While things can always change with one phone call or text, White Sox GM Rick Hahn suggested at SoxFest over the weekend that he expects both Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia to open the year with the ChiSox (link via MLB.com’s Scott Merkin).
“…[W]e are now basically done with an offseason during which we were able to understand what their value is out in the market,” said Hahn. “We made the assessment we were much better served as an organization to have both with us to start the 2018 season.”
Entering the offseason, both Abreu and Garcia stood out as plausible trade candidates, as each was coming off a terrific season with just two years of club control remaining. The Sox haven’t deviated much from their rebuilding direction, though the addition of Welington Castillo on a two-year, $15MM deal was more focused on near-term improvement than any of the moves the Sox made last offseason (or than any that they’ve made since).
Both Garcia and Abreu had their names bounced about the rumor circuit a bit earlier this winter, with Garcia being prominently connected to the Athletics and also speculatively linked to the Cardinals, among others. Abreu had his name connected to the Red Sox, Rockies and Cardinals himself, though it never seemed that talks between the White Sox and any interested party advanced especially far down the road to a deal.
Hahn, unsurprisingly, was mostly vague when speaking about the possibility of either player remaining with the team beyond the remaining two years of arbitration each has prior to free agency. The GM cited Miguel Gonzalez, whom the Sox recently re-signed, as evidence that players can return to an organization even after testing the free-agent waters and also indicated that it’s possible the Sox “figure it out sooner,” in reference to a potential long-term deal for Abreu and/or Garcia.
Abreu and the Sox have already avoided arbitration for the coming season by agreeing to a one-year, $13MM contract. Garcia figures to agree to a one-year deal at some point, though it may require a hearing; he filed for a $6.7MM salary against Chicago’s $5.85MM (as can be seen in MLBTR’s 2018 Arbitration Tracker), and the two sides have yet to reach an agreement. While those hearings can be a contentious process at times, Garcia didn’t sound especially concerned about the matter (link via CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine).
“Yes for sure,” Garcia said when asked if he wants to remain with the Sox. “I want to play baseball here in Chicago. As a player, you never know what is going to happen. My job is to continue to work hard and get better.” Garcia voiced praise for manager Rick Renteria as well, Levine notes, though he also indicated that he doesn’t believe there’s been any talk of an extension between his agents and the White Sox’ front office. Such matters are often handled in Spring Training, though, and now that the Sox are more in tune with the market value of both Garcia and Abreu in trade talks, it stands to reason that they’ll also touch base with their camps to gauge the value of brokering a longer-term pact beyond the 2020 season.
Sounds good till a great trade offer gets made
Teams always mess this up. What good is either player going to be to their next competitive team? Exactly nothing (unless they extend either guy, which, given their age, probably won’t be a good idea either). I’m sure the market wasn’t gangbusters for Garcia or Abreu, but all that means is they should have taken what they could get.
If you’re going to rebuild, REBUILD. What about how the Astros and Cubs did it do GM’s like Hahn not understand?
They probably aren’t really receiving much interest. This off-season has been sloooooow. They have 2 years of control so they can wait until the deadline. And Garcia is 26 btw
You’d be the same guy roasting a trade that netted the Sox garbage returns for one of these players. If the value isn’t sufficient don’t just give them away…. who knows that was offered?
They now have one of the best farm systems in the league and that’s with Moncada’s promotion. They got great value for Sale, Quintana, Eaton, Cabrera, etc. The trade deadline could certainly help them with a bigger return.
White Sox did stick to their rebuild. They traded everyone, except for Abreu, and Garcia, who had value. They’ve got a stacked farm system right now because of trading guys like Sale, Quintana, Eaton, Robertson, and Frazier. If prospects develop as expected, they could be a very good team in a year or two.
The Cubs signed FA Jon Lester following the 2014 season to a 6 yrs/$155M (15-20) & 21 team option. He was very familiar to the Cubs hierarchy due to his time spent with the Red Sox. The Cubs not only needed to upgrade their pitching to begin their next phase of becoming contenders but also valued Lester’s leadership and work ethic qualities in Boston.
Lester wax 31 on opening day of 2015, the same age that Jose Abreu will be this season. The White Sox are hopeful of beginning their own window of contention as soon as next season so why not negotiate an extension for Abreu this year?
Unlike Lester or any other starting pitcher, Abreu is a 1B/DH who figures to have a better chance of being a productive player well into his 30’s. His leadership and mentoring of the young White Sox players and prospects are already being felt, particularly by those of of hispanic decent and specifically with fellow Cubans like Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert. Top prospect Eloy Jimenez is of Dominican heritage and stands a good chance of seeing his MLB debut at some point this season. What Abreu can offer a fellow slugger such as this could be an added bonus for the White Sox in Jimenez’ development at the MLB level.
Bottom line: Rebuilding teams don’t just rely on their young prospects to take that next step in becoming perennial contenders. Locking up a productive veteran with leadership qualities like Abreu would be a wise investment as the White Sox look to be relevant in 2019 and beyond.
Who cares what the Cubs did with a FA pitcher? Not at all applicable.
The Cubs and/or Lester have NOTHING to do with this. Again, you need more than a subscription to Baseball Prospectus to properly build a legit contender. MANY have tried what the Cubs and Astros have ACCOMPLISHED but FEW have done it. Prospects mean nothing if you don’t properly develop them, properly assess them (self scouting is just as important as scouting other team’s talent) Just because Rick and Kenny FINALLY blew it up and are attempting a rebuild means nothing.
Theo/Jed have a proven track record. Easily one of the smartest front offices in the game. They rebuilt it this Cubs organization from the ground up. Scouting, both international and domestic, player development throughout, both internationally and domestically. That’s why they already have a ring, 3 straight NLCS appearances and their core hasn’t even peaked yet, most of them locked up, cost controlled for several years. Hahn and Kenny were “all in” Just 2 years ago and STILL finished with a worse record than teams that were clearly rebuilding. That’s how clueless and inept that front office is.
Keith Law would be the greatest GM ever if it all took was acquiring alleged “top prospects”.
In case you forgot, the “clueless” White Sox tandem of Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn beat the Theo Epstein led Boston Red Sox on the way to their own World Series title in 2005. I wouldn’t put it past them to repeat the process versus the Cubs in the not too distant future.
Btw-I’m not a homer White Sox fan as you are with the Cubs. I have been a diehard Cub and White Sox fan since the early 1960”s when it was more common for a Chicagoan to root for both city franchises.
Oh Hahn understands how to rebuild just fine thank you.
He has done a great job……. however he did trade Fernando Tatis Jr for James Shields…….
Most likely a trade influenced by Kenny Williams. It also occurred when the White Sox were still in their annual retool mode and before Hahn talked Williams and owner Jerry Reinsdorf into a full fledged rebuild. In addition, Fernando Tatis Jr. was in no ones top-100 list at the time of the trade and hadn’t even cracked the White Sox own top-20 list per mlb.com. rankings.
Aaron: Hahn talked Williams and owner Jerry Reinsdorph into a full fledged rebuild. Source please? I told you Jerry and Kenny traded Sale and Eaton for insubordination. It started when Sale told the media on the first day of ST that he never pitched a meaningful day in his life and there was more as the season went along. Eaton was traded for involving himself in the Adam Larouche episode. Sale and Eaton were openly critical of Jerry and Kenny and they got traded for that. Hahn did what he could after Jerry and Kennys decision. You should know this. If you are on board with this rebuild great. I will see it thru but if it were up to me i would not have cleaned house.
tycobb016: I am not an “insider” but it’s been widely reported that Rick Hahn did indeed persuade both Williams and Reinsdorf into a full fledged rebuild as soon as the 2016 summer trade deadline, shortly after the trade for James Shields that did nothing to help improve the White Sox chances for making the postseason. It’s at that time that the club began taking trade offers for their most valuable assets which eventually resulted in the trades for Sale and Eaton at the winter meetings in December.
Ty
Then why did Rick trade Quintana, Kahnle, Cabrera, Frazier, Robertson, Jennings, Swarzak, Clippard, Gonzalez and Duke,?
Sale and Eaton were traded first because that’s how a smart GM sets the market.
It’s fine to not be on board with the rebuild. But to continue with that lazy narrative is silly.
That trade was definitely a Kenny trade
Yes. Rick Hahn shopped all of his most valuable assets first including Jose Quintana who didn’t get dealt until the following summer trade deadline. As much as “Q” was appreciated by most White Sox fans, few were upset with the patience exhibited by Hahn when he extracted the Cubs top-2 prospects in Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease who were also comfortably situated among MLB’s top-100 talents.
fair enough guys. i worked with an ex player at usps for nine years before he retired, and he told me this. not sure what is true now. what was widely reported or what he told me. he was always 100% accurate before this. Anyway okay I won’t be a killjoy anymore. One more thing. He played on Yanks after free agency began and i asked him if the guys on the bench weren’t mad about sitting. They had allstars on the bench. And he said hell yeah we were mad but once the game started everyone was focused on winning.
Haha, Hahn has “done a nice job”? “That’s what smart GMs do”? Seriously? This clown, and the rest of the joke of an organization was “ALL IN” just two years ago but still ended up with a worse record than teams CLEARLY rebuilding. Acquiring bums like Shields, Frazier… etc… That’s how delusional they were ABOUT THEIR OWN TALENT. Now we suppose to believe that they can properly scout other people’s talent? Hahaha, you can’t build a franchise going off of the media’s “Top 100” list otherwise literally ANYONE could be a GM. I have a subscription to Baseball Prospectus, maybe I can be a GM. Many have tried what the Cubs and Astros have accomplished yet VERY FEW actually succeeded.
You need organizational scouting, intelligence, development from the bottom up to build a sustainable contender, both domestically and internationally. Before they FINALLY decided to “rebuild” they were horrible, yet their best prospect… only prospect was Tim F’n Anderson and they got desperate while they were “all in” and called him up too early and wrecked him. These clowns have a proven track record of wetting themselves. No reason to suggest that won’t continue until JR sells the team or hires a capable front office.
This is an EXTREMELY short-sighted viewpoint on both Abreu and even Garcia.
The ONLY negative to keeping them around is possibly them losing trade value, which apparently the Sox did not like what they were being offered anyways.
There are PLENTY of positives in keeping both of them around.
*They are both bilingual athletes, that can help the foreign prospects coming up assimilate themselves into the ML culture and American culture.
**They will add revenue by putting fans in the seats, merch sales, and making the Sox more competitive.
*Too often, high profile rookies, like Moncada, come up thinking they have to make an immediate splash or help carry the offense. With solid veterans such as Abreu, Garcia, and Castillo, this might not cause Moncada to struggle trying to carry the load offensively. This aspect is often overlooked, but all three can assist high profile rookies like Moncada and eventually Eloy, because they can take ALOT of pressure off of these two. The lineup can be constructed in order to have Garcia or Abreu hitting behind Moncada and/or Eloy to provide the rookies with protection.
**Also, just in general, they can mentor the younger prospects and players, and share with them their own struggles adjusting to ML baseball, and scouting reports/tendencies of pitchers.
*Also, the White Sox can still hold onto them until the deadline, where teams will be more desperate to add their “missing pieces” to their potential playoff run. This way, they would hold more leverage in negotiations with potential trade partners..
The Cardinals really need Abreau!! They have the prospects and the money for a long term contract. No excuse to not pursue him. A one-two punch in the middle of the line up of Abreau and Ozuna would be a strong step toward the playoffs for 2018 and beyond. Evidently though, the Cardinal Organization is putting their money ($260 million) into Ballpark Village, rather than players.
do it st louis
He’d be a great fit. I’d love to see Abreau and Archer come play for STL. That should put the birds back in contention in the division.
As a White Sox fan, I’d love to see Abreu with the Cards for a number of reasons. But I just don’t see how they can get a deal done. There’s not enough value in the Cards minors to produce close to what Abreu is worth…or at least there isn’t an offer they can put on the table that is more valuable than having him lead a rebuilding team for the next two seasons. Well, short of a package including Alex Reyes. But that would be foolish of the Cards to do.
The Cards have plenty of minor league talent. Their system is in the top ten of MLB !
No, it isn’t. It’s middle tier in every publication. They only have two guys consistently rated top 100 across publications, with Reyes being the only consistently top 50 guy. Without Reyes (who graduates when he recovers from injury), this ranks amongst the worst systems in the game.
The other guy, Flaherty, probably isn’t enough of a centerpiece to entice the White Sox to give up Abreu. There isn’t the depth around him to build a significant package. They traded that depth to the Marlins.
Getting Abreu wouldn’t be about the money, it’d be about what kind of prospect haul they would have to give up, which would probably have to be greater than what the Nats gave for Eaton. If the Cards are going to give up some of their top pitching prospects, they need to trade for a good, young starter like Archer.
Abreu would not bring anything near Eaton’s trade
I can understand keeping Abreu, who has historically been more consistent, but keeping Garcia seems like a pretty risky endeavor for a team not expected to compete. I hope I’m wrong, but Garcia seems like a flash in the pan and could easily just have had a career year. Not my team not my problem, but I probably would’ve shipped out Garcia in hopes of getting something with longer-term value in the future…
I dont think other teams thought much more of him either. He would have gotten back less than what the cards got for Grichuk. Hope he starts strong this year and flip him at the deadline. Either way still probably never gonna get much for him. Abreu on the other hand… Cards really should pull the trigger.
every team, including the sox, is skeptical about Garcia. there’s no trade value there until he proves last season wasn’t flukish
Exactly. Plus, at 26, if he winds up actually being this player, they absolutely need to extend him.
It will be very interesting to see if Avisail Garcia can approach his 2017 numbers and maybe even add more power and RBI production in the process. It may be a difficult endeavor considering he led all of MLB in BIBP last season.
Make that BABIP. lol
Hmmm, noticed he didn’t say finish the season with them.
Trade deadline candidates?
That would be the logical plan. Teams who were interested in Hosmer but settled for a lesser 1B will be willing to surrender more for Abreu if they’re in contention. Besides, what other first basemen are likely to be made available in July? Garcia, on the other hand, needs to light it up in the first half to garner a worthwhile return.
You have the wrong Miguel Gonzalez linked in the article
South Side opening day roster could be really interesting and different than anticipated conventional wisdom. They could conceivably sign a quality OF and/or 3B free agent to a bargain 1 year prove it deal if the market leaves some out to dry. If the young arms n Moncada/Delmonico progress to go with the specific vets in article (with Tigers/Royals bad), one of the WC spots isn’t outrageous. If not, no problem and flip vets where you help rebuild more at deadline. Hahn has great flexibility without deviating from big picture plan.
Heck, with the market what it is, they could get a long term deal with someone like Moustakas for a decent price.
or just wait one more year when two of the best third-basemen in baseball hit free agency…
Slick Rick is no stranger to spring training trades and free agent signings. I believe it was last year they signed Peter Bourjous and traded him to the Rays before the season started.
cws2019: Yes. Trade possibilities might also still present themselves, particularly with a team still looking to dump salaries like the Marlins (Starlin Castro for 3B?) or one like the Brewers who have an abundance of OF’s (Domingo Santana, Brett Phillips, Corey Ray?) following their recent upgrades.
Brewers understandably want those OFs to land them pitchers be it a solid vet to plug in or high end young arms reasonably close to coming up. Their GM is sharp. Doesn’t match too well for WSox now IMO, who want to begin patiently figuring out which of their arms are the real deal or perhaps a bit overhyped. Hahn trading for cash dumps such as Starlin kind of doubt unless/until he can’t simply pay for a bargain FA left behind. Market will dictate that, which is anyone’s guess.
The issue with Abreu is getting adequate value (in terms of prospects) for a position that has plenty of FA options for 80% of his productivity. A mid-season to trade deadline move would likely yield a better return…assuming CWS are willing to roll the dice he’ll be productive. I can see a team that needs a solid bat for the stretch run willing to overpay a bit, but that obviously won’t happen during the off-season.
The Sox should trade Garcia to help with a complete tank of a season, while he has decent value.. His BABIP last year say he is probably going to regress a bit.. They have a nice stable of OF prospects in Rutherford, Jimenez and Robert, making him expendable as well.. Since he is still affordable he matches up nicely with Oakland.. Perhaps they could get lucky and wrangle Puk for him.. If not a package built around Luzardo and Allen/Murrell would address the only weakness in the Chicago farm (LHP and MI)..
If the Sox were able to use their remaining chips (Abreu, Garcia and a few BP options) to address their lack of middle infield and LHP in the minors they will be a scary team in 2020 or 2021.. I just don’t think Anderson is going to be a reliable long term fit at SS (regardless of that long extension they signed him to) for them with his on base skills lacking as much as they have been.. He had OBP problems in the minors as well only getting to .350 once while he was at AA.. IMHO I just don’t see him being an everyday option (even with the slick fielding reminding me of Brendan Ryan) once Chicago starts contending again.. If he does manage to adjust with his bat I also believe Moncada will have to transition to 3rd in the next 2-3 years still leaving a MI hole.. The guy is built like a tank and it’s doubtful he will remain nimble enough to stay at 2nd. Especially, when he finishes filling out and adds another 20-30lbs.. I could be wrong and he could stay his exact size and be the next Robinson Cano and its all speculation on my part but regardless of if Moncada and Anderson both stick at their positions the Sox still don’t have any decent middle infield prospects for injury replacements or super utility type players.. The A’s on the other hand are loaded with them and have several to spare.. They match up perfectly in a Garcia trade.. It would be a different conversation had they held onto Tatis but they gave him to the Padres.. I know they got Shields in return but I doubt they even had to include a prospect in that trade.. Shields was a salary dump and the Sox could have gotten him for free had they taken on more of his salary.. Tatis’ timeline would have fit in perfectly for the Sox’ next window of contention.. They are going to regret that trade for quite awhile (he has climbed to #9 on the BA prospect list #3 on Law’s).. Several writers have compared Tatis to Machado and if he comes close to reaching that ceiling Hahn will be heckled for that trade his entire career.. Tatis was already a highly thought of prospect when they made the trade and that is why it still baffles me.. Also, I still don’t understand why the Sox didn’t go after Kevin Maitan after the Braves lost him.. They have plenty of money available and have hardly signed anyone this year.. They could have easily beat the $2.2 million that the Angels signed him for.. Hahn would be thought of as a genius had he put together his current stable of prospects while holding onto Tatis and signing Matian.. He could then use this year’s draft pick to choose Shane McClanahan or Matt Liberatore (I think Konnor Pilkington will be the best LHP in the 2018 class but I doubt anyone would take him in the top 10).. He could then call it a re-build and wait for everyone to reach MLB.. He has done a great job so far but because of his Tatis mistake he his going to have to address his lack of MI prospects sooner rather than later and with the deep pitching in this years draft he needs to focus on finding his next lefty starter and look to the MI in an international signing or in next years draft.. Hahn got the better of Cashman in the Rutherford trade and the Red Sox lost the Sale trade.. I know they got one of the best pitchers in baseball on a cheap contract but when they included Moncada they also included the $63 million they paid (bonus plus penalties) for him..If you factor that in, they are paying over $30 million per year for Sale to pitch for them.. Dombrowski could have signed Rich Hill for half that cost and kept his prospects.. I know Hill isn’t even half the pitcher Sale is but having him instead of Sale the Red Sox would have still finished right around where they did.. Plus, they would still have Kopech who has the ceiling of a TOR pitcher..
As soon as Dombrowski traded Moncada away the Red Sox lost the trade unless they reached the World Series and judging by the moves they have made this offseason the Series is going to once again be out of their reach.. Hahn has shown he is a solid GM for the way modern teams are built.. Dombrowski obviously did not learn anything from his years in Detroit and has decimated the great farm system Cherington, (and Epstein before him) put together.. Once Boston wakes up like Detroit did and sends DD packing it will be too late and they will have to undertake a similar rebuild that Detroit is enduring.. The one thing they have going for them is they only have Price’s contract clogging up the payroll after 2020.. So, they should have plenty of cash to spend once their current core hits FA.. Unfortunately, we are talking about Dombrowski and he will probably spend every dime as it comes off of the books, on aging stars.. He will have Ramirez’ $22 million to spend next year and he won’t be able to give Machado the contract that the Yankees are going to offer, so look for DD to give a 32 year old Donaldson a 6 year $150= million dollar contract. Plus, he will resign Kimbrel to Chapman money putting them even farther over the tax.. I like Kimbrel a lot but a $20 million dollar closer is a luxury for teams that are not over the tax (after tax penalties a $20 million closer becomes $26 million).. They could easily sign Allen/Miller/Herrera and Joe Kelly for less money and have both the 8th and 9th innings covered.. But Dombrowski always chases the biggest names and there is no way he will be left out of next year’s class.. With so much money coming off after 2019 I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to win the offseason by signing someone like Keuchel as well.. Unfortunately, Price can opt out after 2018..I suspect we will see him in vintage form this year and DD will simply overpay for him yet again after he opts out instead of saving his money for Sale the following year and simply signing a mid rotation guy like Corbin or Morton..
Jeez I am sorry about straying so far off topic and writing so much about Dombrowski and the Red Sox.. Not sure how I went from suggesting a Garcia trade to the A’s to a 1000 word rant about Dombrowski.. I am glad I put it under a headline that doesn’t seem to be getting much attention.. I should just start writing for someone.. Too much baseball musings rolling around in my head and an equal amount of free time. I lack the grammar and English skills to pursue something like that though..
OMG, that was lengthy right there. As a Sox fan, Hahn is in a good position. Abreu at 13 mil is a steal so I think it’s still likely Cards, Red Sox or Rockies trade for Abreu. Garcia is a potential trade deadline candidate.
Abreu is projected to get between 17 million and 18 million in arbitration in other teams eyes this will definitely reduce the amount the White Sox can get for him.
If you are talking about this year, he is already signed for 13 million.
I apologize I was under the impression he was going to arbitration this year that he had opted out the contract after last year. That does change things a bit should be quite a bit of surplus value there. Going to cost quite a bit to get him before this season starts.
A few things:
White Sox went over their bonus pool about with the signing of Luis Robert so they could only offer Marian 300k. Marian has some serious red flags anyways and I personally don’t think he’ll amount to much more than a mlb regular, if that, but i could be wrong.
The Tatis trade is the biggest blemish on Hahn’s tenure so far but it happened before the org decided to rebuild. At the time they were 25-12 in May 2016 and needed SP help so I can’t really fault them too much for being aggressive. Especially with a 17 year old prospect.
Also, I’m very doubtful that they will target pitching at #4. The one thing that the WS scouts are very good at is identifying pitchers that they can develop in the later rounds. Their pitching development is also one of the best in the league imo. I see them taking a MI prospect like you pointed out it’s one of the only weaknesses in their farm. (I also agree with your assessment of Anderson but he’s going to get another two seasons at least to try and flip the script) Look for the Sox to take a guy like Nander de Sedas (Lindor comps) or my sleeper pick Jeremy Eierman. They’ve shied away from preps guys generally and he would fit their MO from recent years of college guys with pop.
Rambling here too but one other thing about Anderson v Eierman is that power. Anderson has a bit of pop but the White Sox build contenders but stacking their lineup with power guys (see the most recent Sox contenders). That’s in pet due to how hitter friendly their home park is. Should make it really fun to watch Eloy the next couple years!
TL;DR
As a bosox fan, I hope Price has a great season and opts out. And there is no way in hell he would be back in Boston if he does. He wouldn’t want to and the front office now knows it’s not a good place for him.
Yeah my guess is pretty much in line with the popular sentiment around her on Garcia. Likely not enough interest to move him for the value the Sox wanted. Better to keep him until the trade deadline and if he’s doing well, teams should likely see him as being more legit and might offer something that makes sense to Hahn.
As for Abreu, I just don’t think there’s a massive market for first basemen right now. My guess is that if they don’t deal him at the deadline, they’ll more likely extend him. I’m kinda surprised the Red Sox and Cardinals haven’t been more aggressive on him though then what’s been rumored. Who knows.
Garcia, being a lesser known All Star selection last year shouldn’t be taken lightly. Sadly, even nationally known White Sox players of recent years don’t have the pull to get voted in. Garcia did it on numbers alone and I expect he doesn’t drop as much this year, but improves in some categories. I’m going to take a chance and say that dangling him out there pre-arb agreement is more likely to make other team’s fanbase question, “Oh man, why in the world did we not make a move for him?” or “Do our front offices make intelligent trade propositions at all, or do they over speculate about numbers and falsely assume unsubstantial claims of Garcia being a fluke?”
Who wants to win? Not my White Sox. Sale Eaton Quintana are AllStars. We could have resigned Frazier and Melky for a song this year. Jerry and Kenny have a history of letting their hurt feelings get in the way. Jerry runs the Bulls too. screw these minor leaguers and lets get back to trying hard to win. We weren’t that far away if we had spent a little money and turned the other cheek when Sale and Eaton went off. wake up fans. we deserve more than this rebuild crap being shoved in our face.
Might be time for you to find a different team.
We definitely need to keep these two guys. They will help to mentor our young stars on the way up. I guarantee we will see Eloy Jimenez this year. Besides, the Sox have no one else to hit in the middle of the batting order.
Agreed Minnie , Jose’s mentoring role shouldnt be undervalued by Sox FO & i dont think either guy is being shopped but Rick will listen to offers. Always liked Avi, appreciate his hustle if he struggles in 2018 though i would expect Avi to be moved. Looking forward to seeing Eloy & Kopech in majors this season. Hopefully Shields has a monster 1st half & i dont have to see him pitch another game for us after July
Avi Garcia is available as soon as Rutherford, Robert, Adolfo or Cordell are ready to come up.
As for Jose, I’d prefer to keep him until he’s the old man on the team. He’s a proven .300/30/100 guy… They don’t grow on trees, and this one doesn’t cost too much, doesn’t cause problems in the community, is a positive influencer in the locker room and a professional hitter who can help Moncada & Robert develop on and off the field. He’s worth keeping