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By Tim Dierkes | at
Email a copy of 'Offseason In Review: Chicago White Sox' to a friend
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Hiro
The Eaton trade alone, I give the White Sox an A overall.
bigjonliljon
Agreed but I say an A overall. Will be interesting when Q gets traded to Dee the haul they add
RunDMC
Last sentence of the White Sox offseason review: “What’s your take on the Braves’ winter?”
If this is subtle insinuation of a Quintana-to-ATL trade, I’ll give you props when the time comes.
CJ 6
I love the question regarding my feelings about the Braves’ offseason at the end of this article. [edit obviously required]
But in all seriousness, I give them an A. A Quintana trade in the next week for a decent haul could upgrade my assessment to A+.
natsgm
There needs to be an A++ option. Really can’t do much better than the Sox did. Very mad i wont get to watch Reynaldo Lopez with the Nats after following and seeing him grow in the minors for years.
Cachhubguy
The White Sox still haven’t traded anybody except the two clubhouse problems in the La Roche situation. I wouldn’t consider this a total rebuild until Quintana is traded.
lowtalker1
Adam created the problem
Kids don’t belong in the club house with grown men all the time
Once and awhile? Cool
Everyday? Go to school
pplama
You think the Sox’ FO is so petty and thin-skinned that they tanked the short-term outlook of the entire organization by trading their 2 most productive players, under the 2 most team friendly deals, because their feelings were hurt over a 12 year old??
HA!
soxitis
the answer to that is…oh yeah! Ken Williams? as thin skinned as they get. Remember all that Ozzie Guillen stuff?
pplama
When Ozzie quit on his team and negotiated a contract before leaving town? Or when he had his kids airing clubhouse dirty laundry to anyone who would listen? Or when he publicly had a temper tantrum because the Sox didn’t draft his kid early enough? Or when he refused to sit Dunn because he made a lot of $ and KW had to publicly tell Ozzie it was OK to sit him? Or when Ozzie admitted to getting drunk every night and not caring about running Spring Training drills? Or when Ozzie ruined Joey Cora’s chances at a Managerial career by talking him into burning the same bridge and skipping town?
How do you see through those rose colored Ozzie glasses??
Priggs89
Garbage narrative. Those two guys were traded already because they had the most value, and teams were willing to meet (or come close to) Hahn’s asking price. Quintana, and others, will go once someone comes to the table with a fair deal. Hahn isn’t going to trade him for less than what he’s worth.
pplama
Couldn’t bring myself to give the Sox an A with all of Frazier, Jones, Robertson, Abreu, Melky, Quintana still on the roster.
It was a great start, but so much more still needs to be done.
alexgordonbeckham
Hard to trade guys when there is no market for any of them. No market for Frazier and Melky (there was literally one team that was serious about Frazier and that was only if they didn’t re-sign Turner). Check out Abreu’s market. While he is better than a lot of the guys that were in free agency this off-season, a lot of those guys still struggled to find a home. Robertson: I’m sure they didn’t receive a decent enough offer to unload him and we all know the Quintana situation. Jones has 5 years of control left so it wouldn’t be the worst to let him close for half season or a year after Robertson is moved.
pplama
I agree on Melky, Frazier and Abreu.
Maybe I’m grading harshly, but I would’ve liked to have seen move move(s) to clear roster spots, align incoming prospect timelines, save some $, mitigate injury risks, tank the w/l record a bit more and take advantage of a very weak Pitching market.
Still think it’s a great start.
ChiSoxCity
Agreed, the Sox have a lot of work to do. It’s also crucial their scout department nails it in the next 2 or 3 drafts. They really need better OF talent.
thebighurt619
Jones and Robertson can be dealt for prospects in july as can abreu and frazier. Desperate teams do pay more when they feel they can contend.
Lego4365
You might want to change Braves off-season to white sox offseason
chri
Perhaps I’m being harsh by my B grade (although I would give a B+ if it was an option), but it would have been nice to see them move other players such as Frazier, Abreu, Melky Cabrera, Robertson and Quintana (could happen soon).
Perhaps they felt their value will be higher in July than it is now.
They absolutely got great value for Sale and Eaton though.
LADreamin
When the market isn’t there, you can’t fault them for holding off on taking a smaller return just for the sake of completing a trade. With injuries and surprise contenders, the trade deadline will be a better marketplace for the White Sox to shop their talent. Solid A for CWS from me, would have been an A maybe if they had netted some minor league talent for absorbing salary. There’s still room to capitalize there, I think.
Kayrall
I agree with LADreamin. Consider the alternative where the Sox trade those players, but for the lesser returns that their diminished markets commanded. That would also prompt lower than A (maybe lower than B) grades if people were convinced that they could/should have gotten more.
chesteraarthur
Some of that very much depends on 2017. If Robertson doesn’t bounce back are they really going to get any more for him than they will now? They will have paid half a season of his contract and stand to get equal or less.
If Abreu continues to trend down, how long can you keep selling teams on his strong rookie year?
These are risks they are taking. I’m not even saying they are bad risks, but they exist. The idea that they will just get a better market for these players by the trade deadline completely ignores the negative outcomes that are possible. If you want to argue that it’s worth the risk, than that’s fine, no fault with that argument, but don’t dismiss that there are risks.
Kayrall
Oh I definitely agree that there are risks; I’m not dismissing them at all. I tend to lie on the side with situations for players like the ones you mentioned to get what you can while you can, but default to the Sox brass’s evaluation of the players’ past and their projections for this year. At this point, it seems that the risks and the benefits offset each other until something happens (player gets hurt, player is on the stretch of his life, etc.)
ViPeRx007
You have to give them an A. I think the Sale and Eaton trades alone are enough for that grade. You have to think they tried to trade the other pieces as well, but simply weren’t getting the offers they wanted. That’s not their fault.
lesterdnightfly
I’m sure to hear about this, but I gave them a middling score because right now they are headed for a middling record, which won’t help them if they want a quicker full rebuild and higher draft picks and pools.
Waiting to move such players as Abreu, Melky, Robertson, Jones, and Frazier was risky and could backfire at the trade deadline due to injuries, underperformance, market shifts, and/or salary obligations. It also blocks some prospects from moving up and gaining experience.
Sure, that other teams weren’t offering enough early on may be a valid point, but isn’t it then when the GM negotiates hard to get that best value — if the rebuild is in earnest?
I’m still not convinced that everyone in that dysfunctional FO (above Hahn) is fully on board, despite Kenny Williams and his supposed newfound enthusiasm.
Kudos for changing direction (finally), but jump in all the way.
Grebek7
Not interested in seeing a prolonged rebuild. I expect this team to be competitive in 2019. Rick got a great return on Eaton ( great RF , bad CF / solid hitter that doesn’t have a high enough OBP to be a real good # 1 or 2 hole hitter & can’t steal bases) Sox brought in Vince Coleman last year Eaton showed no improvement stealing bases. Most excited to see R. Lopez MLB debut from Eaton trade. From Sale trade for me Moncada & one of other 3 need to turn into All-star caliber players for that to be a win for ChiSox. I think Rick will continue to maximize return on future trades. Abreu is a heck of a hitter & I’d like to see him stick around through this rebuild, finish his career here & He wants to be here. Great mentor for Moncada n others. Hahn should put Kenny & Hawk Harrelson
In a package; shop those 2 clownsuits see if he can’t get a big bag of fun size Snickers for em. Grade B+ so far, if Rick lets Frazier & Cabrera go and gets nothing in return B-
Kayrall
I’m not sure anyone is willing to give up THAT MUCH for Kenny and Hawk…..
pplama
Eaton had the 13th highest OBP in the AL last year.
Priggs89
.362, .361, and .362 OBP’s in his 3 full years. You have some ridiculously high standards if that isn’t good enough to be a real good #1 or 2 hole hitter in your book…
texas69
B, and here’s why. In order to do a “full rebuild” they would have to sell Quintana and possibly Todd Frazier (last year on contract). Sox did OUTSTANDING in the prospects they got but they could add 2-3 great prospects from Houston and another one for Frazier. Point is they did very good but could be great by July 31.
gibsonlp
B- or C+ Wish they would have gone further or had a clear veteran to build around. Abreu and Quintana will be Free Agents by the time the rebuild completes. Those were two outstanding trades this winter though.
Maybe they can flip the Derek Holland signing at the deadline and a couple other guys on their last year.
Grebek7
Hey troll put an original thought down, Scott podsednik was a difference maker as a lead-off hitter. Don’t know how much White Sox baseball you watch but Eaton is not a difference maker. I liked Eaton a lot as a player, but Sox got a great return for an above avg guy.