Alex Gordon Thread

[caulfield12]

Good info. Thanks.

 

Without stirring up the too frequent crap you take about the "Royals fan" thing, your specific info simply buttresses what the industry wide feeling seems to be about the Royals. They love Gordon; they'll pony-up (to a point); but there's only so far they're going to go, given his age, and given their overall situation. Put simply, they have bigger fish to fry.

 

That's why there is something of a unique opportunity here. The Sox (or another team) can swoop in, better the in-house offer by a significant margin, while still getting an excellent all-around player at something close to the market-price for his WAR. Yes, they'll pay a premium above the Royals price. Makes sense that he'll need to be pried away from his comfort zone. Fine. Pay it. He'll still be a relative bargain (even if you have to go 5 years -- if it makes you feel better, think of it internally as the first 4 years of the 5 year deal at the higher 4 year price, invest the savings, and the 5th year price for a diminished performer somehow is less offensive to our delicate sensibilities).

 

I say go for it. Market inefficiency there to be exploited. And it's all the better because Gordon's overall basket of skills is better for what THIS team, OUR team, needs. Maybe not the high ceiling in one or two categories that Upton or Cespedes might provide, but strong scores in so many areas.

 

I'm here many years as Cy Acosta and have only posted ~150 times (lurked from 2002/2003 with no account as well). Don't post that often because (a) I prefer reading other's opinions, and (b) I generally only offer my opinion if it's something I feel strongly about. I'm not going to keep flogging this horse, you know. It's personal opinion, armchair GM'ing. If I were Hahn, I'd do X. Well, allowing for the factor that RH certainly has access to a lot of hard info that I'm not privy to that might better inform his subjective opinion, I know that if I were Sox GM, I'm all about locking-up the all-around player Gordon -- reaping the benefit of his defense, left-handedness, all-around strong offensive game, fire on the field, supposed quality in the clubhouse -- then pocketing the savings over an Upton or Cespedes signing for more moves later this year or next year.

 

You're absolutely right with your last paragraph...and always have strong insights.

 

Wish you'd post more.

 

The White Sox, Tigers and Indians all have to make their moves now...before Minnesota's young talent starts to blossom and they have the revenues to add some more overall pitching talent along with the young Berrios to take over the division in 2017 and beyond.

 

There are just not enough FA difference-makers (the headline OFer will be an aging Carlos Gomez next year at this time) and they absolutely would be insane to wait two more years...until after 2017.

 

For the moment, we don't have enough young talent in our system to make any more significant trades and still hold on to Anderson and Fulmer. Sacrificing a draft pick for Dexter Fowler would be idiotic. Can't afford to keep messing up with second tier option like Shark, LaRoche and Cabrera. Finally, the long-promised/projected Latin American pipeline is still multiple years from bearing real fruit.

Edited December 24, 2015 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

Ya Hosmer and Moustakas are gone. The royals are f***ed soon. That's why they need to keep gordon. You have like a 2 year window. I also have a feeling Perez is going to break down badly for them.

 

 

Which is precisely why a long term deal from their perspective makes no sense.

 

They will be competitive barring injuries the next two seasons.

 

And they will essentially have nothing but Ventura, Perez, Herrera and Duffy to build around beginning in 2017...at least 2-3 players short, if not more.

 

And with Perez, they do have consecutive club option deals for 2017-19 for that very reason/legit concern.

[SoCalSox]

Talking with Hayes right now & he's just cherry picking.

 

I have no idea why he seems to be the only Sox media member that is hell-bent on the Sox not landing an OF bat.

[Sockin]

FWIW raBBit is saying Gordon is the Sox top target and they are in the process of extending an offer. Sox are surprised that they're that they're this far along with him but aren't sure that he's in yet.

 

https://twitter.com/ChiSoxraBBit/status/680058757322244097

https://twitter.com/ChiSoxraBBit/status/680058757322244097

https://twitter.com/ChiSoxraBBit/status/680064910890373120

[ChiSoxFanMike]

FWIW raBBit is saying Gordon is the Sox top target and they are in the process of extending an offer. Sox are surprised that they're that they're this far along with him but aren't sure that he's in yet.

 

https://twitter.com/ChiSoxraBBit/status/680058757322244097

https://twitter.com/ChiSoxraBBit/status/680058757322244097

https://twitter.com/ChiSoxraBBit/status/680064910890373120

Does he have connections within the White Sox organization or is he just speculating like the rest of us?

[Sockin]

Does he have connections within the White Sox organization or is he just speculating like the rest of us?

 

He has connections. He's a mod here and was saying they were in in Frazier before beat writers were talking about it.

Edited December 24, 2015 by Sockin

[shipps]

Does he have connections within the White Sox organization or is he just speculating like the rest of us?

 

rabbit is the man. You can trust he has great sources. Def not just speculating.

[Whisox05]

FWIW raBBit is saying Gordon is the Sox top target and they are in the process of extending an offer. Sox are surprised that they're that they're this far along with him but aren't sure that he's in yet.

 

https://twitter.com/ChiSoxraBBit/status/680058757322244097

https://twitter.com/ChiSoxraBBit/status/680058757322244097

https://twitter.com/ChiSoxraBBit/status/680064910890373120

 

Not trying to knock anything but been skeptical on rabbit. Said before Sox were in serious talks with reds on catcher then Sox got navarro. Also said that the Heyman thing with sox still heavily involved in talk with Reds for Frazier was cooled off then next day Sox trade for him.

[SoCalSox]

He has connections. He's a mod here and was saying they were in in Frazier before beat writers were talking about it.

 

Not to mention he called Lawrie weeks before it happened.

[greg775]

Supposedly Gordon wants to stay in the Midwest badly. Can't blame him for that. It's all he's known and he's in his 30s now. It would be a shock if the Sox would pay what it takes to get a guy as old as Gordon, however. It doesn't make much sense considering the Sox history of getting older free agents who flop. I'd love his glove no matter what he hit, though.

 

I can't imagine him wanting to play in KC that many times as a member of the Sox, but maybe he doesn't care about suddenly being the enemy.

Edited December 24, 2015 by greg775

[SoCalSox]

Not trying to knock anything but been skeptical on rabbit. Said before Sox were in serious talks with reds on catcher then Sox got navarro. Also said that the Heyman thing with sox still heavily involved in talk with Reds for Frazier was cooled off then next day Sox trade for him.

 

Nothing wrong with being skeptical, especially in the sources game but what I can tell you is that he's been pretty much right on with everything he's said.

 

The Frazier trade happened out of nowhere. Not sure anyone really expected it & from what I've read, it came together very quickly.

[Bob Sacamano]

Not trying to knock anything but been skeptical on rabbit. Said before Sox were in serious talks with reds on catcher then Sox got navarro. Also said that the Heyman thing with sox still heavily involved in talk with Reds for Frazier was cooled off then next day Sox trade for him.

 

And? Teams can have serious talks and have nothing happen between them. Just because they didn't get a Reds catcher doesn't mean talks weren't serious.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

So if they add Gordon, lineup looks something like:

Eaton CF

Gordon LF

Abreu 1B/DH

Frazier 3B

Cabrera RF (for now)

Lawrie 2B

LaRoche (DH/1B, get him here more to improve defense)

Platoon C

Saladino SS

 

[SoCalSox]

So if they add Gordon, lineup looks something like:

Eaton CF

Gordon LF

Abreu 1B/DH

Frazier 3B

Cabrera RF (for now)

Lawrie 2B

LaRoche (DH/1B, get him here more to improve defense)

Platoon C

Saladino SS

 

That's not a bad lineup at all, IMO.

 

Couple that with the pitching staff & they are in pretty good shape.

 

Biggest worry I have is in 2017, what do they do at DH? Then again, I always jump too far ahead & that's not that topic at hand.

[maggsmaggs]

That's not a bad lineup at all, IMO.

 

Couple that with the pitching staff & they are in pretty good shape.

 

Biggest worry I have is in 2017, what do they do at DH? Then again, I always jump too far ahead & that's not that topic at hand.

Hope someone from the system has become ML-ready by then and move Melky to DH.

[Whisox05]

And? Teams can have serious talks and have nothing happen between them. Just because they didn't get a Reds catcher doesn't mean talks weren't serious.

 

National media was already linking Sox to navarro as soon as flowers was let go.

[caulfield12]

That's not a bad lineup at all, IMO.

 

Couple that with the pitching staff & they are in pretty good shape.

 

Biggest worry I have is in 2017, what do they do at DH? Then again, I always jump too far ahead & that's not that topic at hand.

 

Cabrera...

[SoCalSox]

Hope someone from the system has become ML-ready by then and move Melky to DH.

 

They've got some OF depth, so that could end up happening I suppose.

 

From what I see out of this team right now, they have a two year window before they potentially lose 3 starters (Frazier, Lawrie, Melky), so I guess the time is now.

[SoCalSox]

National media was already linking Sox to navarro as soon as flowers was let go.

 

He named Mez as an interesting option. I never once recall him saying "The Sox are in on him".

 

It's tough sometimes to decipher opinion from actual info from sources but I can honestly say I never remember him saying they were in on Mez.

Edited December 24, 2015 by SoCalSox

[BlackSox13]

Not trying to knock anything but been skeptical on rabbit. Said before Sox were in serious talks with reds on catcher then Sox got navarro. Also said that the Heyman thing with sox still heavily involved in talk with Reds for Frazier was cooled off then next day Sox trade for him.

The SOX have been talking with the Reds all off season so its possible the Reds wanted too much for their catcher and the Sox moved on.

 

Frazier: Hahn confirmed the Sox were involved talks between the Dodgers and Reds in the busted Chapman trade and after that talks cooled. Hahn also mentioned that the weekend before the Frazier trade talks had cooled between the Sox and Reds due to the Reds not liking the package the Sox were offering. The Monday before the trade, Hahn and the Dodgers GM had been talking and that's when negotiations re-opened between the three teams. The Dodgers package made acquiring Frazier possible. Essentially the Dodgers traded for Frazier because the Reds liked the Dodger offer better and in turn the Dodgers flipped Frazier to the Sox.

 

Given that the trade talks were such a roller coaster ride, its easy to see how raBBit was saying different things but in reality he was updating the roller coaster ride as it was happening. I'm not saying raBBit is always right, nobody is, but he has done a pretty good job of keeping Sox fans informed on the latest and is much more reliable as a source than the usual suspects like Merkin and Hayes.

Edited December 24, 2015 by BlackSox13

[SoCalSox]

Biggest thing to remember with raBBit, Bucket, Rock, etc is that each FA/Trade situation is highly fluid and can change on a dime. Just because they get one piece of info that doesn't exactly line up with the end product, doesn't discredit them or make them "fake" or "incorrect".

 

I've had it happen multiple times with Bears info.

[Bob Sacamano]

Biggest thing to remember with raBBit, Bucket, Rock, etc is that each FA/Trade situation is highly fluid and can change on a dime. Just because they get one piece of info that doesn't exactly line up with the end product, doesn't discredit them or make them "fake" or "incorrect".

 

I've had it happen multiple times with Bears info.

 

This times a thousand and I tried to explain that but didn't word it well I guess.

[southsider2k5]

Biggest thing to remember with raBBit, Bucket, Rock, etc is that each FA/Trade situation is highly fluid and can change on a dime. Just because they get one piece of info that doesn't exactly line up with the end product, doesn't discredit them or make them "fake" or "incorrect".

 

I've had it happen multiple times with Bears info.

 

This post should be pinned somewhere and put on repeat.

[SoCalSox]

This times a thousand and I tried to explain that but didn't word it well I guess.

 

The "sources game" can suck man. Most don't understand how it all works, so when you're right, you're king but when you're wrong, you're an asshole. LOL.

 

It's all part of the game I suppose but for people who just relay it as a courtesy to fans & not because they are getting paid to do it, it gets stressful & somewhat off-putting when people slam them or troll them. (Not saying that is the case here, just as a general statement).

[shipps]

Biggest thing to remember with raBBit, Bucket, Rock, etc is that each FA/Trade situation is highly fluid and can change on a dime. Just because they get one piece of info that doesn't exactly line up with the end product, doesn't discredit them or make them "fake" or "incorrect".

 

I've had it happen multiple times with Bears info.

 

Exactly.

 

But haters are going to hate.