First baseman Logan Morrison ended up with the Twins, but many expected the Red Sox to pursue him more aggressively than they did. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe has some interesting quotes from LoMo, who smacked 38 homers for the Rays last season but ultimately settled for a meager $6.5MM guarantee with performance escalators and a vesting option. Morrison says he himself didn’t have any conversations with Boston. His agent spoke with the club during the winter meetings, but apparently “that was it,” and clearly that discussion didn’t culminate in any serious offers. “Am I surprised? I guess. I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know if it was the most shocking thing I saw [in the market].” The Sox ended up re-signing Mitch Moreland to play first base for them on a two-year, $13MM contract.
Some other American League-related items…
- James Fegan of The Athletic has an insightful rundown of some young White Sox arms. Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech and Dane Dunning have all had their ups and downs this spring, and Fegan was able to get quotes from all of them on some recent performances in camp. For instance, Giolito spoke about his latest outing during which he allowed two runs in the first inning. “It’s one of those days where like, if one pitching isn’t working you can go to the other ones and I was able to do that for the most part after the first inning,” he said. Kopech offered some confidence in his performance. Threw a lot of changeups, changeups were good,” Kopech said. “My main two focuses were fastball command and changeup command. Both were really good. Got a lot of swings and misses on the changeup.” Anyone looking for more quotes from these young pitchers should give the article a full read.
- The Yankees have officially tabbed right-hander Luis Severino to be the club’s Opening Day starter. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com has some notable quotes from manager Aaron Boone on the subject. “”We feel like it’s his time for it,” Boone said. “With what he was able to do last year, we feel like he’s in a really good place now. We just felt like now is the time for him to take on that role and we think he’s ready for it.” While it’s hardly surprising to hear that the third-place finisher in 2017’s Cy Young voting will throw his club’s first game of the season, the announcement also comes with the news that lefty Jordan Montgomery will officially be given the club’s fifth rotation spot and start the Yankees’ home opener.
bad idea have sabathia start
sabbathia has a rough time on Trawna’s ragged carpet
I’m really interested in what your reasoning is for this.
he’s often injured and had a bounce back season last year, but you have to look at his work from three years prior. Last year might have been a flash in the pan
I was referring to the way his post read “bad idea have Sebathia start” like it read to start CC. My question is why not have the clear ace start the first game. Are you talking about CC’s injuries and if so why?
Lol at the people who down voted Bastros comments, not realizing he was talking about Sabathia, not Severino.
Why would anyone give this ^^ an upvote?
I can’t see any reason for Sabathia to start on opening day other than nostalgia. You want your aces to make the most amount of starts possible and they clearly believe Severino is an ace.
Well it probably doesn’t matter for that reason as long as severino isn’t the 5 starter opening the year. They’ll re-align the rotation with off days etc at some point anyway. It’s nice to start off strong and you certainly want your best pitcher taking the hill on opening day though.
White Sox have a lot of young and talented pitchers
No doubt. I don’t have a subscription to the Athletic so I didn’t read the full article. In addition to the 4 pitchers mentioned here, other top pitching prospects were also invited to MLB camp and had an opportunity to perform against big league hitters. They included big armed top-100 prospects Alec Hansen and Dylan Cease.
Cease in particular was very impressive and could be on a faster track to the big leagues than many fans had previously expected from a starter who pitched the entire 2017 season in low A ball. If the White Sox get off to a fast start in 2019 and have the look of a contender it would be no surprise to see the organization promote Cease at some point during the season and let him begin his MLB career out of the bullpen, just as they did with Chris Sale and Jose Quintana before they ultimately became fixtures atop future South Side rotations.
Hoping before we know it Sox have- Kopech, Giolito, Rodon, Lopez, Cease, Hansen, Dunning and/or Clarkin all in there. I think Fulmer needs to work out of the pen. I believe he was excellent as Vandy’s closer. See him more as 7th or maybe 8th inning guy in bigs though.
You’re probably right about Carson Fulmer’s eventual role out of the White Sox bullpen.
Fulmer did pitch out of Vanderbilt’s bullpen as a freshman and was also their closer at the beginning of his sophomore season. Fulmer was promoted to the starting rotation later during that second year and ultimately became the ace of the Commodores staff that won the NCAA championship in his sophomore season and was runner-up in his junior year. As a junior, Vanderbilt beat Virginia in the first game of the best of three championship round 5-1 behind Fulmer’s strong start but lost the next two games with their ace on the sidelines.
The White Sox selected Fulmer with their #1 overall pick in the 2015 Draft while Vanderbilt was still playing in the NCAA postseason.
I don’t even like Fulmer as a bullpen option at this point.
They (and himself) screwed him over by trying to “tone down” his delivery, the same way every team tries to do with their starters nowadays. I understand why they did it – stretching him out and trying to avoid future injury – but it got rid of a HUGE part of his game. Without the deception in his motion, his pure stuff isn’t good enough to fool major league pitching, in my opinion. I’ve all but given up on him.
I am, however, significantly more hyped up about Cease after seeing him work this spring. Obviously it’s just spring training, but he has looked extremely impressive.
I would agree with both of your observations.
Carson Fulmer has been a mess this spring. He also struggled at AAA Charlotte for most of 2017 before doing enough later in the summer to earn a promotion to the big leagues. Fulmer was rocked in his first start when he was recalled in August to pitch the second game of a doubleheader versus the Twins. He was sent back down and returned to the South Side in early September after Charlotte’s season ended. Fulmer pitched much better upon his return. He only allowed one run in 3 of his last 4 starts down the stretch which earned him a spot in the White Sox rotation this spring. His hold on that spot is in serious jeopardy, especially with NRI Hector Santiago pitching so well. I am not giving up on Fulmer just yet but the organization is reaching the point where they need to make a determination of the talented pitchers role going forward..
Dylan Cease has been very impressive in camp after a so-so finish with the White Sox A- Kannapolis club last season following his midsummer acquisition from the Cubs with Eloy Jimenez for Jose Quintana. Like Fulmer, command has been Cease’s biggest problem as a pro but he threw a lot of strikes in Glendale without compromising his stuff.
I see where Fulmer gave up 0 hits over 4IP yesterday in Arizona while the Sox were blowing out the Dbacks.
Kopech & Hansen have the highest ceiling from what I’ve heard of the arms coming up. If Giolito can be a solid 2/ really good #3 i’ll be thrilled. Rodon has the stuff to be a solid top of the rotation starter if he can stay healthy. Future is looking bright on the Southside. Eager to see how Eloy looks when he arrives in July.
Alec Hansen and Kopech are top notch prospects. Kopech is only 21 and both will likely start this year in AAA. I’m hoping Rodon can recover again and move forward with his career. Also want to see Luis Robert develop and become the Sox’ CF of the future and give Moncada a shot at batting leadoff this year.
Both Michael Kopech and Alec Hansen will likely start the 2018 season were they finished briefly at last season. Kopech should begin at AAA Charlotte while Hansen figures to be at AA Birmingham. With good production and health each can look forward to a promotion sometime this summer, Kopech making his MLB debut with the White Sox while Hansen jumps up to AAA.
Unfortunately, Luis Robert will see a delay in his stateside pro debut after injuring his thumb in spring training. He’s expected to miss up to 10 weeks and should debut at one of the White Sox A-ball affiliates once he finishes his rehab in Arizona at extended spring training.
Yoan Moncada has already been named the White Sox leadoff hitter to begin the 2018 season. The decision was a no-brainer for manager Rick Renteria once CF Charlie Tilson was optioned back to AAA to regain his batting stroke after missing most of the last 1-1/2 season due an assortment of leg injuries. Moncada is suited to hitting atop the batting order in the #1 or #2 slot with his excellent plate patience, high OBP potential and great speed. It was a role he filled in the minors since joining the White Sox as part of the Chris Sale trade.
Btw-Today’s starting lineup versus the Diamondbacks looks like a precursor to the opening day batting order with the exception of Matt Skole hitting in the 8th spot as the DH. Starting 3B Yolmer Sanchez was the only regular not in today’s lineup. He figures to be the White Sox #2 hitter with all the other batters dropping down a notch in the order. Starting CF Adam Engel was hitting 9th, a role he will likely fill most of the season.
Engel’s 80-grade speed will give the White Sox quite the pair at #9 and leadoff if he can actually figure out a way to reach base more frequently. Tim Anderson, another elite runner with OBP issues could give the White Sox a trio of speedsters if Renteria elects to slot his SS in the #8 spot. I look for Renteria to be very aggressive with that trio when they reach base. This elite speed preceding Moncada could give the White Sox leadoff man some extra RBI opportunities in 2018.
Excellent group of young pitchers. It should create plenty of competition. As they work out their command issues, pitch location and mechanics, I look for veterans like Shields and Gonzalez to step up. Youngsters like Lopez, Kopech and Cease are nearly ready. Rodon has been a big disappointment with or without injury problems. I expect nothing from him.
No mention of Lucas Giolito?
Despite his excellent showing in camp, Dylan Cease is not “nearly ready” for the big leagues unless he is fast tracked through the bullpen first. I would put both Dane Dunning and Alec Hansen ahead of Cease in regards to making the White Sox rotation more quickly.
Your analysis of Carlos Rodon is puzzling. Clearly his shoulder issues are a concern. Like Carson Fulmer, he may have been rushed to the big leagues and he still needs to become more consistent with the command of his fastball. But Rodon has one of MLB’s best sliders and an improved changeup. When he commands his plus fastball he is a truly dominating starting pitcher. He’s also built like a horse and has pretty good mechanics for a pitcher of his stature. If Rodon can overcome his shoulder problems and fine tune the command of his fastball, his stuff, size, delivery and willingness to learn should afford him a chance to become one of the best southpaws starters in MLB.
Rodon may have been rushed to the big leagues and is just 25. The Sox need a southpaw starter, and Rodon might be ready by June. His lack of command and perpetual arm/shoulder problems are disturbing. I’m hoping he can overcome these issues, but I am not counting on him for anything. It will be most interesting to see how the young pitchers develop although the few times I have seen Giolito on the tube-he has been bashed pretty good. I won’t over-analyze the young pitchers except to say I like Kopech over the others. As a life-long White Sox fan, I wish the entire crew nothing but success.
Giolito had a 2.38 in 7 starts last year and 2.05 — you must have only seen in the few bad starts he’s had… you have unfortunate timing.
I’ll take Mitch with his glove and doubles. I feel that Hanley will bounce back this year, too. We will be fine at 1B and would not be shocked that we get 30 HRs and 100 RBI at 1B from a combination of Hanley, Mitch and JD at times.
I hope the Sox get more than that from that trio.
Ok, maybe I didnt write it correctly. Im teferring to the times they are at 1B. Meaning, in 162 games at 1B the Red Sox should get 30 HR and 100 RBI feom the sum of all guys who will play there.
If you’re relying on 3 guys to put up those numbers, you’re not okay at first.
He said AT TIMES JDM
JDM is never playing 1B so to include him makes no sense. Depending on roster makeup, you could see Travis or Holt there. Bottom line is if the team gets 30 and 90 from 1B, they should be in great shape. This is because they should be getting incredibly better numbers from the DH and corner outfield spots. Third base also if Devers plays all year. My issue there is I still don’t see him read defensively and I feel he will cost the team in the field as much as gives with his bat.
It wont be so bad. He will play LF mostly and thats not so hard that an MLB er cant handle it. No way his defense is so bad on the nights that he is out there that it negates his bat.
I can easily see JD playing 1st during inter league games.
Dude, No ine thinks that between Hanley, Moreland and JDM the red sox are getting a total of 30 and 100. I am talking about from 1B production. Obviously JDM and Hanley will DH alot, amd Martinez will play OF. We will likely get 25 HRs from Hanley alone. But some of that will be at DH. Moteland will do 11-16 HR and JD likely to get 35HR.
h
Agree 100%
Do the Red Sox now feel like they overpaid for Moreland after seeing how the 1B market turned out?
Likely! Moreland had a great read on the market apparently!
Or he likes Boston
Yes. He signed his prior one year deal for less than what was offered elsewhere because he wanted to play in Boston.
He got the same yearly as Morrison $6.5
I’m just glad I don’t have to cheer for a person named Lo-Mo.
Their current guy could be called Mi-Mo!
Haha thats worse
I’m glad you don’t have to too. We’ll take him.
Boston signed Moreland before the Market imploded. A better choice in my view because it’s not a given that Morrison will repeat, Moreland provides GG level defense and can be a late inning substitute for Hanley should HanRam be healthy and hit like in 2016. Their interest in LoMo was as a backup plan in case JDM signed elsewhere. It’s easy to second guess but at the time, I was all for resigning Moreland who apparently was an excellent clubhouse fit. While he doesn’t provide typical first base offense, 2017 was lost not because of Moreland who was clutch beyond his numbers. With respect to hitters, HanRam, Betts and Bogaerts all for whatever reason (playing hurt?) all underperformed. Add that Nunez and Pedroia were hurt and you realize they were fortunate to win the division. If the season lasted another month, the Yankees might have overtaken them.
I would’ve preferred Tanka start the opener and Sevy go in game #2. Just because Tanaka has the experience of doing it and he won’t try to do too much. Sevy I can see trying to do too much in his first start like in the wild card game last year. Give Sevy one more year to really develop into that stopper/ace type pitcher and then give him all of the opening day starts