7:57pm: A White Sox official suggests to Bob Nightengale of USA Today that any prior efforts to pursue Desmond are not likely to prove fruitful, saying: “that ship has sailed.” (Twitter link.)
3:14pm: The White Sox are among the clubs considering Ian Desmond, tweets Jon Heyman. The fit between the two sides has long made sense, on paper, but there’s been little reported that has suggested genuine interest from Chicago’s end of the matter.
Desmond rejected a qualifying offer from the Nationals and, as such, would require the Sox to forfeit the No. 28 overall pick in the draft, which they received as compensation for the loss of Jeff Samardzija to the Giants (Samardzija rejected a qualifying offer of his own). Notably, that pick would creep up to No. 27 overall were the Orioles to sign Yovani Gallardo, as is rumored to be likely. GM Rick Hahn has recently talked about the value of that pick to the White Sox, but the Sox do have a protected first-round selection at No. 10 overall, which would leave them with at least one premium selection and a sizable amount of slot money accompanying that pick even in the event that a deal with Desmond ultimately comes together.
Adding Desmond to the fold for the White Sox would allow the team to use Tyler Saladino — a strong defender at multiple infield positions but by most accounts a light bat — in a utility capacity next season. Saladino was brilliant in the eyes of defensive metrics (+12 DRS, +5 UZR) in a tiny sample of 477 innings, but he batted just .225/.267/.335 in 254 trips to the plate. Desmond, of course, had the worst season of his career at the plate, but he did rebound after a terrible first half by slashing .262/.331/.446 after the All-Star break. His escalating strikeout rate is a cause for concern, but Desmond would bring considerably more offensive upside to the table than would Saladino. And, while his defense was highly questioned after a bizarre start to the 2015 season that saw him make eight errors in 12 games, he righted the ship for the remainder of the season. While his 19 errors across his final 143 games were still higher than a team would like to see, that’s a far more passable rate than that which he showed early in the year. Desmond may never be a standout defender, but he’s been adequate at the position by measure of defensive metrics.
Desmond would be the third right-handed bat added to a White Sox lineup that has already acquired Todd Frazier and Brett Lawrie via trade this offseason. Despite their hitter-friendly home park, the White Sox ranked 28th in all of baseball with 622 runs scored last season. Hahn and his staff have placed a clear emphasis on bolstering the lineup in an effort to support a rotation fronted by a potentially elite trio of Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Carlos Rodon, and the fact that they addressed the back of their rotation with a low-cost flier on Mat Latos ($3MM) would seem to leave money for a run at Desmond.
Desmond makes too much sense for the white sox, they also need an outifelder .
sign him and trade for either sounds like a plan
Gentlemen: heres the issue, Sox have a plethora of overrated outfielders in minors, all of MLB knows their farm system sucks. for whatever reason, we can only draft pitching. Eithier is too old to sign at this point, may as well give Avi another shot. If Fowler comes down from the 15m + he is seeking take a run at him for 2 yrs. As far as Desmond, they dont want to block their version of Ripken(sarcastic) in Anderson? Most of us Agree Desmond and Fowler would make sense and good use of the “window” they have with Sale Abreu! Farm system building only works if and when you draft WELL, They dont and until, JR starts paying 2016 prices for FA, this club will always be in the middle of the draft( ie; they dont have to break bank on draft) and will always do just enough to create some buzz but not go the distance as far as acquiring talent necessary to make a good sustainted run at playoffs. Ventura….sorry he should’ve been gone 2 seasons ago? My take…exhausted reading about rumors that never materialize!
Sounds like a plan but I’m not to excited about this pick, seems like the typical NL moving, high strikeout, bad defense type of player the Sox have too many of. The alternative isn’t much better but I’d rather them trade for any SS than Eithier, but I still think OF is the main concern. We’ll see though, the Sox need to do a lot to make me believe that they’re contenders after the past 10 seasons.
They got a protective spot now go get Fowler and Desmond for two years on the cheap .ASAP
sign Desmond trade for either sounds like a great plan
Sign him to a 1 year contract for a stop gap for tim anderson, then trade for either if it don’t cost fulmer. then the white sox can make some noise
Sadly, there’s the little matter of the Dodgers not being interesting in trading Ethier getting in the way …
No sign & trades.
Unless Desmond or Fowler are going to play for food stamps for 1 year, all the evidence points to the Sox avoiding any player w/ a QO tag this offseason. The Sox seem set on making 3 picks in the first 50 of this draft. IMO, they will sign Jackson or keep their powder dry and make a trade(s) between now and the deadline if they are in the hunt.
I think desmond would be a perfect fit until anderson is ready, and a leader in the clubhouse
sox to make one more try before jerry kicks bucket. wouldnt surprise me if they actually signed him. infield would be formidable offensively. bombs away
Infield power on the White Sox would be pretty loud if they grab Desmond. Theoretically with Desmond all 4 players should clear 20 bombs with Frazier and Abreu in the 30+ range. That’s an impressive offensive infield if you ask me
Do you see Lawrie as a 20-HR guy? I wouldn’t bet on that, but their infield would still look pretty good, agreed.
He hit 16 last year in a pitchers park, so 20 in one of the better power parks isn’t really stretching things.
@Michael seeing how last season was his first full season w/o injury and he put up 16 in Oakland it’s a possibility if he’s healthy so with that being said yeah, I do see Lawrie clearing 20 in Chicago. I would be pretty shocked if he falls under 15 but I’m expecting 18-23 range for him playing in Chicago. If he can hit somewhere in the 245-265+ range with the defense he showed in TOR then he could be a much larger upgrade and steal than people are currently labeling him. Should be a fairly good season for him
His defensive numbers at 2B aren’t that good though. His value there was at 3B.
He has yet to play even a 100 games at 2B so there is room for improvement, especially since his D in TOR for 3B was borderline plus. His offensive output at 2B will be more valuable at 3B though so it’s kind of a trade off of offensive output v. defensive performance
The White Sox should offer Ian Desmond a reasonable short term contract with a player opt-out following the 2016 season. There is a good chance he would be amenable to such a deal, especially with a perceived contender like the White Sox who play their home games in a “hitter-friendly” venue, along with few better options available to him this late in the off-season. He could take advantage of the opt-out with a good season and still be the premium free agent shortstop in next winter’s FA market. This is a player, who despite a sub-par 2015 season, has still averaged 31 doubles, 22 HR’s, 77 RBI’s, 20 SB’s and a 3.23 WAR over the past 4 seasons. Desmond is still just 30 years old, nearly as durable as former SS Alexei Ramirez was and most importantly is still a slightly above average MLB defender at the position…at least based on dWAR which had him with a career high 0.9 metric in each of the past two seasons.
Tyler Saladino can then become the backup SS as well as a valuable reserve who can play the other 3 infield positions when needed. What do the White Sox have to lose other than a portion of cash that was already earmarked for one of the three premium free agent OF’s they missed out on, along with the #28 compensatory draft pick they received for the Jeff Samardzija FA signing? Seems like a minimal cost for a former All-Star shortstop who has also won 3 silver slugger awards and is still in the prime of his career. It would also give the White Sox a starting infield capable of hitting 90-120 HR’s in 2016. The general formula for the White Sox reaching the postseason since the Cell has opened is 200+ HR’s to go along with solid pitching. Signing Desmond and adding one more impacting OF like FA Dexter Fowler or one of the “reported” trade targets might just punch their ticket back to the playoffs in 2016.
If the White Sox sign all three of Desmond, Fowler, and Austin Jackson I will change my mind on their offseason.
2 out of 3 of those players
Keep the draft pick, we need one or two left handed bats.
Reinsdorf probably doesn’t want to go “all-in” again after the 2011 debacle. They did bounce back in a weak division during 2012 with pretty much the same team, but still fell short.
Unless Fowler or Desmond sign a similar deal to Kendrick, I think they’ll take their chances with what they got. They’re already at last year’s payroll level. Sox fans aren’t coming out unless they win first, and Jerry won’t spend unless they’re winning.
” …Jerry won’t spend unless they’re winning.”
Conversely, the White Sox likely won’t win unless Jerry’s spending. (lol)
bryant or frazier? rizzo or abreu? arietta/lester or sale? who is better?
I’d take the Cubs on all three, but maybe I’m just buying into the hype.
bryant over frazier
Abreu over Rizzo
Sale tied with arrieta
Lester over Sale would be delusional
Bryant at 3rd, Could be either one at 1st, and Sale without a doubt….
Bryant, Rizzo and Sale.
Frazier for now, he’s really Bryant’s upside but much better defensively. In a few years it’ll switch.
Abreu’s been in the league two years, and both years he was statistically better than Rizzo.
Lester isn’t even in this argument. Sale/Arrieta comes down to whether you think Arrieta is the best pitcher in baseball based off his final six weeks before the playoffs. Otherwise, Sale wins easily. It’s a toss up.
Bryant has a way higher ceiling than what Frasier has done so far.
.260 hitter with 30-40 homer potential isn’t beyond what Fraizer has done.
Cubs fans kind themselves and think the guy is Mike Trout or Bryce Harper, but not with that hole in his swing. No scout has ever thought that about him, despite what the Cubbie hype machine might proclaim. His comparables have always been guys like Troy Glaus, who hit for great power but have serious contact issues.
Bryant pretty easy, now and the future. Rizzo and Abreu a wash offensively, one is a 1B the other a DH playing 1B. Sale easily over Lester, Arietta a little closer but still Sale.
Either keep both the comp pick from the Giants for signing samardzija and use 3 top 50 picks to invest wisely in future assets. Or sign Desmond and fowler and kiss comp pick and next pick goodbye. Would be very stupid to just sign one of them. I’m not sure if they can put out qualifying offers on either if they were to sign on a one year deal, especially if granted an opt out??
Grienke just opted out and had a qualifying offer attached with him, so shouldn’t matter here as well.
If I were white sox I would get Dexter Fowler, He would be cheap, has good speed, good fielder, and very high OBP
Desmond maybe, but hits for low average, a lot of k’s and not great fielder.
Not Eithier because he would be the White Sox highest paying salary, and to get him white sox would have to give up Avi or a prosepct.
Austin Jackson would be good, hits for good avg, good speed, would be cheap, and he is not attached to a qualifying offer, which is good for sox who need to upgrade farm system for after abreu and sales contracts are up.
Ian Desmond would contribute no more than laroche did last year
Talk about “apples and oranges”. Jeesh
It’s funny how one bad season can ruin the perception of a player. 2014 for Chris Davis was horrific – this year he was the cats pajamas. Aj burnett was bad in his last season in ny, and the. Absolutely killed it the following year with the Pirates. Russ Martin went from a shooting star with the Dodgers to getting claimed on the waiver wire, putting together a good season or two and then signing a fat contract with the jays.
Desmond is the sox chance to cash in. Sign him for 3 years and try not to go over 45 mil. The sox have a glaring need at ss. One of the top ss of the last few years craps the bed going into free agency. This is a no brainier. If the team doesn’t make the playoffs, you won’t be able to say that this was the singing/transaction that sunk the ship. If he bounces back – you are a genius. The sox have a window – sale. Abreau, eaton, Quintana, and Robertson are a good start. Frazier supplements it. Lawrie has the talent. Go for it.
I like the way you think.
His K rate going up to 28% and 29% the last two years could be from him trying to hit more homers going into free agency. I don’t see much of him so National fans would know better. If the Sox can get a contract they can live with, they probably should do it. Saladino won’t cut it.
Sign Austin Jackson and keep all three top 50 picks
All in last time was Adam Dunn. Desmond much different. Would be the undeniable leader on the field. Sox need. And Jackson over Fowler for me.
Terrible idea. Keep the pick and build the farm system.
They haVe no idea how to develop a farm system. The scouting department and player development are pretty stupid.
I hope nobody fell for the bs about how good their farm system is. Anderson, Saladino, and Sanchez are as bad as I thought if they sign Desmond. The Chicago Browns, sox, can’t develop any position. They’re lucky they’ve stunk so bad and were able to draft college pitchers early. Any one could make their 1st round draft when they’re drafting that high. How Williams and Hahn have kept their jobs I don’t know.
Why would you think Anderson is bad when he’s been included in almost every reputable Top MLB prospect list available for the last two years?
williams and hahn firmly in jerrys stable, thome in stable, baines cooper robin all in jerrys stable. stuck with them. and my picks are frazier abreu sale
A White Sox official suggests to Bob Nightengale of USA Today that any prior efforts to pursue Desmond are not likely to prove fruitful, saying: “that ship has sailed.”
That ship ought not sail until Ian Desmond is officially signed. If he agrees to a contract for anywhere near the years and dollars projected at the onset of free agency then the White Sox should wish him well. If he ultimately agrees to an affordable short term contract, perhaps with a player-opt after the upcoming season and the White Sox pass, then shame on them. Time will tell…and very soon at that.
Btw-My preference would be for the White Sox to make their best effort to trade for Javier Baez of the Cubs. He is a legitimate 4-5 tool shortstop that would also profile very favorably at other positions including power ones like 3B and corner OF in the event that #1 prospect Tim Anderson can actually develop into a MLB quality defensive player. Of course the rub with Baez is that Cubs would likely demand a starting pitcher like Jose Quintana or Carlos Rodon in return for him, also realizing that they would need to up the ante with an additional player or high level prospect in order to make such a deal feasible. A potential trade of Quintana for Baez and right-handed starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks might be doable.
Substituting Avi out of the everyday player equation certainly improves win chances for this team and should be their top priority over signing a SS.
I don’t see Saladino to be very problematic in the SS spot with what he’s shown defensively so far. I mean, dude has only 68 pro games on his resume so far. His bat could improve slightly, and his S.O. rate (small sample) is lower than Desmond’s (who seems to progressively S.O. more) by 8%. Perhaps save the cash and ride out Saladino for a while until the kid is ready.
White Sox really need to just focus on fixing the Avi dilemma with a better fielder in any form they can. Improve the fielding defense. One can only have faith that this team will NOT repeat their dismal offensive stats from last season. There’s no way, right?
last season cub was dangling baez for a bullpen arm. maybe we can work somwthing out for baez to play ss.
That ship has sailed too.
Glad we didn’t sign him
Enough already. Tired of the Fowler and Desmond to the Sox discussion already. Seriously, let it go. People carry on as if these are two stellar all star caliber guys who’ll put ’em over the top towards the playoffs. They’re ok but not top shelf by any stretch. The Sox would be just as good if they got Jimmy Rollins and Austin Jackson for a year. They’d spend less and keep all their draft picks.
Please follow this, and hear me out…
If the Sox had signed Desmond, before The Shark signed with the Giants would the Giants have only had to give up the pick after their #28, since they didn’t own it at the time??
Or is the forfeited draft pick calculated after all the players with Q.O. have been signed and all of the picks have been figured out??
I’m genuinely curious, and I don’t know how this works, PLEASE someone enlighten me!!
It’s “calculated” after the dust has settled from all the signings before the draft.
But as it stands,right now, Sox 1st round pick is protected because it is in top 10. They pick up a comp pick for losing Shark, but will lose that pick if they sign Desmond. If they sign Fowler, too, they lose their 2nd round pick.
Giants lose their 1st round pick for signing Shark as it is not protected.
It is getting old with the press pushing all these White Sox rumors that never materialize. Let’s add Desmond to Cespedes, Upton, Gordon, etc. Stop until you really have solid information.
The press will put out most of what they hear. Agents and clubs know that. They will use reporters to spin things any way they want.
There in lies the problem.
I still think it would make sense for the Sox to pursue Markakis for a left handed bat to play right field. He would be a more adequate defender than Garcia as well as a consistent hitter. I think the Braves could work out some kind of deal involving Micker Adolfo. The White Sox would benefit from having a decent hitter right behind Eaton and then followed up by some good power in Abreu, Frazier, and then decent hitting from Laroche/Garcia (DH), Melky & Lawrie.
Markakis is a light hitting 32 year old outfielder that’s horrible on defense and making $11mil/yr for the next 3 years. Hahn isn’t stupid enough to give up legitimate assets for that (I hope). The Braves aren’t getting someone like Micker; they’d be lucky to get 2 guys ranked in the 12-20ish range for him.
Not a markakis fan. but he did get 181 hits last year. 139 were singles. the man can hit and would be better than laroche or garcia. but money and contracts get in the way. sox need hr runs hits, if the guy can play defense should be an afterthought right now.
Who cares? Sox are horrible.
Keep the pick, stock the farm system, that’s what MLB excitement is all about these days!!!! Double AA woooooooooooo
No