us nothing going forward as he will not be on this team in 2015. Now is the time to move on and give one of our THREE potential replacements a two month audition and hopefully get through some of their growing pains. Also, as bad as Semien was earlier this season, Beckham has somehow been worse despite years of "seasoning". Think about that for a minute and then us why we should give Beckham another month of at-bats.

 

 

Good post. I kinda think they are playing service time games with Marcus and I don't really blame them this team is going nowhere in '14 and that extra year of control counts. Someone got a rundown on how close he is to super 2 ?

Edited July 31, 2014 by chitownsportsfan

[BPK]

Semien has a .813 OPS, which would be top 20 in the International League if he qualified, despite a BABIP 50 to 60 points his career average. His K & BB rates are both very strong and his ISO has actually improved this year. He's ready for a call-up by every metric but batting average, which again is depressed by bad luck.

 

I'm sorry but Beckham flat out sucks and offers us nothing going forward as he will not be on this team in 2015. Now is the time to move on and give one of our THREE potential replacements a two month audition and hopefully get through some of their growing pains. Also, as bad as Semien was earlier this season, Beckham has somehow been worse despite years of "seasoning". Think about that for a minute and then us why we should give Beckham another month of at-bats.

 

This. If they do the right thing and non-tender him this winter, then move him as fast as you can for whatever it may be. If you're lucky enough to get a lottery ticket or two, phenomenal. If not, at least you're giving at bats to guys who could be important the next time we're ready to compete for something meaningful. As it stands, we have nothing to gain from keeping him in the organization any longer.

[southsider2k5]

He could dump Beckham's sorry ass at least. What a joke this deadline was.

 

DFA the sorry sonf of a b****

 

Why? Because you don't like the guy? That is literally the worst reason possible.

[southsider2k5]

Ultimately I think Dunn, Beckham and ADA end up DFA'd. I just don't see any takers. I know I wouldn't want them.

 

As for the deadline, not too surprised since the Sox were essentially trying to acquire something for pretty much nothing.

 

None of those three will be DFA'd. None. Gordo and ADA might be non-tendered at the end of the year. That is as close as it would come.

[cabiness42]

None of those three will be DFA'd. None. Gordo and ADA might be non-tendered at the end of the year. That is as close as it would come.

 

De Aza is almost certain to be non-tendered. He's not enough of an upgrade over Jordan Danks to justify the salary difference.

 

I would think Beckham still has a tiny chance of turning things around before the end of the season and avoid being non-tendered, but very tiny.

[cabiness42]

This. If they do the right thing and non-tender him this winter, then move him as fast as you can for whatever it may be. If you're lucky enough to get a lottery ticket or two, phenomenal. If not, at least you're giving at bats to guys who could be important the next time we're ready to compete for something meaningful. As it stands, we have nothing to gain from keeping him in the organization any longer.

 

It doesn't work like that. If you non-tender him, he becomes a free agent, and you don't get anything for him, not even a lottery ticket.

[Rowand44]

De Aza is almost certain to be non-tendered. He's not enough of an upgrade over Jordan Danks to justify the salary difference.

 

I would think Beckham still has a tiny chance of turning things around before the end of the season and avoid being non-tendered, but very tiny.

De Aza actually has a track record of being a good hitter though, there's probably more of a chance for him to turn it around than there is for Gordon.

[BlackSox13]

None of those three will be DFA'd. None. Gordo and ADA might be non-tendered at the end of the year. That is as close as it would come.

I guess we will find out. Barring the miracle of trades, I just don't see why the Sox wouldnt .

 

I was looking at Bacon and Semien's stats on baseball reference and there very very little difference between what Semien gave the Sox and what Bacon is doing now. Difference is Semien could be gaining valuable experience while giving the Sox literally the same production.

[Feeky Magee]

Gordon sucks balls but he is having some BABIP bad luck. Might as well see does he regress to the mean a bit before August 31st I guess.

[chitownsportsfan]

I guess we will find out. Barring the miracle of trades, I just don't see why the Sox wouldnt .

 

I was looking at Bacon and Semien's stats on baseball reference and there very very little difference between what Semien gave the Sox and what Bacon is doing now. Difference is Semien could be gaining valuable experience while giving the Sox literally the same production.

 

Yea but other than getting Marcus more MLB experience (a worthy goal but not critical) there really isn't much upside to DFA Beckham. You're gonna eat the rest of his pro-rated salary and get nothing, not even salary relief or a A ball reliever, in return.

 

Better to just put him waivers and hope some team claims him and you can work out a deal. If nobody claims him then just non-tender him in the offseason.

 

Same thing applies to Dunn, except some team might acually bite on him.

Edited August 1, 2014 by chitownsportsfan

[cabiness42]

I guess we will find out. Barring the miracle of trades, I just don't see why the Sox wouldnt .

 

I was looking at Bacon and Semien's stats on baseball reference and there very very little difference between what Semien gave the Sox and what Bacon is doing now. Difference is Semien could be gaining valuable experience while giving the Sox literally the same production.

 

When you DFA somebody, you pay them 100% of the salary they are owed but don't play for you. The only reason you do this is because you absolutely positively need their roster spot for somebody else. If the Sox decide they really want Semien to start playing over Beckham, they can option LGarcia to the minors, or perhaps Paulie gets a mystery DL trip until rosters expand September 1. Beckham is still hitting lefties very well, and if nothing else, he can platoon with Gillaspie at 3B.

[BlackSox13]

When you DFA somebody, you pay them 100% of the salary they are owed but don't play for you. The only reason you do this is because you absolutely positively need their roster spot for somebody else. If the Sox decide they really want Semien to start playing over Beckham, they can option LGarcia to the minors, or perhaps Paulie gets a mystery DL trip until rosters expand September 1. Beckham is still hitting lefties very well, and if nothing else, he can platoon with Gillaspie at 3B.

How can we expect Connor to hit lefties if he's platooned with Beckham? Now that's taking experience away from Connor and I'm sure we all agree Connor could use the at bats against lefties. Connor has improved over last season. Connor has an actual future with the Sox but not with Bacon.

 

This team is rebuilding so it makes sense to get your future players at bats and not the has beens. Holding onto Beckham, ADA and Dunn gains nothing.

Edited August 1, 2014 by StRoostifer

[southsider2k5]

I guess we will find out. Barring the miracle of trades, I just don't see why the Sox wouldnt .

 

I was looking at Bacon and Semien's stats on baseball reference and there very very little difference between what Semien gave the Sox and what Bacon is doing now. Difference is Semien could be gaining valuable experience while giving the Sox literally the same production.

 

As a professional baseball organization, there is no good reason for them to give away players that they are still paying. If we had superior replacements available, that would be one thing. We don't.

[Vance Law]

Same thing applies to Dunn, except some team might acually bite on him.

 

Dunn will be moved (assuming the Sox don't go on a big winning streak). He has an .858 OPS in 300+ PAs this year against righties. That is a lot better than most baseball players.

Edited August 1, 2014 by Vance Law

[chitownsportsfan]

Dunn will be moved (assuming the Sox don't go on a big winning streak). He has an .858 OPS in 300+ PAs this year. That is a lot better than most baseball players.

 

Well his ops is down to 812 but by 2014 standards that's still pretty good.

[Vance Law]

Well his ops is down to 812 but by 2014 standards that's still pretty good.

 

I corrected mine. It's his OPS against righties

[BlackSox13]

As a professional baseball organization, there is no good reason for them to give away players that they are still paying. If we had superior replacements available, that would be one thing. We don't.

I'll just go ahead and agree to disagree.

[daggins]

Becks DFA

Dunn waivered

Danks keep