The White Sox agreed to sign John Danks to a five-year, $65MM extension yesterday. MLBTR has you covered if you’re wondering what the deal means for similar pitchers, trade candidates and Danks himself. Here are more details from around the AL Central…
- The White Sox may be “in strong” on Yoenis Cespedes, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. One White Sox person forcefully told Knobler "we are not rebuilding," despite Kenny Williams' statements to the contrary.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski confirmed to James Schmehl of MLive.com that the team didn't submit a bid on Yu Darvish.
- The Twins, who announced a one-year, $3MM deal with Jason Marquis today, likely have $1-2MM remaining for a relief pitcher, tweets Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN.
Beckham, Viciedo, Lillibridge, Humber, Molina, add Cespedes. Not proven, but that’s a lot of promising youth to build on for a team with Chicago’s ability to add pieces. And in the AL Central, as well.
Beckham is a flop, Lillibridge is 28, Phil Humber is 29, and they probably won’t be able to afford Cespedes when you factor in the Danks contract and that ownership wants to cut payroll. I like Viciedo and Molina, but let’s not pretend that the rest of them have a large upside.
Beckham is the best 2nd baseball defensively in the AL. If he can hit for close to average he will be more than servicable. Its far to early to declare him a “bust”. Its not his fault that the entire city of Chicago set such unrealistic expectations.
The Sox have a pretty strong infield defensively. Maybe the Sox know something we don’t when it comes to why Rios and or Dunn had such bad years last year.
I can agree with that, but he doesn’t apear to be the superstar that people expected a couple of years ago.
Humber overachieved in the first half and is in his prime. He isn’t going to be that good.
Lillibridge is a career .220 hitter and also in his prime. He’s not good, either.
He has certainly fallen off of that “superstar” moniker he was given his rookie year, but that might be part of it too. MLB Network even projected him to be the best 2B of the decade (2010-2019).And Ozzie may have been some of the problem since Ozzie was constantly belittling Beckham when he first got called up saying “This kid is not our savior. If we are relying on him, we are in big trouble”. While I get he was trying to take pressure off of him, he at the same time was not putting much confidence in him either.
Maybe Ventura can bring out the best in Beckham, because he leash is getting short (despite his great defense)
Also being drafted as a short stop, moved to 3rd called up. Looked comfortable at 3rd( should have stayed) then moved to second( never played there) all in a two and a half year span didn’t help. Also with Ozzie consistently moving him up and down in the line up he never had a consistent place to hit probably hurt him( accounts for Alexis down offensive year as well)
Beckham is frustrating, but he shouldn’t be written off yet. Especially given the field position he plays. In my mind, it’s actually been him that has been the make or break the past few seasons. The Sox could really use some above average offense at that position. It would atleast offset underperformance at another position.
Beckham is 24 most products just now make it to the bigs let alone have 2 years service time. Lilibridge was never given enough at bats and prooved his bat can play and his glove is awesome. Perfect super utility guy. Humber is a solid #5 and might regress might not we will never know because this was his first true shot. And danks contract won’t hurt at all with all the money
Coming off over the next 3 years b
Not sure I’d have Lillibridge in there and Humber is a question mark for sure…but yeah.
“One White Sox person forcefully told Knobler “we are not rebuilding,” despite Kenny Williams’ statements to the contrary.”
Let me guess, the head of sales?
Being stuck in the middle is the best way to keep winning 78 games a year…
I’ve never understood the rebuild concept that has been tossed around the White Sox. They still have quite a few big unloadable contracts. They also had some players vastly underperform last year and nearly finished .500.
That is true. If Dunn and Rios rebound, this could be a formidable team.
On the flip side, pitching was a strength last year and it may regress this year. Buerhle is gone. Humber way overachieved in the first half last year. The closer position is up in the air. Sale and Zach Stewart at the back of the rotation doesn’t inspire much confidence.
I’m not sure any team can ever be comfortable with their pitching staff in this age. Pitching is so risk prone. The closer role doesn’t bother me as much. Not stating that it’s not important…just that I feel it’s an easier hole to fill in the longterm.
I’d, actually, like to see the Sox add an arm. My concern isn’t so much for replacing Buehrle’s stats…as much as it is for replacing all the innings he tossed.
The White Sox aren’t nearly as bad as they are being drawn up to be. There’s also some time between now and April. I’m guessing there’s a strong likelihood the complexion of the team changes even further. Quentin might get sent out…Cespedes signed…etc.
you don’t know much about chris sale, then. stewart isn’t in the rotation.
If they aren’t rebuilding, I’d love to hear that Santos deal explained.
Watch santos tape from aug-sept once teams figured out that slider he got quite vulnerable
false. he struck out 17 per 9 in august, over 15 per 9 in september. 0.45 FIP in august with a 0.98 ERA
september was bad because he gave up 6 HRs. when you’re still striking out 30% of the batters you face, that’s not getting figured out. that’s just a really rough patch (an 8.2 inning patch, to put it in perspective)
Agreed. I was still quite happy preparing for him to trot out in the 9th inning next season. I wasn’t filled with any sense of impending doom.
Santos was an attractive piece to other teams that yielded Kenny Williams at worst an equal return on his investment. Santos’s later year salary was every bit of $8 MM, not exactly a bargain
i think the simpler explanation is addison reed
It’s actually easier. Traded a reliever for a starter….
It’s be interesting to see how some of the trades get made. I think on the outside we see these deliberate processes playing out. Maybe the GM’s just get bored and itchy sometimes. Or depressed.
I’m picturing Kenny Williams on the Dan Ryan getting cut off and spilling his java all over his lap. He’s mad…so he stomps up to the office and says…”Oh hell, let’s rebuild today! Gloria…get the Anthopoulas on the phone.”
The Santos trade had nothing to do with rebuilding. Its not a rebuilding move, just a regular GM-meeting baseball trade.
Trade away a closer for a potential middle
Of the rotation or possibly better young starter also they have Santos’ replacement in reed who along with a great fast ball has a very good slider( I think I know he has one other plus pitch it may not be a slider though). Any time you can trade a reliever when you already have his replacement ready and get a starter in return it’s a good baseball
Move.
Easy. Bullpen pieces are expendable and replaceable. Mid-rotation starters are not.
“We are not rebuilding! We are going to ride this quality lineup and sign more players just like this while we compete!” Shut up and rebuild.
If they get Cespedes, it is obvious they are trying to retool, not rebuild. Quentin will probably be traded sometime soon.
Makes sense. The White Sox are not the Astros/Mets/A’s. There is some legit talent and their farm is relatively strong. They’re not far enough away to call it a full rebuild. Plus, it’s the Central division. So there’s that in their favor.
If by “relatively strong” you mean awful then yes…
They are not deep this is correct but they have a few decent prospects. They have a few good looking starter prospects a ton of bullpen aces and have a legit ss prospect in Escobar and a legit 2nd base prospect in Kuhn. Also a ton of out field depth. Do they have the gooses, monteros, lawries of the world no but they have good pieces in areas of need.
“a few decent prospect” sure, but each farm system has “a few decent prospects” and usually a few great ones too. The Sox, do not. Escobar is only legit defensively. I doubt he is ever more than just a utility bench player who comes in for defense. Kuhn COULD be a solid player, but he is a little bit of a wild card, and a guy without a position. Could be a Brent Lillibridge type, which wouldn’t be bad at all.
Relatively strong when compared to one or two other teams in the league, maybe.
White Sox farm system is downright awful. Outside of Reed (who will be promoted), Nestor Molina seems to be the only good prospect anymore. Sure, a lot of this has to do with aggressive promotions, but they are one of the weakest farm systems in baseball.
Knobler makes more things up as he goes along than any other reporter out there.
damn you Jack, don’t you realize they’re trying to build Lil Havana, must you ruin our dreams?
This caught me by surprised when I read the first three words. I was laughing by the end, though.
And Dream-ruiner is my middle name: Jack Dream-Ruiner Tigers. It says a lot about how my parents felt about me when I was born.
Alexi is highly regarded in Cuba and dyan was a stud there. They have just as good a shot at cepedes as anyone else. Plus with peavy coming off the books (20 mill). Aj(10 I believe) possibly trading Quentin( saves another 8 maybe more) trading Thornton( frees another 10+ over two more season) the sox could easily afford
Him. Also in 2 yes konerko is
Gone( vicedio most likely moved to 1st, Dunn is gone in 3 and rios in 4 I
Believe. So the sox have a ton of money coming off in the next few years. With morel, beckham, sale, de aza, vicedio, alexi, all being cheap for the next few years and danks locked up with some decent pitchers in the pipe line there is no reason to think they can’t afford him. Find someone to take rios even eating 75% of his contract that’s even more saved.
Who cares if Ramirez and Dayan are from Cuba? Are you friends with every American?
It’s no secret that people tend to flock to and indentify with those who are just like they are, especially in a foreign country. If you went to China, you are MUCH more likely to hang around American’s there than you would the local folk. The Sox having Viciedo and Alexei DOES give them a leg up, assuming Cepedes is not just going to take the highest offer.
Evidently Cubans only flock to the southside of Chicago.
More like Pierzynksi’s countrymen.
you say that as if it’s a problem
Considering they were teammates on the Cuban national team for years and are both highly regarded in the Cuban baseball community by fans and fellow players. Yes they might have some pull in the sox signing
Him. I didn’t mean it as they are from the same country the sox will sign him I meant it as they were all team mates they could sway him to the sox….
Per Cot’s baseball contracts, Peavy 17 (ouch) and AJ 6 million. And don’t most teams have a ton of money coming off the books in 4 years?
No the Yankees or bosox. All kidding aside the sox are one of the few teams that have 20+ off the books next season maybe more if they trade Quentin, Floyd, and Thornton…
how can trading away quentin, floyd and thornton not be looked at as rebuilding. And not saying you said this but rios did not have an off year but more like a pretty common year to the one’s he has had since signing that big contract extention in toronto. Dunn should bounce back though. I hope the white sox never actually start rebuilding but just keep trading away their farm system every year and I will just laugh at it because the chi sox dont seem to realize their problem is KENNY WILLIAMS and they wont every fire him
White Sox are trying to rebuild with a bunch of average players. You guys can have Beckham and Danks, ill take Verlander and Cabrera
very keen observation…
There is no need to be douchey about it. I dont think anyone will argue that Detroit was a much better team than Chicago this season. But considering that you probably wont get another year like that from Verlander, Boesch, Avilla or Peralta I would hold the trash talking to a minimum. Yea Miguel is a stud and Verlander was the best pitcher in baseball this year but were not talking about the ’27 Yankees here. I wouldnt sleep on Danks just yet either. I will admit my patience is wearing thin on Beckham but the fact that he is such a solid fielder buys him “growth time”. You are discounting players that havent hit their peaks yet and comparing them to seasoned pros. Not really comparable.
My Sox fan friends won’t say that Detroit was a better team. They blame it all on Guillen. “He quit on the team.”
Ok, Ill take Avila/Boesch and Fister over Danks and Beckham
I wouldn’t. You are comparing guys who had career years vs. guys who had awful years. Danks and Beckham has a lot higher ceiling and potential than Avila/Boesch/Fister, although I am a big fan of Avila.
Really? You would take them over Danks? Boesch probably wont ever be able to put together a full season of production. I think Avila will be good but not all star potential. And Fister? Come on man dont be a homer… I said Verlander and Cabrera was awesome. How about some love for Danks? And I would take Beckham over any of your 2B flunkies based on his glove alone.
Whos the White Sox closer? Or Ace? If your comparing 1 position that happens to be the least important position in baseball saying you have a below average player and we have even worse players, then Ill compare Valverde to Sale (I think) or Verlander to Humber/Danks/Floyd. Avila not all star potential? Who started the all star game for the AL this year?