MAILBAG: What Type Of "Blockbuster" Should The White Sox Make This Winter?
We're on to 2022, and if you want to believe Bob Nightengale (which you should on something like this), then we are at a big ol' fashioned standoff between the players and owners to kick off the new year:
Which should come as a shock to nobody. The players want to better the game, the owners want to live in the Stone Age. I'll get into that more as the offseason goes on, but as a whole, MLB owners SUCK ASS. That's just a fact. But there's still only around 44-45 days until pitchers and catchers are *supposedly* reporting. That's nothing. These next 6 weeks are a brutal stretch but the end is nigh... hopefully.
Without there being any MLB or, more specifically, White Sox news to break down I figured let's conjure some up via a little mailbag.
Danny - I said this in my prior mailbag, but I don't think the White Sox have the prospect capital to make a blockbuster right now. You'd almost assuredly have to deal from the MLB roster with Vaughn/Kopech being sent away to get a stud return that would qualify as a blockbuster. Maybe both even. That said, I said at the start of the offseason that I'd deal Vaughn+++ for Ketel Marte of Arizona. He's an absolute stud and fills multiple holes:
1. LH (switch hitter)
2. 2B
3. Young
And did I mention he's a stud? I am the leader of the Andrew Vaughn fan club but there are just too many players of his mold on this team. Abreu, Eloy, Sheets, Grandal to an extent, etc. etc. etc. Vaughn I would assume has the highest value of all of them so he'd be the headliner in a deal for a dude who's one of the most underrated, yet awesome MIFs in baseball.
Beside that, nothing really makes much sense to me as far as "blockbuster" trades go. Maybe the Phillies wanna trade Harper to us lmfao!
Psyche
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I want a combination of good defense and the ability to obliterate RHP from the White Sox RF in 2022 and beyond. Ya know who fits that mold? Not Nick Castellanos. He's a great hitter, but he's more of the same from Eloy, Vaughn, Abreu, etc - a bat first defensive liability that should be DH at best, 1B at worst.
He fits just about any roster in baseball well aside from the White Sox IMO. He's great, and I wouldn't really bitch if he were acquired, but again… more of the same. Need better balance. That's why I'm all for the White Sox throwing whatever bag they need to at Conforto. He's a better defender, provides better balance to the lineup, is younger AND wouldn't cost as much… I don't think.
Hello Kevin, nice to hear from you. Let's go down your list 1x1:
1. If the White Sox are worried about Kimbrel's 1 year deal impeding their spending on other free agents while their SMACK DAB in the middle of their World Series "window", then jerry reinsdorf should immediately be forced to sell the team because he doesn't actually care about winning. That said, I do think he bounces back… hopefully… but I still think he's dealt. I'm cool if they keep him and I'm cool if they deal him.
I liked the deal at the time even though it didn't work out. Win some/lose some.
2. Hate this idea. I know he's still young in terms of age, but he's also got over 2000 plate appearances against MLB pitching under his belt. He's a vet in baseball years and at this point, he is what he is. That's the sort of move I think a rebuilding team should make; buy low and give a guy a change of scenery, hope he blossoms, trade him for dollars on the penny that you got him for. The White Sox should be looking for a SURE THING to fill their RF spot. Not a wild card.
3. We saw the horror stories about him being a cunt in the clubhouse. I know that the FO consults the players on acquisitions where character issues may come into play, and if they don't want a guy near their clubhouse, the FO won't trade/sign them. That's the sign of a healthy organization though. I have no idea if the stories about McNeil are over embellished or even true, but if the White Sox players don't want him, the White Sox won't go after him and I love that. They have a GREAT clubhouse right now and that only helps when trying to win. They're a band of brothers.
4. This is how I see it: let Dallas be the expensive ass innings eater this year. They won't let him sniff the 160IP where his option vests but they need at least one back end guy. Might as well let it be Keuchel. The Tigers are still a year away (though they'll be a huge pain in the ass in 2022), the Tribe and Twins are dead, and the Royals are playing for 2023+ as well. There's no reason the White Sox shouldn't win the division with extreme ease in 2022 again, unless injuries derail everything. The 5th starter doesn't mean dick in the playoffs, so let Keuchel go and get shit on (or bounce back) in 2022 then wipe your hands of him in 2023 and beyond.
Geo-Lynn-Cease is a great start. Then you gotta get 400-450IP out your next 3 guys: Kopech, Keuchel and a trade/FA signing. I'd LOVE for them to reacquire Chris Bassit. I don't think he'd cost a boat load and the A's are open for business. He'd provide a guaranteed solid 150+ innings and the White Sox are in desperate need for quality innings from a guy who's currently not on the roster. Kopech and Keuchel are too big of wild cards to pencil them into 25-30 starts in 2022 right now. Need to look outside the org to fill in the gaps.
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I'm gonna guess you're around 19-20 years old, live in one of your parents houses (they're divorced), and attend your local junior college. That's the only type of person that could possibly bored enough to take the time write this painfully unfunny email to me.
If it weren't for your potato loving and disgustingly mick name, I'd assume you're a greasy little gabagool that roots for the Yankees and is mad that I speak truths about them, but whatever. Have fun trying to join the local pipe fitter's union to no avail, loser!
Norge Vera. I asked around a bit on him a little after the season ended and a few scouts are VERY high on him. Expect him to sit comfortably in top 100 prospect rankings soon enough. He's tall, lanky, throws 100, and has awesome command for being a young buck. If everything clicks for him and he stays healthy, he could be a TOR starter.
BUT… there is a ton of variance with kids as young as him, pitchers especially, so he might not ever make it to The Show at all. Total wild card, but his ceiling is absurd. Vera, Montgomery and Kath are the three prospects to really watch this year. A Reds scout told me that Kath looked great in the AZL and Montgomery is as tooled up as can be. People bitch about the sox system being bad… It's not what it was, but it's not as bad as people make it to be either. It's middle of the pack and there are at least a handful of guys to really watch with a microscope this summer.
We'll do this again once the offseason is over. Hopefully they can get this shit wrapped up soon because a winter without painstakingly obsessing over a bunch of acquisitions that the White Sox won't make in the end is no winter at all. It's hell on earth.